"Ning Rongrong… Immortal Brother… you can't keep up with me anymore," she whispered, her teeth gently biting her crimson lips.
They stood on the back mountains of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School. Autumn winds swept through the peaks, and a flurry of maple leaves drifted lazily, landing softly on the hair of the young man and woman.
"Let's leave it at that," Ning Rongrong said, her voice tinged with sorrow.
Aoi Kenshin looked at the beautiful girl before him. Though they were so close in proximity, it felt as if an unbridgeable chasm stretched between them.
"Alright," he said simply.
Ning Rongrong lifted her gaze, meeting his eyes. The once carefree and unrestrained youth seemed unusually silent now. She turned her back to him, trying to hide the trembling of her hands.
"Immortal Brother, you've been in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School for six years, haven't you?"
"I remember the day your martial soul awakened. You had innate max-level soul power, and your sword aura shot straight into the heavens."
"Father and the others all said you were a genius who only appears once in a millennium. But six years have passed, and your soul power is still only at level ten."
"And I…" Ning Rongrong stretched out her slender hand. In her palm, a seven-story crystal-clear glazed tile pagoda hovered and rotated. Two yellow soul rings glimmered brightly on it.
"I've already reached level twenty-six soul power."
"Brother Kenshin, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda is the number-one auxiliary martial soul on the continent. Only when paired with a powerful battle soul master can it truly unleash its full potential."
"Although…" she hesitated, her delicate face betraying a twinge of pain.
"Although I truly don't want to say this… you really can't keep up with me anymore."
Ning Rongrong lifted her proud, swan-like face. "I am the only daughter of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's sect master. My future partner must be a supreme powerhouse!"
Aoi Kenshin remained silent for a long moment. Then, suddenly, a carefree smile broke across his face. His clear, youthful voice carried far across the mountains.
"Then let's each take care of ourselves."
"Here… take this back."
From his flowing white robe, he produced a small object. Ning Rongrong turned to see a clay pagoda, crudely shaped, resting quietly in his hand. Her delicate body shivered slightly. Memories of their childhood flooded her mind.
"Immortal Brother… I made you a glazed tile pagoda. You must protect it well!"
"All right, Rongrong… I'll make you a sword!"
The clay was messy, the pagoda and the small sword both crude in shape, yet they were filled with the pure, heartfelt sincerity of two children.
Ning Rongrong stared at the clay pagoda for a long moment, then nodded gently. "Okay."
"Immortal Brother… this is yours too." She reached for her neck and removed the clay sword pendant, handing it to him.
Aoi Kenshin took the small sword and turned to leave.
Watching his stubborn back disappear into the distance, Ning Rongrong parted her lips as if to speak, but ultimately pressed them together. She walked in the opposite direction.
From a scenic mountaintop, Ning Fengzhi watched the two walk apart. He sighed, a mixture of regret and relief flickering in his eyes.
"What a pity…" he murmured.
Ning Rongrong was his daughter, the proud heir to the Seven Treasure Glazed Pagoda martial soul. How could a mediocre talent, whose soul power hadn't advanced a single level in six years, possibly be worthy of her?
Although… when her martial soul had awakened, seeing Aoi Kenshin's soaring sword aura and innate max-level soul power, it was Ning Fengzhi himself who had waved his hand and arranged their childhood engagement.
Now, he had changed his mind. He felt a twinge of guilt toward Aoi Kenshin, but for his daughter's future, this was the only way.
Ning Fengzhi looked to Sword Douluo Chen Xin and said, "Uncle Sword… I have wronged Aoi Kenshin. I will give him some compensation."
It had been Chen Xin who had brought Aoi Kenshin back from outside the sect. Now, though he would be wronged, Chen Xin's feelings still mattered.
"No need," Chen Xin replied lightly. "It's because Aoi Kenshin himself isn't ambitious enough. Six years of stagnation… he can't even absorb a ten-year soul ring. He isn't worthy of Rongrong."
Bone Douluo Gu Rong shook his head and sighed. When Aoi Kenshin had awakened the Azure Lotus Sword Martial Soul, Chen Xin had intended to cultivate him as his successor. It was a pity…
Gu Rong watched as the boy's figure gradually disappeared. "Indeed… you are not ambitious enough."
In the back mountains, on a crooked tree, Aoi Kenshin rested his left hand behind his head, a wine jug in his right. Through the sparse leaves, he gazed at the bright moon.
"Six years…" he murmured. "Six years since I arrived on Douluo Continent."
He took a long gulp of wine, letting the cool liquid trickle down his chin.
"The wine in this world is definitely stronger than beer!"
He drank again and again, Ning Rongrong's words echoing in his mind:
"Father and the others say you're a genius who only appears once in a millennium… but six years have passed, and your soul power is still level ten. Although I hate to say this… you really can't keep up with me."
He wasn't obsessed with her… he just didn't understand what had gone wrong. With innate max-level soul power and decent efficiency at absorbing heaven-and-earth energy, why hadn't his soul power increased?
One sip after another, his eyes gleamed brighter. Finally, he leapt down from the tree.
"Laughing loudly, I step out into the world! How can I, a man of such talent, be a mere commoner!"
"I, Aoi Kenshin, am no ordinary man!"
"Moonlight as my companion! Fine wine in hand! Sword dance, sword dance!"
Under the moonlight, his figure moved like a startled swan. The three-foot-six Azure Lotus Sword glimmered, the lotus pattern on the spine flowing with the light—sometimes blooming, sometimes closed in bud. This was Aoi Kenshin's martial soul: the Azure Lotus Sword.
He drank, he danced, gradually entering a unique mental state. Sip… slash… the sword's afterimages trailing like swaying lotus petals. Frosty sword light spread across a hundred meters, overshadowing the moon itself.
Strangely, the tiny palm-sized wine jug seemed bottomless. Sip… his soul power surged. Another sip… it boiled. Another… it skyrocketed.
His soul power, stagnant for six long years, steadily climbed: level eleven, twelve, thirteen… all the way to twenty.
Emerging from his special state, he felt the power surging within him and was astonished.
"My soul power… increased ten levels?! How is this possible?!"
Being a lifelong wine lover, he could not be drunk. Only now did he notice the wine jug in his hand had transformed—from rough porcelain to a warm, jade-like celadon gourd.
Shaking it, the sound of liquid clattering inside confirmed it still contained wine. One sip, and the mellow liquid flowed through his body, transforming into pure energy. Even his Azure Lotus Sword seemed sharper.
"Hahaha!" Aoi Kenshin laughed, sword in one hand, wine in the other.
He understood. His martial soul wasn't just the Azure Lotus Sword. He also possessed the Clear Spring Wine Gourd. Twin martial souls—sword and wine.
This explained why he had been stagnant for six years. Now enlightened, his lips curved in a radiant smile.
Looking down at the ornate buildings below—the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School—his expression softened slightly.
"Those who abandoned me… yesterday's days cannot be retained!"
His smile returned to carefree and unrestrained.
"Even without awakening my Wine Martial Soul, I have decided… to leave the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School. These six years haven't been wasted—I've worked within the sect and completed missions, accumulating wealth."
"I'll leave my wealth in my room as repayment for these six years. From here on, no further ties. May we each live well."
He knew Ning Rongrong's words today had been heard. Ning Fengzhi, Chen Xin, and Gu Rong couldn't be unaware. They tacitly approved.
Aoi Kenshin flicked his sleeve. A small clay sword shot out.
Before it even hit the ground, a clear, cold sword light flashed. The clay sword snapped cleanly in two.
Without hesitation, without even a glance, he tilted his head back and took a sip of wine. Celadon gourd at his waist, he leapt across the mountains and disappeared into the back forest.
After a short while, several figures appeared, racing toward him.