"New Student"

That hand was warm, dry, and filled with irresistible strength.

The instant Long Yao's hand closed around her wrist, Wang Dong's body stiffened sharply as if she had been electrocuted. Almost by instinct, she tried to pull her hand back. The pride that ran deep in her bones made it impossible for her to accept such intimate "charity" from a "man" under everyone's eyes.

However, she failed.

That palm was like a pair of Iron Tongs forged from ten-thousand-year mystic iron. It seemed to hold her lightly, yet even with all her strength, she could not break free in the slightest. Immediately after, a gentle, pure, yet ocean-vast stream of Soul Power poured endlessly into her nearly dried-up Meridians through their tightly pressed palms, like the sweetest clear spring.

This Soul Power was so pure that the moment it came into contact with the sacred Soul Power originating from her Light Goddess Butterfly, it perfectly merged with it, producing not the slightest trace of rejection. It felt like parched seedlings after a long drought meeting Sweet Rain, instantly filling her body—on the verge of collapse from exhaustion—with life and strength once more.

Feeling returned to her aching Legs, and her muddled mind also became much clearer.

"Keep up."

He did not look at her. His voice was calm, without the slightest Ripples, as if he were only doing something perfectly ordinary. But that domineering yet gentle strength passed through their clasped hands, conveying an unquestionable message to her: with me here, you won't fall.

Wang Dong completely gave up resisting.

She let him pull her along. That endless strength coming from his palm became her only support in this hellish punishment. Her steps began to unconsciously match his rhythm, becoming just as steady and powerful.

Time passed lap after lap in the mechanical running.

The fifteenth lap...

They overtook a burly Attack System Soul Master whose Martial Soul was the Great Strength Bear. That Student was carrying a twenty-kilogram weight and was already sweating like rain, each step as if trudging through a swamp. When he saw the two of them run past him with ease, disbelief appeared in his eyes.

The twentieth lap...

A Support System girl finally could not hold on. Her Legs went weak, and with a miserable cry, she collapsed onto the track. Two Senior Students in charge of supervision immediately carried her away, declaring her eliminated. Wang Dong looked at the despairing gaze in that girl's eyes as she was carried off, and fear lingered in her heart. She knew that without the man beside her, her current fate would probably be no different from that girl's.

The thirtieth lap...

They had already charged to the very front of the group, entering the first echelon led by those Soul Elders. When they turned back and saw them, a trace of surprise flashed in their eyes, and then they smiled and nodded at Long Yao as a greeting.

The fortieth lap...

Even the first echelon began to split apart. Several Students whose Soul Power had only just reached rank thirty had charged too hard in the early stages, and now they were already running out of strength. Their speed visibly slowed, and Long Yao and Wang Dong mercilessly left them behind.

From Beginning to End, Long Yao's breathing had not become disordered in the slightest. He was like a tireless perpetual-motion machine made of precise mechanisms, pulling Wang Dong forward at a constant, terrifying speed. Forward, forward!

Wang Dong had gone completely numb.

She no longer thought about the difference between men and women, nor did she dwell on pride and dignity. All her attention was focused on the hand holding his. That hand was the source of her strength, the only lone boat and harbor she had in this sea of suffering. She even had an absurd illusion that as long as this hand did not let go, she could run until the end of time.

She began to secretly glance from the corner of her eye at the side of the man's Face beside her.

He looked straight ahead, the line of his jaw tight and perfect, his high nose casting a small shadow in the sunlight. The black hair over his forehead was lifted slightly by the wind, revealing those Eyes as deep as the starry sky. There was no expression on his Face—no Proud delight from surpassing others, no fatigue from this long run. All he had was an absolute calm like an Old Well without Ripples, as if nothing in the world could shake his mind.

Who... exactly was this person? Was he really only rank twenty-four? Why did he possess such unfathomable Soul Power? Why... did we have a Martial Soul Compatibility as high as 99%? Why... when he was clearly so annoying, did he still reach out to me again and again when I was at my most pathetic?

Countless questions coiled around Wang Dong's heart like wildly growing vines. She discovered that her understanding of this man was actually a complete blank. And the more blank it was, the stronger her desire to explore and understand became.

On the high Steps, Zhou Yi's gaze had long since shifted away from Bei Bei at the front and the stunningly performing Huo Yuhao, moving instead to this "hand-holding" pair behind them.

At first, when she saw the two holding hands, her brows were tightly furrowed. In her view, this was childish playacting, a display of cowardice. But as time passed, her eyes gradually changed.

With her eyesight, she could naturally tell that Wang Dong's condition was extremely poor and had long since neared her limit. But what about Long Yao? He was carrying a twenty-kilogram weight, yet not only was he running without his Face flushing or his breath quickening, he actually still had spare strength to divide out a portion of his Soul Power to support his Comrade! Moreover, the delivery of that Soul Power was so exquisite, stable, and silent that it caused not the slightest dissipation or waste of Soul Power!

What a terrifying total amount of Soul Power was this?! And what precise control over Soul Power was this?!

This Youth called Long Yao had hidden strength that was definitely not as simple as the rank twenty-four he had displayed!

In fact... that composure of his was even more effortless than those Soul Elders on the field with the highest Soul Power!

"Monster..." Zhou Yi's Lips moved soundlessly, forming those two words. This time, it was no longer mockery, but a true evaluation From the Heart! These two Little Ones with 99% compatibility might truly become existences that could change the academy, and even change the future of the entire continent!

On the other side, Huo Yuhao, who had deliberately slowed down and mixed into the middle of the group, had also long since focused all his attention on Long Yao and Wang Dong.

His Spirit Eyes could not directly see through the flow of Soul Power like Zhou Yi could, but he could clearly sense the changes in "momentum."

He saw that Wang Dong's aura had originally been like a candle in the wind, on the verge of collapse. But after Long Yao took her hand, her "momentum" seemed to receive a constant infusion of living water. Though it was still weak, it became incomparably tenacious, with no sign of collapse anymore.

As for Long Yao himself, his "momentum" was a calm, bottomless ocean. No matter how long he had run, no matter how much strength he had output, the water level of that ocean did not drop in the slightest.

"How... exactly did he do it?" Huo Yuhao's heart was filled with deep shock and confusion. This Youth called Long Yao had once again been raised infinitely higher in terms of danger level in his mind.

The fiftieth lap!

When the halfway point ended, fewer than a hundred Students on the plaza could still keep running. And Long Yao and Wang Dong had completely surpassed everyone, running at the very front of the group!

In the Livestream Room, it had already become a wave of Mountain Shouting Sea Roaring!

[I Really Only Know How to Give Freely]: He passed them! Passed them all! Streamer is awesome!!! He carried a girl through half the run and still took first! What kind of Immortal stamina is this?!

[Lust is the Primary Productive Force]: Ahhh! Did you all see that?! They held hands the whole time! The whole time! How is this punishment?! This is clearly a publicly funded date! Too sweet! So sweet my teeth are falling out!

[Keyboard Warrior Ninth-Rank Elder]: Tactical analysis! With this move, Streamer killed three birds with one stone! First, he displayed his unfathomable strength and intimidated the Teacher and classmates. Second, Hero saved the beauty and completely captured Wang Dong's heart. Third, through long-term intimate contact like holding hands, he forcibly deepened the physical memory and dependence between the two of them! Textbook! This is the real textbook!

[Rich Women Love Me]: Wuwuwu, my Little Handsome Guy is too manly! This kind of domineering gentleness where he silently gives without asking for anything in return—who could withstand it?!

[Rich Women Love Me] tipped [Dragon Blood Body Tempering Pill] x10 (worth 50,000 yuan): Little Handsome Guy, use this to take a bath after you finish running. It can relieve fatigue and strengthen your physique! Give one to your little "roommate" too! Just take it as big sister rewarding your teamwork spirit!

Being pulled by that warm big hand, Wang Dong felt as though she had entered a wondrous state. The exhaustion of her body seemed to have gone far away, leaving only the synchronized Footsteps of the two of them in her ears, and that steady, powerful heartbeat.

In her heart, that arrogance and awkwardness had already been washed clean. Replacing them was an emotion she had never experienced before, something Named "trust" and "reliance."

She knew that from this moment on, between herself and this Youth named Long Yao, the thread Named "fate" had already been tightly, irrevocably tangled together.

The sun had already passed the highest point in the sky and begun to slowly tilt westward.

The run across the square had already entered its final and most painful stage.

Ninety-five laps... ninety-six laps...

Most of the students had long since been left far behind, and many had even collapsed, mercilessly eliminated. On the track, only a sparse scattering of figures remained, still holding on by the last of their Willpower. Every single one of them looked as if they had been fished out of water, soaked from head to toe, their faces twisted by extreme exhaustion. Every step was like racing against Death God.

And at the very front of this hell on earth, that despair-inducing figure was still there.

Long Yao pulled Wang Dong along, running at the very front. His steps, his breathing, were no different from when he had run his first lap. It was as if he were not doing a hundred-kilometer weighted run, but merely taking an easy stroll after dinner.

By comparison, Wang Dong was in a much worse state.

Sweat had long since completely soaked her brand-new school uniform, plastering it tightly to her body, which, though slender, had already begun to show delicate curves. Strands of Pink Blue hair stuck to her forehead and cheeks, making her look somewhat disheveled. Her chest rose and fell violently like a worn-out bellows, and every breath came with a Burning Hot, searing pain.

If not for the hand holding hers tightly, and the gentle yet vast Soul Power continuously flowing into her body, she was certain she would have collapsed before the fiftieth lap.

At some point, she had stopped thinking and stopped struggling. Her entire world seemed to have been compressed to the extreme, leaving only a few things: the Stone Slab Road constantly retreating beneath her feet, the Wind Sound howling past her ears, the Burning Hot searing pain in her Lungs, and... from her palm, that warm, Domineering Power that gave her incomparable Peace of Mind.

All her senses were focused on that hand.

She could feel the lines of his palm, feel the strength of his Knuckles, feel the terrifying energy contained beneath that dry skin, like a Vast Ocean.

This man...

At the very beginning, he had been the annoying jerk who deliberately knocked her down and made her embarrass herself.

Then, he had been the hateful guy who had teased her with words in the assessment arena and thrown her mind into chaos.

After that, he had been the Bastard who, in the dorm, had shattered all her pride with a single aggrieved look.

But he...

He was also the first person to step forward when she was about to be eliminated, using a 99% Soul Resonance to forcefully pull her through Shrek's gates.

He was also the person who had clumsily wiped away her tears when she broke down crying, giving her a warm embrace.

And he was also, at this very moment, during this hellish punishment that should have been impossible for her to complete, silently pulling her along, leading her past everyone else... her support.

Annoying, hateful, Bastard... those words kept churning through her mind, but for some reason, they seemed so pale and powerless. Another emotion, more complicated, more surging, one she had never experienced before, was taking root wildly in the depths of her heart like bamboo shoots breaking through the soil, spreading and growing.

Ninety-eight laps...

The finish line was already visible in the distance.

Wang Dong looked at the calm-as-water profile of the man beside her, and the emotion in her heart finally broke through the dam of reason.

Her heart began pounding wildly beyond her control—thump, thump, thump—so loudly it even drowned out her own heavy panting. A scalding Hot Stream rushed from her chest straight to her head, making her Small Face, already flushed red from running, grow even hotter.

She wanted to say something to him.

The moment that thought appeared, it could no longer be suppressed.

But she was Wang Dong! The Little Princess of the God Realm! How could she... how could she take the initiative to lower her head to a "Mortal," a "man"?!

But... if she did not say it, she felt as if her heart would be burst apart by that surging emotion!

Pride and gratitude began a brutal struggle in her heart like a Heavenly Human Battle.

Her Lips moved several times, but not a single syllable came out.

Ninety-nine laps!

Only the final lap remained!

It was about to end! If she did not say it now, perhaps... she would never have another chance!

I'll risk it all!

Wang Dong let out a cry of grief in her heart. She did not know where her courage came from, as if she had exhausted a lifetime of strength, and finally squeezed two words out of her throat, slightly hoarse from thirst.

That Voice was as faint as the buzzing of a mosquito, almost scattered by the howling Wind Sound the moment it left her mouth.

"Thank you..."

After saying those two words, Wang Dong's entire body seemed to be drained of all its strength. She abruptly turned her head to the other side, no longer daring to look at Long Yao even once. She could clearly feel that her cheeks were now hot enough to fry an egg. She had even prepared herself for any reaction from him, whether teasing or surprised.

However, there was nothing.

The man's breathing beside her remained steady, his Footsteps remained firm, and the strength of the hand holding hers did not change in the slightest. It was as if he had not heard that thanks, so faint it almost did not exist, and he continued pulling her along at a constant speed toward the final finish line.

He did not respond.

But for some reason, this "no response" made Wang Dong feel a trace of... inexplicable Peace of Mind more than any response could have.

As if he had known all along that she would say it. As if all of this had only been natural.

An indescribable, sweet yet shy emotion slowly fermented and spread in the depths of her heart like the richest Fine Wine, making a warm strength surge again through her limbs, which had gone numb from extreme exhaustion.

She no longer lowered her head. Instead, she lifted her chin slightly and looked at the finish line ahead, symbolizing both an end and a New Student, and the corners of her mouth, beyond her control, quietly curved into a faint yet incomparably Moving arc that even she herself did not notice.

On the High Platform, Zhou Yi watched the young man and woman who were the first to cross the finish line. On that eternally unchanging iceberg face of hers, there appeared an extremely rare, complicated expression mixed with admiration and satisfaction.

In the crowd, Huo Yuhao's Spirit Eyes clearly captured the change in that instant.

He saw that the very moment Wang Dong said those words, the "momentum" lingering between her and Long Yao, which had originally only been flowing in one direction, suddenly produced a backflow! A faint "momentum," filled with trust and gratitude, fed back from Wang Dong into Long Yao's unfathomable Vast Ocean, causing that ocean to ripple with a barely perceptible, gentle wave.

The connection between them became steadier and more harmonious in that moment.

They... Huo Yuhao murmured inwardly. Just who are they...?

The Livestream Room, meanwhile, was completely nuked by that soft "thank you"!

[I Really Only Know How to Give Freely]: AAAAAAAAAAAH!!!! She said it! She said it! She said it!!! She said thank you!!!

[Lust is the Primary Productive Force]: Wuuuu... this Old Man's maiden heart... exploded! Completely exploded! That scene where, after countless hardships, the tsundere princess finally lowers herself and softly thanks the knight who protected her! It never gets old! It never gets old!!!

[Keyboard Warrior Ninth-Rank Elder]: Instant kill! Did you see that?! This is the instant kill the Streamer foreshadowed earlier! A whole series of psychological maneuvers, and what he got in the end was the other party's complete submission and trust, From the Heart! High-level! This is way too high-level!

[Defeat the Hypocritical Tang San]: Tang San! Not only did your daughter get dragged by the hand for a hundred laps, she even thanked him on her own! Hahahaha! Are you feeling like the grass on your head is green enough to feed an entire Star Dou Forest's worth of Spirit Beasts right now?!

When Long Yao pulled Wang Dong across the finish line first, there were fewer than fifty Students still holding on in the entire square. And the two of them were the only ones who still looked completely normal.

That sudden shout was like a thunderclap thrown into a deathly still abyss, filled with Unquestionable Power and piercing force, instantly cutting through the entire square!

The few dozen remaining New Students, who had still been running mechanically and numbly, all shuddered at once and subconsciously raised their faces, already blurred with sweat and exhaustion, looking toward the source of the voice—the Black-Clad Youth standing at the finish line like a Deity, without the slightest trace of fatigue on him.

"If you don't want to be eliminated, then put everything you've got into charging forward!"

"Think about why you came to Shrek Academy!"

"Charge like your lives depend on it!"

Those few words were simple and crude, yet they were like blazing Heavy Hammers smashing hard into every soul on the verge of collapse!

That was right... why had they come?

For the glory of their families! To escape a fate of being bullied! To stand at the peak of this continent! To... refuse to end up as trash that got eliminated just like this!

"Roar—!"

A Student from the Assault System whose Martial Soul was the Bloodthirsty Mad Wolf was the first to let out a beastlike roar! Blood-colored light gathered once more in his already unfocused eyes, and the last sliver of Soul Power in his body was squeezed out without reservation. His speed actually forced itself several notches faster!

His roar was like a fuse being lit!

"Charge!!"

"Fight them to the end!!"

The once lifeless group was, in that instant, injected again with a fierce madness that feared no death! The desire to survive, the yearning for glory, and the terror of elimination became their final fuel!

And Long Yao's next words gave that ignited, chaotic Fighting Spirit the most effective outlet in an instant!

"The strong ones, surround the weaker ones in the middle! Reduce wind resistance! Those in the center, use your Soul Power to make up for the ones surrounding you!"

This tactic was simple, but incomparably practical!

Almost subconsciously, several Assault System and Defense System Students with the highest Soul Power Level and strongest builds in the group looked at one another, then immediately began adjusting their positions, spontaneously moving closer to the Support System and Control System Students in the center of the team, whose faces had long gone pale and who looked ready to collapse at any moment!

A crude "Wind Breaking" formation, using people as a wall, was miraculously formed amid the chaos just like that!

The Students on the outside used their broad bodies to block the oncoming airflow, creating a relatively easier space for the Comrades in the center. And the Students in the center gratefully poured their meager but variously enhancing Soul Power onto the "meat shields" on the outside without the slightest stinginess!

Faint healing light, light accelerating halos, resilient protective power... the radiance of all kinds of auxiliary Spirit Skills rose and fell one after another. Though weak, they gave the entire team's endurance a qualitative improvement!

The few Soul Elders standing at the finish line watched this astonishing scene, unprecedented shock and admiration appearing on their faces. Under these circumstances, all they could think about was how to make sure they completed the task themselves, yet that Long Yao had instantly thought of how to twist the entire team's strength into one rope!

This kind of overall view, this kind of rallying power... they were inferior!

And Huo Yuhao, who was following closely behind the group, was shaken by Towering Waves in those deep Spirit Eyes of his. He saw far more than everyone else! He clearly "saw" that as the crude formation was established, the originally scattered "momentum" on the dozens of Students, as faint as fireflies, actually began to gather, merge, and finally form a collective "momentum" that was still weak, yet incomparably tough, no longer something that could be easily blown apart!

And the core that gathered all this "momentum" together was that Black-Clad Youth standing at the finish line, silent, yet seeming to control everything!

"This person..." Huo Yuhao felt his heart spasming. "What exactly is he trying to do? Who exactly is he?"

Wang Dong stood blankly beside Long Yao. She raised her head, looking at the man who was issuing commands to everyone beneath the sunlight. At this moment, he seemed like a completely different person from the youth who had teased her, comforted her, and pulled her along by the hand as they ran.

At this moment, what he radiated was a unique charm that belonged to a leader, one that made people submit from the heart. That confidence, that composure, that strength that seemed capable of turning every impossibility into possibility left her utterly entranced. In her heart, the seed named "admiration" broke fully through the soil in this instant and began growing wildly.

On the highest Steps, in Zhou Yi's icy phoenix eyes, a scorching, astonishing radiance bloomed for the first time!

She had seen far too many so-called geniuses, but the vast majority of those geniuses were merely "lone wolves" with powerful Personal Strength. Yet this youth called Long Yao before her had, on the very first day of school, shown her an even more terrifying talent—the talent to command people's hearts!

"This Kid..." she murmured to herself. On that ten-thousand-year-unchanging iceberg of a face, an extremely faint curve full of approval and anticipation actually appeared in silence. "He really is... a complete and utter Monster!"

Just as everyone's mind was shaken by this astonishing scene, the final contest on the track finally came to an end.

"Ah—!"

With a shrill scream, the final Student to pass the assessment rolled his eyes back the instant he crossed the finish line, toppled backward stiffly, and completely passed out.

The torturous training was finally over.

The entire square was filled with groans of misery. People lay sprawled everywhere, and aside from the few who had arrived first, almost no one could still stand. Heavy panting, suppressed sobs, and painful moans wove together into a tragic symphony.

Zhou Yi slowly walked down the Steps, her cold gaze sweeping across the whole field.

"Forty-seven people." Her voice was still cold, yet it seemed to have lost a trace of its earlier mockery. "Not bad. Seven more stayed than I expected. Especially that last stretch. It was brilliant."

Her gaze lingered meaningfully on Long Yao for a moment.

"All those who passed the assessment may disperse now. Go to the cafeteria and eat, then return to your dorms to rest. Tomorrow morning, same time, gather here. I hope I can still see all your faces then."

After saying that, she said no more. She turned, her High Heels striking the ground as she left directly.

Only after her icy figure had completely disappeared did the tense atmosphere in the entire square finally relax. The surviving Students either collapsed onto the ground and laughed aloud, or embraced the Comrades beside them and wept, celebrating this hard-won "new life."

Time: Douluo Calendar Year 2030 Season: Autumn First Day of Enrollment, 6:10 PM

Location: Shrek Academy, Central Plaza

Audience: 201,455

Equipment: Shrek Academy Uniform x1, True Vast Sea Ring (Divine Artifact), Student Emblem x1

Items: Shrek Academy Uniform x1, Student Emblem x1, Dormitory Key x1

First Martial Soul: Soul Breaking Spear [Traits: Armor Breaking, Soul Devouring, Penetration]

Second Martial Soul: Chaos Holy Dragon (Hidden) [Traits: Strength, Time, Space]

Soul Power: Level 45 (Soul Ancestor) [Status: True Vast Sea Ring Shielding, External Perception as Level 24]

Soul Rings: [Soul Breaking Spear] First Soul Ring (Yellow Hundred-Year), Second Soul Ring (Purple Thousand-Year), Third Soul Ring (Black Ten-Thousand-Year), Fourth Soul Ring (Black Ten-Thousand-Year)

[Chaos Holy Dragon] First Soul Ring (Black Thirteen-Thousand-Year), Second Soul Ring (Black Twenty-Eight-Thousand-Year), Third Soul Ring (Black Forty-Six-Thousand-Year), Fourth Soul Ring (Rose Gold Hundred-Thousand-Year)

Soul Skills: [Soul Breaking Spear] First Spirit Skill: Swift Shadow Stab, Second Spirit Skill: Whirlwind Spear, Third Spirit Skill: Armor Breaking Spiral, Fourth Spirit Skill: Thousand Spirit Spear Rain

[Chaos Holy Dragon] First Spirit Skill: Star Ring, Second Spirit Skill: Holy Dragon Claw, Third Spirit Skill: Void Claw, Fourth Spirit Skill: Time and Space Roar

Soul Bones: None

Soul Spirit: None

Reward Stash: [Million-Year Spirit Beast Inverse Scale] x1, [Starlight Sapphire Brooch] x1, [Tsundere Princess Strategy Manual Platinum Edition] x1, [God-Bestowed Soul Ring (Hundred-Thousand-Year)] x1, [Spring of Life (Concentrated Liquid)] x1, [Constant Temperature Double Jade Bed] x1, [Calming Incense (First Melt of the Snowy Mountains)] x1, [Dragon Blood Body Tempering Pill]