Ning Rongrong's POV
The roof of the main academy building was Ning Rongrong's secret place. Flat enough to sit comfortably, high enough to see over the village lights and the distant silhouette of Soto City, quiet enough that even Flender's occasional rants didn't reach it.
She climbed the rickety maintenance ladder with practiced ease, the night breeze cool against her skin after the day's lingering heat. The sky above was clear, scattered with stars that seemed brighter here than in the gilded halls of her clan.
Luo Feng was already there.
He sat near the edge, one knee drawn up, gazing upward as though reading messages in the constellations. The moonlight silvered the edges of his dark hair and cast soft shadows across his face. For a moment she just watched him—strong, still, impossibly ancient and yet somehow not distant at all.
He turned his head as her foot scraped the final rung.
"You found me," she said lightly, stepping onto the roof.
"I followed the sound of someone determined not to be heard," he replied, a hint of amusement in his voice.
She laughed softly and settled beside him, leaving a careful handspan of space. Close enough to feel his warmth, far enough that it didn't feel presumptuous.
For a while they simply sat in silence, looking at the stars.
Eventually she spoke. "When I was little, my father told me the stars were the eyes of past Titled Douluo watching over the continent. I used to wave at them every night."
Luo Feng's lips curved. "A nice story."
"Is it wrong?" she asked, turning to him.
He shook his head. "Not wrong. Just… small. Those stars are suns, many with their own worlds circling them. Some older than this planet, some younger. Most will still burn long after every soul master who ever lived is dust."
Her eyes widened. "You've… seen them? Up close?"
"Some," he admitted quietly. "I've walked on moons that orbit gas giants larger than a thousand Douluo continents. Stood inside nebulae where new stars are born. Fought battles that spanned solar systems."
The words should have sounded like fantasy—mad boasting—but coming from him, in that calm, matter-of-fact tone, they felt like simple truth.
Ning Rongrong pulled her knees to her chest, trying to imagine distances that vast. "It sounds lonely."
"It was," he said. "For a long time. There were people I cared about—my wife, my sons, friends who stood with me against impossible odds. But one by one, time took them. Or the battles did. In the end I was the last."
His voice stayed steady, but she heard the weight behind it—centuries, maybe millennia, of loss.
Without thinking, she reached over and covered his hand with hers. "I'm sorry."
He turned his palm up, fingers curling gently around hers. "Don't be. I had a life fuller than most could dream. And now…" He looked at her. "Now I'm here. Under these stars that feel new again because I'm seeing them with you."
Her breath caught. The honesty in his eyes undid her more than any grand gesture could have.
"I don't understand why you stayed," she whispered. "You could go anywhere. Do anything. Why Shrek? Why… us?"
"Because you reminded me what it feels like to want to protect something," he said. "Not a universe. Not a civilization. Just… seven stubborn kids who refuse to give up on each other. And one girl who makes me want to stay close enough to watch her become extraordinary."
Heat flooded her cheeks, but she didn't look away. "I'm already extraordinary," she said, attempting her old haughty tone. It came out breathless instead.
He laughed—low, warm, genuine. "Yes. You are."
The space between them had shrunk without either moving. She could see flecks of silver in his dark eyes, like distant galaxies.
"Luo Feng…" she started, then faltered. There were a hundred things she wanted to say, and none of them felt adequate.
He waited, patient as starlight.
"I've never felt like this before," she admitted finally. "Like someone sees all of me—the spoiled parts, the scared parts, the parts that want to be stronger—and still thinks I'm worth staying for."
His thumb brushed slowly across her knuckles. "You are worth far more than staying for, Rongrong. You're worth fighting for. Worth waiting for."
Her heart pounded so loudly she was sure he could hear it.
Slowly, deliberately, he leaned in—not rushing, giving her every chance to pull away.
She didn't.
Their lips met—soft, tentative, a question and an answer at once.
It lasted only moments, but when they parted, the world felt different. Brighter. Realer.
Ning Rongrong rested her forehead against his, breathing unsteady.
"That was…" she began.
"Long overdue," he finished quietly.
She laughed, a small happy sound that broke the tension. Then she nestled against his side, head on his shoulder, his arm coming around her naturally.
They stayed like that for hours, talking sometimes—about her childhood in the clan, his memories of Earth before cultivation, favorite foods, silly fears—mostly just sitting in comfortable silence, hands entwined, watching the stars wheel overhead.
Tang San's POV – Early Morning Training Field
Dawn training started brutally early, as always.
Tang San moved through his Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track steps, Blue Silver Grass weaving patterns in the misty air. The others would join soon, grumbling and half-asleep.
He paused when he noticed two figures descending from the main building roof—Luo Feng and Ning Rongrong, walking side by side, close but not touching now that daylight approached.
Rongrong's face was flushed, eyes bright in a way Tang San had rarely seen. Luo Feng's expression was calmer than usual, a quiet contentment radiating from him.
Tang San hid a small smile.
Grandmaster had been right not to interfere.
As the pair reached the ground, Ning Rongrong spotted him and waved cheerfully.
"Morning, Third Brother!"
"Morning," he replied. "Good night?"
She grinned, unrepentant. "The best."
Luo Feng inclined his head in greeting, the faintest curve at his lips.
Tang San resumed his forms, but his mind was already turning toward the future.
With Luo Feng among them—officially now, and with Rongrong happier and more focused than ever—the Continental Tournament suddenly felt less like a distant challenge and more like an opportunity.
Spirit Hall wouldn't know what hit them.
Flender's Office – Mid-Morning
Flender rubbed his hands together gleefully.
"An enigmatic spatial-type expert joins our faculty for free. Parents will be fighting to enroll their brats next term. Sponsorship deals, demonstration fees…"
Grandmaster sighed. "Flender, try to remember we are educating young soul masters, not running a circus."
"Nonsense! We're running the best circus on the continent."
Zhao Wuji chuckled from the doorway. "As long as the new guy doesn't float me again, I'm happy."
The three men shared a rare moment of harmonious scheming.
Shrek Academy had always prided itself on producing monsters.
This year, they might just produce legends.