"Hey!"
Ning Rongrong cried out.
But Flender showed no sign whatsoever of stopping.
He flew straight into the sky, beating his wings as he headed directly toward Shrek Academy.
They were on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.
To leave the Star Dou Great Forest entirely,
at Ning Rongrong and the others' pace, would take at least two days or so. Without Flender's help during that time,
they could only walk the whole way.
For someone like Ning Rongrong,
that naturally did not sit well.
"That Flender! He really needs to be taught a lesson!"
"He could clearly take us straight back, but he insists on making us walk back ourselves!"
As Ning Rongrong spoke, she looked at Lu Ning and ventured, "Did beating him make him lose face?"
"Is that why he's in such a hurry to get back to the academy?"
Lu Ning smiled and shook his head. "How could that be? The dean isn't that petty."
"Besides, even if I really did beat him,"
"that would just mean the student had surpassed the master. As a teacher, he'd be too happy to get angry."
Confusion showed on Ning Rongrong's face.
"Then why did he leave us here? Why make us walk back ourselves?"
Lu Ning spread his hands, pretending not to know.
He could tell.
Flender was trying to create an opportunity for him, but Flender was clearly worrying a little too much.
If Lu Ning really wanted to latch onto Ning Rongrong, he would not need an opportunity like this to spend time alone with her.
He had plenty of opportunities.
"All right."
"Then should I just have someone from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect come pick us up?"
Ning Rongrong took out a Distress Signal Flare from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. She carried plenty of these.
Flender had driven away the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect members who protected her, but as for signal flares like these, which could summon the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and its affiliated Soul Masters at any time,
Ning Rongrong carried a whole pile of them.
"You'd better not trouble your sect."
"Walking back will only take us another two days."
Zhu Zhuqing suddenly spoke up.
She did not particularly care about the location.
It was just that, here, she could at least spend a few more days with Lu Ning and completely resolve the problem with her body.
Once they returned,
there would always be a chance of someone discovering Lu Ning sneaking into her room.
"You certainly know how to look out for them," Ning Rongrong muttered, but she put the signal flare away.
She said nothing more.
This Soul Hunting trip had indeed gone smoothly. It had only taken a few days in total to resolve the matter of Lu Ning's Soul Ring.
She was not in a hurry to go back, either.
"Let's go."
"Oh, right, Lu Ning, I almost forgot."
"You ate that piece of ten-thousand-year whale glue, so you probably still have plenty of thousand-year whale rubber, right?"
"Lend me two pieces first. Once I send word back to the sect and they collect some whale rubber, I'll pay you back."
Ning Rongrong looked at Lu Ning eagerly. She also wanted to consume whale rubber and increase the age of the Soul Rings she could absorb, then surprise her sect.
Lu Ning rolled his eyes at her. "I can give you some."
"But don't tell anyone about the whale rubber for now."
"At least wait until we've all become Titled Douluo."
Ning Rongrong was not stupid.
The moment Lu Ning said that, she understood his intention.
The sect had too many people and too many loose tongues.
Even if she only let a tiny bit slip back to them, as soon as the sect made a move, the entire continent would soon know that whale rubber was valuable.
They would certainly start researching whale rubber.
Then, not only would collecting whale rubber become harder for them,
even the Soul Rings they hunted might lose some of their rarity.
After all, whale rubber was not nearly as rare now as it would be ten thousand years later. Within a short time, Soul Ring colors across the entire continent would soar.
Their group of so-called geniuses would have their brilliance watered down somewhat.
"Understood!"
"Not only can we use our foreknowledge to consume large amounts of whale rubber ahead of everyone else and increase the age of the Soul Rings we can absorb, but..."
"We can also buy it secretly, stockpile it, and then sell it at a high price once word gets out!"
"Our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is quite good at hoarding goods to drive up their price."
Ning Rongrong's face brimmed with pride.
She had clearly thought further ahead than Lu Ning.
Even Titled Douluo needed to spend money!
With this method of hers,
she could earn ten lifetimes' worth of money in one go.
She had thought much further ahead than Lu Ning.
"Which piece do you want?"
Lu Ning quickly tapped his Storage Device, and several pieces of thousand-year whale rubber appeared in his palm.
They were arranged in a row.
Compared with these pieces, the one Zhu Zhuqing had taken earlier might not have been even a third of their size.
"I want..."
Ning Rongrong looked at the whale rubber in Lu Ning's hand and picked the largest piece of thousand-year whale rubber.
"I want this one!"
"How do I take it?"
Ning Rongrong clearly asked more detailed questions than Zhu Zhuqing had.
She had known little about whale rubber to begin with.
If Zhu Zhuqing had not mentioned it earlier, she probably would not even have known about its aphrodisiac side effect and would have thought it was just an ordinary medicine.
"You need to melt it with a high-quality flame."
"If that really isn't an option, you can soften the whale rubber with Soul Power and just about manage to consume it."
"An ordinary flame works too, but you'll need to cook it for a long time. You can only consume it once it has softened completely."
Lu Ning gave a few brief answers.
As he spoke, Zhu Zhuqing did not dare turn her face toward him at all.
She listened,
but the scene from that night involuntarily surfaced in her mind.
She had swallowed the whale rubber before it had softened completely.
Its side effects had nearly made her burst.
If she had not found Lu Ning in time,
she would probably have been done for.
"Got it. So the hotter the flame, the faster the whale rubber softens."
Ning Rongrong spoke with her head raised.
Lu Ning nodded, acknowledging what she had said.
Beside them, Zhu Zhuqing glanced at the sky and slowly said, "It's getting late. Should we hurry to the outer edge and find a tavern near the Star Dou Great Forest,"
"or camp here?"
Ning Rongrong likewise held her whale rubber, waiting for Lu Ning's decision.
"Let's camp."
"Traveling now would be a little too dangerous."
"My Soul Power and mental power haven't recovered yet. If we encounter a Hundred-Year Soul Beast here, at least the two of you can handle it."
"If we go out and run into Soul Masters, that'll be hard to say."
After Lu Ning finished speaking,
neither Zhu Zhuqing nor Ning Rongrong objected.
In a place like this,
Soul Masters were indeed more dangerous than Soul Beasts.
After all, the human heart was unfathomable.
The three found a clearing and began setting up their tents. Zhu Zhuqing volunteered, "I'll keep watch tonight."
Lu Ning leaned close to her ear. "You're keeping watch?"
"Then tonight..."
Zhu Zhuqing turned her head away, leaving only half of her reddened ear visible to Lu Ning.
"I think I can handle it myself tonight."
"You're... too rough."
"I think I can suppress the remaining medicinal effects with my own Soul Power."
"If..."
Before you continue