Ning Rongrong clearly saw the power unleashed by the explosion.
In the instant the two forces collided, time around them seemed to freeze.
At the center, space began to collapse. Pitch-black cracks formed like a massive Abyss maw, rapidly devouring and compressing the surrounding energy.
Then, a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering roar exploded like thunder.
"Boom!"
Powerful energy ripples spread outward in all directions with the point of collision as the center.
The force that spilled onto the surface caused the land within thousands of meters to crack inch by inch. The earth shattered like fragile porcelain.
The light of the explosion shot straight into the sky, dyeing the heavens in a crisscross of black and white.
That Heavenly Saint Splitting Abyss Halberd seemed unable to withstand the energy of the martial soul fusion skill.
"Clang—"
It spun 360 degrees in the high sky before flying away.
The energy on the Heavenly Saint Splitting Abyss Halberd faded, returning to its original appearance.
"Sea God Trident!" Ning Rongrong was stunned. "Using a divine weapon as a medium for divine descent onto a super-divine weapon? No wonder he could project the weapon over."
Ning Rongrong didn't dwell on it further. Braving the still-lingering aftermath of the explosion, she turned into a streak of light and swept across the core blast zone, intending to retrieve the Sea God Trident.
At that moment, a barrier blocked her path.
"Hmph."
Ning Rongrong snorted coldly and swept her Glazed Holy Sword.
"Crack"
The barrier shattered into specks of light.
A gem-like object slowly fell and was collected by Ning Rongrong.
"Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud."
Due to this brief delay, the Sea God Trident had already flown toward Wind and Snow Valley.
Ning Rongrong looked at the Sea God Heart in her hand, then at the Sea God Trident disappearing into the horizon.
"Both are divine weapons—yet the Sea God Heart can be casually discarded, while the Sea God Trident must be taken away?"
Whether the Sea God Heart or the Sea God Trident, both had been items used years ago to seal the Abyss passage.
Since the Abyss passage seal had been broken, it was not strange for these two items to fall into the hands of Abyss creatures.
"Using the Sea God Trident as a wedge for divine descent—Abyss Sacred Lord, you really have some ideas."
Chasing directly to Wind and Snow Valley might allow her to bring back the Sea God Trident, but the danger would likely increase even further.
When the full course of events was still unclear, Ning Rongrong felt she should play it safe for now.
The Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda had nine floors, but that didn't mean she had nine lives—she wasn't some nine-lived demon cat. Once gone, she would truly be gone.
She exhaled a breath of turbid air and stood quietly in the area where the explosion aftermath had yet to fully dissipate.
Rampant energy struck her barrier, stirring faint ripples, yet it seemed to have no real effect.
She didn't know how much time passed before the explosion aftermath finally slowly faded.
"Rongrong."
A familiar voice drew Ning Rongrong's attention. Several streaks of light flew toward her and soon arrived before her.
"Long time no see, Father, Sword Grandpa, Bone Grandpa." Ning Rongrong nodded and greeted Ning Fengzhi and the two Pillars elders. "Actually, you didn't need to step in just now."
"Rongrong, are you saying the three of us are too weak?" Bone Douluo pretended to be displeased.
"Of course not." Ning Rongrong gave an awkward smile. "You two Grandpas have always been very strong. If anyone's dragging us down, it's Father."
Ning Fengzhi's face darkened with black lines: "You're comparing me to Sword Uncle and Bone Uncle? Your father is an auxiliary soul master."
"I'm an auxiliary too! And I don't feel particularly weak."
Ning Fengzhi: "..."
The others: "..."
Ning Fengzhi's mouth twitched. He skipped over the topic of auxiliary soul masters being weak.
"Rongrong, why are you in the far north? And have you come out of seclusion?"
"Mm, my strength has broken through." Ning Rongrong nodded.
"After coming out, since the path was relatively close, I stopped by to chat with the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King."
"From him, I learned that the seal time in the far north had already passed. And Xue Di... it's said Xue Di was injured."
Ning Rongrong glanced at the nearby Spirit Hall elders but paid them no mind. She spoke openly without hiding anything.
Before Ning Fengzhi could reply, Qian Daoliu took over: "Xue Di was indeed injured. She's currently recovering in the Star Dou Great Forest."
"I see..." Ning Rongrong turned her gaze to Qian Daoliu. "Long time no see, Your Excellency the Grand Worshipper, and the elders of Spirit Hall. This should count as our formal meeting, right?"
Qing Luan Douluo sized up Ning Rongrong. Even at level 98, he couldn't see through her depth. Moreover, Ning Rongrong gave off an extremely ethereal feeling.
"Young Sect Master of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan—may we know your current strength?"
For the Worship Hall, Ning Rongrong of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan was a key figure of concern.
Especially after confirming that Tokisaki Kurumi was the spirit of Ning Rongrong's Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, that sense of vigilance had skyrocketed.
"Qing Luan, there's no need to ask such things." Qian Daoliu stopped Qing Luan's curiosity.
One careless question about something that shouldn't be mentioned—if it touched on the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan's taboos—it could make people unhappy.
If Ning Rongrong wanted to hide it, they could simply pretend not to know.
"It's fine, Grand Worshipper—my strength isn't something that needs to be kept secret."
Ning Rongrong smiled at Qing Luan Douluo's question.
She was now close to her complete form—extremely powerful!
A mere Spirit Hall—forget Spirit Hall—even if Qian Renxue were thrown onto the bed, Qian Daoliu and his group of Spirit Hall elders could only stand there stiff-necked, glaring helplessly, unable to do anything.
Ning Rongrong collected her thoughts and gave a light cough: "The Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan no longer fears your Spirit Hall. It doesn't matter even if I tell you my strength."
"You..." These words nearly caused several Title Douluo elders from Spirit Hall to have their blood pressure spike, but Qian Daoliu remained calm, as if he had anticipated it. He raised a hand to stop the elders who were about to explode.
"Then I'm truly curious!"
Qian Daoliu laughed heartily, completely open-minded.
"Young Sect Master Ning's strength is terrifying beyond measure. I'm probably no longer your opponent—no, perhaps I haven't been for a long time. But you really are cautious!"
"No choice—alliances and such. If your strength is too weak, you might get eaten." Ning Rongrong spread her hands. "If you want to know, then know. Just don't get scared."
As Ning Rongrong spoke, specks of golden light gathered in her palm.
A miniature pagoda landed in her hand.
Immediately after, the first soul ring rose from beneath her feet. Golden radiance flowed across Ning Rongrong's entire body.
Ring-shaped soul rings ascended. Golden light reflected in everyone's pupils.
The people present froze in place.
"Gold... golden soul ring?"
Not only Qian Daoliu and Spirit Hall—even Ning Fengzhi, Sword Douluo, and Bone Douluo found it utterly inconceivable. Those present were no amateurs; they were all peak powerhouses standing at the top of the pyramid.
They knew full well what golden meant.
Before they could say more,
the second golden soul ring appeared before their eyes.
Then the third, the fourth... all the way to the ninth before stopping.
Nine golden soul rings hovered quietly.
Everyone remained dazed for a long time.
The aura around Ning Rongrong gave an ethereal feeling like that of a god, yet it seemed somehow different from true god level.
As for exactly where the difference lay, even Qian Daoliu couldn't put it into words for the moment.
.
(End of chapter)