"Oscar!!"
"You... you actually dared take liberties with me!"
Ning Rongrong raised her fist, her eyes filled with fury.
"You think having food-type innate full Soul Power lets you do whatever you want? Do you know who I am? I'm the young lady of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect! The people who like me could line up from Shrek all the way to the Heaven Dou Empire!"
"And don't think moving a few rocks for me this morning will win my favor! If you're so capable, go kill Dai Mubai right now, and I'll reluctantly give you a chance!"
Hearing this, Oscar froze on the spot.
He couldn't understand why Ning Rongrong was so hostile.
Dai Mubai had only said a few things that morning. Was that really worth demanding someone's life at every turn?
"What's going on with you two...?"
Seeing how tense things were, Chen An thought he would come over and help mediate.
"Chen An!"
"Do me a favor, and I'll give you five thousand Gold Soul Coins once it's done."
Ning Rongrong held up five fingers and spoke with arrogant insolence.
"What favor?" Chen An rubbed his head.
He was rather puzzled, wondering what could possibly require five thousand Gold Soul Coins.
"I heard you're pretty good in a fight!"
"Kill Dai Mubai for me right now, and I'll give you five thousand Gold Soul Coins!"
Chen An half-narrowed his mismatched eyes, his brows creasing slightly.
He was speechless.
This Ning Rongrong came across like some gangland queenpin.
There was nothing she wouldn't think of, nothing she wouldn't dare do!
Besides, if Dai Mubai found out that his life as a prince was worth a mere five thousand Gold Soul Coins, wouldn't he string her up and whip her within an inch of her life?
"Sister Rongrong, I'm afraid you've got the wrong person. I'm just a little noob."
"And you saw for yourself that both my Soul Rings are only ten-year ones."
Chen An first bowed deeply, then politely refused.
"Fine!"
"Very good!"
"You're the first man to refuse me. Just you wait!"
Ning Rongrong's cheeks flushed red. She gritted her teeth, her eyes filled with unwillingness.
"Nutcase," Chen An muttered before returning to the dormitory to rest.
Time flew at light speed, and evening arrived in the blink of an eye.
Training had originally been scheduled for the afternoon.
Gangzi insisted on moving it to evening, calling it cooler at night, but anyone with eyes knew Grandmaster Yu had lost track of time giving Tang San private instruction.
"Ahem!" Yu Xiaogang cleared his throat and pointed at the large rocks on the ground. "The task is simple. Move these rocks to that hilltop. No Soul Power allowed, and you must finish before dark!"
"Huh?!"
"Grandmaster, are you kidding? How are we supposed to move such super, super, super huge rocks?"
Oscar gave one a quick test and found that the rock was twenty times his size.
Ma Hongjun was dumbfounded too. "Grandmaster, how is this any different from moving a mountain?"
Hearing everyone's complaints,
Yu Xiaogang smiled. "Use your brains, or ask Xiao San for advice!"
It seemed like a prearranged script.
The moment Yu Xiaogang finished speaking,
Tang San stepped forward.
Spittle flying, he methodically presented his methods and views.
He even began giving orders.
After listening, Dai Mubai was the first to ask, "Where am I supposed to find a big hammer?"
Ma Hongjun nodded along. "Why aren't these girls running the last leg?"
"You fatty, haven't you heard of ladies first?" Ning Rongrong retorted aggressively.
Before Ma Hongjun could speak,
Oscar suddenly said, "Fatty, I'll run Rongrong's leg."
Unable to agree, they gradually began arguing.
Just then,
Xiao Wu gently tugged at Chen An's clothes. "Xiao An, you're still weak. I'll help you run later!"
Chen An shook his head. "A man can't call himself weak. I'm perfectly healthy, and I've found a really good method!"
"What method?" Xiao Wu's eyes lit up, curiosity immediately rising in her heart.
"Can't tell you. Anyway, we have to run the last leg!"
Tang San's proposed method had given Chen An an opportunity to slack off.
The large rocks would be broken into smaller stones, and the eight of them would split into four teams to relay them along.
But the two who did the work of breaking the rocks would run the shortest stretch at the beginning, while the remaining distance would be divided equally among the other three teams.
As long as he and Xiao Wu ran the final two legs separately, he could use Ultimate Fire to devour the energy inside the stones, making them much lighter.
Chen An eagerly joined in.
He strongly recommended pairing himself with Ning Rongrong, so he could disgust this young lady.
After about five minutes, they finally settled on a plan.
Dai Mubai and Tang San would break the rocks and run the first leg, Oscar and Zhu Zhuqing would run the second, Chen An and Ning Rongrong the third, and Ma Hongjun and Xiao Wu the final leg.
Before they started, Chen An carefully told Xiao Wu not to go too fast and to pretend she was exhausted.
After they had waited in place for quite a while,
Oscar and Zhu Zhuqing finally carried the stones over on their backs.
Their stamina was still holding up well. Their faces weren't flushed, their hearts weren't racing, and there wasn't much sweat on their foreheads.
"How many carrying baskets are there in total?" Chen An asked.
Oscar thought for a moment. "About twenty, I think!"
"Twenty!!!" Hearing that number, Ning Rongrong felt as though the sky were about to collapse.
"Keep at it."
Without saying much more, Chen An got moving.
Not long after he started running,
he channeled the power of Ultimate Fire to secretly devour the insides of the stones.
"Miraculous. They really got lighter."
Chen An felt as though he were carrying a piece of cloth, incredibly, incredibly light.
To avoid giving anything away,
he deliberately ran alongside Ning Rongrong, sometimes even slower than her.
"Huh?"
"Xiao An, wh... what's going on?"
During the handoff, Xiao Wu noticed something strange. These stones were almost as light as cotton.
"Don't ask. It's a secret!" Chen An leaned close to Xiao Wu's ear and whispered.
After about seven trips,
Ning Rongrong was already too tired to walk.
Although the route was short and they could rest and recover on the way back, the sheer number and weight of the stones were too much.
On the ninth trip,
looking at the four carrying baskets before her, Ning Rongrong completely gave up and sat on the grass, staring blankly and enjoying the breeze.
Chen An beside her was quick-witted.
He began putting on an excellent performance, fanning himself with his hand and constantly crying out about how tired he was.
"Chen An!"
"What the hell are you tired for?! You haven't even sweated, and your hair isn't wet either."
As Ning Rongrong spoke, she sensed something was wrong.
She thought it over carefully.
Aside from Chen An and Xiao Wu, everyone else's clothes were soaked through, and they were limping as they walked.
"You... have you been using a Soul Skill?"
Ning Rongrong pointed at Chen An and spoke loudly.
Chen An chuckled. "You've wronged me, Sister Rongrong. I haven't even summoned my Martial Soul. How could I use a Soul Skill?"
"This was all forced out of me!"
"Back then, Grandmaster made Xiao Wu and me do weighted training, day after day, year after year. We practically ate and slept with rocks!"
Hearing this, Ning Rongrong felt her scalp tingle. "That Grandmaster really is no good. Thank goodness Grandpa Sword and Grandpa Bone don't treat me like that!"
"Chen An!"
"If you take care of all these stones, I'll agree to one thing!"
Chen An grew interested. "Anything?"
Ning Rongrong nodded.
"Then... I want you to reject Oscar. How about it?"
Chen An spoke with a mischievous grin.
He didn't believe Ning Rongrong would agree. After all, that fellow Oscar was still foolishly helping her run.
"Ah!"
"I'm a little reluctant. Oscar is pretty decent."
"How about this? Make Dai Mubai kneel before me, kowtow, and admit he was wrong, and I'll go reject Oscar!"
Ning Rongrong planted both hands on her hips and spoke very seriously.
"Rongrong?"
"You... what did you just say?"