Chapter Twenty-Seven: Let Me Put You to the Test!

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“Make yourselves comfortable and rest for a while. I’ll go get some refreshments. If I remember correctly, there should still be some Moon Willow cakes Aunt Mei made a couple of days ago.”

The first floor was the reception hall. Ning Tian gestured for Ning Wuqian to sit wherever he liked, just as Wufeng had, then rose and went upstairs to fetch tea and snacks for them.

Her older brothers and sisters occasionally came to visit, so certain things were always kept in stock.

Not that she usually rested here herself.

She either lived with her parents or ate and slept alongside Wufeng. This courtyard was more like a private training ground than a residence.

“Hey, where are you planning to start the tests?”

Wufeng casually settled into a chair covered with soft animal hide. After Ning Tian left, she turned to Ning Wuqian and asked somewhat awkwardly.

Tests like this really did require a little psychological preparation.

Ning Wuqian did not answer immediately. Instead, he chose a chair and sat down, gently stroking the animal hide spread over it and savoring the fragrance of wealth.

Forgive him for being such an uncultured bumpkin.

“Obviously, we’ll start with your body. Your endurance, the limits of your willpower, your digestive capacity, and so on. Oh, and you’re not allowed to use your martial soul. What you need to train is your pure physical foundation.”

Ning Wuqian spoke as though it were self-evident, but his sharp eyes caught Wufeng’s face suddenly turning red before quickly returning to normal.

He could only sigh at how precocious everyone was in the Douluo Continent—even children matured early. Still, taken at face value, what he had said did sound rather suggestive.

But he was merely stating the truth. If he did not test her body, was he supposed to test her soul power? Please. Physical fundamentals did not include any soul-power factors.

“Here, I brought a pot of fruit drink as well. Let’s try it together. Wuqian, can we begin the test now, or should I have someone prepare some soul tools?”

Before long, Ning Tian came downstairs, carrying a box of pastries in one hand and a full pot of fruit drink in the other.

She placed the box on the round table between them, then took out three cups and filled them, showing none of the airs of a young lady of high birth. She looked more like someone entertaining close friends—warm and delighted.

“Thank you. We can start now. Wufeng, do push-ups right here without stopping. Let me see your limit.”

Ning Wuqian thanked her as he accepted the cup filled with fruit drink. Then he issued his order to Wufeng, who had already picked up a pastry and begun eating without the slightest restraint.

At that, Wufeng raised her head and stared at Ning Wuqian in bewilderment, as if saying:

I’m eating right now. Can’t this wait a little?

“Do you want to become stronger? Do you want a thousand-year second ring? If you do, get started already. Don’t make me look down on you!”

“You’re doing this on purpose to get revenge on me! Ning Tian, look at him!”

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“I am doing it on purpose. So what? Watching you eat pastries and drink tea while I watch you sweat makes me feel wonderful inside and out.”

A smile spread across Ning Wuqian’s face. Come on—who would not want to eat chilled watermelon in front of their junior disciples while those juniors were suffering through military training?

Eating watermelon was such a beautiful thing.

After all the snide remarks you used to make about me, it is never too late for a gentleman to take revenge!

“All right, you two. Have something to eat first. Sharpening the blade does not delay the chopping of wood. You need strength, and you can only have that once you’re full.”

“Sis Tian really is the best to me. Unlike certain villains who look righteous on the outside but are full of bad intentions inside.”

“You used that phrase incorrectly. It’s ‘hypocritically virtuous,’ you fool.”

Ning Wuqian had no intention of arguing back. Instead, he immediately mocked Wufeng to her face for being small-minded as well as young.

That struck Wufeng like a direct hit. Her already irritable temper instantly flared into full-blown fury.

But constrained by the difference in strength and out of consideration for Ning Tian, she chose to swallow her anger and stewed in her grievance, eating the pastries in gloomy silence.

She ate so quickly that it was almost as if she feared Ning Wuqian might get more than his share—one Moon Willow cake after another.

Ning Wuqian had no desire to compete with her. He simply watched Wufeng with a smile, like an adult unwilling to quarrel with a child. After taking two small sips of fruit drink, he set the cup aside.

“Those Moon Willow cakes are made from the moon fruits of the ten-thousand-year Starfall Willow outside. Eating them helps nourish soul power.”

Damn, what a loss!

At Ning Tian’s cheerful explanation, Ning Wuqian’s expression instantly changed as though he had suffered a tremendous setback. But when he saw that Wufeng had already devoured every last pastry, he no longer felt inclined to fight her for the final pieces.

He shook his head and once again put on an indifferent expression, while secretly resolving to intensify Wufeng’s training later.

Wufeng, on the other hand, looked at his crestfallen expression with a smug smile, as though her plan had succeeded.

Between the two of them, Ning Tian watched their interaction from side to side, feeling deeply satisfied.

Adorable and proud, yet tender and coquettish toward her; Wufeng.

Outwardly clever and resolute, yet willing to reveal her true self to those close to her; Ning Wuqian.

Oh…

“Friends from childhood, a bond so rare in life.

Kindred spirits and old companions—where else could one find such a mountain of gold and river of jade?”

“Applause, applause, applause!”

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Ning Wuqian applauded softly. He looked at Ning Tian as though he had discovered a kindred friend, clearly pleased with the poem she had recited.

As expected of someone capable of becoming his friend, Ning Tian was no slouch when it came to literature.

If she were wearing an elegant gown or a qipao at that moment, Ning Wuqian might even have considered placing another important person in his heart.

However…

Ning Wuqian looked at Ning Tian and Wufeng. Having two friends actually felt… rather nice.

Perhaps he truly did need to relax from time to time.

From the moment his martial soul awakened until now, he had been nearly the same every day, like a block of ice that could never melt. Only in front of Zhang Can did he reveal his true heart.

A happy expression. A delighted expression. A worried expression. An expression yearning for praise…

There were simply too many things he had buried deep within himself for the sake of his achievements today. Only Zhang Can—only he—had ever been able to see them.

Perhaps now he could let two more people see them.

“All right. We’ve finished eating, so let’s begin the test. The rest of your data is meaningless to me. I only need to see your willpower.”

Ning Wuqian quickly gathered his emotions and gave Wufeng, who looked thoroughly full, a stern command.

Then, while she wore an expression of displeasure and reluctance, he rose and began doing the most basic push-ups in the open space inside the room.

She had learned this from Ning Wuqian, though it had previously been completely ineffective for her.

Watching Wufeng begin the test, Ning Wuqian picked up his cup and drank the fruit beverage as he observed. He even felt as though he had eaten his fill. The already-sweet drink seemed even more delicious.

“Is this all we need to do?”

Eager to learn, Ning Tian turned toward Ning Wuqian and asked.

Ning Wuqian shook his head.

“Of course not. Training is a very serious matter. A moment of carelessness may leave lasting damage in the body. It is a process in which the human body harms itself, repairs itself, and finally grows stronger.

“And unlike consuming rare heavenly treasures, this process is not swift. It is extremely long and painful. Without sufficient perseverance, there is no way to see it through.”