"What do you mean? Does my dad have some other deeper intention?" Ning Rongrong asked.
"Uncle Ning certainly has a deeper intention. Think about it: since he sent you here, he must have known about the academy's situation beforehand. If he still let you come here knowing that, it means he believes you can definitely adapt. As for whether you can grow stronger, that depends on your own efforts. You won't let him down, right?"
Hearing this, Ning Rongrong lowered her head and murmured to herself, "Do I really have to stay...?"
"Still, you should give some thought to Uncle Ning's expectations of you."
After hearing Jun Yi's words, Ning Rongrong fell silent for a long time.
"Let's eat, let's eat. You need a full stomach to have the strength to think. Look at Miss Zhu Zhuqing over there-she's really enjoying her food," Jun Yi said with a smile.
Ning Rongrong nodded. Faced with these "meager" dishes, she still had her misgivings, but forced herself to eat them to fill her stomach.
Unfortunately, Ning Rongrong lost her appetite after eating just one egg and put down her chopsticks. Jun Yi, however, thought nothing of it. He drank the coarse rice porridge in his bowl and ate his coarse-grain buns with relish.
"The hard days are still ahead. If you can't even put up with this, what will you do later?" Jun Yi asked Ning Rongrong with a smile.
For once, Ning Rongrong did not argue with Jun Yi. She simply sat silently in her chair without a word. Jun Yi found this strange. He knew Ning Rongrong all too well and knew she must have something else in mind.
After breakfast, the three headed to the field to wait for the assembly. When they arrived, Tang San, Dai Mubai, and the others were already there, chatting and laughing about something.
The moment Zhu Zhuqing stepped onto the field, Dai Mubai's gaze was drawn to her. He stared without blinking, his expression intent and a faint smile on his lips.
Zhu Zhuqing's gaze was icy, and she kept a considerable distance from him, making Dai Mubai's expression turn ugly.
Seeing this, Oscar laughed with schadenfreude. "Looks like Boss Dai hit another nail. Those girl-chasing tricks of his, which have never failed him before, are going to fall flat this time."
Just as Dai Mubai was about to retort, a middle-aged man approached from the other side of the field.
Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing visibly froze. The newcomer looked to be around fifty, with a hooked nose and a pair of black-framed crystal glasses on his face. The frames were rigidly square.
"Hey, Jun Yi, isn't that the swindler uncle?"
Ning Rongrong spoke without any filter.
Hearing this, Oscar explained to the two of them, "What swindler uncle? This is our dean, the founder of Shrek Academy, Four-Eyed Cat Owl Flender. He's a rank seventy-eight Soul Saint, even more formidable than Teacher Zhao. And he has a flying Beast Martial Soul, giving him the ability to fight in the air."
"Flender, the Flying Horn of the Golden Iron Triangle?" Ning Rongrong had clearly recognized Flender and spoke in surprise.
Jun Yi nodded. "Yes, that's him."
Flender walked up to them and stopped. His distinctive, slightly magnetic, husky voice rang out. "This year has been quite good. We've gained several more Little Monsters. I, Flender, dean of Shrek Academy, welcome you on behalf of the academy. Later, each of you is to pay one hundred Gold Soul Coins to Teacher Li, who handles the finances. Mubai."
Flender had wanted to say more, but spotted Jun Yi and the others among the newly arrived students.
"Hmm? You three joined Shrek Academy too?"
"Hello, swindler uncle. I never expected you to be the dean of Shrek Academy," Ning Rongrong greeted him.
Flender did not get angry. She merely smiled slightly and said, "Once you've paid your tuition, go back and rest. Restore yourselves to your best condition as much as possible. Today's first lesson will begin tonight. Ning Rongrong, Oscar, come with me."
"Zhu Zhuqing, could you help me pay the tuition? I want to stay with Rongrong."
Jun Yi took out a level-one Storage Soul Tool and handed it to Zhu Zhuqing. It contained three hundred Gold Soul Coins.
"Mm." Zhu Zhuqing nodded and took the level-one Storage Soul Tool with her, heading in Dai Mubai's direction.
Flender did not mind seeing Jun Yi follow along. He said to Oscar and Ning Rongrong, "Everyone has their own cultivation method. Different Martial Souls call for vastly different ways of cultivating. So what the academy will teach you is not how to cultivate your Martial Souls, but how to use them, how to better preserve yourselves and support your comrades in future battles."
Oscar seemed to have heard similar words before and lowered his head without expressing an opinion, while Ning Rongrong nodded in wholehearted agreement.
Flender continued, "Both of you are support-type Soul Masters. Soul Masters like you need companions protecting you, whether on the battlefield or in everyday life. Otherwise, you'll have a hard time surviving. Oscar, tell me: as a support-type Soul Master, how can you better protect yourself on the battlefield?"
Oscar answered without hesitation, "Stay behind our companions as much as possible, and use all available terrain and buildings around us to avoid danger. Stay as far away from dangerous areas as possible."
Flender nodded. "Very good. But there's one thing you left out. As a support-type Soul Master, what you need is stamina. Although you have your own Soul Power to assist you as Soul Masters, you still need physical training as Auxiliary System Soul Masters. At a critical moment, perhaps running one step farther will let you survive."
Sure enough, after his lengthy speech, Flender revealed his idea. "Your lesson today is physical training. Starting now, run twenty laps around the entire village at a brisk pace. If you haven't returned before lunch, you won't get any lunch. You may use your Martial Souls to assist yourselves. Now, go. Oscar will lead the way."
"Seriously, why is the plot still unfolding in the same damn way?"
Watching from the side, Jun Yi grumbled. He had thought his arrival would change some of the plot, but Ning Rongrong's first lesson was still running. He was utterly speechless.
Oscar gave Flender a somewhat resentful look and was about to run off, but Ning Rongrong walked over to Jun Yi, tugged on his sleeve, and said, "Swindler uncle went on and on, but in the end, he just wants me to run. How boring. Let's go back."
Ning Rongrong's actions immediately made Oscar's jaw drop. He had never expected Ning Rongrong to dare disobey Flender's orders outright. His appetite for gossip surged, and he quietly turned his head, wanting to see what would happen next.
"Ning Rongrong, did you not hear what I said?" Flender asked her mildly, that somewhat chilling smile on his face.
(End of chapter)