Chapter 276: Rongrong's Troubles
At Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, Ning Rongrong had just stepped out of the villa, strolling leisurely through the campus.
During the strategy meeting that had just concluded, she had been nothing more than a background figure. Without saying a single word, the team had already finalized their battle plan.
She didn't particularly care about the Soul Master Tournament.
If they weren't eliminated, she'd continue competing with the team. If they lost, she'd simply go home.
Wait, no if that happened, she'd have to sit in the stands and watch the matches instead.
She sighed. Not long ago, Ning Fengzhi had summoned her. After a round of compliments, he had given her a task to find a way to approach Han Li and express the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's goodwill.
When she first heard her father's request, Ning Rongrong had been utterly dumbfounded.
She, Ning Rongrong, the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, was being asked by her sect master father to approach the Holy Son of Spirit Hall?
If she weren't already more or less the pre determined next sect master, she would have suspected that Ning Fengzhi was trying to marry her off.
And honestly?
She wouldn't put it past her father.
In the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, such things weren't unheard of.
Her older brothers didn't have outstanding talent and had already been paired up with descendants of the sect elders.
Ning Rongrong walked for a while and sighed lightly.
Not only did she have to deal with her easily irritable teammates every day, now she had to find a way to interact with the Holy Son of Spirit Hall?
"Rongrong, ah… life is too exhausting!"
She never thought that such delicate shoulders would one day bear the heavy responsibilities of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
When would her father finally step down and let her take over?
If she staged a rebellion now, would Sword Grandpa and Bone Grandpa support her?
As the thought crossed her mind, she couldn't help but chuckle to herself.
Glancing at the time, it was nearly noon.
Thinking about returning to face her teammates again, she suddenly stopped.
Forget it there was no time like the present.
Rather than go back and listen to Grandmaster's lectures, she might as well go find Zhu Zhuqing.
With the passage of time and the frequent interactions between the four girls and the visits from Tianshui Academy, Han Li's residence at the merchant estate was no longer a secret.
It was just that few people dared to disturb him.
I'll go see Zhu Zhuqing first, and while I'm at it, I can meet the Holy Son of Spirit Hall. That way, I'll have fulfilled Father's request.
With this in mind, Ning Rongrong headed straight for the academy gates.
Outside, Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect personnel and carriages were always on standby for her.
No one dared to interfere with her movements, as long as she didn't miss the tournament matches.
After leaving the academy, Ning Rongrong instructed her guards, and the carriage quickly set off toward Heaven Dou City.
Meanwhile, at the merchant estate in Heaven Dou City, Han Li sat with a gentle smile, listening to the four girls animatedly discussing the morning's tournament matches.
Seven Shura Phantom Realm, huh?
An interesting combination skill.
However, to the four girls, this was not just admiration they were actively analyzing how it was formed, looking for weaknesses, and planning to create a similar technique for the Tianshui Academy team.
With Han Li's Martial Soul Fusion Skill theories as a foundation and their firsthand experience in fusion techniques, they found Canghui Academy's reverse counter attack method rather useful.
Since the martial souls of Tianshui Academy had natural synergy, replicating such a technique was not impossible.
Han Li simply listened, occasionally correcting them when their thoughts veered off track.
This kind of discussion and experimentation was incredibly beneficial for developing their martial souls and understanding their abilities beyond Title Douluo.
He fully supported it.
Just as the girls were deep in discussion, the estate gates were knocked upon.
Han Li swept his spiritual sense over the area and blinked in mild surprise before looking at Zhu Zhuqing.
"Zhuqing, go open the door it's probably for you."
Outside stood Ning Rongrong alone.
"Alright."
Zhu Zhuqing stood up, and as if realizing something, a faint smile appeared on her face. Her steps quickened slightly.
The other three girls paused their discussion, and Shui Bing'er even asked outright:
"Ning Rongrong?"
"Yeah."
Han Li wasn't surprised that she had guessed correctly and nodded casually.
"This timing… do you think she's just here for Zhuqing, or does she have other business with you too?"
Shui Bing'er had spent a lot of time helping Han Li refine strategies and analyze information, so she was aware of certain matters.
"I'm not sure maybe both. But it doesn't matter. Whatever her intentions, she'll reveal them sooner or later. Besides, Zhuqing looks happy, doesn't she?"
Han Li didn't know Ning Fengzhi's exact plans, but he didn't care.
If they had a request, they would inevitably step into the trap he had already prepared.
Even if they managed to hold back for now, it was only a matter of time.
Shui Bing'er glanced toward the entrance but said nothing more.
By then, Zhu Zhuqing had already returned with Ning Rongrong.
Ning Rongrong curiously glanced around, making no effort to formally greet anyone.
Instead, she casually waved and greeted them all in a relaxed manner.
This was a private visit, and there was no need for pretenses.
Besides, she didn't have to guess she was certain that her true identity was already well known among them.
So, she couldn't be bothered to put on an act.
One had to admit, Ning Rongrong had skills.
With Zhu Zhuqing acting as a bridge, she quickly warmed up to the other three, chatting and laughing as they discussed the latest tournament developments.
Right on time, servants from the merchant estate arrived with lunch.
The group moved their conversation to the dining table.
It wasn't until now that Ning Rongrong openly shifted her gaze to Han Li.
"Haven't we met before?"
At close range, Ning Rongrong's face was filled with confusion.
If before, she had come here with the mindset of completing a task well, that, and her own curiosity then now, things felt a little different.
On one hand, the information coming from Spirit Hall about Han Li had always been scarce. Her curiosity was only natural, nurtured by Ning Fengzhi's teachings since childhood.
As the Holy Son of Spirit Hall, he was considered the greatest hypothetical enemy of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
For someone like her, a future sect master, not having an interest in him would have been strange.
On the other hand, she also wanted to see for herself just what kind of person had silently stolen away her best friend.
However, the strange part was
Even though Ning Rongrong was sure she had never met Han Li before, she still felt a sense of familiarity.
What's more, her martial soul reacted as soon as she saw him.
"There's absolutely no way."
Han Li firmly shook his head, casually moving his left hand under the table.
Hearing his response, Ning Rongrong awkwardly glanced at Zhu Zhuqing and the other girls, who were watching her curiously. She forced a laugh.
"Oh… maybe I just remembered wrong."
Ah, this is so embarrassing!
Would they think she was trying to flirt with him?
At that moment, Ning Rongrong wanted nothing more than to disappear beneath the table.
What she didn't know was that Han Li was also relieved.
His eyes flickered toward the bracelet on his left wrist.
He had just taken the opportunity to block its aura.
It had completely slipped his mind that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda had the ability to detect rare treasures.
Only when he felt the fluctuation in Ning Rongrong's martial soul did he remember this detail.
No wonder she stopped me back then, he thought.
He recalled the time when he had snuck into Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, disguised as "Xiao Yan."
At that time, he had already fooled Qian Renxue, hadn't said anything suspicious, and hadn't done anything unusual.
Yet, Ning Rongrong had fixated on him.
Back then, he had assumed it was her sharp instincts.
But now, he understood
She had probably noticed the artifact on his hand.
So she had been eyeing my treasure, huh?
Han Li found it both amusing and frustrating.
To be honest, it wouldn't have mattered even if he had been exposed.
But at the moment, he didn't want any unnecessary complications.
After all, Qian Renxue had covered his tracks.
Even if there was a one in a million chance of exposure, he had to be cautious.
Ning Fengzhi was no fool.
At that moment, Zhu Zhuqing received Han Li's spiritual transmission and smoothly stepped in to help ease the situation.
With her intervention, the atmosphere quickly became lighthearted again.
As the conversation continued, the discussion naturally shifted to the tournament.
Ning Rongrong looked at the girls curiously.
"So, will any of you still be competing?"
She wasn't trying to gather intelligence.
At this point, the speculation surrounding their strength was already widespread across Heaven Dou City.
Most people had reached the same conclusion.
Even if Zhu Zhuqing wasn't the weakest, the others wouldn't be any weaker than her either.
After all, aside from Xiu'er, whose background remained completely unknown, both Dugu Yan and Shui Bing'er had well documented talent.
Given their close relationship with Zhu Zhuqing, it was unlikely they were weaker.
"We probably won't."
Zhu Zhuqing was the one who answered.
They had already made this decision long ago.
It wasn't a big secret.
"Then… how about fighting them again in the next stage?"
Ning Rongrong blinked playfully at Zhu Zhuqing.
"Hmm?"
This time, not only Zhu Zhuqing, but even Han Li and the others looked at her strangely.
She was talking about her own teammates.
Wasn't this a bit inappropriate?
Being stared at by everyone, Ning Rongrong's cheeks flushed red, but she still spoke confidently.
"Just beat up Dai Gonggong for me. Make it hurt."
She crossed her arms.
"The academy's been strict lately. Last time, his attack even hit me, but I couldn't get back at him. Even Sword Grandpa couldn't intervene! It pissed me off!"
"Zhuqing, you have to help me, okay?"
With that, she clung to Zhu Zhuqing, pouting and acting spoiled.
Zhu Zhuqing hesitated, glancing at Han Li.
She didn't care about Dai Mubai and the others anymore.
But now Rongrong was making this request…
Han Li, however, simply gave a meaningful look at Ning Rongrong, who was still hugging Zhu Zhuqing.
Then, he chuckled.
"It's up to you. If you agree, discuss it with the others. Just this one match will be enough."
"If Zhuqing doesn't want to, I can do it."
Dugu Yan grinned from the side.
"I'm good at beating people up."
"…Alright, I'll do it."
Zhu Zhuqing gently pulled Ning Rongrong off of her and agreed.
"Great! I knew you were the best, Zhuqing! Mua~"
Ning Rongrong beamed and hugged her tightly, even planting a kiss on her cheek.
Han Li, on the other hand, mentally raised his evaluation of Ning Rongrong.
Using a shared enemy to strengthen connections was a clever move.
It was subtle yet effective and it didn't feel forced.
Looks like the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is making moves.
(End of Chapter)
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