Ning Rongrong

The problem, however, was that condensing the Essence of Heaven and Earth and Sun and Moon Radiance was exceedingly difficult.

The sun was yang, and the moon was yin. Yin Yang Power generated and countered each other, and under normal circumstances, they stood in opposition. Unless under a very few special circumstances, the power of Sun and Moon Radiance simply could not be gathered.

At least, from Shi Quan's current understanding, there was no one in Douluo Continent I capable of absorbing Sun and Moon Radiance. There were such people in Douluo Continent II, though. After all, the inherited Spirit Souls of the Sun Moon Empire seemed to be the sun and moon.

If he could find possessors of the Sun Spirit Soul and Moon Spirit Soul and have them help the possessor of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Spirit Soul temper their Spirit Soul, it might truly be possible for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Spirit Soul to undergo a transformation.

As he thought, Shi Quan suddenly realized something. Ordinary people truly could not do it, but that did not mean he could not. Because of the Nine Yang and Nine Yin Divine Art, the Inner Force within his body possessed both yin and yang attributes. If he wanted to condense Sun and Moon Radiance and the Essence of Heaven and Earth, he could manage it. Still, he naturally would not volunteer for something so laborious and unrewarding.

All he could say was that the Essence of Heaven and Earth and the power of Sun and Moon Radiance were a possible path toward evolving the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. Whether that path could truly be taken would have to be tested. For now, it was only an idea.

"I'll write this idea down first. If Ning Fengzhi asks about it later, I'll at least have something to show him."

With that thought, Shi Quan took out paper and a pen from the Snow Jade Bracelet and began writing. Once he had finished, he stored it in the Treasure Bag.

Shi Quan usually kept unimportant things in the Snow Jade Bracelet, while important items went into the Treasure Bag. He was accustomed to sticking the Treasure Bag to the inside of his clothes. Only when changing or washing his clothes would Shi Quan attach it directly to his body.

Once the Treasure Bag was attached, it became completely integrated with whatever it adhered to. Unless Shi Quan tore it off himself, it would never fall off. The bag itself was extremely special. Aside from getting dirty, it was nearly indestructible. Moreover, the Treasure Bag produced by the system had a thoughtful owner-recognition feature. To anyone other than Shi Quan, it was merely an ordinary white bag when touched. It was quite remarkable.

Ever since Ning Fengzhi's visit,

Shi Quan's life had returned to its usual peace. He continued doing what he normally did. Whenever he had spare time, he would think a little about evolving the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's Spirit Soul, but he did not dwell on it too much.

What he was waiting for now was the Heaven Dou Battle Team selection after school began.

After joining the Heaven Dou Battle Team, he would find an opportunity to use Dugu Yan as a connection to Dugu Bo, then head to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

If that did not work, Shi Quan had a backup plan.

He would determine the location of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well beforehand, then sneak in and steal the Immortal Herbs while Dugu Bo was away.

That backup plan was far too dangerous, though, and Shi Quan did not want to do that. His primary goal remained connecting with Dugu Bo through Dugu Yan.

Though he had the system, he had no intention of passing up something as valuable as Immortal Herbs.

It was like money. Who would ever complain about having too little money?

More than half a month passed like that before the Heaven Dou Royal Academy finally welcomed the start of a new term.

Because of Shi Quan's broad knowledge, the Three Great Education Committees had specially approved him to skip classes. He was free to arrange his time at the academy however he wished.

Shi Quan had expected that all he needed to do was wait quietly for the upcoming Heaven Dou Battle Team selection.

Yet things did not go as he wished. On the second day after school began, Ning Fengzhi came to visit him at the academy again.

This time, Ning Fengzhi had not come alone. Unlike last time, the person accompanying him was Ning Rongrong.

Looking at Ning Rongrong's obedient and adorable appearance, Shi Quan could not see even a trace of the little witch from the original story.

The moment Ning Fengzhi brought Ning Rongrong over, Shi Quan felt that Ning Fengzhi had not merely come to introduce her to him. As it turned out, Shi Quan had been right.

When Ning Fengzhi first arrived, he merely probed indirectly into the progress of Shi Quan's research on methods to evolve the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Spirit Soul. Shi Quan also revealed some of his ideas at the appropriate moments. After hearing them, the smile in Ning Fengzhi's eyes visibly deepened.

Especially after hearing Shi Quan speak at length about his various insights into Gem-type Martial Souls, Ning Fengzhi slapped his thigh and directly praised Shi Quan in front of Ning Rongrong. After enthusiastically lavishing him with praise, he finally revealed his purpose: he wanted Ning Rongrong to cultivate and study alongside Shi Quan!

First, he said that Ning Rongrong and Shi Quan were about the same age, so they could get to know each other and would have more to talk about as peers.

Then he began praising Ning Rongrong. Her Innate Soul Power was as high as Rank Nine, and she was the only sect genius in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's past several centuries who had a chance of turning the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda into the Eight Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda.

Then he said that having Ning Rongrong follow Shi Quan would make it easier for Shi Quan to study the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Spirit Soul. At the same time, he hoped Shi Quan could guide Ning Rongrong's cultivation. If he could help Ning Rongrong achieve Over-Level Absorption of Spirit Rings, that would naturally be even better.

Shi Quan was used to cultivating alone and had intended to refuse. Yet, in order to make Ning Rongrong stay with Shi Quan, Ning Fengzhi even declared that he planned to have Ning Rongrong take Shi Quan as her master. The instant those words came out, Shi Quan could only hurriedly agree. If he truly accepted Ning Rongrong as a disciple, he would be completely tied to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Naturally, he could not agree to that.

Ning Fengzhi did not send Ning Rongrong to cultivate with Shi Quan without offering benefits. He directly gave Shi Quan two hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins, enough to make him financially free, and also provided a large amount of medicinal ingredients and secret medicinal bath formulas to assist his cultivation.

Shi Quan knew all about Young Miss Ning Rongrong's temperament. Before Ning Fengzhi left, Shi Quan specifically made it clear that if Ning Rongrong was going to cultivate with him, she would have to endure plenty of hardship, and Ning Fengzhi should not become reluctant when the time came. Ning Fengzhi directly told him in front of Ning Rongrong to train her without restraint and not treat her as the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

Ning Rongrong only found it interesting and fun. Even after Ning Fengzhi said that, she still felt the same way. After all, she could normally only remain in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and rarely had opportunities to go out.

Once Ning Fengzhi left,

Shi Quan and Ning Rongrong were left staring wide-eyed at each other.

Looking at Ning Rongrong before him, Shi Quan felt a headache coming on. He had no idea how to deal with her. Since she had already been left here, he could not simply ignore her. He could only ask helplessly, "Did Uncle Ning arrange a place for you to stay at the academy?"

"He arranged for me to stay beside your Dormitory, but Father said you usually like staying here?" Ning Rongrong shrugged. As soon as Ning Fengzhi left, she curiously began examining the things in the wooden cabin. After looking around with a picky expression, she said, "This place is so shabby. Why do you like staying here?"

"Because it's convenient for cultivation."

Shi Quan stood and walked out of the wooden cabin, with Ning Rongrong following after him. "The surroundings aren't bad, though. Your taste is pretty good."

"Tell me your Soul Power Level so I can arrange a cultivation plan for you."

"This young lady is already Rank Twenty-One. I only obtained my Spirit Ring recently. Impressive, right?" Ning Rongrong said proudly, raising her head and puffing out her chest.

"Rank Twenty-One already?" Shi Quan raised his brows and nodded slightly. "Not bad."

"Not bad?" Ning Rongrong had expected to see shock on Shi Quan's face, yet all she got was that evaluation. She immediately became displeased. "What do you mean, not bad? What rank are you?"

"Rank Twenty-Two. Didn't Uncle Ning tell you about me?" Shi Quan looked at Ning Rongrong in surprise.

"Twenty-Two?" Ning Rongrong paused, but quickly resumed her proud expression. "Father only said he was taking me to meet a Grandmaster of Spirit Soul Theory. He said that person might help the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect find a way to evolve our Spirit Soul. Who knew it would be a little brat like you?"

A little brat?

Shi Quan felt his head twitch and countered, "If I'm a little brat, then what are you?"

Ning Rongrong replied haughtily, "Of course you can't compare to this young lady."

Shi Quan said blandly, "It seems Young Miss Ning still hasn't figured something out. You came here to cultivate under a little brat like me. If someone cultivates while following behind a little brat, doesn't that mean they aren't even as good as a little brat?"

"You actually said I'm not even as good as a little brat!" Ning Rongrong cried out. Though she was clearly only ten years old, the fierce aura around her made Shi Quan feel as if he were seeing the sixty-year-old auntie Hua Xing. With her hands on her hips, she pointed at Shi Quan and angrily said, "Watch out, or I'll have Sword Grandfather and Bone Grandfather come beat you up."

"I'm so scared," Shi Quan said, patting his chest.

"Just you wait." Seeing that infuriating expression, Ning Rongrong's chest heaved violently. She turned and headed outside.

Although Ning Rongrong's pride currently came with a measure of arrogance, it did not affect her intelligence. She knew she was no match for Shi Quan, and there were no Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect guards beside her to vent her anger for her. Rather than keep arguing with him, she might as well make him pay later.

"Stop." Shi Quan shouted sharply. "You came here to cultivate with me, so everything has to follow my arrangements. Did I tell you that you could leave?"

"You want me to listen to you? Dream on!" Upon hearing Shi Quan's voice, Ning Rongrong did not slow down. Instead, she broke into a run outside.

"Trying to run?" Shi Quan smiled faintly. Pale blue light flickered in his right hand as Inner Force instantly poured into his Spirit Ring. The Blue Silver Grass in his hand immediately transformed into vines that shot outward at high speed. In only one or two breaths, a large number of Blue Silver Vines climbed up Ning Rongrong's legs.

Her balance faltered, and she fell to the ground with a thud. Fortunately, the Blue Silver Grass grew fast enough that it had already wrapped around her when she fell, leaving only her head exposed.

"Do you think you can get away?" Shi Quan pulled with one hand, slowly dragging Ning Rongrong back from the ground.

"Let me go! Shi Quan, you brat! If you don't let me go right now, I'll go back and tell my father..."

Ning Rongrong was Rank Twenty-Six at twelve and over Rank Twenty-One at ten, gaining five ranks in two years.

This setting referenced Oscar's Innate Full Soul Power and his reaching Rank Thirty at fourteen. Ning Rongrong's talent was somewhat inferior to Oscar's, so with normal cultivation, even if Ning Rongrong was Rank Twenty-Six at twelve, she should only reach Rank Thirty at around fourteen.

That worked out to four ranks gained in two years.

To refine the setting, it was added that Rank Twenty to Rank Thirty was a bottleneck period, with cultivation difficulty greater than Rank Thirty to Rank Forty. This had been mentioned earlier in the story.