“Boy, you practice swordsmanship—who is your teacher??”

Though Ning Fengzhi was a bit curious about Lu Jingming, whom Xue Qinghe had brought along, he merely glanced at him with mild interest. Xue Qinghe had always had a habit of gathering and cultivating talent, so Ning Fengzhi only marveled at Lu Jingming’s appearance and paid him no further attention.

However, Sword Douluo frowned deeply, his gaze fixed intently on Lu Jingming.

He sensed a sword intent from Lu Jingming that felt eerily familiar. He was certain Lu Jingming not only practiced swordsmanship but had achieved a significant level of mastery.

To produce such a young sword expert, his teacher must surely be a peerless master of swordsmanship. Sword Douluo already had a suspect in mind.

Upon hearing Sword Douluo’s inquiry, both Xue Qinghe and Ning Fengzhi looked surprised, their attention turning curiously to Lu Jingming.

For Sword Douluo to show such interest, Lu Jingming was clearly not ordinary.

“As expected of Sword Douluo—indeed, I do practice swordsmanship. As for my teacher, her title is Snow Moon.”

Lu Jingming made no attempt to hide anything. In this world, he had nothing to fear, and no need to conceal.

As soon as he spoke, Sword Douluo’s body trembled violently. In an instant, he appeared before Lu Jingming, excitedly asking: “Boy, quickly tell me, where is your teacher now?”

Upon hearing “Snow Moon,” Xue Qinghe’s eyes filled with confusion, while Ning Fengzhi and Bone Douluo looked at Lu Jingming in disbelief.

Sword Douluo’s hunch had come true—there really was a Douluo titled Snow Moon? How had they never heard of her?

Though the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect’s intelligence network couldn’t cover the entire continent, they had many informants in the Heaven Dou and Star Luo Empires.

Yet, they’d never received a single report about a Snow Moon Douluo, rumored to be even stronger than Sword Douluo himself.

Titled Douluos were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns; how could such a strong figure leave no trace?

“My teacher—you’ll meet her sooner or later, but not now.” Lu Jingming gently shook his head.

Jingliu would not be entering this world for a while, but as long as Sword Douluo didn’t die unexpectedly, they were bound to meet someday.

“True enough.” Sword Douluo nodded, a bit dejected.

He had always considered himself the continent’s top swordsman, and had never heard of such a master before his encounter in the simulated universe. Only then did he realize there were always greater heights to reach.

A reclusive figure like Snow Moon Douluo was certainly not someone one could just meet at will.

Sword Douluo didn’t doubt Lu Jingming’s words. Not only had he named Snow Moon Douluo’s title, but the sword intent he carried was unmistakable.

Though the sword intent differed from Snow Moon’s, it was clearly of the same lineage.

As the owner of the Seven Kill Sword intent, Sword Douluo could sense this unique resonance between sword practitioners.

Having confirmed Lu Jingming’s identity, the gazes of Ning Fengzhi and the others changed instantly.

Compared to being just Xue Qinghe’s friend, they now regarded Lu Jingming with much more warmth and interest.

After learning the details from Ning Fengzhi, Xue Qinghe looked at Lu Jingming with a mixture of amazement and doubt.

Even Spirit Hall had no intelligence on Snow Moon Douluo, and even her own grandfather had never mentioned her.

Lu Jingming found it amusing. He hadn’t lied, but had intentionally left things vague, letting Sword Douluo and the others fill in the gaps themselves—it was rather entertaining.

With this new identity, he received very different treatment.

Learning that Lu Jingming was traveling alone, Ning Fengzhi even warmly invited him to visit the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

The group took the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect’s carriage, heading toward the outskirts of Heaven Dou City.

Along the way, they saw many people heading in the same direction, toward a point of contamination outside the city.

It was clear that with the Soul Master Tournament drawing academies to Heaven Dou City, the contamination spot had attracted much attention, and many wanted to join the fun.

Danger wasn’t a concern; after all, three deans from the Royal Academy were present, along with many strong soul masters, and even Poison Douluo was rumored to have arrived. With such a strong lineup, what could go wrong?

With a month to go before the Soul Master Tournament, most people were idle. Visiting the contamination spot was just for excitement; if lucky, they might even slay a negative-energy monster and gain a treasure.

In the carriage, Lu Jingming recognized many familiar faces along the way.

Of course, he knew them, but they didn’t know him.

“Brother Lu, you seem interested in the Soul Master academies. If you like, I could arrange for you to enter the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, or even become a main member of this year’s Heaven Dou Team, to compete in the tournament a month from now,” offered Xue Qinghe with a smile, noticing Lu Jingming’s attention on the passing academies.

“No need, Brother Xue. For me to compete in this year’s tournament would be bullying,” Lu Jingming replied, shaking his head with a smile.

At his Soul Emperor level, joining the tournament would just be one-sided domination, like playing a game on easy mode—no fun at all.

Unlike in his original world, where representing St. Freya Academy in the tournament brought benefits and prestige to Haiyuan City, here, even winning the championship and a few soul bones meant little to him.

Thus, he wasn’t interested in the tournament here.

As for the change in how Xue Qinghe addressed him, that was at Xue Qinghe’s own request. Upon learning Lu Jingming had a powerful Titled Douluo behind him, Xue Qinghe became even more eager to befriend him.

At this moment, only Lu Jingming, Xue Qinghe, and Xue Ke were in the carriage.

Ning Fengzhi and the others were in another carriage—six people in one would be too crowded, though this carriage was large enough.

Ning Fengzhi thought the younger generation had more to talk about and supported Xue Qinghe’s efforts to befriend Lu Jingming.

Xue Qinghe was his disciple and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect’s investment target; naturally, he hoped Xue Qinghe could gain more support.

“Simulated universe, contamination spot, Snow Moon Douluo, Sword Uncle, Bone Uncle… This world is becoming more and more unfamiliar. What path should our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect take in the future?”

In front of Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo, Ning Fengzhi dropped his dignity as sect leader and revealed his vulnerability.

The pressure on him was immense.

Since Clear Sky sect withdrew from the alliance, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had suffered greatly under Spirit Hall’s pressure.

Ning Fengzhi was capable, but even he was worn out.

The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon sect faced similar struggles.

Despite having the world’s strongest beast and support-type spirits, as upper-tier sects, only they knew how difficult their true situation was.

“Don’t worry, Fengzhi—we’re still here,” said Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo, exchanging a glance and offering what comfort they could.

They could fight, but when it came to strategy and planning, that was up to Ning Fengzhi.

“Sigh, Spirit Hall… At least Rongrong’s martial soul evolved, bringing renewed hope to our sect.”

Just thinking about Spirit Hall gave Ning Fengzhi a headache.

As a top power, he didn’t know Spirit Hall’s full strength, but even the tip of the iceberg was terrifying enough.

His only comfort was that Ning Rongrong’s martial soul had evolved into the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, breaking the old limit.

Even at Soul Sage rank, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda could elevate Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo’s power by a full level. If there was ever a Titled Douluo-level Nine Treasure Pagoda support, their strength would be unimaginable.

Martial Souls could be passed down by bloodline.

If Ning Rongrong could pass her bloodline on, the Nine Treasure Pagoda would one day fully replace the Seven Treasure Pagoda, raising the world’s top support martial soul to new heights.

Thinking of this bright future, Ning Fengzhi felt his blood surge, and the pressure eased a bit.

“Speaking of which, this young Lu looks about Rongrong’s age. I wonder how strong he actually is?” Ning Fengzhi mused aloud, as he was only a Soul Sage himself and couldn’t gauge Lu Jingming’s depth.

Bone Douluo frowned. “That kid is strange. Even with my cultivation, I can’t see through him.”

Sword Douluo said gravely, “I can’t judge his specific level, but he’s definitely a monstrous talent. As Snow Moon Douluo’s disciple, and having grasped sword intent, I doubt any peer can match him.”

Sword Douluo already revered Jingliu, becoming a Jingliu fan himself. Though he couldn’t see through Lu Jingming’s hidden cultivation, just knowing he was Jingliu’s disciple convinced him Lu Jingming was no weakling, especially with sword intent.

That was the only clear advantage Sword Douluo could sense.

“Oh, Sword Uncle, how does he compare to the Shrek Academy’s little monsters?” Ning Fengzhi asked, perking up.

After all, with the immortal herbs, the Shrek Seven Devils were undisputed geniuses of their age.

“At their current level, there’s no contest—sword intent is on another plane,” Sword Douluo shook his head.

Sword intent, once appearing at the early stages, was a dimensional blow to soul masters of the same level.

Even at his own level, using sword intent made a huge difference—let alone below Soul Sage.

“Looks like Rongrong and the others finally have a worthy opponent, but it’s a pity Lu won’t compete,” Ning Fengzhi smiled, shaking his head.

“Speaking of Rongrong, Shrek Academy seems to be here too,” Bone Douluo suddenly said, glancing out the window at a group also heading out of the city.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep