Tang San raised his head.
He looked at Dai Mubai, then at Ning Rongrong, eagerness shining in his eyes.
He had already thought it through. Since he could not stop his teacher from taking disciples, he would stop worrying about it.
If his teacher liked taking disciples, then let him. Rather than fretting over it...
He might as well spend that extra time cultivating. When the time came to compare himself with the others, he, Tang San, would stand head and shoulders above them. Perhaps his teacher would like him even more!
Xiao Wu was delighted too, bouncing twice on the spot. "Great! Mubai, Rongrong, let your Sister Xiao Wu show you what she can do!"
Dai Mubai and Ning Rongrong exchanged a glance. Though neither was willing to concede, Li Hanqiu had already spoken.
Neither of them threw a tantrum.
The four took their places in the arena, with Xiao Wu and Tang San standing one in front of the other.
Ning Rongrong and Dai Mubai stood far apart, one turning her head away from the other, the other lifting his chin high to stare at the sky.
Looking thoroughly unwilling, Ning Rongrong yawned and summoned the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda into her palm.
The pagoda rotated sluggishly, as though wilted. Only a small portion of its bottom tier glowed.
"Begin," Li Hanqiu commanded.
Dai Mubai rolled his neck, producing a crisp series of cracks, and lunged first.
He slowly opened his eyes, the white tiger Soul Mark in his left eye shining brilliantly.
Dai Mubai had officially mastered the Soul Mark cultivation method a short while ago. This was his first time using it in actual combat.
The next instant, White Tiger Possession activated, and golden light flared. He smashed a fist into the formation of Blue Silver Grass before Tang San, shattering a swath of blades.
But Tang San and Xiao Wu were stronger than ever!
Tang San's Blue Silver Grass possessed an unending vitality. For every stalk broken, ten more grew.
Xiao Wu cut in from the side, punching and kicking, every strike heavy and powerful.
Even with White Tiger Vajra Transformation active, Dai Mubai was unwilling to clash head-on with Xiao Wu.
Dai Mubai gritted his teeth and threw three consecutive punches, only for all three to strike Tang San's wall of Blue Silver Grass.
He turned to advance again, but found his right arm strangely light and unable to muster any strength.
Where was the support?
He whipped his head around.
Ning Rongrong was still standing where she had been, twirling a lock of pink hair around her finger. Only a small portion of one tier of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda was lit.
"Ning Rongrong!" Dai Mubai roared.
"What's the rush?" Ning Rongrong drawled. "I'm working on it. Do you think support is like whipping up a home-cooked dish, ready whenever you ask?"
"You're doing this on purpose!"
Before his words had faded, a dozen stalks of Blue Silver Grass swept along the ground and wrapped around Dai Mubai's ankles.
Dai Mubai had no time to argue with Ning Rongrong. He hurriedly strained to snap the Blue Silver Grass, but the next instant, Xiao Wu's kick was already hurtling toward his face.
Bang!
Dai Mubai crossed his arms to block and was kicked into a backward slide, his soles carving two deep furrows through the sand.
The kick hurt so badly that Dai Mubai's arms trembled slightly.
"Brother Mubai!" At the edge of the arena, Zhu Zhuqing had already leaned forward, only for Li Hanqiu to bar her way with an outstretched arm.
"Keep fighting," Li Hanqiu said.
In the arena, Dai Mubai finally broke free of the net of grass, then tore two clumps of Blue Silver Grass to shreds with a backhand motion.
He gritted his teeth and straightened, turning to look at Ning Rongrong.
"You! Hurry up and give me some damn support!"
Ning Rongrong finally raised her eyes to him.
"You're useless, and you're blaming me? I've seen plenty of unreasonable people in this world, but you're the best at dumping the blame on someone else."
"Shut up," Dai Mubai growled.
"I won't." Ning Rongrong lifted her chin. "The Star Luo Empire's Third Princess? All I see is an empty-headed sack of straw.
Without my support, you're nothing. Is this all you've got?"
"Ning Rongrong!"
Zhu Zhuqing could no longer hold herself back. She stepped into the ring and stood in front of Dai Mubai, her gaze cold as frost.
"Say one more word about Brother Mubai, and I'll tear your mouth apart."
Off to the side, Xiao Wu watched the commotion, eager to fan the flames, clapping her hands. "Fight! Fight!"
Ma Hongjun clutched Oscar's arm and whispered, "Aozi... this is scary..."
Oscar swallowed and edged behind Li Hanqiu.
Tang San had remained silent the entire time.
He stood amid his Blue Silver Grass, his gaze moving from Ning Rongrong to Dai Mubai, then from Dai Mubai to Zhu Zhuqing. Finally, he sighed softly.
Yet a hidden flicker of excitement surfaced in Tang San's eyes.
Fight. Better yet, really fight.
The more impulsive and petty you act, the more Teacher will like me!
"Enough."
Li Hanqiu stepped into the arena, and everyone instantly fell silent.
He looked first at Dai Mubai, then at Ning Rongrong, before finally resting his gaze on Zhu Zhuqing.
"All of you, step back."
Zhu Zhuqing bit her lip and stubbornly stood her ground.
Li Hanqiu glanced at her. "Zhu Zhuqing, listen to me."
Only then did she slowly retreat.
"That's enough for today," Li Hanqiu said evenly. "If anyone argues again, all sparring sessions will be canceled starting tomorrow. You'll all go weed the Back Mountain."
Dai Mubai jerked his head away, his belly full of pent-up fury. Ning Rongrong snorted, turned, and left.
"Ning Rongrong, apologize to Mubai," Li Hanqiu said behind her.
"Apologize? You don't deserve it!" Ning Rongrong did not even look back. "Li Hanqiu, you're just a little Soul King. What gives you the right to order me around?
I only attend your classes to pass the time because I have nothing better to do. You don't actually think you command that much respect, do you? Keep dreaming!"
"Teacher, do you need me to intervene?" Tang San walked over to Li Hanqiu, staring at Ning Rongrong's receding figure.
Li Hanqiu smiled, looking entirely unconcerned. "It's fine. In time, I'll win her over."
Li Hanqiu then walked over to Dai Mubai and took out the ointment he had prepared beforehand.
Without giving him a chance to object, he took Dai Mubai's arm and slowly applied the ointment to his delicate skin.
Xiao Wu walked over to Dai Mubai, her small hands clasped behind her back, looking a little embarrassed. "Um, Mubai. Sorry. I hit-oh, no, kicked-you too hard."
Dai Mubai looked at Li Hanqiu crouching down to apply the ointment, a faint blush crossing his exquisite face. "I-it's fine!"
Nearby, Tang San stared fixedly at Li Hanqiu with an obsessively possessive gaze.
Watching him stroke Dai Mubai's skin, he could not help swallowing.
Perhaps I should get hurt during our next sparring match too? Tang San thought.
Ning Rongrong walked briskly and impatiently, glancing toward Li Hanqiu halfway along.
When she saw that not only had he failed to come over and show concern for her, but had actually turned to tend to Dai Mubai, whom she hated most, the little princess gnashed her teeth in fury.
With a cold snort, she turned her head and strode away, her pink hair and skirt fluttering together in the wind.
Ning Rongrong was still muttering under her breath. Listening closely, every word was a complaint about Li Hanqiu.
Things like, "He's so annoying," "He actually won't come coax me," and "If you'd just come coax me a little, I could forgive Dai Mubai."
At the edge of the arena, behind the unnoticed Old Locust Tree.
Yu Xiaogang hunched there, having watched the whole scene from beginning to end.
The corners of his mouth slowly stretched into a sleazy, greasy grin.
"Ning Rongrong..."
He murmured her name, his eyes darting about in the shadows.
Beneath the tree, a shoe poked out and lightly tested the ground. Then he slipped away without a sound, following in the direction Ning Rongrong had gone.
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