Ning Rongrong, Dugu Bo, and Dugu Yan traveled together by carriage toward Sunset Forest.
Inside the carriage, Ning Rongrong studied a map in her hands.
"The round trip will take several months—no wonder Father didn't come with me." As the leader of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, Ning Fengzhi couldn't afford to wander around for months like her.
"Rongrong, what are you looking at?" Hearing Ning Rongrong mutter to herself, Dugu Yan leaned over curiously, her purple hair emitting a faint fragrance.
"Checking how far it is to Gengxin City."
"Gengxin City? Where's that?" Dugu Yan's voice carried a note of confusion as she glanced at Dugu Bo, who was quietly reading a medicinal book on the other side of the carriage. "Grandfather, do you know?"
"Vaguely. It's a major city southeast of the Star Luo Empire." Dugu Bo closed his book slightly, a trace of doubt crossing his brow. "Young Mistress, why are you going to Gengxin City?"
"Senior Dugu, just call me Rongrong in private. 'Young Mistress' feels too formal." After a pause, Ning Rongrong continued, "I want to recruit blacksmiths from Gengxin City for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan."
"Blacksmiths?" Dugu Bo looked momentarily stunned. "Gengxin City is famous for its metalwork—I bought my herb pouch there—but blacksmiths aren't highly regarded on the continent."
"If they were, it'd be harder for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan to recruit them." Ning Rongrong chuckled lightly. "I hope they'll join us to research soul guidance devices."
"Research soul guidance devices?" Both Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan blinked in surprise.
"This one, for example." Ning Rongrong tapped the flame-patterned object on her right wrist that resembled a hidden weapon.
"Is there something special about it?" Dugu Bo's curiosity grew.
Before leaving the clan, Ning Rongrong had stopped by the blacksmith's workshop to retrieve something. When she returned, this strange device had appeared on her wrist.
Since the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan was a support-type sect, it wasn't unusual for the young mistress to have protective measures when traveling. Dugu Bo hadn't questioned it—but now, it seemed there was more to it.
"It's a semi-complete tier-one soul guidance device. I'll demonstrate its power later."
Using such a device inside a carriage wasn't ideal.
Eager to see it in action, the group soon arrived at the outskirts of Sunset Forest.
Since they might not return the same way, they dismissed the clan disciple handling the carriage.
"Rongrong, show us the soul guidance device now!" Dugu Yan hurried over, her curiosity burning after hearing Ning Rongrong's explanations during the trip.
"Then Sister Yan can test it."
Ning Rongrong removed the device from her wrist and handed it to Dugu Yan.
"Huh?"
Dugu Yan accepted it in bewilderment.
"The device will likely break after ten uses. Save five charges—they might be useful in Gengxin City."
Dugu Yan stared at the object in her hands. "Is it really okay to let me use something so valuable?"
"It's just a prototype. If it breaks, we'll make another. The craftsmanship isn't perfected yet."
"Oh, I see." Dugu Yan fastened it to her wrist. "How do I use it?"
"Press the safety switch under the wrist, then aim and channel soul power into it."
"A tier-one device only needs the soul power of a one-ringed soul master. Adding more won't enhance it."
Nodding, Dugu Yan aimed at a half-meter-wide tree about seven or eight meters away.
"Boom!"
The device vibrated slightly as a red fireball shot out, slamming into the distant trunk.
The wood groaned, denting deeply as faint flames flickered to life.
"This... is amazing!"
Following Ning Rongrong's instructions, Dugu Yan fired again. After two hits, the tree cracked down the middle, the flames growing fiercer.
Dugu Bo waved a hand, extinguishing the fire with his soul power. As he lowered his arm, Dugu Yan eagerly presented the device to him.
"Here, Grandfather! You try—but only three times. We need to save five charges for Rongrong."
Dugu Bo nodded and strapped it on.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
Three consecutive fireballs struck the same tree. Flames erupted, and the already damaged trunk collapsed with a thunderous crash.
Dugu Bo raised his other hand, summoning a gust of soul power to quench the blaze.
"A truly remarkable invention." Unlike Dugu Yan's simple excitement, as a Title Douluo, Dugu Bo immediately grasped its potential.
"Rongrong, what do you estimate as its maximum capability?"
He returned the device to Ning Rongrong, having switched to her preferred informal address in private settings.
"Estimated limits?" Ning Rongrong pondered briefly. "A tier-one device matches a one-ringed soul master's power. The scale increases accordingly."
"Hiss—" Dugu Bo inhaled sharply.
Accordingly?
He hadn't realized the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan—no, Ning Rongrong specifically—had such grand ambitions.
Was she planning to use soul guidance devices to elevate support-type soul masters completely?
These devices only required soul power, bypassing spirit limitations entirely. In fact, support-types might benefit most from them.
"Don't think too far ahead, Senior Dugu!" Ning Rongrong stored the device in her spatial bracelet. "Right now, our priority is helping Sister Yan obtain her third soul ring."
"After that, we'll visit your herb garden. I'm quite curious about it."
"Ah, I nearly forgot our main purpose!" Dugu Bo smacked his forehead.
Thus, the trio ventured deeper into Sunset Forest.
A key reason Ning Rongrong had recruited Dugu Bo was the value of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. Truthfully, she coveted his herb garden immensely.
For over a month, she'd waited for him to mention it voluntarily.
There was a world of difference between Dugu Bo sincerely revealing his garden's location and the clan directly inquiring about it.
The first scenario was like a host inviting guests home; the second resembled uninvited intrusion.
To win people over, first win their hearts.
Some transmigrators in Douluo Continent sought benefits without investing time in relationships—hypocritical and tactless.
Yet they still blamed the future Tang Godking for "having committed unforgivable sins."
Wasn't that biting the hand that fed them?
Before godhood, Tang San had few moral failings. If spreading the Scarlet Heaven Kiss in Slaughter City and dismantling Spirit Hall counted as sins, then so be it!
Who could predict post-ascension consequences beforehand?
As for the Tang Godking ten thousand years later...
Was he even human anymore?
While these thoughts raced through Ning Rongrong's mind, Dugu Bo led them to the forest's depths. Amidst the tangled branches, they spotted a Jade Phosphor Snake with approximately 1,100 years of cultivation.
"Our luck holds—we found one immediately upon entering!" Dugu Bo's emerald eyes gleamed with a hunter's intensity.