One Person Was Enough to Stand Against the Dean

Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, council hall.

At the northern end of the hall stood the main seat, a large carved rosewood chair facing south, with a massive piece of jade set into its back.

The jade was a vivid green and gave off a faint, warm glow. It was a piece of the finest quality.

A man sat upright in the chair. His face was as smooth as jade, with a straight nose, a square mouth and gentle features. His white robes were spotless.

He appeared to be around forty years old.

His gaze was gentle, and his smooth black hair fell loosely down his back. He looked completely at ease, without a trace of affectation.

At that moment, he was looking at a young disciple kneeling below him, dressed in a fitted white outfit.

"Reporting to the sect master, the young miss has arrived at Shrek Academy and passed the entrance examination," the young disciple said cautiously.

The man in the chair nodded, a trace of helplessness on his face. "It's just as well that this little ancestor has gone out to temper herself. Otherwise, she'd have the whole Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect in an uproar, with not even the chickens and dogs left in peace. What's the situation at Shrek Academy?"

"Please forgive me, sect master."

"There is at least one Soul Saint and several Soul Emperors at Shrek Academy. I had no way to investigate further. However, I delivered the letter you entrusted to me to a teacher at the academy."

The middle-aged man smiled faintly. "Then I imagine it will end up in Flender's hands. As for Flender, I'd like to see what he can make of my daughter."

"Sigh, Rongrong, perhaps only by truly leaving home will you learn to be a little more sensible."

"All right, if there's nothing else, you may leave."

"Yes, sect master." The young disciple slowly withdrew.

Just then,

A powerful yet bold voice rang out through the entire hall. It seemed to come from every direction, making the hall itself tremble.

"Fengzhi, can you really bear to let Rongrong go to Shrek Academy alone? Could those Soul Saints and Soul Emperors teach her better than we can? No, I'm going to bring Rongrong back. I can't rest easy with her out there alone."

As the voice sounded, an old man emerged from the back hall. His hair and beard were both white, but his skin was exceptionally smooth. He sat down beside Ning Fengzhi without ceremony.

Ning Fengzhi looked helpless. "Uncle Jian, with you and Uncle Gu around, I couldn't let that girl stay any longer. The two of you spoil her far too much. She nearly turned the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect upside down. She needs to learn a few lessons outside."

The old man called Uncle Jian said unhappily, "Who says we spoil Rongrong? You're busy all day, so you only see her playful side, not when he's well behaved. You have so many sons, but she's your only daughter, and yet you really can bear to send her away."

Ning Fengzhi said firmly, "Uncle Jian, no matter what you say, I won't go looking for her this time, and neither can you or Uncle Long. As for Rongrong's safety, you and Uncle Long can rest assured. The dean of Shrek Academy is Flender. He was a member of the Golden Iron Triangle back then. With him there, Rongrong will be fine."

Uncle Jian snorted angrily. "Do you know Flender well? What if Flender lays a hand on Rongrong? Don't say I didn't warn you. Rongrong isn't just your only daughter; she's also the most talented child I've seen in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect so far. Her future is boundless. If anything happens to her, I'll hold you accountable."

Uncle Jian still clearly remembered the surprise Ning Rongrong had given him on her last day before leaving the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

His eyes had not deceived him.

With a single glance, he had known that Ning Rongrong was immensely talented, perhaps even more so than he was.

Of course, what he didn't know was that the Ning Rongrong he had seen then was no longer the real Ning Rongrong.

Ning Fengzhi nodded helplessly. "All right, all right, I understand, Uncle Jian. If Shrek Academy really is unreasonable enough to hurt Rongrong, we'll all go and tear that wretched academy down."

"There's no need for that. For that bunch at Shrek Academy, I'm enough on my own."

Night fell. On the large training ground at Shrek Academy, Flender suddenly sneezed, unaware of who was speaking ill of him.

He looked at all six students before him.

Dai Mubai, Tang San, Xiao Wu, and the icy-faced Zhu Zhuqing were ready for class.

But Four-Eyed Cat Owl Flender wasn't paying attention to them. Instead, he was looking at the other two-Oscar and Ning Rongrong.

"Oscar, did you run all your laps?" Flender's gaze was so sharp that no one dared meet it.

Oscar nodded with a grin. "It was only twenty laps. I finished in three hours. As for Ning Rongrong, she should have finished too."

Flender snorted coldly. "Are you sure you ran them all? After the first eight laps, how did you run the remaining twelve?"

Oscar froze at the question and turned to look at Ning Rongrong, who wore an innocent expression.

Oscar gritted his teeth. "I didn't exactly run the remaining twelve laps."

Flender smiled. If Ning Rongrong had been asked to describe that smile, "sinister" would have been the most fitting word.

"Very good. You're honest. Then you should also know what you did wrong. In that case, go run another twenty laps. Until you finish, you're not allowed to eat, and you won't need to sleep."

"This..."

Oscar wanted to say something but ultimately held his tongue. He was about to turn and resume running.

But just then, a young voice rang out.

Ning Rongrong couldn't hold back. "Oscar clearly finished all twenty laps. Why are you still punishing him?"

It wasn't that she wanted to help Oscar.

It was just that she knew Flender was using this as a pretext to make an issue of things, venting his resentment toward her on Oscar.

If she wasn't mistaken, she would be the next one to receive a lesson.

But she clearly hadn't done anything wrong, so why should someone else take the blame for her, and why should she be scolded?

So she decided to question Flender first.

Rather than getting angry, Flender smiled. "Then tell me, how did you run the remaining laps, starting with the eighth?"

Ning Rongrong blinked her pretty eyes. "I used a skateboard. Is there a problem with that?"

She knew Flender had been watching her, but she really hadn't slacked off. She had done exactly fifty laps, not one more or one less, so there was no need to lie.

"What skateboard?" Flender's expression immediately turned cold. "All I saw was the two of you trying to slack off. You didn't even move your feet, using some crooked trick to try to bluff your way through."

Ning Rongrong frowned slightly. The smile gradually vanished from her face, though the corners of her mouth tilted upward a little, and a trace of defiance showed in her expression. "You think we were bluffing our way through?"

Flender was noncommittal. "What else?"

Ning Rongrong smiled.

Although she was only twelve, everyone watching had to admit that she really did look cute and beautiful when she smiled.

But that harmless smile now made their hearts tremble.

"Dean, I wonder if you remember what you said when you assigned us the task?"

"I know you're a Soul Saint, but even if you are one, you still have to take responsibility for what you say."

At those words, everyone around her was shocked.

They hadn't expected Ning Rongrong, who was usually so aloof toward her classmates, to be just as aloof toward the dean.

She really was bold!

By now, the gentleness had long since vanished from Ning Rongrong's expression, replaced by disdain—a Soul Grandmaster's disdain for a Soul Saint.

Flender frowned slightly. "Naturally, I remember what I said. I told you to work together to complete the task. Didn't I?"

Ning Rongrong sneered. "I'm afraid that's not what you said, is it? I remember your exact words: we could use any method to complete the task. Twenty laps for Oscar, fifty for me. If we'd done even one lap fewer, we'd accept the punishment, but we didn't. Since you were watching us, you should know that perfectly well."

"You!" Flender lost his composure a little, but he had no way to refute her.

He had intended for Oscar and Ning Rongrong to work together to complete the task, while Ning Rongrong's fifty laps were an additional punishment for her.

He hadn't expected Ning Rongrong to exploit a loophole in his words.

She had clearly completed the task by taking a shortcut, yet he had no way to criticize her further.

He had long since heard from Dai Mubai that Ning Rongrong was no ordinary girl.

He hadn't expected the little girl to be so quick-witted. It had truly caught him off guard.

After hearing Ning Rongrong's words, Oscar's sadness immediately turned to joy, and he followed up with another blow to Flender. "That's right, Dean. You did say it didn't matter what method we used, as long as we finished."

"You brat..." Flender was so angry he felt it in his flesh.

He hadn't expected the brat Oscar to undermine him at a time like this.

Now look what had happened.

He couldn't back down without losing face.

And there were so many students watching nearby.

Where was the dean supposed to put his face now?

The air suddenly fell silent.

After quite a while,

Dai Mubai stepped forward to rescue him. "Dean, didn't you say you were taking us somewhere today? If we don't leave soon, I'm afraid there won't be enough time. As for Ning Rongrong's punishment, it won't be too late to deal with her when we get back."

"Ah, yes, yes." Flender gave Dai Mubai a grateful look and hurriedly said, "Oscar and Ning Rongrong have trained hard enough today. You two get some rest. Everyone else, follow me."

I really haven't doted on this boy for nothing.

With that, Flender hurriedly turned and left.

With a large group of people behind him.

Zhu Zhuqing gave Ning Rongrong a reluctant look, and only followed the others after Ning Rongrong signaled that she was fine.

Fine, fine, fine.

Dai Mubai is just like those vermin in my classes back when I was in school in my previous life.

Damn it, he puts on one face in front of the teachers and another in front of his classmates.

Oh, in Flender's eyes, he's a well-behaved, all-around model student who can even offer the teacher advice.

In his classmates' eyes, he's an overbearing, unreasonable thug who bullies the weak and fears the strong.

Fuck that dog, throwing his master's weight around.

We'll see who gives whom a little punishment when you get back.

I've put up with you for long enough!