The Richest Girl on the Continent Took a Fancy to Me

By the time Xiao Ran returned to Holy Soul Village, he was exhausted.

"Man, I've been on the road all day. I'm dead tired."

He had barely finished speaking before he started snoring.

Xiao Ran did not get up until nearly noon the next day.

"Ah, it's good to be young. I was out the moment my head hit the pillow."

Now that his Martial Soul had awakened, Spirit Hall would no longer give him financial aid. He did not have many Gold Soul Coins left, either, so he decided to cultivate in Holy Soul Village for a while before returning to Nuoding City to look for work.

A few months later, Xiao Ran's Soul Power had risen from level seven to level ten.

"Finally. I made it." Xiao Ran let out a long breath and savored the moment.

"Damn it, cultivating alone without any real combat is painfully slow. I need a fight! I need to fight!"

That afternoon, he set out for Nuoding City again. Its streets bustled with people, carts, and horses.

Xiao Ran had just reached the city gate when he heard people talking loudly in a nearby tea stall.

"Did you hear? Nuoding Academy expelled a work-study student a while back. Xiao Ran, I think his name was."

Xiao Ran stopped in his tracks and pricked up his ears.

"Of course I heard. They say the kid beat up Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang and even cursed out the headmaster. Cocky as hell!"

"That's not all. I heard his Martial Soul is strange. It looks like a tool Martial Soul, but he uses it like a Beast Martial Soul."

Xiao Ran nearly laughed. He cleared his throat, strode into the tea stall, and dropped into a seat beside them.

"Gentlemen, talking about me?"

The two men froze and looked him up and down. "Who are you?"

"Xiao Ran. The one and only!"

The tea stall fell silent. The two men bolted without even paying for their tea.

"Why run? I'm not going to eat you." He turned to the owner and called, "Boss, put this table's tea on those two. And get me a bowl of Forget-Me-Not Beef Noodles!"

"No tears, no pain, just a bowl of clear broth~"

The owner answered shakily and ducked into the kitchen to make the noodles.

"Oh, man. That smells incredible."

After finishing his Forget-Me-Not Beef Noodles, Xiao Ran slapped a Gold Soul Coin onto the table and got up to look for a place that would take on child workers.

He wandered along the main street. Before he had gone far, something felt off: two sets of footsteps had followed him the whole way. Xiao Ran abruptly turned into an alley and waited against the wall.

A girl in a long blue dress soon came around the corner. She had smooth, long black hair and large, bright blue eyes.

A young man in his twenties followed half a step behind her. A short sword hung at his waist, and his face was expressionless.

"You've been following me all this way. Who are you two?"

"You're Xiao Ran?" the girl asked. Her voice was crisp and sweet, with a hint of superiority.

"Who's asking?" Xiao Ran kept his guard up.

"I'm Ning Rongrong, from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect." She lifted her chin.

"I heard a Soul Master in Nuoding City could turn into a monster. I expected someone fearsome, but you're just a bumpkin."

"The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?" Xiao Ran's heart skipped a beat. Wasn't that the continent's foremost support-type sect?

"What, scared now?" Ning Rongrong took two steps forward, but the young man behind her put out an arm to stop her.

Xiao Ran sized him up. Right on cue, the system notification sounded:

Ding! Target Soul Power detected: level 39 Battle Soul Elder. Threat level: moderate.

Xiao Ran weighed his chances. A level 39 Soul Elder. I only got the upper hand against Gangzi because his Martial Soul was unusual and he was lousy in a real fight. If I took this man head-on now, I wouldn't even have a twenty percent chance of winning.

He withdrew his Martial Soul and smiled. "Miss Ning, you didn't come all the way to Nuoding City just to call me a bumpkin, did you?"

"Of course not." Ning Rongrong clasped her hands behind her back and walked halfway around him. "The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect heard that Nuoding Academy expelled you."

"You were a new student who had been there less than two months. First, you defeated a senior student at level seven while you were only level three. Then you beat Yu Xiaogang, a level 28 Soul Grandmaster. Given your Soul Power at the time, winning means there's something extraordinary about your Martial Soul."

Xiao Ran raised an eyebrow. "And? What of it?"

Ning Rongrong stopped and tipped up her face. "The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect wants to recruit you."

"Recruit me?" Xiao Ran laughed. "To do odd jobs?"

"As a sect disciple," Ning Rongrong said seriously. "You should know we rarely seek out disciples from outside the sect."

Xiao Ran considered it. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was one of the continent's three upper sects, second only to the Clear Sky Sect. It had immense wealth and abundant resources.

Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo, two Super Douluos, were there to protect it. Joining really would be a good choice for him right now.

Xiao Ran nodded, then looked at Ning Rongrong. "Miss Ning, does the future sect master personally invite everyone your sect recruits?"

Ning Rongrong's cheeks reddened, and she turned away. "Who came here just to invite you? I'm out gaining experience and happened to pass through Nuoding City! I only came to see... to see if you were worth it."

"And if I say no?" he asked, teasing her on purpose.

Ning Rongrong flared up. "Why wouldn't you say yes? Do you know how many people want to join the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and can't? You're an expelled work-study student with no family backing and no one to rely on. Who else would take you?"

"Oh, so in Miss Ning's eyes, I'm a poor wretch nobody wants." Xiao Ran smiled and shook his head. "Then forget it. I'm strange that way—the more an opportunity feels like charity, the less I want it."

"You!" Ning Rongrong stamped her foot in anger. "Who's offering you charity? I only asked because I thought you had some talent!"

The attendant behind her coughed softly. "Miss, mind your manners."

Ning Rongrong took a deep breath and calmed herself. "I didn't come here to bicker. My father said your Martial Soul is highly unusual. If a major sect doesn't bring you in, Spirit Hall will take notice of you sooner or later. When that happens, you won't be able to protect yourself alone."

Xiao Ran was struck by that. For Ning Fengzhi to say such a thing, he clearly had a keen eye.

Your sect invited me because you're short on genius Battle Soul Masters like me, Xiao Ran thought. You want me to protect the sect, don't you?

"What do I get for joining the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?" Xiao Ran asked.

Rongrong's eyes lit up. "A fixed supply of cultivation resources every month, including Soul Coins, medicinal ingredients, and information on Soul Beasts. The sect has dedicated training grounds and theory instructors. If you have the talent, the sect will spare no effort to develop it."

"All right, I accept." He lifted his head. "But I have a few conditions."

Xiao Ran held up three fingers.

"Go ahead."

"First, I've reached level ten, so I need my First Soul Ring. If you want to recruit me, help me hunt a suitable Soul Beast. It doesn't need to be very old—around four hundred years, with a dark attribute or close-combat burst power."

"Fine."

"Second, I want to be a disciple in name only."

"What?" Ning Rongrong blinked. "A disciple in name only? What do you mean?"

"I'll carry the title of a Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect disciple, but don't involve me in the sect's day-to-day affairs. I won't stay there every day, and you won't assign me chores or missions. Put simply, I'm a free man. Don't try to tie me down."

Ning Rongrong's face darkened. "Are you joking?"

"I'm serious," Xiao Ran said.

"Xiao Ran, do you think the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect just hands out money? You want to be a disciple in name only, do no work, and still enjoy the sect's resources? Where would you find a deal like that?"

"That's why I have a third condition." Xiao Ran straightened. "When necessary, I'll do everything I can to help the sect."

"What counts as necessary?" Ning Rongrong asked.

"If the sect is in danger, or if it needs me, I'll step in without hesitation!"

Ning Rongrong did not know whether to laugh or cry. "What kind of condition is that? You want all the benefits and only the responsibilities you choose. Who gets a deal that good?"

"Why not?" Xiao Ran shrugged. "It's my potential the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect values, isn't it?"

"If you don't give me the time and space to grow, and instead tie me to the sect as an ordinary disciple, that potential will go to waste. You'll lose out badly. One day, you'll understand how important I am."

The attendant sneered. "You're a level-ten kid. What makes you so sure the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect would lose out without you?"

"Then you're welcome to leave right now." Xiao Ran gestured toward the street.

The attendant had no answer. He turned to Ning Rongrong. "Miss, this man is far too arrogant. I don't think he's worth it."

Ning Rongrong studied Xiao Ran for a long moment, thoughtful. "My father said your Martial Soul was unusual and worth paying attention to."

She spoke slowly. "But he also said someone like you couldn't be bound by ordinary rules. It seems he was right."

"So you agree?" Xiao Ran asked.

"I don't have the authority," Ning Rongrong said. "My father has to approve it. But I can agree to your first condition now. As for the other two, you can take them up with my father when you reach the sect."

"Interesting. Very interesting." Xiao Ran smiled.