Chapter 48: The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School (Thanks to Jing Kehao for the tip and the monthly ticket)

Chapter 48: The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect
Heaven Dou Empire, Heaven Dou City, Spirit Hall Heaven Dou Branch Office

Inside an office, Zhong Yan sat in a chair reading letters. On the table before him sat a cup of tea that had already gone cold, while sitting opposite him was an elderly man dressed in white robes. This elderly man was none other than the Grand Bishop and head of the Heaven Dou City branch of Spirit Hall, Salas.

Salas’s slightly trembling hands indicated that his heart was far from calm at this moment.

Through his connections in Spirit City, he had learned that the Supreme Pontiff had flown into a rage upon receiving the Holy Son’s letter, even purging quite a few corrupt elements from within Spirit Hall.

Although Salas had plenty of personal ambitions and his methods weren't entirely clean, he had never neglected his duties toward Spirit Hall, which was why this internal storm had not swept him away.

The problem, however, was that the Holy Son had been reading this very letter for a full half-hour!

Just then, Zhong Yan moved slightly, making Salas, who had been waiting for a long time, finally feel a sense of relief.

Salas took the initiative to ask, "Your Holiness, the Holy Son."

"Ah?" Facing Salas’s apprehensive expression, Zhong Yan was stunned for a moment, then seemed to realize something, his old face involuntarily turning slightly red.

[If Salas knew I was just staring blankly while reading the letter my Senior Sister wrote me, goodness knows what kind of expression he’d make.]

"Ah, well," he said, patting his own head to mask his awkward expression.

Zhong Yan's sudden movement felt like an execution to Salas, startling him so much that he quickly said in a trembling voice,

"Your Holiness, what are you doing! Is there something this old man failed to do right? Whatever the punishment may be, this old man will accept it. Please speak plainly, Your Holiness!"

Watching a seventy- or eighty-year-old grandfather crying and pleading in front of him gave Zhong Yan goosebumps all over.

"Stop, stop, stop. It has nothing to do with you. You're overthinking it."

Salas immediately restrained his expression, looked at Zhong Yan, and asked, "Really?"

[Another grandmaster of facial expressions, aren't you?]

"It really has nothing to do with you, sigh." Zhong Yan pressed a hand to his forehead and shook his head. "Alright, let's talk about official business."

Hearing this, Salas immediately put away his previous demeanor and resumed an upright, solemn posture. The speed of his facial transformation left Zhong Yan dumbfounded.

"As a high-ranking member of Spirit Hall, I assume you know at least some of the inside information about this recent incident."

"I do know some news. Another Evil Soul Master has appeared, and what's more, right near the center of the continent." Although Salas wasn't exceptionally strong, he was, after all, a Grand Bishop and part of Spirit Hall's upper echelon.

Zhong Yan nodded and continued, "I discovered this loose fish in the Kingdom of Cervantes. That's not only right between two kingdoms, it's not even far from Spirit City itself. Yet he hid there and brutally murdered at least three hundred and twenty-seven lives, the vast majority of whom were soul masters."

"Every year, Spirit Hall conducts awakenings in various villages, and a single village often fails to produce even a single soul master. Calculated this way, a single Evil Soul Master can destroy an unknown number of villages, not to mention defenseless ordinary people. This is something Spirit Hall absolutely cannot tolerate. Eradicating Evil Soul Masters has always been our duty."

"Currently, Teacher and I have formulated a plan. It's still in the initial stage—we will quietly investigate step-by-step and avoid alerting the enemy. These beasts are among the best hide-and-seek players on the entire continent. When the time comes, I will personally take charge of this plan."

"I naturally understand." Salas nodded. He was well aware of how elusive Evil Soul Masters were. Over the thousand-plus years since Spirit Hall's establishment, Evil Soul Masters had continued to be born on the continent down to the present day.

"Very well, let's put the matter of the Evil Soul Masters aside for now. I have another matter in Heaven Dou City that requires you to handle it."

Salas let out a long sigh; this ordeal had finally passed. Discovering an Evil Soul Master brought immense pressure to anyone in Spirit Hall. He secretly resolved to heavily discipline that bishop from the Kingdom of Cervantes when the time came.

"Just give the order, Your Holiness. Your subordinate guarantees absolute perfection."

"Send word to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, and say that I will be visiting the mountain in two days. Remember to keep your attitude respectful. At the same time, make a bit of a commotion about this—at the very least, make sure the old emperor knows. Understood?"

"Understood by your subordinate." Salas was suddenly delighted. Fighting wasn't his strong suit, but handling matters like this made him an absolute expert; otherwise, how else could he have become a Grand Bishop?

"Make arrangements for me over the next two days. I will stay at Spirit Hall. When the time is right, I will head to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect alone."

[Sigh, if it weren't for that Evil Soul Master, Senior Sister would be accompanying me right now. Sob, sob, sob, Senior Sister, I miss your tail.]

………………

Three days later.
Before the mountain gate of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

At this moment, Zhong Yan was no longer wearing a simple long robe. Sporting a small, Emperor-style ponytail, he now wore a custom-made robe matching the Emperor's style.

This was far superior to the low-tier version he had commissioned someone to make back in Notting City; this was crafted by the finest tailor within Spirit Hall.

The dragon-tail patterns and individual dragon scales embedded along the hem of the robe were made from genuine dragon scales. These scales had been retrieved by Bibi Dong from the treasury; having been stored for too long, they had long since lost their inherent divine luster, but using them to make clothes for Zhong Yan was quite fitting, especially since no other use could be found for them.

At this moment, a disciple of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect ran out from within the mountain gate, walked quickly up to Zhong Yan, and gave a cupped-fist salute, "Your Holiness, the Holy Son, please follow me. The Sect Master and the two Elders have been waiting for a long time."

Zhong Yan walked slowly behind him along the mountain path, passing by many places along the way. He saw at least thirteen Spirit Douluos and over fifty Spirit Sages instructing disciples, as well as quite a few disciples forming groups to spar and practice.

[Is this because they're worried I'm here to apply pressure, so they're showing me some of their trump cards? Tsk tsk tsk, they've probably already prepared how to pressure me. What a pity, I'm actually here to deliver gifts.]

After a short while, they arrived in front of a grand hall. Pushing open the doors, the disciple said, "The Sect Master is inside. I cannot go any further, so please proceed on your own."

Walking just a few steps inside, Zhong Yan saw a middle-aged man dressed in white robes, possessing a refined and scholarly appearance, smiling and nodding in greeting.

[This must be Ning Fengzhi.]

Standing behind him was an elderly man with crane-like hair and a youthful complexion, dressed in snowy white robes with long silver hair neatly combed down his back. His features were archaic, and his eyes weren't fully open, maintaining a slight close. Yet every gesture of his gave off an exceptionally peculiar feeling.

If the middle-aged man's aura was gentle, then this elder's aura could only be described as razor-sharp. A fatal sharpness.

[Sword Douluo, Chen Xin. Truly, reputation does not precede a worthless person.]

"It seems the two of you are Sect Master Ning and Sword Douluo. Though Bone Douluo is not present, one look today tells me that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is truly worthy of being the number one sect in the world! Hahaha."