Douluo: Spiritual Sword

The Yu family was also present, so Tianlin couldn't speak freely and only exchanged pleasantries for a while.

Yu Yuanzhen, a wily old fox himself, seemed to notice Tianlin's hesitation and realized he was interrupting the son-in-law and father-in-law. He smiled and said, "By the way, Sect Master Ning, is my in-law around? It's rare for us to visit, so we should pay our respects. Yan'er has missed her grandfather as well."

"Of course, he's here. Uncle Dugu is at the medicine hall. Although our sect didn't lose many in last night's battle, quite a few were injured. He's been busy concocting healing pills for the disciples."

"Someone, take Clan Leader Yu to the medicine hall." Ning Fengzhi called out, and soon a disciple arrived and respectfully led Yu Yuanzhen and his family away.

"Xiao Tian, see you later then!" Yu Tianheng and Dugu Yan nodded to Tianlin and left the main hall.

The last to leave was Yu Luomian, who didn't say a word to Tianlin, merely brushing past him. Just then, the Holy Spirit Pearl inside Tianlin's body sent a warning again—the same as last night.

Tianlin turned to look at Yu Luomian's departing figure, speculating to himself, "This guy, could it be…?"

While Tianlin was puzzled, Ning Fengzhi said to him, "Xiao Tian, I know why you're here. You want to ask about something, but there's no need to wonder. The matter of Xue Qinghe sending troops to attack Clear Sky Sect may appear unrelated to us, but in fact, I was the one who fanned the flames—and I used your design to do it."

Before Tianlin could speak, Ning Fengzhi already knew what he wanted to ask.

Tianlin just didn't understand—how did Ning Fengzhi manage it?

Seeing his confusion, Ning Fengzhi explained, "Xiao Tian, I told you last night that I suspected Xue Beng was connected to Spirit Hall. But at the time, I didn't know Xue Beng was being controlled. One thing was certain, though: Xue Beng didn't know Xue Qinghe's true identity. Otherwise, he wouldn't have cooperated with Spirit Hall to bring down our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, which appeared to support Xue Qinghe. Instead, he would have joined us to expose Xue Qinghe directly."

"Moreover, Xue Qinghe didn't know that Xue Beng was one of their people. Otherwise, she wouldn't have needed to use tricks to gradually force out the military generals. After all, with both of them working together, they could have controlled the entire court, and the Soul Hunting operation could have started months earlier."

"So, I took advantage of this information gap and imitated your handwriting to write a letter to Xue Qinghe. The content was simple: I, Ning Fengzhi, discovered from Dugu Bo that Emperor Xue Ye was poisoned, Dugu Bo was preparing an antidote, and through some unknown means, I discovered her identity and notified Marshal Ge Long and Prince Xue Beng, preparing to join hands against her. However, you, Jun Tianlin, believed in her innocence, insisting she wasn't a Spirit Hall imposter, and because of your years of friendship, you specially wrote to warn her to flee the palace quickly to avoid being killed."

"Oh, and I also deliberately mentioned in the letter that to fight Spirit Hall, our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was preparing to unite with the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and the recently located Clear Sky Sect. The three upper sects would join forces to resist the powerful enemy."

After listening, Tianlin finally understood—this old fox even used his feelings for Qian Renxue.

Once Qian Renxue saw the letter, she'd get two pieces of information:

Her identity was exposed, and Ge Long was leading troops to catch her, so she had to escape quickly. No matter how strong she was, she couldn't withstand Ge Long's million-strong army.

The three upper sects were preparing to unite against Spirit Hall.

Tianlin thought further—wait, for a love-struck girl like her, it's probably three pieces of info. The third: Tianlin still cared about her, otherwise he wouldn't have written such a letter that almost betrayed his sect just to save her.

If She Long were here, he'd realize why their young mistress had such mixed feelings when reading the letter.

Qian Renxue had always been decisive. She immediately prepared two backup plans: First, if the Soul Hunting operation went smoothly and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan were destroyed, Ning Fengzhi and the others dead, she would stay in the palace. Even if Ge Long brought troops, she could accuse him of joining a factional struggle and charge him with treason.

After all, if Ning Fengzhi and Dugu Bo were dead and Emperor Xue Ye couldn't be awakened, Ge Long's character meant he'd never act without solid evidence if Xue Qinghe argued her case.

Second, if things went wrong and Ning Fengzhi and other key players escaped, she would weaken the empire and the upper sects as much as possible, then quickly leave the palace.

As for the possibility of the Soul Hunting operation failing, she hadn't even considered it. With Golden Crocodile and Jiang Mo involved, dealing with just the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect should've been easy.

The Seven Treasure and Blue Lightning sects would be handled by the Worship Hall and the Pope Hall. As for Clear Sky Sect, which was thought to only have one Title = Douluo left after Tang Hao's departure, Qian Renxue now held part of Emperor Xue Ye's military tokens and imperial seal, so mobilizing nearby city troops under false orders wasn't difficult.

She would remain to strike a heavy blow at the Heaven Dou royal family.

Therefore, last night Ning Fengzhi let Tianlin spare She Long's life, so he could inform Xue Qinghe of the Soul Hunting operation's failure, prompting her to enact the second plan.

That's why the news Tianlin heard was that, apart from Xue Beng and Xue Xing who were out, and Xue Ke who was at Moon Pavilion, almost the entire royal family of Heaven Dou was killed or wounded.

The only thing Qian Renxue underestimated was the strength of the Clear Sky Sect. She never expected that this hidden sect would have so many Titled Douluo. The result was a disastrous defeat for Heaven Dou, though Clear Sky Sect also suffered heavy losses.

This angered the Clear Sky people greatly. Despite staying hidden, they were still attacked and, in their fury, decided to come out in force, vowing to demand justice from Heaven Dou.

Of course, when Xue Beng and Xue Xing returned, they'd send people to explain that it was all Spirit Hall's plot.

Unfortunately, they couldn't act as fast as Spirit Hall. Almost at dawn, Spirit Hall announced to the entire continent that they'd spare no effort to uncover the mysterious forces behind the attack on the Seven Treasure and Blue Lightning clans and make them pay, while strongly condemning Heaven Dou's attack on Clear Sky Sect.

Now, Clear Sky Sect didn't know whom to believe, since both sides had motives to attack them. It went without saying for Spirit Hall, given their bitter enmity.

Before going into seclusion, Clear Sky Sect had already been courted by Star Luo and was secretly supporting them. But their sect was originally from Heaven Dou territory, so for Heaven Dou, that was practically treason. Wanting to wipe them out was also reasonable.

Just saying it's Spirit Hall's plot wasn't enough. Where was the proof? All they knew was that Heaven Dou's army attacked them, and that hatred was unforgettable.

No wonder they're master and disciple. Ning Fengzhi, after being Xue Qinghe's teacher for so many years, understood his character perfectly.

He'd probably started planning as soon as Tianlin let Qian Renxue learn Clear Sky Sect's location.

And there must be more measures to come.

Ning Fengzhi didn't need to go to such lengths. With his abilities and the current strength of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, just keeping a low profile on the continent would be more than enough.

But Tianlin's ambitions went beyond that, and as a father-in-law, Ning Fengzhi naturally wanted to pave the way for him.

Still, to set Spirit Hall, Heaven Dou, and Clear Sky Sect against each other with just one letter—wasn't that a bit much? And no matter how they investigated, nothing would point to Ning Fengzhi.

Even if someone saw the letter, it didn't matter, because the handwriting was Tianlin's, not his.

After all, Tianlin was still young, sentimental, and not yet worldly-wise, so it was only natural he was deceived by Xue Qinghe and insisted she wasn't a traitor. A little softness was normal—he just needed to be disciplined.

Tianlin left the Seven Treasure main hall feeling confused. He was glad he'd joined the sect back then, saving himself from being Ning Fengzhi's enemy.

After Tianlin left, Ning Fengzhi's expression changed. He was still pondering a doubt in the whole matter: why didn't Xue Qinghe know Xue Beng was one of their own?

"There must be a third force within Spirit Hall. But whoever you are, I, Ning Fengzhi, will find you. No one will be allowed to harm the future of Tianlin, Rongrong, or any of the Seven Treasure children!"