After all, Tang San's things belonged to him, and Tang San himself belonged to him, too.
The Blue Silver Emperor Soul Bone was no different whether Tang San used it or he did.
At dawn the next morning, the whistle sounded. The Shrek students hurried out of bed and ran toward its source.
Li Luo and Tang San arrived first. They had both gotten up early to cultivate the Purple Demon Eye, so they beat everyone else there.
Once everyone had assembled, Flender announced the day's training tasks.
Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, Li Luo, Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Zhu Zhuqing had no special training requirements today.
Oscar and Ning Rongrong, on the other hand, were specifically called over by Flender.
"Oscar, Ning Rongrong, do you know what's most important for a support Soul Master?"
Flender quizzed Oscar and Ning Rongrong.
"Reporting to the dean, it's being able to run fast and not letting the enemy's Power Attack System or agility-attack Soul Masters get close."
Oscar was the first to answer. Afterward, he glanced at Ning Rongrong, as though showing off his knowledge.
Flender nodded in satisfaction at Oscar's answer.
Ning Rongrong, however, scoffed when she heard it.
Noticing the disdain on Ning Rongrong's face, Flender asked her the question again.
"Ning Rongrong, what do you think is most important for a support Soul Master?"
Oscar had assumed Ning Rongrong would give an answer similar to his, but her response turned out to be completely different.
"I think the most important thing for a support Soul Master is, of course, finding a powerful Battle Soul Master to protect them."
"As for running fast? That's complete nonsense. No matter how fast a support Soul Master runs, can they outrun a Battle Soul Master?"
Ning Rongrong's answer took both Flender and Oscar by surprise.
Flender looked at Ning Rongrong with a strange expression, puzzled by her answer. But after thinking about the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's traditions, he understood the reason and said no more.
Oscar, on the other hand, turned pale at Ning Rongrong's answer and loudly objected.
"You— You're talking nonsense! Support Soul Masters obviously..."
Oscar stammered for a long time, but couldn't come up with a reason to refute Ning Rongrong.
The reason his face had changed was simply that Ning Rongrong's answer differed from what he'd been taught. If he had to explain why, though, he couldn't.
"Ahem!"
Flender gave a light cough, breaking the increasingly tense atmosphere.
"I called the two of you aside today to give you separate training tasks."
"Now, run twenty laps around the village. You may use Soul Power, but you won't get to eat until you finish."
Flender stuck to his guns and assigned them their laps.
Oscar obeyed without question and immediately ran off, putting in extra effort to see if he could beat Ning Rongrong.
But Ning Rongrong didn't move. She stared calmly at Flender, saying nothing and making no move to leave.
"Why aren't you going to run?"
Flender was annoyed that Ning Rongrong wouldn't listen to him and demanded an answer.
Ning Rongrong wasn't intimidated by Flender at all.
"I told you, the most important thing for a support Soul Master is finding a powerful Battle Soul Master to protect them. I won't do something so pointless!"
"Are you going to run or not?"
Flender was even angrier that Ning Rongrong dared to talk back to him, and his voice grew harsher.
"No!"
Ning Rongrong's answer was firm.
"Fine, fine! You won't run? All right, then. If you won't follow instructions, pack your things and get out of Shrek Academy right now!"
Flender wasn't entirely confident when he said this. Ning Fengzhi had already sent him a letter telling him not to go easy on Ning Rongrong because of her status, and to discipline her as he saw fit.
But Flender couldn't actually bring himself to kick Ning Rongrong out. After all, Ning Fengzhi had provided a substantial sum for the academy's expenses. If Ning Rongrong really left, Flender would lose his money tree.
Still, Flender dared to scold Ning Rongrong like this because he knew she was proud and competitive.
Sure enough, at Flender's threat, Ning Rongrong turned around and shot back angrily.
"You want me to leave? Hmph! I'm not going anywhere. What can you do about it?"
With that, Ning Rongrong turned without looking back and ran in Li Luo's direction.
Watching Ning Rongrong disappear into the distance, Flender couldn't help sighing inwardly.
Flender thought of someone he believed could handle a disobedient student like Ning Rongrong.
Besides, the Shrek Academy had suddenly gained so many outstanding students, especially students like Li Luo and Tang San, whose Soul Ring Configurations surpassed the norm. Flender wasn't confident he could teach them well.
So an idea began to take shape in his mind: write a letter to his good friend Yu Xiaogang—the renowned "Grandmaster"—and ask him to help teach the new students.
Only then did Flender feel a little relieved. He turned to go back and write the letter, but happened to notice Oscar still standing there, staring blankly after Ning Rongrong.
"What are you looking at? Get back to your laps!"
Flender impatiently urged him on.
With Flender prodding him, Oscar didn't dare refuse like Ning Rongrong. He could only obediently run his twenty laps.
But as he ran, Oscar was clearly distracted and dejected. Several times, he nearly tripped because he wasn't watching where he was going.
But no one cared about him. He was already used to running laps like this; he'd always done it alone before.
Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun, meanwhile, went together to Suotuo City in search of fun. They rarely took Oscar along.
Ning Rongrong quickly caught up with Li Luo.
Knowing Ning Rongrong's temperament, Li Luo hadn't left. He had waited right where he was for her to arrive.
He knew Ning Rongrong wouldn't obediently listen to Flender and run those damned laps.
"Brother Luo!"
Ning Rongrong shouted from a short distance away.
Li Luo turned around, opened his arms wide, and raised them.
Ning Rongrong leaped forward and landed right in Li Luo's arms.
Li Luo caught her securely, spun around once, then set off toward Suotuo City.
In Li Luo's arms, Ning Rongrong was like an adorable little Hajimi, greedily breathing in her owner's scent.
Li Luo walked ahead, with Tang San and Xiao Wu close behind. Xiao Wu watched Ning Rongrong in Li Luo's arms with envy, her jealousy plain on her face.
Zhu Zhuqing followed at a distance. She wanted to get closer to Li Luo, but couldn't think of a reason, so she kept a cautious distance behind him.
Dai Mubai followed behind Zhu Zhuqing, hoping to approach her and strike up a conversation, but he could never get close.
Ma Hongjun's thoughts were much simpler. He just "simply" wanted to relieve himself. Following behind Dai Mubai, he imagined Dai Mubai taking him to some high-class establishments, and wore a lewd grin he made no effort to hide.