Felines loved sleeping in by nature, and Xiao Ling'er embodied laziness to the fullest.
The warm afternoon sunlight streamed through the window, and the dormitory was quiet.
Ning Rongrong gently pushed open the door.
With a creak, a pair of huge, doll-like eyes peered curiously into the dormitory.
Xiao Ling'er lay on Ning Rongrong's pillow, fast asleep like a fluffy stuffed toy.
"Meow?"
Hearing the door open, Xiao Ling'er slowly opened her eyes and stretched out her claws, a rumbling purr rising from her throat.
Her nose twitched, and she immediately caught Su Zui's familiar scent.
Her amber eyes lit up in an instant, all traces of sleepiness swept away.
Xiao Ling'er kicked off the pillow with her hind legs and shot through the doorway in a blur of fluff, spotting Su Zui standing outside at once.
At the sight of her familiar poop scooper, Xiao Ling'er leaped up and landed squarely on Su Zui's shoulder.
"Meow~ Meow..."
Xiao Ling'er buried her little face in Su Zui's neck and rubbed her head gently against him, clinging to him without letting go.
Seeing how Xiao Ling'er clung to Su Zui, Ning Rongrong puffed out her cheeks and pouted.
"You little ingrate! I feed you dried fish every day, play with you, and treat you so well! But the moment your daddy shows up, you ignore me!"
As Ning Rongrong spoke, her lips turned down, and she even pretended to rub the corners of her eyes, looking as if she were about to burst into tears.
"Meow?"
Xiao Ling'er tilted her head, seemingly understanding Ning Rongrong's words.
She gave a short meow, pushed off Su Zui's shoulder with her hind legs, and jumped from his arms onto the girl's shoulder, rubbing her fluffy head against the girl's cheek all the while.
The little bit of jealousy in Ning Rongrong's heart vanished at once.
She smiled and reached out with both hands to stroke Xiao Ling'er's head, pressing the little one's face against her own and rubbing against her for quite a while.
Zhu Zhuqing stood quietly to the side, watching the two of them play around with the cat, and her aloof heart slowly warmed.
Su Zui and Ning Rongrong were such good companions. Having met them, perhaps she really could escape her family's fate.
"All right, Xiao Ling'er, the sun's so nice today, so don't sleep in anymore. Let's go outside and bask in it!"
Su Zui raised a hand to stroke the kitten's soft fur, then took the lead. With a flick of his left hand, a huge wine gourd appeared in his palm.
A rich aroma of wine immediately wafted from the gourd. He tipped his head back and gulped down several large mouthfuls, feeling a surge of delight.
Ning Rongrong hurried after him, making a delicate little fist and lightly pounding his back.
"Drink a little less each day. I really don't know where you get so much wine! You drink every day!"
Despite her words, the aroma of wine lingering at the corners of Su Zui's mouth stirred her own craving.
Xiao Ling'er immediately jumped onto Su Zui's back, gripping his shoulders with both paws. She poked her little head beneath the wine gourd and stuck out her pink tongue to lick the wine flowing from it.
Although Zhu Zhuqing didn't drink much, watching Su Zui and the others enjoy it so much made her swallow.
Was the wine they were drinking really that fragrant?
Still, the girl was thin-skinned and couldn't possibly ask Su Zui for a drink.
Zhu Zhuqing kept telling herself,
Zhu Zhuqing, oh, Zhu Zhuqing, what are you thinking? You clearly came with Su Zui to cultivate, so why are you thinking about drinking now?
The three of them and the cat strolled leisurely along. After walking for a while, they found a quiet spot.
It was on the mountain behind the village where the academy stood, surrounded by a large forest, with a clear stream beside it whose bottom was plainly visible. It was the perfect place to cultivate.
"All right, Xiao Ling'er, go play nearby. Rongrong, Xiao Zhu, I'll give you your first lesson here."
At Su Zui's request, Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong stood obediently before him with their hands behind their backs.
Su Zui nodded in satisfaction and said, "At this stage, I'll be teaching you mainly in the following two areas."
"The first is naturally physical training. Leaving Soul Power aside, a strong physique is the foundation of a Soul Master."
At this point, Ning Rongrong immediately raised her hand high.
"Hmm... Student Rongrong, do you have a question?"
Ning Rongrong asked timidly, "Su Zui, I'm a support-type Soul Master. Do I have to train my body with Zhu Zhuqing too?"
Su Zui nodded and answered seriously, "Of course. After all, the stronger your physique, the older the Soul Ring you can absorb."
"I know about the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile's situation too. If you can't break past the seven-ring limit, then you can only keep tempering your body and strive to absorb a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring as your Seventh Soul Ring."
Ning Rongrong's eyes widened in surprise at Su Zui's words, her face full of disbelief.
"A Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring! Even Grandpa Sword and Grandpa Bone don't have one! Xiao Zui, do you really think I can absorb a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring?"
Su Zui fell silent for a moment, unwilling to make an empty promise.
"That depends on how strong your physique becomes. If you can't absorb one, we'll have to give up on it. If your physique isn't strong enough, you mustn't take the risk. Even without a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring, I can protect you forever."
Then Su Zui's tone grew firm.
"But I'll search the world for heavenly treasures to temper your body."
"As long as your body reaches the level needed to absorb a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring, I'll turn the whole Douluo Continent upside down to find you a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast."
Hearing Su Zui's promise, Ning Rongrong felt a sweetness in her heart, and a happy smile appeared on her face.
"Mm-hmm, I believe you. My Xiao Zui is the best."
Su Zui's cheeks reddened slightly at Ning Rongrong's unabashed praise.
But he soon put on the airs of a teacher again.
"All right, next is the second part. The second part is about controlling and using Soul Power."
"Controlling and using Soul Power?"
Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing exchanged a glance, both looking utterly puzzled.
After cultivating for so long, they had only ever known how to circulate Soul Power and unleash Soul Skills. They had never learned to control Soul Power with precision.
Su Zui smiled and said, "It's actually not hard to understand. To put it simply, Soul Power is also a kind of force, and any force can be controlled."
"The most fundamental rule of force is action and reaction. Forces always act on each other."
After Su Zui finished speaking, Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong were both dumbfounded.
What on earth is Xiao Zui talking about? Why do our heads itch when we hear all this? It's like our brains are about to grow.
Seeing how bewildered they were, Su Zui gave them a demonstration.
He turned toward a nearby tree, tapped the ground lightly with his foot, and darted forward.
Then he planted both feet directly on the vertical trunk and walked steadily upward, step by step.
Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing stared at the sight with wide eyes, unable to believe it.
As Su Zui walked up the trunk, he explained,
"What you just saw was an application of Soul Power."
"As I walk on the trunk, the Soul Power adhering between the soles of my feet and the trunk produces a force. That force is the attraction between my feet and the trunk."
"At the same time, I condense some Soul Power on my back to create support in the opposite direction, exerting a reaction force on the ground."
Seeing that they were still confused, Su Zui jumped down from the tree and scooped Ning Rongrong into his arms.
"X-Xiao Zui, what are you doing? We're still in class. Why are you suddenly being so improper?"
Ning Rongrong stiffened all over when he suddenly picked her up, and her cheeks turned red.
Su Zui tapped her forehead and said irritably, "What do you mean, improper? Am I not giving you a demonstration?"
Su Zui reached out and held Ning Rongrong securely beneath her bottom, supporting her whole body steadily in midair.
"Rongrong, pay close attention to what you feel. My palm is beneath you now, giving you an upward force. It's that force holding you up."
"You can imagine Soul Power as that supporting force. Use it in place of my arm to hold your body up."
Su Zui slowed his speech and continued to guide her.
"Now listen to me. Direct the Soul Power inside you to the spot where my palm is supporting you, then slowly release it and try to use it to hold yourself up."
Ning Rongrong found this way of doing it interesting and temporarily forgot her embarrassment. She diligently circulated her Soul Power as Su Zui had instructed.
A miraculous sight followed. When Ning Rongrong released the Soul Power, her body really did float up out of Su Zui's arms.
Unfortunately, Ning Rongrong was still unpracticed at controlling her Soul Power. After only a few seconds, the flow inside her was interrupted.
Her body swayed slightly, and with a startled cry, she fell back into Su Zui's arms.
Zhu Zhuqing, who had watched the whole thing clearly from the side, had her eyes light up at once, her gaze full of astonishment.
"That's amazing! Soul Power can actually be used like that!"
It was Ning Rongrong's first time experiencing the feeling of floating in midair, and she was overjoyed.
In her excitement, she threw her arms around Su Zui's neck and kissed him hard on the neck several times.
The girl's warm, soft breath washed over Su Zui's face, leaving his head spinning.
Her fragrance has really made me dizzy...
Su Zui gently set Ning Rongrong on the ground and continued teaching, forcibly suppressing the stirring in his heart.
"This is only the most basic use of Soul Power. Once you're skilled enough, you can turn the simple release of Soul Power into a means of attack."
With that, Su Zui held two fingers together like a sword and pointed at the tree on his left.
A brilliantly condensed streak of Soul Power shot out at once.
"Pfft."
A neat little hole appeared in the thick trunk, as if some sharp weapon had forcibly bored into it.
"Once your control over Soul Power reaches my level, you'll have considerable attack power too."
"What's more, the more skilled you become at controlling Soul Power, the faster you'll cultivate. Once your control reaches my level, your cultivation speed will advance a thousand miles in a day!"