Chapter 39: Poor Tom

On the way back, Ma Hongjun chatted with Dai Mubai.

"Boss Dai, I believe what you and Oscar said now. Good grief, this is the first time I've seen the Dean be so polite to a new student. But why? I really can't tell how strong he is."

"Hmph, as long as you know. Would I lie to you? In any case, just don't provoke him. I find that he usually carries himself with the demeanor of a gentleman. As long as you are sincere in befriending him, he should be quite easy to get along with."

"Oh... right, Boss Dai, are you going tonight after the soul fighting ends?" As he spoke, he gave Dai Mubai a wink with a lecherous smile.

"I'm going. Why wouldn't I?" Dai Mubai also gave a knowing smile. Anyway, now that he was unburdened, he didn't need to pretend anymore.

On the other side,

Flender looked at Oscar and Ning Rongrong and said, "Everyone has their own cultivation method. Martial souls are different, and the ways of cultivation are vastly different as well. On the Douluo Continent, there are almost no two identical martial souls. Therefore, what the academy wants to teach you is not how to cultivate your martial soul, but how to use it, and how to better preserve yourselves and assist your comrades in future battles."

Tang San felt Flender's words were somewhat familiar. After pondering them carefully, he realized the Grandmaster seemed to have said something similar. It was just that what the Grandmaster said was more detailed than Flender's.

Flender continued, "You two are both SupportTypeSoulMasters; one provides attribute augmentation, while the other possesses a Food-type Martial Soul. For Spirit Masters like you, whether on the battlefield or in daily life, you need the protection of partners by your side; otherwise, it is very difficult for you to survive. Oscar, tell me, as a SupportTypeSoulMaster, how can you better protect yourself on the battlefield?"

Oscar replied without hesitation, "Hide behind my own side's partners as much as possible, and use all available surrounding terrain and buildings to avoid risks. Stay as far away from dangerous areas as possible."

Flender nodded and said, "That is very correct. But there is one point you didn't mention. As a SupportTypeSoulMaster, the ability to run away is a quality you must possess. A SupportTypeSoulMaster who cannot run away is not a good Spirit Master. And what does running away require? It requires physical strength. Although as Spirit Masters, you have your own soul power to assist you, and your physical fitness is stronger than that of ordinary people, the enemies you might face are the opponent's Battle Spirit Masters. Therefore, as a SupportTypeSoulMaster, you also need to train your physical strength. At a critical moment, perhaps running one extra step will allow you to survive."

Oscar knew Flender quite well. Listening to this Dean speaking so grandiosely in front of him, he secretly gave a bitter smile in his heart. It was over; there was no escaping it today.

Sure enough, after his long-winded speech, Flender nodded at Oscar and Ning Rongrong and said, "Your lesson today is to perform physical training. From now on, run twenty laps around the entire village. If you haven't returned before lunch, you won't be eating lunch. You may use your own martial souls for assistance. Now, set off. Oscar is in charge of leading the way."

"Yes." Ning Rongrong agreed and ran out without hesitation. Oscar gave a resentful look at the few people standing to the side before following after her.

After watching Flender's maneuver, Zhou Yi sighed. The current Ning Rongrong was not the same as in the original work; she was very clever, and it wouldn't be easy to catch her out through this matter.

After the two ran far away, he stepped forward and whispered to Flender,

"Dean, I have to remind you that if you intend to use the same methods you would use on an ordinary little girl to deal with her, it won't be easy. Perhaps because of me, she has been more precocious than her peers by a billion points this past year. She might see through your methods." As he spoke, he gestured with his fingers to indicate a 'tiny universe'.

"Oh? Really? But don't worry, I have plenty of methods. Could it be that I can't handle a little girl?" Flender expressed doubt while being very confident in himself.

Seeing this, Zhou Yi found it hard to say anything more, so he just offered one final suggestion.

"Dean, if your methods cannot change Rongrong's personality with a swift stroke, why not use the 'boiling a frog in warm water' approach and slowly influence her using the atmosphere of the students working hard and staying united? She is actually a kind girl at heart who longs for friendship. If you do this, she will change sooner or later."

"Hmm, I understand." Flender nodded.

However, Zhou Yi could see that he still wanted to use his own way. In fact, it was very difficult to succeed in dealing with Ning Rongrong by nitpicking now. Even Ning Fengzhi didn't know this, so it was no wonder Flender was so confident in himself after reading Ning Fengzhi's letter.

After the setback from Zhou Yi, Ning Rongrong had become capable of bending and stretching and was adept at assessing the situation. She had disguised herself so well in daily life that even Ning Fengzhi hadn't noticed his daughter had evolved.

Since he had offered his suggestion, he left with Zhu Zhuqing to go back and cultivate.

On the other side, Oscar and Ning Rongrong were currently running outside the academy.

"Oscar, how long is this lap exactly?" There was some helplessness in Ning Rongrong's voice.

At the beginning, she had been full of confidence. Although she was a SupportTypeSoulMaster, her father had always required her to exercise her body when she was at home, saying almost exactly the same things Flender had said earlier. Therefore, her physical condition was not bad. Although she couldn't compare to a Battle Spirit Master, long-term exercise not only gave her a healthy physique but also made her particularly good at running.

However, from the time they left the academy until now, under Oscar's lead, they hadn't even finished a single lap, and quite a bit of time had already passed. If they continued at this speed, let alone lunch, whether they would be able to eat dinner was a question. Moreover, their physical strength was constantly declining; it was impossible to maintain this speed forever.

Oscar gave a bitter smile and said, "I said when we left that this was an impossible task. But don't be afraid; with two SupportTypeSoulMasters together, are we afraid of going hungry? Do you want to eat some..."

Ning Rongrong glanced at him. Although she was still young, her soft, charming eyes carried a hint of allure. Afterward, she frowned and thought for a moment. As if she had thought of something, she couldn't help but laugh.

After listening to Oscar, she understood that the Dean was likely trying to make things difficult for her on purpose and might even be secretly following them right now. However, her eyes rolled, and she immediately thought of a way to cope.

Oscar felt his bones go soft from her gaze. He gave a silly laugh and, as if presenting a treasure, whispered, "Laozi has a big sausage." A flash of light appeared, and a fragrant sausage was already in his hand, which he handed to Ning Rongrong.

"This sausage of mine, my first Soul Ring skill is Recovery. It can not only promote the healing of wounds but also has the effect of restoring physical strength. Eat some. With the support of my sausage, let alone running twenty laps, even if we ran two hundred, we wouldn't need to worry about food."

Ning Rongrong looked at Oscar strangely, but immediately revealed a sweet smile.

"Senior Oscar~, I'm not hungry yet, but we've been running for so long and it's so hot outside. Why don't we sneak out to buy some iced drinks to cool off~"

Oscar's soul was almost floating away from that sweet, cloying voice, and love hearts seemed to appear in his eyes.

However, he struggled for a long time, thought of Flender's terrifying appearance, and finally managed to resist the temptation with great difficulty.

"Let's not sneak out. It's very scary when the Dean loses his temper." He negotiated with Ning Rongrong in a very ingratiating and apologetic manner.

Ning Rongrong saw Oscar's reaction, and a flash of disappointment crossed her eyes. She thought to herself, "Tch... he didn't fall for it?"

However, she immediately came up with another plan.

"Right, Senior Oscar, I have some good things here. Let's use these. These things can help us complete the task quickly. You want to go eat early too, right?" As she spoke, she took out eight Talismans: four Speed Talismans and four Rejuvenation Talismans.

"Like this, you take four, I take four. Watch closely, use them like this." She then instructed Oscar on how to use the Talismans.

Oscar was shocked as he felt the effects of the Talismans, "Wow, this is truly a treasure. Where did you get this kind of thing?"

"Sigh, don't worry about that. Isn't it enough that it works?"

"But, does this count as cheating..." Oscar asked with some hesitation.

"Hmm? How is it cheating? The Dean only said to finish 20 laps; he didn't say we couldn't use other means."

"But..." Oscar was still hesitant and retorted in a weak tone.

"Stop with the 'buts', Senior Oscar~. Let's finish running quickly, and how about I go shopping with you~" As she spoke, Ning Rongrong even batted her eyes at Oscar.

Listening to Ning Rongrong's soft, bone-melting voice, looking at her pretty face, and thinking about the shopping trip later, Oscar felt as if his bones had melted, and he agreed on the spot.

It was just that Oscar didn't know that Ning Rongrong didn't want to go shopping with him at all. If he were to ask, the answer he would likely get would be, "Definitely next time."

With this, Ning Rongrong felt relieved. Let's see what Flender says now; she hadn't violated the literal rules, and Oscar had become her accomplice.

It was just a pity to waste eight more Talismans. She didn't have many of these Speed Talismans left; she had used a whole stack when she ran away before. It seemed she would have to beg Brother Yi and act spoiled later. Brother Yi was still very easy to talk to and very generous; sometimes, without her even asking, he would just hand her any extra Talismans he refined.

——

Sigh... poor Tom (Oscar) was played in the palm of the little demoness.