Chapter 36: Gathering All Parties

Heaven Dou Empire, Sunset Forest.

In the sky of the Sunset Forest, we can see two people moving at high speed towards the core of the Sunset Forest while riding a sword that is enough for two to use. These two people were Seven Treasure Title Glazed Sect Master Ning Fenzhi and Seven Treasure Title Glazed Sword Sect Elder Douluo Chen Xin.

Just as the two of them had approached the core of the Sunset Forest, Chen Xin and Ning Fenzhi saw a poison formation that Dugu Bo had set up to protect the location of the Hot Yang and Cold Yin Springs. With the poison formation in existence, Chen Xin and Ning Fenzhi could only stop right in front of the formation and slowly land on the ground.

Ning Fenzhi stared in awe at the poison formation in front of his eyes, "Uncle Sword, this formation…"

Chen Xin withdrew his Seven Killing Sword martial soul and stood beside Fenzhi as he said solemnly, "This poison formation is a poison formation created by Old Poison to counter the various threats that enter the Hot Yang and Cold Yin Springs. This poison formation is so powerful, even I am not sure I can survive after entering this formation."

Ning Fenzhi sighed as he stared at the poison formation with a complicated look and said, "How incredible, we didn't expect that Master Dugu Bo would have things like this."

Chen Xin frowned and said, "This formation itself isn't an amazing thing. But what was inside this formation was even more amazing. Even to the point of surprising Xiao Shi upon seeing that location, proving that it was a truly amazing location. It's a shame to think that it wasn't us who discovered this location but that Old Poison."

"Yes." Ning Fenzhi nodded and slightly regretted that it wasn't their Sect that found the location.

At the same time, Chen Xin and Ning Fenzhi sensed that two people were approaching them at full speed while a girl's voice said in a dissatisfied tone,

"Grandpa, why did you bring me here?"

"Yan Yan, Grandpa wants to introduce you to someone"

"Introducing someone? Who? Was that person also a Soul Master? is he strong?"

"Relax, you will find out soon after meeting that person"

Chen Xin and Ning Fenzhi saw Dugu Bo coming in the same direction the two of them passed along with a girl who was being carried by Dugu Bo. Not only did they see Dugu Bo's arrival, but Duu Bo also knew of their arrival after he was a few meters away from the location where Ning Fenzhi and Chen Xin were standing.

After arriving at that location, Dugu Bo immediately put Dugu Yan down.

Dugu Bo immediately turned to Ning Fenzhi and said, "Sect Master Ning"

"Master Dugu Bo" Ning Fenzhi also greeted the greeting politely.

"Grandpa, who are they? What are they that you will introduce me to?"

"Yan Yan, don't be rude!" Dugu Bo directly rebuked Dugu Yan a little harshly.

Dugu Yan was surprised by the sound that Dugu Bo made. Because it was very rare for Dugu Bo to scold himself except for matters of great magnitude.

"Yan Yan, these two are Sect Master Ning who is the Leader of the Seven Treasure Title Glazed Sect, while the other is the Elder of the Seven Treasure Title Glazed Sect, Sword Douluo Chen Xin. You must be polite to them." Dugu Bo didn't wait long and immediately introduced the identities of Ning Fenzhi and Chen Xin to Dugu Yan.

Dugu Yan who was listening to this was immediately shocked and hastily stepped forward and said while bowing slightly, "Junior apologizes for the rudeness Junior did earlier"

Dugu Yan was a smart woman, she immediately knew who the two of them were after hearing the identities of the two people in front of her. The two of them were great people of the Seven Treasure Title Glazed Sect, even their status was higher than Dugu Bo's status in this Heaven Dou Empire.

"No problem," Chen Xin said nonchalantly but looked at Dugu Bo with an irritated look, " Damn~ You sly fox. Did he purposely bring his granddaughter here to introduce him to Xiao Shi?"

Ning Fenzhi smiled faintly at Dugu Yan and said, "It's okay, it's just a trivial matter." However, in his mind, he was also thinking the same thing as Chen Xin.

"Old Poison, what does it mean to bring your Granddaughter here?" Chen Xin said in a slightly irritated tone.

Dugu Bo raised his head proudly and said, "I brought him here because I wanted to introduce him to Xiao Shi. Isn't it natural for children to get to know each other?"

" Damn~ You old fox" Ning Fenzhi and Chen Xin thought simultaneously staring at Dugu Bo who was looking at them with triumphant smiles.

" Xiao Shi? Is that the child that Grandpa will introduce to me? What was the reason Grandpa introduced him? Is he strong?" Dugu Yan thought with great curiosity since Dugu Bo himself only told himself to introduce someone to himself. What surprised Dugu Yan was that Dugu Bo even praised that person's talent.

"Master Dugu Bo, in advance, I thank Master Dugu Bo for giving us the Delicate Silk Tulip Flower that should belong to Master Dugu Bo." Ning Fenzhi immediately stepped forward and expressed his gratitude.

Dugu Bo nodded and said, "No need for thanks, Sect Master Ning. The Delicate Silk Tulip itself was a medicinal plant that didn't have a good enough effect on me and Yan Yan either. I'd better give it to Sect Master Ning because then the Delicate Silk Tulip Flower can maximize its potential. Besides that, this is also an expression of my gratitude to you for introducing me to Xiao Shi."

" It seems that the decision I made to take this Old Poison to meet Dugu Bo was a very big mistake." Chen Xin sighed sadly which was followed by the same Ning Fenzhi thinking the same thing as well.

Ning Fenzhi smiled faintly and said, "We are also very grateful to have been able to meet Xiao Shi. With our meeting with him, we also get a lot of benefits. By the way, Master Dugu Bo, in return for the Seven Treasure Title Glazed Sect's favor, the Dugu family will always be friends of the Seven Treasure Title Glazed Sect. If Master Dugu Bo or the Dugu family needs help, Master Dugu Bo can directly ask our Sect for that help."

"Thank you, Sect Master Ning. I will always remember this." Dugu Bo said happily, but he was also happy to get help from the Seven Treasure Title Glazed Sect.

" This again, Grandpa always praises this kid. How talented is this kid that Sect Master Ning, Venerable Sword Douluo, and Grandfather who is a Title Douluo praise him?" Dugu Yan who thought about this was getting more and more curious about a person called 'Shirou' or often called 'Xiao Shi'.

"In that case, Old Poison, let's hurry inside to meet Xiao Shi," Chen Xin said.

"No, we will wait here first. Xiao Shi himself is not on site."

"Ha? What do you mean?" Chen Xin asked as he raised his brow.

"Xiao Shi is not within that location. After your departure to pick up Sect Master Ning, Xiao Shi and I also returned with our respective destinations." Dugu Bo said calmly without revealing anything about himself having gathered the medicinal ingredients needed to make the Evolution Pill.

"I see." Chen Xin and Ning Fenzhi nodded.

"Sorry for making you wait" A voice that each of the children heard came from the direction of the location the four of them had passed before.

Ning Fenzhi, Chen Xin, Dugu Bo, and Dugu Yan immediately turned their attention towards the voice and saw the arrival of two boys who were floating in the air. Chen Xin and Dugu Bo who saw Shirou and Ciel's arrival were not surprised that the two of them could fly, but Ning Fenzhi and Dugu Yan who saw this were very surprised.

" So this is the advanced soul force control ability that Uncle Sword told me. This kid is a monster" Ning Fenzhi thought in his heart as he looked at Shirou and Ciel who were slowly landing in front of them.

" Children? Fly? What was their martial soul ability? Wait!... Are they the people we've been waiting for all this time?" Dugu Yan was very surprised and looked at Ning Fenzhi, Chen Xin, and also Dugu Bo who had no fluctuations from their faces indicating that these two children who had just arrived were the people they had been waiting for.

"Hahaha~ No problem, we just came too" Dugu Bo immediately said while laughing warmly. Suddenly Dugu Bo felt something coming from inside Shirou's clothes. Dugu Bo who sensed this was surprised to find within the clothes there was a soul beast that was around 450 years old.

Shirou who had just arrived came straight ahead followed by Ciel as he bowed slightly towards Ning Fenzhi and said, "Uncle Ning"

Ning Fenzhi smiled and immediately turned his attention to Ciel who was behind him, "If that's the case, would it be possible for Xiao Shi to introduce his disciple to me?" Ning Fenzhi said with great interest since Chen Xin himself had already explained about this child named Ciel.

" Student? That child is that person's disciple?" Dugu Yan was very surprised and also found it strange to see a child who had a teacher who was not too much different from his age. However, seeing that Chen Xin and Dugu Bo were not feeling strange, Dugu Yan became even more curious.

Shirou smiled as he nodded and immediately backed away slightly and looked at Ciel and said, "Ciel, this is the Sect Master of Seven Treasure Title Glazed, Ning Fenzhi."

Ciel who heard this was immediately taken aback and hastily stepped forward while bowing slightly and said, "Junior looks at Sect Master Ning"

Ning Fenzhi nodded and said, "There's no need to bother calling me with such a nickname. You can call me Uncle Ning as Xiao Shi usually calls me. Moreover, you are his disciple, you have an unlimited future. Son, if you have completed the adventure and also have no direction, we Seven Treasure Title Glazed Sect will always open the door for you to join in it."

Chen Xin nodded and agreed with Ning Fenzhi's words. Moreover, Chen Xin himself was a little curious about Ciel since his martial soul was the same sword as his. Dugu Bo who was listening directly to Ning Fenzhi's invitation looked at him, " Damn~ Sect Master Ning used Xiao Shi's disciple to try and slowly invite himself to join and bond with their Sect"

" This…" The extremely surprised Dugu Yan listened to the invitation that Ning Fenzhi said to the child in front of him. Even Ning Fenzhi himself had praised Ciel for having a teacher like Shirou. Dugu Yang looked directly at Shirou while trying to sense Shirou's level of soul power, " What happened? Why can't I sense the level of his soul power?"

Ciel smiled apologetically and said, "I am honored by Uncle Ning's invitation to join the Seven Treasure Title Glazed Sect. However, Uncle Ning, I will join if Master joins. I will always follow Master's footsteps wherever Master will go."

"I understand." Ning Fenzhi nodded and continued back, "This invitation will always be open to you. You can come whenever you want."

"Thank you, Uncle Ning." Ciel nodded and retreated slowly towards Shirou's back.

"Hey, kid. Why don't you introduce one of your friends who's hiding under your clothes?" Dugu Bo instantly changed the subject and stared at Shirou's clothes.

Chen Xin and Ning Fenzhi had also sensed Lily's presence, but since they had met Lily, Chen Xin and Ning Fenzhi knew that the soul beast was Shirou's friend. They don't have a problem with that either.

" Friend? Who?" Dugu Yan also immediately turned his attention to Shirou's clothes and suddenly felt a soul beast hiding under Shirou's clothes, " Soul beast?!" Dugu Bo thought while being surprised.

Shirou nodded and immediately patted Lily lightly, "Come on Lily, come out and greet the people around. They won't hurt you."

"Meow~" Slowly a small cat's head came out from under Shirou's clothes and looked at the people around him.

" This soul beast…" Dugu Bo who saw Lily for the first time was very surprised to see the soul beast.

" So beautiful…" Dugu Yan thought excitedly after he saw Lily slowly come out from under Shirou's clothes and immediately climbed onto his head and sat down as he felt safe with Shirou there.

"Xiao Shi, this soul beast. Is he a Snow Cat soul beast?" Dugu Bo asked carefully while glancing at Lily intently.

" Snowcat? Isn't that a very step soul beast?" Dugu Yan looked at Lily intently.

Shirou nodded and said, "Right, Poison Grandpa. Lily is a soul beast of the Snow Cat type. He was my first friend and the one who accompanied me on adventures all this time."

" Grandpa Poison?" Ning Fenzhi, who listened to Shirou's call to Dugu Bo, immediately felt strange and also looked at Dugu Bo intently, " Looks like I have to act quickly if I want Xiao Shi to join our Sect." Ning Fenzhi looked at Chen Xin who nodded.

" Grandpa? Why does this kid call Grandpa with a nickname?" Dugu Yan asked himself.

"Meow~" Lily nodded happily while patting Shirou's head gently.

"Friend? Hahahaha~ I didn't expect that a human would treat soul beasts as their companions. Son, you are a very unique person." Dugu Bo said with a laugh.

" You won't know, this is already a natural thing. What if you found out that there was a human who married a soul beast? You must be very surprised" Shirou thought as he turned his attention to Dugu Yang who had been staring at him earlier, "Grandpa Poison, is this the Granddaughter you talk about often?"

Hearing Shirou bringing up this topic, Dugu Bo was immediately excited and said, "Right, this is my Granddaughter" Dugu Bo immediately turned his attention to Dugu Yan and said, "Yan Yan, introduce yourself to Xiao Shi"

Dugu Yan nodded and advanced slowly gracefully while standing in front of Shirou and said, "Introduce my name is Dugu Yan"

Shirou nodded and said, "My name is Shirou, you are free to call me Shirou or Xiao Shi who is often called Grandpa Poison to me" Shirou immediately lowered Lily who was sitting on his head, and said, "This is Lily, she is my best friend"

"Meow~" Lily raised one hand obediently.

" Cute…"

Shirou pointed at Ciel who was behind him "This is my student"

Ciel immediately came forward and said, "Introduce my name is Ciel."

Dugu Yan nodded and glanced back at Shirou and said, "How old are you?"

Shirou was a little silent listening to this question from Dugu Yan, Shirou immediately replied, "I have now reached the age of 8 years"

" 8 years? does that mean this kid is 4 years younger than me? An 8-year-old child has a disciple?" Dugu Yan thought strangely and looked at Shirou as he said, "Since you are younger than me, from now on, you should call me Sister Yan"

Shirou fell silent again with these words from Dugu Yan. However, he had no problem with that and chose to nod and say, "No problem. You're older, it's only right that I do you more senior"

"Good." Dugu Yan nodded happily.

Dugu Bo who saw that the interaction between Shirou and Dugu Yan was going well became even happier and also started planning various things. Meanwhile, Ning Fenzhi and Chen Xin saw this becoming increasingly bitter and began to plan to meet Shirou with Ning Rongrong.

"By the way, Xiao Shi. Why can't I feel your soul power level? Even I now feel that you are like an ordinary person without soul power. If you didn't fly before, I would think you're a soulless person, is flying also one of your soul abilities?" Dugu Yang instantly let out all the questions that were weighing on his head.

Shirou smiled and said, "You didn't sense my soul power level because I was hiding my soul power level. As for the previous flying ability, it wasn't my soul ability but rather it was an advanced soul power control ability. Once you have reached a certain level of soul power control, you can freely manipulate your soul force such as flying, hiding power, and various other things."

Dugu Yang was very surprised to hear this, Shirou smiled and looked at Dugu Bo as he said, "Grandpa Poison, the talent that Big Brother Yan has is very good. Even at this age, one has the strength level of a Great Soul Master."

"Hahaha~ Don't praise like that, Xiao Shi. Compared to you, Yan Yan's talent is still low." Dugu Bo said happily.

"Hmph!" Dugu Yan sniffed discontentedly that Dugu Bo said that his talent was still very lacking compared to this kid in front of him. Moreover, he was sure that Shirou's level of soul power was still below his own since he was now at level 23.

" Hmph! Is it true that this kid's talent exceeds mine? Even in the Heaven Dou Empire Academy, the talent I possess is one of the very tops. However, Grandfather, Sect Master Ning, and Venerable Sword Douluo praised this child's talent. There's no way this kid's soul power exceeds mine right?" Dugu Yan thought seriously considering the three great people who had status in the Heaven Dou Empire greatly valued Shirou.

"Cough~ Old Poison, Xiao Shi, it seems we talk too much here and have already started to forget our purpose for coming here." Chen Xin immediately cut him off.

"Hmph!" Dugu Bo looked at Chen Xin with a dissatisfied look. Whereas Ning Fenzhi was also happy that it was Chen Xin who had suddenly stepped into their conversation.

"Ah~ I'm sorry for forgetting about this. Then, let's go inside." Shirou said as he looked at Dugu Bo.

Dugu Bo nodded and immediately led the way in followed by Dugu Yan, Shirou, Lily, Ciel, Ning Fenzhi, and Chen Xin who were in the last place. Along the way, Dugu Yang talked a lot with Shirou to get to know himself better which made Dugu Bo very happy whereas Ning Fenzhi and Chen Xin had bitter faces and began to regret introducing Shirou to Dugu Bo.