Boss Chu, scared now, aren't you?
I've got Bone Douluo and Sword Douluo backing me.
You made this young lady train so hard before.
"I'm not scared!"
"Why aren't you scared?"
"I'm just not!"
Ning Rongrong grew furious and planted her hands on her hips. "They're Titled Douluo! You're really not scared?"
Titled Douluo-and high-level Titled Douluo at that. There was no one on the continent who wasn't afraid of them.
Chu Feng had to be pretending he wasn't scared.
Watching Ning Rongrong pout angrily, Chu Feng spread his hands and said nonchalantly, "There's nothing to be scared of."
"Besides, if Sect Master Ning sees how much you've grown, he might even have to thank me."
"Do you really think your father doesn't know how you've been doing at the academy?"
Though Ning Rongrong sometimes had a spoiled young lady's temper, she was also adorably silly.
No father would feel at ease letting his daughter venture out into the world alone.
Especially not Ning Rongrong, the apple of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's eye.
Every move Ning Rongrong made at the academy had long since been laid before Ning Fengzhi's desk.
Ning Rongrong froze.
Oh, right. How could Father possibly not keep an eye on my life?
That's really hateful. He knew I'd been having a hard time lately, yet he didn't even come to see me.
When I get back, I'll definitely pluck out all of Grandpa Bone's beard and hide Grandpa Sword's treasured sword.
"But honestly, I am worried about running into Sect Master Ning." Chu Feng changed his tune, a hint of fear appearing on his face.
Hearing this, Ning Rongrong's mood went from cloudy to sunny.
"Ha! I knew it."
"Scared now, aren't you? Call me Sister Rongrong from now on, and I'll hold them back for you when the time comes."
She had called Chu Feng Boss Chu so many times.
Then she would make Chu Feng call her Sister Rongrong from now on.
"Does that mean I'll have to call you Sister Rongrong too?" Ma Hongjun cut in with a grin.
Ning Rongrong raised her little face, both hands on her slender waist. "Of course. Even Chu Feng calls me Sister Rongrong, so naturally, all of you have to call me Sister Rongrong too."
"From now on, I, Ning Rongrong, will be the boss of Shrek Academy."
Ning Rongrong narrowed her eyes slightly, imagining what it would be like to be the academy's boss.
"I think you've misunderstood what I meant." Chu Feng interrupted Ning Rongrong's fantasy.
This little girl actually wanted to steal my position as the academy's boss.
Ning Rongrong's smile faltered. "You won't even call me Sister Rongrong once."
Chu Feng raised his hand and wagged his index finger. "No, no. I think you've misunderstood what I meant."
"What I'm afraid of is Sect Master Ning seeing how outstanding I am and wanting me to become the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's son-in-law."
The moment he finished speaking, Chu Feng took to his heels.
After hearing that, wouldn't this Little Demoness chase him down?
Sure enough, at Chu Feng's teasing words, Ning Rongrong's pretty face flushed crimson, half with anger and half with embarrassment.
"Chu Feng, I'll beat you to death!"
Ning Rongrong waved her fists and chased after Chu Feng, trying to hit him.
What, am I, Ning Rongrong, not good enough for you, Chu Feng?
Wait, no. How did I, Ning Rongrong, get tangled up with someone as hateful as you?
She wasn't a dog. She wouldn't eat shit.
Watching Ning Rongrong chase Chu Feng and try to hit him, everyone couldn't help laughing and ran after them too.
Sunlight filtered through the towering trees onto the faces of these boys and girls, their laughter mingling with the rustling leaves and traveling deep into the forest.
"Wait."
Chu Feng suddenly stopped running. Behind him, Ning Rongrong failed to stop and crashed straight into his back.
Feeling the warmth of Chu Feng's body, Ning Rongrong blushed slightly and hurriedly moved away. "What's wrong?"
Ning Rongrong didn't forget to give Chu Feng a pinch.
"Look over there." Chu Feng bared his teeth and pointed toward the dense woods in the distance.
The wind among the trees grew a little stiller, and the sunlight seemed to be drawn by something, falling deep within the woods and gathering little by little.
The bushes shook, and a deer-like Soul Beast emerged, its fur gleaming white as snow, unstained by even a speck of the forest's mud.
Ning Rongrong kept staring at its antlers, for they were simply too dazzling.
Its antlers were translucent, as though countless gems had been embedded in them, and each movement refracted streams of starlike light.
Stars sparkled in Ning Rongrong's eyes too.
This deer perfectly matched her tastes.
It was truly beautiful.
"It's a Starlight Spirit Deer that's over five thousand years old." Chu Feng softly spoke the Soul Beast's name.
"Rongrong, this one would make a suitable Soul Ring for you."
Hearing this, Ning Rongrong froze, then shook her head.
"Boss Chu, let's not."
"It's too old. We can't beat it, and I can't absorb it either."
"Besides, it'd be such a shame to kill such a beautiful Soul Beast."
She really couldn't bring herself to hurt a Soul Beast as beautiful as a gemstone.
And looking at the Starlight Spirit Deer, it didn't seem like a vicious Soul Beast.
Without speaking, Chu Feng took out "Contract Soul Ring" again and handed it to Ning Rongrong.
"In a moment, just follow the method in the book. Leave the rest to us."
Ning Rongrong blinked at the book in her hands, unable to react for a moment.
One second he was telling her to obtain a Soul Ring, and the next he was telling her to read a book.
But thinking that Chu Feng probably wouldn't make her do something meaningless, she opened the book and began reading anyway.
Just then, Tang San also came up beside Chu Feng.
He glanced at the distant Starlight Spirit Deer, then saw Ning Rongrong leafing through "Contract Soul Ring" and understood what they were going to do.
"Boss Chu, are you going to give Rongrong this Soul Ring?"
Chu Feng nodded slightly. "Yes. We're pretty lucky. This Soul Beast happens to suit Rongrong."
He hadn't expected to encounter a Starlight Spirit Deer here either.
"Go up and restrain it first. Keep it from running away."
Tang San nodded and swiftly activated his Martial Soul.
"Third Soul Skill, Blue Silver Myriad Life Bind!"
This was the Soul Skill granted by the Azure-Patterned Tenacious Life Spider's Soul Ring.
Emerald-green Blue Silver Grass instantly burst from beneath the distant Starlight Spirit Deer's feet, forming a cage that bound it.
Startled by the sudden attack, the Starlight Spirit Deer cried out, its antlers radiating multicolored light that shattered the Blue Silver Grass around its body.
But the moment the Blue Silver Grass broke, it regenerated.
The more the Starlight Spirit Deer struggled, the tighter the Blue Silver Grass bound it.
Still, the Starlight Spirit Deer was a Soul Beast over five thousand years old, after all, and it continued retreating while shattering the Blue Silver Grass.
"It does lack a little damage," Chu Feng commented from the side.
In the original plot, Tang San's third Soul Skill at this point should have been Spider Web Restraint, which carried a potent neurotoxin and had the triple effects of restraint, corrosion, and paralysis.
His current third Soul Skill focused more on restraint, and it was hard to say whether that counted as a weakening or a strengthening.
After all, even a five-thousand-year-old Soul Beast couldn't break free of its current restraining power.
"It's fine. I'll put more poison on my hidden weapons next time." Tang San didn't mind.
If he really wanted something like poison, he could easily get some.
Besides, he still had his hammer Martial Soul.
In the future, he could add more damaging Soul Skills to his hammer Martial Soul.
That way, he would have both ultimate control and ultimate offense.
The corners of Chu Feng's mouth twitched. As expected of you.
"What are you doing?"
"Little San, when did you get a third Soul Skill too?"
"This deer is so pretty."
Ma Hongjun and the others walked over too.