Chapter 59: Ning Rongrong's Return.
After returning to Shrek Academy, Shi Yi and Zhu Zhuqing didn't even pause before heading to Flender's office. "
Knock, knock, knock...
"Shi Yi knocked softly on the door, and Flender's rather cunning voice echoed from within. "Come in," the two slowly entered. Flender, surprised to see Zhu Zhuqing and Shi Yi, asked, "Why are you two back? I just heard from Old Zhao yesterday that you were visiting the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect. What's wrong? Did the food there not suit your taste?"
Zhu Zhuqing glanced at Shi Yi, who slowly shook his head. "We have urgent news for you."
Flender's expression froze. This urgent news, Shi Yi felt, was likely related to the events outside of Tiandou City. "Did you hear about Xiao Wu at the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect?"
Shi Yi nodded hesitantly. He then told Flender about Gu Rong's investigation and the analysis he and Chen Xin had provided.
Flanders was also shocked upon hearing this, his hawk-like eyes piercing through his square glasses, filled with uncertainty. Xiao Wu was indeed highly suspicious, and there had been numerous suspicious points about her since she entered the academy.
"Xiao Yi, you should know Xiao Wu better. Do you think Xiao Wu could be the mysterious killer?" Flanders asked, looking at Shi Yi.
"Honestly, I've always been curious about Xiao Wu's origins. Back at Notting Academy, the teacher accepted Tang San as his disciple. Logically, a child with innately high spirit power wouldn't be likely to appear in a place like Notting Academy. If Xiao San came to Notting Academy because of his own background, then what about Xiao Wu? I'm not really interested in other people's backgrounds, so I haven't paid much attention to them," Shi Yi said slowly.
"There are indeed many suspicious points about Xiao Wu, but I'm afraid your junior brother won't believe them." Flanders spoke with a hint of irritation. Tang San's background was not ordinary, and Flanders feared nothing but what happened to this ancestor back in Shrek.
"That area hasn't been unsealed yet. I suggest you, your teacher, and your mistress avoid going there. It's easy to get into trouble, and it could be dangerous. Too many eyes are on that place. I'm afraid the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect is also tracking Xiao Wu's whereabouts," Shi Yi said to Flanders.
Flanders nodded and sighed slightly. "After Tang San returns, go and persuade him not to act rashly. If Xiao Wu is found, it would be best if she can hand over the spirit bone. But... if she can't, regardless of whether she took it in the first place, she'll face a bad outcome. They won't miss even a single opportunity."
Shi Yi nodded slightly.
"Okay, I'll tell your teacher and your mistress. Don't tell anyone about this, to avoid further trouble..." Flanders instructed Shi Yi.
"Well, then, we'll go back to practice," Shi Yi said to Flanders.
Flanders waved his hand slightly, and Shi Yi and the others slowly left Flanders' office.
In the days that followed, Shi Yi cultivated for a long, rare period of peace. After integrating the newly opened Eight Extraordinary Meridians into his overall spiritual power circulation, the efficiency of the twelve meridians increased significantly.
Now that the spiritual power of the twelve meridians revolved around more than just the twelve normal meridians, Shi Yi renamed these upgraded twelve meridians the Normal Extraordinary Meridians, a simple and unpretentious name.
A month later, early in the morning, Shi Yi finished his training and headed to the cafeteria for lunch. He sensed someone following him, and turning back, he saw a familiar figure evading him.
Shi Yi smiled, walked over, and pulled Ning Rongrong out from behind a large tree.
"What's going on? After not seeing you for a month, the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect's little princess has developed a habit of following you?" Shi Yi quipped, observing Ning Rongrong's apologetic expression.
Ning Rongrong, feeling somewhat embarrassed, said, "Who was following you? I just happened to run into you when I got back."
Shi Yi raised a brow and asked, "Oh? Then why were you hiding?"
Ning Rongrong, resigned to her fate, stamped her foot, and spoke rapidly to Shi Yi, "I'm sorry for what happened earlier. I apologize on behalf of my father and grandfather."
Then, she threw something at Shi Yi.
Before Shi Yi could fully grasp what Ning Rongrong said, he instinctively caught the toy. As soon as he touched it, he felt a distinct surge of soul energy. He looked at the ring in his hand, his expression stagnant as he immersed himself in soul energy.
The soul guide was filled with large chunks of various rare metals.
Looking at Shi Yi's expression, Ning Rongrong thought he hadn't accepted her apology. She said to him, "Don't be ungrateful. I personally went to Gengxin City to get these. They're all top-notch goods."
Shi Yi looked at Ning Rongrong as if she were a fool and said, "I didn't say I didn't want them. Didn't I accept them?"
Ning Rongrong breathed a sigh of relief and glared at Shi Yi, "Why haven't you said anything?"
"I didn't even hear what you were talking about. It disappeared in a flash. This is more practical." Shi Yi tossed the storage ring in his hand and chuckled.
"I don't care. Anyway, you took the things, so even if you... hmph..." Ning Rongrong snorted and didn't say anything else.
Seeing this, Shi Yi sighed softly and said, "You don't have to apologize. To me, you are you, and the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect is the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect. We're still friends, but I won't be going there again."
Ning Rongrong's heart was struck by lightning. At that moment, she suddenly understood the meaning of Shi Yi's words. Her relationship with Shi Yi could only be defined as friendship.
Ning Rongrong's eyes gradually reddened. She opened her mouth slightly, her lips and tongue trembling, but she didn't know what to say. After a while, Ning Rongrong suddenly smiled, looked at Shi Yi, nodded, and said softly, "I know... We're still good friends..."
Ning Rongrong seemed to be unable to contain her emotions any longer. She raised her hand, turned around, and ran in another direction.
"This silly girl actually understood what I said today. She's really grown up. Sigh..."
Shi Yi sighed softly as he watched Ning Rongrong's back. His eyes fell on the storage ring in his hand. Even if he was stupid, he understood the ring's meaning.
Having lived two lives and lived alone, Shi Yi finds it difficult to trust anyone. He can trust Ning Rongrong, but he can never trust Ning Fengzhi or Chen Xin Gu Rong.
If he truly accepts Ning Rongrong, then if one day the truth comes out and proves that the soul bone is his, how will he cope?
Gu Rong and Chen Xin, watching this scene from the shadows, have complex expressions on their faces. They suddenly regret having fallen for Shi Yi. For someone as sensitive as Shi Yi, once the seeds of doubt are planted, they can never be eradicated.
Ning Rongrong had indeed grown up as they had expected, but she had also lost her precious innocence.
"You damn bitch, do you think we made a mistake?" Gu Rong whispered to Chen Xin, looking at him from the alien dimension.
Chen Xin sighed softly and said, "From Rongrong's perspective, we were wrong, but as Feng Zhi said, carrying the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect is Rongrong's innate mission."
"Let's go, let's go back," Gu Rong said, and the two of them slowly disappeared.
Shi Yi gently stroked the ring in his hand, then placed it in his soul guide. Not long after, Shi Yi arrived at the cafeteria.
Shi Yi took the plate and slowly sat down. Before he could take a bite, a dark figure appeared in front of him.
"I just saw Rongrong running back to the dormitory crying. What happened to her?" Zhu Zhuqing whispered to Shi Yi.
Shi Yi looked at Zhu Zhuqing and sighed helplessly, saying, "The price of growing up."
Zhu Zhuqing was puzzled when Shi Yi pulled the storage ring from his soul guide, placed it on the table, and gently pushed it towards her.
Seeing the ring on the table, Zhu Zhuqing understood.
"Since you rejected Rongrong, why did you accept this?" Zhu Zhuqing glared at Shi Yi.
"If I didn't accept it, I'd be in danger of my life. The same object means different things to different people. For Ning Fengzhi, this is a form of compensation. What would it mean if I refused it? Perhaps Ning Fengzhi wouldn't bother me about such trivial matters, but I know Ning Fengzhi wants to end this matter this way. To see it through to the end. This is the face of the sect. To refuse would be to deny him. I also understand what this means to Rongrong. Accepting it would also tell Rongrong that I don't blame her, but I can only be friends with her," Shi Yi explained softly.
Upon hearing this, Zhu Zhuqing looked at the storage ring on the table with a complicated expression. It was then that she realized that Ning Rongrong, like her, was burdened with a heavy fate.
"If it's convenient, please comfort her for me," Shi Yi said, chuckling at Zhu Zhuqing.
Zhu Zhuqing rolled her eyes at Shi Yi and said unhappily, "You still have the nerve to laugh? Why should I help clean up the mess you made? I didn't go to the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect to gain any benefits."
"Then what else can I do? Accept Rongrong? Become someone's son-in-law even though they suspect you? How despicable! I may be short of money, but I'm not at the point of selling my body. Consider it a favor." Shi Yi looked at Zhu Zhuqing helplessly.
Zhu Zhuqing nodded helplessly upon hearing this.
Seeing this, Shi Yi quickly pushed his plate toward Zhu Zhuqing and said with a smile, "I haven't eaten yet. It's clean, you go first."
Zhu Zhuqing glanced at Shi Yi but didn't hesitate to start eating. Shi Yi poured two more servings and placed them in front of Zhu Zhuqing, saying with a smile, "Thank you for the hard work on the other one."
Zhu Zhuqing looked at Shi Yi in surprise. It was the first time she'd seen Shi Yi so attentive to someone close to him.
"What's wrong? Is there something on my face?" Shi Yi asked, puzzled.
Zhu Zhuqing shook her head and said, "Nothing. It's just that this is the first time I've seen you show such concern for someone."
"Hey... you're being heartless when you say that. Didn't I send you something before?" Shi Yi rolled his eyes at Zhu Zhuqing.
Zhu Zhuqing blushed at the words, her thoughts returning to that day.
Looking at Shi Yi, Zhu Zhuqing couldn't help but feel disappointed. Wasn't she the same as Ning Rongrong?
"What's wrong? Why did your face suddenly change?" Shi Yi asked, somewhat puzzled.
Hearing Shi Yi's voice, Zhu Zhuqing came back to her senses, shook her head, and silently quickened her eating pace.
A moment later, Zhu Zhuqing finished her meal and disappeared from Shi Yi's sight, carrying the prepared breakfast.
Shi Yi also headed towards the training grounds afterward. All day, Shi Yi didn't see Zhu Zhuqing or Ning Rongrong.
A few months later, six months had passed since they arrived in Tiandou. Shi Yi's soul power level had reached level 38. Even among the mid-level Soul Masters, Shi Yi maintained an average training speed of one level every two months, a pace that even Yu Xiaogang was amazed by.
As Shi Yi's teacher, Yu Xiaogang was well aware of Shi Yi's rapid growth in spirit power. Shi Yi was now fifteen years old and had been at Shrek for over a year. During this time, Shi Yi's cultivation had accelerated exponentially. When Shi Yi left Notting Academy, his spirit power level was only twenty-seven.
In just over a year, his spirit power had skyrocketed by eleven levels. Excluding the direct gains from spirit rings and the ants he devoured, his spirit power level, gained solely through his own cultivation, had reached at least eight levels.
Yu Xiaogang could confidently conclude that this cultivation speed was unprecedented.
Consider that, in just six months, Dai Mubai's spirit power level had risen from level thirty-seven to level thirty-nine, nearly reaching the level forty mark. This pace was certainly not slow, and was even significantly faster than before. However, it was no match for Shi Yi. Yu Xiaogang knew that, in the near future, Shi Yi's spirit power level would surpass his own.
Of course, no one envied Shi Yi for this outcome. When Blue Domination Academy became Shrek Academy, even Shi Yi had to share a training ground with everyone else in the ever-valuable Tiandou City. Not only the Shrek people, but nearly everyone at Blue Domination Academy understood Shi Yi's schedule and training methods.
He'd start his day with a run, then spend the entire day waving his cape within Zhao Wuji's gravity field. When he got tired, he'd sit on the ground. The area where Shi Yi practiced daily was deeper than the rest of the training ground, and he did it day after day without interruption.
Of course, it wasn't just Shi Yi; Zhu Zhuqing was no exception. Even though Zhu Zhuqing was only practicing the initial version of the Twelve Meridians, Shi Yi could clearly sense that her training speed had increased significantly compared to when she first arrived at Shrek.
Shi Yi understood this was due to the Twelve Meridians' ability to regulate the internal meridians. Coupled with Zhu Zhuqing's diligence, her spirit power had reached level 35.
In theory, anyone who hasn't fully developed their physical body could achieve significant results by practicing the Twelve Meridians and constantly regulating the internal meridians. The most obvious result would be a breakthrough in their innate spirit power.
During the past six months, Flanders had brought Yu Xiaogang and Liu Erlong to visit Tang San several times, but no one dared to tell him that Xiao Wu had been missing for nearly six months. In an effort to find Xiao Wu, the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect even secretly blocked Notting City once, but returned empty-handed.
The world doesn't stop spinning just because one person is missing, just like Shrek is currently thriving.
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