Arrangements

Chapter 41: Arrangements

Watching the three depart, Ma Hongjun wore an indignant expression, while an inexplicable glimmer of delight appeared on Dai Mubai's face.

Before long, Shi Yi led the two girls to his residence. A young man dressed in fitted white clothes was already waiting outside.

Upon seeing Ning Rongrong, the young man respectfully bowed. He then took another Soul Tool from his own Soul Tool and slowly presented it to her. "Miss, this is what you requested yesterday."

Ning Rongrong nodded slightly. After taking it from him, she could not even be bothered to inspect it before casually tossing it to Shi Yi. "You've worked hard."

"You give me too much credit, Miss. If there is nothing else, I shall take my leave and not disturb you further," the young man replied.

Ning Rongrong said nothing, merely waving her hand to dismiss him. The young man slowly straightened up. He glanced at Shi Yi, respect flashing through his eyes, and gave him a slight nod.

Shi Yi smiled and nodded in return. Then the young man vanished in a flash.

"Not bad, Young Miss. You work pretty efficiently." Shi Yi gave Ning Rongrong a thumbs-up.

Ning Rongrong folded her arms over her small chest and declared proudly, "Of course. Anything this young miss orders can be obtained quickly."

Zhu Zhuqing looked at Shi Yi and softly said, "Thank you."

Shi Yi smiled slightly. "No need to be polite. I'm your teacher, after all. If you want to thank someone, thank Rongrong. With this little rich girl around, you basically won't need to worry about your training expenses."

Hearing that, Zhu Zhuqing turned to Ning Rongrong and said with utmost sincerity, "Thank you."

Ning Rongrong seriously replied, "Consider it a small token of my support. As your classmate, I hope you win."

A different light appeared in Zhu Zhuqing's eyes. She nodded and softly said, "I'll do my best."

"Not bad, Young Miss." Shi Yi chuckled. Ning Rongrong gave a soft snort, though a trace of embarrassment appeared on her face.

"Alright, since that's settled, let's begin training." Shi Yi grinned at the two of them as though he were plotting something wicked.

Zhu Zhuqing said nothing and simply fixed her gaze on Shi Yi. Ning Rongrong also watched him curiously, wondering what sort of training he had arranged for her.

"Zhuqing, attack me at your fastest speed," Shi Yi said calmly.

Zhu Zhuqing did not speak. Ning Rongrong only caught a flash of purple before Zhu Zhuqing appeared before Shi Yi, her sharp claws striking toward his throat. Yet in the next instant, Shi Yi firmly caught her hand.

"You're very fast, even faster than I expected. But do you know why your attack failed?" Shi Yi asked softly.

The two were standing very close, their posture somewhat intimate. Shi Yi's breath was clearly audible, making a blush rise to Zhu Zhuqing's face.

Ning Rongrong watched the scene with great interest.

When Zhu Zhuqing did not answer, Shi Yi was somewhat puzzled. He subconsciously looked down, only then realizing that they seemed to be standing a little too close.

Shi Yi's old face reddened as well. He slowly released Zhu Zhuqing's hand, coughed awkwardly, and barely steadied his wavering thoughts before saying calmly, "Answer the question."

Zhu Zhuqing glared at him. "I don't know!"

"Speed is merely a means of closing in on the enemy. The attack must be launched at the very instant your speed reaches its target. That is what you will train next: your reflexes. Without powerful reactions, it will be difficult to attack in the first instant after moving at extreme speed. Even if you possess incredible speed, true experts will still have time to react. Not to mention Soul Masters with powerful perception," Shi Yi said evenly.

"How do I do it?" Zhu Zhuqing asked seriously.

"Don't rush. This requires the help of a good brother." Shi Yi smiled.

In the next moment, a changed Little Ant appeared before the three of them. Little Ant was completely different from before. Its entire exoskeleton had been dyed a dark golden color, making it look far more solid, while the bright golden patterns on its body had become especially distinct.

Shi Yi was greatly surprised. Ever since Little Ant had fallen asleep after consuming the Immortal Herb, this was the first time Shi Yi had summoned his Martial Soul. He understood what golden patterns meant to Martial Souls and Soul Beasts. Among Soul Beasts, golden patterns represented royal bloodlines.

The Blue Silver Emperor, the Dark Gold Nine-Headed Bat King, and even the ant queen Zhao Wuji had found in the Thousand Jun Ant nest all proved this point. As for the three Thousand Jun Ant Emperors in the Star Dou Great Forest, their strength came solely from cultivation. If Shi Yi remembered correctly, the original account had described all three Thousand Jun Ant Emperors as soldier ants. Even after devouring countless ant queens to achieve their cultivation, they might have only been one step away from evolving golden patterns.

The two girls stared at Little Ant in astonishment. Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong exchanged a glance and immediately thought of the period when Shi Yi had disappeared on his own.

"How did you do that? Did you hide some secret technique from us?" Ning Rongrong glared at Shi Yi.

Shi Yi was startled inwardly. Even he, Little Ant's master, had not expected this change. Yet his expression remained calm as he smiled. "Little Ant's quality was very low, so it was relatively easy for it to evolve. After all, Little Ant isn't an inanimate object."

Ning Rongrong looked at him suspiciously. "Really?"

"Of course. Otherwise, why would I have asked Teacher Zhao to help me raid a Thousand Jun Ant nest? That's also the greatest advantage of a Living Martial Soul." Shi Yi chuckled.

Ning Rongrong looked at Little Ant with envy filling her eyes. If her Martial Soul could evolve, then she, Ning Rongrong, would make history for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. The clan genealogy would have to give her a page all to herself.

"Quick, quick, quick! Teach me how to cultivate," Ning Rongrong urged.

Seeing that he had brushed the matter aside, Shi Yi inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. Even if he possessed Immortal Herbs, he absolutely could not admit it. This was also the first time in many days that he had summoned Little Ant. He truly had not expected the Aromatic Silk Beauty to be so effective.

"Don't rush. Let me arrange Zhuqing's training first," Shi Yi said softly.

Shi Yi glanced at Zhu Zhuqing and thought to himself, This little kitten knows her boundaries. She didn't ask a single question about Little Ant.

Shi Yi then took out a large handful of golden pellets from his Soul Tool. If Tang San were here, he would recognize them at a glance as the Tang Sect Hidden Weapon he had long dreamed of—the Dragon Beard Needle.

Shi Yi placed all the golden pellets on Little Ant's enormous forelimbs and slowly explained, "Little Ant will throw out all these golden pellets in a moment. Zhuqing, your task is to use your speed to gather every single pellet before they hit the ground, without missing even one. If you fail, that's fine. Gather the pellets, give them back to Little Ant, and start over."

Zhu Zhuqing nodded. Shi Yi turned to Little Ant and said softly, "Don't throw them too hard. Use the gentlest force possible. Whenever Zhuqing returns all the pellets, just throw them out again."

Little Ant nodded in a humanlike manner.

"If you can gather all the golden pellets before they hit the ground, then among Shrek's students, no one but me will be your match. Information has to travel through the entire body before a reaction can be made. Even when an opponent blocks, there is an initial movement. Even Xiao San won't be able to react to your attacks," Shi Yi said softly.

"Why can you?" Zhu Zhuqing asked.

Shi Yi lightly tapped his temple and smiled. "The mysteries of Mental Power. Combat is a complex process. What seems like a simple movement actually contains many things. At lower levels, Soul Masters primarily use their eyes, ears, and noses to receive information and react to enemies. When Xiao San's eyesight and hearing cannot lock onto you, he will naturally lose to your speed. But high-level Soul Masters use Mental Power to analyze other people's movements, predict them, and react."

"How do you counter that?" Zhu Zhuqing furrowed her brow and asked seriously.

"That involves something more advanced: Concealment. An Agility Attack System that cannot be sensed by its opponents is the most terrifying. That is the monstrous Agility Attack System I mentioned to you before. Alright, don't aim too high just yet. Start training first. If I keep talking to you, someone's mouth will be hanging open like a jar," Shi Yi said with a light laugh.

A blush immediately appeared on Ning Rongrong's pretty face.

Little Ant then began training with Zhu Zhuqing off to the side.

"Your training is much simpler: training your body and mind," Shi Yi told Ning Rongrong.

"How?" Ning Rongrong asked, imitating Zhu Zhuqing's tone.

Shi Yi smiled faintly. "You know Heart Separation Control, right?"

Ning Rongrong looked at Shi Yi as though he were an idiot and replied matter-of-factly, "Of course I do."

"I think you've only just gotten started with it," Shi Yi said with a light laugh.

Ning Rongrong's gaze immediately began to flicker. She stuck out her tongue and said, "Heart Separation Control is too boring. It's practically inhuman."

"I know that. Let me ask you something: what do you think is the highest realm of Heart Separation Control? Think carefully before answering." Shi Yi looked at her seriously.

"The Seven Orifices Exquisite Heart?" Ning Rongrong sounded a little uncertain after Shi Yi's words.

Shi Yi shook his head slightly. "That is only the highest realm Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Soul Masters can attain."

"Why?" Ning Rongrong asked in confusion.

"If I remember correctly, this technique did not originally belong exclusively to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. It was simply extremely suitable for Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Soul Masters, which was why it has been passed down within the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect to this day. Allowing a Soul Master to control different soul skills at the same time naturally relies on Mental Power—the heart in Heart Separation Control. Since it comes from Mental Power, it is naturally limited by Mental Power as well. Soul Masters with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda cannot break through Rank Eighty, so their Mental Power cannot reach a higher realm along with their cultivation. Therefore, I am certain there are higher realms beyond the Seven Orifices Exquisite Heart."

Ning Rongrong looked astonished. She had never expected Shi Yi to know even the origins of Heart Separation Control so well.

"So, if you want to break through your Martial Soul's limits and promote Martial Soul Evolution, I suggest that you practice Heart Separation Control while training your body. The state of your body often affects a Soul Master's mental state. If you can practice Heart Separation Control while your physical condition is impaired, it will be a tremendous improvement for you. Even if one day you train Heart Separation Control to the Seven Orifices Exquisite Heart, I would still advise you not to stop practicing it, because it is also a method for promoting the growth of Mental Power," Shi Yi slowly explained.

"So what should I do?" Ning Rongrong asked.

"Teacher Zhao will come after breakfast. Your task will be to practice Heart Separation Control within Teacher Zhao's Gravity. If you can still complete Heart Separation Control while your physical condition steadily worsens, you will make enormous progress," Shi Yi said softly.

Ning Rongrong looked troubled. Of all forms of cultivation, Heart Separation Control was the most tedious. For a Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Soul Master, practicing Heart Separation Control meant continuously casting one's skills on different support targets at the same time for the least possible Soul Power cost, while constantly controlling the distribution of Soul Power between two skills on different targets.

This alone was an extremely exhausting task. In battle, Battle Soul Masters generally had to ensure that support Soul Masters were not disturbed by the outside world, lest their support effects be weakened. But Shi Yi's training specifically required her to practice Heart Separation Control while being disturbed by external factors.

When Ning Rongrong wanted to ask Shi Yi to change her training, she saw Zhu Zhuqing repeatedly picking up the golden pellets. The words reached her lips, but she simply could not say them.

Shi Yi smiled slightly when he saw this. Of course, he understood what Ning Rongrong was thinking. But if Ning Rongrong was unwilling to do even this simple training, how could she speak of evolving her Martial Soul? In any case, Little Ant had already eaten the Aromatic Silk Beauty. He had no way to produce a second one.

"In a moment, I'll do this training with you," Shi Yi said with a smile.

Ning Rongrong looked at Shi Yi in surprise. "You know Heart Separation Control too?"

"The body carries Soul Power and the mind. The mind controls the body and the flow of Soul Power, while Soul Power is the fuel for both body and mind. In truth, every person is born with their own Mental Power. Using Mental Power to control the body and the flow of Soul Power is itself a Soul Master's instinct. Heart Separation Control merely refines that instinct into something more precise. For example, like this."

As Shi Yi spoke, three Soul Rings emerged from his body. Under Ning Rongrong's astonished gaze, the three Soul Rings continuously shifted under Shi Yi's control into formations unlike their usual arrangement. They even flickered according to a certain pattern, each ring moving in its own rhythm.

Ning Rongrong stared dumbfoundedly and muttered, "Three Orifices Control Heart..."

Shi Yi smiled faintly. He had long envied Tang San's Purple Demon Eyes, because it could indirectly promote the continuous growth of Mental Power. Since Mental Power was one of the important components of a Soul Master's strength, Shi Yi naturally would not give up researching ways to increase it.

Shi Yi had also done some research into the Purple Demon Eyes. From the perspective of Internal Cultivation, he believed that the Purple Demon Eyes used a special circulation route to train one's eyesight with the rising sun. Why cultivate at dawn every day? Shi Yi believed that the moment one first woke in the morning was when one's mind was at its sharpest. The sunlight at that time was not too intense, allowing it to train the eyes without damaging them. Training the eyes over long periods would also stimulate the brain and promote the growth of Mental Power.

Since he had no healing ability, Shi Yi did not dare casually develop cultivation routes involving vital areas like the brain and eyes. Left with no alternative, he could only continuously strengthen his control, refining it further and further. Practice made perfect. Through long-term training of his control, Shi Yi believed that this could also indirectly aid the growth of Mental Power.

This Heart Separation Control was naturally the result of practice making perfect.