Ning Tianchen dared to offend Meng Yiran because he understood her personality.
Going back to bring reinforcements was something Meng Yiran would definitely do, but she wasn’t a truly evil person.
Even if she caught them later, Ning Tianchen and Ning Rongrong wouldn’t be in mortal danger.
The reason he made it sound so serious was mainly to lecture Ning Rongrong.
For an auxiliary system soul master to recklessly offend a battle soul master without protection was simply asking for death.
In the original timeline, she had gone to Shrek Academy alone and clashed with the boss Dai Mubai on the very first day.
It was only because she was protected by teachers like Flender that her life wasn’t in danger.
In the real soul master world, Dai Mubai wouldn’t care about her status.
He might have actually done something unspeakable before killing her.
The two ran out of Barak City without stopping.
Following the map, Ning Rongrong led Ning Tianchen toward Suotuo City.
Seeing the silhouette of Barak City fading behind them, Ning Tianchen found a shady spot to rest.
Ning Rongrong patted her chest, panting heavily, “Brother Tianchen, she didn’t bring anyone to chase us, right?”
Ning Tianchen didn’t answer directly.
Instead, his face turned stern.
“Rongrong, you are not allowed to provoke people for no reason anymore.”
Hearing this, Ning Rongrong suddenly stopped panting and retorted, “I didn’t!
She was clearly picking a fight.”
Ning Tianchen placed his hands on her shoulders.
“Rongrong, she is a battle soul master, and you are an auxiliary system soul master.
If a real fight broke out, could you defeat her?”
“I…” Ning Rongrong was speechless.
Earlier, when a soul battle was mentioned, she had instinctively panicked.
Auxiliary system soul masters had no innate combat power; they were meant to be protected.
Facing a battle soul master—even a one-ring battle soul master—could easily cost her life.
A battle soul master’s physique, enhanced by a soul ring, far surpassed that of an auxiliary soul master.
Even without using martial souls, she was no match for them.
“Rongrong, you have to keep a low profile.
What if the person you argued with today wasn’t a young girl, but an old monster over sixty years old with a youthful face?
Someone like that wouldn’t tolerate your temper and might just kill you in the street.”
“Brother Tianchen, Rongrong knows she was wrong,” she muttered softly.
Ning Tianchen added, “From now on, you can’t act on impulse like today.
Think about it—even though Uncle Ning is protected by Grandpa Jian and Grandpa Bone, he never uses his power to bully others.
He knows that they won’t always be by his side.
If an enemy comes knocking when he is alone, there would be no chance of survival.”
After this lecture, the smile vanished from Ning Rongrong’s face.
Clearly, she had taken his words to heart.
…
The journey from Barak City to Suotuo City took about a month.
Since Shrek Academy’s enrollment was still two months away, they didn’t rush and spent most of their time sightseeing.
Ning Rongrong made sure to visit every city along the way.
“Brother Tianchen, what does ‘checking in’ mean?” she asked in confusion.
“It means proving we visited this city,” Ning Tianchen smiled faintly, then urged, “We need to speed up.
If we keep playing around, we might miss the enrollment.”
By his calculations, Tang San should have graduated from Notting Academy and be on his way to Suotuo City.
They didn’t stay long in the current small city and hurried toward Suotuo City.
By afternoon, they reached the next city.
Ning Tianchen planned to spend the night there, but Ning Rongrong suggested, “Brother Tianchen, didn’t you say we should speed up?
It’s still early.
If we go a bit faster, we can reach the next city before dark.”
She unrolled the map and pointed at the distance between the two cities.
Ning Tianchen’s mouth twitched.
The distance looked short, but it required crossing several large mountains, and many of the paths weren’t official roads.
If it were a flat road, they could make it before sunset.
But these winding mountain paths were inaccessible to carriages.
If they left now, they wouldn’t arrive until after midnight.
Moreover, official roads had patrols, so bandits rarely attacked there.
Deep in the mountains, it was a different story.
“Rongrong, this road will be tough.
Let’s wait until tomorrow.”
Ning Rongrong shook her head.
“I checked before we left.
We might encounter bandits on this stretch.
But whether we leave today or tomorrow, the bandits will still be there.
I think we should leave now.
Bandits can’t rob people around the clock; if we go now, we might avoid them.”
It made sense.
They couldn’t just turn back because of potential bandits.
Ning Tianchen agreed.
They decided to run instead of taking a carriage.
Ning Rongrong used her Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda to boost Ning Tianchen’s speed, while he carried her on his back and sprinted.
She really knew how to make the best use of resources.
…
By dusk, the sun was setting behind the mountains.
“Almost there.
Once we get down the mountain, it’s an official road.”
As they neared the end of the dangerous zone, Ning Tianchen slightly lowered his guard.
Night fell, and the thick canopy blocked the moonlight, making the descent difficult.
Ning Tianchen summoned his Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda to light the path.
Ning Rongrong complained, “What a garbage map!
Why didn’t it mark how hard this mountain path is?”
Ning Tianchen felt helpless.
The map did indicate mountains.
On the Douluo Continent, many maps lacked terrain details and only showed city locations.
“Who would have thought the two mountains we just crossed would be so high.”
Just then, faint firelight flickered on both sides of the path.
While Ning Rongrong was distracted, she stepped on something.
A rustling sound came from the bushes.
“Rongrong, be careful!”
Ning Tianchen sensed danger.
His Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda vanished, replaced by the dragon-patterned Seven Kill Sword.
“Second Soul Skill, Dragon Sword Guardian!”
A yellow soul ring lit up the darkness.
His soul power materialized into thousands of spiritual swords, forming a protective barrier.
Thud, thud!
Crossbow bolts shot out of the bushes and bounced off the barrier.