Xiao Wu's gaze shifted away slightly. She had long since learned the whole story from Ning Rongrong.
Flender looked at her. "Ten laps?"
"Ten laps were enough." Ning Rongrong nodded, without the slightest hint of guilt in her tone. "Before Oscar had even finished one lap, I had 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 I ever need to fight physically in the future, 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. Maybe I can even turn into a gorilla and flatten someone 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 the goal is simply to run faster, my Wind Empress Qimen can alter the wind and air around me to reduce resistance and accelerate me. Running isn't a drain on my stamina at all—it's a matter of technique. Running twenty laps is no different from running two hundred. Neither will make me stronger."
She tilted her head slightly and asked, "What is the purpose of the running training you arranged, Dean? It's to give support-type Soul Masters the stamina to escape on the battlefield. But my speed when moving with Wind Empress Qimen alone already surpasses most battle Soul Masters of the same level."
She looked at Flender, her tone perfectly matter-of-fact.
"Isn't that right?"
The training ground 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 remained calm, as though he were pondering something.
Xiao Wu wore an expression of sudden realization, clearly recalling what Ning Rongrong had told her before.
Zhu Zhuqing remained expressionless, but her gaze lingered on Ning Rongrong for an extra moment.
Flender was not angry.
He even smiled.
But that smile made Ning Rongrong's back tense slightly.
"So, you went to Suotuo City by yourself." Flender spoke slowly, enunciating every word clearly. "You had a lavish meal, strolled around the commercial district, and only just came back. Correct?"
At last, Ning Rongrong's expression changed ever so slightly. But she only blinked once.
"I went using the time I saved." She did not deny it. "And I practiced using Wind Empress Qimen in a real environment while I was there."
Flender nodded. The gesture was exceptionally kind.
"Not bad. Your Wind Empress Qimen is indeed powerful." There was even a hint of praise in his voice. "For a level-twenty-six support-type Soul Master to achieve that kind of speed, there is probably no second person like you on the entire continent."
The corners of Ning Rongrong's lips rose slightly.
"However." Flender abruptly changed tone. "You think one soul skill gives you the right to disregard the academy's arrangements?"
Ning Rongrong's smile remained on her face. "Dean, I'm not disregarding them. I simply believe this training has no meaning for me. Isn't using time efficiently the better choice?"
Flender looked at her.
"What you said 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. Is that right?"
"That's right." Ning Rongrong answered without hesitation, sounding rather proud. "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. Of everyone here, who do you think is inferior to you?"
Ning Rongrong's gaze swept across the group.
Dai Mubai, Tang San, Ma Hongjun, Oscar.
She quickly calculated it in her heart. She would not mention Xiao Wu or Zhu Zhuqing; those were relationships she intended to cultivate. But the others?
"Tang San's Soul Power is three levels higher than mine, but his Blue Silver Grass is a Martial Soul of poor quality." Ning Rongrong spoke unhurriedly. "His ability to hold Teacher Zhao off relied on technique 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, my overall combat strength and performance in actual combat tests are no worse than his."
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 powerful." 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 learn them all, what gives him the right to compare himself to me?"
Dai Mubai's evil eyes flickered, and the corner of his mouth twitched into an amused expression.
"Ma Hongjun's Evil Fire Phoenix mutated 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 reddened. His lips moved, but in the end, he said nothing.
"As for Oscar." Ning Rongrong turned to look in the direction he had run off. "Innate Full Soul Power is indeed impressive. But he's a food-type Soul Master and can only ever stand in 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 calm, her gaze clear.
"Dean, I'm not being arrogant. I'm simply stating the facts."
The training ground was utterly quiet.
Flender stared at Ning Rongrong. Several subtle changes passed across his shoe-sole face before it finally settled into an expression that was impossible to tell was appreciation or regret.
Then he spoke.
"Ning Rongrong."
"Hm?"
"Every word you just said proved one thing." Flender spoke slowly. "You did not prove how strong you are. You proved 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 even 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 all of that away. What do you have?"
Ning Rongrong narrowed her eyes.
"Dai Mubai's White Tiger Martial Soul may be innate, but he broke through level thirty at thirteen through countless life-and-death battles with Soul Beasts. Tang San's Blue Silver Grass may indeed be a low-grade Martial Soul, but his ability to make a Soul Saint suffer comes from relentless cultivation day after day and his understanding of combat. Ma Hongjun's Martial Soul has flaws, but he fights against those flaws every day and has never given up."
Flender stepped forward.
"And you? You ran ten laps and decided that was enough, then went 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 pierced through his black-rimmed glasses and met Ning Rongrong's eyes directly.
"This isn't confidence. This is living off your inheritance."
Ning Rongrong's expression gradually became blank.
"Your master taught you Wind Empress Qimen. Very good. But what percentage of Wind Empress Qimen's power can you wield now? Five percent? Ten percent?" Flender's questions came one after another. "What if your master is gone someday? What if you face an enemy even your master cannot handle someday? Are you going to rely on what others gave you to protect you for the rest of your life?"
Ning Rongrong was just about to retort.
"This is not the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect." Flender's voice turned cold. "Nor is this the place of that so-called master of yours. In my academy, your talent is inferior to everyone else's."
He raised a finger and counted them off one by one.
"Dai Mubai is a thirty-seventh-level Soul Elder at fifteen and will soon advance to Soul Ancestor. Tang San has reached level thirty with full Soul Power at twelve, can obtain a Soul Ring and advance to Soul Elder at any time, and can even injure Zhao Wuji, a Soul Saint, head-on. Xiao Wu is also level twenty-nine at twelve, and she isn't spoiled or willful. Zhu Zhuqing is the same age as you, has Soul Power one level higher than yours, and possesses a heart ten times more resolute. Ma Hongjun grows stronger every day through fighting himself. Oscar possesses an unprecedented support-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 gives you the right to stay here. If you can't figure it out, pack your things and leave tomorrow."
After saying that, he turned toward Dai Mubai and the others.
"The rest of you, come with me."
Flender was the first to dash off the training ground. Dai Mubai followed him, while Tang San pulled Xiao Wu along close behind. Ma Hongjun glanced at Ning Rongrong, shrank his neck, and hurried after them as well. Zhu Zhuqing was the last to leave. Her steps paused for a moment as she passed Ning Rongrong, but in the end, she said nothing.
Only Ning Rongrong and Oscar remained on the training ground.
The others had gone far away.
Only Ning Rongrong and Oscar remained on the training ground.
Moonlight spilled from behind the clouds, cutting the ground into scattered patches of light and shadow. The treetops rustled in the night wind, and the sound of Flender leading the others away for training had completely vanished.
Ning Rongrong stood where she was, watching the direction in which they had disappeared, and clicked her tongue softly.
Did what the dean said make sense?
For a moment, she really had considered it. If the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda were taken away, if Wind Empress Qimen were taken away, what would she herself have?
That thought lingered in her mind for about three seconds.
Then she tossed it aside.
If it had been the old Ning Rongrong, who only had support abilities and was nothing without her sect, then after hearing Flender's words, she might truly have been too ashamed to show her face. But things were different now.
Wind Empress Qimen had already been branded into the depths of her soul. It was hers. She could control fire and water, move through space, and alter every physical property of the ground beneath her feet. These were not strengths someone had lent her. They were power she held firmly in her own hands.
As for the backing of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect? She, Ning Rongrong, had been born with it. Why should she feel ashamed of that?
Before you continue