Master! Master! Master, Save Me!

Ning Rongrong's pupils contracted.

The guards had been driven away?

The news made her heart skip a beat. But only for a moment.

There was not the slightest sign of yielding in her expression.

The corners of her mouth even curled upward slightly.

"So what?"

Li Yusong's white brows twitched.

Ning Rongrong tilted her head at him, her almond eyes brimming with provocation. It was an inborn stubbornness and arrogance that seeped from her very bones.

Why should she admit fault? Dai Mubai had struck first; she had merely retaliated with a water ball.

"I didn't do anything wrong." Her voice was crisp, every word clean and decisive. "He struck first, not me. Why should I be punished?"

Li Yusong's face darkened completely.

He had been at Shrek for over a decade, and never had a student dared speak to him like this. Dai Mubai was arrogant enough, wasn't he? Yet in front of him, Dai Mubai still had to obediently take the stick without daring to utter a peep.

Where had this girl found such nerve?

"Deserves a beating."

The two words were squeezed through Li Yusong's clenched teeth. He stepped forward, swinging the Panlong Staff again.

This strike was a little faster than the first.

Li Yusong quickened his pace.

The Panlong Staff shot forth like a serpent leaving its burrow, carrying even greater force than before as it swept straight toward Ning Rongrong.

The instant the staff wind reached her, Ning Rongrong stomped her left foot. Wind Empress Qimen activated. Her figure vanished again and reappeared five meters away.

Missed.

Li Yusong's Panlong Staff swept through empty air for the second time.

The shockwave from the staff gouged a shallow trench into the ground, sending shattered stones flying.

Ning Rongrong stood five meters away and took a breath. Fine beads of sweat had already formed across her forehead, but the smile on her lips only widened.

Looking at Li Yusong's face, now livid after missing twice in a row, pride and exhilaration rising from the depths of her bones filled her chest.

A dignified Soul Emperor.

Couldn't even hit her.

At the side, Dai Mubai, whom Tang San had helped to his feet, widened his evil eyes.

He had taken that staff strike head-on. Even with the full defensive stance of a level thirty-seven Soul Elder, he had been sent flying, and his entire left arm was still numb.

Yet Ning Rongrong, a level twenty-six support-type Soul Grandmaster, had escaped Li Yusong's staff twice in a row.

How was that possible?

Tang San's gaze darkened slightly. His hand supporting Dai Mubai did not loosen, while his eyes continuously tracked the shifting distance between Ning Rongrong and Li Yusong.

Wind Empress Qimen's spatial displacement.

Every use consumed an enormous amount of Soul Power. With Ning Rongrong's current reserves, how many times could she sustain it?

Five times? Six?

Any more, and she would be depleted.

Xiao Wu stood beside Tang San, clutching the hem of her skirt with both hands. Her anxious gaze darted repeatedly between Ning Rongrong and Li Yusong.

Zhu Zhuqing stood expressionlessly at the outermost edge. Moonlight reflected in her catlike eyes as she stared unblinking at the field.

Li Yusong withdrew his staff and turned to face Ning Rongrong.

His face had gone completely dark.

A level sixty-three Soul Emperor. He had guarded Shrek Academy's gates for so many years; what genius had he not seen? Today, a level twenty-six little girl had made him miss twice in a row. If word got out, would Li Yusong have any face left?

Besides, Dai Mubai had taken one of his strikes solidly.

What kind of sense would it make to hit one but not the other?

"Youngsters are mischievous." Li Yusong's voice sank as the Panlong Staff spun half a circle in his hand, its shaft humming and trembling. "This old man must teach you a lesson."

His gaze sharpened.

"Let's see how long you can keep dodging."

The moment his words fell, he moved.

This time, he was nearly twice as fast as before. All six Soul Rings lit up faintly at once, his first soul skill empowering him. A two-hundred-percent increase in attack power caused the might of this strike to surge abruptly.

Ning Rongrong's pupils shrank sharply.

Fast!

Too fast!

She had no time to think. Wind Empress Qimen activated on instinct. A split second before the staff shadow touched her, her body shifted to a point four meters to the side.

The moment she landed, intense weakness surged through her body.

Three times.

Ning Rongrong's breathing became hurried. The Soul Power within her was draining at a tangible speed. Every spatial displacement through Wind Empress Qimen felt as if a huge chunk of flesh had been torn from her body.

But she remained standing.

Her legs trembled beneath her white dress, yet she stubbornly refused to let her knees buckle.

Li Yusong turned around.

Ning Rongrong raised her chin, breathing hard, with not a trace of surrender in her almond eyes.

"So what if you drove away this young lady's guards?" Her voice drifted slightly from her ragged breathing, but her tone was still unbearably arrogant. "A dignified Soul Emperor can't even do anything to a mere Soul Grandmaster like me."

The corner of her mouth lifted.

"Shrek is nothing special after all."

Li Yusong's temple throbbed.

This girl had a truly vicious tongue.

He did not hesitate before the next strike.

He stepped forward, swung his staff, and unleashed a rainbow-like force.

Ning Rongrong dodged.

The fourth displacement.

When she landed, half the color had drained from her face, and her legs were shaking. Yet her tongue remained as unforgiving as ever.

"That's it?"

Li Yusong's breathing grew heavier.

The fifth strike.

Ning Rongrong dodged again, appearing seven meters away. Sweat ran down her cheeks, and a patch on the back of her white dress had already been soaked through. Yet the corners of her mouth were still raised.

"This young lady thought Shrek Academy was supposed to be impressive." Her voice grew weaker and weaker, her breathing unsteady. "What a disappointment."

The Panlong Staff hummed in Li Yusong's hand.

There was no reason left in his eyes. He had reached the point of being enraged after being publicly humiliated again and again by a junior. He did not want to hurt her; he merely wanted to hit her. As long as this staff landed on her, even with the lightest touch, he could recover his dignity.

But she kept dodging.

It was always just a little short.

Every time.

"Third Brother!" Xiao Wu finally could not bear it any longer. She grabbed Tang San's arm, her voice clearly anxious. "Look at Teacher Li! He's already losing control. Rongrong will get hurt if this continues! Go help her!"

Tang San frowned slightly.

His gaze swept over Ning Rongrong's pale face, then fell on Li Yusong's bloodshot, reddened eyes. Then he glanced at Dai Mubai beside him, who clutched his left arm and watched the scene with a dark expression.

He weighed everything in his heart.

Li Yusong was an academy teacher, and Dai Mubai was an older student. Dean Flender, Teacher Zhao, and all the other teachers in the academy who were at least Soul Emperor level were people he would have to deal with over the coming years at Shrek.

Ning Rongrong?

Her talent was indeed astonishing, and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect behind her was no ordinary force. But right now, she was opposing the entire academy.

Tang San showed a troubled expression.

"Xiao Wu, Teacher Li has lost his temper." His voice was low, as though he were analyzing the battle. "If I rush in rashly with my strength, not only would I fail to stop him, I might even get myself and Rongrong hurt."

Xiao Wu's face was full of anxiety. "But..."

"And look." Tang San's tone was unnaturally calm. "Teacher Li is still a teacher in the end. He only wants to teach Rongrong a lesson; he won't truly hurt her. It looks frightening, but he still has his limits."

He paused.

"Besides, if Rongrong wants to stay at Shrek, being taught a lesson may not be a bad thing. Otherwise, even if she barely manages to remain now, she still won't be able to stay in the future."

Dai Mubai nodded from the side, a malicious glint of schadenfreude flashing in his evil eyes.

"Tang San is right. Ning Rongrong's temperament is too unruly; she needs to be taught a lesson." He snorted coldly. "This is the teacher's decision. It isn't for students to question."

Xiao Wu bit her lip, searching Tang San's face for something. Tang San looked back at her with a sincere yet helpless expression, even lightly patting the back of her hand.

Xiao Wu let go.

But her gaze turned toward Zhu Zhuqing.

Zhu Zhuqing remained where she was. In her catlike eyes were reflected the two figures in the field, one pursuing, one flashing away.

The sixth strike.

Ning Rongrong displaced herself again. This time, she appeared half-kneeling on the ground, supporting herself with one hand to barely keep from collapsing face-first. Her heavy breathing sounded like a bellows.

But she still stood up.

Zhu Zhuqing's gaze locked firmly onto Ning Rongrong.

She was shocked.

A support-type soul master, a level twenty-six Soul Grandmaster, had dodged six consecutive attacks from a Soul Emperor going all out.

Six times.

Zhu Zhuqing knew clearly that if she were standing there instead, with her level twenty-seven cultivation and the Hell Spirit Cat's extreme speed, she could dodge at most three times against Li Yusong at full strength.

But Ning Rongrong was not using speed.

She was using space.

Wind Empress Qimen.

Just how powerful was this soul skill?

And what sort of person was the master who had taught Ning Rongrong this soul skill?

Ning Rongrong's words from earlier that day flashed through Zhu Zhuqing's mind. Her master had other soul skills that could be taught as well.

If she could learn one too.

Even just one.

Would she have a little better chance against her elder sister, Zhu Zhuyun? Would the shadow that had loomed over her since childhood fade, even slightly?

The thought flashed deep within her pupils for only an instant.

The next moment, Xiao Wu's voice interrupted her.

"Zhuqing!" Xiao Wu was growing increasingly anxious as she grabbed Zhu Zhuqing's arm. "What do we do? Third Brother refuses to help. Do you have any ideas?"

Zhu Zhuqing drew her eyes away from the field, glanced at Xiao Wu, then looked toward Tang San and Dai Mubai.

"I can't stop him." Her voice was cold, though mixed into that coldness was a trace of helplessness that others would struggle to notice. "Teacher Li in this state isn't someone any of us can stop."

Xiao Wu's face turned even paler.

"But there is a way," Zhu Zhuqing said.

Xiao Wu looked up.

"Find the other teachers." Zhu Zhuqing spoke quickly, her judgment decisive. "Teacher Zhao or someone else. Only someone of the same rank or higher can restrain Teacher Li. Hurry. Rongrong can't hold on much longer."

Xiao Wu's eyes brightened.

The two exchanged a glance, then turned at the same time and headed toward the academy teachers' residences.

At that very moment.

A cry of alarm came from the field.

"Ah!"

Ning Rongrong's voice.

The two abruptly turned back.

The instant Ning Rongrong landed from her seventh displacement, her foot caught on a protruding stone. Her Soul Power was nearly exhausted, and her body's coordination had fallen to its lowest point. The stumble threw her completely off balance, sending her pitching forward.

Her knees struck the ground, her palms braced against the earth, and jagged stones cut her fingertips.

Before she could gather herself again, a heaven-shattering impact crashed toward her from ahead.

Bang!!

Li Yusong's Panlong Staff did not strike her directly. The old man smashed the ground one meter in front of her.

The earth trembled. The shockwave rattled Ning Rongrong, already prone and defenseless on the ground, until she was completely disoriented. Her head buzzed, and her vision blurred in an instant.

Her arms could no longer support her, and she collapsed fully onto the ground. Her ears rang, and the world before her swayed.

Footsteps.

Heavy footsteps, drawing closer step by step.

Ning Rongrong desperately raised her head.

Li Yusong was already standing two steps away from her.

The old man looked down at her from above. His white hair resembled a cluster of frost beneath the moonlight, the anger in his eyes not yet faded. The Panlong Staff in his hand had already been raised high.

The staff shadow blocked out the moonlight.

The force behind this strike was utterly incomparable to the previous ones. Ning Rongrong's senses became clear to the extreme at this moment. Although Wind Empress Qimen no longer had enough Soul Power to support another spatial displacement, the perception it granted her still faithfully conveyed every detail.

This strike.

If it landed on her.

It would not be a lesson.

Something would truly happen.

That damned old man is actually going to strike this hard!

Ning Rongrong's pupils abruptly widened.

"Don't!" Xiao Wu's scream came from afar.

"Teacher, calm down!!" Zhu Zhuqing's voice rang out at the same time.

The shadow of the staff had already fallen.

Ning Rongrong lay sprawled on the ground, raising her pale, bloodless face. Her lips moved twice, and warmth suddenly spread across her palm. In her panic, she cried out.

"Master!"

"Master!"

"Master, save me!!"