Kazui woke up the next morning feeling refreshed, the fatigue of travel washed away by a good night's rest.
He stretched lazily, let out a yawn, and then straightened himself. With a quick splash of water on his face, he grabbed his things and headed downstairs.
The inn was quiet, the morning light streaming through the wooden windows. He approached the counter, handing over the key with a polite smile.
"Thank you for your stay," the innkeeper said.
Kazui nodded. "The bed was good. I'll probably come again if I pass through."
He stepped outside, breathing in the crisp morning air, and suddenly, his stomach growled, reminding him that sleep didn't fill hunger.
"I should eat first," he muttered to himself, glancing around at the waking streets.
Spotting a middle-aged man carrying baskets of fresh vegetables, Kazui approached him with a respectful bow of his head. "Excuse me, sir. Do you know a good place to eat around here?"
The man looked him over, then chuckled. "You must be new. There's a restaurant two streets down, turn right after the well. Their food is worth the coin."
Kazui smiled. "Thank you."
Following the directions, he soon found the restaurant. It wasn't too crowded since the day had just begun. Only the sound of kitchen clatter came from the back, and the scent of grilled meat and freshly baked bread drifted out.
Kazui entered and was greeted by a young waitress. "Welcome. Please sit anywhere you like."
He took a seat by the window and said, "Bring me the best food you have."
The waitress blinked at the unusual request but quickly nodded. "Of course."
Soon enough, steaming plates arrived. Meat seasoned with herbs, rice soaked in fragrant broth, and bread warm enough to melt the butter laid across it.
Kazui ate heartily, savoring each bite, until he leaned back in satisfaction, his stomach full.
"That was worth three gold," he murmured, placing the coins on the table.
With his hunger gone, Kazui wandered to the market. The streets bustled with life now, merchants shouting their prices, children weaving between stalls, and old women bargaining with stubborn vendors.
Kazui's helpful nature flared with every little incident. When he saw an old lady struggling with heavy baskets, he hurried forward.
"Allow me." He lifted the load with ease, walking her home as she muttered blessings under her breath.
When a boy cried at the base of a tree, pointing at his cat stuck high on the branches, Kazui climbed up without hesitation, retrieving the frightened animal and handing it back to the overjoyed child.
Later, he found a small girl wandering the streets in tears. After calming her down, he took her by the hand and spent time asking around until they located her worried parents, who bowed repeatedly in gratitude.
By the time Kazui returned to the busy street, he was happily chewing on a stick of candied haws gifted by the grateful grandmother from earlier.
His lips curled into a wide smile as the sweet syrup coated his tongue.
He looked up, and saw the sun was already setting, his eyes widened.
"Ah! I completely forgot to search for Rongrong!" He scratched the back of his head.
He got so engrossed with looking around the city that he forgot to search for his friend!
Just then, a flicker of familiar Reiatsu flares from a certain direction, and his eyes widened from joy as he looked up.
"This reiatsu... It's Rongrong!"
Without another word, he flash stepped towards where he felt that power.
*
*
*
Going back a few minutes earlier, in an old village area outside the city, there exist an academy known as Shrek.
And Ning Rongrong, the friend that Kazui has been looking for, is here, along with other students of the school.
"Oscar, did the two of you finished running twenty laps?"
Flender, a level 78 Spirit Saint and the dean of the academy, asked one of the students in school, Oscar.
Oscar coughed, nodding, and said, "Dean, I finished running."
Flender snorted coldly, "I asked you two, not you."
Oscar turned his head to look at Ning Rongrong, who was simply staring at the setting sun, arms crossed, as if nothing here interests her.
Oscar clenched his teeth, nodding, and replies, "Yes, we both finished running."
Flender smiled, "Very good, Oscar, I did not expect you to have a such a spirit of camaraderie. You come over here."
Oscar's face revealed a wry smile, but he did not again look at Ning Rongrong, with large strides, he walked up to stand before Flender.
Flender slowly raised his right hand and rested it on Oscar's shoulder, "I greatly appreciate your spirit of camaraderie, this being the case, you go run another twenty laps, let me have a look at just how deep your friendly affection actually is. If you can't finish it, then there is no need for you to eat. Now go."
Oscar without saying anything, only nodded in silence, turning around and running towards the outside.
Flender's gaze returned to his other students; Dai Mubai, Tang San, Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ma Hongjun.
"Are you confused why I forced him to run another twenty laps once again? Do you think I'm being cruel?"
Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun were very familiar with Flender's temper and were not uttering a word.
Zhu Zhuqing's natural disposition was ice cold, only indifferently looking at him.
But Tang San and Xiao Wu subconsciously nodded. They indeed did not understand why Flender must act like this.
Flender, smiling, looked at Tang San and Xiao Wu and said, "Because he lied. Even though he was lying for the sake of camaraderie or perhaps some other purpose, he still lied. You all still are children, lies are the worst moral character. I hope you understand."
Speaking, his gaze from Tang San's five turned to one innocent expression, looking at that completely indifferent Ning Rongrong.
"Tell me, have you finished my arranged course from this morning?"
Ning Rongrong honestly shook her head, saying, "I haven't. I'm not interested in running around like a dog."
Flender slightly smiled, saying, "So because of that, you decided to just ran around the city, eating and playing around?"
Ning Rongrong glared at him with that pair of beautiful eyes, "You spied on me?"
Flender's expression immediately turned cold, "As dean, I must be in charge of each of the Academy's students. Oscar's mistake can be forgiven, as he lied to help a fellow classmate. But you? You left the academy without permission, and didn't follow any of your dean's instructions. If this is a battlefield, you will be killed via martial law."
Ning Rongrong frowned, her beautiful face revealing a somewhat contemptuous and disdainful expression, "This is no battlefield, just an Academy, nothing more."
Flender nodded, saying. "That's right, this is only an Academy, but this is my Shrek Academy. And right now, I'm giving you two roads to choose from. First, pack up your things and leave immediately. Second road, change your ways and stay."
Ning Rongrong smiled, even though she was only twelve years old, one had no choice but to concede, her smile truly was lovely, very beautiful.
But that harmless smiling expression somewhat gave people a feeling of danger.
"Flender, who do you think you are? You're just a minor Spirit Saint, that's all. You're giving me an ultimatum? Hah! Who gave you the right? With my talent, even Spirit Hall would kneel and beg me to join them!"
"Then you tell me, compared to who present here are you more powerful?" Flender disdainfully asked.
Ning Rongrong, whose fiery temper finally couldn't be suppressed, decided to move.
"You want to know?" She raised her hand, "I'll show you. Bakudo #4, Hainawa!"
A bright, golden rope slithered on her arms like lightning before flying towards the suprised Flender, binding him tightly.
He was shocked, because he found out that even with his physical strength, he find it hard to actually break this rope.
Then, Ning Rongrong pointed her finger at Flender, "Hado #4, Byakurai!"
A flicker of white lightning appeared on her finger before flying towards the still bound Flender.
Flender's eyes widened as he quickly used his spiritual energy to break free from the binding and harden his body as the lightning exploded on him, causing a massive explosion that would probably instantly kill anyone below Spirit Ancestor.
As the explosion died down, Flender appeared before everyone's shocked eyes. His clothes were burnt away, and some of his skin was red from the heat and steaming, and although he looked okay, it was still shocking to see someone, especially a Level 26 Auxiliary Spirit Grandmaster injure a Spirit Saint.
Ning Rongrong smirked, "You asked who among present here am I more powerful? Let me be frank, even if all your students here were to attack me at once, I can still rub their faces to the ground."