Haodong Power? No, Qingning Power! Ning Rongrong Breaks Through!

The two climbed down from the bed one after the other. The moment Xiao Wu found her footing, she spun around and grabbed Ning Rongrong's wrist, her eyes red-rimmed.

"Ning Rongrong!"

"Y-You... what were you doing sneaking into Brother Gu's room in the middle of the night? And crawling behind the bed curtains! When did you get in there? How long were you inside? You'd better explain yourself!"

Xiao Wu's voice trembled with both tears and anger, her ponytail bobbing furiously.

Ning Rongrong stumbled from the tug and hurriedly raised her other hand in surrender. "Let go first and hear me out! Hear me out!"

"I came to ask about Martial Soul Resonance! When Brother Gu released his Martial Soul on the training ground during the day, the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda inside me kept heating up. The resonance was so strong that I endured it all the way from the training ground to the dormitory, but I couldn't hold back anymore, so I came to find Brother Gu in the middle of the night!"

"Looking at a Martial Soul requires crawling behind the bed curtains?"

"Let me finish!" Ning Rongrong stamped her foot anxiously.

"I was just about to look when you came in! I hid because I was afraid you'd misunderstand! Who knew you would crawl in afterward? Who knew Third Sister would come too? I wanted to come out, but you kept arriving one after another. How was I supposed to get out?"

Xiao Wu glared at her, her lips moving several times, yet she could not find anything to say in rebuttal. After all, she had crawled behind the bed curtains too.

She finally released Ning Rongrong's wrist, though her eyes remained full of vigilance and suspicion.

"Martial Soul Resonance? What's that?"

Ning Rongrong let out a breath and tucked her disheveled hair behind her ear, her expression turning serious. "I'm an auxiliary-type Soul Master, and Brother Gu's Martial Soul has auxiliary attributes too. If two auxiliary-type Martial Souls resonate, it may not be ordinary affinity.

"It could be the precursor to a Martial Soul Fusion Skill!

"If it truly is a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, then the combination of Brother Gu's Martial Soul and mine will be a trump card capable of turning the tide in battle. It will also greatly benefit both of our cultivation!"

Xiao Wu looked at Ning Rongrong skeptically. Before she could speak, Gu Qing cut them off.

"Enough. It's true that the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda and the Buddha Wrath Tang Lotus have Martial Soul Resonance. We didn't have time to verify it just now, so let's confirm it first."

Ning Rongrong's eyes lit up, and she quickly slipped past Xiao Wu to the desk.

"Try it here. Summon the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda."

Ning Rongrong nodded and held out her right hand. The Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda appeared in her palm, while Gu Qing simultaneously extended his right hand, and the Buddha Wrath Tang Lotus rose from his palm once more.

With the two Martial Souls once again in the same room, golden motes and seven-colored radiance in the air began flowing toward one another automatically, naturally intertwining.

Gu Qing watched the two streams of light entwine through the air for a moment. Then he suddenly withdrew the Buddha Wrath Tang Lotus, turned, and sat down at the edge of the bed. He pointed beside him.

"Sit. Looking isn't enough. Our Soul Power needs to make direct contact to determine whether this is truly a Martial Soul Fusion Skill."

Ning Rongrong froze for a moment, a faint blush rising to her face. Yet she moved swiftly, reaching the bed in just a few steps and sitting down, as though afraid Xiao Wu would interfere.

Xiao Wu widened her eyes beside them, glaring at the pair indignantly. In the end, she snorted heavily, crossed her arms, and leaned against the headboard.

Gu Qing sat cross-legged at the head of the bed, while Ning Rongrong sat opposite him. Their knees nearly touched.

Gu Qing extended his right hand, palm up. "Put your hand here. Let our Soul Power flow into each other's meridians and see how compatible they are."

Ning Rongrong took a deep breath and placed her right hand in Gu Qing's palm. Her fingers were slender and fair, resting atop Gu Qing's broad, dry hand in stark contrast.

They activated their Soul Power at the same time. A gentle Mystic Jade glow lit Gu Qing's palm, while seven-colored radiance spilled from Ning Rongrong's fingertips. The two streams of Soul Power met in the gap between their palms. There was no collision, no rejection. Like two currents from the same source, they merged naturally.

Golden and seven-colored light spilled from the edges of their joined hands. Rather than spreading outward, it crept up along their arms.

Their Soul Power completed a full cycle through each other's bodies before converging once again between their joined palms, forming a stable ring of light.

The ring slowly rotated, and with every revolution, the flow of Soul Power within their bodies quickened.

Ning Rongrong closed her eyes, her lashes trembling lightly. She could clearly feel her Soul Power becoming more condensed as it circulated through Gu Qing's body, refined by a gentle force. By the time it returned to her dantian, it was far purer than before.

She could feel the bottleneck in her Soul Power beginning to loosen and crack beneath the washing force of that external power.

Once, twice, three times. When the ring completed its ninth rotation, an exceedingly faint crack sounded deep within her dantian. Brand-new, more abundant Soul Power surged from within her, rushing through her meridians toward every part of her body.

"I broke through. Level twenty-seven." Ning Rongrong abruptly opened her eyes, her voice filled with joy.

Xiao Wu straightened from beside the desk, the anger on her face replaced by shock. From level twenty-six to level twenty-seven, just like that?

Was this the effect of a Martial Soul Fusion Skill?

Gu Qing opened his eyes and was about to pull his hand back when the ring of light between their joined palms suddenly expanded. From the size of a fist, it swelled to the size of a washbasin, its golden and seven-colored hues transforming into deeper interwoven purple-gold and glazed light.

A more intense fluctuation of Soul Power erupted from the ring's center. The air hummed from the shockwave, papers on the desk fluttered wildly into the air, and the old files piled in the corner were pushed half a foot away by an invisible blast.

Xiao Wu instinctively pressed down her flaring skirt, staring wide-eyed at the increasingly brilliant ring between them.

The Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda automatically emerged from Ning Rongrong's palm. Every level of the pagoda hummed intensely, its seven-colored radiance several times brighter than before.

The Buddha Wrath Tang Lotus in Gu Qing's palm appeared at the same time, its petals beginning to unfold one by one.

Gu Qing's expression shifted slightly. With a sweep of his left hand, the suppressive force of the Mystic Jade Body blanketed the entire room.

Under the Mystic Jade Body's suppression, the ring of light slowly shrank until it returned between their joined palms. The lotus petals closed again, and the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda quieted as well.

Gu Qing released Ning Rongrong's hand and swung himself off the bed. "Preliminary confirmation: it is a Martial Soul Fusion Skill!"

"But that burst of energy just now was too strong. If we continue, we'll wake the entire dormitory district. Even Flender and Zhao Wuji will be drawn over. Tomorrow, we'll go to the back mountain and find an open area for deeper testing. I need to record complete data."

Gu Qing paused, his tone returning to its usual calmness. "That's enough for tonight. Go back and sleep."

Ning Rongrong was still immersed in the joy of her breakthrough. Upon hearing the words "that's enough," her expression instantly shifted from delight to disappointment. She lowered her head to look at her palm, which still retained the warmth of Gu Qing's hand.

"But I can feel my Soul Power still rising. Going back to sleep would be such a waste."

"Brother Gu, can I stay? I'll just remain behind the curtains and definitely won't disturb you. I feel like cultivating by your side is several times faster than doing it alone."

"No!"

Xiao Wu rushed to the bedside in a single stride and spread her arms in front of Ning Rongrong. "Ning Rongrong, don't push your luck! Pressing your palms together was intimate enough already, and now you want to stay here to sleep?"

"Then you can stay too, can't you? Brother Gu's room is big enough, and the bed behind the curtains is wide enough. If you're worried about what I might do, just keep watch beside me."

Xiao Wu froze for a moment. Then she turned and grabbed Gu Qing's wrist, her cheeks puffed out roundly. "If Ning Rongrong isn't leaving, then I'm not leaving either!"

Gu Qing looked at the two girls competing in front of him and heavily knocked each of them on the head. "Both of you, go back to sleep."

"Ning Rongrong just broke through and needs to consolidate it. Go back, meditate for two hours, then sleep. Xiao Wu, you supervise Ning Rongrong. If she dares sneak back here, both your training loads will triple tomorrow."

Ning Rongrong and Xiao Wu looked at each other, then both looked toward Gu Qing, only to find him staring at them with a stern expression.

They lowered their heads in unison and left the room one after the other. From the hallway came Xiao Wu's hushed muttering and Ning Rongrong's crisp laughter.

When Ning Rongrong pushed open the dormitory door, she was surprised to find the oil lamp on the table still lit.

Zhu Zhuqing sat by the bed, draped in a plain outer robe, holding a training manual handwritten by Gu Qing and flipping through it.

Hearing the door open, she raised her dark violet eyes and gave Ning Rongrong an indifferent glance.

"You're back? Did you gain anything?"

Ning Rongrong paused, the smile on her face stiffening for an instant. "How did you know I went to Brother Gu's place?"