The sounds of fighting rang nonstop inside the Silver Dragon King Palace. Ning Rongrong had run out of Soul Power ten times already.
After she recovered her Soul Power for the tenth time, the puppet finally showed no intention of attacking again.
"Good. Take a break. We'll start the second set of training in a little while."
There was a second set?
Ning Rongrong wanted to complain, but she couldn't even open her mouth.
She hadn't wanted to fight those first ten times, either. Before she could say anything, her opponent had already come at her, and all she could do was face it.
By now, she knew without asking that this training wasn't going to stop.
Still, her physical fitness really had improved quite a bit.
She wondered how things were going outside...
Ning Rongrong guessed that even if she had been defeated quickly each time, she must have been fighting for half an hour by now. She wondered if the others had returned to Shrek Academy—or if they were still looking for her...
Xiao Wu's figure gradually appeared in Ning Rongrong's mind.
Ning Rongrong vaguely remembered Xiao Wu sitting on the Titan Giant Ape's shoulder.
Could Xiao Wu and the Titan Giant Ape have the same sort of relationship she did? Had she been captured by a Soul Beast for training?
She couldn't help feeling sorry for Xiao Wu's... companion. In other words, herself.
This training was more than any ordinary person could endure. How was she supposed to win?
Ning Rongrong was sure she couldn't beat the puppet. They had the same physical fitness, but its Soul Skills were stronger—and it could move around.
After taking a beating ten times, her physical fitness had clearly improved a tiny bit, but her opponent had gotten stronger too. At least its attacks were extremely predictable: the sequence was the same every time.
After another ten rounds, maybe she could commit the attack sequence to muscle memory and react ahead of time.
Yeah, that was it!
Her confidence blazed to life again...
Half an hour later, Ning Rongrong finally dodged the puppet's attack, and joy surged through her.
The puppet froze. It didn't continue attacking, but instead applauded.
Gu Yuena's voice rang out, tinged with surprise.
"I didn't expect you to need twenty beatings before you could adapt to the attacks. I adapted on my third try."
The flame of confidence Ning Rongrong had just rekindled was doused again.
But that was okay!
Ning Rongrong shook her head, brushing her worries aside.
It sounded like she had passed the test, so surely she could discuss going outside...
Before she could finish the word, a cold voice shattered her hopes.
"Good. Next, the puppet will change its moves. For every beating you take, it'll use a different combo. Two more sets!"
Waaah!
Ning Rongrong couldn't hold back her tears.
"Crying counts as time, you know."
At those words, a fist swung into Ning Rongrong's face the very next second.
"I really don't know why you were the one chosen."
Ning Rongrong struggled up from the ground, unable to voice her grievances.
Had she forced the Holy God to choose her?
She didn't know why she had been chosen, either!
If she hadn't been chosen, they'd probably have replaced the fish in the scenic pond back at the sect by now!
As she thought this, the puppet kicked her flying.
"Puppet, you win."
Time inside the Silver Dragon King Palace flowed differently from time in the outside world. From the beginning, it had passed twelve times more slowly. So although Ning Rongrong had spent an hour inside, only five minutes had passed outside.
Sky Azure Bull Python had already returned to the Lake of Life. Its enormous body was submerged in the water, with only its head sticking out as it cheered jubilantly.
Xiao Wu stood beside the Titan Giant Ape and pointed at Sky Azure Bull Python.
"Daming, where did you take Rongrong? Hurry up and bring her back!"
She had just arrived at the Lake of Life. Daming was there, but Ning Rongrong was nowhere to be seen.
Faced with Xiao Wu's accusation, Sky Azure Bull Python took quite a while to come down from its celebration.
"Sister Xiao Wu, Rongrong is that human's name?"
Unlike Erming, the Titan Giant Ape, Daming could speak human language. He didn't know who Xiao Wu meant by Rongrong. He only knew that the Silver Dragon King had told him to bring over a human girl in green, saying she'd be easy to recognize.
He'd gone, and she really was easy to recognize. He just hadn't expected Erming to get there first and bring Sister Xiao Wu back.
Oh, well. Two kidnappings at once—that was double the joy.
"Of course! Hurry up and bring her back. I'll make up a story to smooth things over. If you don't bring her back soon, my companions are going to go crazy."
Xiao Wu sounded very confident now.
"But..." Daming looked troubled. The Silver Dragon King had personally asked for that human. He didn't know what she wanted with her, but it seemed unlikely he'd get her back anytime soon.
Xiao Wu noticed Daming's expression and guessed that Ning Rongrong wasn't with him. She stomped her foot.
"Daming, do you still consider me your big sister? Hurry up and tell me—where did you take Rongrong?"
Daming hesitated for a moment, then finally gave in. "Sister Xiao Wu, do you know about the Silver Dragon King?"
"The Silver Dragon King?"
Xiao Wu didn't recognize the name.
"In the years since you left, some things have changed in the Star Dou Great Forest. First of all—the Silver Dragon King, the Common Master of Soul Beasts, has awakened. She's part of the first Soul Beast, the Dragon God, and possesses the power to create life. You could say that the lives of you and me were both given to us by the Silver Dragon King. The Lake of Life also has such abundant vitality because of her. In her presence, we must address her as His Excellency."
"Mm, got it. So, Daming, you're saying the Silver Dragon King told you to bring Rongrong here?"
"Right."
"Why?"
"I wouldn't dare guess at His Excellency's intentions, but that human is probably safe. Maybe His Excellency will send her back in a few minutes."
"Fine, then I'll wait. I have to see for myself that Ning Rongrong is safe and sound."
Muttering to herself, Xiao Wu sat down beside the Lake of Life.
With nothing better to do, she condensed her third Soul Ring.
Meanwhile, Tang San was still condensing his Soul Ring. Following the principle that saving one person was better than saving none, everyone stayed around him instead of chasing after the others. Everyone agreed that Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong were probably doomed.
Time passed little by little. Inside the Silver Dragon King Palace, Ning Rongrong was undergoing the fourth set of beatings.
An hour and fifty minutes had passed, and the fourth set was down to its final round.
Her body and Soul Power could keep up, but her mental strength was starting to falter. This was even after all the repeated practice she'd gotten from Lu Ma's save-and-reload training while absorbing the Man Faced Demon Spider.
"Heh." Ning Rongrong opened one eye and closed the other. Now, she was acting entirely on instinct.
She could dodge attacks in all sorts of strange positions, and had successfully avoided quite a few. Still, she always ended up failing in the end.
During this twentieth round of beatings, she managed to dodge many attacks. The ones she didn't avoid were blocked by Trapped Beast and didn't do her much harm; after all, Trapped Beast's power hadn't been stacked up.
Finally!
As the puppet's eyes slowly lit up, Ning Rongrong knew that the being who called herself Her Highness had taken control of it again—and that she'd made it through the changing-moves training.
The puppet narrowed its eyes and assessed Ning Rongrong's condition.
"Your physical fitness and mental strength have both improved. So..."
Please let this be the end! Please let this be the end!
Ning Rongrong hoped in her heart.
The puppet smiled and said the words she least wanted to hear: "Now let's train your Soul Skills. Improving their casting speed, strength, efficiency, and range is important too, you know? By the way, if you can't finish in two sets, I'll keep adding more. And after this Soul Skill training, there's still a fourth training program, so you can relax and train to your heart's content~"
Her voice carried a playful lilt.
Before you continue