Nine Treasures Under Siege

After the Imperial Fighting Team left, even more carriages gathered outside Shrek Academy Gate.

Some academies sent invitations. Nobles invited Ning Rongrong to banquets. Others came in the name of an exchange, hoping to investigate the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. Flender hugged a stack of gift lists, grinning as if he had found a Gold Soul Coin, then immediately put on a stern face when Grandmaster looked his way.

"Shrek has always valued peace and quiet."

Bai Jin passed behind him and casually plucked the top gift list from the stack.

"You value peace and quiet, so why is the price so high?"

Flender snatched it back. "What do you know? This is the art of refusal."

Ning Rongrong sat beside the Training Ground, laughing as she listened. When her laughter faded, she looked down at the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda in her palm. Its warm glow was like a little lamp that would never go out.

She loved that feeling, and she feared it.

From Seven Treasure to nine—one word had changed, but the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had waited so long for it. She had seen the joy in her father's eyes and the emotion her two grandfathers could not voice. But on the battlefield, that light could also become a target.

Bai Jin walked over and glanced down at her.

"What's on your mind, little princess?"

Ning Rongrong wrinkled her nose. "How not to get cut down."

"A practical goal."

"Can you be serious for once?"

Bai Jin sat on the steps with a grin. "Serious costs extra."

Ning Rongrong was about to snap back when heavy footsteps sounded at the Training Ground Gate.

Elephant Armor Academy had arrived.

Huyan Li led the way. Tall and broad-shouldered, he looked like a moving wall. Several