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Ning Rongrong still added the "Xiao" (little) prefix to his name.
Su Wen didn't mind it at all.
In fact, being called this way sounded even more pleasant to him.
"Hello, Rongrong."
Ning Fengzhi spoke from the side, "Rongrong, your Little Brother Wen is a true genius. You must learn from your Little Brother Wen in the future and cultivate diligently."
"Alright, alright! Dad, you're so annoying! I have been cultivating properly, you know!" Ning Rongrong feigned exasperation, clutching her head with both hands in a classic 'I'm not listening, I'm not listening' pose.
Seeing this, the corners of Ning Fengzhi's mouth twitched.
She clearly promised she would be well-behaved. Is she already unable to hold it back after such a short time?
"Little Brother Wen, what's so amazing about you? Can you show Rongrong?" Ning Rongrong turned her head to look at Su Wen, eager to witness his capabilities for herself.
Su Wen smiled and directly summoned his martial soul.
Two spirit rings, one yellow and one purple, rose up from beneath his feet.
"A thousand-year spirit ring!" Ning Rongrong's eyes widened, her little mouth hanging open in a perfect picture of astonishment.
One... two... She counted Su Wen's spirit rings, and her mind felt a little jumbled.
"Dad, didn't you say the second spirit ring's limit was absorbing something under seven hundred years?"
"Haha, that is what's so amazing about your Little Brother Wen! No other Spirit Master can achieve this. On the entire continent today, he is the only one whose second spirit ring has reached the thousand-year level!"
Ning Rongrong circled around Su Wen, observing him from the left and the right. She just thought that having a purple second spirit ring was incredibly cool.
"Little Brother Wen, how did you do it? Can Rongrong also absorb a thousand-year spirit ring for her second one?" The more she looked, the more curious she became. She looked up at Su Wen, her face a perfect expression of 'I'm begging you, please tell me.'
Ning Fengzhi chuckled softly and shook his head. "Rongrong, your Little Brother Wen is a special case. You shouldn't be mischievous."
"That's right, Rongrong. If you try to absorb a thousand-year spirit ring for your second one, but your cultivation isn't high enough, you could just... bang!... explode." Su Wen said, making an exaggerated exploding gesture with his hands.
"Hmph! Why couldn't I do it?"
"There are just too many conditions required to absorb a thousand-year ring as your second one." Su Wen shook his head and glanced toward Ning Fengzhi.
Ning Fengzhi understood the implication and gave Su Wen a mental thumbs-up.
No matter what, getting Rongrong to 'grind' and work hard for a period of time was definitely a net gain.
"Rongrong, if you want to absorb a thousand-year ring for your second one, the demands on your physical constitution are extremely high," Ning Fengzhi said.
"Huh? I have to... exercise?" Ning Rongrong's little face fell. She absolutely hated exercising.
Especially the kind of training meant to improve one's physical constitution.
"Of course. Physical constitution is one aspect, but beyond that, your spiritual power must also reach a certain level."
"Spiritual power?"
"That's right. Our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan's 'Distraction Control' technique is precisely for training spiritual power."
Ning Rongrong suddenly became wary, her wide eyes darting back and forth between Su Wen and Ning Fengzhi.
You two aren't trying to trick me, are you?
"Rongrong, these are indeed the reasons your Little Brother Wen was able to successfully absorb his thousand-year spirit ring."
"Of course, Rongrong, you don't necessarily have to compare yourself to your Little Brother Wen. As long as our Rongrong cultivates diligently and breaks through to level twenty soon, your Grandpa Jian can certainly find you a hundred-year spirit ring that is at the absolute limit for a second ring."
No one understands a daughter better than her father.
Ning Rongrong's lawless behavior within the clan was, in reality, propped up by her own high talent.
If she were ever surpassed by a peer in any area, she would be too embarrassed to cause her usual trouble. Instead, she would dedicate herself to surpassing them, only reverting to her "little demoness" persona after she had reclaimed the top spot.
It was just a pity that within the current Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, there were truly very few geniuses capable of putting Ning Rongrong in her place.
"Rongrong, it's really not a big deal if you can't absorb a thousand-year ring. Maybe if you work really hard, you could absorb an eight or nine-hundred-year one," Su Wen chimed in.
Ning Rongrong bared her small canine teeth, saying fiercely, "Impossible! I will definitely absorb a thousand-year spirit ring!"
However, she felt a twinge of regret almost as soon as the words left her mouth.
Her eyes darted around for a moment. She sidled up to Su Wen, tugged on the corner of his sleeve, and put on a pitiful expression. "Little Brother Wen... are there any secret tricks?"
"Of course there are."
"Really?" Ning Rongrong exclaimed, pleasantly surprised.
"Absolutely. In a little while, we're going to team up and fight two Spirit Grandmasters. If we win, I'll tell you."
"Deal!"
Ning Rongrong clenched her small fists, her face brimming with fighting spirit.
A purple second ring... just releasing it would surely make everyone's jaws drop.
Hahaha!
Thinking of such a scene, Ning Rongrong's eyes curved into crescent moons.
"Since that's settled, Rongrong, you should first familiarize yourself with your Little Brother Wen's abilities, and he with yours."
...
An hour later.
"Next match: the 'I'm Not Just Support' combo versus the 'Meow Meow' combo! Will both teams' members please make their preparations."
When their name was called, Ning Rongrong felt a bit mortified.
"What kind of ridiculous name is that," she muttered under her breath.
"Alright, get ready. The battle is about to begin."
Su Wen led Ning Rongrong onto the arena stage.
Seeing that their opponents were just two young children, the two women on the opposite side breathed a visible sigh of relief. They looked at Su Wen and his partner with slightly teasing expressions.
"Little brother, little sister... are you sure you didn't register for the wrong match?"
The two female Spirit Masters of the Meow Meow combo had been notified before the match began that their team was being challenged by a lower-ranked team.
A team with one Spirit Master and one Spirit Grandmaster challenging two Spirit Grandmasters was considered "challenging up a rank," and a team of two Spirit Masters challenging two Spirit Grandmasters was also considered "challenging up a rank."
The audience below the stage was also astonished by the age of the two participants who had just entered.
Su Wen himself was one thing; although he was only just over eleven and a half years old, because he had absorbed two spirit rings and experienced a significant transformation, his height had already reached 1.7 meters. He didn't look particularly young.
But Ning Rongrong was currently only nine years old. She truly looked like a little child.
While the Meow Meow combo and the audience were full of doubt, the referee didn't seem overly surprised.
This 'Scholar Who Can Fight' had previously caused quite a stir in the Great Spirit Arena, and this particular referee had heard the rumors.
As for the other one, 'Little Support,' he had been specifically instructed by the supervisor beforehand to watch over her carefully and ensure she didn't get injured. This clearly implied that 'Little Support' came from a significant background.
Therefore, while the Meow Meow combo and the audience saw Su Wen and Ning Rongrong as mere children, he, the referee, did not.
"Both sides, prepare."
"Match, begin!"
Martial Souls, release!
The two sisters of the Meow Meow combo both possessed cat-type martial souls; one was a Black Cat, and the other was a White Cat.
Their spirit rings were both the standard configuration: one white (ten-year) and one yellow (hundred-year).
In contrast, the display from the 'I'm Not Just Support' combo was far more dazzling.
Their martial souls and spirit rings immediately drew gasps of surprise from the entire audience. Even the two Meow Meow sisters on the opposite side now wore grave expressions.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda!
"Seven Treasures turning to Glazed Tile. Seven Treasures have names. First, it is called: Strength!"
Her yellow spirit ring flashed, and Ning Rongrong immediately cast her first spirit ability, buffing Su Wen.
A twenty percent increase in strength.
But Ning Rongrong was not the most eye-catching person on the stage.
The one truly drawing all the attention was Su Wen, with his martial soul and spirit rings.
His martial soul was one thing—a splendid-looking book covered in purple patterns—but what was truly shocking was his spirit ring configuration: one yellow, and one purple.
The battle had already begun, and Su Wen had no intention of paying attention to the audience's reactions.
The Celestial Book hovered above his head as individual pages flew from it. A dozen or so of these pages broke away and began to circle around Ning Rongrong protectively.
Simultaneously, the Book martial soul began to channel the world's origin energy, and Su Wen's fists erupted in flames.
(End of this chapter)