That morning, Flender returned from Suotuo City.
The plot followed the same course as the novel, except that this time, Su Ling took the initiative to join in.
"Su Ling, has your body really recovered?"
Flender looked at Su Ling, genuinely surprised.
Such severe injuries had healed so quickly, and more importantly, he had heard that Su Ling had easily defeated Dai Mubai yesterday.
Su Ling said, "It was all thanks to the medicine you gave me, Dean. That's why I recovered so quickly."
Flender froze for a moment. Did that medicine have such powerful healing properties? Stronger than even a healing Soul Emperor?
After finding a Soul Emperor Tier healing Soul Master to treat Su Ling, he had not sought out any others. After all, even that healing Soul Emperor had advised him to give up.
So after that, he had only bought Su Ling some medicine, hoping it would help a little.
Dozens of doses had cost just three Silver Soul Coins altogether, hardly any money at all.
But that cheap medicine had actually cured Su Ling?
Flender smiled and said, "Excellent. The nearly thousand Gold Soul Coins I spent on your medicine weren't wasted. All that matters is that you've recovered."
"What? Nearly a thousand Gold Soul Coins? Dean, didn't you say that medicine only cost three Gold Soul Coins?" Su Ling asked.
"That was to reassure you. Telling you the truth back then would have affected your recovery. Now that you've fully recovered, you'll have to pay those Gold Soul Coins back someday. After all, that money came from the academy's funds," Flender declared with righteous conviction.
Su Ling was speechless. Flender really was just as crafty as he was in the novel. Today, he had experienced it yet again.
After speaking, Flender looked at the eight students lined up before him, his heart filled with satisfaction.
Eight students. This was the largest enrollment the academy had ever had since its founding.
"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Flender, dean of Shrek Academy. My martial soul is the Four-Eyed Cat Owl, and my soul power is level seventy-eight."
"All right, what I want to say now is..."
Flender's speech was almost identical to what Su Ling had seen in the anime and novel.
Afterward came physical conditioning through running laps, though this time, Su Ling was put in charge.
They had to run twenty laps around the entire village where Shrek was located before lunch.
Each lap was three kilometers, making twenty laps sixty kilometers. Even for Soul Grandmasters in their twenties, that was no small challenge.
Of the eight, only Tang San did not go. Flender had called him aside.
"Everyone, follow me," Su Ling said.
"I'll lead you through the first lap. After that, you can run at your own pace. I'll keep track of everyone's laps, so no slacking off."
Su Ling did not run fast, and before long, he had led everyone through one lap.
Then Su Ling slowed down. Once everyone had run ahead, he began practicing Carefree Journey, the movement technique he had received from the system.
The system had only given him the technique, not instant mastery of it. He had to practice it himself.
And so, Su Ling moved according to the technique's training method while keeping track of everyone's laps.
But before they had even finished two laps, Su Ling noticed Ning Rongrong starting to show her rebellious side.
He remembered that in the novel, Ning Rongrong had slipped away during the run, then gone shopping in Suotuo City's commercial district and only returned after eating and drinking her fill.
Had Ning Rongrong really run off?
Su Ling decisively followed her!
Just as Ning Rongrong reached a spot one kilometer away from Shrek Academy, Su Ling suddenly appeared and blocked her path.
"Ning Rongrong, you've taken the wrong route. It's understandable on your first run. I'll take you back," Su Ling said with a smile.
"Big Brother Su, I..." Ning Rongrong looked a little embarrassed.
"What's wrong?" Su Ling looked at her in puzzlement.
"Big Brother Su, why do I have to train my stamina? I'm only a support-type Soul Master. I don't need this kind of exercise at all. Even back at the sect, Dad, Grandpa Sword, and Grandpa Bone never made me train like this," Ning Rongrong said, looking aggrieved.
"Is that so? Your martial soul is the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, so you must be from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect," Su Ling said.
"That's right!" Ning Rongrong nodded.
"Then the Grandpa Sword and Grandpa Bone you mentioned wouldn't happen to be the two Titled Douluos, Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo?" Su Ling asked again.
"That's right. My dad is Ning Fengzhi, the sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect," Ning Rongrong said proudly. Although she called Su Ling Big Brother Su, deep down, she still looked down on him.
"Actually, you're right. You don't have to train like this in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect," Su Ling said.
Seeing that even Su Ling agreed, Ning Rongrong said, "Then I'll go have some fun and come back when you're all finished, okay? Just say I've already completed twenty laps. Hmm... I'll bring you something tasty from Suotuo City."
She had thought Su Ling would agree, but instead, he shook his head and said, "No!"
"Why?" Ning Rongrong asked, bewildered.
Su Ling said, "I admit that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is powerful, and Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo are formidable, but that's no excuse for dodging your training."
"Get back there. You have to finish twenty laps as instructed." Su Ling's expression suddenly turned stern.
"And what if I refuse?" Ning Rongrong's spoiled temper flared up as well.
"Refuse? Then don't blame me for getting rough," Su Ling said.
"I'd like to see what you dare do!" Ning Rongrong ignored Su Ling and tried to walk around him.
Su Ling grabbed Ning Rongrong's wrist and said, "Are you going back yourself, or do I have to drag you back?"
"You... you actually dare lay hands on me?" Ning Rongrong's temper erupted.
Meanwhile, Su Ling noticed that Ning Rongrong's affection rating in the system seemed to have changed.
[Ning Rongrong's affection: 10 (temporary state -1)]
What did a temporary affection state mean?
Could her affection actually drop?
But given Ning Rongrong's personality, she needed to be put in her place. As long as he could rein in her spoiled young lady's temper, he should gain something from it.
Each goddess needed to be approached differently.
With Ning Rongrong, he could not indulge her. The more he indulged her, the more a spoiled young lady like her would look down on him. After all, who in her sect did not let her have her way?
Even if her affection really dropped into the negatives today, he was still going to teach Ning Rongrong a lesson.
"Su Ling, stop blocking me! Believe it or not, I'll have someone kill you!" Ning Rongrong shouted.
"Go on, shout!"
"I'm telling you, today you're going back and finishing those twenty laps. Not a single lap less," Su Ling said sternly.
He held Ning Rongrong firmly and headed straight back.
"Let go of me, Su Ling!"
"Shout one more time, and I'll get physical." Su Ling turned and gave Ning Rongrong an icy look.
"If you've got the guts, do it!" Ning Rongrong seemed to have thrown caution to the wind. She did not believe Su Ling would dare lay a hand on her.
But in the next instant, a smack rang out, and Ning Rongrong immediately felt a burning sting on her bottom.
"You... Su Ling, I'll kill you!" Su Ling had actually spanked her. Even Ning Fengzhi could not bear to hit her like that.
"Are you going back to run properly or not? In the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, you're a pampered young lady. Here at the academy, you're just a student. Put away that spoiled temper."
Another smack rang out.
"Ah!"
She had only been making empty threats just now. Besides, Su Ling knew how powerful her Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was.
That was why she had gambled that Su Ling would not dare act. Who knew he really would, and that he would not hold back, either?
"Fine, fine, I'll run! I'll run, all right?" Ning Rongrong thought that a wise woman did not swallow a loss right before her eyes, while her mind began devising all sorts of ways to deal with Su Ling.
"I'll stay beside you personally and make sure you finish all twenty laps."
Soon, Su Ling brought Ning Rongrong back to the running route.
But Ning Rongrong ran very slowly, as though deliberately trying to anger Su Ling.
Su Ling said nothing and simply stayed with her. As long as Ning Rongrong kept running, it did not matter if she was a little slow.
But her pace was truly too slow. One after another, the others finished their conditioning laps, while Ning Rongrong had not even completed half of hers.
Flender watched all of this.
"The rest of you, go back and rest. Those two will keep running. If they don't finish before dinner, they won't be eating dinner either," Flender said.
"Zhu Zhuqing, let's head back!" Dai Mubai said.
Zhu Zhuqing did not even look at Dai Mubai. Her gaze remained fixed on Su Ling and Ning Rongrong a short distance away as she said, "I won't eat lunch either. I'm going to finish the run with Rongrong and Big Brother Su."
"Then I'll go too." Xiao Wu stepped forward as well.
Zhu Zhuqing and Xiao Wu both ran over. Dai Mubai, Tang San, and Oscar were all speechless, but there was nothing they could do except follow.
Watching the eight of them start running again, Flender smiled and nodded, a gratified smile spreading across his face.
"Good, very good! This is exactly how it should be!"
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