"Then you'd better keep up."
Su Hang led Xiao Wu out of the Training Ground at an unhurried pace.
Xiao Wu stayed close at his side, almost putting half her body in front of him. It was obvious she didn't want Ning Rongrong getting too close.
Clutching the Seven Treasures Token, Ning Rongrong followed. She glanced first at their joined hands, then at Xiao Wu.
"You're not even trying to hide how much you're guarding against me."
Xiao Wu shot back at once.
"I'm not hiding it. So what?"
Ning Rongrong gave a soft snort.
"I'm not trying to steal him, you know."
Xiao Wu gripped Su Hang's sleeve even tighter.
"You were just trying to buy him for ages."
Ning Rongrong stopped in her tracks and turned to look back at the center of the Training Ground.
The Sleeve Arrows, Fine Needles, and little mechanisms scattered across the ground were being collected one by one into Tang San's cloth bag.
Tang San's movements were steady. It was as if using a Poison Arrow to strike a vital spot had been nothing more than an ordinary spar.
Ning Rongrong tucked the Seven Treasures Token back into her waist and lifted her chin.
"Tang San."
Tang San stopped packing up.
"Is there something else, Miss Ning?"
Ning Rongrong pointed at the cloth bag at his waist.
"Where did those things come from?"
Tang San put away the last Sleeve Arrow.
"I made them."
Ning Rongrong pressed on.
"The arrowheads are poisoned, and you hid needles behind the grass. You call that a spar?"
Tang San straightened his sleeve.
"In a Soul Master's battle, everyone uses whatever means they have."
As soon as he said that, the students around the Training Ground began whispering again.
Xiao Chenyu immediately leaned toward Wang Sheng.
"You hear that? Everyone uses whatever means they have."
Wang Sheng hugged his bag of steamed buns to his chest.
"Then from now on, I'll use whatever means I have to eat. Don't steal my buns."
Xiao Chenyu nearly choked.
"Can't you show a little ambition?"
Ning Rongrong didn't laugh.
She walked back to the edge of the Training Ground and stopped a few steps in front of Tang San.
"If this were a fight to the death, you could use whatever you wanted."
"But Su Hang said this was a verification match."
"You agreed to that, then used a Poison Arrow to strike him in the ribs. How is that any different from a sneak attack?"
Tang San didn't answer right away.
Yu Xiaogang came over from the side, dust still clinging to his sleeves.
"Miss Ning, using tools to assist in battle is quite common in the Soul Master World."
"Many Soul Masters carry powders, short blades, and ropes. The rules of battle don't forbid them."
Su Hang stopped walking.
Xiao Wu stopped with him and immediately stood beside him.
Su Hang turned around and looked at Yu Xiaogang.
"Fine. Then let me ask you something."
"If that Poison Arrow had really hit me in the ribs just now, who would've been responsible for curing the poison?"
Yu Xiaogang's words caught in his throat.
The Training Ground fell noticeably quieter.
Su Hang raised a hand and pointed to the short arrow that had been knocked down by the lightning.
"You?"
"Tang San?"
"Or one of Notting Academy's teachers?"
Yu Xiaogang lifted a hand, but couldn't find an answer.
Tang San finally spoke.
"I have a way to cure the poison."
Su Hang looked at him.
"So that means you can poison anyone you like, because you know how to cure it?"
Xiao Wu immediately chimed in.
"Before you launched that sneak attack, you didn't ask Brother Su Hang whether he wanted you to cure him."
"You talk about rules, but all you've got in your hands are dirty tricks."
Xiao Chenyu slapped his thigh.
"Summed up perfectly!"
Wang Sheng joined in, shouting:
"Blue Silver Grass springs a leak, Hidden Weapons patch the hole!"
The students around them burst out laughing.
"That rolls right off the tongue."
"Next time Tang San fights, we should check whether his grass is leaking, then check if he's got something up his sleeves."
"Don't say that. He calls it using whatever means he has."
Xiao Chenyu waved a hand.
"Got it. The new style: Blue Silver Grass springs a leak, Hidden Weapons patch the window."
Xiao Wu almost laughed out loud, but quickly held it in and looked up at Su Hang.
"Brother Su Hang, that's pretty cutting."
Su Hang replied calmly:
"But it fits."
Tang San tied up his cloth bag and said no more.
He stood where he was, his right hand hanging beneath his sleeve.
The feeling of Su Hang taking control of his Blue Silver Grass and turning it against him still lingered in his meridians.
Having his Martial Soul pinned down by someone else had felt worse than the backlash from his First Spirit Skill.
Ning Rongrong had only come to see Su Hang.
Now, she too had taken Su Hang's side.
With a single remark, this little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had put the question of Hidden Weapons squarely on the table.
Tang San added this to the tally.
Su Hang.
Xiao Wu.
Ning Rongrong.
Those three had already tangled themselves together.
Seeing Tang San fall silent, Yu Xiaogang stepped forward, hoping to bring the situation back under control.
"Today was only a spar between young people. There's no need to make such a big deal out of it."
"Tang San still needs to train his First Spirit Skill. Hidden Weapons are merely a supplementary means."
Ning Rongrong cut him off.
"I understand."
"His Blue Silver Grass isn't steady yet, so he needs Hidden Weapons to cover for it."
Yu Xiaogang's hand froze in midair.
Ning Rongrong turned to Su Hang, a spark of interest returning to her face.
"You said you'd verify the fate of the Seven Treasures."
"Can we start now?"
Xiao Wu immediately stepped in beside Su Hang.
"What's the rush?"
Ning Rongrong spread her hands.
"I came all this way. I can't have come just to watch Tang San crash and burn, can I?"
Xiao Chenyu chimed in from the side.
"Honestly, it was worth the price of admission."
Wang Sheng nodded.
"Today's Training Ground was livelier than the Soul Fighting Arena."
Ning Rongrong ignored them and kept her eyes on Su Hang.
"Su Hang, how exactly are you going to verify it?"
"Can you explain the limitations of the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda?"
"And how will you prove that the sect will bleed?"
Xiao Wu paused when she heard about the sect bleeding.
She looked at Ning Rongrong, her voice growing quieter.
"Is that why you came?"
Ning Rongrong lifted her chin, but this time she didn't try to act tough.
"I want to know whether those things are true."
Su Hang walked back to the stone steps, picked up a cup of tea that had gone cold, then casually set it down.
"We're not testing the Seven Treasures today."
Ning Rongrong immediately looked displeased.
"Are you messing with me?"
Su Hang pointed toward Tang San.
"First, let's see whether he keeps pretending to be righteous."
Ning Rongrong froze for a moment, then laughed.
"You really are asking for a beating."
Xiao Wu immediately moved in front of Su Hang.
"You're not allowed to hit him."
Ning Rongrong saw how fiercely Xiao Wu was protecting him and deliberately took half a step toward Su Hang.
"Now I kind of want to try."
Xiao Wu stepped forward half a pace too.
"Go ahead and try."
Su Hang raised a hand, pressed it against Xiao Wu's head, and nudged her to the side.
"If you two keep arguing, we'll change the test to seeing who gets tired first."
Ning Rongrong snorted.
"I don't argue with rabbits."
Xiao Wu shot back at once.
"You're the rabbit."
The words had barely left her mouth before she stopped herself.
Su Hang glanced at her.
Xiao Wu immediately turned her face away, pretending she hadn't said anything wrong.
Ning Rongrong didn't notice the little detail and brought the conversation back on track.
"So how long are you planning to put it off?"
Su Hang picked up the Seven Treasures Token from the table and tossed it back to Ning Rongrong.
"Tonight."
"The place: Xiao Chenyu's courtyard."
"You can only bring yourself."
Ning Rongrong caught the token.
"Just me?"
Xiao Wu immediately wrinkled her nose.
"Were you planning to bring a whole cartload of people?"
Ning Rongrong put the token away.
"Fine. Just me."
"But if you can't explain anything, I really will tear the bed apart."
Xiao Chenyu's face turned green behind them.
"Little princess, I'm the one who paid for that bed."
Ning Rongrong looked back.
"Then pay for another one."
Xiao Chenyu promptly shut his mouth.
Wang Sheng patted him on the shoulder.
"Accept your fate. The answer to everything just ran into the power of money."
Su Hang stopped teasing them and led Xiao Wu out of the Training Ground.
Ning Rongrong followed behind, her steps much lighter now.
She'd gained more from this trip to Notting Academy than she'd expected.
Su Hang could seize Tang San's Blue Silver Grass.
Tang San knew how to conceal Poison Arrows and Hidden Weapons.
Yu Xiaogang could smooth things over, but he'd done so rather unconvincingly.
The events described in the diary were gradually lining up with reality.
Now she was even more curious about how much more Su Hang could tell her about the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
The students gathered around the Training Ground slowly dispersed.
Xiao Chenyu dragged Wang Sheng after Su Hang. Before leaving, he didn't forget to grab the bag of steamed buns.
Yu Xiaogang stood where he was, staring at the grass scorched black by lightning. After a long while, he finally turned to Tang San.
"Let's go back first."
Tang San didn't move right away.
He bent down, picked up the Fine Needle, wiped it clean with care, and tucked it into the deepest part of his cloth pouch.
Yu Xiaogang lowered his voice.
"For now, just put up with what happened today."
Before you continue