After a brief exchange, Shu Yan smiled lightly and asked,
"So, Sect Master Ning, have you come here this time to pay respects to your ancestors?"
Ning Xiangxue maintained her gentle smile and nodded softly.
"This is an ironclad rule passed down within the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. No matter how busy we may be, such a rule can never be broken."
"I understand…"
Shu Yan smiled again before speaking in a calm voice.
"In that case, we won't disturb you any further, Sect Master Ning. We were entrusted with a small matter here ourselves. We didn't expect fate would have us meet you and your companions. Unfortunately, we still have important matters to attend to. Otherwise, given the chance, I would certainly visit the legendary Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. But as things stand, I'm afraid that opportunity will have to wait."
Ning Xiangxue's expression stiffened for a brief moment before she replied with another soft smile,
"The Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect will always welcome friends. If you ever find the time, please do visit. We will receive you as honored guests."
Shu Yan waved his hand casually. His gaze briefly met another pair of eyes behind Ning Xiangxue before he said,
"In that case, Sect Master Ning, until we meet again."
As his words fell, the members of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect tactfully stepped aside. Shu Yan led the three women past them. The Ice Empress secretly waved a small fist toward Elder Wu, who could only force a bitter smile, utterly confused as to why that seemingly cold and peerless beauty always looked at him so strangely.
Fortunately, the Ice Empress made no further moves, allowing Elder Wu's wildly pounding heart to settle slightly.
Only after Shu Yan and his group had completely disappeared from sight did Ning Xiangxue let out a long breath. Leaning against a broken boulder nearby, she accepted the handkerchief Ning Tian handed her and wiped the cold sweat from her forehead.
"I truly don't know where those four came from. Each of them carried such terrifying presence. If Elder Wu and Elder Zhao hadn't been here, I, as Sect Master of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, might have embarrassed myself in public…"
After calming herself for a moment, she spoke with a bitter tone.
Elder Zhao, who had remained silent until now, finally said,
"Sect Master, there is something I'm not sure whether I should say."
After returning the handkerchief to Ning Tian, Ning Xiangxue nodded.
"Please speak freely, Elder Zhao. We are all our own people here."
Elder Zhao fell silent briefly before continuing,
"Earlier, Old Wu mentioned those two powerful individuals. At first, I thought he was exaggerating. But after facing them myself today, I realized he spoke no falsehood."
"I am already at Rank 95. Yet from the two women—excluding the young boy and girl—I sensed a terror beyond words."
"If I must describe it… I once met Taotie Douluo of Shrek Academy. His strength was already something I could only look up to. But I have a feeling—even Taotie Douluo would fall short before that white-haired woman."
The handkerchief slipped from Ning Tian's hand and was instantly swept away by the raging wind and sand.
Ning Xiangxue parted her lips slightly, momentarily at a loss for words.
Red Dragon Douluo, Elder Wu, was the same. He wiped at nonexistent sweat on his forehead, suddenly feeling incredibly fortunate.
After a long silence, Ning Xiangxue finally spoke in a low voice,
"Elder Zhao… are you suggesting that the white-haired woman might be an Ultimate Douluo?"
Elder Zhao hesitated, then shook his head.
"I cannot confirm whether she has truly reached that realm. But I can say with certainty—her strength is in no way inferior to Taotie Douluo. That much I am sure of."
After another long pause, Ning Xiangxue rubbed her brow and sighed.
"I see…"
"A powerhouse not weaker than Taotie Douluo. The woman with dark green hair beside her is at least a Super Douluo. As for the young boy and girl, their soul power levels were completely concealed—even I couldn't see through them. With such a lineup, it's hard to imagine which great faction or hidden sect they belong to…"
As the group fell into silence, a small voice suddenly came from the corner.
"Th-that person's aura was terrifying… She only glanced at me, and I felt my martial soul completely suppressed. Even my soul felt frozen…"
Everyone turned toward the source of the voice in shock. The speaker was none other than Wu Feng, who had been quietly following Ning Tian.
But the proud demeanor she usually carried was nowhere to be seen. Now she was curled beneath a rock like an abandoned puppy. Her once rosy complexion had turned pale, and she had bitten her lip hard enough to draw blood.
"Xiao Feng!"
Ning Tian cried out and rushed forward, helping the trembling Wu Feng up.
"Xiao Feng, how are you?"
Clinging to Ning Tian's waist, Wu Feng shook her head weakly. Seeing the anxious faces surrounding her and the slightly trembling expression on Elder Wu's face, she spoke haltingly,
"I… I'm fine. It's just that my martial soul and soul power were suppressed. The one who spoke with Aunt Ning… his martial soul is an extremely powerful ice attribute. His sister's is the same. She only glanced at me casually, and I felt… as though all the blood in my body had frozen. It was truly terrifying…"
A tear slid from the corner of her eye and fell to the ground.
The group exchanged uneasy glances. After taking a deep breath, Ning Xiangxue turned to Elder Wu.
"Elder Wu, did you sense anything?"
Elder Wu frowned deeply and answered gravely,
"Sect Master, I'm not lying. The four of them revealed almost no aura from beginning to end. Old Zhao could detect something because of his martial soul's special traits. As for me… I truly sensed very little. My attention wasn't focused in that direction either. Even if I had probed further, at most I would have reached the same conclusion as Xiao Feng."
Standing nearby, Godly Defense Douluo Elder Zhao lowered himself and channeled a stream of pure soul power into Wu Feng. Then he lightly tapped the back of her neck. Instantly, she fell into a deep sleep.
"I've stabilized her with some soul power. Let her rest quietly. Suppression due to martial soul attributes is fundamentally unavoidable. Given the degree of suppression and fear she experienced, what she said is almost certainly true."
"The Red Dragon martial souls of Old Wu and Xiao Feng possess one of the finest fire attributes in the world today. The only martial soul I can think of that surpasses the Red Dragon in fire attribute would be the Evil Fire Phoenix of Shrek's inner court."
"That boy appeared no older than fifteen, likely around the Soul King level. We detected no fluctuation of soul power just now. There was no reason for them to deliberately target Xiao Feng, and the Young Sect Master felt nothing at all. Yet even a mere trace of leaked aura had such an impact on Xiao Feng. There can only be one explanation…"
Elder Zhao spoke in a deep voice. Looking at Wu Feng's tightly furrowed brow even in sleep, then at the worried and stunned expressions around him, he declared word by word:
"The siblings both possess extraordinarily powerful ice-attribute martial souls. The quality of their ice attribute is extremely high—possibly even reaching the legendary level of Ultimate Ice."