Successfully Taking a Disciple

Ning Rongrong's expression instantly darkened. "What do you mean?"

Yang Xing sighed and sat back down in his chair, though he had already dismantled half his stall.

"My fortune-telling skills have been passed down through my family." His tone was slow, as though he were speaking of something very grave. "Divining things for others leaks the secrets of Heaven and invites divine punishment. The soul coins I charge are only a bit of compensation for myself, and I only dare calculate a few readings each day."

He paused and looked at Ning Rongrong.

"The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda becoming the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda involves a top-tier martial soul, a top-tier sect, and even changes in the fortunes of the continent. The heavenly secrets involved are far too weighty. With what I can bear, I cannot calculate it, nor do I wish to."

His gaze drifted slightly into the distance.

"The price is too great."

Ning Rongrong stared at him, unable to tell whether he was telling the truth.

Just as she was considering what to say next—

She heard Yang Xing speak again.

"Unless—"

He drew out the final word.

Then said nothing more.

Ning Rongrong waited two seconds. Seeing that he remained silent, the fire in her chest flared up again.

"Unless what?"

Yang Xing put on a hesitant expression.

"In my family line... the cost is lower when we calculate fortunes for those close to us." He spoke slowly, as if carefully weighing every word. "I have no plans to marry or have children, and I probably will not have descendants in the future. So I have always wanted to find an apprentice and pass down everything I know."

He looked at Ning Rongrong.

"If my apprentice asked me to calculate this, I might be willing to give it a try."

He paused.

"Otherwise, after calculating it, I probably would not have many years left to live."

The air fell silent for a full five seconds.

Then Ning Rongrong laughed.

Not a polite laugh, but the kind that came from being enraged beyond all limits.

"So—"

Her voice rose several pitches, and the gentle image she had carefully maintained shattered completely in that instant.

"You wanted to take me as your apprentice from the very beginning?!"

She pointed at Yang Xing, her hand trembling.

"Couldn't you have just said so from the start?! Why go in such a huge circle?"

She took a deep breath and spat out a sentence.

"You damned swindler, do you think you're worthy?!"

The moment Yang Xing heard that, he knew the act had reached its end.

There was no point pretending any longer.

In the span of a few seconds, he forcibly suppressed the churning anxiety in his heart. A frank, smiling expression appeared on his face.

"Whether I'm worthy or not isn't for me to decide."

He looked at Ning Rongrong, his tone suddenly growing more serious.

"Miss Ning Rongrong, are you willing to become my apprentice?"

He raised one finger.

"If you sign, I'll immediately tell you how the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda can become the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. I'll tell you right here."

Ning Rongrong had nearly regained the upper hand, but his shamelessly forthright attitude made her chest heave with anger again.

"What if it's fake?!"

She stepped closer.

"What if the method you give me is complete nonsense?! Do you know the consequences of deceiving me?!"

Yang Xing smiled.

"I do."

He narrowed his eyes, his tone leisurely.

"It only depends on whether Young Miss Ning Rongrong dares to gamble."

There was an obvious provocation in those eyes.

"As for what happens to me in the end, there's no need for Miss Ning to worry about it."

Ning Rongrong's pupils contracted.

He had provoked her.

She was the young lady of the mighty Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the little devil of Heaven Dou City. When had anyone ever provoked her with the words "do you dare"?

"You—"

"Or perhaps..." Yang Xing slowly added another jab, "Young Miss Ning doesn't dare?"

"Who says I don't?!"

The words nearly flew out of Ning Rongrong's mouth.

She regretted them the instant they left her lips, but facing Yang Xing's smiling face, she could not swallow this insult.

"I'll sign!"

Yang Xing moved.

With unbelievably smooth speed, his hand slipped into his robes and pulled out a roll of straw paper, a writing brush, and a red ink pad.

The three items were neatly placed on the table.

The straw paper unfurled, revealing that all the terms of the master-apprentice contract had already been written down. The master's section clearly bore the two characters "Yang Xing," alongside a bright red fingerprint.

The ink had long since dried.

Watching this, Ning Rongrong suddenly came to her senses somewhat.

"..."

She stared at the contract, then at Yang Xing, her eyes plainly asking, Is something wrong with you?

"Why are you moving so fast?"

She took half a step back.

"Why are you so well prepared?"

Then another half-step back.

"Don't tell me... you've used this trick to scam lots of people before?"

Yang Xing's expression was as sincere as could be.

"First time."

He said it with absolute certainty.

"Definitely the first time."

Ning Rongrong looked at him skeptically.

"Sign already, sign already." Yang Xing urged her, tapping the blank section of the contract. "Once you sign, I'll tell you the method immediately. I'll fulfill my promise on the spot, no delays."

"Wait—"

"Aren't you going to enroll at that Shrek place?" Yang Xing cut in swiftly. "Don't worry, becoming my apprentice won't affect anything you do. I'm only taking you as an apprentice; I won't restrict your freedom. Go to school if you want to go to school, go shopping if you want to go shopping."

"I—"

"Sign and I'll tell you. Seven Treasures becoming Nine Treasures. A millennium-old problem. The answer will be revealed on the spot."

Ning Rongrong's mind buzzed from his rapid string of urging.

She lowered her head to look at the contract.

As if possessed, she picked up the brush.

Dipped it in ink.

Wrote down her name.

And pressed down her fingerprint.

The instant the sensation of the red ink staining the paper traveled to her fingertips—

Ning Rongrong suddenly came completely awake.

She looked at the bright red fingerprint on the paper, then at the three characters "Ning Rongrong" that she had written with her own hand. Only one thought remained in her mind.

What am I doing?

How did I... somehow end up taking a roadside fortune-telling swindler as my master?

A proper master-apprentice relationship on the Douluo Continent was like that between father and son!

If word got out that she, the dignified young lady of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the feared little devil of Heaven Dou City, had been tricked into becoming the apprentice of some street vendor in Soto City who might not even possess soul power—

Where would she put her face?

Ning Rongrong's complexion turned red, then white, then green at a visible speed.

"Hey!"

She abruptly raised her head, her voice reaching its highest pitch.

"I take it back! This doesn't count! Give me back the contract, I want to tear it up! I don't want to know about Seven Treasures becoming Nine Treasures either—"

Yet when her voice reached Yang Xing's ears, it sounded as if there were a layer of water between them.

Because at that moment, Yang Xing's entire mind was occupied by a sudden series of notification chimes in his head. He had no time to pay attention to Ning Rongrong's lightning-fast change of heart.

"Ding!"

"Congratulations, Host, on successfully taking on an apprentice—Ning Rongrong!"

"Ding! System assessment: Godhood potential—meets the minimum standard! Exceptional talent—meets the minimum standard! Extraordinary beauty—meets the standard!"

"Ding! Task evaluation in progress... Evaluation complete!"

"Ding! It has been determined that the Host's first apprentice meets eighty percent of the criteria."

"Extreme Douluo strength is now being sealed..."

Yang Xing's pupils abruptly widened.

"What? Is this some kind of joke? What the hell is this, you're sealing my cultivation too? You don't even approve of Ning Rongrong? Is there something wrong with your brain? She becomes a god in the end! Dog System, stop it!!!"

Yang Xing was utterly aghast, but the System would not stop for him.

"Ding! Seal successful. Congratulations, Host, you have obtained the task reward: Level 99 Extreme Douluo cultivation set. (Set details: 1. Custom soul skills. 2. Normal-state strength of a Level 90 Titled Douluo. 3. One minute per month of unsealed Level 99 Extreme Douluo strength.)"

"Ding! The task reward has been placed in the inventory. The Host may claim it at any time."

(In case this chapter makes anyone drop the story, let me explain the male lead's setup in advance. On one hand, Ning Rongrong's aptitude really is insufficient for practical reasons. On the other hand, there was never any intention of limiting the protagonist's strength. One minute of Level 99 strength is enough as long as the protagonist chooses soul skills that let him control the timing of his activation down to milliseconds, such as time-based or control-type abilities. One minute is enough for him to use them thousands or even tens of thousands of times.

Simply put, it is point-kill. The protagonist only needs to use Level 99 strength at the instant his skill activates or his fist lands on the opponent. Each attack takes no more than milliseconds, so one minute is impossible to use up.)