The Agreement, Ning Rongrong's Change

Lin Yao and Ning Rongrong left together. Ning Fengzhi watched their receding backs, his eyes full of expectation.

Then, he summoned the Sect Enforcers and ordered them to take Yan Jun and the others away for strict discipline.

At the same time, he instructed the enforcers to strengthen control within the sect and never allow such an incident to happen a second time.

Facing the enforcers' respectful acceptance and Yan Jun's group looking as though their parents had died, Ning Fengzhi merely nodded calmly and said no more.

Although Lin Yao had said there was no need to pursue the matter, Ning Fengzhi was not someone who lacked sense or emotional intelligence. Naturally, he would not truly let it go entirely.

Still, this matter had begun because of Ning Rongrong. Even if someone had been stirring things up behind the scenes, it would not be appropriate to act too ruthlessly.

A warning was enough, so long as it served to Beat the Grass to Startle the Snake.

In the great hall, only Ning Fengzhi, Chen Xin, and Gu Rong remained.

"At last, we've found someone who can keep this girl in line. This couldn't be better. I used to worry about this every day, but I never expected it to be resolved so easily."

Once no one else remained in the hall, the authority belonging to Ning Fengzhi as sect master melted away like lingering spring snow. In its place was his usual tranquil, gentle smile, with a trace of relieved lightness hidden in his eyes.

"Fengzhi, Rongrong is a proud child. Yao may be able to discipline her smoothly at first, but if he is even slightly careless later on, I fear it may provoke her rebellious nature. That would not be good."

Seeing Ning Fengzhi looking as carefree as an old father who had cast off a heavy burden, Chen Xin could not help shaking his head. He spoke with a hint of concern.

"There is also the possibility that the plan may differ greatly from reality. You must prepare in advance to deal with the aftermath.

"At the end of the day, no matter how mature Yao is, he is still only six years old. Don't put too much pressure on him."

"Just give Yao a chance. But if that brat dares to make Rongrong suffer even the slightest grievance, I'll have words with him."

Bone Douluo Gu Rong added at this point, his tone carrying the firm protectiveness of someone shielding his own.

"Mm."

Ning Fengzhi nodded slowly, though he had two further considerations in mind.

First, Rongrong had lacked a mother's love since childhood and had been endlessly pampered by two Title Douluo. As her father, whenever he tried to discipline her, he always found himself constrained.

He needed to find someone they could all accept, someone who could properly correct Rongrong's temperament before she truly went astray and left them with only regret.

Second, he wanted to use the opportunity of the two spending every day together to let them gradually develop feelings for each other.

Between a man and a woman, the bond most comparable to familial affection had often, since ancient times, been that of Childhood Sweethearts.

With childhood memories as its foundation, as long as he carefully maintained the right balance from the side, their relationship would surely develop in a positive direction.

When the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was handed over to Rongrong in the future, having someone trustworthy and dependable by her side would ensure the sect's position remained stable for centuries.

What was more, given the talent Yao had displayed and the bond they would forge through their daily companionship, it was not impossible for his relationship with Rongrong to progress even further in the future.

Thus, all he needed to do now was quietly lay the groundwork and let things develop naturally.

Meanwhile, Lin Yao returned to his room, while Ning Rongrong went next door—her residence from now on.

This arrangement had clearly been specially made by Ning Fengzhi so Lin Yao could conveniently teach his daughter nearby.

"Big bad Lin Yao, what are we doing now?"

Ning Rongrong followed him into the room step by step, raising her little face as she asked.

"Ah, you finally asked the right question. First, the most important and crucial thing is..."

A serious expression suddenly appeared on Lin Yao's face. His tone was solemn, and he deliberately drew out his final words.

He carefully observed Ning Rongrong's expression. Sure enough, she had been drawn in by his words, her large eyes filled with anticipation as though she were waiting for some enormous surprise.

Then, the corners of Lin Yao's lips curled up slightly as he said with a smile,

"The most crucial thing is that you should call me Brother Lin Yao, Brother Lin, or Brother Yao. You can't call me big bad Lin Yao anymore."

"Uh..."

A blank look instantly appeared on Ning Rongrong's face. She stared at Lin Yao, unable to understand how he could create such a tense atmosphere one moment and abruptly change the subject the next.

The sudden turn made her feel as if she had been teased. A faint blush immediately rose on her fair cheeks, clearly from anger.

"Big bad Lin Yao, you..."

"Rongrong, as the face of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, are you the kind of person who breaks her word and lets others look down on her? We made an agreement before."

Lin Yao interrupted Ning Rongrong before she could finish, forcefully cutting off the emotions she had been building up and seizing the moral high ground first.

"You... fine..."

Ning Rongrong's thoughts were thrown into disarray by the interruption. A flash of unwillingness passed through her eyes—this rotten guy had gotten the better of her again!

She bit her lip and spoke haltingly.

"Brother... Brother Lin Yao... are you satisfied now? What are we doing next?"

After saying that, she crossed her arms over her chest and sharply turned her head to the right, putting on a thoroughly tsundere display.

It was as though putting on enough of an imposing manner could help her recover some ground after being so easily controlled by Lin Yao.

"I'm satisfied. Very satisfied. As for your arrangements, they're actually simple: don't waste time whenever possible."

Lin Yao smiled and continued.

"For example, I normally divide my time among meditation, basic swordsmanship practice, and studying the combat techniques and theoretical knowledge of Soul Masters.

"You were too lazy before. If you suddenly begin high-intensity training, you may find it hard to adapt. So you only need to complete one-quarter of my training plan.

"It may feel boring at first, but once you get used to the feeling of working hard every day and gaining something every day, you might even come to love it."

"Brother Lin Yao, I don't think I can adapt to that. Too much pressure can crush a child. We should balance work and rest—we should go out and have fun.

"And with our talent, even if we just grow naturally every day, we're still much stronger than people with lower Innate Soul Power. There's no need to work so hard now. We can try harder later."

After Ning Rongrong called him "Brother Lin Yao" in front of him because of Lin Yao's provocation, it was as though she had cast off some kind of psychological burden.

Now, she called him that with incredible ease, as though she had wanted to call him that all along but had simply been too embarrassed to say it.

"It's precisely because we're talented that we can't waste it.

"Relying on talent alone would indeed make us stronger than most people, but why can't we use it to widen the gap between ourselves and people whose talent is not much different from ours?

"Wouldn't that be more rewarding?"

Lin Yao shook his head lightly, his tone serious.

"As for balancing work and rest, of course that's fine. We can agree on a time, and then I'll take you out to play. How does that sound?"

He paused, then added with a smile, "No, that's not right. Rongrong, you know Heaven Dou City better than I do. When the time comes, you should be the one taking me out to play."

Lin Yao did not completely reject Ning Rongrong's thoughts.

Setting aside the fact that she did have some valid points, when getting along with a child, if one wanted to influence her subtly and teach her good qualities, one should give some affirmation to her ideas.

Only then could they grow closer, allowing her to gradually become convinced rather than turning their relationship into an open confrontation.

"This... fine."

Seeing that she had argued her case and actually managed to squeeze playtime out of the packed training plan, Ning Rongrong reluctantly agreed.

"Good. As expected of our sensible Rongrong."

Lin Yao smiled when he saw her relent.

In truth, he had just claimed that his own training schedule was packed full, then cut three-quarters from Ning Rongrong's plan.

Even so, it was still not easy for a child.

After all, not everyone was like Lin Yao, possessing spiritual power far beyond that of Soul Masters his age, along with the resolve to become stronger and change his fate because he knew of the many threats awaiting him in the future.

So Lin Yao had never intended to give Ning Rongrong such a heavy training load—she was still just a child.

What he had done just now was more like this: if someone wanted to open a window but the people in the room refused, they could first say they wanted to tear down the roof.

Then, when they suggested opening a window instead, the people in the room would naturally agree.

"No, why are you smiling so slyly?! You're not going to trick me like Father does, are you?

"He clearly says he'll take me out to play, but then turns around and says he's busy, asking someone else to take me. But I only want him to go with me."

Seeing Lin Yao's smile, Ning Rongrong suddenly remembered her past experiences and immediately grew suspicious.

She walked several steps over to Lin Yao, raised her little face, and stared intently into his eyes, as though trying to see whether he was lying.

If Lin Yao also said one thing and did another, that would truly be infuriating.

"What kind of brother would lie to his little sister?"

Seeing that she had clearly been tricked too many times, Lin Yao's gaze softened, and so did his voice.

"Then let's make a pinky promise. Whoever breaks it will turn into a little glutton and can only watch others eat delicious food without getting even a single bite."

As he spoke, he raised his right hand, held out his little finger, and gently offered it before Ning Rongrong.

"Brother Lin Yao, you're so childish. It's like you're tricking a child."

Ning Rongrong said that, but a radiant smile blossomed on her face.

That smile was more relaxed and more adorable than any Lin Yao had seen since meeting her.

As she spoke, she also stretched out her right hand, carefully raised her little finger, and hooked it tightly with Lin Yao's.

"This isn't childish. This is a promise between Rongrong and me. I'm very serious about it."

Half a month had passed since the two made their pinky promise. Under Lin Yao's guidance, Ning Rongrong had undergone a complete transformation, and her Soul Power had successfully broken through to Level 10.

Compared with the original story, where she had reached Level 10 before the age of seven, her progress was undoubtedly much faster.

One had to know that in the original story, Ning Rongrong was only around Level 26 at about eleven years old. Even Zhu Zhuqing, whose Innate Soul Power was one level lower than hers, had Soul Power one level higher than hers.

Although there were differences between Battle Soul Masters and Support Type Soul Masters, and Zhu Zhuqing had developed a sense of crisis after being abandoned and cultivated desperately, Ning Rongrong's Innate Soul Power Level 9—perhaps even only a step away from Level 10—should have completely overwhelmed Zhu Zhuqing's Level 7 talent.

Yet her Soul Power had been surpassed when she first appeared, which was enough to show just how much she had slacked off in the original story.

Still, for a Support Type Soul Master to possess talent at Level 9 or above already qualified one as a heavenly prodigy.

Even Oscar, who had followed Dai Mubai into eating, drinking, whoring, gambling, and chasing women, could reach Level 30 Soul Elder at fourteen through talent alone despite wasting his time and damaging his vitality.

This showed just how important talent was.

It was also because of this breakthrough that Ning Rongrong successfully acquired her first Soul Ring, and it was the optimal Soul Ring configuration.

When the four-hundred-year Soul Ring entered her body, her Soul Power directly surged to Level 13.

The thrill of such a leap in strength left her unable to stop. During that period, even without Lin Yao watching over her, she would consciously cultivate diligently.

In truth, Lin Yao's influence on Ning Rongrong's progress in Soul Power Cultivation was not limited to setting an example and teaching her directly. He had also secretly aided her from within.

To let her experience the joy of a breakthrough sooner, especially by crossing the important Level 10 threshold and gaining her first Soul Ring,

Lin Yao activated his Star Body martial soul every day while she cultivated. Using the Heavenly Cycle Star Array's effect of gathering Soul Power, he silently increased her cultivation speed.

This was also one of the reasons she had broken through so smoothly.

As for why Ning Rongrong had not noticed her cultivation speed increasing, it was simply because she had never cultivated seriously before. She had always worked for three days and rested for two, so she had no concept of normal cultivation speed in the first place.

Her first soul skill, without any surprises, was Strength Amplification, just as in the original story.

However, the color of the Soul Ring was much deeper than in the original story, clearly indicating a higher age. This was all the result of her hard work.

Before her breakthrough, Lin Yao had seen something of his past self in six-year-old Ning Rongrong.

Every day, he was either slacking off or on his way to slack off.

Studying? That was absolutely impossible.

In his previous life, he had battled wits with teachers in class. As long as he did not want them to find it, no teacher could locate the phone he had hidden.

Now, this little girl Ning Rongrong wanted to play tricks in front of a seasoned slacker like him? That was like showing off one's axe before Guan Yu. He easily had her under control.

Lin Yao could always accurately predict her thoughts just before she wanted to slack off, then stare at her with an expression that said, I saw through you long ago. Do you want to break your promise?

Under the warnings of such an "experienced senior," this little slacker Ning Rongrong had to cultivate diligently every day compared with her former self. Sometimes, she even found it unbelievable.

Fortunately, Lin Yao would take her out to play at the appointed time each day, which barely comforted Ning Rongrong's "wounded" little heart.

During this time, Ning Fengzhi listened to reports from his subordinates about the changes in his daughter, and he could not help feeling somewhat uneasy.

How could the results be so immediate? Could a pinky promise between two children really possess such magic?

One had to know that Ning Rongrong had previously held no interest in Cultivation and only relied on the natural growth of her Soul Power. Yet now, the time she spent meditating and cultivating each day was nearly reaching her physical limit.

Later, Ning Fengzhi personally observed her for a while. Combined with the information his subordinates had previously reported, he still could not make sense of it and could only sigh inwardly.

I really am getting old. I understand the world of young people less and less.