On the training grounds of Shrek Academy.
As the sky grew dark, Flender looked at the figures standing in neat formation before him and nodded in satisfaction. Then his gaze fell on Oscar and Ning Rongrong.
"Oscar, did you two finish your task today?"
"Uh... I finished it!" Oscar hesitated, then answered loudly, causing Flender to narrow his eyes.
"Listen carefully. I asked whether both of you finished." Flender's gaze fell on Oscar again, though he also glanced at Ning Rongrong.
"Y-yes, we did..."
Oscar answered without conviction. Flender nodded in satisfaction, though the smile on his face now looked somewhat unsettling.
"Good... very good!"
Flender stepped forward and patted Oscar on the shoulder before speaking.
"You've even learned to lie to my face. In that case, run another twenty laps. This time, though, I'll seal the Soul Power inside you. Don't even think about breaking through the seal."
Oscar's face fell at Flender's words. He opened his mouth, but couldn't find an explanation.
He looked up in Ning Rongrong's direction and saw that she was staring straight ahead. Then he lowered his head and accepted his punishment.
"Ning Rongrong." Flender turned again to look at Ning Rongrong, who wore an indifferent expression.
"Here!"
"Did you finish the task I gave you today?"
"No. It was simply too far, and I was hungry, so I didn't keep going." Ning Rongrong spoke softly, without the slightest trace of shame on her face over failing to complete the task.
"So you went off to Suotuo City alone and had a big meal. Afterward, you even had time to stroll around the shopping district, and only returned to the academy to find Oscar a short while ago?"
Flender's tone grew deeper, and his expression darkened. A trace of anger crept into his voice.
"You were spying on me!" Ning Rongrong bristled at once, widening her eyes as she retorted.
"I was taking responsibility for my students' safety!"
Flender walked up to Ning Rongrong and fixed his sharp gaze on her. His tone gradually calmed, but his voice was full of indifference.
"You left the academy without permission, abandoned your teammate to go feast by yourself, and had a senior lie for you. You do as you please and respect no rules. In wartime, a Soul Master like you would face military law, and nothing but death!"
"But right now, we're only at the academy."
Ning Rongrong's expression remained calm. She paid Flender's accusations no mind and spoke as indifferently as ever.
"But this is my academy. If you still want to stay here, you must follow its rules. Otherwise, go back where you came from."
Seeing how unconcerned Ning Rongrong was, Flender spoke coldly.
"Hehe..." Hearing Flender's words, Ning Rongrong didn't change her attitude in the slightest. Instead, a strange smile appeared on her face.
Her exquisite, beautiful face and blossoming smile should have been pleasing to the eye, yet now they looked somewhat unsettling.
"Flender, you're nothing but a trifling Soul Saint. Since I've come to Shrek, I won't be leaving so soon. I advise you to stay out of my business, or you won't be able to bear the consequences!"
Seeing Ning Rongrong's arrogant, overbearing manner, Xiao Yan and the others nearby all looked shocked. Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing exchanged glances, their faces full of disbelief.
None of them had expected that the gentle smile Ning Rongrong had worn ever since they met her yesterday, and all the sweetness and obedience she had shown, were nothing but a disguise.
"Hehe, what wouldn't I dare do? If I were worried about those consequences, I would never have founded Shrek Academy."
Flender glanced at Ning Rongrong, a trace of disdain appearing on his face as he spoke.
"I'm not your father, so I won't be too softhearted to teach you a lesson. You do possess the continent's strongest support Martial Soul, but in your hands, it can only be brought to shame. In my eyes, everyone in this academy is more outstanding than you!"
"You're talking nonsense!"
At Flender's words, Ning Rongrong's pretty face twisted with fury, and she roared back.
He was a genius of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Even her father had told her himself that her talent far surpassed that of her two older brothers and that she was the most gifted disciple in the sect.
With her talent, she even had the greatest hope of anyone in the sect's history of breaking through the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul's restrictions and elevating it to the supreme realm of eight levels.
But now, in Flank's hands, she had instead become a stain on the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. How could the always-proud Ning Rongrong stand it?
"You don't accept that?"
Flender glanced at Ning Rongrong. Seeing her exquisite face filled with anger, he sneered.
"Then tell me, who here is weaker than you?"
"I'm different from them. I'm a support Soul Master, so naturally I can't compare with them in combat. But my role on the battlefield is greater than theirs. With the boost from my Martial Soul, the entire team's strength will increase enormously!"
"No. With your pride and arrogance, can you find teammates you can trust completely enough to leave your back to them?"
Flender looked at Ning Rongrong and spoke coldly.
"Even your father understands that the most important thing for a support Soul Master is to have teammates they can entrust their life and their back to. Otherwise, even an ordinary Soul Master could deal them a fatal blow. And you, can you find teammates like that?"
Flender's words left Ning Rongrong frozen in place. Proud though she was, she wasn't stupid, and she understood that everything he had said was true.
Flender turned his back and walked over to Dai Mubai before speaking.
"He's fifteen this year. His Martial Soul is the White Tiger, and he's a level thirty-seven combat-type Soul Master. He's the youngest student in Shrek Academy's history to reach level thirty and become a Soul Elder. He was only thirteen when he became a Soul Elder. Do you think you can break through to Soul Elder before you turn thirteen?"
Ning Rongrong had no retort. Though she had the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect behind her, she couldn't guarantee that she could reach the Soul Elder realm at thirteen without harming her foundation.
"Xiao Yan, Tang San, and Xiao Wu are all level twenty-nine Soul Grandmasters now. If anyone can surpass Mubai, it'll be one of those three, not you."
"Ma Hongjun is about the same age as you. His Soul Power is no weaker than yours, even though his Mutated Martial Soul has a defect, and he has to devote part of his attention to suppressing the defect in his body,
"Even so, his mutated Beast Martial Soul is uniquely blessed by nature. Even on the continent, there are few whose Martial Souls can surpass his."
"Zhu Zhuqing's Soul Power is also two levels higher than yours. And unlike you, she has a firm and determined heart. To grow stronger, she can carry out the academy's tasks with determination."
"So..."
Flender turned around and looked at Ning Rongrong, his gaze indifferent and his voice icy.
"Ning Rongrong, who do you think you can compare to?"
Ning Rongrong looked at the people behind Flender and bit her lip hard. Unwilling to accept it, she said:
"What about Oscar? He's only a support Soul Master too, and a mere food-type Soul Master at that. I'm stronger than him, at least!"
"Hehe, you're wrong. Completely wrong!"
Hearing that, Flender chuckled, as though he had heard some amusing joke, and said to Ning Rongrong:
"In my opinion, Oscar's talent is the strongest of all, even surpassing Mubai's. I'll ask you just one thing, Ning Rongrong. Have you ever seen a support Soul Master with Innate Full Soul Power?"
"Th-that's impossible!"
Ning Rongrong's eyes widened. Even Xiao Yan and the others turned in surprise to look at Oscar. They hadn't expected that Oscar, who usually kept such a low profile, was actually a food-type Soul Master with Innate Full Soul Power.
In the history of the Soul Master World, those with Innate Full Soul Power were already exceedingly rare, but there had never been one with a support Martial Soul.
Ning Rongrong's face was full of disbelief and unwillingness to accept it. Her Soul Power had reached level nine upon awakening, already the very best among those with support Martial Souls.
She hadn't expected that, here at Shrek Academy, the talent and background she was so proud of would now pale in comparison.