Shock

"All of your master's soul skills are powerful. Hurry and choose. Your master is sleepy. You should go register too."

Ning Rongrong stared blankly.

Standing beside the bed, her chest rose and fell more and more heavily. The disbelief in her almond-shaped eyes turned to anger, then from anger into an indescribable embarrassment.

She looked exactly like some scumbag who revealed his true colors after getting what he wanted.

Use her and toss her aside.

Even trying to throw her out.

"How could you do this?" Ning Rongrong's voice rose, filled with grievance and fury. "You can't do this! You big liar! You promised me!"

Yang Xing did not move an inch.

Ning Rongrong got physical.

She grabbed Yang Xing by the shoulders and shook him hard.

"You said you'd teach me everything!"

She yanked his body from left to right.

"You have to teach me the Heaven-Piercing Talisman!"

Then shoved him from right to left.

"You have to teach me Wind Empress Qimen!"

Ning Rongrong shook Yang Xing like a dead fish, his head lolling from side to side as his entire body nearly twisted into a worm. Yet his face remained utterly lifeless, allowing Ning Rongrong to tug him about however she pleased.

"You liar of a master! No! You have to teach this young lady everything!"

Ning Rongrong shouted angrily as she shoved and dragged him around.

"And what right do you have to chase this young lady away? Since you're this young lady's master, what's yours is this young lady's! And what's this young lady's is still this young lady's!"

She pointed at the four walls of the room.

"Your house is naturally this young lady's house too! This young lady can stay as long as she wants!"

Yang Xing's head was nearly about to snap off from all the shaking.

Yet his response still carried that same shamelessly unbothered tone.

"Fine. Stay as long as you want. Anything is fine."

After a pause.

"But I'll still only teach one soul skill."

Ning Rongrong's hands stopped.

She stood there, her slender fair fists clenched so tightly that her knuckles cracked. Her little face was flushed crimson.

That hateful liar of a master, Yang Xing.

Today alone, he had made her angry more times than she could count. No one had made her this angry in years.

She was beyond furious.

"You damn liar of a master!"

After hurling that curse, Ning Rongrong did not care that she was wearing a dress. With one leap, she jumped straight onto Yang Xing's bed.

Her knees landed precisely on either side of Yang Xing's waist. Clamping her legs inward, she straddled his waist as he lay on his side, looking down at him from above.

"That's for lying to me!"

"That's for only teaching one!"

"That's for trying to chase this young lady away!"

Her hands alternated between pinching and pounding him as though she were kneading dough, venting all her frustration on Yang Xing. Her feet did not stay idle either, her heels smacking against his thighs.

Yang Xing endured it at first.

Honestly, it did not hurt.

With the body of a Titled Douluo, the fists of a Soul Master barely above level twenty felt like scratches.

But this girl had found an incredibly effective angle, and the tighter she straddled him, the worse it got.

Two minutes later.

"Enough, enough!" Yang Xing's voice finally carried a hint of helplessness. "Get down! Get down first! Everything can be discussed!"

Ning Rongrong panted.

Her fist still hung in the air, ready to land another blow at any moment.

"Really?"

"Really, really. Get down first!"

Only then did Ning Rongrong give a satisfied snort. She flipped herself off the bed, both feet landing on the floor as the hem of her white dress fluttered up before settling down. She gathered her short hair, which had been mussed up during the fight, then walked back to the broken table with her head held high and chest puffed out, sitting down properly.

She crossed her arms.

Raised her chin.

She looked utterly proud, like a victorious general.

Yang Xing bent over as he climbed off the bed, then walked back to sit across from her with a somewhat stiff expression.

The two sat facing each other once more.

The offense and defense had switched.

"Go on." Ning Rongrong looked down at him from above. "How are you going to teach me?"

Yang Xing rubbed his lower back, his expression carrying a resigned helplessness.

"Let's each take a step back." He raised one finger. "I'll teach you one soul skill first. Once you've learned and mastered it, I'll teach you the next."

Ning Rongrong immediately furrowed her brows.

Yang Xing hurriedly added another sentence.

"If you can't even master one, learning more would be useless. It might even be worse. Think about it yourself. If you cultivate several completely different systems at once, spreading your energy across every one of them, you'll be mediocre at all of them."

He looked at Ning Rongrong.

"Would that fulfill your wish to become a Soul Master with offensive capabilities? Or do you just want something symbolic, something to use as a decorative vase?"

Those words struck Ning Rongrong right where it hurt.

Her lips moved twice, and the crease between her brows eased slightly.

Yang Xing's mind turned, and wanting to make things easier for himself, he added another condition.

"I'll also give you a way to learn additional soul skills." He raised a second finger. "Help me find talents as outstanding as you and bring them here to become my disciples. For every few I deem qualified, I'll teach you a few extra soul skills."

Ning Rongrong narrowed her eyes.

"Can't you find them yourself?"

"I'm lazy," Yang Xing said righteously.

Ning Rongrong looked at his shameless state.

She thought it over for quite a while.

Honestly, learning one at a time was indeed more reliable than cramming everything in at once. She had hated cultivation since childhood. Just thinking about cultivating several different methods at the same time gave her a headache.

Besides, the additional condition was not a loss for her either. Who was she, Ning Rongrong? The young lady of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Would it really be hard for her to find a genius?

In the end, Ning Rongrong pouted and reluctantly nodded.

"Fine."

She shot Yang Xing a sidelong glance.

"Then which soul skill should I choose?"

Yang Xing spread his hands. "You choose."

Ning Rongrong hesitated.

Wind Empress Qimen was undeniably powerful, endlessly versatile and capable in both attack and defense. The Heaven-Piercing Talisman had countless methods and endless tricks. Twin Complete Hands could heal injuries, while Divine Mechanism Hundred Refinements could create objects...

After hesitating for a while, she looked up at Yang Xing.

"Which one suits me better?"

Yang Xing thought for a moment. "Wind Empress Qimen."

He answered decisively.

"Why?"

"Your martial soul is of the support type, and your soul power attributes tend toward diversity and complexity. The core of Wind Empress Qimen is precisely returning all changes to one, making it the best fit for your foundation. And it combines attack and defense. Once you learn it, you won't need to fear anyone when you go out alone."

Ning Rongrong's eyes lit up.

"Then I'll choose Wind Empress Qimen."

She made her decision quickly. After speaking, she asked another question.

"How will you teach me? Will you explain the method orally, and then after I enroll at Shrek, I'll come here every day to learn from you?"

Yang Xing looked at her.

The corners of his lips curved upward.

His smile was excessively profound and mysterious, with a trace of smugness in his eyes. He slowly shook his head.

"No need."

Ning Rongrong looked completely confused.

"What do you mean, no need...?"

Before she could finish.

Yang Xing extended his hand.

His index finger touched Ning Rongrong's forehead.

A gentle tap.

His fingertip was warm.

Ning Rongrong was about to ask, "What are you doing?"

Boom.

There was no sound, no light. Yet boom was the only way to describe the sensation.

A vast torrent of information, so immense that words could not describe it, surged through Ning Rongrong's mind.

It was not text, nor was it imagery. It was something more direct, like an inheritance carved into the depths of her soul.

Innate One Qi.

Positioning the Central Palace.

The Four Plates turned, the seventy-two cycles revolved.

All phenomena returned to one.

None of those concepts could be carried by language, yet in that instant, they branded themselves onto her consciousness with absolute clarity. It was as though someone had stuffed an entire mountain into her head without splitting her skull apart.

A few seconds.

Only a few seconds.

Then the torrent receded.

Ning Rongrong's pupils refocused. She blinked once, then again. As though surfacing from deep water, she took a great gulp of air.

She looked at Yang Xing before her.

But what she saw was no longer the same.