Why Should You Judge Me After Stripping Away My Master and Background?!

Xiao Wu's gaze shifted evasively. Ning Rongrong had long since told her what had happened.

Flender looked at her. "Ten laps?"

"Ten laps were enough." Ning Rongrong nodded, with not the slightest hint of guilt in her tone. "Before Oscar had even finished one lap, I'd already run ten."

She lifted her chin and met Flender's gaze openly.

"Dean, I'm a support-type soul master, but I'm different from Oscar. I don't need to train my body this way. As long as I master the soul skills my master taught me, if physical combat becomes necessary later, I can transform into whatever soul beast I like. Then I can fly if I want to fly, run if I want to run, hide underwater if I want to hide underwater. I might even turn into a gorilla and flatten my opponent with one punch."

Flender did not interrupt her.

Ning Rongrong continued, her voice crisp and resolute. "Of course, gorillas are too ugly and don't suit my status, so I'll still choose to transform into prettier soul beasts. In any case, I don't need this kind of training.

If I simply want to run faster, my Wind Empress Qimen can alter the wind and air around me to reduce resistance and accelerate me. Running is not a drain on my stamina at all—it's an application of technique. Running twenty laps and running two hundred laps make no difference. Neither will make me stronger."

She tilted her head slightly and asked, "Dean, what is the purpose of the running training you arranged? It's to give support-type soul masters the stamina to flee on the battlefield. But my speed when moving purely with Wind Empress Qimen already surpasses most battle soul masters of the same level."

She looked at Flender, her tone utterly matter-of-fact.

"Isn't that right?"

The field fell silent.

Dai Mubai's evil eyes flickered as he studied Ning Rongrong's profile. Ma Hongjun opened his mouth, then closed it again. Tang San's gaze was calm, as though he were pondering something.

Xiao Wu wore an expression of sudden understanding, clearly recalling what Ning Rongrong had told her before.

Zhu Zhuqing remained expressionless, but her gaze lingered on Ning Rongrong for a moment longer.

Flender was not angry.

He even smiled.

But that smile made Ning Rongrong's back tense slightly.

"So, you went to Soto City by yourself." Flender spoke very slowly, enunciating every word clearly. "You had a big meal, strolled around the commercial street, and only just came back. Correct?"

A subtle change finally appeared in Ning Rongrong's expression. But she merely blinked.

"I went using the time I saved." She did not deny it. "And I took the opportunity to practice using Wind Empress Qimen in a real-world setting."

Flender nodded. The gesture was extremely kind.

"Not bad. Your Wind Empress Qimen truly is powerful." There was even a trace of praise in his voice. "For a level twenty-six support-type soul master to achieve that kind of movement speed, there is probably no second person like you on the entire continent."

The corner of Ning Rongrong's lips rose slightly.

"However." Flender abruptly changed tack. "Do you believe that one soul skill gives you the right to disregard the academy's arrangements?"

Ning Rongrong's smile remained in place. "Dean, I'm not disregarding them. I simply think this training has no meaning for me. Isn't using time efficiently the better choice?"

Flender looked at her.

"What you say makes a lot of sense." He nodded. "Wind Empress Qimen means you don't need to train your stamina. You also have a master who can teach you more powerful soul skills. Correct?"

"Correct." Ning Rongrong answered without the slightest hesitation, sounding rather proud instead. "My master taught me Wind Empress Qimen, and he'll teach me even more in the future."

Flender gave a quiet hum. "Then let me ask you this: who here do you think is inferior to you?"

Ning Rongrong's gaze swept over everyone.

Dai Mubai, Tang San, Ma Hongjun, Oscar.

She quickly weighed things in her mind. She would not mention Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing; those were relationships she needed to cultivate. But the others?

"Tang San's soul power is three levels higher than mine, but his Blue Silver Grass is a low-quality martial soul." Ning Rongrong's voice was unhurried. "His ability to hold his own against Teacher Zhao relied on skill and hidden weapons, not the strength of his martial soul itself. My Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda is a top-tier support martial soul, and with the offensive and control abilities granted by Wind Empress Qimen, I'm no weaker than him in overall combat power or performance in practical tests."

Tang San's brow twitched, but he said nothing.

"Dai Mubai's soul power is level thirty-seven, and his White Tiger martial soul is indeed strong." Ning Rongrong did not pause. "But I'll learn more soul skills from my master in the future. Every one of them will be no weaker than the soul skills of the White Tiger martial soul. Once I've learned them all, what gives him the right to compare himself to me?"

Dai Mubai's evil eyes flickered, and the corner of his mouth curled in amusement.

"Ma Hongjun's mutated Evil Fire Phoenix martial soul is indeed rare." Ning Rongrong glanced at the fat boy. "But he can't even control the flaws in his own martial soul. My Wind Empress Qimen, on the other hand, has no side effects whatsoever."

Ma Hongjun's face flushed red. His lips moved, but in the end, he did not make a sound.

"As for Oscar." Ning Rongrong turned to look in the direction he had run off in. "Innate full soul power is certainly impressive. But he's a food-type soul master and will forever be standing at the back making sausages. I, on the other hand, can already attack, control, and support all at once."

After saying that, she turned back to Flender.

Her expression was composed, her gaze clear.

"Dean, I'm not being arrogant. I'm merely stating the facts."

The field was deathly quiet.

Flender stared at Ning Rongrong. The expression on that shoe-sole-shaped face went through several subtle changes before finally settling into something that was difficult to tell whether it was appreciation or regret.

Then he spoke.

"Ning Rongrong."

"Yes?"

"Every word you just said proves one thing." Flender spoke slowly. "It doesn't prove how strong you are. It proves how dependent you are on the things others have given you."

Ning Rongrong's expression froze.

"The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda was passed down to you by your sect. Wind Empress Qimen was taught to you by your master. The soul skills you haven't learned yet are also your master's possessions." Flender's voice held no emotional fluctuation, as calm as if he were reading from a list. "Take those away. What do you have of your own?"

Ning Rongrong narrowed her eyes.

"Dai Mubai's White Tiger martial soul is innate, yes, but reaching level thirty at thirteen relied on countless life-and-death battles with soul beasts. Tang San's Blue Silver Grass is indeed a low-grade martial soul, but his ability to make a Soul Sage suffer came from relentless daily cultivation and his understanding of battle. Ma Hongjun's martial soul has flaws, but every day he fights against those flaws and has never given up."

Flender took a step forward.

"And you? You run ten laps and think that's enough, then head into the city to shop and eat. You think your master will solve every problem for you, so the academy's training means nothing to you."

His gaze met Ning Rongrong's eyes through his black-rimmed glasses.

"This isn't confidence. This is living off your inheritance."

Ning Rongrong's expression gradually turned blank.

"Your master taught you Wind Empress Qimen, very good. But what percentage of its power can you actually bring out right now? Five percent? Ten percent?" Flender's questions came one after another. "What if your master is gone one day? What if you face an enemy that even your master cannot deal with? Do you expect the things others gave you to protect you for the rest of your life?"

Ning Rongrong was just about to argue.

"This is not the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect." Flender's voice turned cold. "Nor is this the place of that absurd master of yours. In my academy, your talent is inferior to everyone else's."

He raised a finger and began counting them off one by one.

"Dai Mubai is fifteen years old and a level thirty-seven Soul Elder, soon to advance to Soul Ancestor. Tang San is twelve years old with level thirty full soul power, ready to obtain a soul ring and advance to Soul Elder at any time, and he can deal damage to Zhao Wuji, a Soul Sage, head-on. Xiao Wu is likewise twelve and level twenty-nine, yet she is not spoiled and willful. Zhu Zhuqing is the same age as you, one level higher in soul power, and her resolve is ten times firmer than yours. Ma Hongjun grows stronger every day through battling himself. Oscar has an unprecedented food-type martial soul with innate full soul power."

He looked at Ning Rongrong.

"And you? What do you have that you earned yourself?"

Ning Rongrong's expression turned faintly cold.

Flender withdrew his gaze.

"You and Oscar will not participate in training tonight." His tone returned to calm. "Go back and think carefully about what qualifies you to stay here. If you can't figure it out, pack your things and leave tomorrow."

With that, he turned toward Dai Mubai and the others.

"The rest of you, come with me."

Flender was the first to dart off the field. Dai Mubai followed him. Tang San pulled Xiao Wu along behind them. Ma Hongjun glanced at Ning Rongrong, shrank his neck, and hurried after them as well. Zhu Zhuqing was the last to leave. As she passed Ning Rongrong, her steps paused for an instant, but in the end, she said nothing.

Only Ning Rongrong and Oscar remained on the field.

Everyone had gone far away.

Only Ning Rongrong and Oscar remained on the field.

Moonlight leaked out from behind the clouds, cutting the ground into patches of light and shadow. The treetops rustled in the night wind, and the sound of Flender leading the others to training had completely faded away.

Ning Rongrong stood where she was, watching the direction in which they had disappeared, and gave a soft scoff.

Did the dean's words make sense?

For a moment, she had indeed considered it. If the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda and Wind Empress Qimen were taken away, what did she herself have?

That thought lingered in her mind for about three seconds.

Then she discarded it.

If it had been the old Ning Rongrong, who possessed only support abilities and was nothing without her sect, she might truly have been ashamed beyond measure after hearing Flender's words. But things were different now.

Wind Empress Qimen had already been branded deep into her soul. It was her own. She could control fire and water, shift through space, and alter every physical property of the ground beneath her feet. These were not things someone else had loaned her; they were power she held firmly in her own hands.

And as for the backing of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect? That was something Ning Rongrong had been born with. Why should she feel ashamed of it?