Ning Rongrong's Shock

In the master bedroom, Ning Rongrong was still awake.

She lay on her stomach, gently rubbing her still-warm buttocks with her fingertips, the tip of her nose slightly red. Xiao Wu had hit her hard just now, but afterward, she had held her and spoken at length from the heart-about how she and Yan Zu had shared life and death along the way, the dangers they had faced together, and how, if Ning Rongrong truly wanted to join them, she must stay with them for life and never betray them.

Ning Rongrong had agreed.

But now, an impossible-to-suppress sense of inferiority quietly crept into her heart.

She was the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, noble-born and exceptionally gifted, a favored daughter of heaven who had been surrounded by admirers like stars around the moon all her life. Yet by Yan Zu and Xiao Wu's side, she had tasted what it was like to fall short of others for the first time.

Yan Zu had only revealed level thirty-one Soul Power to others, yet he could casually suppress the level thirty-seven Dai Mubai; Xiao Wu's speed and explosive power far surpassed any Soul Master at the same level.

And she...

Even with her sect's resources and Yan Zu's guidance, breaking through to level thirty-one at the age of eleven was an astonishing achievement, even by the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's standards over the past century. But in the end, she was only an Auxiliary System Soul Master. Other than providing boosts, she could do nothing.

She could not help in battle, could only be protected in danger, and even keeping up with them was such a struggle.

When they grow stronger and stronger, will I be left behind?

Will I... stop being important?

Her heart, proud all her life, had never felt so heavy.

Ning Rongrong bit the corner of the blanket, her eyes gradually reddening. Her voice was as faint as a mosquito's whine, carrying a hurt she had not even noticed herself:

"Do I... really deserve to be with them?"

The bedroom door opened gently.

She hurriedly wiped the moisture from the corners of her eyes and looked up to see Yan Zu and Xiao Wu entering together.

"Still awake?" Yan Zu sat down beside the bed, his gaze gentle.

Ning Rongrong lowered her head, her fingers twisting the bedsheet uneasily. "I... was thinking."

"About what?" Yan Zu saw through her dejection at a glance.

The girl trembled slightly. At last, she could no longer hold back, and her voice quivered:

"A-Zu, Sister Xiao Wu... just how strong are you? Dai Mubai is level thirty-seven, and you didn't take him seriously at all... But I'm only level thirty-one. I can't do anything except provide boosts."

She raised her head, tears welling in her eyes, but stubbornly held them back:

"I don't want to just stand behind you and watch... I don't want to be a burden."

"You'll never be a burden." Yan Zu spoke softly, but with unquestionable conviction. "Your Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda is the best support Martial Soul under heaven, and your talent is one in ten thousand. Without you, Xiao Wu's speed would be thirty percent slower, and my Soul Power would last only half as long. You call yourself a burden? Then what does that make Xiao Wu and me? Cripples?"

That last remark left Ning Rongrong speechless. For a moment, she did not know whether to laugh or cry.

"And besides..." He paused. "If you're worried about your strength, then starting tonight, I'll teach you true power."

"What?" Ning Rongrong froze.

Standing nearby, Xiao Wu planted her hands on her hips and snorted. "You're getting off easy. I was going to test you a while longer, but seeing how pitifully you cried tonight... A-Zu, let's bring her in too."

Yan Zu nodded and pressed a hand to Ning Rongrong's forehead. "Relax your mind and don't resist. I'll take you somewhere."

In an instant, Ning Rongrong felt the world spin around her. When she opened her eyes again, she found herself in a vast expanse of emptiness.

"Where... is this?" Ning Rongrong looked around in shock.

"The Martial Soul Mimicry Training Ground, one of my Martial Soul's innate abilities." Yan Zu's figure took shape beside her, and Xiao Wu appeared at her side as well. "Time flows three times faster here than outside, and it's completely safe. Xiao Wu and I have been training here for the past two years."

Ning Rongrong's eyes widened. "So... your current levels are..."

She did not dare imagine it, yet could not help guessing. Dai Mubai was a level thirty-seven Soul Elder, and she had already thought his strength impressive, but Yan Zu had dealt with him so easily that he was clearly hiding his true combat strength.

Yan Zu did not answer directly. He simply gave Xiao Wu a look.

Xiao Wu understood, and a sly smile curled her lips as Soul Power suddenly surged around her. She no longer restrained the presence she had concealed, and four Soul Rings slowly rose from beneath her feet-yellow, purple, purple, black!

Black! That was a color only a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring could have!

Immediately afterward, a tremendous surge of Soul Power erupted from Yan Zu as well. Four Soul Rings appeared around him, with an identical configuration to Xiao Wu's: yellow, purple, purple, black!

The two black Soul Rings faced each other across the void, and the pressure they radiated from Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts made the entire Mimicry Training Ground tremble slightly. The air seemed to congeal, and the dense presence of Soul Power made Ning Rongrong hold her breath instinctively. Her little face turned deathly pale in an instant, only to flush with excitement a moment later.

"One... one yellow, two purple, and one black?" Ning Rongrong's voice shook as she pointed at the two black Soul Rings with a trembling finger. "Ten... Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings? You... you're actually Soul Ancestors?!"

She had broken through to level thirty-one and become a Soul Elder at twelve, making her a genius the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect might see only once in a century. Yet before Yan Zu and Xiao Wu's Soul Ring Configurations, her achievement was hardly worth mentioning. The fourth, pitch-black Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring in particular represented a height countless Soul Masters could never reach in their lifetimes, yet Yan Zu and Xiao Wu, one eleven and the other twelve, had already claimed it for themselves!

Ning Rongrong's mind went blank, her earlier inferiority and disappointment instantly replaced by overwhelming shock. She finally understood why Yan Zu could easily subdue Dai Mubai and why Xiao Wu's speed and explosive power were so astonishing-they were not Soul Elders in their thirties at all, but genuine Soul Ancestors! And top-tier Soul Ancestors with Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings at that!

"You... you two..." Ning Rongrong collected herself, her eyes reddening slightly. She felt hurt at having been "deceived," but far more than that, she was shocked and excited. "At Nuoding Academy, were you pretending the whole time?"

"We weren't pretending. We were hiding it," Yan Zu explained gently. "My external Martial Soul is unusual to begin with. Add this Soul Ring Configuration, and once exposed, it would inevitably attract the covetous attention of major powers, and might even implicate my family and all of you."

Xiao Wu added, "And we didn't want to draw too much attention. Back at Nuoding Academy, hiding our strength let us avoid trouble and gave us a better chance to hone our Soul Skills and gain experience."

Ning Rongrong fell silent. She thought of the Soul Masters who would stop at nothing to obtain Soul Rings and Soul Bones, and immediately understood the pair's painstaking intentions. Her hurt gradually faded, replaced by intense admiration and a trace of relief-relief that she had chosen to stay by their side, and that they were willing to show her their true strength.

"So... that's how it is." Ning Rongrong clenched her fists, her nails digging deep into her palms, but her eyes shone with an unprecedented light. "You really are... amazing."

She looked at the four Soul Rings around Yan Zu and Xiao Wu, especially the black Soul Ring that symbolized top-tier strength, and a fierce fighting spirit blazed in her heart. She was the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, an exceptionally talented Auxiliary System Soul Master. She absolutely could not let them leave her far behind!

"A-Zu, Sister Xiao Wu," Ning Rongrong said, raising her head, her eyes full of resolve. "I want to become as strong as you too!"

Yan Zu smiled. "Now, I'll pass on the Bone Forging Chapter, Healing Chapter, and Movement Technique Chapter of the Nine Yin Manual to you, along with the Six Meridian Divine Sword. These techniques can transform your physique, giving you physical strength and reaction speed no weaker than a Battle Soul Master's. The Six Meridian Divine Sword uses Soul Power as its foundation and is without form or shape. Combined with your Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, it will let you take a life from a hundred paces away while providing support."

A vast amount of information flooded her mind, and Ning Rongrong felt as though her head would split open. Yet what followed was an incomparable clarity. She "saw" the routes through which the meridians circulated, "saw" the formless sword Qi unleashed with Soul Power...

"I... I can fight..." She looked at her hands, tears welling up again, but this time they were tears of joy. "A-Zu, Sister Xiao Wu... I..."

"It's not a question of whether you can, but whether you must." Yan Zu's expression was solemn. "From tonight onward, you're no longer purely a support-type Soul Master. But remember, in front of outsiders, you're still the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda who needs protection. Only at a moment of life or death may you reveal these methods. This is your trump card, and our secret."

"Stop crying." Xiao Wu came over too. Although she still looked fierce, there was a smile in her eyes. "From now on, we're real sisters. We'll protect this idiot together, got it?"

Ning Rongrong nodded vigorously, then suddenly stepped forward and hugged Yan Zu tightly, before hugging Xiao Wu as well. "Thank you both... I... I'll definitely become your staunchest support!"

Yan Zu patted her back gently, and Xiao Wu reached out and ruffled her hair. The three exchanged smiles in the training ground, and at that moment, a bond beyond friendship was fully forged.

Early the next morning, sunlight streamed into the room through the sheer curtains.

Zhu Zhuqing pushed open the door and came out, immediately noticing the change in Ning Rongrong. The little princess was especially radiant today, her eyes seeming to shimmer with starlight, her steps carrying a light rhythm, as though she had shed her old self and been reborn overnight. Stranger still, she and Xiao Wu seemed to have reached some kind of understanding. Every now and then, they exchanged a glance and gave each other mysterious smiles.

Yan Zu was already ready, with Little Jade lounging on his shoulder. "Let's go to Shrek."

The four left the hotel and headed toward the village outside the city. In the morning light, Ning Rongrong walked with her head high and chest out. Her left hand quietly took Xiao Wu's, while her right... boldly linked arms with Yan Zu. Under their helpless yet indulgent gazes, she grinned like a little fox that had stolen a tasty morsel.