Chapter 05 :- Secret Discussion
"Congratulations to Sect Master Ning on Senior Sword Douluo's advancement."
" Sect Master Ning, please give my regards to Senior Sword Douluo on his breakthrough to level 97 super Douluo, " replied Emperor Xue.
"Yes! With Sword Douluo's advancement in strength, we have gained a considerable advantage in our strength and attack power against the Spirit Hall, I'm looking forward to the day my Blue Electric Tyrant Dragon Sect fights Spirit Hall side by side with Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect," replied Yu Yuanzhen.
"I hope the day never comes, but if it does, our clansmen will be sure to cover the backs of your sect's disciples with our auxiliary abilities," replied Ning Fengzhi casually.
"Cheers!.... "
"Cheers!.... "
"Cheers!.... "
Sounds of clinking of glasses could be heard as ministers, noblemen, and government officials cheered and toasted their glasses.
The advancement of Sword Douluo during this difficult period is like a ray of hope for the Empire whose future was bleak a while ago.
The atmosphere of the Hall was melancholic, as there was a ray of hope in everyone's mind fighting against the Spirit Hall hearing Sword Douluo's advancement.
But the Empire is still far away from contending the behemoths like Spirit Hall which has been on the mainland for thousands of years. They can only bear in silence and improve their strength in secret.
....
....
The party continued till midnight after that everyone bid Emperor Xue farewell, and returned to their respective homes.
Meanwhile Emperor
Xu
followed a secret passage and arrived at his Secret Office Room. Following him were Bone Douluo
and Ning Fengzhi.
He invited Ning Fengzhi and Bone Douluo alone after bidding everyone
farewell to discuss some serious and sensitive issues that may cause turmoil once gotten into the outside ears.
"Please come Sect Master Ning, Senior Bone Douluo." Emperor
Xu invited Ning Fengzhi
and Bone
Douluo Gu Rong cordially.
"Your Majesty is too polite!" Ning Fengzhi responded politely. Behind him followed Bone Douluo. He like always was silent.
They entered a room which that was fairly decorated. The room had a luxurious table with four chairs. Though the room was simple, there was a touch of artistic elegance and vibe in it.
Emperor
Xue Invited
both of them to sit. Ning Fengzhi and Bone Douluo sat on two chairs while Emperor
Xu
sat on the chair opposite to them, leaving one chair empty.
"Sect Master Ning, do you have any guess about how much time we have to prepare against any possible invasion from the Spirit Hall?" Emperor
Xu
asked this question to Ning Fengzhi.
Listening to this Ning Fengzhi
was in deep thought, Emperor
Xu
did not interrupt him and waited for his answer.
Ning Fengzhi thought for a while and replied,
"It's quite hard to predict such things, but according to the general trend of Spirit Hall's rapid boost in power, it may take a decade or two for them to start taking action against both the Empires."
"But I'm not sure if my estimate is correct or not. The process may be slower or maybe much faster than our estimate. Honestly, it's, hard to judge!! Spirit Hall is very secretive about its actions. Moreover, many of our disciples have lost their lives, secretly infiltrating and spying in Wuhun City. As of now, don't have any personnel to inform us about their current actions and plans. Alas! "
"But what we can be sure of is that both the Empires and Upper three Sects are a major thorn in Spirit Hall's eyes. If Spirit Hall gets a chance they will not leave behind any hands. So, Your Majesty
must strengthen the army and recruit more
geniuses as soon as possible."
Ning Fengzhi wanted to say more but he stopped.
Seeing Ning
Fengzhi
hesitating, Emperor
Xu replied, "Is there anything that Sect Master Ning wants to say? "
"Yes, your Majesty
but it may be quite some harsh reality for you to bear with. So I was considering whether to say to your Majesty
or not!! " replied Ning Fengzhi seriously.
Emperor
Xu
laughed and replied, "Sect Master Ning may continue. I'll happy if Sect Master Ning points out any mistakes or problems in the current system. I would be glad to rectify it. I believe in Sect Master Ning's vision and intelligence. "
Emperor
Xu valued Ning Fengzhi's advice very much because of his intelligence and vision. Moreover Ning
Fengzhi's amiable and gentle personality is appreciated by many.
"Your Majesty
I'm not happy with the current status of the Tian Dou Imperial
Academy. Students studying there are mostly from the Noble background. The students being of noble origin tend to despise the commoners. Moreover, these students from noble families are not diligent enough. As a result, the strength of the students is plummeting over the years and now we only have very few geniuses."
"Such conservative thinking must be avoided if the Imperial Family wants to gain the favourability of the commoners. Your Majesty, so far why has there been so many Title Douluo and Contras in Spirit Hall and why are they so ahead of both the Empires in strength, do you know?" Ning Fengzhi asked.
"It's because they value the commoners, care for them, nurture them, awakening their Martial Spirit for free which both the Empires monopolized. They helped commoners improve their standard of living. Although they did this to collect geniuses from every corner of the mainland, their contribution towards the Soul Master world cannot be denied."
"Nobles only occupy a minor per cent of the people but the vast majority of the people are commoners. Do you think what will happen if a group gets overwhelming support from the vast majority of the civilians? With Spirit Halls's vast heritage they can easily nurture many Title Douluos and Contras."
"Sometimes I can't help but marvel at the ideas of Spirit Hall. Even I've never thought of such things before. But they practically made it a reality. Now, they have seventeen Title Douluos, who knows how many more of them are hidden." Ning Fengzhi sighed.
"So if His Highness wants to start his reforms then it should be started from Tian dou Academy. Being the face of the Imperial
Academy it would be more effective if the admission of commoners are prioritised over the Nobles. This may help his Highness in the later plans that we discussed. " replied Ning Fengzhi
.
The Emperor listened to his suggestion carefully, the more he listened the more bright his eyes became.
After that, they discussed several more issues regarding the Spirit Hall. It was almost time for Ning Fengzhi and Bone
Douluo to leave.
Suddenly the door to the secret meeting room opened, and a tall slim and handsome figure with blonde hair entered the room. From his looks it can be determined that his age is no more than 17 and coupled with his excellent temperament, it can be judged that he was not someone ordinary. "
"Sect Master Ning, this is my eldest son Xue Qinghe and the Crown Prince of Heaven
Dou Empire
."
"Qinghe, quickly come and salute Sect Master Ning And Bone Douluo." Ordered Emperor
Xu.
"Greetings, Senior Ning, Senior Bone Douluo. I'm honoured to be in both of your presence," replied Xue Qinghe politely
as he bowed in greetings.
Before Ning Fengzhi could reply to anything Bone Douluo suddenly opened his eyes, his eye sparkling brightly as if seeing an incredible treasure. The originally quiet and indifferent Bone Douluo now has a look of interest on his face.
"Prince Xue Qinghe is considered a genius among geniuses. I've never seen such a young Soul Sage. Truly a genius. Your Highness has got himself a good and capable Successor. Congratulation your Highness!" replied Bone Douluo.
"The Heaven Dou Empire
is bound to flourish in Crown Prince's hands." Bone Douluo commented seeing his humble and gentle personality.
The more Bone Douluo saw the more he became pleased with this young man. He has a good temperament and knew to respect his elders and was not arrogant for someone having the status of a prince.
Ning Fengzhi was astonished to hear these facts from Bone Douluo.
The Emperor
suddenly replied, " Senior Bone I wonder if can you take Qinghe as a disciple and teach him under your mantle?"
Emperor Xue further continued, "He is born with Innate Spirit Power of 10 and is considered an outstanding genius. Sadly we can't arrange a proper teacher and guide for him. If Senior Bone
accepts Qinghe as a disciple, he can learn more and gain many profound knowledges from Senior."
Saying this Emperor
Xu waited for Bone Douluo's reply. Emperor Xue very much wanted his son to get a Title Douluo teacher.
After a while Bone Douluo shook his head in disappointment.
"I would have gladly accepted Prince Xue Qinghe
as my disciple but, when joining Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect both I and Chen Jin swore by our Martial Spirit that we would never accept any disciple from any background other than from the Sect. I'm deeply regretful Your Majesty
." replied
Bone Douluo with regret.
Emperor
Xue was sad about getting rejected but he didn't feel much because he knew that there is a tradition to swear allegiance by taking an oath in the name of their Martial Spirit
to prove their loyalty. This was considered
quite a vicious and poisonous practice. Failing to comply with the oath
results in the Martial Spirit of the person shattering, crippling him forever. So Emperor Xue could not help but do anything about this fact.
Who would not take such an outstanding genius as their disciple? Sadly because of his oath, Bone Douluo could not take any disciples.
After thinking for a while, Bone Douluo looked toward Ning
Fengzhi abruptly.
"Uncle Bone, What happened? Why are you looking towards me so suddenly?" replied
Ning Fengzhi.
"Fengzhi, why don't you accept the Crown Prince as a disciple? With your vast knowledge and experience, you are more suitable to take him under your mantle. Moreover, you are not bound by any of such oaths. " replied
Gu Rong, Bone Douluo.
Listening to it Emperor
Xue's eyes sparkled with enthusiasm. If Xue Qinghe
worships Ning Fengzhi then the cooperation between the Empire and the Seven treasure glazed tile sect will become deeper as such if something were to happen to the empire, Ning Fengzhi would definitely not sit by and watch harm befall his disciple. He would come for help at least for the shake of his disciple.
Emperor
Xue's thoughts were running very fast as he thought about the benefits if Ning Fengzhi accepted Xue Qinghe as his disciple.
"Xue Qinghe do you wish to worship me as your teacher?" asked Ning Fengzhi with a serious tone after thinking for a while.
He was happy to take such a talented genius
as his disciple
and secure a deal in their cooperation
with the empire.
Xue Qinghe
bowed instantly and replied
, "Disciple Xue Qinghe
has seen the Master. "
Seeing his instantaneous reaction Emperor
Xue, Ning Fengzhi and Bone Douluo were surprised.
They appreciated his decisiveness to make a judgement.
Emperor
Xue was very happy for his eldest son. Now he has an excellent heir, With Xue Qinghe
the Empire
is bound to rise.....
𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗲𝘄 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀, 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗧𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗗𝗼𝘂 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆...
"Don't you think Spirit Hall's behaviour is quite weird these days, Fengzhi" Bone Douluo asked Ning Fengzhi, while returning from Imperial city.
"Yes Uncle Bone, I also find this quite confusing, our spies outside Wuhun city did not notice any abnormal situations. They reported Spirit Hall is functioning as usual, nor there are any suspicious movements from the spirit Hall's side towards
both the empires. Who knows what dirty tricks are they trying to play, we can't even send our personnel to Spirit City to spy, all we can do is monitor the situation outside Spirit city.
We have to be aware of them and get ourselves geared up and battle-ready to tackle any situation instantaneously . " replied Ning Fengzhi.
"Fengzhi, do you really think, that with prince Xue Xing's attitude we should really co-operate with the Empire, that brat's behaviour dissatisfied me. " Asked bone douluo.
"I'm also angry with his behaviour but I couldn't possibly behave rudely with him, if it was not for his Majesty's face I would have thrashed him immediately. Moreover, now that I've taken Crown Prince Xue
Qinghe
as disciples, it doesn't matter much if we take action against Xue Xing. "
"And as for the issue of cooperation with the imperial family we can't do anything, even if we remain neutral, we'll have to face Spirit Hall someday."
" Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect being one of three top sects can't really stay out from this mess. Do you think Spirit Hall will let us go? Our rich heritage and auxiliary boosts brought by our martial spirits to any soul masters are very tempting and highly coveted upon, even by Spirit Hall."
"Even if we turn ourselves to Spirit Hall. We will lose our rich heritage accumulated for more than thousands of years. Our resources will not be in our hands. Rather than awaiting our doom, we may co-operate with the empire and Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect, at least we'll have a ray of survival that way. "
Being the sovereign of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, with the number one auxiliary spirit on the mainland, and one of the leaders with the most authority on the mainland, pride was rooted to his bone.
He would never be willing to submit or work under others, if not for spirit Hall's threat he would have disregarded the imperial power long ago. But due to the strong threat from Spirit Hall he had to co-operate with the heaven dou empire because they alone are not the opponent of Spirit Hall.
A vast majority of his confidence comes from Bone Douluo and Sword Douluo, with their combined attack power they could easily fight a rank 98 super douluo to a draw with his sevenfold boosts from seven treasure glazed tile pagoda.
Just as tigers are unable to share the same mountain. Seven treasure glazed tile sect and spirit Hall are like tigers, so none will give in.
If not for Bone Douluo and Sword Douluo sitting in town, Spirit Hall would have long ago started their offence against them. Preciously it's the Combination of Sword Douluo and Done Douluo and sect Master Ning's seven-fold increase that deters spirit Hall from taking further action.
"On top of that our disciples are not highly combat experienced, without you and uncle Sword guarding the town maybe Seven treasure glazed tile sect would have been destroyed long ago."
Ning Fengzhi admitted this fact with helplessness. He felt like he owed Uncle Bone and Uncle Sword a lot. He was grateful and gratified for their service to the Seven treasure glazed tile sect.
" Yo Brat! you sound like we are outsiders, both me and Chenjin have seen you grow up from childhood. Without previous sect Master's help, we would not have our current achievement so don't make it sound like you owe us."
"It seems that the crybaby who used to come running to hide from his father has matured a lot. Looks like you are forgetting about your uncles. Hum! Hum! After reaching the sect I'll ask Chenjin to clean you up like your father used to. Hehe, want to treat us like outsiders wait for me to complain to RonRong,....hehe ... "
"No, no Uncle bone you are mistaken, you both are my Uncles and Ning Rongrong's grandfathers, how dare I treat you as outsiders. " Ning Fengzhi replied wiping the cold sweat on his back.
"HaHa.. ... Let's go quickly I've not seen Rongrong for a few hours... If she does not see her grandfather's bone she'll be upset. Let's make it to the sect fast. "
Ning Fengzhi was quite amazed at uncle bone's change in mood after mentioning Rongrong's name. It was in fact both Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo loved the Little Princess Rongrong very much and spoiled her since childhood. She was the only weakness of Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo
.
Both sword douluo and bone Douluo did not have a family as such they considered the Seven treasure glazed tile sect as their home and they loved and pampered the "little princess" Rongrong very much and doted on her. And Rongrong also loves them very much and calls them Grandpa Bones and Grandpa Sword lovingly.
Saying so both of them quickened their way to the sect rapidly.