Because this time the Spirit Hall took secrecy measures, even the spies from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan had a hard time getting exact intel.
Let alone those factions with even less intelligence.
Although Ning Fengzhi wasn't receiving new intelligence on research papers, that didn't mean he was completely in the dark.
Now, Ning Fengzhi had already secretly spread the word that Spirit Hall was collecting Master Lin Dong's papers but refusing to release them.
Only a few days later, in major cities across the continent—
Pretty much any soul master already knew about Spirit Hall's dirty methods.
However, Bibi Dong wasn't a fool either; she had long prepared her countermeasure.
After trimming down some of the martial soul data from the papers and hiring a few experts to polish the text, she released it publicly.
And this new version of the paper simply became a message from "Medicine Elder" urging soul masters to discover the advantages of their martial souls—nothing more.
Ning Fengzhi understood it well: Spirit Hall was hiding something good, but he could no longer sway public opinion enough to force Spirit Hall to publish the full research.
Perhaps only a few wise individuals could clearly see through Spirit Hall's tactics.
Still, in the end, Spirit Hall had won this round.
At the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, inside Ning Fengzhi's study.
Ning Fengzhi let out a long sigh. Sword Douluo Chenxin beside him didn't know what to say either.
The covert struggle between the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan and Spirit Hall had only grown more intense recently. At this rate, a major upheaval might be coming soon.
"Fengzhi, the Xu family of the Star Luo Empire is considering a marriage alliance with our clan."
Just then, a spatial fluctuation appeared in Ning Fengzhi's study, followed by the emergence of a spatial tunnel.
On the other side, Gu Rong looked at a letter in his hand, shook his head, and passed it to Ning Fengzhi.
"Looks like someone smart in the Xu family has sensed something's off on the continent—or more specifically, something's wrong with Spirit Hall."
Ning Fengzhi sighed and opened the letter.
The letter stated the Xu family's intention to form a marriage alliance with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan.
As a rare and powerful auxiliary-type inheritance clan, the Xu family wasn't on the same level as the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, but their martial soul still had some offensive capabilities.
This alone was enough for Ning Fengzhi to seriously consider the idea of a union.
But to use his daughter Rongrong for a marriage alliance? That was absolutely out of the question.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda was already powerful enough to support two Titled Douluo with just seven soul rings.
Right now, Ning Rongrong was the apple of Ning Fengzhi's eye and the only hope of advancing to the Eight Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda.
Even if others awakened the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, Ning Fengzhi was unwilling to marry them off.
"A marriage alliance is out of the question. But cooperation might work—unless they're willing to send a girl to marry into our clan."
Ning Fengzhi placed the letter back on his desk and began to consider how to ally with the Xu family.
Come to think of it, the Xu family had a close relationship with the Dai family. Why would they come to us?
As an auxiliary clan themselves, wouldn't approaching the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan or the Clear Sky Clan make more sense?
Ning Fengzhi thought it over and realized the Xu family was just mass-sending proposals, looking for backups.
Shaking his head, he wrote a polite, refreshing reply on the bottom of the letter and passed it to Gu Rong.
Whether the Xu family would accept the terms in the letter was another matter.
Still, their approach gave Ning Fengzhi an idea: he needed more allies—perhaps even some of the discarded families from the Clear Sky Clan.
With that thought, Ning Fengzhi narrowed his eyes.
Meanwhile, at Shrek Academy.
Ever since Spirit Hall released a new paper, Yu Xiaogang was on the verge of PTSD.
Fortunately, this time the paper didn't mention him or use him as a negative example.
After skimming the new Spirit Hall article, Yu Xiaogang's face showed a trace of disdain.
It was just about finding advantages in "trash martial souls." Useless to him.
Whether it was Ma Hongjun or Oscar, they were both geniuses—monsters, even.
They didn't need that kind of guidance at all.
In a relatively good mood, Yu Xiaogang tossed the paper into the trash bin and began preparing Ma Hongjun's running regimen.
Although Ma Hongjun was still young, the path of cultivation should start as early as possible.
"Bang!"
Suddenly, Zhao Wuji burst through the door to Yu Xiaogang's room, looking panicked.
"Bad news, Master! Ma Hongjun passed out on the training field! Shao Xin already gave him a recovery bean!"
"What? How is that possible?!"
Yu Xiaogang's face was full of disbelief. He jumped from his seat and sprinted out toward Ma Hongjun's location.
His speed stunned Zhao Wuji.
Since when could the weak and sickly "Master" run this fast?
Zhao Wuji shook his head, then noticed the Spirit Hall research paper in Yu Xiaogang's trash bin.
"Looks like the latest issue of the Martial Soul Report. And Master just casually threw it away?"
Zhao Wuji felt a bit resentful. He had read that same paper and learned more about the strengths of his martial soul.
And now Yu Xiaogang had just tossed such a valuable report?
Tch!
Zhao Wuji was starting to think Yu Xiaogang didn't deserve the title of "Master."
Only that Master Lin Dong was worthy of that name.
Thinking about how Yu Xiaogang once boasted that his next paper would sell like hotcakes—yet hadn't had a single submission accepted—Zhao Wuji gave another cold snort.
Yu Xiaogang really was losing his edge. Not even one paper had made it past the editors—all were rejected. With that kind of quality?
Shaking his head, Zhao Wuji left Yu Xiaogang's room, shut the door, and headed toward the training field.
"Damn it! What the hell happened?! There's nothing wrong with my training plan—if Xiao Ma followed it, he should never have collapsed!"
At the training field, Yu Xiaogang was like a furious honey badger, shouting at the teachers nearby.
Just then, Zhao Wuji arrived and, after a pause, hesitantly spoke up:
"Could it be that the evil fire itself isn't suitable for cultivation? I read the new Martial Soul Report, and it suggests that Ma Hongjun's strengths lie in his destructive power and Phoenix bloodline."
"We should be enhancing his Phoenix bloodline—make him a true phoenix."
Zhao Wuji's voice was loud and clear. But saying that in front of everyone was basically calling Yu Xiaogang a fraud with a flawed training plan.
"Now that you mention it, his first soul skill does enhance fire and flight... But it doesn't suppress the evil fire—it's a bit of a workaround."
Shao Xin nodded in agreement.
"What do you people know?!"
Yu Xiaogang couldn't stand people questioning his intelligence.
In his eyes, Zhao Wuji and Shao Xin were just pretending to understand—and now they were challenging his theories?
Even though Zhao Wuji had a point, Yu Xiaogang would never admit it.
"Xiao Ma is still so young—how could he absorb a soul ring from a Phoenix-blooded beast? Even if he could, how many of those beasts are out there? And what age would the ring need to be? Do any of you even think before you speak?!"
Yu Xiaogang raged hysterically.
Back when the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan took true dragon soul rings, they needed medicine baths just to barely absorb them.
Although he had given Ma Hongjun and Oscar similar medicine baths, their martial souls weren't dragon-type—so he couldn't formulate the perfect blend.
Yu Xiaogang's outburst made Zhao Wuji and Shao Xin feel a bit guilty—maybe he wasn't entirely wrong after all.
Just then, Flender also received the news and flew over with Oscar in his arms.
"Hongjun!"
Seeing Ma Hongjun passed out with a pale face, Flender almost fainted mid-air.
Upon reaching him, he felt Ma Hongjun's condition wasn't critical, and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Xiaogang, what happened?" Flender urgently asked.
"I'm not sure. My training plan was followed step by step—you all approved it too. Nothing like this has ever happened before."
"Uh… I might know something."
As everyone grew anxious, Oscar timidly raised his hand.
"What?!"
Everyone looked curiously at Oscar.
Unable to withstand the attention, Oscar blurted out, "Last night, Ma Hongjun said he couldn't suppress the evil fire… so he, uh… used his hand…"
"I knew it."
Yu Xiaogang immediately concluded—it was all Ma Hongjun's fault.
"Still, it seems like Xiao Ma's evil fire holds some hidden power. Rather than suppress it, maybe we should channel it. Flender, how about using it as a reward mechanism? If Xiao Ma completes his training, take him to that kind of place."
Yu Xiaogang realized the evil fire might not be that harmful—normally, a kid this young doing that would already be sickly.
But he also considered something else—should he just cut off Ma Hongjun's thing, and wait for a regenerative soul ring to grow it back?
Only Zhao Wuji was still wondering if suppressing the evil fire was even the right move...
(End of Chapter)