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After listening to Ke Jie's teachings, it was already late at night.
Ning Tianchen and the others opened the door of the lounge, preparing to return, when they saw a figure in green blocking their path.
Recognizing the visitor, Ning Tianchen stepped forward and greeted him. "Brother Feng, it's been a long time. What brings you here?"
The person was none other than Feng Xiaotian. He responded somewhat awkwardly, "Today, I watched your team spirit duel against the Imperial Team. You all performed exceptionally well."
"Everyone else, head back to the academy first," Ke Jie urged, stepping out of the lounge ahead of them.
Feng Xiaotian wore an apologetic expression. "I'm very sorry for coming so late."
"What is it that you need?" Ning Tianchen asked, puzzled.
Ever since their brief encounter with Ning Rongrong on the street six years ago, he hadn't seen Feng Xiaotian again.
After hesitating for a moment, Feng Xiaotian finally spoke. "Yu Tianheng's strength ranks among the top five young powerhouses in Tiandou City. The fact that you were able to defeat him speaks volumes about your talent. Do you remember the promise we made back then?"
"You want to spar with me?" Ning Tianchen was taken aback.
Sparring with Feng Xiaotian would naturally be a great opportunity. However, shouldn't it have been him to propose it? With Feng Xiaotian's soul power level being higher than his own, initiating such a challenge might invite gossip from others.
"I'm not sure about your current strength, Brother Feng. If you've already reached Soul King level, I might not be able to handle the fight."
At the mention of soul power levels, Feng Xiaotian felt a pang of shame. "My soul power hasn't improved much. Just the other day, I broke through to Level 41."
Although Ning Tianchen had expected as much, hearing it directly still left him astonished.
After all, the Feng Family of Tiandou City wasn't just any ordinary family—it was a noble house officially recognized by the empire. With no shortage of cultivation resources, how could Feng Xiaotian have only advanced five levels in six years? What kind of self-created soul skill could have consumed so much of his focus?
After a brief pause, Ning Tianchen asked, "Has your self-created soul skill been completed?"
Feng Xiaotian didn't hide anything and answered frankly, "It's basically complete. But I still need practical combat to refine it further. You're an unfamiliar opponent to me, and fighting you will help me identify the flaws in my self-created soul skill."
So, you're using me as a sparring partner.
Ning Tianchen inwardly grumbled but quickly shrugged it off.
If Feng Xiaotian saw him as a sparring partner, then conversely, Feng Xiaotian could also serve as one for him.
Judging by Feng Xiaotian's demeanor, it seemed that many talented individuals in Tiandou City had likely received his challenges recently.
After some thought, Ning Tianchen suggested, "Why don't you come to Seven Treasures Academy tomorrow? There's no one there right now, and we can spar on the training grounds. How does that sound?"
Beyond this, he had another idea.
In the original timeline, the Divine Wind Team relied solely on Feng Xiaotian's individual strength to dominate the Soul Master Competition. If Feng Xiaotian could be recruited into the Seven Treasures Team, the overall strength of the team would undoubtedly increase significantly.
Recruiting him wouldn't be easy, though. As the captain of the Divine Wind Academy's team, Feng Xiaotian might not be willing to leave his current group.
"Alright, it's a deal."
Having obtained the answer he wanted, Feng Xiaotian exchanged a few more pleasantries with Ning Tianchen before taking his leave.
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On the way back to Seven Treasures Academy, Ning Tianchen noticed that a shadow had been following him the entire time.
Arriving near one of the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect's buildings, he called out sternly, "Who are you? Since you've come, why hide?"
The Seven Treasures Glazed Sect had stationed a Soul Sage-level expert here. If the intruder dared to attack, reinforcements would arrive immediately.
The person following him, seeing this, no longer hid and revealed himself under a streetlamp, allowing Ning Tianchen to clearly see his face.
"It's you. Didn't I tell you to leave Tiandou City? Why are you still here?"
The person was Zhang Erhe, though his mood was low, and his eyes carried a sense of confusion.
In such a state, he was unlikely to suddenly lash out violently.
"I have something to discuss with you. Can we speak privately?"
A man with a fierce appearance spoke in a strangely weak tone.
Ning Tianchen gestured around. "There's no one here now. Whatever you have to say, say it here."
Zhang Erhe nodded and turned to sit on a stone bench by the roadside.
After some thought, Ning Tianchen decided to hear him out first.
Earlier in the day, Zhang Erhe hadn't finished explaining himself.
As Ning Tianchen was Chen Xin's grandson and destined to become a high-ranking member of the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect in the future, Zhang Erhe needed to clarify things to avoid misunderstandings and ensure that his daughters would be accepted by the sect.
"On this continent, aside from the soul masters who operate openly, there are also those who lurk in the shadows."
Ning Tianchen countered, "Are you referring to evil soul masters?"
Because of the existence of the Spirit Hall, evil soul masters on the Douluo Continent rarely dared to show their faces.
Few people on the continent knew about these types of soul masters. Only ancient texts held by major powers contained detailed records.
Zhang Erhe nodded and continued, "After the village massacre, I secretly returned to the area several times."
"Twenty-nine years ago, I discovered traces of evil soul master activity there. But at the time, I was only at the Soul Emperor level and couldn't match them, so I didn't dare investigate further."
"The next time I went back was three years later. By then, their traces had vanished."
The evil soul masters had no connection to Zhang Erhe's village massacre, and he admitted that the massacre was his doing. So why bring up the evil soul masters now?
Ning Tianchen didn't dismiss him outright but raised a question. "When you massacred the village, did you find any traces of evil soul masters? If not, then they have no connection to what you did. It's possible they came for the bodies you buried."
Zhang Erhe hadn't found any direct evidence linking the village massacre to the evil soul masters, so it couldn't serve as proof to clear his name.
But deep down, he believed there must be a connection.
After a moment of silence, he said, "When our entire army entered that village, many people became extremely irritable. Before the massacre, several of my subordinate generals even got into fights within the village."
"A year later, I discovered near that village that the evil soul masters seemed to have planted something there. And at the time, those who acted irrationally in the village were all soul masters. I suspect some external factor caused us to completely lose control of our mental state."
For soldiers who had fought on the battlefield and killed enemies, it was indeed easy for external factors to influence them, making them extremely bloodthirsty and cruel.
Ning Tianchen had to carefully consider the implications.
He actually knew of a place that could awaken the evil within soul masters—the Killing City.
The air there was filled with a slow-acting toxin that, once inhaled, could easily cause emotional instability.
But was that village connected to the Killing City?
The entrance to the Killing City was the Killing Town, which wasn't an ordinary town. If that were the case, Zhang Erhe would have used it to defend himself long ago.
Both fell silent for a while.
Finally, Ning Tianchen broke the silence. "I'll take note of your explanation. I'll send people to investigate. If you're innocent, the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect will prove it for you. Of course, in the meantime, you should gather more evidence on your own."
Zhang Erhe nodded firmly and then disappeared into the night.
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