The dean?
Ning Rongrong froze.
So those rumors... had all been true!
Just what kind of person was that man called Chen Xuan?
Xiao Xiao paid her no further attention. She turned and went back to cleaning, as if she had merely swatted a fly.
Ning Rongrong picked herself up off the ground, dazed, her thoughts in a tangled mess.
She wandered aimlessly around the academy. Before she knew it, she had been drawn by a pure, boundless aura of life to the entrance of a secluded courtyard.
The aura made the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda within her feel incredibly comfortable and at ease.
Just then, a clear, resonant voice drifted from inside the courtyard and reached her ears.
"...Everything has two sides. Everyone knows Blue Silver Grass is a control-type Martial Soul, but who ever said it couldn't be used to attack?"
"Entanglement can restrain, but it can also crush. Vines can form a barrier, but they can also become spears that pierce."
A control-type... used to attack?
Ning Rongrong stopped in her tracks, stunned.
She had never heard a theory like that!
The hem of her pink skirt swayed as her long legs came to an involuntary halt. Driven by intense curiosity, she crept closer to the courtyard wall and listened.
Inside, Chen Xuan's voice continued.
"The form of a Martial Soul determines the path best suited to it, but that doesn't mean it can only follow one path.
"Support and power attack are nothing but shackles imposed by people."
"A true powerhouse commands their Martial Soul. They aren't bound by its definition."
"Breaking convention and carving out a new path—that's the true meaning of Martial Soul Evolution!"
Boom!
Ning Rongrong felt as if thunder had exploded inside her mind!
Every word struck like a heavy hammer, pounding at the understanding of Martial Souls she had built up since childhood!
The more she listened, the more astonished she became.
This man's theories completely overturned every existing theory of Martial Souls on the Douluo Continent, yet somehow... they sounded so convincing. She even felt that this was the true path to greatness!
By comparison, Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang's "Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul" were complete trash!
Ning Rongrong was suddenly seized by regret.
Why hadn't she come sooner?
Why had she listened to Yu Xiaogang's stodgy nonsense?
Just as she was listening, utterly absorbed, the clear voice suddenly paused and said languidly:
"How long are you going to keep listening out there?"
Ning Rongrong shuddered. Oh no, she'd been found!
She panicked and turned to run.
"Come in and listen."
The voice sounded again, calm, yet carrying a force she couldn't resist.
Ning Rongrong's feet seemed rooted to the ground. She hesitated for a moment, then, as if in a trance, pushed open the ajar courtyard gate and walked inside.
Moonlight washed over everything.
When she saw the scene within, her breath caught.
Three women sat around a stone table, each possessing peerless grace.
One had golden hair, an air of nobility, and a cool, aloof bearing. It was the Heaven Dou Crown Prince, "Xue Qinghe."
One had gentle blue hair and looked like an elf beneath the moon, so beautiful she seemed otherworldly.
The last had alluring purple hair and a blend of heroic spirit and charm. She was Dugu Bo's granddaughter, Dugu Yan.
And standing among them was a man dressed in white.
With his hands behind his back, he had strikingly handsome features and an unworldly, tranquil air, as though he had become one with the world around him.
He's so handsome.
That was the only thought left in Ning Rongrong's mind.
Chen Xuan's gaze fell on her, and he spoke calmly.
"You're not a student here."
Ning Rongrong jolted, thinking he was about to reprimand her. She quickly bowed and explained nervously, "Senior, I... I'm Ning Rongrong. I wasn't deliberately eavesdropping. I just..."
"It's fine." Chen Xuan cut her off. "Hearing this is your good fortune."
Ning Rongrong was stunned.
He wasn't going to blame her?
He even said this was her good fortune?
In that instant, Chen Xuan's image in her heart grew impossibly grand.
She couldn't help thinking that if Yu Xiaogang had caught someone eavesdropping on his theories, he would have leapt up and cursed them out, perhaps even humiliated her.
To compare Yu Xiaogang with the senior before her was an insult to the senior!
Chen Xuan paid no mind to what she was thinking. His gaze shifted to the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul she had unconsciously released in her nervousness, and he continued:
"Take your Martial Soul, for example. The Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda is hailed by the world as the finest support-type Martial Soul, yet people don't realize it can also be used to attack."
"Concentrate your Soul Power to a high degree and channel it through the pagoda to unleash it in an instant. How could its power be any less than that of some power-attack Soul Skills?"
"Support and attack are separated by only a single thought."
Those words were like a revelation. Ning Rongrong was completely captivated.
She stared at the pagoda in her palm, Chen Xuan's words echoing in her mind, as though an entirely new door were slowly opening before her.
Gradually, she entered a profound state of enlightenment.
Hummm—!
The Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda in her palm suddenly trembled violently, bursting with dazzling light unlike anything it had ever produced before!
Amid the seven-colored radiance, two entirely new colors—black and red—shot up into the sky!
The number of tiers on the pagoda climbed higher and higher in the light!
Seven tiers, eight, nine!
When the light faded, a nine-tiered pagoda, radiant and solemn, hovered quietly in her palm!
The Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda!
At that moment, the shackles on her bloodline were completely shattered!
What's more, a method for using a Soul Skill appeared out of nowhere in Ning Rongrong's mind—Divine Light Prison Suppression!
It was a purely offensive Soul Skill!
"My... my Martial Soul..."
Feeling the transformative change within her, Ning Rongrong was so overcome with emotion that tears filled her eyes.
At last, she was no longer a pure support who could only hide behind her teammates and be looked down on!
This kindness was higher than the heavens and deeper than the sea!
No longer able to contain her excitement and gratitude, she fell to her knees before Chen Xuan with a thump and bowed deeply.
"Thank you, Senior, for giving me a new life! Ning Rongrong begs you to take me as your disciple!"
At that very moment, a mechanical notification sounded in Chen Xuan's mind.
[ Ding! Disciple-acceptance task triggered: Accept Ning Rongrong of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect as your disciple? ] [Task reward: One Supreme Spiritual Vein!]
Chen Xuan raised an eyebrow slightly.
Ning Rongrong?
So it was her.
No matter. A reward was a reward.
He said calmly, "Get up. I accept you."
[ Ding! Disciple accepted successfully. Congratulations, host, you have received your reward: Supreme Spiritual Vein! ] [Supreme Spiritual Vein: Bury it beneath the academy. It will absorb the energy of heaven and earth on its own and transform it into pure spiritual energy, greatly increasing the cultivation speed of everyone in the academy!]
Chen Xuan's thoughts stirred. Feeling the Supreme Spiritual Vein, brimming with immense energy, in his system space, he smiled.
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