Did You Know More About Support Types, or Did I?

By rights, I should have made you realize what you did wrong, but... sorry, Ning Rongrong. This time, I'm going to encourage your bad behavior.

After a quiet sigh, Feng Xinglie put on a serious face and said:

"Rongrong, you're being far too bold. You deliberately provoked Flender like that. Aren't you afraid something might happen?"

Ning Rongrong lifted her little chin.

"He wouldn't dare! My father is the sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. If he dares bully me, Grandpa Sword and Grandpa Bone will make him pay!"

"But they're not here right now, are they? If you really make Flender lose his temper and he attacks you, then hides somewhere out of sight, will your father and your two grandpas be able to find him? Don't forget, Zhao Wuji, who's much weaker, managed to live safely until now despite the Spirit Hall. And even if they did find him, you'd already be dead. Getting revenge wouldn't bring you back."

At that, Ning Rongrong visibly shrank back. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had protected her far too well, and she'd rarely had to deal with people. She was no match for an old hand like Flender. She also knew nothing about his character or temperament, only that the little old man had just scolded her very, very harshly. With Feng Xinglie deliberately steering her thoughts, the teenage girl believed most of what he said.

"B-but he wouldn't really do that, would he? Killing me wouldn't do him any good. Grandpa Sword and Grandpa Bone would hunt him down..."

"Did Zhao Wuji have anything to gain by provoking the Spirit Hall?"

Seeing that Ning Rongrong simply couldn't let go of her pride, Feng Xinglie pressed his advantage. Sure enough, her little face turned deathly pale.

"How could this happen...? I-I have to leave!"

"Don't panic. Since he didn't do anything just now, that means he doesn't want to burn his bridges with you yet."

Seeing that he'd made his point, Feng Xinglie quickly tried to calm her down. They'd need her help to leave Shrek safely in the future. He couldn't scare her off now.

"Relax. What I said was only an extreme possibility. As long as you don't confront him head-on, he won't want to make an enemy of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Besides, don't you want to get back at him?"

Feng Xinglie leaned close to Ning Rongrong's ear and whispered a few words. Her eyes lit up, and a hint of delight spread across her face.

"Not bad, Feng Xinglie. I thought you were just a muscle-bound brute. I didn't know you had a scheming side."

Hearing her answer, which revealed her little devilish nature again now that she'd calmed down, Feng Xinglie smiled.

"So, what are you going to do, Young Lady?"

"What do you think? I'm going to give him a good taste of his own medicine. Nobody's ever dared bully me like this!"

Ning Rongrong put her hands on her hips and said haughtily:

"Also, I don't like being called Young Lady Ning. Just call me Rongrong from now on."

"Then I'll do as you ask, Rongrong."

As the two chatted, they suddenly heard someone panting behind them. They turned around and saw Oscar, egged on by Flender, hurrying over to comfort Ning Rongrong, whose feelings had supposedly been hurt. But by the time he arrived, there wasn't a trace of sadness left on her face.

"Rongrong, you..."

He'd thought it would be a private moment for the two of them, and hadn't expected Feng Xinglie to be there too. Looking at them, Oscar was at a loss for words.

"What's up, Oscar? Need something?"

Feng Xinglie was the first to ask. Seeing an opening, Oscar hurried to find an excuse to send him away.

"Ah, well, Dean Flender asked me to tell you that we're going to the Suo Tuo Fighting Arena for some Soul Fighting. Hurry up and meet everyone out front."

Feng Xinglie nodded and turned to Ning Rongrong.

"In that case, I'll head to class first. See you next time, Rongrong."

He was about to leave, but Ning Rongrong grabbed his arm.

"Don't rush off! How could I miss something this interesting? Let's go together."

"Huh? Rongrong, weren't you..."

Oscar was stunned, stammering so badly he couldn't finish. Ning Rongrong glanced back at him.

"Me? What about me?"

"No, nothing... Let's go together."

With his chance for a private date gone, Oscar could only follow behind the two of them, crestfallen, as they ran toward the school gates. When the three arrived at the meeting place, they were met with astonished looks from everyone. Flender was especially surprised. Oscar had only been gone a short while, yet Ning Rongrong had already come running back with a smile on her face.

"Heh heh, Ning Rongrong, have you seen reason? Recognizing your own shortcomings is the first step toward improving. Just follow my teaching plan to the letter, and I'll turn you into a genuine Little Monster!"

Thinking he'd already gotten Ning Rongrong under his thumb, Flender said smugly, twirling his little mustache.

"Hmph, follow your teaching plan? You mean run laps around the village? If that's all it takes to become one of your so-called monsters, then they're not worth much, are they? You recruited a bunch of exceptionally talented Soul Masters just to train them into athletes? Even the dogs my family keeps could come up with a better idea."

Ning Rongrong's little mouth was as poisonous as ever, leaving all the teachers and students dumbfounded. Was this really the young lady who'd been reduced to tears by just a few words from Flender moments ago?

"Ning Rongrong! Are you questioning my ability to teach? Support-type Soul Masters are the ones most likely to be targeted in a team fight. They need to be able to escape enemy Battle Soul Masters. If you don't even know that much, then get out of my academy!"

Flender's authority had been challenged in front of everyone, and he was so furious that his beard bristled and his eyes bulged. He'd traveled the continent for years. Was he really incapable of handling one little girl? But this time, Ning Rongrong wasn't left speechless. Instead, she retorted with a sneer:

"Heh. If that's all there is to your teaching, then there's no point in staying at Shrek Academy. I'm not denying that a support-type Soul Master needs a strong body, but no matter how much one trains, do you think they can outrun a Battle Soul Master? If my role is so important, why isn't anyone protecting me? Why am I expected to run away on my own? Keeping me safe is the responsibility of my teammates. My job is to do everything I can to support them. My father is a support-type Soul Master too, and I've never seen anyone chase him around. Do you really know more about support-type Soul Masters than my father does?"

After that, Flender didn't dare answer. Know more about support-type Soul Masters than her father, Ning Fengzhi? He was renowned as the greatest support Soul Master under heaven. Even if Flender had two extra lives, he wouldn't dare say such a thing.

Seeing Flender's face turn the color of pig liver, Ning Rongrong remembered Feng Xinglie's advice and quickly stopped while she was ahead, changing the subject.

"All right, weren't we going to the Fighting Arena for class? Let's get moving. I can't wait."

With that, she grabbed Zhu Zhuqing and Xiao Wu and ran outside.