Kitten, Transform!

Chen Xin was surrounded by a surging sea of grass.

Those blades of grass seemed to possess minds of their own, sprouting batch after batch from the ground, cracks in the rocks, and broken gaps. They wrapped around his ankles, coiled around his wrists, and gave him no room even to turn.

Yet Chen Xin merely frowned. His sword fingers slashed repeatedly, and three silver arcs swept aside everything before him.

But as soon as one patch of grass fell, another layer rose beneath his feet. A trace of impatience surfaced within him.

Just then, Luo Yan moved.

Standing deep within the sea of grass, he suddenly stopped maintaining Tang San's form. His shoulders sank, his waist drew in, and the framework of his entire body seemed to be reshaped by an invisible hand.

Mist clung to him, swirling and tightening. His figure visibly became slimmer and lighter.

His short hair lengthened, black as ink and falling to his shoulders. His features changed as well, turning cold and sharp.

The real Zhu Zhuqing stood before Ning Rongrong, her pupils contracting slightly.

She watched another version of herself walk out of the mist.

"Hell Stab." Luo Yan said softly.

Like a cat, he stepped through the densest part of the Blue Silver Grass and circled toward Chen Xin's rear flank.

He was fast, yet soundless. Chen Xin was distracted by the Blue Silver Grass binding him, and by the time he sensed something amiss behind him, he was already half a beat too late.

He turned and swept out with his sword fingers.

But that "Zhu Zhuqing" was incredibly supple. She bent at the waist like water to evade the strike, then slid in along his sleeve.

Sharp claws sprang from her fingertips, carrying the glow of two Soul Rings.

Second Spirit Skill, Hell Hundred Claws.

"Rip—"

Three claw winds tore through the morning mist like strips of ripped silk.

The spot on Chen Xin's right sleeve that had already been struck several times was finally torn open.

Luo Yan retreated and stopped three paces away, slowly straightening. That face belonging to Zhu Zhuqing continued to stare coldly at Chen Xin.

The morning breeze blew between them. The Blue Silver Grass gradually stopped growing, and the entire clearing suddenly became deathly quiet.

A hint of astonishment appeared in Chen Xin's eyes. Though he had deliberately suppressed his cultivation, some things could not be suppressed.

Such as instinct, the ability to detect killing intent, and every change in the aura within three meters around him. Yet just now, he had only truly "noticed" when the claw wind reached his sleeve.

Too late.

He lowered his head and looked at the torn patch on his right sleeve.

"My senses..." He turned toward Luo Yan, who still wore Zhu Zhuqing's face. "You interfered with them?"

Luo Yan did not move. That cool face lacked Zhu Zhuqing's usual coldness.

Mixed into that coldness was Luo Yan's uniquely smug, half-smiling expression.

"My other Spirit Skill," he said.

The voice was still Zhu Zhuqing's, yet it sounded as if it belonged to another soul. "The stronger someone is, the more they trust their senses. I only needed to make you trust them for one extra instant. One instant was enough for a cat to scratch someone."

Chen Xin said nothing. Of course he understood.

The strong trusted their instincts most. But once those instincts were tainted with falsehood, the body would become slower than usual—not in movement, but in judgment.

"Very good," he said.

Then he looked at Ning Rongrong. She was still holding up the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda. Only when Chen Xin looked her way did she timidly call out, "Grandpa Sword..."

"Sigh... I agree to let you stay."

Chen Xin said, "However, you must return to the sect at least once a year. If your cultivation has not improved by then, I will not allow you to leave again."

Ning Rongrong's eyes reddened as she nodded forcefully.

Chen Xin looked at her once more, and his gaze softened in the end.

"I'll speak with your father."

He turned and took two steps before stopping again. "But since you chose this path, don't complain about hardship later."

"I'm not afraid of hardship," Ning Rongrong said.

Chen Xin said no more. He left, his white robes growing more distant in the wind.

Luo Yan was still wearing Zhu Zhuqing's appearance.

He watched Chen Xin leave until that spot of white vanished completely, then suddenly lowered his head.

He could not see his toes.

He froze for half a second, then slowly raised a hand, his fingertips hovering as they moved toward his chest.

"Luo Yan." Zhu Zhuqing's real voice came from behind him, cold enough to freeze ice.

"Hm?" Luo Yan answered instinctively, his hand still suspended.

"Do you believe I'll tear off both your claws?"

Luo Yan immediately swept his hand behind his back and turned around. "Can't I be allowed a little curiosity?"

Luo Yan wore Zhu Zhuqing's face, but his gaze was still his own, carrying that bastardly look of, I can explain, but I won't.

Zhu Zhuqing said nothing. She merely took one step forward. It was not a heavy step, but it sent a chill down Luo Yan's neck.

"I turned into you to break through his defenses."

Luo Yan spoke rapidly. "I had to know your center of gravity and striking range. Otherwise, could that attack have torn his sleeve? I was studying your combat habits. It was an academic exchange, understand?"

"You call that academic?" Zhu Zhuqing stared at the hand he had hidden behind his back.

"Of course he dares."

Ning Rongrong added from the side, "He even dared to fool my Grandpa Sword."

Luo Yan was about to retort, but when he lowered his head and saw that overly realistic "research material" of a body again, he hurriedly shifted his gaze away.

It was not as if he had no sense of boundaries. He just had not been able to resist earlier. After all, not everyone got to have such an experience.

"I'll change back. I'll change back right away." He raised his hands in surrender.

Gray mist rose from beneath his feet again. A few breaths later, Zhu Zhuqing's face gradually faded, her black hair reverting to his own short hair. When the mist fully dispersed, Luo Yan had returned to normal.

He lowered his head. This time, he could see his toes, and he let out an enormous sigh of relief.

Zhu Zhuqing did not press him further. She merely gave a "hmph" and turned toward the city.

Luo Yan watched her back and muttered quietly, "I only transformed once. It's not like any flesh went missing."

"Say that again." Zhu Zhuqing did not turn around.

Luo Yan immediately shut his mouth. Ning Rongrong walked beside him, laughing so hard her shoulders shook. She nudged him with her elbow. "Hey, would it be like that if you turned into me too?"

"You?"

Luo Yan glanced at her and laughed. "If I turned into you, I'm afraid I wouldn't even know how to walk. Your skirt is so long, I'd step on it the moment I ran."

"You're the one who steps on it when you run!"

Ning Rongrong glared at him. "I'm among the fastest runners in Heaven Dou City."

"That's because you've never raced Kitten."

Luo Yan laughed. "I'll have you race someday. I'm betting on Kitten."

"Why are you betting on her? I can do it too!" Ning Rongrong protested.

Luo Yan looked at Zhu Zhuqing, who had already walked some distance ahead, then turned back to Ning Rongrong.

Under the morning sunlight, the girl's cheeks had puffed up in anger.

"Fine, then run."

Luo Yan smiled. "When you win, I'll write you an exclusive sequel: How the young lady of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect crushed the Hell Spirit Cat in Suotuo City."

"You promise?" Ning Rongrong's eyes immediately lit up.

"I promise."

Luo Yan nodded, then added in a low voice, "Anyway, writing a book doesn't mean I actually have to catch up to her."

Ning Rongrong did not hear clearly. "What did you say?"

"I said, let's head back. I'm about to starve into a sheet of paper. Your Grandpa Sword put me through the wringer all morning, so he should at least treat us to a meal, right?"

"My Grandpa Sword tested us, not me. Why should I pay?" Ning Rongrong said.

"Because he left, and you're his representative." Luo Yan was completely matter-of-fact.

"You—!"

The two followed behind Zhu Zhuqing, bickering all the way as they entered Suotuo City's morning market.