Looking at the familiar-looking middle-aged man, Yu Yan searched his memory for any recollection of the person before him, only to confirm that he had never met or known this man.
As the middle-aged man approached, Jiang Jing's face was filled with shock; she truly hadn't expected Yu Yan to be acquainted with the famous Sect Master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, Ning Fengzhi.
"Hahaha, little friend Yu Yan, do not be surprised. It was indeed a bit abrupt of me to come over and greet you like this, but please allow me to introduce myself. I am Ning Fengzhi, the Sect Master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School."
After greeting Yu Yan with a smile and introducing himself, Ning Fengzhi continued on his own:
"Previously, our sect's Ning Zihu invited you to visit us as a guest, but unfortunately, you didn't come. He brought back a portrait of you, which is why I was able to recognize you immediately upon seeing you. I must also blame myself for being so eager to meet a young talent like you that I rashly approached to say hello. Please forgive me."
Ning Fengzhi's words were half-truths; regardless of his purpose for approaching Yu Yan, his words were beyond reproach.
In public, Yu Yan couldn't exactly point at the Sect Master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School and say something unpleasant, especially since the other party had only come over to say hello.
After staring at Ning Fengzhi's kind face for a moment, Yu Yan also smiled and cupped his hands, "School Master Ning is far too polite. I am deeply honored that you would come over to greet me."
Yu Yan's smile was formulaic and clearly not from the heart, which the shrewd Ning Fengzhi noticed at a glance.
Ning Fengzhi didn't force the issue; his sudden approach was indeed a bit abrupt, but he was truly curious about Yu Yan.
Twin Spirits, one ring with two Spirit Abilities—such a peculiar mutated Spirit was unheard of in the entire history of the Douluo Continent.
Ning Fengzhi was a master of Spirit theory; he deeply understood the power of the Ice and Fire Twin Fish Martial Soul once cultivated. For the talent-hungry Ning Fengzhi, it would have been stranger if he hadn't approached such a Genius youth to talk.
Curious about Yu Yan's current Rank, Ning Fengzhi quietly used a Spirit Ability from a Spirit Bone he possessed to examine Yu Yan's approximate Spirit Power Level.
With one look, Ning Fengzhi froze on the spot.
Before checking Yu Yan's Spirit Power Level, Ning Fengzhi had assumed Yu Yan had only recently achieved a Breakthrough to Rank 20.
After checking Yu Yan's Spirit Power Level, Ning Fengzhi realized that Yu Yan's Spirit Power Level was close to Rank 30.
There was a massive difference between a Spirit Grandmaster who had just broken through and one close to becoming a Spirit Elder. Most importantly, Yu Yan was only eight years old this year; he could definitely succeed in reaching the level of a Spirit Elder within the year.
Ning Fengzhi knew all too well what an eight-year-old Spirit Elder meant; in that instant, many thoughts crossed his mind.
Seeing Ning Fengzhi suddenly fall silent, Yu Yan frowned, wondering why he had gone quiet. Lacking clues, he considered many possibilities but ultimately had no definitive answer.
Jiang Jing watched the silent Ning Fengzhi and Yu Yan, wanting to break the quiet atmosphere, but since Ning Fengzhi hadn't come to greet her, she chose to remain silent after some thought.
"Ahem, my apologies, little friend Yu Yan. I just thought of something else; I've made a fool of myself."
Having quickly stabilized his emotions, Ning Fengzhi's gaze toward Yu Yan became increasingly fervent. If he could, he really wanted to tie Yu Yan up and take him back to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School.
"It's nothing."
Yu Yan answered Ning Fengzhi's explanation truthfully.
And it was the truth; no matter what Ning Fengzhi had been thinking just now, he didn't really care.
As if unable to sense Yu Yan's attitude, Ning Fengzhi enthusiastically began chatting with him about all sorts of things.
After Prince Xue Xing finished attending to his guests and entered the hall intending to cause a little trouble for Jiang Jing, he saw Ning Fengzhi standing there.
Given Ning Fengzhi's status, Prince Xue Xing abandoned the idea of looking for trouble with them.
While chatting with Ning Fengzhi, Yu Yan could feel that the man was hinting at him to join the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School.
Regarding Ning Fengzhi's hints, Yu Yan acted as if he hadn't heard and brushed them off with vague replies.
Seeing that recruitment was failing, Ning Fengzhi began to talk in a roundabout way about Yu Yan's thoughts on a future partner, praising his own daughter who was just growing up, saying that aside from a slight temper, everything else about her was excellent.
Standing to the side, Jiang Jing was dumbfounded; she didn't know how to describe her current feelings.
Hearing Ning Fengzhi's increasingly obvious topic, the eight-year-old Yu Yan, who hadn't even grown his feathers yet, took the initiative to ask about the identities of the people present.
Facing Yu Yan's question, Ning Fengzhi knew he was changing the subject, but he still explained the identities of the people Yu Yan was curious about in detail.
Xue Beng, the Fourth Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire, was arrogant and notorious, spending his days in red-light districts despite his young age. The only thing people could praise was his face, which was seventy percent similar to Emperor Xue Ye's when he was young.
Yu Yan stared at Xue Beng, who was unscrupulously saying inappropriate things; no matter how he looked at him, the boy was just a local hoodlum with absolutely no potential to become an emperor.
Xue Ke, Emperor Xue Ye's most beloved daughter, had average talent and was studying Noble Etiquette under Tang Yuehua.
Average talent and studying Noble Etiquette—all of these things pointed to what her future would look like.
After introducing Xue Ke, Ning Fengzhi also gave a brief explanation of the information regarding Tang Yuehua.
Jiang Jing watched the two of them chatting congenially in a question-and-answer format, pinching her right hand with her left to make sure she wasn't dreaming.
Before long, a lean, cool-looking old man with dark green hair and beard entered the hall, accompanied by a young girl with deep purple hair.
When this pair, old and young, walked in, the previously lively hall instantly fell silent, and everyone present turned to look at them.
Having seen their portraits beforehand, Yu Yan recognized the old man as Dugu Bo and the girl as Dugu Yan at a glance.
Due to his solitary nature, Dugu Bo did not greet everyone warmly after entering; he walked straight to the main seat, sat down, and scanned the crowd with his snake-like pupils.
"Thank you all for coming to celebrate Yanyan's birthday. I have other matters to attend to. Xue Xing, you host them well on my behalf."
After saying this, Dugu Bo left again. As a Titled Douluo, he had the capital to be eccentric and ignore social pleasantries.
Honestly, if these people hadn't come to celebrate Dugu Yan's birthday, Dugu Bo wouldn't have wanted to see them at all.
"Hahaha, everyone should know the Poison Douluo's temper. I will still be the one presiding over this birthday banquet this year."
After Dugu Bo left, Prince Xue Xing stood up with a laugh and quite skillfully took charge of the birthday banquet that neither Dugu Bo nor Dugu Yan particularly cared about.