The Pain of a Title! Reluctant to Part, Yet Must!

Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

The council hall.

Ning Fengzhi sat in the main seat, holding a teacup in his hand, yet he did not drink.

He was listening.

Listening to the complaints of Gu Rong and Chen Xin.

"Sect Master, I still don't feel at ease."

Gu Rong paced back and forth in the hall, his footsteps heavy, each one landing as if it were stepping on Ning Fengzhi's heart:

"Rongrong has never even washed a bowl from the time she was small until now. Now you let her go to that broken academy to wash her own clothes and make her own bed? Can she handle it?"

"She washed a bowl last night." Ning Fengzhi set down his teacup: "Flender wrote in his letter that Rongrong voluntarily asked to wash the dishes after eating. Although her movements were clumsy, she washed them very earnestly."

Gu Rong's footsteps paused for a moment, then he continued to pace.

"What does washing a bowl count for? Rongrong is the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, not a dishwasher."

His voice grew louder: "That broken academy doesn't even have a decent kitchen. The cafeteria is just a dilapidated shack, and the dining tables are all pieced together. Rongrong is used to the delicacies of our sect; can she stomach that kind of coarse food?"

"She ate it." Ning Fengzhi's voice was calm: "Flender said in the letter that Rongrong ate a whole bowl of braised pork and even drank two bowls of soup."

Gu Rong opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but swallowed it back down.

Chen Xin sat in his chair, having remained silent the entire time.

But his fingers tapped lightly on the armrest, revealing the unrest in his heart.

"Uncle Sword, what do you think?" Ning Fengzhi looked toward Chen Xin.

Chen Xin was silent for a long time before he spoke: "Sect Master, it is not that I disagree with your decision. I just..."

He paused, seemingly weighing his words: "I am just not used to it."

"Not used to it?"

"Not used to days without Rongrong's noise."

A bitter smile appeared at the corner of Chen Xin's mouth:

"That girl would run to my courtyard every morning to practice her Martial Soul. She called it practicing, but it was really just causing trouble. One moment she'd make me watch her newly learned soul skill, the next she'd ask for my guidance, and then she'd pester me for candy. It was so noisy."

His voice lowered: "But this morning, the courtyard was very quiet."

Ning Fengzhi did not speak.

"I went to take a look in her room." Chen Xin continued: "The quilt was folded neatly, and the items on the table had been tidied up. Before she left, she cleaned her own room."

Gu Rong stopped his pacing.

"That girl never used to fold her quilt."

Chen Xin's voice sounded somewhat strained: "In the sect, the servants always did it. She learned how to fold a quilt before she left."

Ning Fengzhi took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Sect Master, I want to go to Shrek Academy and take a look." Gu Rong suddenly said: "I won't bring Rongrong back, I'll just take a look. Just to see if she is doing well there."

"No." Ning Fengzhi's answer was crisp.

"Why?"

"Because if you go, you won't be able to stop yourself from bringing her back." Ning Fengzhi looked at him: "Gu Rong, you are a Title Douluo; your heart is harder than anyone's. But when it comes to Rongrong, your heart is softer than anyone's. If you go and see her living in a broken house, eating coarse food, and washing her own clothes, you will surely feel heartache. Once you feel heartache, you will demand that I bring Rongrong back."

Gu Rong opened his mouth, but offered no rebuttal.

"I feel heartache too." Ning Fengzhi stood up and walked to the window: "Rongrong is my daughter. The day she was born, I held her and didn't sleep all night. When she first called me 'Daddy,' I cried. When she awakened her Martial Soul, my hands were shaking—I was more nervous than I was when I awakened my own."

He turned around, looking at Gu Rong and Chen Xin.

"The morning she left the sect for Shrek, I sat in her room for two hours. Looking at her bed, looking at her desk, looking at her wardrobe. I wondered, would she miss home? Would she cry in the middle of the night? Would she struggle with the food there? Would she be bullied?"

Ning Fengzhi's voice trembled slightly.

"But I know I must let her go."

"Why?" Gu Rong asked.

"Because she is the future Sect Master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect."

Ning Fengzhi's voice became firm once more: "Because she needs a team that is truly willing to protect her. Because her companions cannot be bought with the pressure of the sect or the fists of a Title Douluo. It must depend on her own efforts."

He walked back to the main seat and sat down.

"You both know Rongrong's talent. Innate Full Soul Power, Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, a one-ring soul master. In any sect, she would be a genius among geniuses. But you also know her temperament."

Ning Fengzhi smiled bitterly: "She has been spoiled since she was small; she gets whatever she wants, and no one dares to provoke her. In the sect, everyone yields to her because she is the Sect Master's daughter. But outside? Who will yield to her?"

Gu Rong fell silent.

"Flender will not yield to her." Ning Fengzhi continued: "His academy is called Shrek, and he only accepts monsters. He doesn't care about a student's background; he only looks at talent and potential. Once Rongrong is there, he won't treat her specially just because she is the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. On the contrary, he might be even stricter with her."

"Stricter?" Gu Rong frowned.

"I requested in the letter that he be even stricter with Rongrong than with the other students."

Ning Fengzhi looked at Gu Rong. "Gu Rong, do you think I am being heartless?"

Gu Rong did not speak.

"I think I am being heartless, too."

Ning Fengzhi gave a self-deprecating smile. "But a doting mother spoils her children, and a doting father is no different. If Rongrong stays in the sect forever, protected by us, she will never grow up. She will never know what hardship is, what exhaustion is, or what true companions are."

"But..."

"There are no buts." Ning Fengzhi interrupted Gu Rong. "Rongrong must take this step. Better early than late."

The hall fell into a long silence.

Chen Xin stood up, walked over to Ning Fengzhi, and knelt on one knee.

"Sect Master, I understand." His voice was low. "I will no longer interfere with Rongrong's affairs. But I have one request."

"Speak."

"If one day, Rongrong suffers grievances outside or is bullied, please allow me to intervene."

Ning Fengzhi looked at Chen Xin, remained silent for a moment, and then nodded.

"Very well."

Chen Xin stood up and turned to walk out. When he reached the door, he stopped and said without looking back, "Sect Master, tell Flender to be strict with Rongrong. But don't be too strict. That girl has a sharp tongue, but she suffers in her heart."

With that, he pushed the door open and left.

Gu Rong stood where he was, looking at Ning Fengzhi, and finally let out a sigh.

"Sect Master, what Sword Uncle said is also what I wanted to say."

"I know." Ning Fengzhi nodded. "I know how you both feel about Rongrong. And you know how I feel about her."

"That is good." Gu Rong turned and walked out as well.

Only Ning Fengzhi remained in the hall.

He sat in his chair, eyes closed, his fingers tapping lightly on the armrest.

"Rongrong, don't blame your father."

He murmured to himself, "Father is doing this for your own good."