Chapter 274
dealt her a blow, causing her to lose all her composure and destroying her pride.
A very faint yet exceptionally clear laugh broke the deathly silence that had reached its peak.
The soft laugh in the quiet night was like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, instantly attracting the attention of everyone in the room.
Lin Xia slowly walked out.
The moonlight outlined his tall and slender figure, and the playful smile on his face stood out particularly in the moonlight.
His posture was so relaxed, as if he were watching a carefully choreographed play rather than an impending conflict.
He casually pulled a small silver coin from his pocket, twirling it nimbly between his slender fingers, the coin tracing flowing arcs of light in the moonlight.
"It seems the real show is about to begin."
Lin Xia's voice was not loud, but carried a lazy air of complete control, and it clearly reached everyone's ears.
His gaze lingered for a moment on Oscar's struggling back, a figure that shone with a desperate persistence in the moonlight. Then, his eyes lightly swept over Ning Rongrong, whose face was pale from the oppression of Flander's soul, yet who still stood stubbornly upright.
Finally, his gaze settled on Flander, whose face was ashen and who was burning with rage.
That gaze was calm and even contained a hint of a smile, yet it sent a chill down Flander's spine! The anger that had just risen because of Ning Rongrong's retort was like a bucket of ice water being poured over his head, instantly extinguishing most of it, leaving only a bone-chilling cold that spread along his spine.
He could clearly sense a chilling warning and... intense interest hidden within Lin Xia's seemingly casual gaze.
"Dean Flander."
Lin Xia's voice carried just the right amount of curiosity.
"The price of your esteemed institution's spirit of camaraderie is for people to run twenty laps while exhausted, having lost their soul power?"
He tilted his head slightly, the silver coin stopping at his fingertip, gleaming with a cold luster.
"Do you still want to isolate Ning Rongrong from everyone in the academy?"
"After dealing her a blow, make her lose all her spirit, destroy her pride, and make her loyal to Shrek?"
Flander felt an invisible pressure suddenly descend upon him.
He instinctively took a half step back, his back instantly soaked with cold sweat. Faced with Lin Xia's casual question and the invisible pressure, he couldn't utter a single word in rebuttal. The ruthless methods he had prepared to teach Ning Rongrong a lesson seemed so ridiculous and... despicable under Lin Xia's gaze.
Ning Rongrong, the moment Lin Xia invisibly broke through Flander's soul pressure, suddenly relaxed and gasped for breath.
As she watched Lin Xia's leisurely figure and listened to his sarcastic yet helpful words, a complex mix of emotions welled up inside her.
Ning Rongrong was very moved. This was the first time that someone other than her father and grandfather had stood up for her, but it didn't feel bad!
Flanders, on the other hand, felt as if he were being roasted over a fire.
Lin Xia's words were as precise as a scalpel, not only tearing apart his intentions that he tried to cover up with "friendship" in public, but also almost revealing his plan to destroy Ning Rongrong's pride and reshape her will to make it easier to "manipulate" her.
This is tantamount to tearing his fig leaf as dean to shreds!
His meticulously designed plans for "showing off," "tempering," and "reshaping" became utterly laughable and despicable in the face of Lin Xia's terrifying presence.
How can we teach like this?!
With Ning Rongrong, that troublemaker, around, and Lin Xia, that all-knowing yet clearly biased nemesis, by his side, how could Flander possibly maintain complete control over the students?!
A strong sense of suffocation and panic welled up inside him, making him almost want to roar. But he dared not, not even in the slightest.
The strength, background, and indifferent gaze of the young man in front of him reminded him of Zhao Wuji's deep underground state and Ma Hongjun's bloodied and miserable condition.
To refute Lin Xia? That's practically suicide!
The immense pressure caused Flander's facial muscles to twitch uncontrollably a few times. He forced a smile that looked worse than a grimace, and his deliberately lowered voice was tinged with an undisguised fawning and panic.
"Lord Lin Xia is joking! You...you've really misunderstood!"
He waved his hands repeatedly, his gaze behind his crystal glasses flickering as he tried to avoid Lin Xia's gaze, which seemed to pierce through his soul.
"As the dean, it is my duty to teach students and urge them to improve! I have absolutely no other intentions, absolutely no other intentions!"
"Ning Rongrong is exceptionally talented, but her personality does... does need some tempering. I'm doing this all for her own good, to help her adapt to Shrek Academy's monstrous philosophy more quickly, so she can establish herself in the cruel world of Soul Masters in the future! Absolutely not... not at all what you, City Lord, are implying..."
This explanation was weak and illogical, and even he himself felt guilty listening to it.
All the talk of "for her own good" and "monster ideology" seemed utterly empty and ridiculous under Lin Xia's ambiguous gaze.
Upon hearing this, Lin Xia did not immediately respond to Flander, but instead slightly turned her head and calmly looked at Ning Rongrong.
His gaze was indifferent, offering no encouragement, no signal, and not even any extra emotion; he simply looked at her quietly.
But Ning Rongrong understood instantly!
That was a silent inquiry, and also a silent permission; it was your turn.
Your pride is something you must defend yourself.
An unprecedented surge of courage and confidence instantly filled Ning Rongrong's chest.
Lin Xia's defense ignited a spark in her heart, while Flander's hypocritical sophistry completely set that flame ablaze.
She took a deep breath, straightened her chest, and replaced the remaining paleness on her face with a sharp crimson. Her beautiful, glassy eyes were now as sharp as unsheathed swords.
She took a step forward, a step that was exceptionally firm, standing slightly ahead of Lin Xia. She was no longer the little girl seeking protection, but rather the pride and sharpness befitting the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School!
"Dean Flander!"
Ning Rongrong's voice was clear and powerful, carrying an icy chill, and resounded clearly throughout the playground.
"Stop with your 'it's for my own good' rhetoric! You want to toughen me up? Manipulate me? Make me subservient and grateful to you like Oscar?"
Her beautiful chin was slightly raised, and her eyes looked down on him.
"What gives you the right?"
Giving Flander no chance to catch his breath, Ning Rongrong quickened her pace, each word piercing him like an icicle.
"Don't you know that my martial soul is the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, the number one auxiliary weapon martial soul on the continent? Don't you know that my father is Ning Fengzhi, the sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School?!"
Her voice suddenly rose, carrying an undeniable arrogance.
"Don't you know that my two grandfathers are the Sword Douluo Chen Xin and Bone Douluo Gu Rong, who are renowned throughout the continent?!"
"Control me? You want to turn me into an obedient 'monster' in your Shrek Academy? Dean Flander, aren't you... overestimating yourself and underestimating my Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School?!"
The final question was forceful and resounding, carrying the awe-inspiring authority of the sect. (End of Chapter)