Shrek City, South District.
The wide, tidy streets were bustling with crowds, filled with vendors selling all sorts of specialty goods, their lively voices creating a vibrant, energetic atmosphere.
Located at the intersection of the three major empires of the original Douluo Continent, Shrek City was a hub of highly developed commerce.
As the year-end approached and the new year began, it was always the liveliest time in Shrek City.
And not just for ordinary people.
The city's major auction houses would display the rare treasures they had collected throughout the year for bidding during this period.
Items like pills, medicinal herbs, custom soul rings, various precious rare metals, soul tools, and even soul bones.
All of them were top-tier treasures.
Naturally, this attracted soul masters and soul engineers to visit.
Two exceptionally striking young individuals, a boy and a girl, moved intimately through the crowd. They were Xu Zihuang and Ning Tian, who had come from Shrek Academy.
Today, Xu Zihuang was dressed in a fitted purple-gold robe. The robe was primarily vine-purple, adorned with intricate golden embroidery of exotic plants and flowers. His deep purple eyes carried a gentle smile, yet exuded an indescribable air of nobility.
Holding Xu Zihuang's arm, Ning Tian wore a platinum gown matching her hair color, which further accentuated her tall, elegant figure. A faint smile graced her beautiful face.
The two walking together looked perfectly matched.
The dense crowd had no impact on them, as anyone who came close to touching them was gently repelled by an invisible, soft soul power.
Amid the bustling noise, the space around them seemed like an isolated sanctuary.
Ning Tian rested her head on Xu Zihuang's shoulder, lightly biting her lip, her water-blue eyes shimmering with anticipation and happiness.
Since childhood, she had been the only daughter of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect's leader.
The Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect had faced a calamity ten thousand years ago, nearly being wiped out. Relying on its accumulated foundation and ten thousand years of development, along with the might of the continent's top support-type tool martial soul, it had risen again to become one of the most elite soul master sects of its time.
However, as the direct heir of the sect leader's lineage and a girl, her life had been monotonous and dull. Her days were filled with nothing but cultivation, study, study, and more cultivation.
In such a tedious life, through her own talent, effort, and the sect's abundant resources, she broke through to the Soul Elder rank at the age of eleven, setting a record in the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect for the youngest to achieve this rank—a feat even the ancestor Ning Rongrong, who evolved the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda into the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda, had not accomplished.
As an undeniable prodigy, after entering Shrek Academy, she initially believed she was the strongest among her peers. However, she encountered equally gifted individuals like Dai Huabin, Xie Huanyue, and the peerless Yu Tianhuang, who far surpassed their peers.
Among the four new students with Soul Elder cultivation that year, she remained outstanding. Compared to Dai Huabin and Xie Huanyue, she, though only a support-type soul master, believed she was no less capable than them.
And indeed, with the powerful support of her Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda martial soul, the team she led had defeated Xie Huanyue's team head-on in the semifinals.
But in front of Yu Tianhuang, her brilliance was completely overshadowed, like the insurmountable gap between a firefly and the bright moon.
Ning Tian still vividly recalled the shock of witnessing Yu Tianhuang's three purple soul rings and his frontal defeat of Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu's martial soul fusion skill, the Nether White Tiger.
Yu Tianhuang was too exceptional, so exceptional that even she, a prodigy, felt a sense of despair.
She suddenly felt that no matter how hard she tried, she could never catch up to Yu Tianhuang. At that moment, she considered another possibility, one that also carried the hopes of her family.
As the top support-type sect in the world, the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect always attracted many powerful soul masters to join.
As the sect leader's only daughter and the most outstanding direct descendant of the younger generation, Ning Tian knew that the most important task in her life was to find a lifelong protector to accompany her.
The strength of this person would not only determine her status within the sect and her ability to inherit the sect leader's position, but also the future of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect.
While enjoying the sect's privileges, she also bore heavy responsibilities.
Driven by interests and pressure, she set aside her pride and, despite her maidenly shyness, chose to actively approach Yu Tianhuang.
However, in her interactions with Yu Tianhuang, she found herself unwittingly drawn to him. Yu Tianhuang was like a radiant golden sun, constantly captivating her.
Because of Yu Tianhuang, Ning Tian's monotonous life gained new colors. No longer was she just a tool burdened with heavy pressure and relentless cultivation, but a person—a normal young girl.
She experienced emotions she had never felt before: shyness, joy, nervousness, and delight. In less than three years, her life became more vibrant than the eleven years before.
During these three years, she often forgot her identity and responsibilities. Perhaps her initial motive for approaching Yu Tianhuang wasn't pure, but her feelings were genuine, born truly from her heart.
And today, after meeting that elder from her family, their relationship has become even more solid.
She also believed that Yu Tianhuang would surely gain the elder's approval.
"Why are you lost in thought?" Xu Zihuang stopped walking, turning to look gently at Ning Tian, who was still pulling him forward.
"We're here."
"I was just thinking about some things," Ning Tian replied subconsciously, her face slightly flushed as she met Xu Zihuang's gaze.
Before them stood a massive building nearly fifty meters tall. The structure occupied a vast area, its exterior resplendent in gold, shaped like a nine-story pagoda. Its decorations could only be described as extravagantly luxurious.
The Treasure Pavilion, which Xu Zihuang and Ning Tian had visited before, was already lavish, but compared to this nine-story pagoda, it was on an entirely different level.
Moreover, this was the commercial heart of Shrek City's South District, where land was worth its weight in gold. The pagoda's footprint was nearly five times that of the Treasure Pavilion, a testament to its astonishing background and wealth.
This nine-story pagoda was called the Nine Treasures Pavilion, backed by none other than the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect. The Nine Treasures Pavilion was established in every major city above the main city level in the three empires of the original Douluo Continent. Due to Shrek City's unique status, the Nine Treasures Pavilion here was on the same grand scale as those in the capitals of the three empires.
The Nine Treasures Pavilion dealt in all sorts of rare treasures, pills, soul beast materials, rare metals, soul tools, and even soul bones, which frequently appeared.
It had its own auction house and other trading platforms, with facilities so comprehensive that it even included several restaurants and leisure areas.
The annual revenue of the Nine Treasures Pavilion was undoubtedly an astronomical figure.
The Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect's foundation was even deeper than imagined.
Over the past year and a half, Ning Tian had brought Xu Zihuang to dine at the restaurants in the Nine Treasures Pavilion several times. And today, the elder she referred to would meet them here.
However, the Nine Treasures Pavilion was unusually quiet today. The typically bustling first-floor hall was empty, with only two young girls in white dresses standing guard at the entrance. When Xu Zihuang and Ning Tian arrived, they respectfully bowed without interrupting their conversation.
Only when the two glanced their way did the girls step forward and salute.
"Miss, Young Master Yu."
Ning Tian regained her usual composure and nodded slightly.
"Take us to see Great-Grandfather."
The elder Ning Tian, referred to as Great-Grandfather, was the one from her family who had specifically requested to meet Xu Zihuang. Along the way, Ning Tian had shared much about this elder with Xu Zihuang.
"Yes, Miss."
The two girls in white dresses led the way, guiding them to the center of the Nine Treasures Pavilion's first-floor hall, where a massive soul-powered elevator stood.
The elevator was arc-shaped, constructed from crystal-yellow crystal and special, rare metals, connecting the first floor to every level of the Nine Treasures Pavilion. It exuded a metallic aesthetic.
However, not everyone had permission to use it, especially the top floor, which was never open to outsiders.
One of the girls in white pressed her hand lightly on the crystal-yellow surface, and a rich white light flashed. The tightly sealed crystal arc parted, revealing a large opening.
Xu Zihuang and Ning Tian stepped into the elevator, while the other girl extended her right hand to a metal pillar nearby, injecting soul power.
The elevator began to ascend slowly. Though the surrounding crystal was semi-transparent, the view outside was obscured, clearly treated specially. In the enclosed space, several soul-powered lamps glowed brightly, their light reflecting in Ning Tian's glistening eyes.
Xu Zihuang took her hand, and Ning Tian gave him a sweet smile, her eyes filled with affection.
The elevator's crystal door slid open. After passing through a short corridor, the view before them opened up.
It was a circular lounge, seemingly suspended in midair, with an area of at least two hundred square meters. Surrounded by purple crystal floor-to-ceiling windows, it had excellent lighting and an expansive view. The pillar encasing the elevator supported the space, adorned with exquisite carved murals. Rare exotic flowers decorated the corners, and a faint fragrance lingered in the air.
It was somewhat like an enlarged, luxurious version of the VIP room at the Starlight Auction House, its opulence surpassing even that.
At that moment, Xu Zihuang suddenly sensed something. Shielding Ning Tian behind him, his noble deep purple eyes instantly turned indifferent golden, and five soul rings—three purple and two black—rose from his feet.
His eyes blazing with golden light, he stepped forward with his left foot and threw a simple, unadorned punch with his right fist.
But at that moment, his right fist turned entirely purple-gold, radiating a solid, heavy, domineering aura, as if proclaiming sole supremacy over heaven and earth, overlooking all beings.
As if rehearsed, a dry, bony hand with unusually large knuckles emerged from the void, colliding with his fist.
Centered at their collision, the space seemed to collapse, everything distorting and unreal.
In the next instant, the bony hand trembled as if shocked. Then, enveloped in dense black airflow, it transformed into a massive dragon claw. Unlike the dragon claws of typical dragon martial soul users, this one lacked muscle or scales, composed entirely of pitch-black bones. Yet its aura was no less formidable than a true dragon's.
A shocked, aged voice of praise echoed from the void.
"What a Sovereign Over the World, what an Ultimate Thunder. To think you could fuse the two— no wonder Mu En and the Body Sect's Poison Undying value you so highly."
The dense dark airflow spread, forming a strange dark gate that exuded a cold, lifeless feeling. The pitch-black bone dragon claw had emerged from this gate.
Then, a white-haired elder stepped out. Standing over two meters tall, he wasn't muscularly robust but had an exceptionally large frame. His white hair was neatly combed back, his eye sockets deep, yet his black eyes gleamed with sharp light. He glanced at his right hand, now a bone dragon claw, then fixed his gaze on Xu Zihuang.
As a support-type soul master, Ning Tian couldn't discern the intricacies of their clash, but from her great-grandfather's expression, she knew Yu Tianhuang's performance had earned his approval.
Her heart was even more shocked.
No matter how strong Yu Tianhuang was, he was only a Soul King. To force her great-grandfather to use his martial soul was unimaginable to her. Moreover, his final words piqued her curiosity.
Ultimate Thunder?
In contrast, Xu Zihuang appeared calm, retracting his fist and bowing respectfully to the elder, his earlier sovereign-like aura dissipating.
"Greetings, Senior. I was delayed by the fusion of my fifth soul ring and couldn't visit sooner. Please forgive me."
"I'm not so rigid as to hold a grudge. Come, sit." The elder smiled, growing even more pleased with Yu Tianhuang. Unlike his eerie martial soul and techniques, his demeanor was kind, much like Elder Mu's. His gaze toward Ning Tian was filled with affection.
"Tian'er, you come too."
With that, he turned and sat on a nearby sofa.
"Yes, Great-Grandfather." Ning Tian, filled with questions, exchanged a glance with Xu Zihuang and sat across from the elder.
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