On the way out of Windflame Forest, the Blazing Wind Academy group chatted and laughed.
Ning Rongrong remained an outsider but was content to enjoy the peace.
After all, it wasn't like...
They had much in common anyway.
"Um... Senior Ning, may I ask you something?"
Huo Wu suddenly walked up to Ning Rongrong. Earlier, Ning Rongrong had revealed her surname but not her full name.
Not that it mattered—Qian Renxue had probably already started suspecting her identity anyway.
"What is it?" Ning Rongrong glanced at the crimson-haired girl, who seemed a little nervous.
Ning Rongrong had retracted the Angel's Sacred Sword, and her hair had returned to its usual chestnut brown.
"You look so young! Can Title Douluo freely change their age?"
I am young, no need to state the obvious.
Suppressing the urge to retort, Ning Rongrong replied, "Title Douluo can indeed maintain a youthful appearance."
"For example, it's said that the Spirit Hall's Grand Elder, Qian Daoliu, can switch between a kindly old man and a youthful form at will."
"Eh? Really?" Huo Wu exclaimed. "No wonder Elder Shui Cangyue looked ancient before becoming a Title Douluo but now appears to be in her twenties!"
Ning Rongrong: "..."
I don't know what relationship your Huo family has with my clan's Title Douluo, but aren't you afraid of being beaten up for saying that?
Seeing Ning Rongrong fall silent, Huo Wu continued:
"Then, can they transform into any age? Like a baby, teenager, young adult, middle-aged, or elderly?"
"Why would you think that?" Ning Rongrong's eyelids twitched.
Turning into a baby... Do you think Title Douluo are Ditto or something?
Title Douluo could maintain their youth, but they still looked like normal people in their twenties.
Are you practicing bone-shrinking techniques?
Or do you think Douluo Dalu is some unscientific world where a "Detective Conan" can kick satellites apart?
"It's not possible?" Huo Wu tilted her head.
"No." Ning Rongrong shook her head. "Bone structure is fixed. At most, they can restore their appearance to a younger state. Title Douluo are still human, not gods."
"Then..." Huo Wu looked suspicious. "You just have a baby face..."
"Mmmpf—!"
Before she could finish, someone covered her mouth, muffling her words.
Huo Wushuang dragged his sister away while apologizing, "Your Excellency, my sister didn't mean any offense. She's just a little simple-minded."
To ensure Ning Rongrong understood, he even pointed at Huo Wu's head.
Ning Rongrong: "I don't mind. No need to be so cautious."
Huo Wushuang pulled Huo Wu aside, scolding her under his breath.
"Huo Wu, normally I'd let it slide, but how could you ask such things?" Huo Wushuang was exasperated.
Who cares if a Title Douluo can stay young?
What if they just have a loli face as a personal preference?
Digging too deep might get you buried.
Of course, he couldn't say that out loud. He could only admonish Huo Wu for her lack of tact.
"Youth is wonderful," Ning Rongrong sighed.
After spending two and a half years recovering with Tokisaki Kurumi, she felt like she'd almost forgotten how to socialize.
"Ah..."
Before long, the group reached the edge of Windflame Forest.
Ning Rongrong prepared to leave.
"Before I go, let me tell you something—I'm not a Title Douluo. Just an ordinary soul master with a bit of self-defense capability."
With those words, she left the four stunned youths behind and vanished.
She departed, waving her sleeves without taking a single cloud.
"Four Elements City after expansion... I wonder what it looks like now?" Ning Rongrong murmured as she walked toward Glazed Tile Academy.
After the four elemental families moved in, Four Elements City underwent massive expansion.
Blazing Fire Academy and Divine Wind Academy merged.
Tian Shui Academy went even further, rebranding as Glazed Tile Academy and changing its admission rules.
Now, the Four Elemental Academies were practically nominal, though four academies still existed:
Thunder Academy, Glazed Tile Academy, Elephant Armored Academy, and Blazing Wind Academy.
Ning Rongrong decided to visit Glazed Tile Academy first before returning to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan. After all, she wasn't particularly eager to see the clan leader.
Additionally, after escaping the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King, Kurumi—as the spirit of her weapon—had exhausted her power and fallen into slumber. As a result, Ning Rongrong couldn't use her Martial Soul's abilities for now.
However, she had already broken through to the Xiantian realm. Even without summoning her Martial Soul, she could still fight and defend using her own power, as she had against the Titan Giant Ape.
Half a day later, Ning Rongrong finally arrived at Four Elements City.
"Tch—"
A towering wall dozens of meters high rose before her. Through the gates, she could see bustling streets filled with laughter and conversation.
"This isn't just expansion—it's practically a whole new city!"
Four Elements City's prosperity rivaled the Heaven Dou Imperial Capital. Speechless, Ning Rongrong strode confidently into the city.
What was most abundant in Four Elements City? Soul master academies, of course. Teenagers and young adults in their twenties were everywhere, filling the streets with youthful energy.
Following Huo Wushuang's earlier directions, Ning Rongrong relied on her keen perception to navigate the city. After half an hour of sightseeing, she arrived at Tian Shui Academy—no, Glazed Tile Academy.
The academy still occupied Tian Shui Academy's original location, but...
"Huh? There are male students now?"
Ning Rongrong was shocked.
As far as she remembered, Tian Shui Academy only admitted girls. While they weren't strictly limited to water-attribute Martial Souls, seeing boys inside was unexpected.
Ning Rongrong stopped at the academy's entrance.
A grand plaque bore the words "Glazed Tile Academy" in sharp, sword-like calligraphy.
The moment she saw it, Ning Rongrong felt an immediate sense of familiarity.
"Grandpa Sword's handwriting?"
His wish fulfilled, it seems Grandpa Sword has made progress in these past two years.
But weren't sword-imbued characters a bit intimidating for students?
Yet the students passing in and out of Glazed Tile Academy seemed entirely accustomed to the plaque.
"Ah, whatever."
Ning Rongrong shook her head, her eyes shimmering with an unusual ripple.
She whispered softly:
"Kyōka Suigetsu."
In an instant,
the surroundings seemed to shift imperceptibly. Ning Rongrong walked straight through the gates, unnoticed by the two Soul Sect guards stationed there.
They stood motionless, as if seeing nothing, until Ning Rongrong had fully entered the academy grounds.
She first visited the simulated training field, then wandered around to observe how her clan's academy was faring.
After her inspection, Ning Rongrong sighed in admiration:
"Now this is an academy! Fully equipped in both hardware and software."
What was Shrek Academy, anyway?
At best, a retirement home in the middle of nowhere.
Admitting only students above level 25 with strict age limits—those who could enter Shrek Academy at that age were all prodigies.
Did such students really need those old fogies ruining them? In any other advanced academy, they'd be treasured!
Yet these promising talents enrolled in Shrek Academy only to face absurdly high mortality rates!
How ridiculous.