The Price of Lying

"Please forgive me, Sect Leader. There is at least one Soul Saint and several Soul Emperor-level experts within Shrek Academy. I was incapable of infiltrating it to investigate. However, I have already delivered the letter you entrusted to me to one of Shrek Academy's teachers. It will certainly reach their dean."

A faint smile appeared on the middle-aged man's face. "Flender, Flender, you truly are a man with ideals. I'd like to see what you can turn my daughter into. Perhaps only by leaving home will that little witch become a little more sensible. All right, you may leave."

"Yes, Sect Leader." The young man quickly backed away and departed.

A vigorous, powerful voice rang out through the hall, seeming to come from every direction. It shook the entire hall until it rustled and trembled. "Fengzhi, are you really at ease letting Rongrong stay outside alone? Could that Shrek Academy possibly teach better than we can? No, I'm going to bring Rongrong back. I can't rest easy with her out there."

As the voice sounded, an elderly man with white hair and beard, yet a face as tender as a baby's, emerged from the rear hall. He carelessly sat down in a chair beside Sect Leader Ning Fengzhi.

Ning Fengzhi looked helpless. "Sword Uncle, with you and Dragon Uncle around, I had no choice but to send this girl away from the sect. You spoil her far too much. She's already impossible to discipline at home. Perhaps letting her receive some education outside will change her somewhat."

Sword Uncle said unhappily, "Who says we spoil Rongrong? You only see the side of Rongrong that likes to play around. You haven't seen her well-behaved side. You have plenty of sons, but only this one daughter. You can really bear to let her go."

Ning Fengzhi said decisively, "Sword Uncle, no matter what, I will not go looking for her this time. Neither you nor Dragon Uncle may go either. You need not worry about Rongrong's safety at all. The dean of that Shrek Academy was once the foremost spearhead of the Golden Iron Triangle. He cannot possibly fail to recognize the martial soul of our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. With him protecting her, Rongrong will be fine."

Sword Uncle snorted angrily. "If anything happens to Rongrong, I'll hold you accountable. I'm feeling a little stiff. I'll go find that old Bone Dragon and loosen up my muscles."

Not to mention within the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect—even across the entire Douluo Continent, there were only a handful who dared speak to Ning Fengzhi like this. The old man before him was clearly one of them. Ning Fengzhi appeared to be only in his forties, but in truth, he had long since passed sixty. Ning Rongrong was his youngest child and his only daughter.

Night fell. Shrek Academy's dean, Four-Eyed Cat Owl Flander, stood on the large training ground, looking at all seven students before him.

Dai Mubai, Tang San, Lan Xue, Ma Hongjun, and the cold-faced yet neat and sharp Zhu Zhuqing had all prepared for their evening class, each of them brimming with energy.

However, Flander's attention was not on them, but on the other two students.

"Oscar, have you finished running twenty laps?" Flander's gaze was sharp enough that no one dared meet his eyes.

For some reason, Tang San had not seen any of the academy's other teachers all day, including Zhao Wuji. It seemed that there were only the seven students and this dean in the entire academy.

Oscar coughed, nodded, and said, "Dean, I've finished."

Flander snorted coldly. "I asked whether you two had finished, not whether you had."

Oscar turned to look at Ning Rongrong. Ning Rongrong was also looking at him, her beautiful large eyes filled with innocence.

Oscar clenched his teeth, nodded, and said, "Yes, we both finished."

Flander smiled. If Tang San were to describe that smile, the word "sinister" could not have been more fitting.

"Very good, Oscar. I didn't expect you to have such a spirit of friendship. Come here." Flander pointed to the spot in front of him.

A bitter smile appeared on Oscar's face, but he did not look at Ning Rongrong again. He strode over and stopped before Flander.

Flander slowly raised his right hand and lightly patted Oscar on the shoulder. "I admire your spirit of friendship. Since that is the case, go run another twenty laps. Let me see just how deep your friendship runs. No food until you finish. I have already sealed your Soul Power, so don't even think about undoing it. Go."

Oscar said nothing. He merely nodded silently, turned around, and ran off.

Flander shifted his gaze to Dai Mubai, Tang San, and the others. "Do you not understand why I'm doing this? Why I'm making him keep running?"

Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun were very familiar with Flander's temperament and did not say anything. Zhu Zhuqing was naturally cold and merely looked at him impassively. Lan Xue knew the plot and also remained silent. Tang San, however, nodded subconsciously. He truly did not understand why Flander was doing this.

That somewhat chilling smile remained on Flander's face. "Because he lied. Although he lied out of friendship or some other reason, a lie was still a lie. You are all still children, and lying is the worst kind of character flaw. I hope you understand that."

As he spoke, his gaze moved from Tang San and the other four to Ning Rongrong, whose innocent expression made her look pitiful and delicate. "Tell me, did you complete the task I assigned this morning?"

Ning Rongrong honestly shook her head. "No. The distance was too far, and I was hungry. I couldn't keep going."

Flander smiled faintly. "So, you ran alone to Suotuo City, ate a big meal, wandered around Suotuo City's commercial street, and only just returned to find Oscar. Is that right?"

Ning Rongrong's beautiful eyes widened. "You had me watched?"

Flander's expression immediately turned cold. "As the dean, I must take responsibility for every student in the academy. If Oscar's lie can still be excused because he could not bear to see you punished, then the mistakes you committed are unforgivable. Leaving the academy without permission, disobeying the academy's arrangements, and making a senior student 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: punishment by military law. Death, that is all."