A 30,000-year soul bone to make a Title Douluo serve the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda School?
What kind of wild idea is this?
While a 10,000-year soul bone is indeed precious, it's not valuable enough to make a Title Douluo bow their head!
Even someone like Dugu Bo, who is considered relatively weak among Title Douluo, probably wouldn't make such a decision.
Wait—they're heading to the Heaven Dou Empire now.
A Title Douluo... Dugu Bo. Could Rongrong's target be him?
Before the Bone Douluo could fully process this, he widened his eyes and stared at Ning Rongrong as if seeing a celestial being.
Ning Fengzhi, however, spoke up first: "Rongrong, is your target the Poison Douluo, Dugu Bo?"
"Exactly, it's him." Ning Rongrong nodded seriously.
"That's impossible." Ning Fengzhi sighed.
Due to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda School's extensive collection of medicinal herbs, Ning Fengzhi had traded with Dugu Bo several times and could be considered an acquaintance. He had a rough understanding of the Poison Douluo's temperament.
Even if it were a 50,000-year soul bone—or even a 70,000-year one—it might not necessarily convince Dugu Bo to join the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda School.
Besides, this 30,000-year soul bone wasn't even compatible with Dugu Bo's abilities.
"Dugu Bo's son, if I recall correctly, passed away two years ago. His daughter-in-law died even earlier," Ning Rongrong said.
"What are you implying?" Ning Fengzhi and the Bone Douluo exchanged glances, question marks slowly forming above their heads.
"It's very possible that Dugu Bo is poisoned. His son and daughter-in-law might have also..."
"Dugu Bo may not be particularly strong, but he's a master of poison! How could someone like him be poisoned?" The Bone Douluo's tone was full of disbelief.
"Who knows? Those who drown are often the ones who know how to swim."
"Medicine and poison are two sides of the same coin. If Dugu Bo's son and daughter-in-law weren't poisoned, why did they die so suddenly? And both of them at that."
"Let me sort this out first." Ning Fengzhi rubbed his temples. The information Ning Rongrong had revealed was too overwhelming. After steadying his thoughts, he asked,
"Rongrong, are you saying... you have a way to cure Dugu Bo?"
Over the past few years, in order to solve the problem with her martial soul, Rongrong had read countless books—medical texts, human anatomy, and more—using her spirit power and Divided Mind Control technique to study.
What left Ning Fengzhi most speechless was that Ning Rongrong's frequent mental exertion had directly allowed her to break through to the Five Aperture Dispersed Heart.
Good heavens, if the other disciples in the sect—still struggling at the Three Apertures of the Controlled Heart—saw this...
Wouldn't they throw tantrums and threaten to hang themselves? Wuwuwu, so pitiful~
Ning Rongrong wasn't aware of Ning Fengzhi's thoughts but shook her head:
"Without seeing him in person, I can't be sure. We'll have to assess the situation when we meet."
For the past two years, she had been focused on solving her soul ring problem and hadn't paid attention to other matters.
Dugu Bo had visited the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda School for herb trades before, but Ning Rongrong hadn't met him.
"As for the soul bone, it's not for Dugu Bo. We'll decide based on the circumstances." Ning Rongrong didn't elaborate further.
"Looking at bargaining chips, then..." Ning Fengzhi seemed thoughtful.
Recently, he had heard that Dugu Bo had close ties with Prince Xue Xing.
If they wanted Dugu Bo to join the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda School, they would likely have to pay a considerable price.
A defensive left arm bone—since Ning Rongrong said it was suitable for a swan-type martial soul—could be used in exchange for Dugu Bo?
It was said that Prince Xue Xing had once saved Dugu Bo's life, though the truth of this was unknown.
If that were the case, Ning Rongrong's approach made sense.
Since Ning Rongrong didn't explain further, Ning Fengzhi, as her father, didn't press for details.
After all, nothing was certain yet.
First, they needed to settle the matter of taking Xue Qinghe as a disciple. As for Xue Beng and Prince Xue Xing... they could wait.
...
Several days later.
The carriage slowly entered the capital of the Heaven Dou Empire.
Xue Qinghe, having received advance notice, stepped forward with several Heaven Dou royal guards and bowed.
"Teacher, it's been a while. How have you been?"
Xue Qinghe had a slender build, dressed in deep-toned noble attire that didn't appear ostentatious but instead gave off an air of humility.
"Qinghe, you didn't need to go out of your way to greet us," Ning Fengzhi said with a smile as he looked at Xue Qinghe.
"Respecting one's teacher is part of noble etiquette." Xue Qinghe shook his head.
"You..." Ning Fengzhi didn't argue further. He greatly admired Xue Qinghe's humility, which felt refreshingly different from the usual arrogance of nobles.
"This must be Teacher's daughter, Ning Rongrong? Welcome to the Heaven Dou Empire."
After greeting Ning Fengzhi and the Bone Douluo, Xue Qinghe turned his gaze toward Ning Rongrong, who had remained silent.
"Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince." Ning Rongrong curled her lips. "You're different from what I imagined."
"How so?" Xue Qinghe asked curiously.
"You seem... lonely."
Xue Qinghe's expression flickered briefly before quickly returning to normal.
"Rongrong, don't speak nonsense," Ning Fengzhi interjected.
"My apologies, Your Highness." Ning Rongrong's expression shifted from seriousness to the naivety of a child her age.
"I read in a novel that the crown princes of the Star Luo Empire are all lonely figures. I thought it might be similar in the Heaven Dou Empire."
"Was what the novel said incorrect?" She tilted her head slightly, feigning confusion.
"Ah... Hahaha." Xue Qinghe chuckled lightly. "May I call you Rongrong directly?"
"Of course, Your Highness."
"Loneliness... Of course, I've felt it." Xue Qinghe's expression turned sincere. "Every day, I have to deal with piles of reports and documents. Sometimes, I don't feel like doing anything."
"But His Majesty the Emperor's health can't sustain long hours of work. As the crown prince, I have no choice but to carry this burden."
"I see... Is this to prove yourself to Emperor Xue Ye?" Ning Rongrong inquired.
"Prove? Well... I want to make the Heaven Dou Empire better. Does that count?"
"Your Highness truly is a benevolent crown prince." Ning Rongrong nodded.
After some conversation, Xue Qinghe instructed the guards to take the carriage to its designated spot while he accompanied Ning Fengzhi toward the imperial palace.
As they walked, Xue Qinghe chatted with Ning Fengzhi and occasionally asked Ning Rongrong if there was anything she wanted—as if genuinely treating her like a child.
Speaking of which, Emperor Xue Ye had a youngest daughter named Xue Ke.
From the original storyline, Qian Renxue, who was disguised as Xue Qinghe, treated Xue Ke quite well!
"Qian Renxue... What a complicated person."
Perhaps she could use this to her advantage.
When emotions run too intensely, people often lose their calm judgment.
Maybe Qian Renxhe saw her own shadow in Xue Ke, which was why she treated her like a real younger sister.
While Ning Rongrong was still deep in thought, the group arrived at the palace.
Seeing Xue Qinghe enter with Ning Fengzhi and the others, Emperor Xue Ye descended from his throne.
Emperor Xue Ye had white hair, a slightly plump figure, and poor vitality.
Despite not being particularly old, he already looked like a man on the verge of death.
"He's been poisoned for a long time!"
Come to think of it, Ning Rongrong truly didn't understand Qian Renxue's thought process.
Was she ruthless? To some extent, yes—after all, she had killed two princes.
But if she was determined to usurp the throne and had already secured her position as crown prince, why not just kill Emperor Xue Ye outright? Why use poison?
Did she think her talent was so overwhelming that she needed to give the protagonist team time to catch up?