Cultivation

After settling the matters within Shrek Academy, Fu Hua set off and left the small village.

Starting from the village entrance and following the path beside the main road, she reached a perilous peak. Strange rocks jutted everywhere, and the cliffs were exceedingly steep. Climbing it without Soul Power was extremely difficult.

But it was just right for Fu Hua at this point.

Aside from her sealed abilities, making her body tougher and more agile would bring nothing but benefits to future battles.

She had deliberately tied weighted sandbags around her arms and legs, with a huge boulder fastened around her waist. Altogether, it should have weighed around a ton. Climbing under such a burden was undoubtedly difficult, yet Fu Hua was still dissatisfied.

"It's still far inferior to Teacher Zhao's Gravity Field. It seems human strength alone cannot meet my needs."

At that moment, Fu Hua recalled something she had read in a book. It had been an unofficial history, its handwriting unclear and sentences fragmented. Even the author was unknown, but the shock of the writer was unmistakable from the strokes.

Soul Tools had been passed down since ancient times, though many had long been lost. Yet thirty years ago, a genius who appeared out of nowhere had brought them back into the light.

From then on, Soul Tools were no longer limited to storage-type spatial Soul Tools. There were now all kinds of types—attack, defense, support, and more!

But on some day thirty years ago, that genius suddenly vanished without a trace. Only several support-type Soul Tools remained behind. Using them as references, many strange and unusual Soul Tools had emerged across Douluo Continent.

For example, the Soul Tool in the Great Soul Arena that allowed people to communicate with each other was very similar to an electrical device Fu Hua knew.

A mobile phone.

What Fu Hua was thinking of, however, was a support-type Soul Tool mentioned in that unofficial history—the Gravity Ring.

There had been very little description, or rather, many of its pages had been burned. Even the scorch marks remained.

"The Gravity Ring can freely control the Gravity Field within five meters of its surroundings. It can be used against enemies or to train oneself. Once one's body is strong enough, it can even withstand gravity in the millions. What a pity..."

Everything after that had been completely burned away.

"If I had that Gravity Ring, cultivation would become much easier in the future." Fu Hua helplessly looked over her current set of equipment.

Sure enough, it was still far too easy for her.

Though she thought so, Fu Hua did not stop moving. She stepped forward, dragging the boulder behind her and leaving a long trail. Deep footprints were also imprinted in the slightly soft earth.

Fu Hua's cultivation had begun.

Within Shrek Academy stood a row of connected wooden houses. This was the dormitory area for students and teachers. The row on the left belonged to the boys, while the row on the right naturally belonged to the girls. Though they faced each other, a fence separated them.

At this moment, everyone had returned to their dormitories to adjust their condition. Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Zhu Zhuqing breathed evenly, clearly already in meditation. Yet a figure still stood in the empty courtyard.

His mismatched pupils stared off somewhere unknown, while the exhaustion on his face was plain to see. Footsteps suddenly sounded behind him, and Dai Mubai pressed his lips together.

"Dean, is there something you need?"

"I told you, didn't I? There are still classes tonight. I told each of you to adjust yourselves properly. Does this look like a good condition to you?" Flender looked as though he hated iron for not becoming steel.

He had only been defeated by a level-thirty Soul Grandmaster. Couldn't he just cultivate harder and defeat her next time?

"Dean, it's impossible. I understand the gap between her and me. I already understood it when she fought Teacher Zhao."

Defeat her next time? Everyone had the same amount of time. While you improved, how could you say the other person was falling behind?

Gloom filled Dai Mubai's wicked-looking mismatched eyes.

"You, you, you... I don't even know what to say to you. Do you want me to go seek justice for you?"

"Dean, what kind of joke is that? How could I possibly think that? It's just..."

"It's just that your former pride and glory were shattered, so now you wallow in self-pity and give up on yourself. How can you possibly... You should understand your situation. Why did you come here in the first place?"

"To become stronger, to no longer live beneath others, and to take control of my own fate."

"Then why are you still wasting away here? Ask if you don't understand. Work harder if you aren't enough. If ten times isn't enough, then a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand times. Are you unwilling even to work hard?"

"I..."

"I know you are competitive and prideful. You feel humiliated asking a woman for guidance. But in the world of Soul Masters, if you do not advance, you fall behind. No one will stop and wait for a coward. Think it over carefully!"

The sun sank westward, and the setting sunlight was faintly warm. Dim yellow light pierced Dai Mubai's eyes, and the fog in his mismatched pupils gradually dispersed, though a certain stubbornness still lingered within.

Night fell. Dean Flender stood on the training field, looking at the eight students before him.

Every one of them was full of energy, utterly unlike children who should have been preparing for bed. Tang San, Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ma Hongjun were all neatly dressed, awaiting the night's lesson.

Fu Hua had also hurried back, dust still clinging to her pure white attendant's uniform.

However, when Fu Hua arrived, she looked at Dai Mubai in surprise. His aura... seemed different from the past two days.

Once everyone had gathered, Flender turned to Oscar and the other.

His gaze sharpened. "Oscar, have you finished your twenty laps?"

If Fu Hua remembered correctly, when she had reached the summit of Devil's Path, she seemed to have seen Ning Rongrong's figure running toward Suotuo City.

Oscar coughed lightly. "Dean, I finished."

Flender snapped, "I said you two!"

Oscar looked somewhat helplessly at Ning Rongrong, who was looking back at him with an innocent expression.

Finally steeling himself, he gritted his teeth. "We finished."

Flender gave a sinister smile. "Very good, Oscar. I didn't expect you to have such a spirit of friendship. Come here."

He pointed to the spot in front of him.

Oscar smiled bitterly.

"I admire your spirit of friendship. Since that is the case, go run another twenty laps and let me see how deep your friendship truly is. If you do not finish, you will not eat. I have already sealed your Soul Power, so don't even think about undoing it. Go!"

Without a word of complaint, Oscar turned around, took a step, and ran toward the village entrance.

Only then did Flender continue, "Do you not understand why I am punishing Oscar with another twenty laps?"

Friendship was important, but lies were the most fatal thing for a team. Oscar was not wrong, but he had lied to conceal Ning Rongrong's mistake.

Flender's hawk-like gaze fixed directly on Ning Rongrong.

"Tell me, did you complete the lesson I assigned this morning?"

"No. The distance was too long, and I was hungry. I couldn't keep going."

"So you ran to Suotuo City alone, ate a big meal, wandered around the commercial street, and only just returned to find Oscar, correct?"

"You were spying on me?" Ning Rongrong said angrily.

"As the dean, I must take responsibility for every student in the academy. If Oscar lied because he could not bear to see you punished, then that is still understandable. But the mistakes you made are unforgivable. Leaving the academy without permission; refusing to follow the academy's arrangements; making an upperclassman lie for you. None of these are mistakes an outstanding Soul Master should make. If this were a battlefield, there would be only one outcome for you—military punishment. Death, nothing more."

Flender's voice was icy, like cold spring water invading the body and making one's soul tremble unconsciously.

Hearing this, Fu Hua straightened slightly, because... she seemed to be one of them as well.

"Fu Hua!"

"Here."

"Do you know your mistake?" Flender's tone softened, and his eyes narrowed slightly, making him seem as though he were plotting something.

Fu Hua's sword-like brows furrowed faintly.

"Yes. Leaving the academy without informing the teachers was my mistake."

Admit mistakes when they were made, and strive harder when they were not. Fu Hua had always been an excellent student, so she could do everything to the best of her ability.

Flender nodded. Teachers liked students like this most of all, especially when such a student was also a genius.

Remembering the report he had received that afternoon, Flender could not help being shocked.

How old was she? Yet she had already begun that kind of cultivation. Judging from the way she looked, it was still more than manageable for her. Thinking again of Dai Mubai, Flender's anger rose, which was why he had gone to the dormitory area that afternoon.

Still, his effort had not been wasted. Looking at Dai Mubai, who was different from the past two days, Flender revealed a satisfied smile.

"Not bad. Mistakes deserve punishment, and merits deserve rewards. For today's lesson, I require you to complete it without using any Soul Power. Can you do that?"

The answer was naturally...

"Yes."

Calm and indifferent, as if it were nothing out of the ordinary. For Fu Hua, not using Soul Power was naturally nothing to fear.

Flender nodded again in satisfaction. No matter how he looked at her, he was extremely pleased with this student. She knew how to lower her head and admit mistakes, did not become arrogant because of favor, possessed considerable strength, and was confident without being conceited.

Aside from Tang San, she was the only student Flender regarded so highly.

But not everyone was like Fu Hua. After hearing Flender's words, Ning Rongrong frowned slightly, her expression full of disdain and contempt.

"This isn't a battlefield."

"That's right, this is not a battlefield. But this is my Shrek Academy. Now I am giving you two choices. First, pack your things and leave immediately. You are unworthy of being one of us. Second, prove to me that you are determined to stay here and determined not to break the rules again."

Ning Rongrong sneered.

"Flender, who do you think you are? Just a mere Spirit Saint."

At this moment, Ning Rongrong was no longer the gentle and charming girl from their first meeting. She was like a spoiled, willful young miss. Fu Hua had seen through her exterior to her heart from the very beginning.

Fu Hua was not particularly surprised, but Tang San and the others were different. They looked as though they had only met her today.

Flender was still smiling.

"That's right. I am only a mere Spirit Saint. But you are still far, far behind me. Even if you are the most talented member of this generation of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, you are ultimately only a Soul Grandmaster. Between you and me lies an insurmountable gulf. Since you look down on this place, then leave. Shrek Academy does not welcome students who refuse to follow the rules."

"You want to drive me away? It won't be so easy. Since I came here, I never planned to leave so soon. Flender, I advise you not to meddle in my affairs, or the consequences will not be something you can bear."

"If I feared consequences, this academy would not exist. This is my territory, and I make the rules. Mubai."

A renewed Dai Mubai stepped forward.

"Go bring Miss Ning Rongrong's belongings from her room, then escort her out of here. If she resists, I permit you to use any means necessary."

"Flender, how dare you! In all my life, you are the first person who has dared treat me like this!"

Flender smiled sinisterly. "Your father cannot bear to discipline you, but that does not mean I cannot. You are not my daughter, nor are you my darling. In my eyes, every student here is better than you. The Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda martial soul is indeed one of the strongest support-type martial souls, but unfortunately, you only bring it shame."

"You're talking nonsense!"

"I'm talking nonsense? Look around. Which one of them can you surpass?"

Flender swept his sleeve, gesturing toward those before him.

"I am a support-type Soul Master. Naturally, I cannot compare martial strength with Battle Soul Masters like them, but on the battlefield, my role would be greater than theirs."

"No. On the battlefield, every one of them would be more useful than you, because they can survive. And you would be nothing more than cannon fodder."

"Impossible! The Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda martial soul of our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is unmatched in the world. Why am I worse than them?"

Suddenly, an exceptionally calm voice cut in, easing the tense air.

"No. In terms of support, the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda is not the very best. It is only so highly sought after because that kind of martial soul is extremely rare."

"Wha..." Ning Rongrong looked at Fu Hua in astonishment.

"The Nine Star Begonia. No matter how many Soul Rings its owner possesses, it has only one soul skill: area-wide healing for everyone. You should understand its value on a battlefield without me explaining it."

As the young miss of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, she naturally understood this. What confused her was why... Fu Hua knew about it.

"You... why?"

"Books are good things. I think you should read more. Remember: if you wish to rise high, begin from below; if you wish to travel far, begin from near."

Aiming too high would only leave you unable to accomplish anything.

Ning Rongrong fell silent.

Her personality was somewhat spoiled, but she was also clever. Fu Hua had suddenly stepped into the dispute between her and Dean Flender only because she wanted to give her a way out.

She understood right and wrong, truth and falsehood in her heart. Her pride would not allow her to lower her head, and if she kept causing a scene, the entire team would only end up rejecting her.

But now, someone had offered her a way out. It would preserve her pride and self-respect while preventing her from falling out with the entire team.

Ning Rongrong understood, and she naturally knew that remaining silent was best at this moment. Fu Hua's calm words were like a basin of ice water poured over her head, allowing her muddled mind to think clearly.

Yes, Flender was right. This was not her Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, nor was it a place where she could act tyrannically. If she wanted to survive here, she had to cast aside her former assumptions and place herself on equal footing with everyone else.

Think, act, cooperate.

If she wanted to climb high, she had to begin from low ground. If she wanted to go far, she had to take her first steps from nearby.

Fu Hua smiled. Moonlight reflected off her handsome face, drawing out a long, dazzling stretch of feather-like radiance, as though golden feathers were drifting down through the air.

She turned around, her brows relaxing as she looked at Dean Flender. Her voice was clear.

"Dean Flender, I believe Ning Rongrong now understands your good intentions."

The light was bright, the moon was full, and the night was still long.

PS: I don't think this part about Ning Rongrong can be cut. After all, this is her growth.

PS1: So, what do you think? I filled in one of the earlier holes. Didn't expect that, did you?