Ning Rongrong's First Crack

"Unbelievable! Our 'Bamboo Dragon Yi Cat' Combination actually defeated the Twin Apes Combination!"

"I now announce that the combination has won this spirit battle!"

As the referee's words fell, the entire arena erupted. The crowd cheered without pause, loudly shouting the four words "Bamboo Dragon Yi Cat"!

On the stage, Gu Yi and Zhu Zhuqing exchanged smiles. Together, they basked in the audience's cheers. The feeling of winning through cooperation filled their hearts with joy.

Meanwhile, Dai Mubai's expression in the resting area was dark and ugly. He casually smashed a fist into the chair beside him, no longer able to contain the fury in his heart.

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"

His tone grew heavier with every word until he was practically roaring.

His plan had been perfect. Everything should have gone exactly as he had anticipated!

But why? Why had it still failed in the end?!

They were clearly two Soul Elders! Two Soul Ancestors with excellent coordination and considerable combat strength!

So why couldn't they even handle a single Soul Elder?!

Dai Mubai roared inwardly. His fingernails had already dug through his palms, blood trickling through the gaps between his fingers, yet he could not feel the slightest pain.

"Oh~ What's this about now? Why are you throwing such a huge tantrum?"

Suddenly, Ning Rongrong's sarcastic voice reached Dai Mubai's ears again.

He suppressed the urge to kill her, his body trembling as he turned around. He glared furiously at Ning Rongrong and spoke only one word.

"Get lost!"

But how could Ning Rongrong, the Little Princess, put up with that? Especially when he had just backed down before her.

At that moment, Ning Rongrong treated his words like nonsense and continued mocking him without fear. "Hmph! You're telling me to get lost? I think you're the one who should get lost!"

"Just look at you. It's obvious your scheme didn't work, and now you're flying into a rage out of humiliation."

"Let me guess what your scheme was."

Ning Rongrong continued talking to herself, completely failing to notice Dai Mubai's expression growing uglier and uglier.

His flushed cheeks and the veins continuously bulging on his forehead all spoke of one thing: he was about to explode!

But Ning Rongrong did not care about any of that. She glanced around, then noticed the screen in front of Dai Mubai.

The screen was still paused on the moment Gu Yi and Zhu Zhuqing had won. With just one glance, Ning Rongrong immediately guessed most of what had happened.

"I get it. You're angry because Gu Yi and Zhu Zhuqing won, aren't you?"

"The two Soul Ancestor opponents they faced were your lackeys, weren't they?"

"You wanted Gu Yi to embarrass himself in front of Zhu Zhuqing, then take the chance to snatch her back, didn't you?"

"Hmm~ That was quite a clever little plan, but unfortunately, it seems you lost from the very beginning."

"Sigh! It would've been great if your plan had succeeded. Then I could've watched that guy get beaten into a miserable heap."

Ning Rongrong kept talking, praising her own cleverness as she spoke.

But how could her "clever" little brain have realized that Dai Mubai had already lost control?

"What else do you have planned—" Ning Rongrong wanted to say more, but she could no longer speak.

At some point, Dai Mubai had appeared beside her. One massive, powerful hand instantly clamped around Ning Rongrong's throat.

The force was so great that Ning Rongrong could not resist at all. He stared viciously at her struggling form and said coldly, "Your guess was very good. Don't guess again next time."

"Oh no, you won't have a next time!"

As he spoke, Dai Mubai's right hand tightened further and further. Ning Rongrong's complexion visibly worsened, and a tear of fear slipped from the corner of her eye.

She regretted it. She regretted provoking this madman!

She desperately tried to struggle, terror flooding her heart. Breathing became increasingly difficult, and everything before her eyes grew terribly blurry.

Suddenly, a figure appeared in her mind. It was neither her imposing Sword Grandfather nor Ning Fengzhi, who doted on her so dearly. It was Gu Yi!

She remembered how Gu Yi had desperately saved her when they were children. In her heart, she hoped and called out, Gu Yi... come save me!

Just like yesterday...

"Dai Mubai! You've gone too far!"

Through the haze, Ning Rongrong heard an angry roar beside her. That voice was incredibly familiar to her.

Immediately afterward, she felt the huge hand around her neck abruptly loosen, and the agony of suffocation instantly vanished.

She collapsed to the ground, gasping desperately for air, her mind completely blank. Just moments ago, she had truly felt that she was about to die!

She struggled to look up and saw that Gu Yi had somehow already seized Dai Mubai's right hand, glaring at him viciously.

"No matter what, she's still a member of our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Dai Mubai, what do you think you're doing?"

Gu Yi's face was livid, fury raging in his heart.

If he had arrived even a moment later, Ning Rongrong would have died at Dai Mubai's hands. If that had really happened, how was he supposed to explain it to Ning Fengzhi and Sword Grandfather?

To be honest, if Dai Mubai had chosen somewhere else to kill her, Gu Yi would only have applauded and cheered. But couldn't he have gone a little farther away? Just not near him.

"Heh! So what if it's the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect? Others may fear your Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, but I don't!"

"You'd better tell her to watch herself. Otherwise, I might kill her at any moment!"

"Hmph!"

After throwing out that threat, Dai Mubai shook off Gu Yi's hand. He snorted coldly at Ning Rongrong, making it clear that he was threatening her.

Only after doing all that did he turn and leave.

For now, he had no intention of completely falling out with Gu Yi. He still couldn't beat Gu Yi, so he needed to plan things out properly.

"Gu Yi! Help me kill him!"

"Don't you like me? As long as you help me kill him, I'll agree to be with you! From then on, you'll be the next sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect!"

Ning Rongrong wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes and quickly rose from the ground. What had just happened left her humiliated and furious, and she glared at Gu Yi as she spoke viciously.

But Gu Yi merely looked at her with an indifferent expression, showing little interest.

"I saved you only out of respect for Uncle Ning. If you keep acting this unreasonable, I'll go straight to Uncle Ning and tell him to take you back."

"But don't you like me? Why won't you even do this for me?" Ning Rongrong asked in disbelief, as though she truly could not understand.

She had already said something like that—why was Gu Yi still refusing? He had changed. He really had changed!

Gu Yi did not rush to answer. Instead, he turned to glance at Zhu Zhuqing. The two exchanged smiles, and the meaning behind them needed no explanation.

"Maybe I was out of my mind before, which was why I liked you. But now I can tell you clearly that it's all in the past."

"Ever since you insulted me until I passed out in the sect plaza, I changed. I came to understand that a lofty Little Princess like you would never think highly of ordinary people like us."

"So you should go back as soon as possible. Return to your castle."

After saying that, Gu Yi no longer paid Ning Rongrong any attention. He took Zhu Zhuqing's hand and left, the two of them heading toward the academy together.

Gu Yi had left as well. Ning Rongrong stood alone in the rest area, loneliness, helplessness, disappointment, pain, and countless other emotions tangling endlessly within her. A tear silently slid from the corner of her eye.

She broke down. In a single day, she had suffered three consecutive blows.

If Flender's disparagement had enraged her, and Dai Mubai's ruthlessness had frightened her, then the one who had hurt her the most was probably Gu Yi.

The cold words from his mouth filled Ning Rongrong with pain. She had been wrong. It seemed she had truly been wrong.

She had always believed that this was still the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, that everyone should flatter her, yield to her, and praise her. She was still that Little Princess, and Gu Yi was still the follower trailing behind her.

But in truth, everything had changed. This was Shrek. No one cared who she was, and Gu Yi had begun to ignore her, distance himself from her, even hate her.

For a moment, it felt as though she had lost everything.

She did not want this!

She still wanted someone to comfort her when she was sad, someone to accompany her when she was happy, someone to protect her when she was in danger. She still wanted so, so much...