Ning Rongrong Wanted to Become His Disciple

Tang San had been practicing Radio Calisthenics for seven full days.

Over those seven days, his physical fitness had improved visibly. His pole-vaulting record had risen from three meters to five, his aerial spins had increased from one and a half rotations to two, and even the speed at which he released hidden weapons had increased by twenty percent.

But those were all minor matters.

The truly major matter was that someone else had arrived in Nuoding City.

And they were no small fry.

A luxurious carriage slowly entered Nuoding City.

The entire carriage was crafted from hundred-year-old golden-thread nanmu wood, its body inlaid with gems of seven colors that glittered in the sunlight.

The curtains were woven from the finest silk and embroidered with the emblem of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect: a seven-story pagoda whose spire pierced the clouds.

Pulling the carriage were not horses, but four snow-white unicorns, each with over a thousand years of cultivation, their steps graceful and their bearing noble.

Twenty guards accompanied the carriage on every side, each wearing silver armor, a longsword at his waist, and a Soul Saint badge on his chest.

Passersby stopped to watch, talking among themselves.

"Whose carriage is that? It's so luxurious!"

"See that emblem? The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect!"

"The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?! They're one of the top three of the Seven Great Sects!"

"Why would they come to a little place like Nuoding City?"

"No idea. Maybe they're just passing through."

The carriage stopped outside Nuoding Academy.

The curtain lifted, and a young girl jumped down.

She was about eleven or twelve, with long golden hair cascading over her shoulders and several jeweled hair clips sparkling in the sunlight.

She wore a pale yellow dress embroidered with tiny flowers along the hem, which fluttered as she walked, making her look like a dancing butterfly.

Her features were as exquisite as a porcelain doll's, her fair skin tinged with pink. Her large eyes were round and bright, carrying an inborn sense of superiority as she looked at people.

But what drew the most attention was the seven-colored Glazed Staff in her hand.

Its shaft was as clear as crystal, with seven colors of light flowing slowly inside and giving off powerful fluctuations of soul power.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's signature martial soul, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda.

Although this Glazed Staff was merely a vessel for her auxiliary martial soul, it was enough to establish her identity.

Ning Rongrong, the only daughter of Ning Fengzhi, sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

"So this is Nuoding City?" Standing outside the academy, Ning Rongrong looked around and curled her lip. "What a dump."

"Young miss," a guard stepped forward and said respectfully, "are you certain you want to train here? The conditions here..."

"I came here to endure hardship." Ning Rongrong raised her chin, a hint of haughtiness in her voice. "Father said I should experience ordinary people's lives. The more ordinary, the better. The more run-down, the better."

The guard glanced at the dingy walls, the academy sign with its peeling paint, and the crooked tree by the gate. The corner of his mouth twitched.

Run-down no longer covered it. This was shabby.

"Then, young miss, shall we accompany you inside?"

"No." Ning Rongrong waved a hand. "I'll go in myself. Wait outside. Don't follow me."

"But your safety..."

"What danger could there be in a little place like Nuoding City?" Ning Rongrong waved impatiently. "Besides, I'm a rank forty-two Soul Ancestor. I'm more than capable of protecting myself."

The guards exchanged looks and nodded helplessly.

Holding up her skirt, Ning Rongrong skipped into Nuoding Academy.

Ning Rongrong wandered around the academy and soon found the hill behind it.

Because she had heard voices.

"One, two, three, four! Two, two, three, four! Three, two, three, four! Four, two, three, four..."

Ning Rongrong followed the sound and saw a sight she would never forget.

A boy in blue stood in the middle of the training ground, his movements as precise as though measured with a ruler, but his expression as agonized as though he were being tortured.

Students surrounded him, some laughing, some pointing, and some imitating his movements.

Ning Rongrong tilted her head, looking bewildered.

"What is he doing?"

She continued forward to the edge of the training ground and saw something even more surprising.

A young man dressed in white lay on the grass, basking in the sun.

Beside him sat a girl with a scorpion-tail braid, munching on a carrot.

Another girl dressed in black sat beneath a tree nearby, cultivating with her eyes closed.

The three presented entirely different pictures, yet they fit together as harmoniously as a painting.

Ning Rongrong's gaze was drawn involuntarily to the young man in white.

He lay there with his hands behind his head and a blade of foxtail grass between his lips, his eyes half closed, looking as though he were watching the clouds-or looking at nothing at all.

Sunlight spilled over him, his white clothes like snow and his long hair like ink, his whole being exuding a languid composure.

Ning Rongrong's heart suddenly skipped a beat.

She had seen plenty of handsome men.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had handsome guards, dashing guest retainers, and elegant young scions of distinguished families.

But none of them had ever made her heart race.

Yet this unkempt young man lying on the grass with foxtail grass between his lips had done just that.

"This handsome guy... seems really impressive," Ning Rongrong murmured.

She did not mean that he was handsome, though he certainly was, but rather that unruffled air about him.

That calmness, as though even the sky falling had nothing to do with him, made Ning Rongrong feel that there had to be more to him than met the eye.

Ning Rongrong took a deep breath, lifted her skirt, and walked toward the young man in white.

Yi Yun was basking in the sun when he suddenly sensed someone approaching.

The footsteps were light, carrying the pride peculiar to a pampered young lady.

Not Xiao Wu. Xiao Wu did not walk so elegantly.

Not Zhu Zhuqing. Zhu Zhuqing's footsteps were lighter.

Not Tang San. Tang San's footsteps were heavier.

Yi Yun opened his eyes and saw a blonde girl walking toward him.

She wore a pale yellow dress and held a seven-colored Glazed Staff, with an expression that said she was noble and none of them were worthy.

But her eyes betrayed her.

Those large eyes were filled with curiosity and... attraction?

Yi Yun recognized her at once.

Ning Rongrong.

The daughter of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's master, and possessor of the world's greatest auxiliary martial soul, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda.

The corners of Yi Yun's mouth lifted slightly.

Here came another one.

"Hello." Ning Rongrong stopped in front of Yi Yun and looked down at him. "What's your name?"

"Yi Yun."

"Yi Yun? Never heard of you."

"That's normal. I'm not anyone important."

Ning Rongrong looked Yi Yun over and tilted her head. "Are you a student here?"

"No."

"A teacher?"

"Not that either."

"Then what are you?"

"I'm... passing through."

Ning Rongrong froze for a moment, then burst out laughing.

"Passing through? Who are you trying to fool?"

"Really. I was just passing through, thought the scenery was nice, and decided to stay a few days."

Ning Rongrong looked around at the dingy training ground, the wooden posts with peeling paint, and the pit full of sand and dirt.

Nice scenery?

He certainly had a talent for lying through his teeth.

"You're lying." Ning Rongrong curled her lip. "You definitely belong to this academy."

"If that's what you want to think, there's nothing I can do."

Ning Rongrong stared at Yi Yun for a few seconds, then asked a question.

"What rank are you?"

"Guess."

"I guess... rank thirty?"

Yi Yun shook his head.

"Rank forty?"

He shook his head.

"Rank fifty?"

He still shook his head.

Ning Rongrong frowned.

"What rank are you, exactly? Don't tell me you haven't even reached rank thirty?"

Yi Yun smiled without answering.

He sat up on the grass, brushed the grass clippings off his clothes, and looked at Ning Rongrong.

"Little girl, are you an adult yet?"

Ning Rongrong's face instantly flushed.

"Who... who are you calling a little girl? I'm twelve!"

"Twelve? Then you're still a little girl."

"I'm not a little girl!"

"Then what are you?"

"I'm... I'm Ning Rongrong, the young lady of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect!"

"Oh, the young lady of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect." Yi Yun nodded. "Then what brings you to Nuoding City?"

"Training!" Ning Rongrong puffed out her chest. "Father sent me out to experience ordinary people's lives."

"Experience ordinary people's lives? Then you've come to the right place." Yi Yun pointed at Tang San, who was exercising on the training ground. "See him? His name is Tang San. He's the most ordinary person here. You can learn from him."

In the distance, Tang San had just reached the side bends. He bent sideways, his posture as contorted as a stalk of bamboo bowed by the wind.

The corner of Ning Rongrong's mouth twitched as she watched him.

"What... what is he doing?"

"Radio Calisthenics."

"What are Radio Calisthenics?"

"A peerless martial art."

Ning Rongrong: "..."

She suddenly felt that none of the people at this academy were quite normal.

Tang San finished his exercises, drenched in sweat. He was about to rest when he suddenly saw a blonde girl approaching him.

"Hello, my name is Ning Rongrong," the girl introduced herself, her voice carrying a hint of the arrogance peculiar to a pampered young lady.

"Tang San." Tang San wiped away his sweat.

"Are you a student here?"

"Yes."

"That... Radio Calisthenics you were doing just now. Who taught you?"

"Yi Yun."

"Yi Yun? The one lying on the grass?"

"Yes."

Ning Rongrong glanced back at Yi Yun, who was chatting and laughing with Xiao Wu in the distance, then looked at Tang San again.

"Is he very powerful?"

Tang San fell silent for a moment.

"Very."

"How powerful?"

Tang San thought for a moment and described him in a single phrase.

"As unfathomable as the depths."

Ning Rongrong's eyes lit up.

She liked unfathomable people.

"Then I'm going to find him." Lifting her skirt, Ning Rongrong turned and ran.

Tang San watched Ning Rongrong's retreating figure and sighed.

Another one.

Yi Yun's harem was about to grow again.

And he was still Tang San, practicing his pole vaulting.

Ning Rongrong ran back and stopped in front of Yi Yun.

"Yi Yun, I want to become your disciple."

Yi Yun raised an eyebrow. "Become my disciple? Why?"

"Because Tang San said you're really powerful."

"Tang San also said I screwed him over. Why don't you learn that from him?"

"Those are two different things."

Yi Yun looked at Ning Rongrong and smiled.

"Kid, you don't even know what level I am, and you want to become my disciple?"

"Then tell me what level you are."

"Guess."

"I'm not guessing. Just tell me."

Yi Yun reached out and lightly tapped Ning Rongrong's Glazed Staff with his index finger.

Crack.

A crack appeared on the Glazed Staff.

Ning Rongrong's expression changed instantly.

"You!"

But a second later, she froze.

Because the crack on the Glazed Staff had vanished.

Not only had it vanished, but the entire Glazed Staff shone brighter than before, and the seven-colored light flowing inside had grown at least twice as rich.

Ning Rongrong's eyes widened.

"This... this is..."

"I strengthened it a little for you." Yi Yun withdrew his finger and said breezily, "Your Glazed Staff is made of good material, but its Soul Power conduction circuits were a little rough. I optimized them for you."

Ning Rongrong gripped the Glazed Staff, feeling the Soul Power surging within it, utterly dumbfounded.

Her Glazed Staff had taken the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's finest craftsman three years to forge, using seven-colored glazed crystal, the rarest material on the continent.

Yet with just one finger, Yi Yun had raised the Glazed Staff's quality by at least an entire grade.

What kind of monster was he?

"Y-you... what level are you, really?" Even Ning Rongrong's voice was trembling.

"Ninety-nine."

Ning Rongrong's mind buzzed.

Level ninety-nine?

A Peerless Douluo?

This young man, who looked barely older than her, was a Peerless Douluo?

"You're lying!" Ning Rongrong blurted out.

Yi Yun smiled.

He raised his right hand and pointed his index finger at the sky.

A beam of golden light shot straight into the clouds, and a golden burst of light exploded in the sky, illuminating all of Nuoding City.

Then a terrifying pressure radiated from Yi Yun, blanketing heaven and earth as it swept in every direction.

Ning Rongrong's legs buckled, and she nearly dropped to her knees.

She struggled desperately to hold herself up, but her body simply refused to obey.

Was this... the pressure of a level ninety-nine Peerless Douluo?

Ning Rongrong gritted her teeth and looked at Yi Yun.

Yi Yun withdrew his Soul Power, and the pressure dissipated.

"Believe me now?"

Ning Rongrong nodded, panting heavily.

She believed him.

She believed him completely.

"Then do you want to become my disciple?" Yi Yun asked with a smile.

"Yes!" Ning Rongrong said without hesitation.

"Then let me hear you call me big brother."

"Big brother!" Ning Rongrong called out faster than anyone.

Xiao Wu curled her lip beside them.

Zhu Zhuqing opened her eyes, glanced over, then closed them again.

Standing in the distance, Tang San silently hoisted the Pole Vault onto his shoulder.

Here we go again.

At dinner, there was one more person in the dining hall.

Ning Rongrong sat beside Yi Yun-no, she squeezed between Xiao Wu and Yi Yun, pushing Xiao Wu aside.

"Brother Yun, have some of this." Ning Rongrong placed a piece of braised pork in Yi Yun's bowl.

"Brother Yun, have some soup." Ning Rongrong ladled a bowl of soup for Yi Yun.

"Brother Yun, try this dish." Ning Rongrong placed another chopstickful of greens in Yi Yun's bowl.

Xiao Wu sat beside them, her face as black as the bottom of a pot.

"Ning Rongrong, that's enough," Xiao Wu said through gritted teeth.

"What's wrong?" Ning Rongrong blinked innocently. "Can't I be nice to Brother Yun?"

"He's my Brother Yun!"

"He's my Brother Yun too."

"You!"

Xiao Wu's cheeks puffed up with anger.

Zhu Zhuqing sat across from them, eating quietly, the corners of her mouth twitching slightly.

Tang San sat in a corner, silently counting grains of rice.

One, two, three, four...

He suddenly felt that this dining hall was getting more and more crowded.

Late that night, Ning Rongrong lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep no matter what.

Whenever she recalled the sight of Yi Yun strengthening the Glazed Staff with his finger, her heartbeat quickened.

"A level ninety-nine Peerless Douluo... and so young... and so handsome..." Ning Rongrong buried her face in her pillow, kicking her legs wildly beneath the covers.

"Did I fall in love at first sight?"

"No, was I just smitten with his looks?"

"That's not right either..."

"Anyway, I just like him!"

Ning Rongrong rolled over and looked at the moon outside her window, the corners of her mouth curling high.

"Brother Yun, just you wait. I'll definitely make you mine!"