Saving Ning Rongrong, Starting with Anti-PUA

The next day.

Lin Yan spent the entire day cultivating in his room. During this time, Ma Hongjun came to call him for class, but noticing the aura of Evil Fire surging from his body, he reported the situation to Flender instead.

Flender came to take a look, but seeing that Lin Yan was busy suppressing the Evil Fire, he chose not to disturb him.

After all, with that second martial soul present, it was perfectly normal for some Evil Fire to manifest occasionally, even if it wasn't usually utilized. None of them took the matter to heart.

It wasn't until evening...

Inside the room, Lin Yan had completely adapted to his evolved Evil Fire Demon Dragon martial soul, as well as the External Soul Bone that had fully fused with his body: the Dragon Wings!

He slowly opened his eyes, and the magnificent dark purple dragon wings behind him retracted into his body, all his aura returning to a state of calm.

"Whew~"

"The feeling of mastering power is truly wonderful. No wonder so many people want to become Battle Spirit Masters."

Lin Yan clenched his fists tightly, a sense of power surging from within. His purple eyes flickered with a confident light, appearing exceptionally bright.

"I just don't know what my current combat strength is. It would be great if there were someone to spar with."

Thinking of this, he frowned slightly.

The fact that he had added a spirit ring to his second martial soul was too bizarre. Living right under Flender's nose every day, how was he supposed to explain it?

Should he go away for a while? Then come back and claim he had gathered a spirit ring for his second martial soul? That sounded a bit too far-fetched.

"Lin Yan, are you awake? Dean Flender is asking if you're going to the Spirit Fighting Arena."

While he was deep in thought, Ma Hongjun's voice drifted in from outside. After quickly organizing his thoughts, Lin Yan shouted back.

"I'm going, wait for me a moment."

He remembered that today was supposed to be the day the Shrek Seven Devils first entered the Spirit Fighting Arena, so he hurriedly put on his clothes and walked out of the dormitory.

However, the moment he pushed open his door, Lin Yan saw Ning Rongrong running back to the girls' dormitory in tears. He walked into the assembled team with a suspicious look and asked Ma Hongjun.

"What happened to Ning Rongrong?"

Ma Hongjun curled his lips. "She threw a spoiled brat tantrum and got scolded to tears by the Dean."

"The Dean had assigned her a running task during the day, but she went shopping in Suotuo City halfway through. When the Dean found out, he gave her a real dressing down."

"You didn't see it; the two of them were arguing so hard they were almost about to fight."

Lin Yan suddenly realized. He hadn't expected that just by spending some time cultivating, he had missed such a major event.

Indeed, in the original timeline, Ning Rongrong was indeed "PUA'd" that night, which led to her gradually losing her pride and sharp edges, slowly becoming a mere accessory to the others in Shrek.

"So, are you still taking her to the Spirit Fighting Arena?"

"Probably not. Xiao Ao is also running laps because of her, so neither of them should be able to go."

After saying this, Lin Yan pondered for a moment and turned to speak to Flender.

"Dean, you all go ahead to the Spirit Fighting Arena. I want to go check on Ning Rongrong."

"We're all classmates, I'll go comfort her."

"Oh, and remember to help me sign up for a 1v1 spirit fight."

Since harvesting the heroines could yield rewards, Lin Yan naturally wouldn't be stingy about showing off in front of them.

Especially now, when she was at her most vulnerable, he had to seize the opportunity.

Flender glanced at Lin Yan and nodded in agreement.

Because he himself felt that his words earlier had been a bit harsh, he was naturally happy that Lin Yan wanted to take over this messy situation.

Soon, the group left the academy, and Lin Yan arrived in front of the girls' dormitory.

As soon as he approached the door, he heard sobbing coming from inside. He knocked on the door panel a few times, but there was no response from within...

Lin Yan knew she was crying, so he simply pushed the door open a crack. Seeing that no sound of refusal came from inside, he pushed the door wide open.

"Lin Yan?"

Ning Rongrong looked up, and only then did Lin Yan notice that her beautiful eyes were red from crying, her face covered in tear tracks.

Lin Yan walked slowly to her side, pulled over a chair, and sat down opposite her.

"Are you here to mock me too?"

Before he could speak, Ning Rongrong asked the question herself, her voice thick with tears.

Lin Yan did not answer immediately. Instead, he summoned his Blue Silver Grass martial soul, gently wrapped it around her wrist, and activated his first spirit skill.

This time, the energy was much gentler, and Ning Rongrong had been mentally prepared, so she didn't make any embarrassing sounds.

The grass swayed, emitting faint specks of fluorescent light. Ning Rongrong felt the numbness in her limbs from crying begin to ease, and her tense emotions relaxed along with it.

The young girl sniffled and began to pour her heart out on her own.

"Everyone thinks I have a bad temper, that I'm delicate and willful. They all say I'm not worthy of friendship and will never have reliable teammates."

"Flender said I have princess syndrome! He said I'm bringing shame to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda!"

Lin Yan frowned slightly. "And what do you think?"

"I want to change myself!"

"I want to fit into this academy, and I want to be protected by the strong, just like my father."

It was evident that Ning Rongrong had truly been successfully manipulated by Flender; her philosophy on how to survive in this world was gradually aligning with what Ning Fengzhi had hoped for.

If one were to call this a good thing, it was true that her spoiled, willful personality had changed quite a bit, a point that both Ning Fengzhi and Sword and Bone Douluo highly approved of.

However, Lin Yan always felt that this was somewhat cruel; he preferred for Ning Rongrong to retain the original foundation of her character—a confident, proud little witch who, while perhaps a bit arrogant, would at least not be reduced to an appendage of others.

One had to remember, she was a heaven-sent daughter of her generation! Lin Yan intended to rewrite this ending, and so he spoke slowly...

"Sword and Bone Douluo have held you in the palms of their hands for so many years; if they knew that you had lost your confidence and denied yourself because of a few words, they would surely be heartbroken."

As soon as these words were spoken, Ning Rongrong's expression froze, and she looked up at Lin Yan with a mix of confusion and curiosity.

As their eyes met, Lin Yan continued his explanation.

"What people call 'princess syndrome' is merely proof that you have never been worn down by the world, nor have you ever been shortchanged by life."

"Have you ever thought about it? Your pride is the foundation given to you by the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect; it is your innate capital."

"What do you mean?"

Ning Rongrong stopped her tears, the curiosity in her eyes growing even stronger.

To this, Lin Yan offered an appropriate smile.

"Running away in the middle of training and being reprimanded after being caught is beyond reproach. Flender's language may have been excessive, but all in all, he wasn't intentionally picking a fight."

"Besides, didn't you realize your own mistake as well..."

As the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Rongrong's personal awareness was quite high, and she distinguished right from wrong very clearly.

Lin Yan agreed with her on this point, and he immediately shifted the tone of his words.

"What I want to say is that you should change your habits of laziness and willful indulgence, not discard your self-esteem and pride to cater to others."

"You can be protected, but you can also become strong yourself. Have you ever considered that even without relying on others, you could stand on your own two feet?"

"Stand on my own two feet?" Upon hearing this term, Ning Rongrong unconsciously leaned her body slightly toward Lin Yan.

Because this was precisely the dream she had always carried in her heart; wasn't the very reason she ran away from home this time to prove herself to Ning Fengzhi and Sword and Bone Douluo!

"But..." The joy in Ning Rongrong's eyes quickly cooled, and she lowered her gaze as she said, "I am only a support-type spirit master."