Douluo: Martial Soul of Lightning

Ning Rongrong's eyes lit up with delight at her father's words. If Lin Jie were to join their clan, wouldn't that mean she could spend time with him every day? Just the thought made her smile uncontrollably.

Lin Jie, noticing her joyful expression, paused for a moment. He couldn't help but wonder what had made her so happy.

Then, Lin Jie shook his head and declined politely, "I'm sorry, Uncle Ning. For the time being, I'm not planning to join any clan or sect."

The smile froze on Ning Rongrong's face the moment she heard Lin Jie's refusal.

"Sigh, I had a feeling you'd say that," Ning Fengzhi said, shaking his head with a trace of disappointment. "Since you're not ready, I won't push the matter. But if you change your mind in the future, the gates of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan will always be open to you. That said, I do have one more request. I was wondering if it might be possible to purchase some of those spirit power grenades from you."

He had originally considered asking for the schematics, but after his recent conversation with Tang San, he'd come to understand—how could someone easily hand over such a precious blueprint? So Ning Fengzhi settled for the next best thing.

"Spirit power grenades, huh…" Lin Jie replied, pausing thoughtfully. "They're not easy to produce. The crafting process is difficult and time-consuming, so…"

He trailed off and looked toward Ning Fengzhi.

Ning Fengzhi caught on and smiled. "You don't need to worry about the price—I'm willing to pay."

Lin Jie chuckled. "Uncle Ning, what are you saying? You're Rongrong's father—how could I charge you for something like this? I won't lie, they're hard to make, but I still have some left. Consider it a gift."

As he spoke, Lin Jie tapped his storage ring lightly, and two small boxes appeared in his hands.

Ning Fengzhi was briefly taken aback—why would Lin Jie give him a gift? But when he saw the boxes, he pushed the thought aside and looked at them closely.

Bone Douluo also turned his gaze to the boxes containing the spirit power grenades. He'd personally witnessed their power.

Lin Jie opened them. One box held ten second-generation spirit power grenades, and the other contained twenty of the first-generation ones. He placed them gently on the table and slid them across to Ning Fengzhi.

Ning Fengzhi's heart stirred slightly. Though he still didn't understand why Lin Jie was giving him such a generous gift, he didn't refuse. After a token attempt to decline, he accepted the grenades and promised to send some gold spirit coins later as thanks—since he wasn't carrying that much at the moment.

He also wanted to give Lin Jie a hundred gold spirit coins as gratitude for the Infernal Delicate Apricot he had given Rongrong, but Lin Jie firmly refused. He wasn't interested in monetary rewards—he had longer-term goals in mind.

"By the way, Xiao Jie," Ning Fengzhi asked, "do you happen to have another Infernal Delicate Apricot? If you do, no matter the cost, I'm willing to trade for it."

He was currently stuck at the peak of Rank 79. Because of the inherent limitations of his Martial Soul, he couldn't break through. If he could obtain that celestial herb, it might just help him reach the Title Douluo realm.

But Lin Jie simply shook his head. "The Infernal Delicate Apricot is an immortal herb—extremely rare. I only ever found one. Maybe you'll have better luck searching elsewhere."

Ning Fengzhi let out a regretful sigh.

After chatting about a few other things, Lin Jie eventually took his leave. As for what Ning Fengzhi and Bone Douluo discussed behind closed doors afterward, that was not something Lin Jie knew.

When Lin Jie returned to the dormitory, he found that everyone was gathered in one place. Though many of them were curious about what had happened with Tang San, no one asked—after all, everyone had things they preferred to keep private.

With the departure of Titan and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, life at Shrek Academy returned to normal—though Ning Rongrong's identity as the daughter of a clan master was now widely known and a frequent topic of gossip.

Ever since Titan had recognized Tang San as a member of the Clear Sky Clan, he'd instructed his grandson to stay close to him every day—ostensibly for protection. But what could Tang San do? He couldn't just beat him up again. And because Tai Long was always hanging around, Tang San had less and less time alone with Xiao Wu.

What puzzled him most, though, was that Xiao Wu hadn't sought him out these past two days. Just yesterday, he had seen her talking privately with Lin Jie, and something about the way they acted had seemed… off.

Meanwhile, Ma Hongjun had successfully broken through to Rank 37 after absorbing the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower, which left Oscar green with envy.

Yu Xiaogang had also returned yesterday. Upon hearing about everything that had happened during his absence, he was shocked. At first, he scolded Lin Jie for having the others consume immortal herbs—accusing him of rushing their cultivation. But after hearing the full story, he admitted he'd been wrong.

Now that Ning Rongrong, Xiao Wu, and Zhu Zhuqing had all reached Rank 40, it was time to hunt spirit rings. This time, under the guidance of Flender, Liu Erlong, and Zhao Wuji, all eight Shrek students would accompany them to Sunset Forest to obtain their fourth spirit rings. Yu Xiaogang would also go along.

As everyone gathered, Liu Erlong arrived.

Yu Xiaogang couldn't meet her eyes, looking away awkwardly.

"Erlong-jie, you're here," Lin Jie said, smiling as he walked over to her.

Lately, Liu Erlong's temper had mellowed a great deal, and she had become gentler than before. When Flender first noticed the change, he could hardly believe it was the same person he once knew.

She looked at Lin Jie kindly. She had grown more and more fond of her honorary younger brother—young, handsome, talented. The more she looked at him, the more satisfied she became. With her work keeping her busy and Lin Jie around, she barely thought about Yu Xiaogang anymore.

"Dean Erlong!" the others greeted her in unison.

"Godmother!" Xiao Wu beamed as she called out.

Ever since Bone Douluo had visited the academy, Xiao Wu had been in low spirits. Lin Jie had already confirmed that he knew her secret—she was a 100,000-year-old transformed soul beast. Though Xiao Wu trusted Lin Jie not to expose her, she still worried about what would happen the next time she encountered a Title Douluo. She understood full well what she meant to them.

Flender glanced over at Liu Erlong, his eyes softening. Then he turned to look at Yu Xiaogang, disappointment written across his face.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Flender addressed the group. "This time, we're heading into the forest to help Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing, and Xiao Wu obtain their fourth spirit rings. Let me be clear—this hunt won't be like the previous ones. The eight of you will be fighting together as a team. Only if absolutely necessary will we intervene. Understood?"

"Understood!" they all responded in unison.

"Good. Then let's move out," Flender commanded, and the group set off for Sunset Forest.

Flender, Yu Xiaogang, Liu Erlong, and Zhao Wuji walked in the front, while Lin Jie and the others followed behind.

From time to time, Flender and Liu Erlong would exchange a few words. Yu Xiaogang, on the other hand, barely spoke a word to her.

Behind them, Dai Mubai looked toward Xiao Wu and the others and asked, "Have you thought about what kind of spirit ring you want for your fourth? Since the teachers won't intervene unless necessary, we need to plan carefully. According to the Master, our fourth spirit rings should be somewhere between 3,000 to 5,000 years old—5,000 being the upper limit. Mine is around 4,000."

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