Sword Douluo-Rongrong, Be Good, Don't Cry... You've Got Some Nerve!

"Ah! It's Grandpa Sword!"

"Grandpa Sword! Hurry, it's him!"

It was him, Sword Dao Chen Xin. Rongrong had said he'd suffered severe injuries not long ago after abandoning the Asura God's trial. Sure enough, his aura was incomplete.

"They bullied your precious granddaughter!"

"Ning Qing! You've got some nerve!"

His furious shout rang out like a sword, shattering the tension that lingered among the trees.

At some point, a figure as straight as a pine had appeared beneath an old pine ten paces away.

The newcomer wore a plain gray robe. His silver hair was white as snow, and he looked to be in his fifties or sixties, yet his eyes were so clear and sharp they seemed able to pierce the soul.

He merely stood there, without the slightest ripple of Soul Power escaping him, as though he had become one with the ginkgo grove and the passing autumn wind.

He was the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's pillar that held up the heavens: Sword Douluo, Chen Xin.

"Grandpa Sword!"

Ning Rongrong's eyes lit up. Like a wronged child who had found her firmest support, she ran over and tugged at Chen Xin's sleeve. Pointing at Ning Qing, whose face had yet to regain its color, she huffed,

"You're here! It was him! He bullied your precious granddaughter! He even ambushed Brother Shenghe with a Hidden Weapon!"

Chen Xin's gaze first settled on Ning Rongrong, and his stern expression softened for an instant. Then he turned toward Ning Qing and his two companions.

His gaze was not fierce, yet Ning Qing felt as though he had fallen into an ice cellar. He even held his breath.

"A Hidden Weapon?"

Chen Xin's voice was calm, betraying neither anger nor pleasure. His gaze swept over the finely crafted steel needle lying on the ground, then shifted to Xiao Shenghe.

"Shenghe, are you hurt?"

Xiao Shenghe let go of the arm he had instinctively held in front of Ning Rongrong to shield her. He stepped forward and bowed respectfully.

"Grandpa Sword, I'm fine. Senior Brother Ning Qing... was only sparring with me using Soul Skills and slipped up."

His tone was composed. With a few light words, he turned an "ambush" into a "sparring accident."

It was not because he was softhearted. He knew all too well how sensitive his status as an "outsider" was within the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

Ning Qing was an inner disciple, after all. If Sword Douluo punished him severely for ambushing an "outsider," it might inflame the sect's uneasy feelings toward Xiao Shenghe.

Holding back now was not fear. It was a calculated choice.

Chen Xin looked deeply at Xiao Shenghe. His gaze seemed to pierce his skin and see the strange aura hidden within him, an aura that made even Chen Xin's heart quiver.

This child is more reserved than his father was back then, and even more unfathomable.

"Sparring?"

The faintest hint of a smile touched Chen Xin's lips, so slight it was almost invisible.

"For Soul Masters to spar, both must agree, and a teacher or elder must be present."

"Ning Qing, you have level-seventeen Soul Power, yet you chose to 'spar' with a junior who hasn't even obtained his First Soul Ring. You even used a Bone-Piercing Needle coated in anesthetic... Where did all the rules of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect you learned go?"

Ning Qing shuddered, cold sweat instantly soaking his back.

He had not expected Sword Douluo to see through the Hidden Weapon at a glance, much less call out his bullying of the weak and his violation of sect rules.

"E-Elder Sword, this disciple knows he was wrong!"

Ning Qing dropped to his knees with a thud and bowed his head low.

"This disciple was confused for a moment. I saw Junior Brother Xiao's extraordinary talent and wanted to test what he could do. I meant no harm! Please forgive me, Elder!"

The two lackeys behind him hurriedly knelt as well, knocking their heads against the ground again and again.

Chen Xin did not speak at once.

The autumn wind lifted a few golden ginkgo leaves. They spiraled onto his shoulders, then slipped gently away.

He remained silent for a while, and that silence was more unnerving than any rebuke.

"Go to the Punishment Hall. Take three thousand strokes of the staff, remain confined for three months, and copy the sect rules a hundred times."

Chen Xin finally spoke, his voice still calm.

"If it happens again, you will be expelled from the sect."

"Yes! Thank you for your mercy, Elder!"

As though granted a pardon, Ning Qing hurriedly kowtowed, then scrambled away with his lackeys. He did not dare look back.

Quiet returned to the grove. Only the rustle of wind through falling leaves remained.

Only then did Chen Xin turn back. His gaze fell on Xiao Shenghe's bare wrist, and his brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

"Shenghe, that aura you released just now..."

As a level-ninety-six Titled Douluo, his senses were extraordinarily keen.

The invisible pressure that had spread through the grove a moment ago had vanished in a flash, yet it had stirred something deep in his Martial Soul's instincts.

That had been no ordinary Soul Power. It was more like... the crushing weight of a higher form of life.

Yet this child did not even have a single Soul Ring.

Xiao Shenghe knew he could not hide it, so he answered frankly, "Grandpa Sword, it was a trace of aura my Martial Soul released on its own. I don't fully understand why it happened yet."

His answer was half true and half false.

It was not yet time to reveal everything about the Flame Emperor bloodline and his mother's legacy.

Chen Xin did not press him. Everyone had their secrets. Instead, he asked,

"Fengzhi told me you've decided not to join the Soul Hunting party arranged by the sect. You intend to obtain your First Soul Ring on your own?"

"Yes."

Xiao Shenghe nodded, his gaze resolute.

"My Martial Soul... is rather unusual. A Soul Ring from an ordinary Soul Beast may not suit me. I want to go deep into the Star Dou Great Forest and seek an opportunity."

"Nonsense!"

Ning Rongrong grew anxious and grabbed Xiao Shenghe's arm.

"Don't you know how dangerous the depths of the Star Dou Great Forest are? Even Dad says no one should venture deep without a Soul Saint or someone stronger leading the group! How can you go alone?"

But Chen Xin raised a hand to stop Ning Rongrong. He looked Xiao Shenghe in the eye.

"Your father was just as stubborn and confident back then. But do you know that confidence and arrogance are often separated by only a hair's breadth?"

"I understand."

Xiao Shenghe neither cringed nor grew defiant.

"But I have a reason I must go alone. And..."

He paused.

"I'm confident I can protect myself."

As he spoke, he raised his right hand and stirred his will. No Soul Ring lit up, but an exceedingly faint, nearly transparent pale flame quietly appeared above his palm. The moment it emerged, the surrounding temperature did not rise. Instead, space warped slightly and light bent, as though even light itself could be burned away.

Chen Xin's pupils contracted sharply!

For all his experience, he could not identify the flame at all!

It gave off no heat, yet it held a destructive aura that made even his soul tremble.

More startling still, the flame seemed bound to Xiao Shenghe's very life essence rather than arising from an external Soul Skill.

"This is..."

Chen Xin's voice was low.

"This is one of the powers my mother left me."

Xiao Shenghe withdrew the flame, his face turning slightly pale.

In his current state, drawing on even this sliver of power from the Phoenix Nirvana Wings Soul Bone his mother had left him was his limit.

"With it, an ordinary thousand-year Soul Beast can't hurt me."

Chen Xin was silent for a long while before finally exhaling slowly.

"It seems your father and mother left you quite a legacy. Very well. In the end, you must walk your own path."

His tone shifted, turning grave.

"But remember, the Star Dou Great Forest is no safe place. The continent has been unsettled lately, and Spirit Hall has been active, apparently searching for something. And..."

A complicated look flickered in his eyes.

"There are rumors that a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast may be waking in the forest's depths. If you cannot handle what you find, retreat at once. Staying alive comes first."

"I'll remember."

Xiao Shenghe bowed solemnly. He knew Sword Douluo had given his tacit consent.

"Brother Shenghe..."

Ning Rongrong's eyes reddened. She knew she could not stop him. She could only untie the other identical red cord from her wrist and fasten it around the wrist where Xiao Shenghe wore no cord.

"You have to come back safely. You promised me you'd become a god!"

"I will."

Xiao Shenghe squeezed her hand, his smile warm and resolute.

Chen Xin watched the two of them, then suddenly said,

"Shenghe, come to my Sword Cottage before you leave. Your father left something with me back then. Perhaps... it will be of some use to you now."