"So that's how it is—what we saw from the beginning was an illusion!"
The two Title Douluo finally understood.
No wonder Ning Rongrong's position seemed to shift slightly at a certain distance.
But since they hadn't seen her move, they hadn't noticed.
"Rongrong, how did you do this?"
Ning Fengzhi asked curiously, while the Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo also turned their gazes toward Ning Rongrong.
"By manipulating the moisture in the air to create refraction, the position of objects seen by the eye becomes displaced."
"Refraction?"
The three exchanged glances, completely unable to follow Ning Rongrong's reasoning.
This highlighted the importance of education!
People in this world wouldn't understand—or perhaps had never even studied such concepts—which was perfectly normal.
"Let me explain with an example!" Ning Rongrong paused briefly before continuing,
"Dad, Grandpa Sword, Grandpa Bone—have you ever tried picking something out of water? Isn't the position where you reach different from where you see the object?"
Her words left the three momentarily stunned.
Gradually, the scene Ning Rongrong described formed in their minds.
Before they could respond, she went on:
"I'm using that same principle to create a visual displacement for you."
In simple terms, it was about the nature of wave propagation and the refraction of light.
By increasing the density of the space around her, light entering would refract.
Ning Rongrong summoned the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda in her hand.
At close range, Ning Fengzhi and the others noticed a faint, transparent film around the pagoda.
It was extremely thin and nearly invisible unless viewed up close.
"This uses zhenqi to alter the density of moisture in the air, centered around myself and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda."
"The only regret is that I can only manage a three-meter radius around myself and the pagoda."
"Anything seen from this range will appear slightly displaced."
"Do you know why people can see objects that don't emit light?"
"It's because light reflects off the object and enters the eyes."
"All I'm doing is influencing that reflection process."
"Rongrong, aren't you worried your own vision might get distorted too? It should affect both sides, right?"
"If this happens on the battlefield, it could be extremely dangerous."
Though he had never studied physics and didn't fully grasp Ning Rongrong's explanation, as the leader of a sect, Ning Fengzhi could roughly deduce the principle behind this skill.
Not only did it alter the enemy's vision—it also affected her own.
If something went wrong, wouldn't that be disastrous?
"When changing the surrounding density, there's a calculable angle of refraction. As long as I account for that, there won't be any accidents," Ning Rongrong replied.
"The concept is clever, but wouldn't it be easy to counter?" The two Title Douluo were amazed by Ning Rongrong's creativity, but they also realized that any technique relying on visual illusions could be easily neutralized once its mechanism was understood.
"Ah, right!" Ning Rongrong nodded. "It's useless against large-scale soul skills or close-range attacks."
"This move is mainly designed to deal with long-range attackers and control-type soul masters."
"Think about it—if what you see is displaced, then your attacks will naturally land in the wrong spot, just like what happened with all of you earlier!"
"As a support-type soul master, my goal is just to increase my survival rate. I don't need to fight head-on like battle-type soul masters."
"If it ever comes down to a life-or-death struggle, the battle-type soul masters would probably already be dead, right?"
"That makes sense." The two Title Douluo and Ning Fengzhi nodded in agreement.
"Rongrong, what's this move called?"
The Bone Douluo chuckled. Though it relied on trickery, it was undeniably practical.
"Kyōka Suigetsu." Ning Rongrong thought of a certain hair-gel-loving man who called his Zanpakutō "water-flow type."
"Flowers in a mirror, the moon reflected in water (Kyōka Suigetsu) … Fits the effect of this soul skill well." The Sword Douluo sighed in admiration.
"Yes, but it's not complete yet. This is all I can manage for now." Ning Rongrong sighed.
"What effect are you aiming for, Rongrong?" Ning Fengzhi was surprised.
"To influence all five senses—vision, hearing, smell, taste, and touch."
Currently, she could only manipulate vision, and the range was still limited.
"This…" Hearing her words, Ning Fengzhi and the two Title Douluo twitched. "Rongrong, your expectations are a bit too high!"
"But Dad, isn't it dangerous for a support-type soul master to lack such self-protection?"
Ning Fengzhi: "…"
"Ahem—" He coughed awkwardly and changed the subject. "Well, Rongrong, keep at it. Dad believes in you."
"We should get going soon, or we might be late for our departure to the Heaven Dou Empire."
Ning Rongrong also remembered that today was the day they were setting out. She retracted her Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda and asked, "Is Grandpa Bone coming with us this time, or Grandpa Sword?"
"Of course, it's me!" The Bone Douluo thumped his chest. "I'm worried this coward here might freeze up in front of a grand occasion."
"Old Bone, when have I ever frozen up? I'm just considering the bigger picture!"
"And wasn't the matter with Tang Hao already settled?"
Dark lines appeared on the Sword Douluo's forehead.
He was constantly teased for being a 96th-rank Title Douluo who "didn't dare" to confront Tang Hao at 95th rank. If it were me… he thought indignantly.
He'd never realized before just how infuriating the Bone Douluo's mouth could be.
"Then Grandpa Sword can guard the sect. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda School is important too!"
Ning Rongrong rubbed her temples, exasperated by their bickering.
"Fine." The Sword Douluo nodded.
"Fengzhi, Old Bone, I'm entrusting Rongrong to you. Don't let those Heaven Dou nobles bully her while you're out."
"Hmph, bully her?" The Bone Douluo scoffed confidently. "With me and Fengzhi around, we can go anywhere in the Douluo Continent! I could even pluck the stars from the sky for Rongrong if she asked!"
"Then I want a star, Grandpa Bone! Hurry up and get me one!"
The moment Ning Rongrong said this, all three men froze.
"Rongrong, I…" The Bone Douluo coughed, his face actually flushing slightly with embarrassment.
"Pfft—" The Sword Douluo burst out laughing. "Old Bone, serves you right for showing off! Now you're exposed!"
"Alright, enough joking around." Ning Fengzhi smiled. "If we don't leave soon, we'll really be late."
After bidding farewell to the Sword Douluo, Ning Fengzhi, Ning Rongrong, and the Bone Douluo set off.
The three boarded the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda School's exclusive carriage and slowly made their way toward the capital of the Heaven Dou Empire.
"Rongrong, why did you bring that defensive soul bone?"
Inside the carriage, Ning Fengzhi glanced at Ning Rongrong, who had been quiet since their departure, and couldn't help but ask.
Ning Rongrong looked up, organizing her thoughts before answering:
"It might come in handy. That defensive soul bone is actually very suitable for a swan-type martial soul."
"Giving a 30,000-year soul bone to Xue Qinghe as a gift for apprenticeship seems a bit too extravagant, doesn't it?" The Bone Douluo frowned.
"No, it's just a contingency. We might not even use it." After a moment's consideration, she voiced her real plan:
"I intend to use this soul bone to recruit a Title Douluo into the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda School."
The moment these words left her mouth, the entire carriage fell silent.