Ning Rongrong Submits, Xu Qing's Transformative Grace!

On the training grounds before the academy.

Ye Lingling had just completed a full circulation of her Soul Power.

She slowly opened her eyes and gently exhaled a breath of stale air.

Lowering her gaze to her hands, her pretty face was filled with astonishment.

"These past few days, my cultivation speed has actually become more than three times faster than before."

"Even my Nine-Heart Begonia Martial Soul has been cheering within me."

"It feels like I could break through the bottleneck at any moment."

Beside her, Shui Bing'er withdrew the icy-blue Soul Power swirling around her body.

Little stars of admiration shone in her beautiful eyes.

Her burning gaze turned toward the rear mountain.

"Do we even need to guess why?"

"Master must have made another breakthrough!"

"Master is incredible."

Shui Bing'er clasped her hands before her chest, her face full of anticipation.

"Master always taught us to keep a low profile and hide our capabilities."

"At this hundredth birthday banquet, he finally won't deliberately conceal his strength anymore."

"He will finally show the world the foundations of Blue Silver Academy."

Ye Lingling nodded in agreement.

A strange radiance flickered repeatedly in her eyes.

"Yes."

"This birthday banquet will surely shake the entire continent."

"Those lofty great sects will soon learn just how terrifying Blue Silver Academy truly is."

Behind a flowerbed beneath the trees some distance away.

Ning Rongrong squatted on the ground, taking in every word of Ye Lingling and Shui Bing'er's conversation.

She covered her mouth with one small hand, her eyes wide and round.

That handsome young man, who looked only a few years older than her.

Was actually already a hundred years old?

A master a hundred years old?

Ning Rongrong felt her mind go blank.

She recalled her experiences secretly sitting in on classes at Blue Silver Academy over the past few days.

Those unique cultivation theories she had never heard before.

Together with the surging life force permeating the air.

Had stirred her Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul like never before.

It was as if parched earth had finally received spring rain.

All it lacked was one final opportunity to shatter that damned restraint and undergo a qualitative transformation.

Ning Rongrong took a deep breath and rose to her feet.

A profound sense of admiration for that mysterious young Dean rose in her heart.

"Even the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the two great empires are coming to celebrate his birthday."

"Even that arrogant Spirit Hall is sending people."

"That's far too impressive."

With her hands behind her back, she hummed a cheerful tune.

Then she began wandering aimlessly around the academy.

As she walked, she kept muttering to herself inwardly.

Blue Silver Academy's security was far too lax.

She was an outsider without even an invitation, yet she had slipped in for so many days.

And she had not encountered a single patrolling guard who questioned her.

Those barrier formations were even more useless than decorations.

With security this weak, what would happen if someone with ill intentions broke in?

Before she realized it.

She followed a secluded path covered in moss.

And arrived beside a crystal-clear lake.

Under the gentle breeze, ripples spread across the lake's surface.

On a massive bluish stone by the shore.

A young man in azure robes sat quietly fishing with a Purple Bamboo Fishing Rod in hand.

The breeze swept past the hem of his robes, making them flutter loudly.

Though the young man had a handsome, youthful face and fair skin.

He exuded a profound, distant air.

The weight of time and the vigor of youth blended perfectly within him.

That powerful contrast struck straight at the heart.

Ning Rongrong froze where she stood.

Even her breathing halted for half a beat.

She recognized him at a glance.

This was the Dean of Blue Silver Academy—Xu Qing!

Ning Rongrong shrank back, inwardly crying out in alarm.

This was a hundred-year-old monster.

What if he had an eccentric temper and captured her as a spy?

She carefully turned around and rose onto her tiptoes.

Preparing to sneak away the way she had come.

"Little girl from Shrek."

A warm, clear voice suddenly sounded beside her ear.

It was not loud, yet it clearly pierced through the distance between them.

"Fishing requires patience."

"So does doing anything else."

"Since you're here, why hurry to leave?"

Ning Rongrong's body stiffened abruptly, and all color instantly drained from her little face.

She mechanically turned her head.

Staring dumbfoundedly at the azure-clad figure's back.

He actually knew her identity?

He even knew perfectly well that she had joined Shrek!

He had not even turned his head. How had he known?

Xu Qing remained in his fishing posture without looking back.

He merely raised the fishing rod with a casual flick of his hand.

Orderly ripples spread across the lake's surface.

"The foundation of your Martial Soul has accumulated to its limit after being nourished by life force these past few days."

"You are only one final step away."

Xu Qing's tone was calm, as though he were merely stating a fact.

"However, relying only on your own comprehension and those mediocre resources of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect."

"You will never have any hope of crossing that threshold in this lifetime."

Ning Rongrong's heart shook violently.

She knew the flaw in her family's Martial Soul well. Seven floors were already its limit.

This had been the heartache of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect for generations.

Just as she was about to ask whether there was a way to solve it.

She saw Xu Qing casually wave one hand behind him.

An incomparably dense emerald radiance streaked through the air.

The pure power of the Source of Life instantly enveloped Ning Rongrong's entire body.

That power was not violent.

Instead, it carried endless gentleness and acceptance.

Ning Rongrong had no time to react at all.

When she felt the Soul Power in her body begin to circulate wildly like floodwaters bursting through a dam.

Every meridian throughout her body widened in an instant.

A crystalline phantom of a seven-story pagoda uncontrollably emerged above her head.

Amid the originally dazzling seven-colored radiance, a brilliant streak of pure gold suddenly appeared.

Then, amid an intense humming sound, the top of the pagoda.

Slowly grew a crystalline eighth floor!

Before Ning Rongrong could recover from her daze.

The eighth floor solidified.

The ninth floor followed immediately after, soaring into the sky with sacred pressure!

Brilliant nine-colored light instantly illuminated the entire lakeshore.

An ancient and holy aura emanated from the exquisite nine-story pagoda.

The Nine Treasures Exquisite Pagoda!

Ning Rongrong stared blankly at the Martial Soul above her head.

Feeling the Soul Power within her multiply explosively.

All her pride and young lady's temper vanished completely at that moment.

Only deep shock remained in her heart.

The Martial Soul Evolution dreamed of by generations of Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect masters.

The long-cherished wish that countless heavenly treasures had failed to achieve.

Had been accomplished with a casual wave from this azure-clad young man!

All of this.

Was because of Blue Silver Academy, because of Xu Qing before her!

Ning Rongrong's knees buckled, and she fell directly to her knees behind the bluish stone.

She respectfully bowed deeply toward that back.

"Thank you, Senior, for granting me a new life!"

Her voice was filled with incomparable excitement and even carried a faint tremble.

Tears welled in her eyes.

A clear breeze drifted over the lakeshore.

Xu Qing's calm voice floated back into her ears on the wind.

"Next time you attend class, don't be late."

Ning Rongrong abruptly raised her head.

Only to find the bluish stone before her completely empty.

Looking around, there was not even the slightest trace of that azure-clad young man.

Only circles of ripples that had yet to fade remained.

She clenched her small fists tightly, fanatic admiration bursting from her eyes.

Too strong! Too cool!

This was the bearing of a true master!