328. Rising Through His Daughter

"The matter you entrusted, Your Highness—my grandfather took it very seriously, especially since there was already a formula," Dugu Yan said, looking at Qian Renjue with utmost devotion.

For her family, both its present and future lives were all thanks to Qian Renjue.

Watching him accept the small porcelain vial, Dugu Yan couldn't resist warning him, "Please be careful, Your Highness. Grandfather says this poison is unlike anything he's ever encountered."

"Understood." Qian Renjue nodded with a smile, storing the vial in his system space.

He reached out and gently tousled Dugu Yan’s hair, then turned his gaze to Ye Lingling, who was waiting with a bowl of soup prepared for him.

"Alright, let’s eat."

"Yes." Dugu Yan blushed, held Qian Renjue's hand, and softly kissed it.

"Uh…" Qian Renjue froze momentarily, looking at her helplessly. "Yanyan, aren’t you worried that there might still be traces of poison on that vial?"

"Yanyan doesn’t mind," Dugu Yan replied, her face red. She recalled her role given by Lady Xue—being His Highness's personal servant meant she had to be close.

"Alright, then." Qian Renjue sighed, holding Dugu Yan and Ling Yuan's hands as he led them to the table.

"Lingling, after the meal, I'll take you back to the academy."

"Whatever you say," Ye Lingling said with a gentle smile, revealing a softness only seen around Qian Renjue.

He sat beside her and leaned in, capturing her lips in a soft kiss—his treat before the meal. Ye Lingling blushed, taking in the moment, savoring everything about him.


---

As Qian Renjue shared lunch with Ye Lingling, far outside Heaven Dou City, in a secluded forest around a grand towered building, a young girl with short pink hair stood alone, her violet-tinted eyes filled with resentment. With a slight pout, she aimed the hidden weapon on her wrist at a nearby tree, releasing three arrows that hit the bark with a single sound, demonstrating the quality of her silent weapon.

“Brother Qian, you’re such a liar!” Ning Rongrong stomped over to the tree, her small foot kicking its roots in frustration. "This hidden weapon is so boring! I don’t even care about your gift anymore! Big liar—never even comes to see me!”

Furiously, she scratched Qian Renjue’s name into the bark repeatedly with the arrows.

In a nearby pavilion shaded by trees, Ning Fengzhi, watching his daughter vent her anger from afar, gave a soft, helpless smile. "It seems she’s not planning on eating lunch today."

"How can you smile at a time like this?" Bone Douluo chided, gripping a pavilion post and looking at Ning Fengzhi. "Little Rongrong is practically on a hunger strike, and you’re laughing!"

"Uncle Bone, what can I do?" Ning Fengzhi responded, laughing ruefully. "It’s not my fault she’s upset."

"Humph!" Sword Douluo, from the roof, scoffed, "Isn’t he off with that girl from the Ye family? I should go drag him back here right now."

"Right, let’s go catch him!" Bone Douluo chimed in. Qian Renjue was getting on their nerves, upsetting their little princess and making her so unhappy.

"Uncle Sword, Uncle Bone, have you noticed?" Ning Fengzhi said, adjusting his glasses. "Whenever the Holy Son arrives in Heaven Dou City, he always appears and disappears quite suddenly."

Sword Douluo dropped from the roof, hanging upside down from the eaves. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that intercepting the Holy Son isn’t an easy task," Ning Fengzhi said, admiration in his voice. "Spatial abilities!"

Bone Douluo quickly connected the dots. "You’re saying he has a soul skill or soul bone ability that lets him travel between Spirit City and Heaven Dou City in no time?"

"Exactly!" Ning Fengzhi confirmed, nodding. "That spatial skill allows him to return at will."

Sword Douluo, frowning deeply, spoke angrily, "If he has such an ability, it makes it even worse that he doesn’t come to see our Rongrong!"

"Right, that’s just awful!" Bone Douluo added, more concerned with Ning Rongrong’s feelings than the spatial skill itself.

Ning Fengzhi chuckled bitterly. Watching his daughter use her newly gifted hidden weapons to vent, he said, "Maybe he thinks she’s too young and is holding back."

"Young and adorable," Bone Douluo said, fondly watching Ning Rongrong and no longer mentioning catching Qian Renjue. Instead, he asked Ning Fengzhi, "By the way, what was the gift he sent this time?"

Ning Fengzhi was quiet for a moment, then said, "Another of those hidden weapons, called the 'Powder Shooting Shadow.' I examined it, and it can wound a Soul Elder without even using spirit power."

Hearing this, both Sword and Bone Douluo fell silent, understanding the gravity of the weapon’s power. Small but deadly, its potential impact on the Spirit Hall’s power was undeniable.

"It seems the rise of the Spirit Hall is inevitable," Sword Douluo said, his voice tinged with concern. He could imagine the mass production of such weapons.

"Yes, he might become the most successful Pope ever," Ning Fengzhi said, feeling a mix of relief and helplessness.

Bone Douluo looked at him in surprise. "You really think that highly of him?"

"Uncle Bone, you know, more and more low- and mid-level soul academies are joining hands with Spirit Hall. It won’t be long before the Spirit Academy is the most prestigious institution in the land," Ning Fengzhi said, a hint of defeat in his tone. "The Holy Son has already laid a foundation for Spirit Hall’s future—I can’t match his foresight."

"Ha ha, maybe in the future, I’ll rise to prominence because of my daughter."

He laughed self-mockingly, while Sword and Bone Douluo, also understanding, said nothing more. Perhaps, they thought, such an alliance wouldn’t be so bad.


It could ease the burdens on all of them and on Fengzhi and Rongrong as well.