"He." Tang Yin said she worried about him as Ning Feng shook her head not to touch him.

"H-he is s-stronger t-than you know.", she said with utter confidence, "H-he will m-make it."

Tang Yin was still worried since his lips started turning blue, and he couldn't look away.

"Tang Yin, you cannot help him. It is a challenge he has to overcome himself; the best is you use the Time right now for your own Challenge. The second ring needs to be absorbed swiftly by you; we cannot afford to take chances."

"Don't w-worry for u-us.", Ning Feng said, and the other nodded. She looked for help at Tang San, who smiled at her. "If anything happens to him, I will try to help to the best of my abilities."

Then, calmed by her brother's words, she nodded and curled together into a corner, trying to seek a bit of rest and sleep.
It did not come to her; she simply lay there on the floor with her eyes wide open and her mind producing hundreds of images of chases of how badly things could end. Ahhh, damn, this was so frustrating.

With a soft hand on her head, she looked upwards to see Tang San's reassuring smile, and she relaxed a bit on the hard floor. It was uncomfortable, wet, and cold, and the storm outside was still strong, howling through the trees.

But she was also worn out and tired, and now that danger had faded and she was safe, the bone-deep weariness and exhaustion caught up to her as she drifted into a daze between being awake and sleeping before succumbing to it silently. This was, after all, the body of a six-year-old child and even more powerful than most, and with a far older mind, it had reached its limit long ago.

--

Tang San observed his peacefully sleeping sister looking at a fully awake Ning Feng.

"You too, go sleep.", he said to her, but she shook her head in defiance. It reminded him a lot of Xiao Wu.

"You reached your limit the earliest of all of us; it already is a testament to your strength. You are still awake.", he told him, but she shook her head.

"I-I will s-stay a-awake. I am n-no g-good at e-endurance b-but n-never will I d-drag t-them d-down like t-this a-again.", she said, tears in her eyes, "b-but I-d-don't k-know how."

"Become stronger. Being a support spirit master does not mean you have to be incapable of fighting.", He pointed at her bracelets, "You have those and your Teleport, it may seem little now, but these abilities have great potential. You can be strong."

"He is right, Ning Feng. You have what it takes, opportunities few have, and the ability. You just have to grab the chance with both hands and have the courage and the will to carry through. It will be hard, it will be painful and a slow process." the Grandmaster looked at her with piercing eyes, "The abilities of Gale and Damian are the foundation, the opportunities; Tang San, Tang Yin, Xiao Wu, and Yu Hua the power, but you are the center, the connection."

"C-connection?"

"Yeah, your skills are the glue; as a group, you are highly unbalanced, fast, and agile, but you lack the raw strength." her eyes widened, "speed is a good way to compensate for that, and your Remote Teleport and shields are the keys, the protection."

"Don't discount your ability, little girl; a stutterer you may be, but one with a mighty punch," Lize said, grinning, and Ning Feng nodded, accepting the encouragement.

Tang San could almost grab her, the slight change in the atmosphere around her. "I w-will b-be strong.", she whispered, looking at her Teddy with unwavering determination as she moved her eyes back to Tang San.

"T-teach me t-those s-skills y-you and Y-Yin use." She almost demanded from him, and Tang San smiled, shaking his head.

"Only members of the Tang Sect are allowed to learn them." He told her, and she nodded as if understanding something important.

"T-then m-make me a-a m-member o-of Tang S-sect!"