Running

Half an hour later, Ye Yang stood in the center of the square and said to them, "Not bad, not a single one of you was late. Keep it up. How many people are in the class now?"

"Fifty people," Kira stepped forward and said.

"Really?" Ye Yang's lips curled into an enigmatic smile. "I wonder how many people will stay?" For some reason, the students felt a chill run through them despite the sweltering heat, and they couldn't help but shiver.

Ye Yang turned around, lifted a box from the ground, and opened it. Inside were pieces of lead plates. Ye Yang picked up one and said, "This is a specially made lead plate that I asked the Research and Development Institute to make. Don't be fooled by its small size; it weighs a full ten kilograms! I know ten kilograms shouldn't be too heavy for you, so please take one with you."

After distributing the lead plates and strapping them to his legs, Ye Yang continued, "You are not allowed to take the lead plates off during training, not even while sleeping. Do you understand?"

"Clear!"

"It doesn't seem too heavy," a voice suddenly rang out. Ye Yang looked closely and saw that the speaker was Renji Abarai. A brainless person like him wouldn't think that much.

"Teacher, what are we going to do next?" Renji continued to ask, seemingly unable to wait any longer.

Ye Yang pointed to the entrance of the Shin'ō: "Your task is to run ten laps around the Shin'ō! You have to finish within one hour!"

"Huh? How is that possible? Ten laps for Shin'ō!" Renji complained.

"I don't care what methods you use, whether it 'Shunpo or Spiritual Power assistance, as long as you can complete the mission. Those who fail will have a surprise when they return! Let's begin!"

The fifty people who had been standing there vanished the instant Ye Yang finished speaking. There was no hint of joking on Ye Yang's face. Who knew what that so-called surprise would be? Even a fool could guess it wasn't anything good.

Renji charged ahead, saying, "Tch, I don't want to do that! I'm going now~"

Kira warned, "Abarai- kun, if you run this fast now, you won't have any energy left later."

Renji waved his hand behind him and said, "I know." But his pace didn't slow down; instead, it quickened, as if he didn't care about Kira's reminder.

"Honestly, Abarai- kun always ignores everyone's advice," Momo Hinamori complained while adjusting her breathing as she ran alongside Kira. Surprisingly, neither of them used Spiritual Power to assist them, relying solely on their physical strength to run. They both knew that if they used Spiritual Power now, they would run out of Spiritual Power later and fail to complete the mission.

Kira spoke up, "Forget it, that's just Abarai's personality. He's not the kind of person who would care about that."

The fifty people are now divided into three groups. At the forefront is the vanguard led by Abarai, which consists of about ten people, all of whom are charging forward desperately.

Then there's the middle unit where Kira and Hinamori are located; most of the trainees are in this unit. The pace here is neither too fast nor too slow, just enough for most people to keep up.

Finally, there was the extremely small third group. There were only five people in total, including three girls. As for what they were thinking, no one knows.

At the beginning stage, everyone was full of energy, so there were basically no people falling behind. However, the gap became apparent in the third lap. The students who were initially in control gradually slowed down. Most of them had started by using Spiritual Power to assist them. How much Spiritual Power would a first-year student from the Shin'ō Academy have? So they quickly ran out of Spiritual Power and slowed down.

The initial ten men in the vanguard had been reduced to five, and several men in the second unit had fallen behind to the final third unit, clearly exhausted.

Renji was still leading the race, showing no signs of fatigue. Come to think of it, he came from the District 78 of Rukongai. How could he survive in such a chaotic area without some skills? Running away was their most basic and best skill, so Renji must have gotten used to running.

Ye Yang smiled and murmured, "The ten kilograms in my legs should be taking effect soon..."

Sure enough, by the fifth lap, nearly half of the students had noticeably slowed down. The third group had grown to about twenty people, leaving only three at the front. However, judging from the situation, the remaining two wouldn't last long either, as they were already panting heavily. Only Renji managed to maintain even breathing, but even he was trying his best to adjust his condition.

As for the second unit, everyone was gritting their teeth and persevering. Those who hadn't used their Spiritual Power at first started using Spiritual Power assist, except for Kira and Hinamori, who hadn't yet used their Spiritual Power, but they were also starting to sweat profusely.

Ten kilograms may not seem like much to death, but when you're weak, it can become a fatal burden.

"Everyone, hang in there! No matter if you can finish within the time limit, you have to try your best! As long as you finish, you've succeeded!" Ye Yang encouraged loudly.

By the seventh lap, the number of people in the Third Legion had increased to more than thirty, while only Renji was still running in the vanguard. However, at this point, Renji had no choice but to use his Spiritual Power. But running gets more and more tiring towards the end, Renji was now covered in sweat.

More than ten people in the second unit were still holding on, but they all seemed to be struggling. Only Kira and Hinamori could still hold on for a while, but they also looked like they were nearing their limit.

However, it's worth noting that the boy from the third unit, who was initially lagging behind, has caught up with the Second Corps. This doesn't mean his speed has increased; it simply means his speed remained constant. However, the others have slowed down due to the depletion of their Spiritual Power, which is why he has been able to gradually catch up.

It must be said that he is very good at allocating his physical and Spiritual Power. He only exerts his strength when everyone else is exhausted, and judging from his appearance, he can still hold on for a while. He should be able to catch up.

By the ninth lap, Renji, who had been in the lead, had exhausted all his Spiritual Power and could only rely on his physical strength and willpower to keep going. It's worth mentioning that he had already closed the gap to the last-place student by one lap. At this point, Kira and Hinamori also used up their last bit of Spiritual Power and finally broke away from the second group, taking second and third place respectively. The student who had started strong now seemed to have the will but not the strength, and his speed was not as fast as it had been at the beginning.

Ye Yang shouted, "One last lap! Everyone, keep going and finish! Just a reminder—there are only five minutes left until the one-hour mark!"

At this point, no one complained, because they were too exhausted to speak. They were more interested in figuring out how to finish the race than in talking.

Renji also mustered his strength and began his final sprint. Although he didn't know if he could complete the mission, he wouldn't give up even in the last second—that was his belief!

Ye Yang went straight to the finish line and waited. As expected, Renji to cross the finish line, followed by Kira and Hinamori. Behind them was the student who made a late surge. Given the limitations of his physical strength and Spiritual Power, it was already quite good that he could achieve such a result. As for the students behind him, they all arrived at the finish line one after another, looking disheveled.

"Those who have finished running should not stop to rest immediately. Walk slowly for five minutes first, and then sit down to cultivate immediately!" Ye Yang shouted to those who sat down to rest.

Ye Yang made them run not simply to improve their physical fitness, but also to motivate them to want to become stronger by making them feel their limits. Moreover, when their Spiritual Power and physical strength are exhausted, their spiritual bodies will absorb external Reishi at a faster rate, which can quickly improve their cultivation speed.

Ye Yang didn't wake them up until they had been cultivating for half an hour. "Alright, everyone, get up."

The students stood up one after another, their faces showing smiles to varying degrees. They had clearly benefited from the training, and although they were previously dissatisfied with Ye Yang's training methods, they now understood them.

"To be honest, I was very disappointed with your performance during the running training just now," Ye Yang said slowly.

At this point, a student below couldn't help but say, "Teacher, ten laps in an hour is really asking too much. Even the first-place winner Abarai- kun, didn't finish it, did he?"

"Indeed, even Abarai didn't finish. He was one minute short of the deadline, which is one of my disappointments." Ye Yang looked sharply at Renji: "Abarai, you have excellent stamina and Spiritual Power. I thought you were the only one who could finish this, but you were too eager for quick success and didn't know how to allocate your stamina properly, which resulted in you being unable to speed up later. Otherwise, you would have had a chance to finish. You need to learn to allocate your stamina reasonably in the future, understand?"

Renji looked directly at Ye Yang and said, "Yes, Teacher Ye Yang!"

Ye Yang scanned them. "Apart from Abarai, those of you who were running ahead, come out."

Nearly a few students came out, all with their heads down, not daring to look at Ye Yang. The reason was simple: without exception, they had all ended up at the very back.

"You used your Spiritual Power to catch up with Abarai at the beginning. Don't try to be brave if you don't have the strength. Otherwise, with your Spiritual Power, you should have been able to achieve a good result. Remember this lesson in the future!"

"Yes!" No one objected, because what Ye Yang said was true.

Ye Yang turned his gaze to Kira and Hinamori: "You both performed well. Physical strength isn't your strong point, and you were able to allocate your Spiritual Power reasonably. However, you still need to pay attention, as physical strength is extremely important in real battles. You need to overcome this weakness, understand?"

Yes, Teacher Ye Yang!