The morning light over the back hill gradually brightened. Golden sunlight filtered through the ancient trees, scattering dappled shadows across the grass.
After Ning Rongrong changed into the sweet, fresh outfit, she seemed like a different person. She was usually lively and cheerful, but deep down, she still had a young lady's reserve and restraint.
Today, though, she wore a white-and-pink dress with white stockings and pearl leather shoes. As she walked, her skirt swayed gently, and she radiated a confidence and brilliance she had never shown before.
Every now and then, she looked down at her skirt, then secretly glanced up at Yi Chen, a smile she couldn't suppress tugging at her lips.
Xiao Wu stood on the other side of the ancient tree in her Starlight Dress. The pale golden patterns on its skirt shimmered softly in the sunlight.
Seeing how Ning Rongrong could barely hide her delight, Xiao Wu gave a huff. But she didn't say anything cutting. She simply walked over, looked Ning Rongrong up and down, and offered a grudging assessment. "It's all right. It suits you."
Ning Rongrong blinked and replied with a bright smile, "Yours is beautiful too. You look like a fairy."
The two girls exchanged a glance. A subtle air of rivalry and reconciliation hung between them. They both understood how the other felt, and knew they were now standing on the same starting line.
Neither chose to let things come to a head. Instead, they tacitly maintained a surface peace. At least today, in front of Yi Chen, neither wanted to put him in a difficult position.
Watching them, Yi Chen secretly breathed a sigh of relief. What he'd worried about most was that his two disciples would clash because of him, but so far, things seemed to be going better than he'd expected. He set down his teacup, rose to his feet, and clapped his hands. "All right, you've changed. Time to train. Today's task is advanced two-player training. Rongrong and Xiao Wu will team up, and I'll be your sparring partner."
"Eh?" Ning Rongrong and Xiao Wu both voiced their confusion at once.
"What, are you afraid?" Yi Chen raised an eyebrow.
"Who said we're afraid?" Xiao Wu answered first, lifting her skirt as she strode toward the chessboard. "Bring it on! Just don't cry when you lose!"
Ning Rongrong followed her and stood at her side, a fighting spirit in her eyes. "Master, don't hold back. If we win, we'll win fair and square!"
Looking at the two fired-up girls, Yi Chen's lips curled slightly. Then he walked to the other side of the chessboard.
The match began.
In this two-player match, Yi Chen deliberately held back. He used no unconventional tricks, relying purely on basic economy management and positioning to compete against them.
He wanted to see how well they could work together after all this training and practical experience.
The result was encouraging. Yi Chen still won by a narrow margin, but Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong worked together far more smoothly than they had last time. Rongrong handled economic planning and item combinations, while Xiao Wu managed positioning and the timing of their battles. Their communication was concise and efficient, and they made almost none of the delays caused by disagreements that had plagued them before.
Yi Chen set down his chess piece and offered his assessment. "Your teamwork has improved, but there's still room to grow. Rongrong's economic planning is more flexible than before. You can maintain your interest while keeping your lineup strong. Xiao Wu's positioning has also become more precise, especially when dealing with assassin lineups."
He paused, then added, "But you still need to improve your awareness of your opponents. In that last match, you focused too much on building your own lineup and paid too little attention to the other players' economies and health. An eight-player match isn't just about developing your own board. It's also about disrupting and anticipating your opponents. That's what we'll focus on next."
Xiao Wu and Rongrong looked at each other, then nodded together.
Training continued throughout the morning. As noon approached, Yi Chen called a break. The three of them sat beneath the ancient tree, sharing the packet of Osmanthus Cake Xiao Wu hadn't finished the night before and the fruit Rongrong had brought.
Sunlight streamed through gaps in the leaves, casting dappled shadows over them.
Xiao Wu leaned against the tree trunk, a piece of Osmanthus Cake in her mouth. Her gaze casually swept over Yi Chen's profile, then darted away again.
Rongrong sat on Yi Chen's other side, head bowed as she peeled an apple. Once she had finished, she cut it in half and offered one piece to Xiao Wu and the other to Yi Chen.
Xiao Wu took her half and bit into it. "Thanks," she mumbled.
Rongrong smiled without replying.
Yi Chen took the apple and bit into it. It was sweet.
He leaned against the tree trunk and watched the leaves sway overhead, feeling the quiet warmth of an autumn afternoon. A rare sense of ease settled over him.
The two girls sat on either side of him. There was still a subtle air of competition between them, but at least for now, they were both quiet. No arguments, no cold war—just the rustling of autumn leaves in the breeze and the occasional birdsong.
If days like this could go on forever, that wouldn't be so bad.
Meanwhile, several hundred miles from Shrek Academy, another scene was unfolding in a hidden mountain valley.
Deep in the valley stood a crude stone house. Complex formations covered the area around it, cutting off any trace of its presence from outside detection.
Inside, Tang San sat cross-legged on a stone bed, eyes closed. Fine beads of sweat dotted his forehead, and his hands formed a complicated seal over his knees.
A dark red glow coursed through his body. Each breath stirred the air around him.
His aura was more than a level stronger than it had been a few weeks earlier. His Soul Power had broken through level forty and reached level forty-three, and it was still rising.
A tiny dark red mark appeared and disappeared between his brows, radiating an ancient, imposing aura.
It was the divine-bestowed mark left by the Asura God. It had not only helped Tang San break through his cultivation bottleneck, but was also continuing to transform his body and Martial Soul.
Dark red lightning patterns now coiled around his Clear Sky Hammer. Every swing carried a chilling aura of slaughter.
A hazy figure hovered in a corner of the stone house, its entire form shrouded in dark red light. Its face was impossible to make out, but its aura felt as boundless as a vast ocean.
It was a divine thought clone of the Asura God. Ever since the god had bestowed a seed of divine power upon Tang San in the abandoned blacksmith shop in Suotuo City, the clone had remained by his side, guiding his cultivation and helping him absorb the gift of divine power.
"Your progress has been somewhat faster than I expected," the Asura God's divine thought said. His deep, commanding voice echoed through the stone house. "Level forty-three. The Clear Sky Hammer has begun to fuse with Asura Divine Power. At this rate, you should reach level sixty within half a year."
Tang San slowly opened his eyes. A flash of dark red light passed through the depths of his pupils, then vanished.
He released the hand seal and took a deep breath, feeling the surging Soul Power coursing through him. A satisfied smile curved his lips.
"Thank you for nurturing me, God Venerable." He stood and bowed to the Asura God's divine thought. "Without your help, I could never have reached this level in such a short time."
"You don't need to thank me," the Asura God's divine thought replied coolly. "I'm helping you because you have potential worth investing in. And besides..."
He paused, his voice turning cold. "That man named Yi Chen has already gone too far. The founding of the Golden Spatula Association marks the point where his influence has taken root on this continent. If he continues to develop unchecked, it won't be long before he rewrites the order of the entire Douluo Continent."
A cold glint flashed in Tang San's eyes. "I know. I've been keeping tabs on him."
He walked to the window of the stone house and looked toward Shrek Academy in the distance, his gaze deep and complex. There were his former companions, people he had once trusted, and now his greatest rival.
"His Teamfight Tactics has swept across the entire continent. Registered players have surpassed three million, and the number is still growing rapidly," Tang San said in a low, calm voice. "The Spirit Hall, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the Heaven Dou Empire, the Star Luo Empire—almost all the major powers have formed partnerships with him. His influence has grown to a point where it's hard to shake."
"So what?" the Asura God's divine thought scoffed.
"Influence is only a facade. True power has never come from simply piling up numbers. No matter how strong he is, he's still just one man. Find his weakness and strike a fatal blow, and everything he's built will come crashing down."
Tang San turned to the Asura God's divine thought. "You mean..."
"Continue building your forces," the Asura God's divine thought said. "Don't rush into a direct confrontation with him. You're no match for him yet, and I wouldn't advise you to go throw your life away right now. But there's something you can do: build another system outside his."
Tang San's gaze shifted slightly. "Another system?"
"The essence of Teamfight Tactics is distributing cultivation resources through a game."
The Asura God's divine thought spoke slowly. "It attracts so many people because it offers a way to grow stronger without fighting tooth and nail. But this path was laid out by Yi Chen, and he sets all the rules and distributes all the rewards. If he shuts down the system one day or changes the rules, those who rely on Golden Spatulas to gain power will be left with nothing."
"What you must do is make some of them realize this. Make them understand that relying on a system built by an outsider to gain power is ultimately unreliable. True power still has to come from one's own cultivation."
Tang San fell silent for a moment, then slowly nodded. "I understand."
He raised his head, a deep and resolute light in his eyes. "I'll show them. True power has never come from playing chess."
Outside the stone house, the wind moaned through the trees in the valley, carrying his whispered words into the distance.