Jiang Fei quickly stepped in front of the chubby kid to block him. He had to ensure that no one was seriously injured—or worse—during a sparring match.
Ning Tianchen never intended to seriously hurt the chubby boy. With a flourish, he spun the wooden sword in his hand before tucking it into his belt.
"B-Boss actually lost…"
The other children widened their eyes in disbelief, clearly unwilling to accept the outcome.
The chubby boy wasn't a sore loser. He cheerfully ran up to Ning Tianchen and introduced himself:
"Big bro, my name's Chen Huayu, but everyone calls me Fatty Chen."
"Big bro?" Ning Tianchen narrowed his eyes slightly.
Fatty Chen quickly explained:
"In the sect's special training camp, the one with the most strength earns the title of 'Big Bro.' Since I can't beat you, and they can't beat me, you're the Big Bro now!"
Ning Tianchen had never considered such a thing before.
What good was being the "big bro" of a bunch of kids?
Still, he didn't see a reason to refuse. In the future, they could help him with errands and minor tasks.
After thinking it over, he silently accepted the role.
Under Fatty Chen's urging, the kids all shouted together:
"Big bro!"
Jiang Fei didn't interfere with such trivial matters. In fact, since Ning Tianchen was a key talent the sect intended to groom, letting him develop leadership skills this way wasn't a bad idea.
The rest of the children continued their sparring matches.
Ning Tianchen sat quietly to the side, observing how the others fought.
He had defeated Fatty Chen primarily because his soul power was higher and he remained calm under pressure.
As for technique?
He didn't really have the upper hand.
These children were all the offspring of battle soul masters. They had grown up surrounded by combat training and had picked up many techniques from a young age.
In matchups between evenly matched opponents, some of these kids were actually quite impressive.
"Big bro, they're just using some half-baked kung fu," Fatty Chen said with a big laugh.
Before Ning Tianchen had awakened his martial soul, these kids had already done so. Just yesterday, they had all sparred and gotten to know each other in the sect's training grounds.
Fatty Chen's comment obviously meant that he had beaten most of them already.
"Oh right, Big Bro, is your martial soul sword-type?" Fatty Chen asked eagerly.
Ning Tianchen nodded and extended his right hand.
The Seven Kill Sword martial soul appeared in his palm.
"Wait—that looks just like Sword Douluo's martial soul!" Fatty Chen gasped, his expression becoming a bit strange.
Kids didn't understand adult secrets or political nuance.
"Big bro… could you be Sword Douluo's secret love child?" he asked seriously.
"Don't make up rumors. That's nonsense!" Ning Tianchen warned.
I'd like to know the truth too!
From the original owner's memories, Sword Douluo had never had any interactions with their parents.
So how could he awaken the exact same Seven Kill Sword martial soul?
In the end, the only explanation was: a perk of reincarnating.
Luckily, these kids didn't seem all that interested in gossip—or maybe they just didn't know how to gossip.
After a brief pause, Fatty Chen asked another question:
"Big bro, I heard you're really close with Young Mistress Rongrong. How did you become friends with her?"
Ning Tianchen glanced at him and replied with mild annoyance:
"You trying to learn from me?"
Fatty Chen didn't get the implication and answered honestly:
"My dad said that if I can build a good relationship with Young Mistress Rongrong, our family might get better cultivation resources."
"He also said that with my innate soul power, I have the potential to become a Contra in the future."
This chubby kid really can't keep secrets, Ning Tianchen thought, amused.
After chatting for a while, one of Fatty Chen's little followers ran over.
"Big bro! You're even stronger than Fatty Chen! Is your innate soul power… level eight?"
Most of the outer sect disciples had innate soul power around level six.
Someone like Fatty Chen, who was level seven, was already rare.
"Qi Huan! I'm older than you! You called me Big Bro yesterday and today you're already using my nickname?" Fatty Chen roared.
Qi Huan shrank back, dodging Fatty Chen's attempted chokehold and slipped behind Ning Tianchen.
Ning Tianchen said calmly:
"I have innate full soul power. As soon as I get a soul ring, I can break through to become a one-ring Soul Master."
"Full soul power?!" Qi Huan gasped, covering his mouth in shock.
Fatty Chen wasn't as surprised. During their sparring match, he had already noticed that Ning Tianchen's strength and speed were far beyond his own.
He had guessed Ning Tianchen might be level nine, but full soul power? That was next level.
"My dad told me that in the past hundred years, there've only been about twenty soul masters born with innate full soul power across the entire continent!"
Ning Tianchen replied with a faint smile:
"Your dad sure is a well-read scholar and sage."
Fatty Chen lifted his chin proudly.
To him, his dad was the most amazing person in the world.
The day's training came to an end.
Ning Rongrong held Ning Tianchen's small hand as they walked together through the streets of Heaven Dou City.
"Brother Tianchen, the candy from that shop was sooo tasty! Rongrong wants more!" she said excitedly, pointing to a candy store not far ahead.
Ever since Ning Rongrong had become a frequent customer, for the sake of her safety, Ning Fengzhi had simply bought the entire shop.
All the staff in the store were actually outer disciples of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan.
However, Ning Rongrong didn't know this. She just thought the staff were unusually friendly and the candy exceptionally delicious.
"Rongrong, you shouldn't eat too much candy. Be careful not to get cavities," Ning Tianchen gently reminded her.
"Hmph! Brother Tianchen, you're just like Daddy. You're both mean!" Rongrong huffed, putting her hands on her hips in frustration.
Ning Tianchen patiently explained:
"Rongrong, there are still many other fun and delicious things in Heaven Dou City. How about we go explore some other places first? Maybe we'll find something even better than candy."
Hearing this, joy lit up in Ning Rongrong's eyes. She immediately clung to Ning Tianchen's arm, her eyes curving into crescent moons.
"Brother Tianchen is the best!"
Ning Tianchen could only smile helplessly.
What is this… a girlfriend I'm raising myself?
As long as Ning Rongrong was having fun, she never rejected his suggestions.
Five days later, at dawn…
Under Chen Xin's watchful eye, Ning Tianchen demonstrated his comprehension and understanding of the fundamental sword techniques.
After a moment of contemplation, Chen Xin nodded with satisfaction.
"Better than I expected. Pack your things. As promised, I'll take you to hunt for a soul ring shortly."
"Do I need to ask for leave from the training instructor?" Ning Tianchen asked.
Chen Xin shook his head.
Bringing Ning Tianchen out of the sect would naturally be seen by other disciples and passed on to Jiang Fei.
Besides, Ning Tianchen's real teacher was Chen Xin himself—Jiang Fei had no authority to interfere in his cultivation.
Ning Tianchen returned to his residence and changed out of his sweat-soaked training clothes.
Then, he left a letter for someone to deliver to Rongrong.
Since he didn't know how many days he would be away hunting a soul beast, he wanted to leave an explanation to prevent her from throwing a tantrum.
Next, Ning Tianchen began thinking seriously about the type of soul beast he should choose.
Over the past few days, he had been digging through the sect's library for books related to sword-type martial souls.
He found that depending on the type of sword martial soul, the optimal soul ring to hunt could vary significantly.