(Beautiful picture of Ning Rongrong)
The moment Oscar finished speaking, Ma Hongjun automatically triggered the Ah Fu System.
"Old Ox Carries a Stone!"
With a thud, Ma Hongjun dropped onto all fours and arched his back. Just like an old ox, he carried the basket of stones, which was bigger than he was, and crawled forward one step at a time.
Oscar's eyes went wide. "Damn, you're all going that hard?!"
At the very front, Tang San gritted his teeth and trudged forward, while Dai Mubai chased after him with all his might.
They hadn't run far when Dai Mubai glanced down and saw that Tang San's pants had been stained with blood yet again, a shocking patch of dark red.
Dai Mubai sucked in a cold breath. "Little San, you don't have to push yourself that hard, do you?! You're bleeding internally!"
Tang San's eyes were bloodshot and seemed ready to split. Without looking back, he roared, "None of your business!"
Dai Mubai steeled himself. Fuck, how can I let you outdo me?!
The four of them ran one after another, struggling as if caught between life and death. It was pure agony.
Meanwhile, in the bamboo grove outside the village.
Ning Rongrong looked left and right. Bamboo stalks stretched on one after another, rustling in the wind, and there wasn't a ghost of a soul in sight. Her face turned red.
"Little Xiaozi, why did you only ask me to come? And to a place like this..."
Her voice grew quieter as she spoke. She stole a glance at Xiao Jue, her heart pounding wildly.
Xiao Jue looked at her in amusement. "You silly girl, of course it's for one-on-one special training."
Before Xiao Jue could finish, Ning Rongrong had already pressed close. She wrapped her arms around his arm, tilted her face up, and called out in a syrupy voice:
"Big brother~"
Xiao Jue froze, then looked down and pinched her cheek. "Hmm? Why are you suddenly calling me big brother?"
Ning Rongrong rubbed her face against his arm and said softly:
"I just want to call you big brother, big brother~ big brother~"
Her calls made Xiao Jue's bones feel light. He hurriedly steadied himself. "All right, all right, my darling, be serious!"
Ning Rongrong immediately stood up straight, though she still drew out her words. "Okaaay~ big brother~"
Xiao Jue shook his head helplessly and said seriously:
"There's no doubt about the support abilities of your Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, but in my opinion, you need to improve your ability to protect yourself. At the very least, you need some means of dodging or defending yourself."
Ning Rongrong nodded.
She had Jewel Magecraft now, but she hadn't had much time to practice it yet.
Xiao Jue continued, "Besides that, we'll train your Heart Separation Control Method."
Ning Rongrong's pupils contracted, and her eyes went round. "Little Xiaozi, you actually know about our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's Heart Separation Control Method?!"
She stared at Xiao Jue, the admiration in her eyes almost spilling over.
Xiao Jue raised his chin.
"Of course. I know Heart Separation Control is your Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's exclusive secret technique for mental control. At its core, it's about handling multiple tasks at once, splitting your mental focus to apply different support boosts in appropriate amounts to different targets.
"You're still at the beginner level, the Three Apertures Governing Heart, right?"
Ning Rongrong's mouth fell open as she listened.
"That's incredible! How do you know so much?! You're just! Just! Amazing!"
Her string of exclamations made Xiao Jue laugh, but then he put on a stern face.
"Starting today, you can't slack off. Don't you always fish for three days and dry your nets for two?"
Ning Rongrong poked her index fingers together, her gaze wandering. "I don't think so..."
Xiao Jue narrowed his eyes. "I'll supervise you every day. If you don't practice, I won't spoil you like Uncle Ning does."
Ning Rongrong jutted out her neck. "Then what can you do to me?"
Xiao Jue raised his hand and gave her perky little butt a smack. It landed with a crisp slap, and her bottom was incredibly springy.
"Then I'll spank your butt!"
Ning Rongrong's face turned scarlet in an instant. She let out a coquettish huff and glared at him, both embarrassed and annoyed.
Xiao Jue withdrew his hand and said with a perfectly serious expression:
"Back to the subject. Now we need to consider where to start with your self-defense."
Ning Rongrong leaned in mysteriously. "Little Xiaozi, I'll show you something good!"
Xiao Jue raised an eyebrow. "Hmm?"
Ning Rongrong opened her palm, and three gems-red, green, and blue-appeared above it, light flowing over them.
She shaped both hands like guns and fired the three gems.
The three gems flew from her hands and burst into flames in midair,
transforming into the elemental forces of fire, wind, and water. Trailing three dazzling plumes, they struck a large tree with pinpoint accuracy.
"Boom!"
The tree was blasted clean through, sending wood chips flying.
Xiao Jue's eyes went wide. "???? Holy crap?"
Ning Rongrong raised her head and puffed out her chest proudly, her chin practically pointing at the sky.
Xiao Jue thought:
Damn, isn't that Rin Tohsaka's Jewel Magecraft Bullet?! How does Rongrong know that? An attack that burns through money really does suit her...
He silently gave her a thumbs-up.
Ning Rongrong proudly tossed her long hair. "Hmph~"
"Never seen that before, have you? I can fire the gems by infusing them with Soul Power!"
Xiao Jue clapped his hands. "What a Jewel Magecraft Bullet!"
Ning Rongrong's eyes lit up. "Jewel Magecraft Bullet? Great name!"
Xiao Jue remembered how Rin Tohsaka stored magical energy in her gems ahead of time in Fate, and said:
"Rongrong, you should be able to store Soul Power in these gems beforehand and fire them instantly when you need them!"
Ning Rongrong, who had been beside herself with pride a moment ago, instantly widened her glazed-tile eyes.
"Wait, Xiao Jue, how does your brain work? How come I didn't think of that?!"
She hurriedly took a few more gems out of her system space and tried infusing them with Soul Power. Her eyes grew brighter and brighter.
"It really works! Then I can fill all the gems with Soul Power beforehand, and I won't have to use any Soul Power when I need them!"
Xiao Jue nodded. "That's right. You're very clever too, Rongrong. And different kinds of gems might be used in all sorts of ways. For example..."
He counted them off on his fingers:
"Gems can be used for more than attacks. You can use them to construct defensive barriers, scout, strengthen other Soul Skills, or even use them as backup batteries for Soul Power and draw from them when you're running low..."
The more Xiao Jue said, the more unsettled he felt himself. This was far too overpowered.
"Or, for another example, you could link multiple gems together to unleash large-scale Jewel Magecraft all at once, deploy barriers, and construct magic arrays!"
Xiao Jue thought, If this really works out, Tang San's Hidden Weapons can even slay gods, so there's no reason Jewel Magecraft can't do the same!
Ning Rongrong grew more excited the longer she listened. Her eyes shining, she threw her arms around Xiao Jue's neck, rose on tiptoe, and pressed her soft pink lips to his, calling out indistinctly:
"Xiao Jue, you! Are! My! God!"
She was at a loss for words and really couldn't think of another way to describe her admiration for Xiao Jue, so she expressed it through action instead.
Xiao Jue didn't dodge. He wrapped both arms around her slender waist and lowered his head to kiss her back.
A long time passed before the two finally parted.
Ning Rongrong's cheeks were flushed, her eyes hazy, and her voice was soft enough to wring water from:
"Big brother~ I love you so much~"
Xiao Jue lowered his head and rubbed it against her forehead. "I love you too, Rongrong."
The two kissed and hugged, cuddling for quite a while.
Only then did Xiao Jue cough lightly and bring the conversation back on track: