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Jiang Fei quickly moved to block the chubby boy, ensuring that no one would suffer serious injuries or even death during the sparring.
Ning Tianchen had never intended to severely injure the chubby boy. He twirled his wooden sword into a graceful arc and then tucked it back into his belt.
"The... The boss actually lost!" The other children couldn't help but widen their eyes in disbelief at the result.
The chubby boy wasn't someone who couldn't accept defeat. He cheerfully ran up to Ning Tianchen and introduced himself: "Big Brother, my name is Chen Huayu. They all call me Fatty Chen."
(T/N: We found the 'fatty' beginner sidekick lol)
"Big Brother?" Ning Tianchen narrowed his eyes slightly.
Fatty Chen explained: "In the sect's special training camp, whoever is the strongest gets to be called Big Brother. I'm not your match, and they're not my match, so that makes you Big Brother."
Ning Tianchen had never considered this before. What use was being the big brother of a bunch of kids?
But he didn't see any harm in accepting the title either. If there were trivial tasks in the future, he could delegate them to these kids.
After some thought, he decided to tacitly accept the role.
Under Fatty Chen's urging, the group of children shouted in unison: "Big Brother!"
Jiang Fei didn't bother with such trivial matters. Besides, Ning Tianchen was a key disciple being nurtured by the sect. Using this method to cultivate his leadership abilities wasn't a bad idea at all.
Next, the other children began their sparring matches.
Ning Tianchen quietly sat to the side, observing the children's exchanges.
His victory over Fatty Chen was due to two factors: first, his soul power level was higher than the other boy's; second, he maintained a calm and composed mindset.
As for technique, he didn't have much of an advantage.
These children's parents were all battle-oriented soul masters, so they had grown up learning various moves by osmosis.
In evenly matched sparring, their performances were undeniably impressive.
"Big Brother, those guys only know some basic moves," Fatty Chen said with a laugh.
Before Ning Tianchen had awakened his martial soul, these children had already awakened theirs. Yesterday, they had already met and sparred on the sect's training grounds.
Fatty Chen's statement, of course, implied that he had defeated the others.
"By the way, Big Brother, is your martial soul a sword-type martial soul?" Fat Chen eagerly asked.
Ning Tianchen nodded and extended his right hand. The Seven Kill Sword martial soul materialized in his palm.
"This... Isn't this the same martial soul as Sword Elder?" Fat Chen exclaimed, his expression turning somewhat strange.
Children didn't understand the intricacies of adult affairs. He blurted out: "Big Brother, are you Sword Elder's illegitimate child?"
"Don't spread baseless rumors! That's absolutely not true!" Ning Tianchen warned sternly.
I'd like to know the reason too!
From the original body's memories, he knew that Sword Douluo had never interacted with their parents.
Given this situation, the fact that he had awakened the Seven Kill Sword martial soul could only be attributed to the perks of being a transmigrant.
For these children, it seemed they weren't particularly interested in gossip. Or perhaps they simply didn't know how to gossip.
After a pause, Fatty Chen asked again:
"Big Brother, I heard that you're close with Young Miss Rongrong. How did you become friends with her?"
Ning Tianchen glanced at him and replied sarcastically: "Do you want to learn?"
Fatty Chen didn't catch the sarcasm and answered honestly: "My dad told me that if I can build a good relationship with Young Miss Rongrong, our family will receive more cultivation resources."
"My dad also said that with my innate soul power, I have the potential to become a Soul Douluo in the future."
"This little fatty really can't keep a secret," Ning Tianchen thought with a smile.
After a long ramble, one of Fatty Chen's lackeys ran over.
"Boss, your strength is even greater than Fatty Chen's! Is your innate soul power level eight?"
Most of these outer division disciples had innate soul power at level six. Someone like Fat Chen, with level seven innate soul power, was already a rare existence.
"Qi Huan, I'll kill you! You called me Big Brother yesterday, and today you dare call me by my nickname!" Fatty Chen roared angrily.
Qi Huan shrank back, dodging Fatty Chen's chokehold, and quickly retreated behind Ning Tianchen.
"Ho ho, I have full innate soul power. All I need is one soul ring to break through to become a one-ring soul master," Ning Tianchen said calmly.
"Boss, you actually have full innate soul power?! Oh my god!" Qi Huan exclaimed, covering his mouth in shock.
Fatty Chen didn't react as strongly. During their earlier sparring, he had already sensed that Ning Tianchen far surpassed him in both strength and speed. He had guessed Ning Tianchen's innate soul power to be level nine, but hadn't expected it to be full innate soul power.
"My dad said that in the past hundred years, there have only been about twenty soul masters with full innate soul power on the entire continent."
Ning Tianchen smiled faintly: "Your dad is truly a wise and knowledgeable man."
Fatty Chen proudly raised his head, looking smug.
In his eyes, his dad was the greatest.
…
The day's training ended.
Ning Rongrong held Ning Tianchen's hand as they walked together down the streets of Tiandou City.
"Big Brother Tianchen, the candy at that shop is so delicious! I want more!" Ning Rongrong pointed excitedly at a nearby candy shop.
This candy shop, frequented by Ning Rongrong, had been directly purchased by Ning Fengzhi for her safety.
Almost all the shop's staff were disciples of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect stationed outside the sect.
However, Ning Rongrong was unaware of this. She just thought the shop's service was incredibly warm, and the candy was delicious.
"Big Brother Tianchen and Daddy are both bad people," Ning Rongrong pouted, crossing her arms.
Ning Tianchen patiently explained: "Rongrong, you shouldn't eat too much candy, or you'll get cavities."
"Hmph, Big Brother Tianchen is just like Daddy—both of you are mean!" Ning Rongrong huffed, hands on her hips.
Ning Tianchen gently reasoned with her: "Rongrong, there are still many fun and delicious things in Tiandou City. Let's go explore other places first. Who knows? We might find something even tastier than candy!"
Ning Rongrong's eyebrows lifted in delight. Her small hand immediately grabbed Ning Tianchen's arm, her eyes curving into crescent moons. "Big Brother Tianchen is the best!"
Ning Tianchen chuckled helplessly.
What was this, some kind of "raise your own girlfriend" scenario?
As long as Ning Rongrong was happy, she wouldn't refuse any of his suggestions.
…
Five days later, early in the morning, under Chen Xin's watchful gaze, Ning Tianchen demonstrated his understanding and mastery of the foundational sword techniques.
Chen Xin pondered for a moment before nodding in satisfaction: "It's better than I expected. As promised, pack your things. I'll take you hunting for soul rings shortly."
"Should I ask for leave from the special training teacher?" Ning Tianchen asked.
Chen Xin shook his head.
He would take Ning Tianchen out of the sect, and inevitably, other disciples would see them and inform Jiang Fei.
Besides, Ning Tianchen's teacher was Chen Xin. Jiang Fei had no authority to interfere with his cultivation.
Ning Tianchen returned to his quarters and changed out of his sweat-soaked training uniform. Then, he left a letter to be delivered to Rongrong.
He didn't know how many days this soul-hunting trip would take, so he wanted to explain things to Ning Rongrong beforehand to avoid her throwing a tantrum.
Next, Ning Tianchen began to contemplate the types of spirit beasts.
Over the past few days, he had scoured the sect's library for books related to sword-type martial souls. Among them, he learned that different types of sword martial souls required hunting different kinds of soul rings.
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