With Demon Spear Douluo and the Slaughter Messenger in tow, Tianlin immediately returned to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
These two had no names. Demon Spear Douluo was easy—he could simply be called Demon Spear. Odd as it sounded, at least it was an address. But as for the Slaughter Messenger, it wouldn't do just to keep calling her that. Noticing that she always wore black veils, Tianlin gave her the nickname Xiao Hei, finally giving her a normal-sounding name.
Seven Treasure City was as bustling as ever. Although Tianlin had completely fallen out with the Heaven Dou imperial family, they didn't dare make any moves against him.
Facing one Ultimate Douluo, they might muster a bit of courage. Facing two? Even if they had ten times the guts, they'd never dare cause trouble. Best to just go home and sleep.
He went to Ning Fengzhi's study, where both Ning Fengzhi and Gu Rong were present. Tianlin relayed all the intelligence he'd gathered during this time.
The descendant of Nuwa had once told Tianlin that this wasn't a responsibility he could shoulder alone—the content of the Holy Emperor's trial was to unite his family and companions to collectively wipe out evil.
So, for certain important people, they at least needed to know who the enemy was—along with their objectives and abilities.
"Evil Sword Immortal? I've never even heard of such a being. Where could he come from?" Ning Fengzhi frowned, "This is all beyond my expectations. I thought the hidden third force within Spirit Hall was the Rakshasa God."
In fact, Ning Fengzhi had already noticed that the deaths of several villagers matched the legends of the Seven Deadly Sins—the seven greatest evils. Considering Tianlin had mentioned the Rakshasa God as the deity ruling over evil thoughts, and that Bibi Dong was currently inheriting that godhood, Ning Fengzhi had speculated that the Rakshasa God was dissatisfied with being only a first-level god and was stirring up trouble behind the scenes. Since gods could not descend directly, they could only act in secret.
To reason this far was impressive, especially given the intelligence gap between him and Tianlin. No matter how clever Ning Fengzhi was, he couldn't possibly guess the existence of the Evil Sword Immortal out of thin air.
"Xiao Tian, you said you already injured the Evil Sword Immortal?" Ning Fengzhi asked.
"Yes. I wounded him with my Heaven and Earth Spirit Slash. He won't be able to cause trouble for at least a year." Tianlin was confident in his strongest technique.
"Excellent. That buys us a lot of time. Not knowing the enemy was my biggest worry, but now things will be much easier." Ning Fengzhi fell into thought.
"Should we tell Bibi Dong directly? Let her know there's such a creature by her side. No, with Bibi Dong's current temperament, she'd do anything to oppose the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. If she actively colluded with the Evil Sword Immortal, that would be disastrous. In that case, I should put myself in the Evil Sword Immortal's shoes. Even if he can't fight for a year, he surely won't just sit and recover, doing nothing." Leaning back, Ning Fengzhi smiled slightly as a figure appeared in his mind: Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang.
After all, one of the main reasons Bibi Dong went mad back then—apart from Qian Xunji—was Yu Xiaogang himself. He was the fuse, the root cause.
"That's it. I'll make use of him, and use it to set up Bibi Dong. Someone, come!"
At Ning Fengzhi's command, a member of the Speed Clan appeared, requesting orders.
Ning Fengzhi used sound transmission to give his orders, since there were outsiders present and he didn't fully trust Demon Spear Douluo or Xiao Hei. The information couldn't leak.
Of course, he concealed nothing from Tianlin; Tianlin was included in the secret transmission.
Upon hearing Ning Fengzhi's instructions, Tianlin was shocked. The Evil Sword Immortal's plans could indeed match Ning Fengzhi's deduction. If carried out, with others off guard, the chances of success were high.
After the Speed Clan disciple left, Ning Fengzhi turned to the two newcomers, saying, "You both have important intelligence for me, correct?"
"Yes. By order of the new King of Slaughter, I am to fully inform Sect Master Ning of all the Slaughter Gods sent out by the former King." Xiao Hei stepped forward.
Ning Fengzhi nodded, "Very good. You now serve Tianlin and have chosen the righteous path, seeking atonement for past crimes. It's a blessing for all. As one of the Three Upper Sects, I cannot allow the innocent to be slaughtered any longer. Just tell me the locations and abilities of those people, and I'll send someone to eliminate them."
Ning Fengzhi was certainly better at grand speeches than Tianlin, who rolled his eyes. If it were him, he'd just say: "Where are they, what can they do, I'll go kill them right now." No need for talk of righteousness. But using this rhetoric seemed to be Ning Fengzhi's habit—or perhaps, the skill of every major leader.
Seeing Tianlin's reaction, Ning Fengzhi quickly changed the subject, "By the way, Xiao Tian, there have been a few unexpected guests looking for you these past days. They've been staying here for a while. I've sent people to lead them to the main hall; please go and receive them for me."
"Unexpected guests?" Tianlin was puzzled, but didn't ask further—he'd know when he saw them.
After Tianlin left, Xiao Hei was about to give Ning Fengzhi more intelligence, but Ning Fengzhi asked a question first, "By the way, Lord Demon Spear, you're from Slaughter City, right? Have you ever registered your title with Spirit Hall?"
Demon Spear Douluo nodded, "No, I don't have a title. Every clan leader in my clan has been called Demon Spear for generations, so we all go by that name."
"That won't do. Title Douluo are the highest class on the continent. You've worked hard to reach this level—your name should go down in history. Here, just sign these two documents and I'll file them for you. From now on, 'Demon Spear' will be your official title." Ning Fengzhi smiled.
"Uh… Thank you, Sect Master Ning!" Demon Spear Douluo was taken aback, but Tianlin had told him to listen to Ning Fengzhi for now, so he signed without hesitation.
Gu Rong, watching, widened his eyes. One document was indeed a title confirmation to be sent to the Spirit Hall, the most sacred place for all soul masters. Enemy or friend, everyone saw having their name there as an honor.
But the other document, with "Application to Join the Sect" written in big characters on the cover, made Gu Rong's face twitch. "Such concern for his official title? Clearly, Ning Fengzhi just wants his strength. Poor Demon Spear, tricked into signing and still helping count their money."