Shrek Academy – main training grounds.
While Flender was giving the Shrek Seven Monsters a stern lecture, Ye Yu stood atop a large tree just beyond the academy, partially hidden by the leaves. From his perch, he silently observed, thoughts turning over in his mind.
By his estimation, Flender would soon try to assert his authority over Ning Rongrong and give her a harsh dose of reality.
In other words, he was about to go full-on PUA on her.
To be fair, Ye Yu also felt that Ning Rongrong's spoiled, unruly personality did need some correction.
But he didn't really approve of Flender's approach.
Having new students run twenty laps around the entire village where Shrek Academy was located? That was just unreasonable.
There was no way to finish that in one morning.
It was clearly meant to be a setup.
Not to mention, that kind of long-distance run had far less training value than a single hour of weighted physical training.
Honestly, Ye Yu found Shrek Academy's so-called training system pretty laughable.
They had basically two things: running laps and sending students into the Great Spirit Arena for battles.
No technical substance. Just throwing gifted students into a grinder.
No wonder Shrek Academy bragged about producing so many geniuses—yet in the story, aside from the Shrek Seven Monster, only Qin Ming had ever been named as a graduate.
Who wouldn't feel cheated after leaving a place like that?
Back on the training field, after his speech, Flender turned to Oscar and Ning Rongrong and ordered them to run twenty laps around the village.
Oscar clearly didn't want to do it, but under Flender's pressure, he had no choice but to comply.
As for Ning Rongrong, she agreed with a sweet smile on her face.
At first, she assumed it was just twenty laps around the academy itself.
But once she realized it meant twenty full laps around the entire village, she gave up on the spot.
There was no way she was going to finish that with her princess temperament.
She ditched the task entirely and snuck off to Soto City for a day of shopping and food.
Naturally, Ye Yu followed her.
"You again?! Why are you following me?" Ning Rongrong huffed, visibly annoyed.
Ye Yu smiled softly. "Didn't I already say? I'll be staying close to you for now—to protect you."
"You ran away from Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan. It's dangerous out here, especially alone."
"Not to mention, there are three creeps in Soto City who call themselves the 'Perverted Sword Trio.' They love targeting girls like you."
"If you ran into them alone… well, it wouldn't end well."
"The 'Perverted Sword Trio'?" Ning Rongrong's expression tightened for a second, but she puffed out her chest proudly. "So what if I do? As long as I reveal my Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul, who would dare lay a hand on me?"
"You might not even run into them," Ye Yu said with a chuckle. "But more importantly—when you sneak back later, how do you plan to explain where you were all day?"
"What explanation? I'll just get back early and pretend I finished the laps," she said proudly. "He'll never know!"
Ye Yu stared at her for a moment. "Wow. You really are something."
Time passed quickly, and by evening, Ning Rongrong returned to Shrek Academy, fully satisfied with her day of fun.
Putting on a show, she lined up beside Oscar and resumed jogging laps.
When they finished the last lap together, Flender narrowed his eyes and asked coldly:
"You two finished all twenty laps?"
"We did," Oscar replied nervously, trying to cover for her despite feeling guilty.
But Flender wasn't buying it.
"You may have finished. I was asking about her."
His gaze sharpened as it turned to Ning Rongrong.
Not bothering to lie, Ning Rongrong folded her arms and casually admitted she couldn't make it through the whole thing—it was simply too long.
Flender's smile turned icy as he directly recited her entire day's itinerary, revealing that he knew exactly where she had gone.
What he didn't mention was Ye Yu. Because Ye Yu had only revealed himself briefly when Ning Rongrong first left the academy, exchanging a few words with her before vanishing again.
At the time, Flender had been busy meeting with Tang San and hadn't noticed.
"How did you know?!" Ning Rongrong's eyes widened with shock. "Was it Ye Yu who ratted me out?!"
"Ye Yu?" Flender furrowed his brows in confusion.
Off to the side, Zhao Wuji snickered quietly.
Flender still didn't know about Ye Yu's presence.
After all, just yesterday, Flender had laughed openly at Zhao Wuji for getting beat up so badly. Feeling bitter, Zhao Wuji had made sure to warn Li Yusong and the other teachers—as well as Dai Mubai—not to tell Flender anything.
His plan? Let Flender walk right into a trap.
After all, why should I be the only one to get beat up?
"You're still pretending?!" Ning Rongrong snapped. "If Ye Yu didn't tell you, then you must've been spying on me!"
"So what if I was?" Flender said coldly. "As headmaster, it's my duty to know what my students are up to."
He scolded her harshly, comparing her behavior to a soldier deserting the battlefield—saying that if this were war, she'd already be dead.
That got under Ning Rongrong's skin. She sneered back with a frosty smile, eyes full of disdain.
"Too bad this isn't a battlefield. It's a school."
Flender nodded. "Yes, and this is my school. You either pack up and leave, or you prove you deserve to stay."
Ning Rongrong, having fully dropped the act, laughed mockingly.
"Flender, you're just a lowly Spirit Sage."
"My advice? Don't meddle in my business unless you want trouble."
Flender didn't get angry. He smiled in return.
"You're right, I'm just a lowly Spirit Sage. But even if you're the most talented Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda user in your clan, right now, you're nothing but a Spirit Grandmaster."
"If you won't follow the rules, then leave."
But Ning Rongrong wasn't budging—she hadn't had enough fun yet.
Here, no one bowed and scraped before her. For once, she actually felt like she had real friends.
"I'm staying. I finally got out of the clan, and I'm not done enjoying myself."
"Flender, stay out of my way, or you'll face consequences you can't afford."
Flender frowned and barked, "Mubai! Get this young lady's things and throw them out of the academy!"
"If she resists, you have my permission to use force."
Dai Mubai gave a sheepish smile but didn't move.
He wasn't afraid of Ning Rongrong on her own—but after seeing Ye Yu flatten Zhao Wuji yesterday, he wasn't about to get involved.
After all, she wasn't exactly "alone."
"Mubai!" Flender growled, clearly irritated that even Dai Mubai wouldn't obey.
Had his authority really sunk this low?
Just as Flender stepped forward to take matters into his own hands, a calm voice echoed from the side.
"Headmaster Flender, Rongrong was indeed in the wrong here."
"But don't you think you were also being unreasonable?"
Ye Yu stepped out from the trees, walking slowly toward them.
As a transmigrator, Ye Yu didn't play favorites.
But in this case, Flender was definitely in the wrong too.
And truthfully, Ye Yu couldn't stand the academy's motto or its shallow, brute-force training methods.
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin