Chapter 52: Personal Training

After an afternoon of training, the seven people present, excluding Shi Quan, were soon lying exhausted on the ground.

One by one, they complained incessantly; they had never experienced such rigorous training methods before, and if Qin Ming hadn't been standing guard nearby, they would have quit long ago.

"What are you whining about? Did you see Xiao Quan complaining? Isn't he training right along with you? If he can persist, and none of you are weaker than him, you should be ashamed to be complaining here! I'll give you three seconds—everyone, get up!"

Under Qin Ming's stern reprimand, everyone reluctantly stood up.

"Xiao Quan, do you train like this every day?" Yu Tianheng asked weakly, his arms hanging by his sides as if paralyzed. He had forgotten how many barbells he had lifted over the course of the afternoon.

"Pretty much," Shi Quan nodded.

He had his Internal Energy techniques to complement his training, so he didn't get as tired as they did, and after years of consistent practice, he had grown accustomed to such high-pressure training.

"Do you even know what it means to be tired?" Yu Feng asked with a mournful face, his legs trembling as he leaned against the training equipment.

Shi Quan waved his hand and smiled, "You'll get used to it eventually."

"..."

The group fell silent.

Instead, Qin Ming said sternly, "All of you, learn from Xiao Quan. Don't you want to be able to absorb Soul Rings beyond your level like he does? Physical fitness and willpower are both essential factors!"

"We do!"

The group answered in unison; who wouldn't want to absorb Soul Rings beyond their level?

"That's more like it." Qin Ming nodded with satisfaction and looked at Shi Quan, "Xiao Quan, why don't you tell them about your training plan for them?"

Shi Quan then said, "Moving forward, I will customize unique training plans for each of you based on your martial soul and soul skills. For example, Captain, your martial soul is the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, which comes with a lightning attribute, so the direction I've set for you is to improve your lightning control ability. For Yanzi, it will be how to use toxins flexibly, and so on. This is just a general direction; I will arrange the specific implementation based on your actual situation. However, when it comes to the specific plans, I might need your cooperation. That shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"No problem."

The group responded in unison. Although they hadn't known each other for long, the various talents, insights, and strength that Shi Quan had displayed had already won their approval.

Especially the scene of Shi Quan fighting Sword Douluo today, which was deeply imprinted in everyone's minds.

After the afternoon training ended and they returned to the collective Dormitory to wash up, the group gathered again in the restaurant on the first floor.

As for Ning Rongrong, because she would be following Shi Quan to train here from now on, Qin Ming simply arranged a room for her in the collective Dormitory as her residence.

At the dining table, everyone chatted and laughed, as if the day's hardships had vanished, leaving only enjoyment.

After finishing dinner, Shi Quan still had to return to the Mimicry Cultivation Forest to train as usual.

"Wait for me." Ning Rongrong quickly followed.

Shi Quan asked in surprise, "Aren't you going to rest here?"

Ning Rongrong glared at Shi Quan and said, "All my things are in the dormitory over there; don't I need to go over and move some things? Isn't your brain supposed to be very smart? You can't even figure out such a simple thing."

Shi Quan waved his hand and replied helplessly, "Alright."

The two walked side by side toward the dormitory.

The evening breeze on the mountainside was neither warm nor gentle, especially in such an open area. As they walked along the road, wisps of cold wind blew, stirring up the rustling of grass and leaves.

"Your performance today was quite good." Perhaps fearing the awkwardness, Shi Quan spoke first. During today's training, Ning Rongrong had persisted much longer than usual, and Shi Quan could see that she was now truly training with heart.

Ning Rongrong curled her lips into a smile and said, "That's right. Let me tell you, I'm not a pushover. You'd better be careful, or you might get surpassed by me one day."

Shi Quan shook his head and chuckled. This Ning Rongrong really couldn't take a compliment; once praised, she felt like she was going to fly to the sky.

"Hiss, why does the wind feel so cold today?"

As the cold wind brushed past, Ning Rongrong shivered, rubbed her hands, and subconsciously leaned closer behind Shi Quan.

Shi Quan looked at Ning Rongrong's still-damp hair and said, "Who told you to come out with me without drying your hair?"

"It's your fault for making the training so tiring! After showering, I only thought about eating and didn't want to deal with it at all." As she spoke, Ning Rongrong angrily punched Shi Quan in the back.

The night wind was cold, and Ning Rongrong's hair was still wet; if she stayed in it for too long, she might get sick. Thinking of this, Shi Quan shook his head helplessly, turned around, grabbed Ning Rongrong by the nape of her neck, and channeled his Internal Energy into her body through her smooth neck.

"Walk properly and don't resist. I'll help you warm up your body so you don't get sick and then claim I'm bullying you."

"Mm~" Feeling the warmth spreading from her neck, Ning Rongrong let out a comfortable sound. Immediately after, she regretted it, her face turning red with embarrassment, but she still said in a haughty manner, "Hmph! You've been bullying me all along anyway."

"Yes, yes, yes. Who told you to be the young lady of the Ning family? You're in charge, as long as you don't ask Sword Douluo to come and beat me up for no reason in the future," Shi Quan agreed.

Ning Rongrong said, "As long as you don't bully me, Sword Douluo won't beat you up."

"That would be best." Shi Quan nodded.

"It's the truth."

"Yes, yes, yes!"

"Hmph! You're bullying me again!"

"How am I bullying you again..."

"You're brushing me off, isn't that bullying me?"

"..."

They had been chatting well, but as they talked, the two started bickering. They argued and made noise all the way, but it was quite harmonious.

"Alright, alright, we're at your dormitory. The wind is cold at night, so just rest here tonight. Remember to dry your hair when you go in." Shi Quan instructed with the air of an old father.

If one calculated carefully, he had the mentality of someone in his thirties, and in front of him was a ten-year-old girl—if one counted the age, it wasn't as if there was no chance.

"Hmph. I know." Ning Rongrong kept her haughty demeanor and walked into the dormitory without looking back.

With a bang, she closed the door.

Seeing this, Shi Quan couldn't help but shake his head slightly and turned to walk toward the Mimicry Cultivation Forest at the foot of the mountain.

Inside the room, as soon as Ning Rongrong closed the door, she pressed her ear against it to listen for movement outside. Hearing that there was no sound, she sat down against the door with a flushed face. She reached up to touch the back of her neck, and upon feeling the lingering warmth there, her face turned even redder.

"Hmph, that stinky Shi Quan actually dared to grab my neck," Ning Rongrong whispered to herself while clenching her fists.

"But that feeling just now was really comfortable. My whole body felt warm and not cold at all."

Seeming to recall something, Ning Rongrong covered her face with both hands, "Could it be that he helped me that night too?"

When Shi Quan channeled his Internal Energy to help Ning Rongrong block the wind, she felt a sense of familiarity. Now she remembered that this warm feeling was the same as what she felt in her dream on the night she rested at Shi Quan's place. She had originally thought it was just a dream.

It seemed that Shi Quan must have used his soul power to do something for her. No wonder she felt inexplicably comfortable when she woke up that morning; her legs weren't sore or painful, and it felt even better than soaking in a Medicinal Bath.

"Hmph, this stinky Shi Quan doesn't seem so annoying after all..."

Ning Rongrong twirled her two fingers in front of her chest, her young, naive heart skipping a beat for reasons unknown to her.

The next day, early in the morning.

Shi Quan arrived at the Heaven Dou Team's Dormitory.

Just like yesterday, he prepared to use the morning to study the six members' martial souls and soul skills, then make further training arrangements based on their physical conditions.

This first day began with the strongest, Yu Tianheng.

"Captain, please release your martial soul for me to see."

"No problem."

At Shi Quan's signal, the two went to the Training Ground; following a low dragon roar, two yellow and one purple Soul Ring appeared, and Yu Tianheng's right arm rapidly expanded, the sleeve of his right arm bursting apart and turning to ash as a result.

This is the legendary Qilin Arm...

Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey.

No, that's not right, it should be called a Thunder Dragon Arm.

"It really is a clothes-waster."

Shi Quan muttered to himself, his gaze landing on Yu Tianheng's dragon arm.

Unlike ordinary Beast Spirit Martial Soul Avatar, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon's avatar does not show obvious changes before Thirty Levels; only after Thirty Levels does the beast-like effect appear after Martial Soul Avatar, and this change initially only affects one part of the body, with an additional part added every ten levels, an effect known as Dragon Transformation.

Although the changes from Dragon Transformation are small and slow in the early stages, they are more distinct compared to ordinary beast-like changes.

Like Ao Siluo's Ghost Leopard martial soul, after Martial Soul Avatar, only his ears changed, his hair became thicker, and his fingernails became sharp, looking somewhat like a ghost leopard.

In contrast, looking at Yu Tianheng's Dragon Transformation, his arm now was extremely thick, covered in blue-purple scales, and his hand had directly turned into a claw, covered in the same scales, with every knuckle on his hand becoming extremely thick, making it impossible to see the shape of a hand at all—it was completely and utterly the appearance of a dragon claw.

This kind of complete beast-like change usually only occurs when using Martial Soul True Body, causing one to become completely beast-like and take on such an appearance.

Yet Dragon Transformation can appear as long as one makes a Breakthrough to Thirty Levels, which is also a main reason for the power of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul.

The descriptions in the original work were limited after all; now that he saw it in detail, Shi Quan still had to praise it, as this dragon claw truly possessed great visual impact, especially with the blue-purple snake-like electricity coiling and constantly condensing or coursing along the entire dragon arm, pushing this visual impact to its peak.

"There is a reason for its strength."

Withdrawing his thoughts, Shi Quan had Yu Tianheng release his three soul skills one after another, and after a detailed inquiry and understanding, he finally let Yu Tianheng go and began to formulate a plan for him.

He had to achieve some results with the training plans for the six of them, so that he could gain a bit more trust from Dugu Bo regarding his Spirit Theory.