The others dispersed one after another, and the spacious square soon emptied, leaving only Flender, Oscar, and Ning Rongrong.
Sunlight spilled lazily across the ground, yet failed to dispel the faint tension hanging in the air.
Flender stood with his hands behind his back, swept his gaze over the two, and said gravely, "One of you is a support-type Soul Master with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, and the other is a food-type Soul Master specializing in sausages. On the battlefield, you are your team's lifeline. Besides relying on your teammates' protection, what else must you pay attention to?"
Oscar reacted fastest, immediately straightening his back and answering, "Stay behind our teammates, keep a safe distance from the enemy at all times, and make good use of the battlefield's terrain, such as finding cover to hide behind..."
At that, he deliberately stopped and tilted his head toward Ning Rongrong. The meaning in his eyes could not have been clearer: Beauty, I've already said my share. I'll leave the rest of the performance to you.
Ning Rongrong misunderstood him, however. Seeing Oscar suddenly stop, she simply assumed he had run out of things to say and inwardly curled her lip. Hmph, you can't think of anything yourself, so you're counting on me? What's that got to do with me?
She had grown up in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect with everyone clustered around her like stars around the moon. When had she ever been subjected to this sort of "classroom question-and-answer session"? Never mind picking up where he left off-she had no intention of cooperating at all. She simply turned her face away, eyes on her nose and nose toward her heart, looking as though none of this concerned her.
Silence instantly settled over them for three seconds.
Flender's hands quietly clenched behind his back, his knuckles turning faintly white. He was clearly forcing down the anger on the verge of erupting, but his expression remained unchanged as he continued, "Little Ao is right, but that's only scratching the surface. If you want to survive on the battlefield, physical fitness is your most crucial trump card. Run a little faster, run a little longer-even holding on for just a moment more might let you last until your teammates' support arrives when your life hangs by a thread."
At those words, Oscar's heart sank to rock bottom, and bitterness rose to his tongue. He knew Flender all too well. This seemingly earnest, well-meaning speech was clearly the prelude to a "storm." It looked as though there would be no escaping today's suffering!
Sure enough, the next second, Flender issued his orders with a cold expression. "Today's lesson is physical training. Starting now, run twenty laps around the village. If you haven't finished before lunch, don't expect to eat. Oh, and you may use your Martial Souls. Oscar, lead the way. Set off immediately!"
"Yes!" Ning Rongrong answered brightly and set off without hesitation. She had no idea how difficult the assignment was, thinking it merely meant running a few laps around the village houses-easy enough.
Oscar, meanwhile, sighed with a face full of resentment and dawdled along behind her, cursing Flender a thousand times over in his heart.
He knew perfectly well that "around the village" did not mean circling a few houses. It included the farmland surrounding the village, too. A single lap was a full three kilometers, making twenty laps sixty kilometers! Neither of them had the physique of a Power Attack System Soul Master, and even Dai Mubai would collapse from exhaustion if he came.
How was this training? It was punishment running, plain and simple. Lunch was definitely a lost cause. He would thank heaven and earth if he could last until the end and make it in time for dinner!
Discipline her all you want, but why drag me into it? Oscar grumbled inwardly. You cheapskate!
Watching the two figures recede one behind the other, Flender finally dropped his stern expression. A sly grin curled his lips as he rubbed his chin and muttered to himself, "Heh heh, so what if she's the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's little princess? Lecturing her really does feel pretty good!"
As he spoke, he raised a hand to his chest, where a letter rested close against his body. It contained instructions written personally by Ning Fengzhi. Without this "imperial sword of authority," he would not have dared put Ning Rongrong through this even if someone lent him ten times the courage.
But now...
Flender rubbed his hands, a crafty gleam flashing through his eyes. Even if I train this spoiled little princess until she cries, there shouldn't be any problem, right?
The dirt road outside the village was full of ruts and potholes, baked scorching hot by the blazing sun.
Ning Rongrong gritted her teeth and ran for quite some time, but when she looked ahead, the field ridges still stretched out without end. There was not even a hint of the "finish line." Her heart lurched, and she felt that something was terribly wrong.
At first, she had been brimming with confidence.
Isn't it just running? As the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's little princess, her physical fitness and stamina had ranked among the best in the sect's assessments. Even if Shrek's training was stricter, she could grit her teeth and finish. Even if she could not, she could simply practice more afterward. It was no big deal.
She had never imagined that this was no assessment at all. Flender was deliberately putting her through the wringer, trying to grind away her spoiled arrogance!
Panting, Ning Rongrong caught up to Oscar ahead of her, a trace of panic in her voice. "Oscar, just how far is one lap?"
Oscar gave a bitter smile and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "I said from the beginning that this was an impossible assignment."
"Is there really no hope at all?" Ning Rongrong pressed with a frown, defiance welling up inside her.
"Unless we sprout wings and fly, there's absolutely no way we'll finish before noon." Oscar spread his hands, his tone certain.
Ning Rongrong's stubborn temper flared at once. The pride nurtured in the sect would not let her admit defeat so easily. She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. "Lead the way. Run one lap first and show me!"
She wanted to see for herself just how long this lap was, and whether there truly was no chance whatsoever of finishing on time.
If there was even a sliver of a chance, she did not mind giving it her all. But if this was a hopeless dead end from the start-then I'm not playing along!
Fucking Flender! Fucking Shrek! So they're just making a fool of me?!
Oscar nodded and wasted no more words. He channeled Soul Power into his legs and charged ahead.
Ning Rongrong gritted her teeth and followed close behind.
The two ran one behind the other, huffing and puffing their way through an entire lap.
When Oscar stopped and announced the figure "three kilometers," Ning Rongrong's pent-up anger instantly exploded!
"I'm not running! I'm not running! What kind of bullshit assignment is this? Run, my ass!" With her hands on her hips, she pointed at the sky and unleashed a torrent of curses. Her usual daintiness and elegance had vanished without a trace, leaving nothing but fury.
Still swearing, she waved a hand and took an exquisite rocking chair from her Storage Soul Tool, setting it beneath a tree's shade with a clatter. Without another word, she lay down on it, rocking leisurely while continuing to mutter, "What kind of training is this? It's sheer nonsense! Training, my ass!"
Oscar stared, dumbfounded, rooted to the spot.
He screamed inwardly, Is this really that delicate beauty? How can she be so "fierce" the moment she opens her mouth?
He instinctively pressed a hand to his chest, feeling that the image of the "beautiful girl" in his heart had shattered so thoroughly that not even crumbs remained!
And so, both of them stopped.
Rocking in her chair, Ning Rongrong glanced at the dazed Oscar beside her and asked lazily, "I'm not running anymore. What about you?"
How could Oscar not want to "escape" too? But he did not dare.
It was not fear of Flender's punishment that held him back. Rather, he knew this dean too well-Shrek's training had always been harsh, but it never did anything meaningless. There had to be a deeper purpose behind this seemingly absurd, impossible assignment.
At that thought, the hesitation in Oscar's eyes gradually faded, replaced by resolve. "I'll keep running."
As though she had heard the greatest joke in the world, Ning Rongrong abruptly sat up in her rocking chair, pointed at his nose, and cursed, "Spineless wimp! Coward! Scaredy-cat! It's only Flender! What, is he going to eat you?"
Oscar let her rant, spittle flying, and merely shook his head, his voice calm. "I'll keep going."
"You..." Ning Rongrong choked on her words, momentarily at a loss.
She suddenly realized that she was the only one throwing down her duties, with no one beside her to join in, and a faint sense of guilt crept into her heart.
But that guilt lasted only a brief instant before her pride crushed it.
So I'm skipping! So what?
Flender was the one who deliberately arranged this fucking stupid assignment first. What's it got to do with me?
I'm skipping class! What would Flender dare do to me? Could he actually throw me out of Shrek?
Ning Rongrong stiffened her neck and declared once more, "Whatever happens, I'm not running anymore!"
Oscar paid her no further attention. Shaking his head, he turned to resume his run.
Watching his figure grow more distant, Ning Rongrong rolled her eyes in thought and suddenly called out to stop him. "Hey! You'll have to cover for me about skipping class. How about it?"
Oscar stopped dead, slowly turned around, and rolled his eyes so hard they nearly disappeared into the top of his skull.
He took a deep breath and tried to settle his speechless exasperation before looking at Ning Rongrong and calling out, "Are you serious?"
Is something wrong with your head?
You want me to cover for you?
Are you sure I can hide anything from the dean's eyes?
Didn't you ever consider that the dean might already have sent someone to watch over the two of us, support-type Soul Masters with no fighting ability, to ensure our safety?
Of course Ning Rongrong knew that the chances of successfully covering it up were pitifully small.
But she was not someone who meekly accepted her fate-how would she know she was bound to fail without trying?
What if, just what if, it worked?
With that thought, Ning Rongrong put on a charming smile and blinked at Oscar. Her voice softened as well, carrying a coaxing note. "Help me, pretty please?"
Looking at her like that, Oscar sighed helplessly. "Fine. Do whatever you want."
"Hee hee! I knew you were the best!" Ning Rongrong instantly beamed with delight, nimbly hopped out of the rocking chair, and put it away in her Storage Soul Tool. She was already planning to take a good stroll around Suotuo City later and buy some new playthings.
Just then, a tall, straight-backed figure approached from a nearby path with steady strides. It was, of course, Lin Kong.
Oscar: "..."
Ning Rongrong: "..."