132: Xie Ning confessed that it happened five years ago.

Late at night, in Yan Ruyu's small courtyard behind Lingnan Academy.

Yan Ruyu, wearing a casual, light blue dress, stood on the lawn watching Xie Ning busy himself in front of her. Excitement was hard to hide on her face, though her expression became slightly unnatural when she heard Xie Ning muttering.

"Seriously, the person who taught you that healing method must be incompetent. Who grinds an inner elixir into powder and feeds it directly to treat earth damage? Isn't that a senseless waste?"

"Next time you need to evolve or treat a Demon Tamers Beast, just call me. Even if I'm not the strongest, at least I'm a professional."

"I can't stand it. Now I have to help fill the holes left by the person who taught you. It's ridiculous."

"If I ever find out who it is, I'm definitely going to look down on them."

Xie Ning complained while grasping professional Formation-making tools, drawing lines on the ground. Beside him, a machine was mixing other Materials.

Just as Xie Ning finished drawing the outer Formation and was preparing to create the inner Formation, Yan Ruyu's soft voice came through:

"I taught myself. You can look down on me."

Xie Ning froze instantly, scratched his head, and seeing Yan Ruyu's rather awkward appearance, he gave an embarrassed laugh: "Uh, well, the moonlight tonight is nice, ahaha, I didn't say anything, I don't know anything."

Immediately, Xie Ning quickly bent down and started carving the Formation, not daring to look at Yan Ruyu again.

What kind of situation was this? Scolding someone right to their face. Thankfully, she wasn't angry... otherwise, how could he possibly win a fight against her?

Forget it. In the future, he should be more careful. He should note things down first, and wait until he can defeat her before scolding her all at once.

What a great idea.

Yan Ruyu didn't know what Xie Ning was thinking. She watched him busy himself, remembered the embarrassment on his face just now, and couldn't help but smile slightly. She looked at Shui Li and narrowed her eyes, clearly in a very good mood.

About half an hour later, Xie Ning finally completed the construction of the healing Formation and began placing the earth cracking beast inner cores.

The Formation was the size of two basketball courts and consisted of hundreds of nodes of various sizes. By the time Xie Ning finished placing all the earth cracking beast inner cores, another half hour had passed.

Next, Yan Ruyu carefully carried the Xingshui Lynx and placed it in the center of the Formation, leaving only the central Formation eye empty.

"Heh heh, it's this one's turn now." Xie Ning said, taking out an inner elixir from his storage stone, one that was the size of a fist and emitted a rich, earthy yellow glow.

"Is this... an Earth-Shaking Beast inner elixir?!" Yan Ruyu's eyes widened as she looked at the enormous inner elixir in Xie Ning's hand.

Compared to this inner elixir, the glow of the hundreds of earth cracking beast inner cores on the ground was like fireflies beneath a bright moon—a world of difference.

"That's right, I found it in the ruins." After saying this, Xie Ning placed the Earth-Shaking Beast inner elixir into the Formation eye.

As soon as it was placed, the Formation lit up. The grooves were filled with energy, finally forming a brilliant yellow Formation that was so bright Xie Ning couldn't open his eyes. In the end, Yan Ruyu had to pull him out from the air.

As the Formation began to operate, the Xingshui Lynx let out a low roar, but it wasn't a sound of distress; rather, it was a comfortable cry.

"Shui Li..." Yan Ruyu looked at the Xingshui Lynx, gripping her dress with both hands, showing how nervous she was.

Xie Ning, however, sat down on the grass and said to Yan Ruyu, "It's fine, relax. There won't be any accidents with this treatment, it will just take a while."

Afterward, the two sat on the grass, quietly watching the Xingshui Lynx receive treatment. Xie Ning also checked its status with the System occasionally; everything was good.

At this moment, Yan Ruyu suddenly handed Xie Ning a white and gold-rimmed bracelet from her wrist.

"We are Master and student. Treating my Demon Tamers Beast shouldn't have been your responsibility. Take this bracelet as compensation for your help. Once activated, it can withstand five Gold Rank attacks or one Platinum Rank attack. If the energy consumption is too high, I will rush to save you."

Xie Ning took the bracelet Yan Ruyu handed over, looked up, examined and played with it under the moonlight, then returned it to Yan Ruyu.

Facing her bewildered expression, Xie Ning smiled and said, "I don't want this bracelet. I want to exchange it for you teaching me, teaching me how to become stronger!"

"Impossible!"

As soon as Xie Ning finished speaking, Yan Ruyu's expression changed drastically. She shouted angrily, her sharp gaze fixed on Xie Ning, "I can consider other conditions, but don't even think about this one! I refuse!"

Xie Ning wasn't angry. He looked at Yan Ruyu, smiled again, and said:

"Fei Shanqiu told me about the student you taught in the past. Anti-humanity crimes, which are worse than treason, right? I know. I know about his betrayal of humanity, and I know about him killing other competitors! But I am me, and I won't become a second him!"

With every word Xie Ning spoke, Yan Ruyu's expression changed: from initial firmness to anger, then regret, and finally confusion. Complex emotions surfaced one by one on her face.

The heavy, tense atmosphere lasted for quite some time.

In the end, it all turned into a sigh.

Yan Ruyu sighed softly, as if she had become much more weary. She looked at Xie Ning and asked:

"If you just want to become stronger, I can introduce you to other excellent instructors. With your talent and nurturing ability, reaching Gold Rank in the future won't be difficult, and you can still get your revenge."

"Not enough... Gold Rank isn't enough... Absolutely not enough!!! My parents were Gold-rank Demon Tamers, but they died! Do you understand? They died! The enemy controlled the Beast Tide, they killed my parents, do you understand!"

By the end of his speech, Xie Ning's face was ferocious, his eyes bloodshot as he stared at Yan Ruyu, looking terrifying. He roared with a near-shriek, tearing at his throat.

Yan Ruyu looked at Xie Ning with a stunned expression. She hadn't expected this seemingly gentle and somewhat mischievous young man to have such a side. Even less did she expect such a huge incident to be hidden beneath his usual gentle, smiling demeanor.

Yan Ruyu gritted her teeth and hardened her resolve, saying, "Even so, I still won't..."

Before she finished, Xie Ning interrupted her. He looked into Yan Ruyu's eyes and said:

"Five years ago, I was only 13 years old, and my Demon Tamers Beast, Little Mantis, was only the size of a palm. We lived in Qingyun Town. Later, a Black-Robed Person led a Beast Tide to attack Qingyun Town. My parents were drugged and couldn't exert their full strength. Facing over a dozen Gold Rank Yao Beasts, they were killed..."

Yan Ruyu froze instantly upon hearing this, but Xie Ning didn't stop and continued:

"I was covered by a collapsed corner of a wall and survived, hiding inside the triangular space. Through the cracks, I saw everything outside: I saw what happened to my parents, I saw the enemy, I saw my uncles, aunts, and numerous relatives and neighbors being torn apart and eaten by Yao Beasts. Later, a Yao Beast found me. It tore the wall apart with a single claw, coming to eat me..."

Speaking of this, Xie Ning's eyes softened. Allowing his tears to flow, he gave a carefree smile: "You saved me, didn't you? Do you remember this gesture?"

He raised his right hand, covering one of his eyes, and looked at Yan Ruyu like that.

"Ah! You're that mischievous child!"

"At the time, I couldn't bear the sight of the blood staining the scene, so I covered one eye. But even with just one eye, I remembered your appearance. It's been five years, and I haven't forgotten."

Xie Ning looked at Yan Ruyu again, his tone becoming firm once more: "I want to become strong. I want to avenge my parents and all those relatives and neighbors from that time."

"Please teach me!"

Yan Ruyu slowly recovered her senses after listening to Xie Ning's words, but she remained silent.

Xie Ning also had nothing more to say and waited quietly.

In front of them, the Xingshui Lynx, which was rapidly absorbing the inner elixir energy and recovering from its injuries, shone brightly, but neither of them paid attention, both lost in their own thoughts.

After a long time, Yan Ruyu finally exhaled and clenched her fist, saying, "That traitor was actually under his tutelage—under the Black-Robed Person's tutelage."

"What?!" Xie Ning was stunned, his expression one of shock. He looked at Yan Ruyu's complicated eyes and asked again, "Then what is his true strength?"

"I don't know..." Yan Ruyu shook her head, looking up at the sky, perhaps recalling the events of five years ago. After two seconds, she said:

"Even I am not his match."

Hearing this, Xie Ning's breath hitched. He then took a deep breath and pressed, "Then who is he? Where is he?"

"I don't know that either. Or rather, few people in this world know, and no one even knows why he appeared in Qingyun Town at that time. People only know that he is the top fighting force among the Fallen Demon Tamers," Yan Ruyu replied.

As the conversation reached this point, the atmosphere became even heavier, and the two were immersed in their shared memories.

"In that case, you have even more reason to teach me now, right?" Xie Ning seemed to have figured things out. He composed himself, grinned, and said with a hint of cunning, "Since that traitor is on the same side as my enemy, you don't have to worry about me joining them, do you?"

Yan Ruyu looked at Xie Ning, who was also looking back at her with a hint of a mischievous smile.

Suddenly, Yan Ruyu gave a charming smile. This momentary smile caused Xie Ning's expression to freeze for a moment, and then he heard her say three words:

"Call me Master."