Ning Rongrong's Ordinary Day

Action speaks louder than words!

Having settled on a running plan, Ning Rongrong tried to set her legs in motion.

"Riiip..."

She froze, looking down at the source of the sound: her clothes.

Her cyan outfit was already tattered, the delicate, rosy-white skin visible through the gaps. Autumn had just arrived, and while the sweltering heat of summer hadn't fully dissipated, the morning breeze brushing against her skin felt quite cool.

Ning Rongrong's face flushed a deeper shade of red.

I should change.

Thinking this, Ning Rongrong opened her spatial Soul Tool, where, as luck would have it, another outfit of the same style remained. She ran back to the girls' dormitory, changed into the fresh clothes, and tossed the old ones back into the spatial storage.

Stepping out once more, she looked down at her intact attire, nodded to herself, and attempted to run again...

"Creak."

The crisp sound of bones colliding echoed, followed immediately by a wave of sharp, twisting pain.

From her knees to her waist, from her palms to her arms, agony radiated from every part of her body, yet Ning Rongrong held her breath, refusing to cry out.

She simply looked down at the parts of her body wrapped in bandages.

"Sigh..."

She let out a breath. How could she have forgotten? When she had fought against the monster last night, she had used the Trapped Beast technique many times. Her body was already fragile and worn out, but because that person hadn't cared, she had been forced to pretend it didn't hurt...

"It seems running is not on the agenda for today."

Ning Rongrong shook her head, deciding to walk instead. Compared to running, walking didn't trigger the same intense pain, though, conversely, the exercise benefits were far inferior.

Shrek Academy was poor—so poor that the entire campus was rented out within a village. The village wasn't large, with a circumference of only about twenty kilometers.

Ning Rongrong walked listlessly along the village's dirt path, not caring in the slightest as the mud soiled her shoes.

The villagers were early risers; although no one at Shrek Academy had stirred yet, the locals had already begun their busy day.

Since she was a newcomer, the villagers found her face unfamiliar, assuming she was a freshman at Shrek Academy, and greeted her accordingly.

Ning Rongrong returned each greeting one by one. Her upbringing shone through to the extreme in these moments—even if she didn't quite understand why she should bother with "villagers."

As the number of villagers dwindled, Ning Rongrong wandered onto a more natural, wooded trail. The path became littered with gravel; occasionally, she would step on a stone without paying attention, requiring a moment to regain her balance.

Yet, she couldn't tell if it was just an illusion, but her body seemed to have become more agile.

Ning Rongrong didn't attribute this to her own efforts; instead, she felt as though her body was becoming increasingly foreign to her, which was a terrifying thought. Even more frightening was the suspicion that her mind had also begun to warp while she was under control earlier.

What a joke. Could she truly have been immersed in the time she spent being controlled?

Ning Rongrong told herself that was impossible.

"Hey, ha!"

Just as Ning Rongrong was taking in the nature around her, a somewhat familiar figure appeared ahead.

Ning Rongrong stopped and narrowed her eyes.

That person was... Oscar, right?

Ning Rongrong had a vague impression of him—the "uncle" figure from enrollment, and the guy who had gone to the Star Dou Great Forest with her yesterday for training.

She remembered he was fourteen, two years older than her, and currently at rank 30 soul power—three ranks weaker than her.

He was practicing punches, but after a while, he stopped, clearly having noticed Ning Rongrong's arrival.

"Rongrong? You're up so early, out for a workout too? Are your injuries from yesterday healed?"

Perfect. She could leave behind a trace of her existence. Ning Rongrong shook her head, doing her best to suppress her disdain, and said, "Not yet. I'm just trying to recover. What about you? Why are you here?"

Oscar smiled sheepishly. "To build up my physical fitness, of course, and raise the age limit for my third soul ring."

"I see. When are you going to obtain that third soul ring? Will the Dean take you in the morning like he did yesterday?"

Oscar shook his head. "Nothing's set yet. Normally, a trip to the Star Dou Great Forest takes a whole day. It only took half a day yesterday because the Dean was there. The Dean is lazy; next time, he'll probably just make us go to the Star Dou Great Forest on our own."

Ning Rongrong only then remembered that the Star Dou Great Forest was indeed quite a distance from Shrek Academy.

"Then how did you get back?"

"The Dean remembered I existed, eventually," Oscar said as if it were a matter of course.

"Right. Good luck, then. I'm going to keep walking."

After a few brief pleasantries, Ning Rongrong bypassed Oscar and headed deeper into the woods.

Oscar remained where he was, his gaze following Ning Rongrong's retreating figure.

"Why does it feel like... Rongrong is a little different?"

He shook his head and resumed his punching practice.

The sun continued to climb; it was already noon.

Ning Rongrong had nearly circled the entire village and was now back not far from the dormitory.

Since no one came looking for her in the morning, it meant there was nothing to worry about. Upon returning to the dormitory, Xiao Wu's response at the door further confirmed this. There were no classes scheduled for today; Dean Flender had told everyone to adjust their state of mind, as they would be accompanying Oscar to hunt a spirit beast in two days, which would also serve as their first team coordination training.

Watching Zhu Zhuqing immersed in her cultivation, Ning Rongrong had no intention of disturbing her.

The afternoon and evening were quite free... should she go for a stroll in Suotuo City?

While gathering intelligence on Shrek Academy over the past few days, Ning Rongrong hadn't truly enjoyed the life a little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect should have. Now that she had some free time, a desire to relax began to stir within her.

But at the thought of the bizarre events she had experienced these past few days, Ning Rongrong felt she could no longer return to a normal life. The most important thing right now was to quietly leave behind some clues; just in case, perhaps someone might discover them?

"I'll go check the library. It seems there's a fairly large library in Suotuo City. Maybe I can find some clues about the Evil Soul Masters."

After whispering this to herself, Ning Rongrong rose and left Shrek Academy. After asking around, she successfully arrived at the Suotuo City library.

As a library open to the public, it was easy for Ning Rongrong to enter, and she began searching for information regarding Evil Soul Masters.

The sky gradually began to darken.

To her disappointment, there wasn't much information—one could even say there was almost none. She could only find terms like "Evil Soul Master" or "Evil Spirit" in works of fiction; such words were nowhere to be found in legitimate history books or recent newspapers.

"Hmm... I should have expected this. Making this information public would cause panic. That must be the reason the Dean had Zhu Zhuqing and the others leave as well. To investigate these things, I would need to go to the Heaven Dou Royal Library, return to the sect, or go back and ask Tang Twelve if she has any information... It's all too far away; I can't do it."

Ning Rongrong shook her head in regret. She returned the books to the shelf and stood up to leave. It was getting late, and it was time for dinner.

Just as she stepped out of the library, she was accidentally bumped into by a black-haired girl hurrying along, and then she sensed two familiar auras.

Father and Bone Grandpa? Are they still here?

She looked around, but could not find the people she wanted to see.

The third Saintess Ritual... It's fortunate I wasn't dragged into it this time. Father and the others should be able to handle it.

Ning Rongrong thought to herself and began looking for nearby delicacies. Finally, her gaze was drawn to a grilled fish shop. It was quite crowded, so it must be delicious. She quickened her pace and walked over.

When she reached the entrance of the shop, she froze.

Sitting inside was an acquaintance of hers—no, strictly speaking, that person shouldn't know her—

Light blue hair, grayish-white pupils, not much older than her, but with a well-developed figure that made her envious.

She was also one of the participants in the Saintess Ritual that Ning Rongrong had experienced, the bewitching woman who had left before the ritual began.

Huo Shengsheng.