"Counseling" Ning Rongrong

By the time night fell, Ning Chuan had taken a bath in the dormitory, changed into clean clothes, and headed to gather at the Grand Training Field. Just then, he saw Ning Rongrong, who had been scolded to tears by Flender, running back to her dormitory.

"What's wrong? Who bullied our Young Miss Ning? Tell me, and I'll stand up for you." Ning Chuan stood at the entrance to the girls' dormitory and asked despite already knowing the answer.

Only after hearing Ning Chuan did Ning Rongrong emerge from the dormitory. Her delicate little face was streaked with tears. "It was Flender. Flender bullied me... I'll make Sword Grandfather and Grandpa Bone kill him, kill him..." By the end, Ning Rongrong was practically screaming.

"Looks like it was just as I thought." Ning Chuan showed no sign of surprise.

Ning Rongrong sniffled. "What do you mean?"

Ning Chuan smiled mysteriously. "Running twenty laps around the village—let alone a Support Spirit Master like you, even an ordinary Battle Spirit Master couldn't handle it. Think about it: why would the Dean give you a task that simply couldn't be completed?"

"You mean he did it on purpose?" Ning Rongrong understood. She wiped away her tears and instinctively asked, "But why would he do that? How did I offend him?"

Ning Chuan shook his head. "It's not about how you offended him. As the head of an academy, he has to establish his authority. You know your own situation. You don't have any bad intentions, but you're a spoiled and willful young lady who's been pampered since childhood. Deep down, you even look down on everyone at Shrek Academy, including the Dean. If he didn't set you straight, who would he set straight? Otherwise, how could he lead the academy in the future?"

Having her thoughts exposed, Ning Rongrong's cheeks reddened slightly as she vehemently denied it. "Nonsense! I never looked down on all of you..."

"That isn't important... Besides, think about it. The Dean is only a Spirit Sage, so why would he dare to reprimand the young lady of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, which has Titled Douluo backing it?" Ning Chuan said.

Hearing this, Ning Rongrong knew that her father must have spoken to Flender beforehand. Otherwise, Flender would never have had the nerve.

She looked at Ning Chuan's fair, handsome face and asked softly, "Ning Chuan, then what do you think I should do?"

Ning Chuan said, "Since your father entrusted you to the Dean, it means that no one here can help you, and no one will indulge you. You can only rely on yourself. If you don't want to be hurt, then prove it to them. Let them know that Young Miss Ning of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect isn't just a pretty vase. As for those who bullied and abandoned you, settle scores and grievances with them later. Make them give you an explanation."

That last sentence was the key.

But at this moment, the simple-minded Ning Rongrong had clearly taken it to heart. Recalling how Tang San, Dai Mubai, and the others had watched indifferently while Flender reprimanded her, especially how Dai Mubai had even wanted to pack her things as she ran away crying, practically wishing she would leave sooner, Ning Rongrong became furious.

"Hmph! I'm not some pretty vase." Looking at Ning Chuan standing so close to her, Ning Rongrong gave a soft huff, then revealed a sincere smile. "Ning Chuan, thank you!"

Ever since childhood, aside from Sword Grandfather, Grandpa Bone, and her father, everyone else had flattered her only because she was the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Then Dai Mubai, Tang San, and the others, with Flender backing them, had all bullied and excluded her. Ning Chuan alone had neither fawned over her because of her status nor kicked her while she was down alongside Dai Mubai and the others.

Ning Chuan smiled faintly. "You're welcome."

Just then, an urgent voice approached from afar. "Rongrong, are you all right?"

Ning Chuan and Ning Rongrong looked over at the same time. Oscar came running over, drenched in sweat and gasping for breath.

Seeing Ning Chuan, he was somewhat surprised. "Oh, Ning Chuan, you're here too. Hurry to the training field. Let me tell you, the Dean is in a bad mood today. You're late again, so you'd better watch yourself."

"It's fine." Ning Chuan turned around and waved at Ning Rongrong with his back to her. "Young Miss Ning, I'll be going first."

As he spoke, he quickened his pace and ran toward the Grand Training Field.

Watching Ning Chuan's retreating figure, then looking at Ning Rongrong beside him, who was no longer sad or upset, Oscar somehow felt as though he had lost something.

"Let's go." Ning Rongrong tidied up her appearance and headed toward the Village Entrance.

"Go where?" Oscar froze. He had only come to "comfort" Ning Rongrong, and to find Ning Chuan and notify him to gather at the Grand Training Field.

"Of course, to finish today's lesson." Ning Rongrong said without turning around.

Oscar said, "But the Dean said you didn't need to keep running."

"That was for you. I still need to continue." As she spoke, Ning Rongrong ignored Oscar and ran alone toward the Village Entrance.

Oscar had no choice but to follow.

Meanwhile, at Shrek Academy's "Grand Training Field"!

When Ning Chuan arrived, Flender was not angry as Oscar had said. Instead, a chrysanthemum-like smile bloomed across his face. "You just completed such high-intensity training. Are you sure you're all right? If you're tired, you can rest first and take this lesson tomorrow night instead. Just lower the intensity of your training a little."

The moment he said this, Tang San, Dai Mubai, and the others, who had been secretly gloating, were all dumbfounded.

Was this really the Dean who had just mercilessly scolded even the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?

What they did not know was that, besides observing Ning Rongrong and Oscar that day, Flender had also been observing Ning Chuan.

He discovered that Ning Chuan's training intensity was absurdly high. Let alone a Soul Elder, even he, a Spirit Sage, probably would not have been able to endure it.

Yet Ning Chuan had completed it, and he was not even red in the face or short of breath, as though nothing had happened. One could only imagine just how powerful Ning Chuan's physique was.

He felt that Shrek Academy had truly found a treasure.

Coupled with Ning Chuan's innate talent, Flender naturally favored him.

"It's fine. I've already rested, and I'm in great condition now."

Ning Chuan shook his head. He could tell that Old Mouse's stamina had basically been drained dry by him.

Yet he himself was still in peak condition. It was only a spirit battle, after all. At most, he would need to swing his sword a few times.

While he was at it, he also planned to make a trip to Suotuo City to buy some things and prepare a grand gift for Dai Mubai.

Although Dai Mubai could not defeat Ning Chuan, he did not want to see him have an easy time. Seeing that Ning Chuan had not been punished, he could not help saying, "Dean, Ning Chuan was late by a full quarter of an hour. That goes against the academy rules you set, so why are you still..."

Flender glared at him. "If you can carry a thousand-jin weight, run more than twenty laps around the village, complete a series of high-intensity training, and cultivate from morning until evening, then you can be late too."

"Oh!" Though Dai Mubai was unwilling, he knew he could not do what Ning Chuan had done.

Instead, his backstabbing behavior drew the hostility of Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing. Zhu Zhuqing in particular had always despised Dai Mubai. Without the influence of Spirit Resonance, she hated him even more now. The way she looked at Dai Mubai was as though she were looking at trash.

PS: Second update. I have something to do today, so I'm updating early.