Inside the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, with Ye Lingling's treatment, Xue Beng gradually woke up.

Tang San, meanwhile, was left unconscious—he wouldn't die anyway.

"Your Highness Xue Beng, you're awake!" Ning Fengzhi tried to appear friendly; he didn't like this guy. If he didn't need him for his future plans, he'd have killed him outright for attacking the sect.

"Thank you for saving me, Sect Master Ning!" Xue Beng feigned gratitude. He remembered everything from when he was controlled. He did feel some gratitude to Ning Fengzhi, but more than that, he was furious.

After all, the ten thousand-strong army had been gathered for him by his uncle, who'd worked hard to win over several junior generals willing to support him. Yet, today, Ning Fengzhi had slaughtered them all.

"Sect Master Ning, you saved me, but weren't you too ruthless? Ten thousand soldiers died at your sect's hands!"

"I had no other choice. Your men killed our disciples first and then tried to destroy the sect. We had to fight back. If I'd known you were being controlled, I'd have shown mercy." Ning Fengzhi looked regretful.

But Tian Lin, who knew him well, could tell he was being deliberate. He'd first let Spirit Hall disciples pose as sect disciples to act as cannon fodder, forcing Xue Beng's side to attack first.

Then Ning Fengzhi's counterattack seemed justified. Still, killing ten thousand imperial soldiers would inevitably earn the royal family's resentment, even if it couldn't provoke an outright break.

Ning Fengzhi usually wouldn't make such reckless moves—unless it was all part of his plan. Tian Lin felt Ning Fengzhi was plotting something he didn't even know about.

Unlike a certain god who would spend millennia on some idiotic scheme, Ning Fengzhi's plans were never grand but always simple and effective.

Seeing Ning Fengzhi's posture, Xue Beng could only suppress his rage. "In that case, I won't pursue the matter further. After all, you were also a victim."

"But as for the real culprit—your disciple Xue Qinghe—how do you plan to deal with him? When I was controlled, my orders were to help him complete the soul-hunting plan in secret and not let him know my real purpose. But this was a Spirit Hall plan—how could the crown prince be involved? I suspect he's actually with Spirit Hall, maybe even with the black-robed man."

Xue Beng was no fool; upon waking, he pointed all suspicion towards Xue Qinghe.

Tian Lin was confused as well. When Xue Qinghe had mentioned the black-robed man, her confusion was real; he'd known her for years and was sure she wasn't lying.

A Spirit Hall Title Douluo unknown to Qian Renxue, who came to help her because the soul-hunting operation was moved up, using Xue Beng to drive away the army, and with a Four-Winged Fallen Angel martial soul...

Spirit Hall's internal situation was only getting more complicated. Was there a third force besides Bibi Dong and Qian Daoliu?

Regarding Xue Qinghe, Ning Fengzhi could only promise to investigate with Xue Beng, which finally satisfied him.

Ning Fengzhi then asked Xue Beng how he'd been controlled, but Xue Beng claimed not to know—he didn't even know when it started. He'd been controlled for years, but the controller hadn't given him any orders before; aside from being more violent, he was the same as before, so no one noticed anything strange.

It was similar to Tian Lin's mind control over Hu Liena: as long as no orders were given, she was herself. The power controlling Xue Beng just made his already cruel heart even more ruthless. When he killed that peasant girl before Tian Lin and Xue Qinghe, it was partly under this influence.

As for the memory loss, it was probably like Tian Lin's soul-reading: those memories had been erased. It was clear they wouldn't get any clues from him.

...

Soon after, Prince Xue Xing arrived, having received the message. After hearing what had happened, he didn't feel grateful but instead blamed Ning Fengzhi for destroying his faction.

But unlike Xue Beng, the more mature prince didn't say it outright, just silently kept a record. He left with Xue Beng and the still-unconscious Tang San.

"Uncle Ning, you deliberately offended them, didn't you?" Tian Lin asked.

"Heh, after tonight, the balance of power in Heaven Dou will change drastically." Ning Fengzhi didn't answer directly, only said, "Xiao Tian, be ready for several major events: Clear Sky Sect's emergence, Xue Qinghe's fall, Xue Beng's rise, our sect being suppressed by the royal family, and Qian Daoliu's imminent arrival."

Tian Lin was bewildered—how many things had Ning Fengzhi done in secret, and what else would happen? He seemed to know it all in advance.

Tian Lin didn't realize that the real target of Ning Fengzhi's plan was him.

Ning Fengzhi glanced at him and thought, "Xiao Tian, since you're unwilling to act, I'll plan for you. If Xue Qinghe comes to seek reconciliation and earns my approval, we'll cooperate. If not..."

...

That night seemed longer than months. By dawn, the sect was still cleaning up the ruins. Tian Lin, holding Ning Rongrong's hand, gazed at the sunrise, finally feeling at ease. Since joining the sect, he'd spent over a decade worrying about the soul-hunting operation, which was now finally over.

There had been many variables, but Tian Lin wasn't afraid. After all, in this world, he was a variable—a transmigrator who'd grown stronger. He had no reason to fear the locals.

The God of Asura had once said that only he and Tang San were otherworldly souls in this world, so there was no need to worry about a third transmigrator.

However, when Tian Lin had crossed over, besides the Divine Spirit Pearl and Divine Sword, there was something else.

Inside the Divine Spirit Pearl, the descendant of Nuwa murmured, "I didn't expect Xiao Tian to encounter that thing so soon. It seems a native has already obtained and begun using its power. I must help Xiao Tian start the Divine Spirit Pearl's godhood trial as soon as possible."

That thing was just a magic treasure, but it was so well-hidden that even the God of Asura couldn't catch it.

Just as Tian Lin had obtained the Divine Spirit Pearl, whoever got that thing would gain immense power. Tian Lin's Divine Spirit Sword had come to this world just to destroy it.