A Flustered Wu Feng, Tang's Rabbit Meat Restaurant, and Huo's Grilled Fish

Time raced by, and the days flowed away like fallen blossoms on a stream.

At Ning Yunxiu's direction, Jiang Yu rose another rank from core disciple and became both a playmate and companion to Ning Tian, the future sect leader.

The move all but spelled out Jiang Yu's future place in the sect.

As long as Ning Tian succeeded the Sect Master, Jiang Yu would, at minimum, be her right-hand man. With his terrifying talent, he would stand beneath one person and above ten thousand.

Of course, many in the sect believed that "beneath" could just as easily become "above."

After all, Ning Tian was a support-type soul master, and Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect ancestral rules required every Sect Master's spouse to be a powerful combat soul master.

Jiang Yu was exceptionally gifted and spent every day at Ning Tian's side. As they grew older and first love stirred, who was to say sparks wouldn't fly...

Keeping things within the sect would undoubtedly be the best outcome.

Still, Ning Yunxiu's decision and the widespread approval it received left some people unhappy.

Wu Feng was undoubtedly one of them.

When Jiang Yu first joined her and Ning Tian's two-person group, she had been far from pleased. Everything about him rubbed her the wrong way, and she had even considered making things difficult enough for him to back off.

But as they gradually got to know each other, Wu Feng's feelings grew complicated.

Jiang Yu had joined them, yet somehow nothing seemed to have changed.

He wasn't especially talkative, but he knew what to say. Sometimes even Wu Feng couldn't help laughing at his jokes. And rather than stick to the two of them all day, he seemed to prefer being alone.

Most importantly, outside the time the three of them spent studying or relaxing together, Jiang Yu never orbited Ning Tian the way Wu Feng did. He had no interest in competing for the title of her "number-one sidekick."

Because of that, Wu Feng's hostility toward Jiang Yu slowly gave way to mixed feelings, and finally to shock.

What kind of person could finish his schoolwork and still train for more than eight double-hours every day?

If low-level soul masters had been able to replace sleep entirely with meditative cultivation, Wu Feng suspected Jiang Yu would have pushed that to nine or even ten double-hours.

As time went on, Jiang Yu's belief that "training time is like water in a sponge—there's always more if you squeeze" gradually spread throughout the sect.

With Sect Master Ning Yunxiu leading the charge, many powerful members and senior figures began urging their disciples and descendants to train harder.

Countless Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect disciples grumbled about it, as did Wu Feng, who had only just begun to think better of Jiang Yu.

It wasn't that they didn't care about training. They just didn't want a life that consisted of nothing else.

Life was supposed to be rich and varied. To them, such a dull, restrictive existence was torture.

What finally broke Wu Feng was that Ning Tian—the one person who mattered most to her—also approved of the training frenzy Jiang Yu had inspired. To set an example for the sect's younger generation, she increased her own training time by nearly half and was often nowhere to be seen.

Wu Feng used to be able to drag Ning Tian to the mountain behind the sect to admire the flowers, browse the market in the little town below, or even visit Heaven Dou City. Now she felt like a puppy abandoned by its owner, miserable and wronged.

After several days of missing Ning Tian while her grandfather pressed her to train, Wu Feng finally found a chance to see her and cautiously told her how lonely she felt.

Ning Tian fell silent for a moment, then gently comforted Wu Feng and promised not to neglect her anymore.

Just as Wu Feng thought she had glimpsed salvation, Ning Tian's next move sent her crashing back down.

It turned out that by "not neglecting her," Ning Tian meant Wu Feng could meditate and train alongside her.

Wu Feng wanted to cry.

She could ignore her peers' frantic training and talk back when her grandfather urged her on. But faced with Ning Tian's sincere, apologetic gaze, she couldn't bring herself to say no. So she shared a training room with Ning Tian, tears in her eyes.

At least she could still see Ning Tian that way, right?

That miserable life went on for more than three months. Just when Wu Feng had resigned herself to it, Ning Tian suddenly suggested they take a break.

Wu Feng sprang back to life in an instant.

But as she eagerly tugged Ning Tian toward the mountain behind the sect, Ning Tian asked her to wait a moment.

And the person they waited for was Jiang Yu, who had also received an invitation from Ning Tian.

The moment Wu Feng saw him, she nearly lost control of her expression.

Old grudges and fresh grievances piled together, leaving her itching to beat Jiang Yu on the spot.

What little reason she had left held her back. She knew she needed a proper excuse. If she beat Jiang Yu up for no reason, Ning Tian would be upset, and her grandfather would probably beat her so badly she couldn't get out of bed for days.

So when the three of them followed a quiet path to a small lake beneath the mountain, Wu Feng promptly invited Jiang Yu to a friendly match, saying she wanted to loosen up.

Jiang Yu glanced up and saw the fire blazing in Wu Feng's eyes.

He was quietly amused.

He had sensed something off about Wu Feng from the moment they met up.

It seemed the little dragon girl had suffered quite a bit from the training craze he'd started.

Still, Jiang Yu didn't refuse her challenge.

With Ning Tian's tacit approval, they released their martial souls and soon clashed.

But Wu Feng's excitement had barely carried her through the opening exchanges when she abruptly realized something was wrong.

Worse, Jiang Yu's attacks grew stranger and faster. She kept taking hits and couldn't even lift her head, let alone mount an effective counterattack.

The frustration of having all that strength and nowhere to use it finally became too much. After dodging a flying kick from Jiang Yu, Wu Feng's fair, elegant face flushed bright red, and she shouted:

"Jiang Yu! Have you no shame? You're a disciple of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, yet you use such dirty moves! You're... you're hopeless!"

Jiang Yu didn't get angry at her outburst. He only smiled.

"Sister Wu Feng, this is a normal match. What dirty moves have I used? Don't go making things up about me."

"Bullshit! What decent person goes for the groin, the eyes, the throat, and the back of the head in a normal match? Have you no shame? Fight me head-on if you've got the guts!"

Wu Feng's face burned even hotter. In her eight years of life, she'd fought plenty of people, but no one had ever used so many dirty moves against her at once. Caught off guard, she'd inevitably taken a few hits.

Jiang Yu merely smiled. "Sister Wu Feng, be reasonable. I'm an agility-type soul master. Going head-on against a pure combat soul master like you would be like lighting a lamp in a latrine—asking for shit."

"If you want to fight, then fight. Otherwise, I'm taking Sister Tian down the mountain to Tang's Rabbit Meat Restaurant."

There was indeed a rabbit restaurant below Nine Treasure Mountain run by someone surnamed Tang. Its specialties were spicy rabbit heads and whole roasted rabbits. Jiang Yu had tried it once, and the food had been the real deal.

"You... you're impossible!"

"And when did the young mistress say she'd go to Tang's Rabbit Meat Restaurant with you? She clearly said she'd go with me to Huo's Grilled Fish!"

Hearing that Ning Tian was going out to eat with Jiang Yu sent Wu Feng over the edge. Face blazing, she roared and charged at him.

But the gap in speed was too great. Jiang Yu evaded her as easily as if he were walking a dog.

Watching from the side, Ning Tian pressed a hand to her forehead and sighed, torn between exasperation and laughter.

Oh, Feng. When will you grow a little wiser and more mature?