I Owe You a Favor, Leaving the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect
The room suddenly fell silent.
Lin Chen sheathed his lightsaber, Ultimate Armor slowly dimmed; the amplification time for the Third Soul Skill had arrived.
He took a couple of breaths, transformed his Ultimate Armor into a bracelet, and smiled broadly, "Senior, didn't you just break the rules?"
Gu Rong looked at him, remained silent for two seconds, then gave a bitter smile and said, "I've lost."
As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Rong put away his bone armor, and the grayish-white Soul Power on his body slowly receded. His face was full of helplessness. "You brat, you actually forced my Soul Power Level to 60. You're really a monster."
Lin Chen smiled modestly, "Senior only suppressed his Soul Power. I won by sheer luck; I was just a hair's breadth away from losing."
"You don't need to give me face," Gu Rong waved his hand dismissively. "The rules were set by me: level 40 against level 40. If I break the rules, I lose."
He walked up to Lin Chen, his thin figure stopping before the young man, and asked calmly, "Speak, what do you want me to do?"
Lin Chen thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I haven't thought of anything yet."
Gu Rong raised an eyebrow and asked, "What do you mean by that?"
"If you're truly willing to grant me a request, then I'll owe you one for now," Lin Chen said with a smile. "I can come back to you later when I've thought it through."
"You're quite shrewd, kid. Alright, I'll take that lying down." Gu Rong chuckled and patted Lin Chen on the shoulder. "When you've made up your mind, you can come find me anytime."
Ning Rongrong stood in the distance, watching Gu Rong's thin back, then looked at Lin Chen opposite her, who seemed calm and unaffected.
She opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end, nothing came out.
Gu Rong turned and glanced at her, then said gently, "Rongrong, let's go back."
Ning Rongrong lowered her head and followed behind Gu Rong. After a few steps, she glanced back at Lin Chen, then quickly caught up with Gu Rong.
For the next three days, Lin Chen and Dugu Bo continued to stay in the Guest Courtyard of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
Ning Fengzhi would visit every day. On the first morning, he brought a box of pills specially made by the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, sat down, drank a cup of tea, chatted for a few minutes about Rongrong, and then left.
He came again the following evening, this time bringing intelligence on the recent movements of the Star Luo Empire. He sat in the courtyard for about half an hour, mostly talking about trivial matters.
Lin Chen was polite at first, but later he got too lazy to refuse.
He accepted whatever Ning Fengzhi, then casually tossed it into his Storage Soul Tool, prompting Dugu Bo to roll his eyes. "You really don't consider yourself an outsider, do you?"
"Sect Master Ning gave it to him willingly; I didn't force him," Lin Chen said matter-of-factly.
On the afternoon of the third day, Ning Fengzhi came again.
This time he brought nothing, only two cups of tea, and sat down on the stone bench opposite Lin Chen: "Are you leaving tomorrow?"
Lin Chen nodded, smiling as he took the teacup, "Yes, after being away for so many days, it's time to go back."
Ning Fengzhi nodded, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and after a few moments of silence, he smiled and asked, "How has Qinghe been lately?"
"It's fine," Lin Chen replied casually. "I just handle official business every day, and then I start cultivating. I haven't fallen behind in my cultivation; I even broke through to the Soul King a while ago."
Upon hearing the words "Soul King," Ning Fengzhi paused almost imperceptibly in his movements, then laughed, "That child has been intelligent since childhood and has worked diligently in cultivation, so I'm not surprised by his cultivation speed."
After Ning Fengzhi finished speaking, he casually changed the subject, saying, "Could you please pass on a message to Qinghe for me? Just to let him know I'm safe."
Lin Chen nodded without asking further. He already knew that Ning Fengzhi was Qian Renxue's teacher, but since the two of them lived quite close by, why would he need to relay any messages?
Thinking of this, Lin Chen casually asked, "Sect Master Ning, don't you plan to write a letter to Brother Xue?"
Ning Fengzhi smiled and shook his head, "No need, just pass on the message. That child has always known how to behave properly; she knows what she should do."
He put down his teacup, stood up, and said, "Alright, you should get some rest. I'll see you off tomorrow."
The next morning.
Lin Chen and Dugu Bo packed their things and left the Guest Courtyard.
Ning Fengzhi was already waiting at the sect entrance, followed by Gu Rong and several disciples of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
Lin Chen walked to the door and cupped his hands in greeting to Ning Fengzhi: "Sect Master Ning, I apologize for disturbing you these past few days."
Ning Fengzhi smiled and returned the greeting, "Not at all, I should be thanking you."
"Rongrong has been much more well-behaved these past few days, going to the training Training Grounds every day, something that has never happened before."
"That would be wonderful." Lin Chen nodded with a smile.
His gaze swept over the crowd behind Ning Fengzhi, pausing briefly on Gu Rong. Gu Rong nodded to him as a greeting.
Then Lin Chen saw a familiar figure behind him.
Ning Rongrong stood half a step behind Gu Rong, her head down, her hands clasped together, as if she were doing some kind of mental preparation.
Lin Chen ignored her and turned to get into the carriage.
"Wait, wait a minute!"
Ning Rongrong's anxious voice suddenly came from behind.
Lin Chen stopped and turned to look at her with a puzzled expression.
Ning Rongrong took a deep breath, raised her head, and her expression was complicated, showing resentment, grievance, but more than anything else.
She bit her lip, held it in for a long time, and finally squeezed out a sentence through gritted teeth. "I'm sorry."
The sound was very soft, but Lin Chen heard it.
He glanced at Ning Rongrong, the girl who had been so arrogant just a few days ago. Now, she stood at the door, her face flushed red as if it were about to bleed, her eyes glistening with tears, but she stubbornly held them back.
Lin Chen waved his hand. "It's nothing, I didn't really care, but I did say something wrong earlier."
Ning Rongrong paused, then, fighting back tears, asked in a low voice, "What did you say wrong?"
Lin Chen smiled brightly and said, "Support-type Soul Masters are never appendages of their teammates, but rather their most important partners. Besides, who says support-type Soul Masters can't fight on the battlefield?"
At this point, Lin Chen waved his hand. "Of course, I definitely don't recommend that you go into battle yourself. You're too weak right now; rushing in would just be suicide."
Before Ning Rongrong could speak, Lin Chen turned and boarded the carriage. He lifted the curtain and waved to Ning Fengzhi and the others, saying, "Sect Master Ning, farewell! Come visit the Crown Prince's Residence sometime!"
The carriage slowly started moving and headed down the mountain road.
Ning Rongrong stood at the sect's entrance, watching the carriage drive further and further away until it disappeared behind the bend in the road before she turned her gaze away.