Chapter 139: A Bit of an Itch

After arriving at the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace by carriage, Zhao Ling followed a palace attendant to the outside of the Throne Hall.

The attendant came to a stop and respectfully saluted him. "Please wait here a moment. I will go in and announce your arrival."

Zhao Ling nodded slightly, watching the attendant walk into the hall before leaning against a nearby stone pillar and closing his eyes to rest.

The soldiers guarding the Throne Hall pretended not to see anything, standing stiffly at attention without blinking.

After a few minutes, the attendant returned and announced, "You may enter now. His Majesty and the princes are waiting for you."

Zhao Ling nodded with indifference, opened his eyes, and walked straight into the Throne Hall.

As soon as he entered, the first person Zhao Ling saw was Emperor Xue Ye, seated upon the imperial throne.

To his lower left sat Prince Xue Xing, and to the right sat a middle-aged man who appeared refined, amiable, and remarkably handsome.

Behind the middle-aged man stood two others—one with long silver hair, dressed in snow-white robes, with a simple appearance yet baby-smooth skin.

The other had a gaunt face, with sunken muscles and skin, hollow eye sockets, and an unusually large skeletal frame, though he wasn't the kind of man with bulging muscles.

Zhao Ling raised his sword-like eyebrows. He could sense that the two behind the middle-aged man were both Titled Douluo. Judging from their appearance, he guessed that they were Sword Douluo Chen Xin and Bone Douluo Gu Rong.

Though both of them looked only around their thirties and didn't seem old at all, Zhao Ling knew well that by the later stages of the original series, they were both over a hundred years old.

So, based on the current timeline, they should be in their sixties or seventies now, and naturally would have reached the rank of Titled Douluo.

As for the identity of the middle-aged man, Zhao Ling suspected he was Ning Fengzhi's father. There was no way he was Ning Fengzhi himself.

After all, in the original story, Ning Fengzhi seemed even younger than Tang Hao. How could he possibly be the middle-aged man in front of him?

With that, Zhao Ling withdrew his gaze and nodded toward Emperor Xue Ye. "Your Majesty summoned me to the palace—may I ask the purpose?"

Emperor Xue Ye stood up from the throne at once, his face full of fawning smiles.

"Honored Zhenmo, you're finally here. Attend him—bring a seat for our honored guest."

At his command, several attendants placed a grand chair next to Prince Xue Xing's seat. Zhao Ling sat down without hesitation.

Once seated, Zhao Ling looked toward the three people opposite him with apparent curiosity and directly asked, "Your Majesty, these three are…?"

Seeing Zhao Ling's interest piqued, Emperor Xue Ye laughed heartily and pointed to the middle-aged man on the right.

"This is the current Sect Master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. The two behind him are the sect's guardian Douluo."

Then, pointing to Zhao Ling, Emperor Xue Ye introduced him to the three. "Sect Master Ning, this is Zhenmo Douluo Zhao Ling, the first consecrated protector of our Heaven Dou royal family."

After the introduction, the current Sect Master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect turned a curious gaze on Zhao Ling.

Over the past few days, he had heard that the royal family recruited a Titled Douluo to serve as its first consecrated protector, but no one could find out who it was.

Now that this mysterious protector appeared before him, the sect master was naturally intrigued. And the title "Zhenmo Douluo" sounded quite familiar.

After racking his brain for a moment, his pupils suddenly shrank. Wasn't this the same Zhenmo Douluo who had recently gotten engaged to the new Holy Maiden of Spirit Hall?

At the time, he had even sent people to investigate Zhenmo Douluo. Reportedly, his surname was Zhao and he met the new Holy Maiden in Soto City.

Eventually, the two fell in love, which offended the second young master of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, leading to a series of incidents.

Later, he returned to Spirit City with Spirit Hall's delegation, and the Pope herself hosted their engagement ceremony—making him, essentially, a half-member of Spirit Hall.

Yet this Zhenmo Douluo was said to dislike staying in Spirit Hall and preferred a free-spirited life.

So right after the engagement was arranged, he fled Spirit Hall. To the current sect master, it was amusing—how could the dignified Holy Maiden of Spirit Hall be abandoned by her fiancé the moment the engagement was sealed?

It just showed how incompetent Spirit Hall was—couldn't even keep a person around.

It must be said, the current sect master should count himself lucky Zhao Ling couldn't hear his thoughts.

Otherwise, Zhao Ling would've slapped him with a few heavy slaps and cursed him as he did it.

"Your damn uncle, was it me who abandoned my Dong'er? It was that old bastard Qian Xunji who thought I'd slow her cultivation down! And you dare make me sound like some scumbag? You think I don't miss my Dong'er? Damn it…"

At that moment, Sword Douluo Chen Xin and Bone Douluo Gu Rong were also curiously observing Zhao Ling, occasionally exchanging glances.

"This Zhenmo Douluo… sounds familiar. Isn't he the guy who just got granted a title by Spirit Hall and named an honorary elder, even though he's practically unknown on the continent?"

"How about it, Chen Xin?" Gu Rong whispered beside him. "Interested in a spar?"

"You want to fight him?" Chen Xin asked, surprised.

"Yeah. He seems like a worthy opponent. I'm getting a little itchy."

At that moment, Zhao Ling also noticed the rising battle intent in Gu Rong's eyes and was puzzled. As far as he knew, he had no grudge against Bone Douluo. So why was the man eager to fight?

Honestly, Zhao Ling wasn't interested in fighting Bone Douluo. Bone Douluo's martial spirit wasn't as good as his own Zhenmo Pagoda.

With superior spirit, soul bones, and configuration overall, Zhao Ling would win overwhelmingly—where was the fun in that?

But Bone Douluo wouldn't take no for an answer. He stepped forward and cupped his fists toward Emperor Xue Ye.

"Your Majesty, I see Zhenmo Douluo's strength is quite impressive. May I request a spar with him?"

Emperor Xue Ye was taken aback. Why would Bone Douluo suddenly ask for a duel?

Worried Zhao Ling might be offended, Emperor Xue Ye didn't dare agree directly and instead turned his gaze toward him.

Zhao Ling was helpless, but he ultimately nodded in agreement.

He had no choice. After just arriving in Heaven Dou City and being hired as the royal family's first consecrated protector at a shocking price, backing down now would only give people an excuse to call him a coward.

Before long, ministers might submit petitions to Emperor Xue Ye, accusing him of being unworthy of the position.

Zhao Ling didn't care about rumors, but he didn't want to be gossiped about either.