Chapter 119: What a coincidence, you also dropped out of school
"Nannan, you packed so quickly?"
Ling Shuang, who had just walked downstairs toward Jiang Nannan's dormitory, was a little surprised to see her already coming toward him from not far away.
In his impression, girls usually took longer to pack.
Jiang Nannan stepped forward and took his arm, smiling, "Because I didn't have much to begin with, and with the soul guide you gave me, Xiao Shuang, it was easy."
Jiang Nannan was different from most girls. Her belongings were simple, not cluttered with miscellaneous items. Packing for her was nearly as quick as it was for Ling Shuang.
"Let's go." She took Ling Shuang's hand and led him toward the school gate.
Not far ahead, they ran into two familiar figures.
Rather, two people Ling Shuang was familiar with.
"Ling Shuang, what a coincidence! Are you two going on a date?"
Ning Tian spotted them and approached with Wu Feng beside her.
"No, we dropped out of school."
"You dropped out too?!"
Ning Tian's beautiful eyes widened in surprise at Ling Shuang's response.
Even Wu Feng looked visibly shocked.
"Too?" Ling Shuang paused, puzzled. "Don't tell me…?"
"Yes." Ning Tian nodded, confirming his unspoken guess.
"We also dropped out. We've completed the formalities and were just packing before heading back to the sect."
"Why?" Jiang Nannan asked, clearly curious.
She remembered that Ning Tian had withdrawn from the team earlier, but it hadn't seemed as serious as Ling Shuang's situation.
Ning Tian maintained her usual calm and gentle smile typical of the young mistress of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect as she replied evenly:
"Because I think I see things more clearly now."
Her beautiful eyes sparkled with clarity.
"I don't know why you came to Shrek Academy, but I was here to improve myself."
"I always believed that as the continent's top soul master academy, Shrek would help me grow immensely."
"But after a year of studying here, I found that wasn't really the case."
"There's nothing wrong with the academy's education, but I don't think it suits me."
"And for reasons I'm sure you can imagine, I don't exactly have a good impression of the academy anymore."
"Instead of continuing with that awkward feeling, I'd rather return to the sect. Maybe that's a better fit. My grandfather once told me that Shrek's teaching of the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda isn't as good as our sect's. I thought he was just being proud, but now… I think he was right."
Ning Tian spoke freely, as if she had finally come to terms with everything.
With her personality and identity, her heart would always align with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. She was never one to blindly worship the prestige of Shrek.
So once she realized that staying here no longer benefited her, she left without hesitation.
After all, she and Ling Shuang shared similar views about Shrek Academy.
To them, it was merely a place of study nothing more.
Unlike Huo Yuhao in the original story, they would never see this place as home.
Wu Feng added matter-of-factly, "Where the young mistress goes, I go."
Her attitude was strikingly similar to Jiang Nannan's.
Ling Shuang nodded slightly at Ning Tian's words.
This was a reasonable choice.
He had always found it odd that Ning Tian, heir of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, would enroll in Shrek.
When it came to teachings related to the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda, could Shrek truly surpass a sect with tens of thousands of years of heritage and experience?
If the reason was to strengthen ties with Shrek Academy, Ling Shuang found that even more puzzling.
No matter how good the relationship, Shrek never really cared about outsiders.
After all, look at the Tang Sect.
They had a deep history with Shrek Academy and a close relationship, didn't they?
But what happened in the end?
The entire sect was wiped out by a second-rate Ironblood Sect, leaving only Tang Ya as the lone survivor.
So Ling Shuang always believed: if you're not truly part of Shrek, don't waste your time trying to curry favor with them.
Instead, it's better to help those in real need. You might get a meaningful return someday.
"Well then, if there's nothing else, we'll be heading off," Ling Shuang said lightly, clearly not interested in lingering.
"Wait a second!" Ning Tian called out as he turned to leave with Jiang Nannan.
She reached into her soul guide and pulled out a token engraved with the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda, handing it over.
"Ling Shuang, this is my identity token. If you ever need anything, come find me at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect."
"Our sect will do its best to help."
Even after dropping out, Ning Tian hadn't given up on building a connection with Ling Shuang.
She was sharp enough to guess that Ling Shuang's background must be extraordinary, judging by how the academy had treated him.
That's why she didn't ask him to join her sect outright just extended a friendly gesture.
"Alright." Ling Shuang accepted the token.
If it came in handy someday, that was great. If not, he didn't owe anything in return.
He had a space in his storage soul guide dedicated to such tokens.
"Well then, see you if fate allows."
After saying that, he waved goodbye and walked off with Jiang Nannan.
The golden sunlight stretched behind them, casting a long, shimmering path.
...
Meanwhile, Mu En also received news of Ling Shuang's departure from the academy leadership who had just returned.
His face remained calm and unreadable.
"What about Shaozhe and Qian Duoduo?"
The returning staff exchanged uncertain glances, unsure whether to be honest.
"It's fine. Just tell the truth," Mu En said indifferently.
After a moment of hesitation, one of the senior staff members stood up and replied carefully:
"Elder Mu, Dean Yan and Dean Qian said they hadn't sparred in a while, so…"
Mu En's expression turned slightly cold.
How could he not see through that?
Their so-called 'sparring' was clearly just a front they were venting, dissatisfied with each other.
Both were deans and still acted like children at such a critical time?
"Elder Mu, should we try to persuade Ling Shuang?"
"There's still time to catch up."
"No need," Mu En shook his head. "We should respect the child's decision."
Truthfully, Ling Shuang had always been a bit of a headache for him. If he left on his own, perhaps that was for the best.
"Oh, and one more thing," one man suddenly remembered. "Ning Tian from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect also dropped out today."
"What?!"
Read New Book In My Profile....
Read 80+ Advanced Chapters at Pa Treon
patreon.com/FicTonic1
(End of this chapter)