Chen An was extremely careful.
He first summoned his Lone Bamboo Martial Soul, then slowly released the Cryo Element inside it to ease the sweltering heat in the air.
"Sister Rongrong, you have to hang in there. Please, whatever you do, don't do anything foolish!"
Ning Rongrong's face was as red as an apple. Her hands kept trying to tear at her clothes, and she mumbled incoherently about how hot she was.
Chen An first tried injecting Soul Power.
He found that there was still no response.
He scratched his ear, at a loss for what to do.
Suddenly.
As though she had lost her mind, Ning Rongrong lunged at Chen An.
He was so startled that he hurriedly backed away.
As he dodged, he shouted:
"Sister Rongrong, no, no, no!"
"If Sect Master Ning finds out, my little life will be over!"
Seeing that Ning Rongrong had no intention of stopping, Chen An threw caution to the wind.
"Sister Rongrong, there's only one way left now!"
"You... you mustn't blame me when you wake up!"
Chen An hugged Ning Rongrong from behind and directly injected the pure Dendro Element from his Lone Bamboo Martial Soul.
His idea was simple: just as he had with Meng Yiran, he would use the Dendro Element to steal away that restless power inside her.
The process went smoothly.
Chen An could clearly feel the Elemental Power moving through Ning Rongrong's body, constantly devouring the excess power.
Time slowly passed.
After about ten minutes, the Dendro Element Power finally returned to Lone Bamboo.
Looking at the pale, unconscious Young Lady Ning, Chen An breathed a sigh of relief.
Just then.
His vision blurred, and an inexplicable Heavenly Flame stirred restlessly inside him.
"Fuck!"
"Wh-what's going on? So hot, so hot!"
Frightened, Chen An hurriedly let go of Ning Rongrong. He genuinely suspected that he was about to lose control.
Ultimate Ice!
Right!
Ultimate Ice will definitely work. It has to work!
Chen An felt his whole body trembling as impulses instantly flooded his mind.
Hiss...!
Why isn't this working?!
He tried circulating Ultimate Ice to suppress it, only to find that it had no effect whatsoever.
Just then.
A flash of inspiration struck Chen An.
He thought of a good solution: send this power inside him back again.
Chen An steadied his breathing, keeping himself lucid at all times.
He hugged the unconscious Ning Rongrong again.
After injecting Dendro Element Power once more, he waited quietly...
Wait!
Something's wrong!
"Why am I stealing the source of her Soul Power?"
Feeling an endless stream of new power pouring into his body, Chen An's mind instantly crashed. He urgently stopped, let go, and moved away from Ning Rongrong.
Sweat beaded on his forehead, and he panted in fright.
"My... my Soul Power went up one level? I'm level thirty-seven now?"
Chen An looked at his hands. After checking carefully, his Soul Power really had risen by one level.
The Lone Bamboo Martial Soul is this broken? It can even absorb Soul Power Levels?
He now felt that this bamboo was fucking incredible. Not only could it store different elements, it could also secretly absorb other people's Soul Power.
"What if...?"
An evil idea surfaced in Chen An's mind.
Looking at the soundly sleeping Ning Rongrong, he suddenly wondered whether doing this would make him worse than a beast.
"Just a tiny bit, Sister Rongrong. Believe me, I'll only steal a tiny bit!"
Chen An swallowed, thinking that Ning Rongrong wouldn't know anyway. He would steal the Soul Power first, then blame it on that blackened thing she had eaten.
He put his thoughts into action.
He slowly repeated what he had just done.
An endless warm current flowed into his body, and Chen An instantly felt indescribably comfortable...
"Ah!!!"
A piercing scream exploded beside Chen An's ear.
He slowly opened his eyes and looked around groggily.
"Wasn't I doing something bad? How did I suddenly fall asleep?"
Chen An shook his head.
Once his vision cleared completely, he discovered Ning Rongrong crouching alone in a corner, covering her face and crying.
"Sister Rongrong, what's wrong?"
Ning Rongrong raised her head and wiped the tears trickling from the corners of her eyes.
Sobbing, she stammered, "Chen An... I... my Soul Power dropped three levels!"
"What?"
Chen An's mouth fell open in disbelief.
I only stole three levels after all that time?
So I really did only steal a tiny bit!
He patted Ning Rongrong's shoulder and comforted her. "It's all right, Sister Rongrong. Next time, don't casually eat things of unknown origin."
"Chen An, I... I don't want to live anymore!" Ning Rongrong burst into tears again as she spoke.
"Don't, Sister Rongrong!"
"Live! You have to stay strong and live. It's only your Soul Power Level. We can start over!"
Chen An said this perfectly naturally, without his heart skipping a beat or his hands trembling.
"Boohoo... I ran away from the sect to prove I wasn't trash. And now look, I... I really am trash."
The more Ning Rongrong spoke, the harder she cried.
Chen An scratched his head.
For a moment, he had no idea what to say.
Oh, man!
It felt great, sure, but my conscience is burning a little!
He briefly checked his Soul Power Level and discovered that it had reached level thirty-nine.
Seeing Ning Rongrong's sorrowful appearance, Chen An's heart immediately softened.
"Sister Rongrong, do... do you believe I have a way to help raise your Soul Power back up?"
"Huh?" Ning Rongrong wiped her face with a tissue and asked curiously, "What way?"
Chen An thought for a moment, then said, "But... you can't tell anyone else, especially Xiao Wu!"
Ning Rongrong nodded.
After securing her promise, Chen An began trying to send the Soul Power back through Lone Bamboo.
Gradually...
After about five minutes of trying.
Chen An found that nothing was happening. Thinking he wasn't hugging her tightly enough, he tightened his hold.
At that moment, Ning Rongrong's face was full of embarrassment, and she gritted her teeth, forcibly suppressing the anger in her heart.
She thought that it would be fine if her Soul Power went back up, but if it didn't, Chen An was dead.
Even if she had to borrow the sect's strength, she would kill this scoundrel Chen An.
Chen An was baffled.
He found that no matter how he used Lone Bamboo, he couldn't inject the Dendro Element.
Do I need to change positions?
Chen An switched from hugging her from behind to hugging her from the front.
Ning Rongrong clenched her fists, her anger reaching its peak.
"Sister Rongrong, relax a little!"
Chen An tried injecting the Dendro Element once again.
It worked!
I can feel something.
He instantly felt a tingling numbness all over, as though an electric current had passed through him.
Holy fuck.
It's over. I'm screwed!
Now I'm going to be chopped into little bits!
Just as Chen An was about to let go and flee, Ning Rongrong grabbed him.
Her eyes were vacant and her face was pale. She simply kept repeating, "Give it back. Give me back my Soul Power!"
Chen An's panic reached its peak at that moment.
Especially when he saw Ning Rongrong's ashen, bloodless face.
This was not a sign of a normal person.
The moment that warm current had entered his body, the words "I'm screwed" had instinctively flashed through Chen An's mind. It turned out that Lone Bamboo could only absorb Soul Power, not transfer it.
"D-don't panic!"
"Sister Rongrong, I'll think of something!"
Chen An tried to break free of Ning Rongrong's grip, only to find it extremely difficult.
In his anxiety, his mind suddenly plunged into confusion.
To hell with it!
Treat a dead horse as though it's still alive. Take a gamble, and a bicycle could become a motorcycle!
Chen An bit his lip open and kissed her directly.
His idea was simple.
Since he couldn't transmit the Dendro Element into her through Lone Bamboo.
He would carry it directly in his blood instead.
"Grandpa, bless me!"
"It has to work. It has to work!"