The next day.
Lin Yan spent the entire day cultivating in his room. During that time, Ma Hongjun came to call him to class, but seeing what seemed to be Evil Fire surging around him, he told Flender about it.
Flender came to take a look. Seeing Lin Yan suppressing his Evil Fire, he didn't disturb him.
After all, he had that Second Martial Soul. Even if he didn't use it much, it was perfectly normal for some Evil Fire to flare up now and then, so no one took the matter to heart.
It wasn't until dusk...
Inside his room, Lin Yan had completely adapted to his evolved Evil Fire Demon Dragon Martial Soul and the External Soul Bone that had fully fused with his body: Dragon Wings!
He slowly opened his eyes. The gorgeous dark-purple dragon wings behind him gradually withdrew into his body, and all his energy settled into calm.
"Phew~"
"It really feels great to have control over power. No wonder so many people want to become Battle Soul Masters."
Lin Yan clenched his fists, and a sense of power rose within him. Confidence shone in his purple eyes, making them especially bright.
"I just don't know how strong I am now. If only I had someone to test myself against."
At that thought, he furrowed his brow slightly.
The fact that he had added a Soul Ring to his Second Martial Soul was just too bizarre. He lived under Flender's watchful eye every day—how was he supposed to explain it?
Was he supposed to leave for a while, then come back and say he'd already gathered all the Soul Rings for his Second Martial Soul? That sounded far-fetched.
"Lin Yan, you awake? Dean Flender asked if you're going to the Soul Fighting Field."
As he pondered, Ma Hongjun's voice came from outside. Lin Yan quickly sorted out his thoughts, then called back.
"I'm going. Give me a moment."
He remembered that today was supposed to be the Shrek Seven Devils' first day at the Soul Fighting Field, so he hurriedly got dressed and left the dormitory.
But as soon as he opened the door, Lin Yan saw Ning Rongrong run crying back to the girls' dormitory. Puzzled, he joined the group that had already assembled and asked Ma Hongjun,
"What's wrong with Ning Rongrong?"
Ma Hongjun curled his lip. "She threw a young lady's tantrum and got scolded by the dean until she cried."
"The dean had assigned her laps to run during the day, but halfway through, she went off to shop in Suotuo City. When the dean found out, he gave her a real dressing-down."
"You should've seen them. They were arguing so fiercely, they nearly came to blows."
Lin Yan understood. He hadn't expected to miss such a big incident just because he'd spent some time cultivating.
That was right. In the original timeline, Ning Rongrong really had been put through a round of PUA that night, which gradually wore away her pride and edge until she slowly became an accessory to the rest of Shrek.
"So, are we still taking her to the Soul Fighting Field?"
"Probably not. Xiao Ao is running laps because of her too, so I doubt either of them can go."
After saying this, Lin Yan thought for a moment, then turned to Flender.
"Dean, you all go on ahead to the Soul Fighting Field. I want to check on Ning Rongrong."
"We're classmates. I'll go comfort her."
"Oh, and remember to sign me up for a one-on-one Soul Fighting match."
He could earn rewards by winning over the heroines, so Lin Yan certainly wasn't going to hold back when it came to making a good impression on them.
Especially when she was at her most vulnerable—he had to seize the opportunity.
Flender glanced at Lin Yan and nodded in agreement.
He felt that he'd been a bit too harsh with his words earlier, and since Lin Yan was willing to take the troublesome matter off his hands, he was more than happy to let him.
Soon, the others left the academy, and Lin Yan made his way to the girls' dormitory.
As soon as he approached the door, he heard muffled sobbing from inside. He gently knocked a few times, but there was no reply...
Lin Yan knew she was crying, so he simply pushed the door open a crack. When no refusal came from inside, he pushed it all the way open.
"Lin Yan?"
Ning Rongrong looked up. Only then did Lin Yan notice that her beautiful eyes were red from crying, her face streaked with tears.
Lin Yan walked over to her and pulled up a chair, sitting across from her.
"Did you come to laugh at me too?"
Before he could speak, Ning Rongrong asked, her voice choked with tears.
Lin Yan didn't answer right away. Instead, he summoned his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, gently wrapped it around her wrist, and used his first Soul Skill.
This time, the energy was gentler, and Ning Rongrong was prepared for it, so she didn't make any awkward sounds.
The grass swayed, giving off faint points of light. Ning Rongrong felt the limbs that had gone numb from crying ease up a little, and her tense emotions began to settle as well.
The girl sniffed and began pouring her heart out.
"Everyone thinks I have a bad temper, that I'm spoiled and willful. They all say I don't deserve friendship and will never have reliable teammates."
"Flender said I have princess syndrome! He said I'll bring shame to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda!"
Lin Yan furrowed his brow slightly. "What do you think?"
"I want to change!"
"I want to fit in at this academy. I also want to be protected by strong people, just like my father."
It was clear that Ning Rongrong had truly been successfully PUA'd by Flender. Her ideas about how to survive in this world were already drifting toward what Ning Fengzhi wanted for her.
You could call that a good thing. Her spoiled personality had indeed changed quite a bit, and Ning Fengzhi and Sword and Bone Douluo both approved.
But Lin Yan couldn't help feeling that it was cruel. He would rather Ning Rongrong kept her original nature: a confident, proud Little Demoness. She might be a little haughty, but at least she wouldn't end up as someone else's hanger-on.
She was a heaven-blessed prodigy, after all! Lin Yan intended to rewrite that ending, so he slowly began,
"Sword and Bone Douluo have cherished you for so many years. If they knew you'd lost your confidence and started doubting yourself over a few words, they'd be heartbroken."
At that, Ning Rongrong's expression froze. She looked up at Lin Yan, puzzled and curious.
Meeting her gaze, Lin Yan continued to explain.
"What people call princess syndrome is simply proof that you've never been ground down by the world or let down by life."
"Have you ever thought about it? Your pride comes from the confidence the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect gave you. It's a gift you were born with."
"What do you mean?"
Ning Rongrong stopped crying, curiosity brightening in her eyes.
Lin Yan gave her an appropriately gentle smile.
"You ran away in the middle of training, and you deserved to be scolded when you got caught. Flender may have gone too far with his words, but all in all, he wasn't deliberately picking on you."
"And you realized your mistake yourself, didn't you..."
As the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Rongrong had a strong sense of right and wrong. She knew the difference between right and wrong quite clearly.
Lin Yan agreed with her on that point. Then he changed tack.
"What I mean is, you need to change your laziness and spoiled, willful habits—not throw away your self-respect and pride just to please others."
"You can be protected, but you can also grow stronger yourself. Have you ever thought that you could stand on your own without relying on anyone else?"
"Stand on my own?" At those words, Ning Rongrong leaned toward Lin Yan without realizing it.
That was exactly the dream she had always held close to her heart. Wasn't proving herself to Ning Fengzhi and Sword and Bone Douluo the very reason she'd run away from home?
"But..." The delight in Ning Rongrong's eyes quickly faded. She lowered her gaze and said, "I'm only a support Soul Master."
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