Douluo Continent: Beginning with Signing in with Yan Lingji

"Ahem," Flander couldn't help but clear his throat upon seeing the scene before him.

"Teacher? You're here too," Ma Hongjun said respectfully upon noticing Flander.

"You didn't attend your morning classes. How could I not come?" Flander responded, slightly annoyed.

However, there was a glint of satisfaction in his eyes when he looked at Ma Hongjun. After all, Flander had watched him grow up, suffering from the torment of his evil fire since he was a child. Seeing that the issue was finally resolved, and that Ma Hongjun's martial spirit had now transformed into a true Fire Phoenix, Flander couldn't help but feel pleased. With such a transformation, Ma Hongjun's future prospects were bright, and Flander's mood naturally improved.

"Teacher, I'm sorry! But I had a reason for today," Ma Hongjun pleaded, his face showing distress as he feared Flander might punish him.

"Alright, alright. I never said I was going to punish you," Flander said, feigning annoyance before turning his gaze to Zhao Ming.

Ma Hongjun hurriedly introduced him, "This is my teacher, the headmaster of Shrek Academy, and a Soul Sage-level expert, Flander."

"Headmaster, nice to meet you. I'm Zhao Ming, a newly admitted student," Zhao Ming said with a polite smile.

"Hmm, I heard about you from Zhao Wuji yesterday. At first, I thought he was exaggerating, but now I see I was the one underestimating you. You truly live up to the word 'genius,'" Flander said with satisfaction.

A genius with great talent but without arrogance—polite and humble in demeanor.

At this moment, Flander had a very high opinion of Zhao Ming.

"We haven't had a chance to teach you anything yet, and here you are solving one of our biggest problems. What you've done for Hongjun, I'll remember that. Consider it a personal favor," Flander said solemnly.

Without children of his own, Flander had planned to treat Ma Hongjun as his sole disciple. Although Flander was stern with him on the surface, even stricter than with others, in his heart, he had already regarded Ma Hongjun as his son. Now that Zhao Ming had cured Ma Hongjun, Flander naturally felt deeply grateful.

Although a favor from a Soul Sage might not hold much value to Zhao Ming right now, it was still something worth having.

"You all worked hard today. Zhao Ming, go ahead and rest for now. Hongjun, come with me," Flander said before leading Ma Hongjun away, likely to test his newly transformed martial spirit.

...

"Phew, I'm exhausted. Finally, I can take a break," Ning Rongrong said, collapsing onto the ground without any concern for her usual grace. She fanned herself with her hand, her breathing heavy.

"Anyway, Flander won't notice if I slack off a bit. I can skip a few laps, head to Soto City for some fun, and be back in time. Perfect!" she muttered to herself, her eyes lighting up as she made her way toward the village entrance.

"What do you mean no one will notice? Am I not standing right here?" A calm voice suddenly spoke.

Startled, Ning Rongrong turned to see Zhao Ming lounging under a large tree near the village entrance, casually eating an apple and watching her with amusement.

"Zhao Ming? What are you doing here?" she asked, finally noticing his presence. His spot had been hidden by tree branches, so she hadn't seen him earlier.

"Why can't I be here?" Zhao Ming replied with a grin, taking another bite of his apple.

"Um, Zhao Ming, can we talk for a moment?" Ning Rongrong's eyes sparkled as she tried a soft, charming tone, batting her eyelashes at him.

"What is it?" Zhao Ming chuckled, already amused by her mischievous expression.

"Well, I have something I need to take care of in Soto City. If anyone asks, could you pretend you didn't see me? What do you think?" Her eyes twinkled as she made her request, her voice sweet and pleading.

"No," Zhao Ming shook his head, rejecting her outright.

He knew that Ning Rongrong and Oscar had been tasked with running as a form of physical training. Flander had intentionally set this task to give Ning Rongrong a bit of a challenge, knowing she wouldn't be able to complete it. He was trying to use this opportunity to humble her, and Zhao Ming had come to help her through it.

However, Ning Rongrong didn't see it that way. She thought Zhao Ming was simply making her life difficult.

"Zhao Ming, don't forget, you didn't even show up for the morning exercises! You're even worse than me!" Ning Rongrong retorted, hands on her hips, her tone turning defiant.

She was furious. Zhao Ming had already stolen her necklace before, and she had been gracious enough not to hold it against him. Now, here he was, giving her a hard time again!

She couldn't take it anymore!

"You're right, I didn't go to morning training. But that doesn't give you an excuse to skip your assigned task," Zhao Ming said, finishing his apple and reaching for a bunch of grapes, their fresh, juicy surface glistening in the sunlight.

Ning Rongrong couldn't help but swallow as she looked at the grapes, but her irritation toward Zhao Ming quickly overpowered her temptation. She turned her head away, refusing to look at him.

"If I remember correctly, you've only run eight laps. You still have twelve left, don't you?"

"How… how do you know that? Were you keeping count this whole time?" Ning Rongrong's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Well, I was bored, so I kept track. Oh, and no need to thank me," Zhao Ming grinned, completely unfazed by Ning Rongrong's angry expression.

"I'm not thanking you!" she stomped her foot in frustration, on the verge of losing her temper.

"You'd better hurry up and finish. If we keep chatting, you won't finish by the end of the day. Of course, you can always choose not to run, but I'll make sure Flander knows. Then you can pack up and leave the academy. Getting expelled on your second day—how embarrassing would that be?" Zhao Ming said seriously. "Imagine that, leaving on your second day. Quite the disgrace."

"I'll leave then! I don't care! It's just Shrek Academy anyway. I'll leave right now!" Ning Rongrong shouted, her voice breaking slightly as tears welled up in her eyes.

Wiping away her tears, she ran toward the village entrance. But after hesitating for a moment, she turned back and continued her laps around the village.

"You'd better run faster! I'm still counting from here," Zhao Ming called after her with a grin.

Hearing Zhao Ming's voice from behind, Ning Rongrong felt a surge of frustration and anger but could do nothing about it.

"Zhao Ming, just you wait. If I ever catch you slipping up, I won't let you off the hook!" she fumed internally.

[•———•———•———•]

𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙟𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙮. 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚!

𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀 𝘁𝗼:

• 𝙅𝙘𝟭𝟮𝟬𝟮

• 𝘼𝙝𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙟𝙖𝙝

• 𝗝𝗮𝗰𝗼𝗯 𝗠𝗼𝗲𝗲

𝗔𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘂𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸:

• 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀: 𝙂𝙚𝙩 𝟭𝟴𝟱+ 𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚.

• 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁-𝗢𝘂𝘁: 𝙍𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩!

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝘂𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝘀 𝗺𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗲𝘁, 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝘀!

👉 𝙅𝙤𝙞𝙣 𝙣𝙤𝙬: 𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙤𝙣.𝙘𝙤𝙢/𝙂𝙤𝙙𝙊𝙛𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧

💬 𝘼𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝘼𝙫𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚: 𝙈𝙮 𝘼𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙩! 𝙐𝙣𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙠 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙤𝙡 𝙛𝙤𝙧 $30—𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖 10% 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩! 𝙅𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙙𝙚: 𝗚𝗢𝗗𝗢𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗥.

𝙒𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙂𝙋𝙏 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙗𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙢𝙮 𝘼𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙩, 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙛𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝘾𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙨 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙀𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣-𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙮, 𝙘𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙣𝙪𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙚𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙡. 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙦𝙪𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙤𝙡 𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙖𝙡 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙛𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙨, 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙣𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚!

👉𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗽: 𝙋𝙖𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙤𝙣.𝙘𝙤𝙢/𝙂𝙤𝙙𝙊𝙛𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧/𝙎𝙝𝙤𝙥