Chapter 277
The Choice!
"Flander!"
Ning Rongrong's voice was not loud, but it clearly pierced through the night, carrying an undeniable authority.
Do you think apologizing now will be of any use?
Ning Rongrong slightly raised her chin, her glass-like eyes gleaming with a cold light under the moonlight, like the finest gemstones.
"The signal flare has been fired."
Those seven words, like seven thunderbolts, struck Flander's heart once again, causing his already limp body to tremble violently.
"Our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School's highest summons signifies that the core members of the sect have encountered an irresistible threat or an unbearable humiliation!"
Ning Rongrong's voice suddenly rose, each word like a shard of ice hitting Flander's face.
"This order is as if the sect leader himself has arrived! Within a radius of hundreds of miles, all soul masters, businesses, guards, and sentries belonging to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School will assemble and rush to the aid at the fastest speed! Moreover, two titled Douluo grandfathers will also be coming!"
Ning Rongrong took a step forward, raising a slight dust beneath her feet, and exuded the aura of a top sect heir.
"Flander, what do you think about coming here with such a large force and expending so much resources..."
Ning Rongrong paused for a moment, looked down at Flander who was trembling on the ground like a fallen leaf, and curled her lips into an extremely cold smile, full of disdain and mockery.
"Just to hear your perfunctory 'I'm sorry'? Just to receive your pitiful compensation?"
"Humph!"
A cold sneer, like a blade of wind in the dead of winter.
"compensation?"
The mockery on Ning Rongrong's face was almost tangible.
"Do you really think the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, which is incredibly wealthy, controls nearly half of the continent's rare mineral trade, and whose wealth rivals that of a nation's treasury, would be short of your meager sum of money?!"
Ning Rongrong's voice suddenly turned sharp, like a drawn sword pointing directly at Flander:
"What do you think our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School is?! A roadside vegetable stall where you can haggle over prices?! You, a mere Soul Saint, a dean of a shabby academy in a remote rural area, dare to presume to measure the dignity of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School with your pitiful wealth?!"
"You schemed against me, trying to destroy my will and turn me into a puppet who would obey your every command and be grateful to you, so that you could curry favor with the sect behind me!"
"This is not just an insult to me, Ning Rongrong! This is a blatant provocation against the dignity of the entire Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School! It is smearing the brilliance of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda! It is slapping my father, Ning Fengzhi! It is slapping my sword grandfather, Chen Xin! It is slapping my bone grandfather, Gu Rong!"
Each question was like a heavy hammer blow to Flander's heart, turning his face ashen and leaving him unable to even beg for mercy, only a desperate "hoarse" sound escaping his throat.
An overwhelming sense of fear, like an icy tide, completely engulfed him.
He could almost see the Seven Kill Sword of Sword Douluo, capable of cleaving mountains, hovering above his head, and the sinister white bone claws of Bone Douluo seizing his soul...
"You want to use money to smooth things over?"
Ning Rongrong's voice carried a sense of judgment, falling coldly and cruelly.
"You, Flander, along with your entire so-called Shrek Academy, if you sold it all, how many gold soul coins would it be worth? Would it be even a fraction of my sect's dignity? Would it quell the rage of a Title Douluo?!"
As she watched Flander collapse to the ground, his eyes vacant, like a puppet whose soul had been ripped from him, the anger in her heart did not subside; instead, it ignited a colder resolve.
Now that the signal has been sent and the sect's forces are gathering, it is imperative to seize the greatest benefits and value for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School and for herself in this farce!
Ning Rongrong's gaze slowly swept across the dilapidated and shabby Shrek Academy grounds, past the stunned Dai Mubai in the distance, and finally, her icy gaze, like a tangible icicle, pierced Flander once more. "Flander, put away your pathetic appearance and worthless wealth."
Her voice regained its calmness, yet carried an undeniable air of control.
"Want to live? Want to protect Shrek Academy, which you've poured your heart and soul into, from being razed to the ground in my grandfather's rage?"
A faint glimmer of light, like a drowning man seeing a piece of driftwood, suddenly appeared in Flander's desperate eyes. He struggled to lift his head, staring intently at Ning Rongrong, his lips trembling, but he dared not make a sound, for fear of interrupting this only chance of life.
Ning Rongrong slightly raised her chin, the moonlight casting a cool, silvery glow on her. At this moment, she was no longer a spoiled and willful little princess, but the true heir of the sect who held the power of life and death.
Listen carefully.
Her voice echoed clearly across the deathly silent playground, like a final verdict.
"First, the ownership of Shrek Academy shall be transferred unconditionally and permanently to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, effective immediately!"
From this day forward, Shrek Academy will exist as an external talent training base for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, and its ownership, management, and final interpretation rights will belong entirely to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School!
You, Flander, will only retain the title of Dean and limited teaching authority. All major matters must be reported to the Supervising Elder appointed by the sect!
This is a radical move, completely stripping him of the foundation for controlling everything!
"second!"
Ning Rongrong's gaze swept over Flander's pale face, devoid of any warmth.
"I will report today's events to the sect truthfully. It was your despicable thoughts that caused all of this!"
As for how the sect will deal with you—whether to cripple your cultivation or spare your life to continue serving the academy—it's entirely up to my father and my two grandfathers to decide!
Your life or death is not in my hands, but in whether you still have any value!
This is a sword hanging over his head, forever keeping him in the shadow of the sect and under the threat of potential purges!
"third!"
Her voice suddenly took on an undeniable sharpness.
"Stop with your ridiculous idea of 'only accepting monsters'!"
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School Investment Academy is not here to play some monster-raising game with you!
The academy's future enrollment, training direction, and resource allocation must follow the sect's overall plan, with practicality, efficiency, and alignment with the sect's interests as the core principles!
Resources will be prioritized for students with potential and loyalty!
The sect has the right to recruit all students with priority!
Your set of rules that encourages unscrupulous private fights and gambling are hereby abolished!
If I find out again that you are trying to manipulate the will of trainees using PUA techniques…
Ning Rongrong snorted coldly, and the chill in her unfinished words made Flander feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave.
"Flander".
Ning Rongrong looked down at him one last time, her eyes cold as ice.
"If you want to live, if you want to prevent the academy you built from being wiped out, that's the only condition. Accept it, or... prepare to face my Grandpa Sword's Seven Killing Sword Intent! The choice is yours!" (End of Chapter)