Chapter 11. Ning Rongrong
On the roof of a rather old yet still quite sturdy house sat a black‑haired girl, and directly behind her was her exact copy. The copy first combed out the girl's hair, tousled after sleep, starting from the ends, and then began making a fairly complex hairstyle which, however, was far too familiar and had long since become a natural part of the girl's image.
There was still some time left before dawn, and while she waited, already prepared for the new day, the girl dispelled her technique and sank into thought.
Yesterday had gone completely off plan. Yes, the new technique had shown simply astonishing results and, against slow opponents, even if they were higher rank, the Little Supernova proved itself just brilliantly, though faster opponents would simply dodge or detonate the projectile while it was still in flight.
Still, that wasn't what upset her. She was satisfied with the technique.
What upset her was Ning Rongrong's reaction. She had never imagined that, shocked as Ning Rongrong was by how far ahead of her they were in developing their spirit power, the girl would simply miss her entire technique, coming to only at the moment of the explosion. In other words, she hadn't even understood that it had been a self‑created spirit skill and not a ring skill. And how to pick the right moment now, to pique Ning Rongrong's interest with her techniques in such a way that Ning Rongrong would come to her instead of having the techniques forced on her—honestly, she might just not be smart enough for that. She was more than aware that, in terms of strategy and the like, she was nowhere near a genius. Even her achievements were more like a string of lucky breaks, plus the help of the legacy, and the use of Tang San's knowledge. Add in his father's help too. She simply made use of the opportunities given to her.
"How complicated everything is," I sighed involuntarily and, perhaps a bit weak‑willed, decided that if I couldn't easily catch Ning Rongrong's interest, then to hell with it—I'd just go to the girl myself with an offer for her sect.
When dawn came, I cultivated the Purple Demon Eye technique as usual, then simply fell into meditation while I waited for breakfast time, planning to go there with Ning Rongrong. I still needed to slowly build up some familiarity.
The first of the girls to wake was Xiao Wu, who immediately flitted off in search of Tang San. Soon Ning Rongrong woke as well, and fortunately she was not at all opposed to my company. She was terribly curious to learn the details of my relationship with Dai Mubai, and I saw nothing secret about it, so I spoke quite freely. I especially recalled the time when he and I fought for the first time. If there's anything I'll never get tired of, it's cursing to high heaven that bastard who interfered in our fight back then. In turn, she boasted a bit about her sect, especially about the two Titled Douluo who doted on her and treated her like a biological granddaughter. Then we went to breakfast, which the village residents had prepared for us under an agreement with the academy.
The breakfast was simple but plentiful. It was there that we met another student of Shrek Academy.
Ma Hongjun. A twelve‑year‑old fatty. His spirit was a rare case of mutation. What, judging from his parents, should have been a chicken had become a Fire Phoenix. An incredibly rare and powerful spirit. However, his spirit had a very serious drawback. Because the mutation had not gone perfectly, the boy was tormented by so‑called Evil Fire, which was why he was so fat, and this same fire constantly affected his mind, making him more aggressive and also… lecherous. Because of this, in order to "dampen" his Evil Fire, he had to get into relationships with girls. And since he was a spirit master with high innate talent, even despite his looks he had no trouble finding partners among the village girls.
Naturally, when this guy saw how many pretty girls had enrolled this year, he looked at us with obvious desire, which was, frankly, annoying. But knowing his situation, it was hard to blame him. What can you do? Even I sometimes, when I saw myself in the mirror, thought about how stunning I looked. At times I even worried I'd turn into a narcissist. And considering I could create copies of myself… ahem, let's forget about that.
After breakfast none of us were in a hurry to leave the dining hall, since Dai Mubai had decided to discuss an important issue with us concerning team cohesion.
"From now on, everyone should live and cultivate together. Formal titles aren't needed. Including you four newcomers, there are only seven students in the Academy, and that's it. Little Ao and Fatty both call me Boss Dai, because I'm a bit older than both of them. If you call me Mubai, that's fine, and you can call Hongjun Fatty, Oscar Little Ao or, maybe, Uncle Big Sausage. Tang San, can I call you Little San from now on?"
Tang San nodded calmly. Being addressed that way didn't bother him. (In essence, the name "Tang San" means "Tang Third." So it's also unsurprising when he's simply called Third Brother. Or, as Dai Mubai suggested, Little Third, that is, Xiao San or Little San.)
"You can just call me Rongrong," Ning Rongrong spoke up, keeping a sweet, friendly smile on her face. "All my close relatives and friends call me that."
"Alright," Dai Mubai nodded. (Xiao Wu's situation is similar to Tang San's, except that "Xiao," meaning "little," is already in her name. Her name literally means "Little Dance." And due to the similarity of the sounds, though they're written with different characters, her "Wu" is sometimes taken to mean "five" instead of "dance," so at times she's addressed as Fifth Sister or Little Fifth. In the canon, there's even a moment when, while registering their team, they ended up being called not "Third Dance" but Team "Three‑Five" because of the similar sounds. Just a small clarification, since this isn't intuitively clear.)
"Just call me Zhuqing," I said when the attention shifted to me.
"Alright," the blond nodded to my words, then continued. "There are no special rules in the academy. Simply put, you can't rape or rob, but fighting and gambling are encouraged. The teachers believe that fighting is the best and shortest way to hone spirit skills, and gambling is a game of wits, which naturally helps develop the mind. Of course, everything has to stop before it goes too far. Simply put, as long as you don't kill anyone in a fight, and don't lose everything in gambling, there's no problem.
"As for classes, that I don't know. Before, we had fewer students than teachers, so now something will have to change. Dean Flender will explain that."
As soon as he finished, we heard a sound like a bell, and Dai Mubai immediately jumped to his feet.
"That's the dean. Time for assembly. Come, I'll take you to the main square."
When we arrived, Oscar was already there; he hadn't come to breakfast with everyone. Compared to yesterday, he had undergone a dramatic change. The thick facial hair had been carefully shaved off, and it was now obvious that in terms of looks he was in no way inferior to Dai Mubai. Together with his unique eye color, once he'd shaved he resembled the noble and elegant heir of a great clan.
Such a change naturally aroused everyone's curiosity, but the conversations were quickly cut short by the arrival of a middle‑aged man.
He was a tall brunette whose facial features faintly evoked the impression of a predatory bird. He also wore glasses in a black, square frame.
He stopped in front of us and spoke:
"This year is truly good; we have four little monsters. I, Flender, dean of Shrek Academy, represent the Academy and welcome you here. In a moment, each of you will give one hundred gold coins to Teacher Li, who's in charge of finances. Mubai."
"Dean," Dai Mubai stepped forward, showing great respect for Flender, even a touch of admiration.
Flender said,
"As for your four newly arrived junior brothers and sisters, explain the Academy rules to them later. After that, each of them should go back and rest and, as much as possible, restore their peak state. Today's first class will begin in the evening. Oscar, you and Ning Rongrong are exceptions. You two, come with me."
Hearing this, I realized that Shrek Academy might turn out to be even more useless for the three of us than I had initially thought. Why? Because the evening lesson consisted of battles at the Spirit Arena in Suotuo City. And there was one crucial point. Of the three of us, only Tang San and I could register for fights. Until we obtained our fifth rings, we would not be considered Spirit Kings. But once we did, the situation would change. Spirit Kings, while more common than Spirit Emperors, only rarely appeared in the arena, and then only in the capital. Simply put, our development would depend entirely on ourselves.
"Nothing new," I said with a slightly bitter smile. Aside from the days when I trained under Mu Ye's supervision, all my other training had been self‑directed. Shaking my head in mild disappointment, I told the others I was going to rest and left.
Since the dean apparently had no intention of helping us build combat experience, not even by sparring with the teachers themselves, I had no choice but to try to achieve some results on my own, and for that I had a very convenient ability.
I summoned my spirit and activated my fourth ring, and immediately two additional viewpoints appeared. It was a little disorienting, but over the years I had more or less gotten used to it.
With my main body I sat down in a meditation posture, doing my best to focus on my clones. They then duplicated my first and third rings and charged at each other at tremendous speed.
A swipe of claws, a dodge, an attempted counterattack, a dive into the shadows and another strike, a slight hesitation under the heavy load, and one of the clones took a slash that literally ripped open its side and vanished at once.
"Damn," I swore, fully aware that I just hadn't had enough control. As a result, my control over one clone had been better. And that was because controlling two bodies in combat was much harder than drawing a triangle with your left hand while your right hand drew a square. I really lacked the Seven Treasure Glazed Pagoda's Split Spirit Technique. However, I didn't intend to just stand still with no progress. So the black ring flared again, a new clone appeared, and the next battle began.
I went on like that, over and over. Tried new approaches. Made mistakes, corrected them. And each round still didn't take very long. Every round was also truly painful. Because if I wanted the clones' experience to really become my own experience, not just training in control, I had to crank my connection with them to the maximum. So although I didn't receive actual injuries, I felt everything as if it happened to my own body: my muscles remembered the pain, remembered which ones tensed and how during battle through the link with the clone. Ideally, I would have liked to be able to simultaneously train physically or cultivate. But that was in the realm of the impossible. So, to get the most out of it, I conducted these shadow battles until my spirit power dropped to one tenth of my total. Only then did I stop. It was unpleasant, but hopefully effective. And just as importantly, it kept me from losing my tolerance to pain, which in the first year after my escape really had started to dull. After all, I had gone from daily, extremely harsh training to a life that was far too peaceful.
Once training ended, I went to rest. No matter how skeptical I was about what awaited us in the evening, being in good fighting condition before leaving safe territory was just basic common sense. If you're exhausted, then even as a Titled Douluo you can be caught off guard. And you'll have no one to blame but yourself. You just weren't careful enough.
As darkness fell, Shrek Academy's dean, known as the Four‑Eyed Owl Flender, stood in the square, looking at the seven students before him. They didn't know it, but he had been observing them. Some had pleasantly surprised him; others had clearly disappointed him.
At that moment, his gaze was focused on the pair of support‑type spirit masters, Oscar and Ning Rongrong.
"Oscar, did you two run the twenty laps?" His gaze was so piercing that the boy involuntarily shivered.
"Dean, I finished the run."
"I asked about both of you, not just you."
Oscar couldn't help but glance at Ning Rongrong, who looked back at him with an innocent expression.
Gritting his teeth, he turned back to Flender and nodded.
"Yes, we both finished the run."
Flender smiled ominously.
"Very good, Oscar, this basement spirit of camaraderie. Come over here." He pointed to a spot beside him.
A crooked smile appeared on Oscar's face; he no longer looked at Ning Rongrong and strode to the spot indicated.
Flender slowly raised his right hand and casually patted Oscar on the shoulder as lightly as a feather.
"I greatly value your spirit of camaraderie, so run another twenty laps; let me see just how deep your friendly devotion runs. Since you haven't finished your run, you don't need to eat. I've already sealed your spirit power, so don't bother trying to undo it. Go."
Oscar didn't say anything; he only nodded silently, turned around, and started running.
Flender shifted his gaze back to the rest of us.
"Do you understand why I had to do this? Why I told him to keep running?"
I knew the reason and, honestly, didn't want to get involved. I just hoped things would work out the same as in the canon, or better.
Meanwhile Flender, receiving only confused nods from Tang San and Xiao Wu, decided to explain:
"Because he lied. Even if he lied for the sake of friendship or for some other reason, he still lied. You are still children, and lying is the lowest form of morality. I hope you understand."
Saying this, he turned his gaze to sweet, innocent‑looking Ning Rongrong.
"Tell me, did you finish today's assigned run?"
Ning Rongrong sincerely shook her head and said,
"No. The distance was too long, and I was hungry and couldn't continue."
Flender smiled faintly and said,
"So you ran off alone to the city, ate your fill, wandered around the market streets until just a moment ago, and then came back to look for Oscar?"
"You were watching me?"
Flender's expression instantly turned cold.
"As dean, I must be responsible for each student in the Academy. If we consider Oscar's lie as a mistake made because he didn't want you punished, then that can still be forgiven. But your behavior is an offense that cannot be pardoned. Leaving the Academy without permission, failing to carry out the Academy's orders, and letting a senior lie on your behalf—none of these are things an outstanding spirit master should do. If this had happened on the battlefield, there would be only one outcome for you: punishment under military law, death, and nothing else."
Ning Rongrong frowned; her soft and gentle expression gradually disappeared, the corners of her lips lifting slightly to reveal an unexpectedly disdainful, contemptuous look.
"This isn't a battlefield. It's just an academy, nothing more."
Flender nodded.
"True, it's only an academy. But it's my Shrek Academy. I'll give you two options. First: pack your things and leave immediately. You cannot be one of us. Second: if you are still determined not to break the rules in the future, you have every reason to stay."
Ning Rongrong smiled, and it was impossible to deny that her smile was truly charming.
"Flender, who do you think you are? You're just a minor Spirit Saint, that's all."
She said it with such arrogance that, even though I had expected it, I still couldn't remain completely calm. It sounded utterly absurd coming from the mouth of a mere rank‑26 Great Spirit Master of the support type. To say nothing of the others, who had all been fooled by her innocent act.
Flender, however, didn't get angry. He smiled slightly and replied,
"You're right, I'm only a minor Spirit Saint, nothing more. But for you, as you are now, the gap between us is still enormous. Even if you're the most gifted student of this generation in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, in the end you're still just a Great Spirit Master. Between you and me there's a chasm you can't cross. If you don't agree, then leave. Shrek Academy doesn't accept students like you who don't know how to behave properly."
Ning Rongrong sneered.
"You want to throw me out? Don't be so hasty. I'm not planning to leave that quickly. Flender, I advise you not to try to control me. Otherwise the consequences will be beyond anything you can imagine."
Flender smiled faintly at her words.
"If I were afraid of consequences, I wouldn't have this Academy. This is my domain and here my word is final. Mubai."
"Yes, Dean."
Dai Mubai stepped forward; now there was disbelief in his eyes as he looked at Ning Rongrong. He more or less understood that this was the real Ning Rongrong, but the way she'd hidden herself yesterday had been far too good.
Flender continued,
"Go and get Miss Ning Rongrong's belongings from her room, then escort her off the grounds. If she resists, you may use any means necessary."
"Flender, how dare you!" Ning Rongrong shouted threateningly, putting her hands on her hips. This twelve‑year‑old girl radiated absolute fearlessness. "In all my life you're the first person to dare treat me this way."
Flender's smile darkened.
"The fact that your father couldn't bring himself to discipline you doesn't mean I'll have trouble. You're not my daughter. In my eyes, any of the other students is much better than you. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda spirit is indeed one of a kind, the strongest among support spirits. What a pity that you only disgrace it."
"Nonsense!"
Ning Rongrong's chest heaved with anger. In the past she had always known she was the most gifted child of her generation in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan. She had many older brothers, but none of them had reached the twentieth rank before the age of twelve as she had. Even her father, the Clan Head of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, said that once in several hundred years there appeared a true genius like her, someone capable of evolving the spirit into the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. For Flender to say she had nothing good about her—how could a proud person like her endure that?
"Nonsense? Then tell me, compared to whom here are you better?" Flender said with contempt.
Ning Rongrong replied,
"I'm a support‑type spirit master; of course I can't compare to these battle spirit masters in terms of strength. But my impact on a fight is greater than theirs. With my help, the team's overall strength increases significantly."
Flender wagged a finger at her.
"No, you're wrong. Every person here will be far more valuable in battle than you. Because on the battlefield they will all have a chance to survive, but you won't. With your temperament, if you go into battle, you'll be nothing more than cannon fodder."
"That's impossible. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda spirit of our clan is first under heaven; no one can match it. How am I any worse than them?"
Flender replied coldly,
"In your heart. Because of your fickleness and impatience, you place yourself too high. Even your father wouldn't believe himself to be first under heaven. Without powerful companions at his side, even an ordinary spirit master could kill him. But with your character, do you yourself believe you can find companions willing to sincerely watch your back?"
Ning Rongrong froze for a moment. Though she'd been spoiled since childhood and had a slightly eccentric personality, she was exceptionally intelligent. Even if Flender's words were unpleasant to hear, she understood what he meant, and for a while she didn't know how to refute him.
Flender walked over and stopped in front of Dai Mubai and the others. Because his verbal sparring with Ning Rongrong wasn't finished, Dai Mubai hadn't yet gone to gather her things.
Flender pointed at Dai Mubai and said,
"He turned fifteen this year. His spirit is the White Tiger, an attack‑type battle spirit. Thirty‑seventh rank. He has two hundred‑year spirit rings and one thousand‑year ring. In Shrek Academy's history, from its founding until recently, he was the youngest student ever to reach Spirit Elder—thirtieth rank. When he became a Spirit Elder, he was just thirteen. Ask yourself if you can break through to the thirtieth rank by thirteen. If anyone here has surpassed Mubai, it's certainly not you.
"Now look at this trio," Flender pointed at us. "Will you dare say you're better than them? They're all twelve years old, the same as you. Xiao Wu is already a Spirit King, and the other two only need to obtain their fifth rings. Not to mention how absurd their ring configurations are. And I am more than certain that, unlike you, even as a support‑type spirit master Zhuqing could still fight as a full‑fledged combat unit. Her self‑created skill poses a threat even to Spirit Saints and doesn't depend on her spirit at all."
Ning Rongrong still didn't know how to respond, and it seemed that only now did she realize what sort of technique I had used against Zhao Wuji. She looked at me in surprise—for which, I suppose, I should actually thank Flender—while he went on, placing a hand on Ma Hongjun's shoulder.
"Ma Hongjun. He's the same age as Tang San, Xiao Wu, Zhuqing, and you. He entered the Academy at eleven. Despite the flaws in his mutated spirit, he's still highly talented and has the potential of a top‑class beast spirit. As far as spirits go, there are few on the whole Continent who can compare with him. His spirit power is in no way weaker than yours, and through hard work he compensates for his spirit's defects.
"Ning Rongrong, you heard all that? Ask yourself: with which of them can you compare? Right now, you're the weakest one here. What other qualities can you boast of? I dare say that if you leave my Academy, in twenty years each of them will have far greater achievements than you."
Ning Rongrong still refused to yield. She truly didn't want to back down.
"There's still Oscar. He's also a support‑type spirit master; am I not stronger than him? He's just a pitiful food‑type master, that's all, and he'll never surpass me."
At these words I couldn't help but chuckle, drawing everyone's attention.
"A‑hem, excuse me, go on," I said, a bit embarrassed.
"It seems the difference in vision is also drastic," Flender snorted, then still answered Ning Rongrong.
"Ning Rongrong, I'll ask you just one question: have you ever seen innate full spirit power in a food‑type spirit master?"
Ning Rongrong turned pale.
"No, that's impossible. How can a support‑type spirit master have innate full spirit power?"
Among spirit masters, innate full spirit power was rare, but not unheard of. Among support‑type spirit masters, however, it had never been seen. Ning Rongrong considered herself especially talented because, upon awakening, her spirit power had reached the ninth rank. She was just one step short of innate full spirit power; her case was the best among support‑types.
She had never expected that this Uncle Big Sausage—Oscar—who, while a somewhat handsome guy, had such vulgar incantations, would turn out to have innate full spirit power.
Flender said coldly,
"Oscar's existence is unprecedented in history. His future achievements are limitless; it's even possible that he will overshadow your Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Clan and take the place of the greatest support‑type master. You might not believe me, but I can tell you with certainty that this is a very real future."
Ning Rongrong stood there in a daze. From early childhood until today she had grown up surrounded by those who cared about her. Because of her talent, they loved and spoiled her even more. All this time she believed she was the best, the most gifted, and that if her current strength wasn't yet great, it was only because of her age.
When she'd seen us, perhaps as a defense mechanism she had simply chosen to ignore the difference.
But now every one of Flender's words pierced her heart like a sharp dagger. Deep inside, everything she had been most proud of was being utterly crushed.
Ning Rongrong's face was a bit pale when she suddenly burst into tears and ran back to her dorm room.
A proud smile appeared on Flender's face.
"Dean, should I still help her pack?" Dai Mubai asked.
Flender gave him a long look and said,
"Do you really think that girl will leave? Although Ning Rongrong is a bit spoiled, by nature she isn't a bad person. Let her think it over. You, go bring Oscar back and tell him I canceled his punishment. Let him comfort Ning Rongrong."
"Oh." Dai Mubai nodded in understanding and left, while Flender clasped his hands behind his back and turned to us.
"Now then, it's time to begin. You've just seen the result of Oscar's and Ning Rongrong's actions. If you want to stay here and advance, you will follow the Academy's rules. To better remember every lesson, keep this in mind: my word here is law. And now you will begin your first class. Each of you, separately from the others, will follow your own training program, and don't blame me for not warning you in advance. If you don't work hard enough, then, in order not to die, you'll have to tear yourselves apart,"—it honestly took an effort not to snort, but I managed to restrain myself. We quietly waited for Dai Mubai's return, and when he came back, the dean summoned his spirit and took off into the air.
"For now, your only task is to keep up," he said before flying toward the city, and we all immediately dashed after him.