Night had fallen.
On the dirt road outside Suo Tuo City, Ning Rongrong carried Ning Que with one arm while rubbing her stomach with the other.
Grrrrr.
The sound was especially clear in the quiet night.
“I’m starving…” she muttered, then glanced at Ning Que, who was resting against her shoulder.
“Ning Que, are you hungry?” Ning Que didn’t even lift his eyelids.
He merely made a muffled sound from his throat.
“Then let’s go into the city and find something to eat.” Ning Rongrong adjusted her position and started walking toward the city gates.
She hadn’t even taken ten steps when— A black shadow silently swept past.
Ning Rongrong stopped.
Her pupils contracted as she turned her head.
“Who’s there?!” Her voice echoed across the empty dirt road.
No one answered.
Then, when she turned her gaze forward— A black figure stood there.
More importantly, nine soul rings silently rose from beneath his feet.
Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, red.
Nine soul rings layered one above another, slowly revolving beneath the hem of his tattered black robe.
Ning Rongrong’s breathing stopped for a moment.
A 100,000-year soul ring.
She had seen Grandpa Sword’s nine soul rings.
She had seen Grandpa Bone’s nine soul rings.
Yet even those two didn’t possess a 100,000-year soul ring.
She instinctively took a step back and tightened her arm around Ning Que.
The black-robed man raised a hand and pulled back his hood.
A rugged middle-aged face appeared beneath it.
His beard was unkempt, his eye sockets deeply sunken, and his murky eyes gleamed coldly in the darkness.
“The young lady of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect…
and its future protector.” Tang Hao spoke in a low voice.
“You don’t need to be nervous.
I have no ill intentions.” Ning Rongrong didn’t relax.
She remained on guard.
“I’m from the Clear Sky Sect.” Tang Hao revealed his identity immediately.
“Someone from the Clear Sky Sect?” Ning Rongrong frowned.
“Nine soul rings, a Titled Douluo…
Wasn’t the Clear Sky Sect driven into hiding by the Spirit Hall?
How are you even able to come out?” “Something doesn’t add up.
If you’re going to impersonate someone, at least pick a more convincing identity.” “…” Tang Hao fell silent for a moment.
At the mention of the Clear Sky Sect, something stirred in his eyes, but he quickly suppressed it.
“That’s not important.” His voice remained low.
“What matters is the conflict between you and my son.” “Your son?” “Tang San.” Ning Rongrong’s expression changed.
Her wariness became disdain.
Her disdain became undisguised disgust.
“Oh.” “So the little one gets beaten, and then the old one comes running?” The corner of Tang Hao’s eye twitched slightly.
But he didn’t lose his temper.
“Little girl, I didn’t come here to seek revenge.” His voice was heavy.
“The Clear Sky Sect and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect are both among the Upper Three Sects, and our two sects have a long-standing relationship.” “I also have some friendship with Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo of your Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
Grudges are better resolved than prolonged.
I hope there won’t be any conflict between you.” “Then you came too late.” Ning Rongrong answered casually.
“There’s already a conflict.
If you’d shown up earlier, perhaps things wouldn’t have turned out this way.
Of course…” Her tone suddenly changed.
“If you were watching from the beginning and thought they could bully people like that, then they got what they deserved!” Tang Hao’s brows sank further.
What an unruly, malicious young lady.
“Both sides were at fault in what happened before.
Xiao San has already received his punishment, but you went too far.” “If you go and apologize to Xiao San, we’ll consider the previous conflict settled.” “I’ll have someone speak to Xiao San about it.” “Huh?
What nonsense are you talking about?
Apologize?
What did I do wrong?
And besides…” Ning Rongrong stared at him for two breaths before turning her head away in disdain.
“Do they even deserve it?” Her words were crisp and decisive.
Tang Hao froze for a moment.
A young girl was standing before a Titled Douluo, facing the pressure of nine soul rings, yet she hadn’t retreated in the slightest.
Instead, she’d used simple words to trample his dignity into the dirt.
“Little girl.” His voice became colder.
“I’m trying to reason with you because of the relationship between the Upper Three Sects.
You need to understand what’s important and what’s not.” “I understand perfectly.” Ning Rongrong raised her chin, her tone as arrogant as ever.
“You’re the one who doesn’t understand.
Your son came looking for trouble himself, got beaten because he wasn’t strong enough, and now you’re not even ashamed enough to stay home.
Instead, you’ve come here to block our path.” “The little one gets beaten, and the old one comes running to defend him.
You father and son really are cut from the same cloth.” As soon as those words fell— The air suddenly froze.
Deep within Tang Hao’s murky eyes, the sharpness lurking beneath finally revealed a sliver of its edge.
The pressure of a Titled Douluo descended like a mountain.
Ning Rongrong’s knees bent slightly.
Suddenly, a warm hand clasped hers.
Ning Rongrong turned her head.
Ning Que had opened his eyes.
His pale golden pupils carried a faint glow.
His eyes were still half-lidded with sleepiness, but his fingers had already slipped between hers, intertwining their fingers.
“You’re so noisy.
I only fell asleep a few minutes ago…” The corners of Ning Rongrong’s lips curled upward.
She tightened her fingers around his hand, pressing palm against palm as their fingers locked firmly together.
Light appeared.
It wasn’t the blinding white light from before.
This was a softer, more restrained silver.
Centered around their joined hands, the silver radiance spread outward in ripples, like moonlight falling onto the surface of water and sending layers of waves silently outward.
Tang Hao’s mountain-like pressure collided with the silver light.
It was like a bull plunging into the sea.
In the blink of an eye, the pressure dissolved without a trace.
Tang Hao’s pupils contracted.
“A martial soul fusion skill?!” “Ning Que!” Ning Rongrong proudly shook their joined hands.
“This old geezer thinks being a Titled Douluo makes him so impressive!” Ning Que yawned.
“Titled Douluo…” He lazily repeated the words, his gaze sweeping casually across Tang Hao as though he didn’t take him seriously at all.
“It’s not like I’ve never seen one before.” “Exactly!” Ning Rongrong became even more smug.
Ning Que hadn’t even used one-third of his strength today!
How dare a mere Titled Douluo come here and order them around?
Grandpa Sword and Grandpa Bone had both admitted that ordinary Titled Douluo weren’t strong enough to seriously injure them.
Even if they couldn’t win, the other side couldn’t catch them either.
Tang Hao remained silent.
The nine soul rings beneath his feet slowly revolved, and the pressure surrounding him grew heavier.
“Little girl, this is advice.” “For the sake of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, and for the sake of the Clear Sky Sect as well, the Upper Three Sects stand together.
You shouldn’t let a childish dispute between yourselves escalate to the point of no return.” Ning Rongrong tilted her head as though she were listening seriously.
Then the corners of her lips curled upward.
Nine parts of the smile were disdain.
The remaining one was simply because she couldn’t be bothered to hide it.
“I’m not apologizing.” She enunciated every word.
“If you’ve got the guts, then attack.” “And putting aside whether you’re actually from the Clear Sky Sect…” Ning Rongrong continued, “Even if you really are, your sect sealed its gates and hid away all these years.
Without the support of our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, would you have survived this long?” “And now you come standing in front of me talking about the bond between the Upper Three Sects?” “In fact, if we’re talking about apologies, Tang San is the one who should apologize to us.” “Go tell him.” “We’ll be waiting for him in Suo Tuo City tomorrow.” End of Chapter CREATORS’ THOUGHTS The_Beginning_X Creation is hard, cheer me up!
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