Ning Rongrong

Li Xun's heart stirred.

Only Aunt Xue and he lived in this residence.

Even if Ning Fengzhi and the others came, Aunt Xue would inform him first.

Only one person could bypass Aunt Xue and knock directly on his door like this.

"Come in," Li Xun called softly with a smile.

At the sound of his voice,

the door opened a crack.

A small head peeked into the room through the gap.

"Big Brother Li Xun, I came to play with you!"

A timid yet somewhat delighted voice came through the crack in the door.

"Did you finish your morning lessons today?" Li Xun teased.

Ning Rongrong's eyes shifted at his words, and she hurriedly said, "I finished them, I finished them! Sword Grandfather and Bone Grandfather even praised me.

If you don't believe me, go ask them."

Li Xun rolled his eyes. After spending the past few days with her, he had gotten a fair understanding of Ning Rongrong's personality.

The little girl was not bad-natured. She was a little mischievous, but she had not been spoiled into becoming willful and unreasonable.

She was simply an ordinary six-year-old girl.

"Did Teacher send you to find me?"

Li Xun watched Ning Rongrong slowly edge closer to him.

"No, I came on my own."

"Big Brother Li Xun, I heard Father say that you might one day reach Sword Grandfather's level of cultivation. Will you protect me then?"

Ning Rongrong moved close to Li Xun, tilted up her little face, and looked at him pleadingly.

"Probably. That will depend on how you behave."

Li Xun smiled at Ning Rongrong. "If your cultivation is too weak in the future and you can't support me, causing me to lose to someone else, then I'll leave you behind and run first."

Ning Rongrong had Innate Soul Power at rank nine. In terms of talent, she had already surpassed 99.9 percent of the Soul Masters in the world.

She had merely been pampered since childhood and could not endure hardship.

That was why, when she joined Shrek Academy, her Soul Power was even one rank lower than Zhu Zhuqing's, despite Zhu Zhuqing having only rank-seven Innate Soul Power.

Although support-type Soul Masters cultivated more slowly, her laziness was also inseparable from the matter.

"Then I still have Sword Grandfather and Bone Grandfather. They'll protect me."

Apparently angered by Li Xun's words,

Ning Rongrong's little face lost its pleading expression as she puffed out her cheeks and spoke indignantly.

"They will also experience birth, aging, illness, and death. They cannot stand before you forever, shielding you from the wind and rain."

"If you do not cultivate properly now, then when we encounter a powerful enemy in the future and need your support, you are unable to help because your cultivation is insufficient..."

"What will you do then?"

Li Xun's words were like a thorn piercing Ning Rongrong's heart. Her previously puffed-up face turned slightly pale.

Li Xun only wanted to provoke Ning Rongrong a little and make her cultivate diligently.

Seeing that something was wrong with her expression, he hurriedly coaxed her. "If you start cultivating diligently from now on, that kind of thing will not happen."

"When that time comes, we may even have to rely on Rongrong's support."

"Mm! Rongrong will cultivate diligently. When the time comes, I'll support all of you."

After hearing Li Xun's comforting words, Ning Rongrong's little face gradually returned to normal. She spoke with a determined expression.

"You'd better keep your word."

Seeing Ning Rongrong's expression, Li Xun could not help adding that.

"Rongrong always keeps her word. If you don't believe me, you can supervise me."

Seeing that Li Xun seemed to doubt her, Ning Rongrong raised her head and declared loudly.

"Fine. Starting today, I'll supervise your cultivation. I'll speak to Teacher in a while, so you can't go back on your word."

"Not today. I already finished my morning lessons today. We'll start tomorrow, tomorrow."

The moment she heard that Li Xun would supervise her cultivation today, Ning Rongrong hurriedly waved her hands.

"Tomorrow is fine too. I'll give you one day off."

Li Xun nodded. If he wanted to change someone, he had to prepare for a long campaign. It was not something that could be accomplished overnight.

Even when he supervised her later, he would not be too strict. He would only gradually change Ning Rongrong over time.

"Is there anything else?"

Seeing that Ning Rongrong was twisting her little hands after he finished speaking, Li Xun asked in confusion.

"Big Brother Li Xun... I already promised you that I'd cultivate diligently."

Upon hearing his question, Ning Rongrong revealed a flattering smile. "That... Second Martial Soul of yours, can you let me see it?"

So this was what she was really after?

Li Xun froze for a moment, then revealed an odd smile. "Rongrong! I can show you my Martial Soul, but don't forget what we agreed on earlier!"

After speaking, he handed the kunai to Ning Rongrong.

"Rongrong, you must cultivate diligently even while I'm away."

"I'll check when I return."

Li Xun stood atop Sword Douluo's flying sword and waved the branch in his hand at the excited Ning Rongrong below.

"Got it. Sword Grandfather, hurry up and take him already."

Ning Rongrong instinctively covered her backside with a hand.

"Haha, all right. Sword Grandfather won't disturb our little princess any longer."

Chen Xin smiled as he glanced at Ning Rongrong, then rode his sword into the sky.

Li Xun's purpose on this journey was to obtain his First Spirit Ring.

His body had recovered several days ago. The reason he had delayed until now was that he had been researching Spirit Beasts suitable for him.

Sunset Forest.

Located near Heaven Dou City, this place was rich in high-level Spirit Beasts and extremely dangerous.

With Sword Douluo's cultivation, it took only an hour for him to carry Li Xun on his flying sword from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect to this place.

As a powerful Titled Douluo,

Chen Xin carried Li Xun without stopping along the way, speeding directly into Sunset Forest from the sky.

Perhaps Chen Xin's Titled Douluo aura was too overwhelming. As Li Xun looked down from the flying sword,

he saw Spirit Beasts fleeing in every direction through the forest from time to time. The occasional Spirit Beast that looked upward would immediately lower its head upon seeing the flying sword overhead, pretending it had not been seen.

"There is a Silver Branch Spruce Tree down there."

"It has nearly sixty silver branches. Judging by its age, it should be between five hundred and six hundred years old. Xiao Xun, are you truly willing to take such a risk?"

Sword Douluo slowly brought the flying sword to a stop.

Li Xun looked down at his words and saw a spruce tree in the forest, its silver branches gleaming and its fruit hanging in abundance.

They had two targets on this trip: the Sapindus Soul Tree and the Silver Branch Spruce Tree.

These two tree-type Spirit Beasts were not aggressive, and their fruits were nutritious, providing a healthy supply-and-demand relationship for the ecosystem.

They also had few natural predators, so they were quite common.

"Sword Grandfather, the Silver Branch Spruce Tree has a mild nature. It should be fine."

"Moreover, this tree produces hundreds of thousands of seeds each time. As my First Spirit Ring, the benefits will definitely be the greatest."

Li Xun looked at Sword Douluo with a serious expression.

"Very well! I'll make the move shortly, and you can deliver the final blow." Sword Douluo sighed softly at his words.

The members of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had all advised Li Xun against choosing a Spirit Beast that was too old for his First Spirit Ring.

As someone with Twin Martial Souls, Li Xun's status in their eyes was second only to Ning Rongrong's.

For a genius like him, even steady and cautious cultivation would guarantee that he became a Titled Douluo.

They could not understand why Li Xun was pushing himself so hard.

Sword Douluo guided the flying sword down slowly. Along the way, he pressed two fingers together and used Sword Finger to fire two streams of sword qi directly at the Silver Branch Spruce Tree.

The sword qi was as swift as shooting stars, slicing across the spruce tree's trunk and roots in the blink of an eye.

The massive tree, which required five or six people to encircle it, swayed like a candle flame after that single strike.

Perhaps knowing that its life was nearing its end, the fruits on the Silver Branch Spruce Tree suddenly burst apart all at once. Hundreds of thousands of seeds shot explosively in every direction.