That morning, the air in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan complex was fresh and full of energy. However, in Ning Fengzhi's study, the atmosphere was tense with negotiations. Far from there, in a private training garden bathed in sunlight, Ning Rongrong was completely unconcerned with adult politics. Her focus was singular.
"Come on, come on! Show me!" She tugged at Lian Yang's sleeve with a princess's combination of whining and commanding. "You promised you'd show me your real Martial Soul! Not just those light butterflies!"
Lian Yang sighed, an amused smile on his face. The girl's enthusiasm was like an unstoppable little storm. "Alright, prepare to be impressed."
With a proud face, Ning Rongrong first showed off her own. "Look!" The Seven Treasures Pagoda appeared in her palm, each level shimmering with a soft, jeweled light. Its aura was pure and strong. "Amazing, right? Now it's your turn!"
Lian Yang didn't answer with words. He just stood still, and from his back, a pair of blue light wings unfurled with silent grace. The wings were not made of feathers, but of intricate light circuits and data particles flowing like a cosmic river. The technological beauty left Ning Rongrong speechless, her eyes wide with admiration.
An arrogant voice broke the moment. "Hmph, what a strange Martial Soul. Good for show, but can it fight?"
An older boy, Chen Liang, approached with a few of his followers. He twirled a wooden sword in his hand, his gaze dismissive. "Young Miss, why are you wasting your time with this outsider?"
He then looked straight at Lian Yang. "I challenge you to a duel. Let's see if that shiny toy of yours is of any use."
Ning Rongrong's face flushed with anger. "Chen Liang, how dare you—"
However, Lian Yang calmly placed a hand on her shoulder, a small gesture that was somehow very reassuring. His eyes met Chen Liang's with a cool, analytical calm. "Alright." That was all he said. He walked to the weapon rack and picked up the most ordinary wooden sword, his movements relaxed and measured, as if he were choosing a brush for painting, not a weapon for fighting.
Chen Liang, accustomed to displays of power and battle cries, took this calmness as the ultimate insult. "Humph, just a bluff!" he hissed, then lunged forward. His sword slashed quickly, aiming for Lian Yang's shoulder with enough force to knock an ordinary child down.
What happened next was not a fight, but a cruel lesson in physics, delivered with brutal elegance. Lian Yang did not retaliate. He didn't need to.
Chen Liang's first attack was a swift horizontal slash. Lian Yang simply leaned his upper body back slightly, letting the wooden sword pass a few millimeters in front of his chest. The momentum of the attack caused Chen Liang to lose his balance slightly.
"Stand still and fight me!" roared Chen Liang, his frustration beginning to show. He launched a series of wild slashes. Right, left, up, down. Each attack was meant to intimidate, to force his opponent on the defensive.
But Lian Yang didn't defend. He just... wasn't there.
Every slash was met with a minimalist yet perfect shift of his body. A foot shifted a fraction of an inch, a shoulder tilted slightly, a wrist rotated a little. The opponent's sword cut only empty air, often missing so narrowly that it made Chen Liang even more unsteady. The Cyber Angel wings on Lian Yang's back flickered occasionally, not for flight, but as external processors calculating the attack's trajectory, speed, and angle, then feeding the most efficient evasion solution to Lian Yang's nervous system.
Sweat began to bead on Chen Liang's forehead. His breathing became heavy. Frustration burned within him. Every one of his supposedly decisive attacks felt like a fool's swing at a shadow. The crowd, which had been whispering, was now silent, their eyes fixed on this one-sided dance. They weren't seeing a fight; they were seeing absolute domination. They were seeing a master toying with an amateur.
"I... will... hit you!" shouted Chen Liang, abandoning technique for raw power. He leaped, raising his sword high for a powerful vertical strike.
This was the mistake Lian Yang had been waiting for.
As Chen Liang was at the peak of his jump, just before his sword came down, Lian Yang finally moved forward. He didn't step, he glided. In the blink of an eye, he was inside Chen Liang's attack range, right under his opponent's raised arm.
Time seemed to slow down.
Before Chen Liang's sword could change direction, Lian Yang made three swift movements in one smooth flow. First, the hilt of his sword tapped a pressure point on Chen Liang's wrist. The nerve there screamed, and Chen Liang's grip instantly weakened. An electric shock dropped as if the wooden sword.
Second, as the sword fell, Lian Yang casually caught it in mid-air.
Third, before Chen Liang's feet touched the ground, the tip of his own wooden sword had stopped an inch from his neck. Cold, unmoving, and promising absolute defeat.
Chen Liang landed awkwardly, frozen in place, his eyes staring in horror at the sword tip at his neck. Total silence enveloped the training garden.
Ning Rongrong's angry shriek broke the silence. "Chen Liang, you're a disgrace!" she yelled, more out of relief than anger. "How dare you challenge my guest! Don't ever bother us again!"
Without waiting for a reply, she grabbed Lian Yang's hand and pulled him away, leaving a frozen Chen Liang in shame and shock, surrounded by the gazes of his friends, which were now filled with awe for the mysterious newcomer.
---
When they were far enough from the crowd, Ning Rongrong finally let go of Lian Yang's hand. Her breath was still a little ragged, not from fatigue, but from the remnants of anger and adrenaline. She stopped and turned to face Lian Yang, her large eyes looking at him with a mixture of admiration and confusion.
"That was... amazing!" she blurted out. "How did you do that? You didn't even break a sweat! That Chen Liang might be annoying, but he's one of the strongest among the newly awakened kids."
Lian Yang just smiled faintly, his calmness a contrast to Ning Rongrong's excitement. "It was nothing. Just a little understanding of angles, timing, and balance." He paused for a moment, letting the mood become more serious. "But, Rongrong, there's something more important I want to show you. Something very secret."
Hearing the word "secret," Ning Rongrong's eyes immediately lit up, all thoughts of Chen Liang vanishing instantly. Her boundless curiosity was now fully ignited. "A secret?" she whispered, her voice dropping as if afraid the corridor walls could hear. "What secret?"
"Not something to be discussed in the open." Lian Yang's eyes looked straight into the girl's, creating an irresistible aura of mystery. "I need a place that's completely private. A place where no one can disturb or eavesdrop."
Ning Rongrong bit her lower lip, her mind working quickly. She considered a few locations—a hidden garden, an empty pavilion—but there was only one place she believed to be the safest, her ultimate sanctuary, her own kingdom. Her face lit up with an idea.
"I know the place!" she exclaimed with excitement. "Follow me! No one will dare to disturb us there!"
With renewed enthusiasm, she once again grabbed Lian Yang's hand and pulled him down the corridor. They passed several servants who bowed respectfully, turned into a more private wing of the building, and finally stopped in front of a beautifully lacquered wooden door, adorned with delicate carvings of a phoenix. This was her bedroom door.
Ning Rongrong pushed open her bedroom door with great enthusiasm, revealing a room that was every noble girl's fantasy. Spacious, luxurious, and decorated in shades of pink, cream, and gold. Carved furniture, a silk-canopied bed, and a collection of expensive dolls were everywhere. She entered proudly, as if presenting her kingdom.
Lian Yang was a bit surprised that the girl had brought him to her room without any shame. Perhaps it was because she was still a child. After closing the door behind him, Lian Yang scanned the area but he didn't sense anyone. It seemed that due to their very young age, no one was watching over her.
Seeing Ning Rongrong looking at him with such expectation made Lian Yang's heart a little uneasy.
"When I show you this, don't be too shocked." Lian Yang's calm voice broke the expectant silence. "The clothes I'm wearing are not ordinary fabric."
Before Ning Rongrong's wide eyes, Lian Yang's simple blue robe rippled like water and transformed. Its color turned white, its cut sharpened into an elegant formal suit, then changed again into a gleaming suit of jet-black armor.
"Wow, what is that!? Is it some kind of spirit treasure?" Ning Rongrong was fascinated with Lian Yang who kept changing his clothes. Wouldn't it be great if she had the same thing, she wouldn't have to buy new clothes anymore? That was so amazing!
"This is the Shroud of Power, it can turn into any clothing I can imagine," he explained.
"Amazing! Can you lend it to me for a bit? I want to try it!" A strong desire could be seen in her gaze. Seeing that, Lian Yang finally smiled.
"Hehehe~ no need to borrow, I can give you one." The offer hung in the air.
"Really?" whispered Ning Rongrong, her breath held. "I want it!"
"But there's a condition." Lian Yang's tone became serious, demanding full attention. "This must be our secret. You must not tell anyone. Not even your father."
Ning Rongrong hesitated for a moment, the conflict between obedience to her father and the temptation of the Shroud of Power clear in her eyes. However, desire and curiosity finally won. She nodded firmly. "I promise."
Just a formality, thought Lian Yang. The Waifu Catalog ensures the loyalty of all Retinue. Betrayal is literally impossible.
"Good. Now, close your eyes, stand still, and don't resist. Trust me."
A thin black cloth, dark as a starless night, crept from Lian Yang's sleeve, moving through the air like a living creature with a will of its own. A cold sense of panic began to rise in Ning Rongrong's heart. Instinct told her to run, but she remembered Lian Yang's words, Trust me. She swallowed hard, her heart pounding, and forced herself to stand tall.
As the tip of the cloth touched her skin, an indescribable sensation coursed through her entire body. Not pain, not a tickle, but a warm, overwhelming surge of energy that made every nerve alight with a strange fire. Her knees felt weak, and her breath caught in her throat. Her face flushed a deep red. The cloth didn't wrap around her, but flowed onto her.
It felt intensely personal, deeply invasive. The cloth clung to her like a second skin, mapping every contour of her body with an unnerving precision. She could feel it slip beneath her clothes, a direct touch against her skin, sending waves of a foreign energy through her that made her shiver. The process left her completely vulnerable, every part of her body seemingly exposed, studied, and analyzed by this alien power. She felt naked, not physically, but on a more fundamental level. For a few seconds that felt like an eternity, she was completely encased in a silent, black silk cocoon.
Lian Yang felt a bit ashamed doing this to a little girl, but he had to speed up the binding process. If it weren't for the vast difference in their power, Lian Yang might have had to do something more drastic, but the man with a mature mind still thought he wouldn't go that far. At the very least, he would wait until they were older to do so.
Five minutes that felt like forever passed in total silence. Suddenly, a notification appeared on Lian Yang's HUD.
[Ning Rongrong Tier 7(Current: Tier 4) has been added to the Retinue]
The cocoon didn't open. It melted away like a shadow, absorbed entirely into Ning Rongrong's skin, which now seemed smoother and more radiant. For a moment she stood there, her clothes slightly disheveled, her eyes still closed, her body trembling slightly from the aftershocks of the overwhelming sensation. Then, her own clothes began to ripple and change, reshaping themselves into a gown more beautiful than before, as if woven from moonlight.
"Amazing!" she squealed as she opened her eyes, looking at herself in the mirror with astonishment. "I can feel it! This power... it's like a part of me!"
"That's just the beginning." Lian Yang patiently guided her to change her dress back to the one she was wearing before. "The Shroud of Power can only transform into clothes it has absorbed."
Once Ning Rongrong started to get the hang of it, Lian Yang gave her a gift. "I have unlocked an elemental affinity for your Shroud. Try to feel... what element calls to you the most?"
Ning Rongrong closed her eyes, concentrating. "Crystal!" she exclaimed after a moment. "I feel a hard, pure, and beautiful energy... like crystal!"
"As I expected. Its name is Shroud Crystal. Try to manifest it." Ning Rongrong raised her hand, and from thin air, a small, perfect crystal rose formed in her palm, shimmering beautifully.
"Now, the final test." Lian Yang's voice was full of anticipation. "Summon your Martial Soul."
The pagoda that appeared was no longer seven-tiered. It now soared to a height of nine tiers, made entirely of pure crystal that shimmered with nine different colors. The impossible evolution, which would shake her entire clan to its foundations, had occurred in the princess's bedroom.
With a high-pitched squeal of joy, Ning Rongrong leaped and hugged Lian Yang tightly, her legs wrapping around his waist in a pure outburst of happiness. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"
They spent the next hour playing with her new powers, Ning Rongrong's cheerful laughter filling the room, until a soft knock on the door interrupted them.
As Ning Rongrong was about to walk to the door, Lian Yang held her hand. "Remember your promise," he whispered. "At least while we are here. If it gets discovered, just say I was the one who evolved your Martial Soul." With the Martial Soul already changed, it was impossible to hide it anymore.
Ning Rongrong nodded, her eyes sparkling with secrets.
---
That night, in Ning Fengzhi's quiet study, the aroma of high-quality tea filled the air. Ning Fengzhi put down his cup, breaking the silence. "The partnership with Schicksal will change the economic landscape of the empire. But what intrigues me more are the people. Jingliu is a force of nature. Bronya is a strategic genius. And then... there's that boy, Lian Yang."
"I've summoned Rongrong," he continued before the others could respond. "I want to hear her impression directly."
Soon, Ning Rongrong entered with a cheerfulness that couldn't be hidden. "Father, Grandpa Bone, Grandpa Sword!"
Ning Fengzhi smiled. "Rongrong, you look very happy. Did you enjoy your time with Young Master Lian Yang?"
"He's amazing, Father!" she gushed. "He's not arrogant at all, he's very smart, and he beat Chen Liang easily without breaking a sweat!"
Ning Rongrong began to explain the day's events with Lian Yang. Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she talked about Lian Yang. Of course, she hid a few things; it was impossible for the little girl to hide something without being noticed by an old fox like Ning Fengzhi and the two Titled Douluo. However, they weren't worried. It was probably not very important and Ning Rongrong seemed unharmed.
After Ning Fengzhi finished questioning her, he ordered the girl back to her room to rest.
After Ning Rongrong left, the smile on Ning Fengzhi's face faded into a more serious expression. Gu Rong grumbled, "Our little girl seems to like him a lot. It feels like my granddaughter is being stolen right before my eyes."
Chen Xin, who had been silent until now, finally spoke, his eyes sharp. "That boy is Jingliu's disciple. That alone is reason enough to be wary. But there's more to it. He defeated Chen Liang, who has the Seven Killings Sword Martial Soul. I've taught him myself a few times. His swordsmanship is quite solid. To defeat him so easily, that boy must have swordsmanship that is no less than that of an experienced swordsman."
Ning Fengzhi nodded slowly, a faint smile returning to his face. "I understand your concerns. From what I heard, he didn't just defeat him, he played with him. It wasn't a fight. For now, we will wait and see. A good relationship between Rongrong and Lian Yang could be a very valuable bridge. Let them play. We will gain more by maintaining this good relationship."
The two Titled Douluo fell silent. Ning Rongrong's talent had just emerged, so they weren't as close as in the original story. However, they still considered Ning Rongrong a precious granddaughter. There was no way they would let her be taken by some brat.
The two Titled Douluo nodded in understanding, but secretly thought about how to keep Ning Rongrong and Lian Yang apart.
---
Morning dawned, bringing with it the scent of dew and a new bustle in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan complex. At the magnificent main gate, a formal atmosphere of farewell was palpable, but beneath it lay an undercurrent of new emotions and understanding. Lian Yang, Jingliu, and Bronya stood beside their luxurious horse-drawn carriage, ready to depart.
Ning Fengzhi, with his ever-calm and dignified smile, shook Bronya's hand. "Miss Rand, your proposal is truly remarkable. I look forward to the implementation of our partnership."
He then turned to Jingliu, bowing slightly. "Your Excellency Jingliu, thank you for your visit. Our doors will always be open to you."
Jingliu just gave a brief nod, her cold presence a sufficient answer. Meanwhile, Gu Rong approached Lian Yang with a mock-stern expression. "Kid, you better keep your hands to yourself. Our little princess is not someone you can easily influence," he grumbled.
Chen Xin, as usual, just stood silently, but he gave an almost imperceptible nod of respect towards Jingliu.
Amidst the adult formalities, Ning Rongrong stood near Lian Yang. There were no more spoiled whines or tugs on his sleeve. The girl seemed more mature this morning, her eyes radiating a new understanding. As her father was busy talking, she took a step closer.
"You're leaving." It was more of a statement than a question. Her voice was soft, just for the two of them.
Ning Rongrong looked straight into his eyes, a seriousness rarely seen on her face. "I will train hard with my new power. I will make this Nine Treasure Pagoda the strongest." She paused for a moment, then added in a softer voice, "Don't forget your promise to come again."
Lian Yang smiled, a sincere, reassuring smile. "I won't forget."
A small nod from her was enough. A wordless understanding was forged between them. From a distance, Ning Fengzhi observed the interaction. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but he saw the change in his daughter—a calmness, a maturity, and a clear bond with the mysterious boy. Interesting, he thought. Risk and opportunity often come in the same package.
With final salutations, the Schicksal party boarded their carriage. As the carriage began to move, Lian Yang looked back one more time. Ning Rongrong was still standing there, waving earnestly, a sight that contrasted sharply with the image of the spoiled princess from a few days ago.
Inside the smoothly moving carriage, the silence was broken by Bronya's amused voice. "It seems the princess of the Seven Treasure Clan has been thoroughly captivated by you, Mr. Lian Yang."
Jingliu, whose eyes were closed, added without opening them, "The child has potential. You have planted an interesting seed."
Lian Yang just leaned back in his seat, a confident smile on his face. This reconnaissance and recruitment mission had gone better than expected. The first phase of his plan for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan was complete. Perfectly.