Watching Ning Rongrong's departing figure as she ran away, Su Cheng frowned, then turned back towards the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
It was fine to say those words to Ning Rongrong. She was pampered at home, but maintaining such a personality outside would eventually lead to trouble. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was not an invincible force in the world.
If she wanted to leave home, that was her choice, but he still needed to inform someone.
As for how to handle the aftermath, it was Ning Fengzhi's problem, not his.
Su Cheng was willing to take care of Ning Rongrong as a younger sister, for the sake of Chen Xin's face. But they had only been together for a short time, and while it was fine to say certain things to others, he couldn't deceive himself about his true feelings.
Besides Chen Xin, he didn't have deep emotional bonds with anyone else in the sect.
Calling someone a "friend" was the extent of it.
Moreover, he believed he had done right by Ning Rongrong.
In fact, except for Qian Renxue in the simulated world, Su Cheng believed he had treated everyone close to him fairly.
He always had a balance in his heart.
It was fine to give more in certain situations and to take later, but it shouldn't be excessive.
Ning Rongrong's current behavior was clearly crossing the line.
Where she wanted to go to which academy was her freedom.
Whether she wanted to stay in the Tian Dou Academy was also Ning Rongrong's choice.
She was not yet eleven years old, so she still had time to follow the original timeline and enter the Shrek Academy.
It was not an exaggeration to say that what he had given to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was much more than what he had received.
He gave Ning Rongrong the Beautiful Silk Tulip to help her evolve her martial soul to the Nine Treasures level.
If one insisted that this should have been her opportunity, then before this, Su Cheng had also sent her potions to improve her foundation.
In addition, he drove away Qian Renxue. Although the purpose was to prevent her from wasting her talent here, it indirectly prevented the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect from suffering the fate of being slaughtered by her in the future.
Not to mention that the training environment in the Tian Dou Academy was far superior to that of the Shrek Academy.
He did need the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect as a background support at this stage, but even without the sect, Gou Gobo was not someone to be trifled with. This was just an extra insurance.
...
Inside the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Fengzhi, Chen Xin and Gu Rong looked at Su Cheng, who was returning alone, with some surprise.
"Xiao Cheng, why are you back? What about Rongrong?" Ning Fengzhi was somewhat puzzled.
"Rongrong is upset because I wanted to go to another academy, and she's making a fuss about leaving home. You can go and persuade her," Su Cheng said.
"What?" Ning Fengzhi was momentarily baffled.
When Ning Rongrong left the sect, she did indeed have a sullen expression.
At that time, he thought the child was emotional because she didn't want to leave him.
He even felt emotional for a while, wondering if he was being too presumptuous?
"Which way did she go?" Ning Fengzhi hadn't had a chance to speak yet, but Gu Rong's expression was already somewhat anxious.
"It should be to the west," Su Cheng thought for a moment and pointed in a direction.
"Humph!" Gu Rong, constrained by Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin's face, didn't say much more and just snorted before turning away.
He had always been the most doting on Ning Rongrong, so naturally, he was now also resentful towards Su Cheng.
"Xiao Cheng, why did you want to go to the Five Elements Academy before?" Seeing that Gu Rong had gone to look for Ning Rongrong, Chen Xin couldn't help but stop, her gaze turning to Su Cheng, and he couldn't help but ask this question again.
At this point, Ning Fengzhi, who had originally planned to go out with Gu Rong to look for Ning Rongrong, also couldn't help but stop, listening attentively.
Su Cheng hesitated for a moment, then said, "My soul skills involve various elemental attributes. Perhaps the combination of some soul rings and soul skills at the Elemental Academies could give me some insights. To be honest, I've been at the Tian Dou Academy for a while now, and the environment here has limited help for my cultivation." This explanation may seem a bit far-fetched, but it still holds water.
"I see." Chen Xin nodded thoughtfully.
He had seen Su Cheng display his soul skills and sword techniques in the sect before, and even had some guidance on his sword techniques with the Seven Kill Sword Art, so he knew how effective his first few soul rings and talent areas were.
As for Su Cheng's situation in the academy, he had also learned some things through Ning Rongrong.
Knowing that he mostly practiced alone, rarely accompanying the team, or going to the teachers for classes.
After a few more casual chats, Su Cheng left the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and headed back to the academy.
As he left, Chen Xin and Ning Fengzhi exchanged glances, both with a somewhat helpless look on their faces.
After thinking for a moment, Chen Xin said to Ning Fengzhi, "Fengzhi, those things you're thinking about can't be rushed. The two children are still young, and you may easily backfire by doing this."
"I understand. I'll go find her now."
Ning Fengzhi nodded, also feeling that what he had said earlier might have been inappropriate.
"In any case, you must persuade Rongrong to come back to me. Don't let her just enroll in any academy casually."
"Rest assured, Uncle Jian."
...
Just as Su Cheng hurried back to the academy, Gu Rong also found Ning Rongrong's whereabouts along the direction he had pointed.
Under the powerful perception of the Titled Douluo, finding such soul master who hadn't even added a third soul ring was too easy.
She hadn't gone too far at this time, just standing under a tree in a daze.
The leaving figure of the old man, who looked like a withered bone and a skeleton, descended from the sky, and in a flash, he moved to Ning Rongrong's side and gently said in a gentle voice that was completely inconsistent with his appearance, "Rongrong, what are you thinking about?"
"Grandpa Bone." Ning Rongrong looked up and glanced at Gu Rong, her eyes slightly red.
"What's wrong? Who made our little princess angry?" Seeing her eyes, Gu Rong suddenly felt distressed, "Is it because of Su Cheng?"
"...", Hearing Su Cheng's name, Ning Rongrong lowered her head and fell silent for a moment.
"Ha, I knew it was that kid. Let me go teach him a lesson and vent your anger. Does that kid think I won't dare to touch him just because that Sword Guy is protecting him?"
"And the Poison Douluo," Ning Rongrong said with a slight nasal tone, mumbling.
"The Poison Douluo is nothing. I can hang him up with just one hand," Gu Rong said, pretending to leave, saying, "I'm going to the Tian Dou Royal Academy to find him now."
"Grandpa Bone!" Ning Rongrong hurriedly called him, her tone somewhat hesitant and aggrieved. "If I encounter danger outside in the future, won't you take care of me anymore?"
"He said that?!" Gu Rong was suddenly angry and shocked.
He had only speculated that something had happened between Su Cheng and Ning Rongrong, leading to Ning Rongrong's desire to leave home, but he didn't expect this kind of talk.
His anger surged.
If it was just a joke earlier, now he was really starting to get upset.
"Rongrong." At this moment, another voice came from nearby.
Ning Fengzhi rushed over.
"What your brother said isn't wrong, we can't take care of you forever. You have to understand, both Uncle Sword and Grandpa Bone are not invincible. There are far more powerful people in this world than you can imagine."
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Gu Rong's eyes widened, and his already withered face suddenly became somewhat terrifying. "If you want to say something, say it about yourself. Don't drag me into it. I can take care of Rongrong for a lifetime."
Ning Fengzhi wasn't afraid of him, but he was also helpless against his reprimands. These two Titled Douluo, who protected the sect, were strong and had high status. To him, they were like fathers, and many times he couldn't argue with what they said.
And it must be said that most of Ning Rongrong's quirks were indulged by them.
"Alright, I won't say anything."
Ning Fengzhi didn't want to argue with him anymore, and turned to Ning Rongrong, saying softly, "Actually, your brother is worried about you. After you left, he came to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect to find us and even told us about your whereabouts."
"Really?"
"If you don't believe me, ask your Grandpa Bone. How do you think we found you?"
Ning Rongrong's eyes lit up at these words, and she looked at Gu Rong hopefully.
"..." Gu Rong frowned at her hopeful gaze, unwillingly replied with a grunt.
"Rongrong, listen to father and go back to the academy," Ning Fengzhi said gently, "You should know that Xiao Cheng has done a lot for you. Your martial soul's evolution is also thanks to him. And in the future, as long as you follow him, we can all rest assured."
In fact, Ning Rongrong understood these reasons herself, but it was just her temperament. When her emotions rose, she couldn't control herself.
Now that she had calmed down, and with Ning Fengzhi's persuasion, her previous emotions gradually dissipated.
She nodded silently.
"Go back and talk to Xiao Cheng. Whatever your brother said, believe that it was all for your own good. Don't be so willful in the future."
"Rongrong, don't listen to your father's words. Do whatever you want. If anything happens, Grandpa Bone will support you."
Ning Fengzhi smiled bitterly at his words.
...
After Su Cheng returned to the academy, he first went to see Dugu Bo.
Although Qian Renxue had left the Tian Dou Empire, he was still staying in the academy.
After all, Su Cheng hadn't treated him for the poison yet.
The reason Su Cheng found him was also for this matter.
He planned to wait a while and then go to the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well together to detoxify him.
By the way, help him choose a suitable immortal grass to improve his foundation, so that he could break through to the realm of Peak Douluo in the future.
When Su Cheng walked out of the team's rest room, he saw Ning Rongrong standing under a tree not far away, looking at him silently.
Seeing him coming out, her eyes brightened, but she also seemed hesitant.
Su Cheng thought for a moment, then didn't ignore her, and walked over directly.
He had no intention of quarreling with her.
In Su Cheng's eyes, Ning Rongrong was just a child.
Since she had returned to the academy, she was probably persuaded by Ning Fengzhi.
"Want to go eat together?" Ning Rongrong nodded silently and followed Su Cheng towards the cafeteria.
"...Brother, do you look down on me?" Halfway through the walk, Ning Rongrong suddenly spoke softly.
Su Cheng was somewhat surprised to hear her say that.
He had never had such a thought.
Everyone has their own way of life, and he himself was not stable yet, so he had no leisure to judge others.
Although he wasn't interested in teaching children, seeing Ning Rongrong's posture softened his heart a bit.
He couldn't help but sigh.
"You're thinking too much, Rongrong. I've never looked down on you. You have good talent, a good family background, you're the princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, everyone's darling. It's normal to feel a bit superior. I'm just a Soul Elder, not much higher in cultivation than you. I have no qualifications to criticize you, let alone look down on you."
Su Cheng kept walking as he spoke softly.
"I've said before, everyone has their own choices. As long as you have awareness, don't regret it later. At home, you can be willful and capricious because of your talent, but outside, others only recognize the size of your fists."
He glanced into the distance, his eyes seeming distant as if lost in memories.
"Among the people I know, there are two whose backgrounds are no worse than yours, and one of them has even greater talent than you. Even I feel inferior to her, but she has never been willful because of her talent, not even once."
Ning Rongrong remained silent, quietly following him.
After a long time, she whispered, "Are you talking about the woman who disguised herself as Xue Qinghe that day?"
Su Cheng's eyes twitched, not understanding how she made that connection.
. . .
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