Reasoning

Ning Rongrong leaped backward.

Her breathing was slightly unsteady.

Support-type Soul Masters had limited stamina to begin with. Even with a speed boost, continuously evading the pincer attack of two assault-type Battle Soul Masters consumed a great deal of energy.

The remaining two thugs exchanged glances and spotted the opening.

One on the left and one on the right, they sealed off her retreat.

The thug on the left possessed his martial soul, thick black fur sprouting over both arms as he slammed his palms down. The thug on the right had a cheetah martial soul; his speed surged as he went straight for her legs.

"Let's see where you can run now!"

Ning Rongrong reached for her waist.

It was empty.

She had only brought one spring-loaded cylinder when she left, and the anesthetic steel needles inside had all been fired already.

There was nowhere left to retreat.

Beast claws howled toward her from the front.

Ning Rongrong's face went pale. She reflexively shut her eyes and crossed her arms in front of herself.

At that critical instant.

The searing pain she had expected never came.

A faint breeze swept past her.

Su Chen shifted his footing slightly. At some point, he had already stepped in front of Ning Rongrong.

He had not released his martial soul.

Even the Purple Thunder Spirit Sword at his waist remained sheathed.

He raised his right hand, pressing his index and middle fingers together.

Facing the descending attack, he casually pointed forward.

A faint purple glow flickered at his fingertips.

It struck the thug's palm with perfect precision.

His forward momentum came to an abrupt halt.

The burly thug's body froze instantly, suspended in midair.

The next moment.

A hidden force flowed through his body from Su Chen's fingertips.

The thug's face twisted as he was sent flying backward, crashing into the mud and unable to rise.

The thug on the right with the cheetah martial soul was horrified and tried to stop himself.

Su Chen turned his wrist.

His fingers became a palm, which he slashed through the air.

A sharp, invisible sword aura swept low across the ground.

The thug's legs went weak, and he dropped straight to his knees.

His face filled with terror, he scrambled and crawled away from the crowd.

In just a few breaths.

The situation had reversed.

The watching crowd retreated again and again, afraid of being dragged into trouble.

Seeing that things had gone wrong, the skinny medicine seller turned and slipped into the crowd, vanishing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

Su Chen did not pursue him.

He lowered his hand.

Then he turned toward Ning Rongrong, who still had her eyes closed.

"How long are you planning to stand there with your eyes shut?"

Ning Rongrong opened her eyes.

She looked at the fallen thugs, then at the youth in green standing before her.

The tension in her nerves finally eased.

She patted her chest.

"I thought you were going to keep watching the show! At least you have a bit of conscience and knew to save me."

There was a trace of pride in her voice.

"Well? I was pretty good just now, wasn't I? I may be a support type, but I didn't disgrace the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect!"

She raised her chin, waiting to hear a few words of praise.

Su Chen looked at Ning Rongrong.

There was not the slightest hint of approval in his eyes, only undisguised coldness.

"Pretty good?"

"Utterly foolish."

Those four words shattered all her expectations.

The smile on Ning Rongrong's face froze.

Anger surged onto her face.

"Why are you insulting me?"

"I saw injustice and smashed that harmful poison stall. Was that wrong?"

"If I hadn't acted, who knew how many years of life those commoners would have been cheated out of!"

"Smashing the stall wasn't wrong."

"The mistake was not using your brain."

He pointed at the now-empty stall in the distance.

"Where's the medicine seller?"

Ning Rongrong followed the direction of his finger and froze for a moment.

"He... he ran away?"

"I didn't notice while we were fighting..."

"You didn't notice?"

Su Chen took a step forward, his gaze pressing down on her.

"You ignored the mastermind and tangled with a few errand-running guards instead. You call that upholding justice?"

"That medicine seller carried the aura of Blood Fiend. He came from the same source as the evil Soul Masters who attacked the Crown Prince's Residence at night."

"If that skinny man had not chosen to flee just now, but instead struck from behind amid the chaos, you would be the one lying on the ground now."

Ning Rongrong shuddered, a chill running down her back.

Still stubborn, she argued, "B-but weren't you right beside me?"

"What if I hadn't been?"

Su Chen asked.

"Or what if I had stood by coldly and had no intention of saving you?"

"The cherished jewel of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, heir to the world's number one support martial soul, dying in some back alley of Heaven Dou City just because of a reckless, thoughtless urge to play the hero."

"If Ning Fengzhi saw your corpse, would he think being a hero had been worth it?"

Ning Rongrong's eyes reddened, and she bit down hard in grievance.

"I just couldn't stand seeing people get cheated..."

"If you want to meddle, you can."

Su Chen cut off her excuse.

"But before you do, first weigh the situation carefully."

"Who is the enemy? How strong are they? What cards do they have? How good are your odds? If you can't win, where is your escape route?"

"Did you consider any of that before acting?"

Ning Rongrong lowered her head and said nothing.

She truly had not considered it.

Back in the sect, she got whatever she wanted. Who would dare say no to the young miss?

Whenever trouble arose, Sword Grandpa and Bone Grandpa were there to stand in front of her.

Why would she ever need to think about an escape route?

Su Chen continued. His tone softened slightly, though it remained stern.

"Your performance just now was full of flaws."

"First, you should not have directly exposed your identity as a Soul Master when the enemy was hidden and you were in the open. The moment your Soul Rings appeared, your trump cards were laid bare."

"Second, a support-type Soul Master's greatest advantage lies behind the formation, using teammates to keep the enemy at a distance. Yet you charged straight in front of them and delivered yourself beneath the fists of assault-type Battle Soul Masters."

"Third, after using up your hidden weapons, you did not immediately open the distance. Instead, you stayed put and waited to die."

"I'll teach you a principle. Remember it well."

"Plan before you act."

"If you cannot see through the situation, do not rush to step forward."

"Without absolute confidence, it is better not to act than to place yourself in a deadly situation."

Ning Rongrong raised her hand behind her back.

She recalled the despairing moment when the two large men had trapped her between them.

If their blows had truly landed, even if she did not die, she would have been severely injured.

She drew a deep breath.

Then she lifted her head.

"I'll remember."

"Plan before acting."

"I was impulsive this time. I didn't see through that skinny man's background."

Su Chen looked at Ning Rongrong's attitude as she admitted her mistake and nodded slightly.

Her temperament was spoiled, but at least she could listen to reason.

She was not beyond saving.

"The Seven Treasure Glazed Pagoda may seem unmatched in support abilities, but its wielder's body is far too weak."

Su Chen started walking toward the edge of the market.

"When close combat comes, what will you rely on to stay alive?"

Ning Rongrong caught up to him, confusion on her face.

"On my teammates to protect me. Support types aren't good at fighting to begin with."

"What if your teammates die?"

Su Chen asked.

"Or what if they are tied down and have no time to look after you?"

"Putting your life in someone else's hands is the stupidest thing you can do."

"Support types train their mental strength and control."

"Mental strength is used to oversee the whole field, while control is used to manage distance."

Ning Rongrong fell into thought.

The elders of her sect had never told her such things.

The teachings within the sect had always been about how to boost teammates more effectively and how to let them unleash greater combat power.

No one had ever taught her how a support type should face life and death alone.

"Then what should I do?"

For the first time, her tone carried less of a young miss's arrogance and a little more desire to learn.

"Do you understand the meaning of four words: steady, precise, agile, and enduring?"

"Steady, precise, agile, and enduring?"

Su Chen nodded.

"They are the foundation of my self-created Body Refining Art."

"If you stand steady, your strength will not scatter."

"If your soul power flows precisely, it will not be wasted."

"If your body is agile, you can adapt when danger comes."

"If you train for long enough, you will earn the right to speak of the future."

"As a support type, you do not need to fight better than Battle Soul Masters, but you must make sure you can run when danger arrives."

Ning Rongrong's eyes widened slightly.

She looked at the green-clad youth beside her, who was around her age.

She had thought he had held back earlier merely to laugh at her.

She had not expected every step to have been calculated so deeply.

Even her rushing forward to smash the stall had been a stone tossed into the water to test the way ahead in this game of chess.

The small amount of resentment in her heart faded without her noticing.

No wonder her father had insisted on sending him to the Crown Prince's Residence as an apprentice.

His insight and methods really were more useful than what the sect elders taught.

"That medicine seller got away. What if he changes locations and keeps deceiving people?"

"These Strengthening Pills bear the mark of a Blood Fiend Formation. There's clearly some huge plot behind this. Are we just going to ignore it?"

"How are we supposed to handle it? Put up notices all over the streets?"

Su Chen looked straight ahead.

"No one can stop those willing to spend money to buy more life. Greed can't be plugged."

"Besides, if that skinny man dared sell medicine so openly in the imperial city, there must be a tangled web behind him."

"We've already alerted the snake. Now we'll see which hole it slithers into."

"Rather than worrying about others, you'd be better off taking care of yourself."

"Tomorrow morning, keep sweeping the courtyard. Sweeping is training for your lower body."

Rongrong's face fell.

"Still sweeping?"

"Didn't we already come out here to temper our minds? Why do we still have to do chores?"

"My hands are rubbed raw!"

"Put medicinal wine on them, then sweep with your left hand tomorrow."

"What kind of cultivation rule is that?"

"My rule."

The two bickered as they walked farther down the market street.

The crowd closed back in.

Deep within a dark alley.

A dense aura of Blood Fiend silently contracted.