Douluo: Soul-Breaking spear

Chapter 77: The Mischievous Princess

When Yang Potian noticed Prince Xue Qinghe and his entourage approaching, he simply continued with his training, uninterested in their arrival. To him, these people were irrelevant, and he'd rather spend his time honing his abilities. He especially held some wariness toward the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan members, whom he found calculating in every word they spoke.

However, things didn't go as he'd planned. Teacher Li called all the team members together and had them clean up and change before meeting with the prince. Apparently, this was Xue Qinghe's request, as it would have been unseemly to present themselves before him covered in dirt and sweat from training.

When the seven of them arrived in front of Xue Qinghe, they were just about to bow when the prince interrupted, "No need for formalities. You are all students of the Heavenly Dou Royal Academy, and some of you may even fight for our academy in the future. Such courtesy is unnecessary."

Yang Potian, somewhat perplexed, asked, "Your Highness, to what do we owe the pleasure of this visit?"

"Nothing too serious," Xue Qinghe replied. "I just wanted to see this training method of yours firsthand. Did you come up with it, Yang Potian?"

"Yes, Your Highness," Yang Potian responded. "It's based on my experiences in the spirit beast forests, trying to simulate the challenges of living in the wilderness."

The prince raised an eyebrow, clearly interested. "Impressive. It seems your experience with field combat is extensive. Perhaps you were a bit too humble in claiming you lacked battle experience."

Xue Qinghe continued with a faint smile, "By the way, your recent victory in the Soul Elder versus Soul Ancestor fight was impressive. Congratulations on your success."

"Thank you, Your Highness. I was simply doing my best," Yang Potian replied coolly.

The two exchanged a few polite, guarded words, leaving Yang Potian to wonder if the prince had a hidden agenda.

Suddenly, Ning Fengzhi spoke up, "Yang Potian, the prince and I have some matters to discuss in the coming days, and I'd like to leave my daughter with your team in the meantime. Would that be possible?"

Caught off guard, Yang Potian quickly replied, "Clan Master Ning, I'm just a straightforward warrior. I'm not particularly suited for looking after anyone. Perhaps you could entrust her to someone else?"

Ning Fengzhi laughed lightly. "Not to worry, young friend. My daughter will be under Teacher Anya's care while at the academy. She'll simply observe your training sessions and won't interfere."

Prince Xue Qinghe chimed in, further cementing the decision, "There's no need to worry, Yang Potian. Rongrong is very well-behaved. Just look after her for a few days."

Seeing the two powerful figures insisting, Yang Potian had no choice but to reluctantly agree. He thought to himself, "Well-behaved? Where did her nickname 'Little Mischievous Princess' come from then?"

Once arrangements were made, Ning Rongrong stood beside Teacher Anya, her demeanor that of a proper little princess. Meanwhile, Xue Qinghe, Ning Fengzhi, and the rest left, though Sword Douluo cast a piercing, warning look at Yang Potian, as if saying he'd be back with his sword if any harm came to his precious girl.

That afternoon, Ning Rongrong stayed by Teacher Anya's side, observing the team's training with an innocent, demure expression.

However, during dinner, her behavior began to change. As everyone enjoyed the academy's food, she seemed visibly displeased, finding fault with everything and picking at her food with disdain.

After dinner, when Yang Potian planned to head back to meditate, Ning Rongrong interrupted him, "It's still early! Let's go explore the city!"

"Sorry, Miss Rongrong, but we still need to continue our training," he replied, trying to remain polite.

Ignoring him, she grabbed Ye Lingling and Dugu Yan. "Sister Yan, Sister Lingling, you want to go shopping too, right?"

Before he knew it, both Ye Lingling and Dugu Yan had sided with her, even Tai Long and Niu Meng were persuaded. "We've been training non-stop lately," Tai Long said. "Why not take a night off and go out for once?"

Just as Yang Potian was about to object, Ning Rongrong pressed on, "You did promise my father you'd look after me. Surely you can do this one little thing?"

Seeing that everyone seemed to be turning against him, Yang Potian could only give in with a sigh.

The group headed to Heaven Dou City, where Ning Rongrong's enthusiasm reached new heights. She dragged everyone from place to place, insisting they visit every shop and stroll down every street, even as the night grew late. Shopping with three excited girls, Yang Potian soon found, was far more exhausting than his daily weighted runs.

At one point, Ning Rongrong even suggested they check out a red-light district, explaining that her father had never let her go to such places and she was eager to finally see it herself. Everyone exchanged bewildered glances. Wasn't she just a little girl? How did she even know about such places?

At another moment, she leaned close to Yang Potian and asked, "Big Brother Yang, which do you think is prettier, Sister Yan or Sister Lingling? Who do you like more?"

Caught off guard, Yang Potian stammered, "Rongrong, I'm still young. I haven't really thought about things like that."

Rongrong rolled her eyes with a look of disbelief. "Oh, please! I know how boys think. Don't pretend with me. You probably want both of them as your girlfriends, don't you? Typical player!"

Hearing this, Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling blushed, while Yang Potian stood dumbfounded, wondering how he'd been branded as a playboy out of nowhere.

Finally back in his dormitory that night, Yang Potian barely had time to meditate when his younger brother, Yang Ping'an, burst in. "Brother, bad news! Tai Long is about to duel someone!"

"What happened?" Yang Potian asked, frustrated. "Why is he fighting?"

Yang Ping'an hesitated before answering under his brother's stern gaze, "It seems… well, it's about Miss Rongrong. Some boys at the academy thought she was cute and started flirting, which led to Tai Long getting into a fight."

Yang Potian sighed deeply. Grown men fighting over a seven-year-old girl? What is the world coming to?

Fortunately, Teacher Li intervened and managed to smooth things over. As for Ning Rongrong, she merely looked on with a gleeful expression, as though enjoying the chaos she'd caused.

They lost an entire morning of training due to the incident.

When Yang Potian returned to the training grounds in the afternoon, he found that the entire course had been modified. The deep pits had become shallow, the mud and water pools were gone, and many other obstacles were changed.

Before he could react, Ning Rongrong said, "Big Brother Yang, I know you like Sister Yan and Sister Lingling, so I made some adjustments. Mud and water are terrible for a girl's skin, you know. This way, everyone can train and stay clean."

Nearby, Teacher Li could only offer a helpless smile.

Over the next few days, Ning Rongrong revealed her true mischievous nature. Various team members found themselves caught up in rivalries or were pulled into duels over silly conflicts she'd provoked. Some, even those typically well-behaved like Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling, began skipping training to care for their skin on her recommendation.

Eventually, she even dubbed Yang Potian the "Cold-Hearted Tyrant," rallying the group to stage a "rebellion" against him.

With the team in constant disarray, Yang Potian found himself utterly exasperated, his once-disciplined team on the verge of falling apart under Ning Rongrong's influence.

(End of Chapter)

Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.