Ning Rongrong, who had just finished training, sat under the shade of a tree without any trace of elegance, hiding from the scorching sun.
It had only been a little over a month since she entered Lanba, and her once-fair skin had tanned into a wheat-like color.
Ning Fengzhi was quite displeased by this. He believed his little daughter should be pampered—how could she be treated like an ordinary person in just a month?
From his perspective, the usually gentle Gu Rong was furious in the sect and had even sprayed saliva while scolding Ning Fengzhi.
That day, the entire Qibao Glazed Sect echoed with his roars.
"Ordinary people! What's wrong with ordinary people!? I was a beggar myself!"
"Ning Fengzhi, are you going to draw a line between me and your noble self too!?"
Chen Xin rarely argued with Gu Rong but stood silently nearby, waiting for Gu Rong to finish venting so they could go drink and relieve some boredom.
Although Ning Fengzhi was scolded, he wasn't angry. He merely wiped the spit off his face, sat calmly back in his chair, and began to reflect on his mistakes.
What outsiders didn't know was that Gu Rong, the Bone Douluo, had actually been born a beggar.
That's precisely why he liked Yu Xiaowei so much.
"Rongrong."
Yu Xiaowei approached with a smile, holding a jar of sugar-coated peanuts.
"Brother Xiaowei~"
Ning Rongrong stood up in surprise, leapt into his arms, and hugged him tightly.
After a while, the two sat side by side.
Yu Xiaowei opened the candy jar in his hand. These were sugar peanuts condensed by Shao Xin's first soul skill. Their effect was to clear the mind and help concentration. Not useful in battle, but great as a snack.
They leaned on each other, and Ning Rongrong separated the peanuts one by one—popping one into her own mouth and feeding another to Yu Xiaowei.
Laughter like silver bells rang out occasionally under the shade of the small tree.
After they finished all the peanuts, Yu Xiaowei leaned back and lay on the grass, using his arm as a pillow.
Ning Rongrong mimicked him, lying beside him and chattering away.
"Brother Xiaowei, where have you been lately? I missed you so much. No one played with me."
"You don't know, Grandpa Dugu is so fierce. He always asks me questions in class. If I can't answer, he smacks my hand. It hurts."
"And that teacher Yinshu insists I train with the others for the Blue Tyrant Team, but you weren't there, and I didn't want to go."
"Also, you looked so cool when you gave that lecture yesterday, but you seemed really busy, so I didn't come see you."
"And."
"And."
As she spoke, Ning Rongrong suddenly heard a soft snore.
She pouted and looked up—and sure enough, Yu Xiaowei was lying there asleep.
She was slightly annoyed and wanted to wake him up, but seeing the weariness on his face, her frustration melted away.
Yu Xiaowei was exhausted. The adults didn't know, but Ning Rongrong had personally seen this tough-looking boy—often beaten—show signs of deep fatigue more than once.
As a childhood friend, she didn't understand why Yu Xiaowei trained so hard, even though he was already so strong.
So she always tried to get him to play, because only then could he rest properly.
Quiet times never last long.
Qin Ming's shout broke their little world.
Seeing that Yu Xiaowei was still asleep, Ning Rongrong took off her coat and covered him with it.
After quickly glancing around, she gave his cheek a quick kiss, like a chicken pecking rice.
Then, face slightly red, she quickly got up and walked toward Qin Ming.
"Why are you alone? Where's Xiaowei?"
Seeing Ning Rongrong come alone, Qin Ming asked in confusion.
He remembered clearly that Yu Xiaowei had just said he was going to find Ning Rongrong, and the boy had even specially asked Shao Xin for a jar of peanut candy—so why wasn't he with her now?
"Brother Xiaowei is resting. Don't disturb him unless it's something urgent."
"Resting?"
Qin Ming looked at Ning Rongrong, who still had a few blades of grass in her hair, and his imagination started to wander.
Yu Xiaowei really wasn't behaving himself…
"What are you thinking!? Brother Xiaowei is just too tired lately and fell asleep sitting there!"
Ning Rongrong guessed what he was thinking, angrily kicked his knee, and her slightly red face instantly flushed like an apple.
"Uh, hehe…"
Qin Ming scratched his head awkwardly, caught in his own thoughts.
Ning Rongrong huffed in dissatisfaction and crossed her arms.
"Do you need something from Brother Xiaowei? If it's not serious, just let him sleep peacefully."
"Oh, don't mention it. I don't know what bad wind is blowing from Shenfeng Academy. They're blocking the entrance to our academy and demanding to challenge the Blue Tyrant Team. I was thinking—there's no other soul master but Xiaowei who can handle them, so I wanted him to come and calm things down."
Qin Ming's tone was helpless. Although the Blue Tyrant Academy was rapidly rising, aside from Yu Xiaowei, Yu Tianheng—who had the highest soul power—had only just reached level 39.
That speed was impressive. After all, it had only been a bit over three months since he reached level 38.
But the problem was that Shenfeng Academy's advertisement for the Heaven Dou Advanced Soul Master Academy boasted Feng Xiaotian's level 41 soul power as its main attraction.
This wasn't just about the soul sect. Two other level 39 students had also come with Feng Xiaotian.
Just those three high-level combatants were enough to give anyone a headache.
Ning Rongrong confidently puffed out her chest and lifted her chin.
"I'm still here!"
"With the support of my Nine-Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, my second cousin is very strong."
"Besides, you keep looking for Brother Xiaowei for everything—what will happen when he graduates in the future?"
Ning Rongrong's final words struck a chord with Qin Ming.
She was right. Right now, the academy relied too much on Yu Xiaowei.
He devised training plans, led the Blue Tyrant team, helped build academy facilities, and even hunted for teachers.
Nominally, Yu Xiaowei was still a student—but in truth, he was no different from a dean.
Thinking about it, Qin Ming was silent for a moment, then nodded.
"Well, this time, let's see the results of your training."
After a long nap, Yu Xiaowei gradually woke up.
Wiping away the drool from the corner of his mouth, he sat up groggily.
It had been a long time since he'd slept so well, always staggering around in exhaustion.
"Hey, where's Rongrong?"
Smelling her faint scent still on the clothes draped over him, Yu Xiaowei looked around.
Not only was Ning Rongrong gone, but the once-lively training ground was eerily quiet.
"Strange… where did everyone go?"
Holding Ning Rongrong's coat, he started looking for her in the academy.
After its expansion, Lanba Academy wasn't much smaller than the Tiandou Imperial Academy.
Yu Xiaowei walked past the training field, mimicry area, and even the classrooms, but found no one. He only heard shouting once he got near the academy entrance.
By now, Team Lanba had already lost.
Even though Ning Rongrong's Nine-Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda provided unmatched support at their level, Yu Tianheng wasn't a true soul master.
And Feng Xiaotian wasn't an ordinary soul master either. The missing spirit ring was the final straw that broke the camel's back.
Ning Rongrong let her guard down and was attacked by a level-38 agility-type soul master from the Kamikaze Team.
Tai Long and Huang Yuan were too far away at the time to rescue her. All they could do was watch as she collapsed to the ground and lost her ability to continue fighting.
Ning Rongrong, lying on the ground, bit her lip as tears welled up in her eyes. She sobbed while watching Yu Tianheng grit his teeth and persist.
At that moment, someone gently tapped her shoulder.
Then, Yu Xiaowei's soft voice reached her ears.
"Rongrong, be a good girl. Don't cry."