Everyone was surprised: Su Ming is a control-type spirit master? They had never heard that before. Isn't Su Ming versatile and capable in everything?
Hearing about the Distraction Control Technique, Tang San felt a stir in his heart. This could be very useful for me too!
Yu Xiaogang couldn't believe it. He exclaimed, "Sect Master Ning, are you just going to give away your sect's secret technique like that?"
Ning Fengzhi was unfazed. "Why not? The value of Lingbo Weibu should be clear to you, Master. For us auxiliary spirit masters, it's practically a life-saving divine skill—far more valuable than just running exercises."
Yu Xiaogang: ...
He felt like he had been subtly insulted.
Yu Xiaogang hadn't expected Ning Fengzhi to be so generous. Now, asking Su Ming for Lingbo Weibu would be even harder.
Su Ming, on the other hand, was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected Ning Fengzhi to openly offer such a valuable technique so easily. This kind of magnanimity is indeed rare among the three upper sects!
But Su Ming also understood Ning Fengzhi's intentions. He must have noticed that Rongrong and I are fond of each other. That's probably why he's trying to see if he can recruit me into the sect.
As expected, Ning Fengzhi extended an invitation to Su Ming. "Su Ming, I've heard you and Rongrong have a close relationship, and I can see that your talent and strength are truly extraordinary. I would like to formally invite you to join the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. If you agree, the sect will provide you with all the resources you need."
Even though Ning Fengzhi hadn't personally witnessed Su Ming's power, the aura and presence that Su Ming exuded convinced him that Su Ming was undoubtedly the strongest among the academy students.
Rongrong had mentioned to her father before that Su Ming had said he didn't want to join any sects right now, but because of her...
Ning Fengzhi understood from that alone. Still, he wanted to give it a try. A talent like this is too valuable to let slip away!
Unfortunately, Su Ming's response would disappoint him. After a brief moment of thought, Su Ming replied, "Sect Master Ning, I appreciate your kindness, but I must respectfully decline."
The crowd was shocked. They had all assumed Su Ming would eagerly accept the offer. This was the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, one of the three top sects in the world, and one of the wealthiest! If Su Ming joined, he could quickly grow in strength and perhaps even become the youngest Title Douluo on the continent.
Even Yu Xiaogang was taken aback. Despite Su Ming's innate spirit power being only level seven, his rapid improvement defied all expectations. Under normal circumstances, someone with level seven innate spirit power could reach the level of a Spirit Saint or, with dedication, a low-level Spirit Douluo. But Su Ming was clearly an exception—his growth was unnaturally fast.
Yu Xiaogang began to wonder: Could absorbing spirit rings beyond one's level improve one's constitution and overcome innate limitations? He couldn't think of another explanation. Now that Tang San had also absorbed rings beyond his level and gained an external spirit bone, this was something worth observing closely.
Even though Ning Fengzhi had anticipated this outcome, he couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed.
Just as he was about to speak, a deep voice echoed from the distance: "Boy, our sect master kindly invited you to join our sect, and you dared refuse? Do you think that just because of your connection to Rongrong, you can ignore the words of our sect master?"
Ning Fengzhi and Ning Rongrong both internally groaned. Oh no, Bone Uncle (Grandpa) is here! This isn't what we planned!
Sword Douluo Chenxin, standing nearby, was equally exasperated. Gu Rong is too impulsive! At least let Su Ming explain himself first!
Even Chenxin was somewhat displeased by Su Ming's refusal. Su Ming's talent is extraordinary. If he doesn't join us and instead aligns with another sect or even the Spirit Hall, what would happen? If not for Rongrong's connection and Ning Fengzhi's earlier instructions to maintain friendly relations, Chenxin might have acted like Gu Rong as well. At least I'm a bit more composed.
Ning Fengzhi quickly stepped in front of Gu Rong and sighed. "Bone Uncle, didn't I already explain this to you?"
"Fengzhi… but this boy is being too disrespectful!" Gu Rong grumbled.
Gu Rong was genuinely upset. When he first met Su Ming, he thought that an invitation from their sect master would surely secure Su Ming's agreement to join. But now...
Ning Fengzhi turned to Su Ming and said, "Don't mind him, Su Ming. Bone Uncle has a fiery temper, but he means well."
Su Ming, of course, understood. Both Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo were powerful allies if they accepted you, offering tremendous support.
In the original story, Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo sacrificed themselves to save Tang San's body from Bibi Dong's hands. They believed Tang San, having ascended to godhood, was the only one capable of standing against Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue.
"Su Ming, could you tell me why? Our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect will always welcome you with open arms," Ning Fengzhi said.
After a pause, Su Ming replied, "I can, but…"
He glanced at the people around them and said, "Sect Master Ning, may I speak to you in private?"
Ning Fengzhi, after some thought, stepped forward, only to sense that Su Ming had set up a barrier around them. This young man is impressive!
Su Ming smiled and explained, "Don't be alarmed, Sect Master Ning. This is a small mental barrier I've set up to ensure our conversation stays private. The reason I'm about to share is a bit… delicate."
Ning Fengzhi nodded, "There's no need to be so formal. Given your relationship with Rongrong, just call me Uncle Ning."
Su Ming replied, "Alright, Uncle Ning."
"Uncle Ning, I've heard that Rongrong's partner must be a power-type spirit master, correct?"
Ning Fengzhi shook his head, "Not necessarily power-type. It could be a speed or control-type spirit master as well. The only requirement is that it can't be an auxiliary type, since there needs to be someone who can protect Rongrong."
"In my eyes, you fit the profile of Rongrong's future partner perfectly. Since Rongrong has feelings for you, I wouldn't oppose your relationship. In fact, it's because of your bond with Rongrong and the fact that you taught her Lingbo Weibu that I'm willing to pass on our Distraction Control technique."
"If you and Rongrong do end up together, it wouldn't even be considered an outsider learning our secrets."
"So, why don't you want to join the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect? If you join, your relationship with Rongrong could only grow stronger."
Su Ming certainly couldn't tell Ning Fengzhi that he wanted to join Spirit Hall. That would be the end of any negotiations, and Ning Fengzhi might even break them up.
"The reason," Su Ming began, "is that I don't want to marry into the family. This is a matter of pride and dignity as a man. My goal is that once I am strong enough, I will marry Rongrong in a proper ceremony, with honor. I believe I have the strength to make that happen."
Ning Fengzhi was stunned when he heard Su Ming's reason. He hadn't expected that Su Ming would refuse to join the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect simply because of this.
However, Ning Fengzhi wasn't displeased by Su Ming's reasoning. In fact, he appreciated it. After all, Su Ming was exceptionally talented, even more so than Bibi Dong at his age. The only real difference between Su Ming and Bibi Dong was the number of martial spirits. Su Ming had the pride of a genius, and not wanting to marry into the family was perfectly understandable.
What Ning Fengzhi didn't know was that Su Ming had another reason for not wanting to marry into the sect: it would likely mean a one-wife-only arrangement, which didn't suit him. Plus, being labeled as a man who married into the wife's family wasn't something Su Ming wanted.
Ning Fengzhi nodded and said, "Since that's the case, I won't force you. You and Rongrong can let things happen naturally. Her two grandfathers and I won't oppose it."
Su Ming nodded slightly. "Thank you, Uncle Ning, for your understanding."
"Uncle Ning, I'm not sure if Rongrong has told you about the specifics of learning Lingbo Weibu. To master it, one must memorize a lot of theoretical knowledge and have someone guiding them. Otherwise, it's easy to make mistakes during training."
"Now, I don't have a lot of time to guide others, as I still need to cultivate myself. Rongrong has just barely gotten the hang of Lingbo Weibu, so she's not yet qualified to teach it to you. So, I've prepared a gift for you."
Ning Fengzhi was intrigued. "Oh? What gift?"
As the head of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Fengzhi had seen many rare items, but a gift from Su Ming? That was something different—there might be a surprise.
Under the curious gaze of everyone, Su Ming handed over a talisman to Ning Fengzhi. "Uncle Ning, this is something you can use to save your life in a critical situation. Due to the rarity of the materials, I only have this one left."
Only one left? That was unlikely. But saying so would make Ning Fengzhi value it more. If he valued it, Su Ming could start earning money. After all, he couldn't rely solely on the Spirit Hall's subsidies and the system's unreliable rewards.
Ning Fengzhi took the talisman and examined its intricate patterns. He had never seen anything like it before. Others, except for Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing, were also perplexed.
Xiao Wu quietly used the diary's chat feature to speak to Zhu Zhuqing. "Zhuqing, does that talisman look familiar to you?"
Zhu Zhuqing nodded. "Yes, it looks like a spatial talisman. I didn't expect Su Ming to give one to Sect Master Ning."
Xiao Wu smiled. "Remember what Su Ming was working on during his retreat? Now that he's done, he must have made some high-level talismans. He's probably using this one to get Ning Fengzhi's attention."
Meanwhile, Tang San felt an uneasy premonition about the situation.
Ning Fengzhi, intrigued, asked, "Su Ming, what is this? I've never seen anything like it."
Su Ming smiled. "This is a third-level spatial displacement talisman that I created myself. In a life-threatening situation, Uncle Ning, you can inject a small amount of spirit power into it to instantly teleport up to 100 meters."
Ning Fengzhi's eyes lit up with excitement. What kind of genius is this? I've never even heard of something like this before. Could it really be that magical?
Though excited, Ning Fengzhi was still a bit skeptical since this was a matter of life and death. "Su Ming, how can you prove that what you're saying is true?"
Su Ming responded, "I have a first-level spatial talisman here. It can teleport someone a short distance, about one meter. I can demonstrate it for you right now."
Ning Fengzhi: Didn't you just say you only had one left?
Su Ming: Yeah, only one third-level one, wink.
Ning Fengzhi was overjoyed. "If this spatial talisman works as you say, Su Ming, I'll buy as many as you can make!"
"Don't worry about the materials—our sect will provide them all, and we'll pay you separately."
Su Ming nodded calmly, but inside, he was thrilled. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect really is rich! They didn't even ask about the materials. I hope Ning Fengzhi doesn't regret this later.
Right now, Ning Fengzhi wasn't concerned with such details. The sect was wealthy, and they had extensive connections—there was hardly any material they couldn't find.
If every core disciple of the sect could be equipped with a few of these spatial talismans, their survival rate in battle would increase dramatically. Moreover, Ning Fengzhi suspected that if Su Ming could create a talisman for spatial movement, he could likely make offensive and defensive talismans as well. Anything related to space was incredibly valuable in Ning Fengzhi's mind.
With Su Ming's talismans, the sect's strength could increase significantly. The only downside was that the talismans were likely consumable.
Su Ming deactivated the barrier around them, and Ning Fengzhi returned to stand beside the two Title Douluo, explaining what had happened.
After hearing the explanation, both Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo were stunned and stared at Su Ming in disbelief. Could such a thing really exist?
Su Ming smiled and warned Ning Fengzhi, "Uncle Ning, pay close attention—it will happen very quickly."
Su Ming injected some spirit power into the first-level talisman, and he vanished, reappearing a meter away in an instant.
It was confirmed—Su Ming hadn't been lying.
Bone Douluo remarked, "Fengzhi, this talisman is real. I could sense that after Su Ming injected his spirit power, there was a slight spatial fluctuation, and then he teleported."
Ning Rongrong excitedly said to Xiao Wu, "Xiao Wu, is this the spatial talisman? It's so similar to your teleportation ability!"
Xiao Wu nodded. "Yes, it's very similar. But I use a lot more spirit power when I teleport, while this talisman uses just a little."
Ning Rongrong smiled happily at Su Ming. If Su Ming is willing to offer this, he must be planning to collaborate with our sect. Father will definitely agree to this!
Meanwhile, everyone else was speechless with shock. What exactly is this thing that Su Ming just used?
Tang San's uneasy feeling deepened. This life-saving talisman was something Ning Fengzhi would never pass up. He had originally planned to collaborate with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect using his hidden weapons, but now...
No, Su Ming's talisman production must be incredibly difficult and limited. His hidden weapons were still superior in terms of offense.
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