Chapter 119 - Romantina Stand

"Father."

At dusk, Romantina, having returned home, found Romanyak who had come back early as well.

"I don't want to leave Notting City. At least… not yet."

"Why?"

Romanyak didn't understand.

"I underestimated Lord Xiao's greed and stupidity, which led things to spiral out of control. Notting City now is teeming with undercurrents. Of all the foreign soul masters who came for the auction—how many have actually left?"

"You're my only daughter, Romantina!"

Romantina could feel her father's love, but still—

"I'm a knight. I can protect Notting City too!"

Romanyak was speechless. "A knight? You haven't even officially joined Notting's patrol unit! You don't have a formal knighthood! This isn't some game of make-believe!"

"Father!" Romantina retorted, "Didn't you tell me that anyone who possesses the spirit of a knight is a true knight? Was that a lie?"

"I…"

Romanyak let out a long sigh. "I shouldn't have said things I couldn't uphold myself… But this is no longer just talk. Even if most of the soul masters just go to Lord Xiao to muddy the waters when things go south, that doesn't mean we're safe either!"

"You may not be the Lord of Notting City, but you're its Deputy Lord. At a time like this, you should stand tall and protect the city's peace. How can you only think of your family? As your daughter, I must stay as well!" Romantina spoke righteously. "The more dangerous the time, the more we must show courage!"

Were those really Romantina's own words?

No one knows a daughter better than her father—

She was brave, yes, but without someone behind the scenes helping her phrase everything, she would've already been tongue-tied.

Romanyak was slightly stunned. Then, he thought of Zhou Qing and the others—perhaps he now understood the change in his daughter.

"You're worried about your friends, aren't you? That's fine. With their talents, they'll surely become powerful soul masters in the future!"

"They said they're not leaving," Romantina lowered her head.

"Then…"

"My fate is already tied to Zhou Qing's," Romantina interrupted him directly. A trace of maternal tenderness flashed in her eyes as she gently touched her well-defined abs and softly said,

"Because I'm already carrying his child."

Romanyak's mouth fell open. His eyes widened. He was utterly at a loss—

"What the hell!?"

The next morning, just after finishing his morning training and on his way to the library, Zhou Qing was dragged to Romantina's house.

Facing Romanyak's strange gaze, his mind was full of question marks.

Pregnant?! She really dared to say something like that?

That wasn't just outrageous—

That was a total genetic anomaly!

"Respected Deputy Lord Romanyak," Zhou Qing spoke cautiously, "As you know, I'm only six years old. How could Romantina possibly be pregnant with my child? You can verify this with the Notting Guild…"

"You think I'm that kind of person?" Before he could finish, Romantina grabbed him by the collar and shook him furiously. Though her cheeks were slightly red, clearly lost in the fantasy of being wrongly accused of infidelity by her future husband.

[She's acting like this in front of Romanyak? She's beyond saving!]

Zhou Qing was speechless.

"Ahem!"

Romanyak coughed twice and said seriously, "Romantina, mind your manners. Don't be rude in front of a guest."

"Sorry, Father," Romantina replied formally, though she defended herself, "Maybe it's because his martial soul is the circulatory system—no, the heart—while mine is the brain. Since both are body-related, I naturally feel drawn to him."

"A natural martial soul resonance?"

Romanyak's eyes lit up. He hadn't expected his daughter and Zhou Qing to have soul resonance potential!

This kind of innate resonance was incredibly rare and valuable.

Though he didn't know what would result from combining a heart-type and brain-type martial soul, from a resonance standpoint, Zhou Qing and Romantina were a match made in heaven.

"Honestly, it's not that intense," Zhou Qing said with a forced smile.

"What do you mean 'not intense'? I lose control every time I get near you—how is that not proof enough?" Romantina insisted.

[That's because you're a total pervert!]

Zhou Qing screamed inwardly, but didn't dare say it out loud in front of her father. Instead, he asked cautiously,

"Vice Lord Romanyak, surely you're aware of Romantina's personality?"

"I am. She's gentle, considerate, generous, kind, brave, resilient, frugal, hardworking, and sincere—those are my daughter's fine qualities," Romanyak replied without changing expression.

Zhou Qing: "…"

Seriously?!

Could he be any more biased?

Wait—

Is he… trying to sell me his daughter?

That said, apart from being a bit too bold in that department, Romanyak's list of traits wasn't entirely wrong…

"Also, just call me Uncle Yak. 'Vice Lord' sounds too distant," Romanyak added.

Zhou Qing: "…"

Danger alert activated.

"Speaking of martial souls—yours was innate full soul power, right?" Romanyak asked. "What level are you after getting your first soul ring?"

"Level fifteen," Romantina answered immediately.

"Fifteen? Fifteen!" Romanyak repeated, staring at Zhou Qing in disbelief. "Isn't that a bit excessive?"

Zhou Qing had no choice but to stop suppressing his soul power. As Romanyak sensed it, it was indeed level fifteen.

"A genius!"

Romanyak was amazed.

"A Spring Moo Bull, about 500 years old! The limit for first soul rings is generally 400 years—you broke that! Incredible!"

"Just lucky," Zhou Qing replied.

"What soul skill did you get? Can you show it?"

At this point, Romanyak was seriously considering him as a future son-in-law.

With Zhou Qing's cultivation speed as an innate full soul power soul master, becoming a Title Douluo was only a matter of time.

Even if Romanyak didn't fully understand what a heart-type martial soul could ultimately achieve, enough soul power alone was enough to dominate anyone below Title Douluo.

He asked about the soul skill's effect to help Zhou Qing plan for his future.

If his offensive strength was weak, Romanyak would pull some strings to send the group to a safer city to grow and train steadily.

"Well…"

Zhou Qing glanced at Romantina, silently asking her to speak on his behalf—after all, the second refinement of his soul ring was a secret best kept quiet.

"Father, that's a private matter between us," Romantina said sternly. "We can't reveal it just yet—it concerns our future happy life together!"

Zhou Qing: "Smiled"

Romanyak completely ignored his daughter's sporadic nonsense, focusing all attention on Zhou Qing. He assumed the soul skill was just too awkward to describe and sighed.

"Alright, I won't ask again. But I do want to know—why don't you want to leave Notting City? You're a mature and smart child. You should understand why I wanted Romantina to leave, right?"