Frying Fish

But this time, because Qian Ren Shuang, a Soul King, was serving as Ning Rongrong's guard, Ning Fengzhi naturally had not written to Flender asking him to take the opportunity to knock Ning Rongrong down a peg.

So Flender did not dare scold her the way he had before the world restarted.

First, he could not afford to offend the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect; second, Qian Ren Shuang, a ruthless man who could one-shot a Soul Emperor, was already more than enough for him to handle.

Still, to maintain his authority as the academy dean, Flender had to say something.

Flender's gaze swept over everyone present before finally landing on Oscar, Zhu Zhuqing, and Dai Mubai, the three who had still insisted on finishing all twenty laps. He spoke earnestly, "Remember this: people who only know how to blindly follow rules can never truly become strong."

Seeing curious looks appear on everyone's faces, Flender continued, "Before you break the rules, you had better possess enough strength to support you in breaking them."

"Yes, Dean Flender, we understand!" Oscar, Dai Mubai, and Zhu Zhuqing responded in unison at the top of their lungs, like they were in military training.

Flender nodded in satisfaction, then turned to the others. "Ahem, all battle soul masters, follow me!"

Not caring how much Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing had recovered their stamina, he waved a hand and led everyone toward the Soto Great Spirit Arena.

"Um... Dean, I won't be going." Qian Ren Shuang lazily greeted him, then turned to head toward the student dormitory.

The smile on Flender's face froze for an instant. He's my sugar daddy. I'll endure it! Faced with Qian Ren Shuang's lack of teamwork, the money-grubbing dean had no choice but to forcefully swallow his resentment and pretend he had not heard.

Ma Hongjun's eyes darted around. He rushed forward in one stride, dropped to his knees with a thud, clung tightly to Qian Ren Shuang's thigh with both hands, and shouted with teary eyes, "Brother Shuang! From now on, I'm your little brother. If you point west, I'll never go east! Can you let me not go too?"

With Ma Hongjun taking the lead and providing a way to slack off, the second to follow was Dai Mubai, then Xiao Wu.

In the end, even the always hardworking Tang San wavered—he thought that his combat strength mainly came from the contents of the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record, so whether he went to spirit battles or not did not seem to make much difference.

Aside from Zhu Zhuqing, whose mind was rather stubborn and who stood motionless in place, everyone else gathered around, begging Qian Ren Shuang to lend them a hand.

Before Qian Ren Shuang could speak, Flender had already coughed, his tone carrying an unquestionable emphasis. "Qian Ren Shuang, this is an academy. Letting you in here already counts as using the back door. Please do not interfere too much with our normal teaching."

"Understood, Dean." Qian Ren Shuang nodded, then ruthlessly and cleanly rejected Dai Mubai, Tang San, Ma Hongjun, and Xiao Wu's requests.

"Ah—" The four who failed to slack off let out a chorus of wails, and Ma Hongjun even exaggeratedly rolled around on the ground.

Flender narrowed his eyes, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly into a meaningful smile.

As the saying went, the more you endure for a moment, the angrier you get; the more you take a step back, the more you feel you've lost out. He had thought of a good way to "drag Qian Ren Shuang into the water" too.

"Ahem. Considering that your training during the day was uneven, we'll switch to a different training method next." Flender announced unhurriedly, "The seven of you will gang up on Qian Ren Shuang and Guilmon."

The seven froze at the same time.

Dai Mubai was the first to react. Thinking of the viciousness Qian Ren Shuang and Guilmon had shown when they fought before, then thinking of his own family's "raising gu" method of imperial succession, he could not help shivering.

He tentatively spoke up to remind them, "Brother Shuang, Guilmon, go easy on us! Don't treat us like that old bastard Li Yusong... and kill us!"

"Don't worry!" Guilmon patted its chest and promised honestly, "Guilmon will control its strength!"

The seven kids exchanged looks, then very consciously huddled together and began discussing tactics.

"Spirit masters with external spirits are usually rather weak themselves. That will be our breakthrough point." Tang San's teacher was an external-spirit master, so without question, Tang San became the commander-in-chief of this group attack.

"Are you done discussing your tactics?" Qian Ren Shuang crossed his arms over his chest and looked at this group of little fellows with interest, the corner of his mouth holding a faint, almost-smiling curve.

Guilmon crouched beside him, its tail swishing back and forth across the ground, looking harmless to humans and animals—if one ignored the teeth in its mouth that were longer than daggers.

"Then—" Flender raised his hand and brought it down sharply. "Begin!"

"Second soul skill, White Tiger Intense Light Wave! Second soul skill, Phoenix Fire Line!"

Ma Hongjun and Dai Mubai attacked first, two ranged attacks blasting toward Guilmon from the left and right.

The two of them had only one goal: not to injure the enemy, only to draw its attention.

Sure enough, Guilmon turned its head. It opened its huge mouth, and crimson light waves gathered in its throat.

Second innate skill—Guilmon Cannon!

After all, the gap in both sides' soul power levels was huge. Guilmon Cannon very easily overpowered the other two skills, then still blasted with unstoppable momentum toward the ground beneath Ma Hongjun's feet.

Ignoring Ma Hongjun, who had been sent flying, Oscar had already bent over and braced both hands on the ground, chanting under his breath to make sausages while steadily acting as a human vaulting horse.

Dai Mubai immediately understood what he meant. He took a deep breath, sprinted forward two steps, planted a foot on Oscar's broad back, and used the force to launch himself into the air.

In midair, he adjusted his posture, stretched out his body, and struck a pose he thought was extremely handsome—arms spread wide, one leg slightly bent, like an eagle spreading its wings.

Then, following the pull of gravity, he swung a fist wrapped in howling wind and smashed it viciously toward Qian Ren Shuang.

In that split second, Ning Rongrong also made her move.

The Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda bloomed with dazzling light in her palm, and a stream of light accurately wrapped around Dai Mubai—

"The Seven Treasures are named. First: Strength!"

Dai Mubai only felt his strength surge, and the speed and power of his fist instantly rose by a level.

At the same time, Tang San's Blue Silver Grass silently drilled out from underground. The vines were as agile as snakes, tightly winding around Qian Ren Shuang's feet.

The barbs on the vines embedded into his pant legs. Although they did not cause any real damage, the restraining force genuinely slowed Qian Ren Shuang's movements.

Got him! Dai Mubai was secretly delighted. His fist was already less than a foot from Qian Ren Shuang's face.

Xiao Wu charged in from the flank, and Zhu Zhuqing circled around from behind. Although the seven kids' cooperation was rough, at this moment, they actually displayed shocking coordination.

Qian Ren Shuang's feet were bound by Blue Silver Grass, and facing him head-on was Dai Mubai's thunderous punch. He seemed to have nowhere to dodge.

But all of that was premised on Qian Ren Shuang himself not moving.