Running Laps Was Enough

Because Flender had explained that Martial Souls and Soul Power could not be used during this run, the Soul Masters could only rely on their own physical fitness.

As a Strength Attack Type Soul Master, Dai Mubai was naturally full of confidence in his body.

It was like—

"He's never been sick a day in his life!"

Nan Xizi bragged to others.

At the same time, Zhu Zhuqing, who had confidence in Qian Qiao, felt inwardly embarrassed as she watched Dai Mubai grin like an idiot.

"Let's go!"

Qian Qiao said as he looked at Zhu Zhuqing.

"Mm!"

Zhu Zhuqing nodded as well.

The two began running together.

Although Zhu Zhuqing was an Agility Attack Type Soul Master, and it was common knowledge that Agility Attack Types held an advantage in speed, what Agility Attack Type Soul Masters competed in was short-distance sprinting ability.

That was, the ability to explosively accelerate over short or limited distances.

This meant that Agility Attack Type Soul Masters were unquestionably first in sprints, but in today's test of prolonged long-distance running, they held no advantage.

Instead, those Strength Attack and Defense Types, with their resilience and endurance pushed to the limit, held a greater advantage.

But it didn't matter. Zhu Zhuqing had Qian Qiao keeping her company, so they could just run slowly.

Looking at Qian Qiao and Zhu Zhuqing, one Agility Attack Type had deliberately slowed down, while the other adjusted his pace to match Zhu Zhuqing.

Though neither of them openly called the other their lover, in outsiders' eyes, they were practically flaunting their affection.

"Third Brother, let's go too!"

Seeing Zhu Zhuqing and Qian Qiao, Xiao Wu refused to be outdone and directly grabbed Tang San's sleeve before running off.

Tang San followed Xiao Wu's pull and ran out with her.

Thus, on Shrek Academy's Sports Field, Dai Mubai took the lead, followed by two lovey-dovey young couples.

For a moment, no one knew who had actually won.

"Damn it, Xiao Cui just broke up with me! I'm so jealous!"

Watching the two couples on the field, Ma Hongjun was overwhelmed with envy and jealousy. He bit down on his clothes with both rows of teeth and spoke through gritted teeth.

"Come on, Oscar. We brothers can't lose to them!"

Ma Hongjun dragged Oscar along, but Oscar seemed rooted in place and could not be pulled. However, Oscar could not match Ma Hongjun in strength, so Ma Hongjun simply dragged him away at a run.

"Mm..."

Oscar verbally agreed with Ma Hongjun, but his eyes remained fixed on Ning Rongrong. Unfortunately, his body was dragged away by Ma Hongjun.

Seeing that no one paid her any attention, Ning Rongrong began to jog as well. As for what she was thinking, no one knew.

"Come on!"

Shouzaki threw an arm around Ryotaro's shoulders and said familiarly.

"Mm."

Ryotaro nodded, and this baffling pair ran off together.

The sun gradually moved to the very center of the sky.

Noon, twelve o'clock—the hottest time of the day.

Under the blazing sunlight, the entire sky seemed warped by the scorching rays.

Meanwhile, at Shrek Academy, the Shrek students were still running along the dirt track.

If the first hundred laps had merely been somewhat tiring training for these Soul Grandmasters—

Then starting from the fiftieth lap, Zhao Wuji came to the edge of the Sports Field and began using his soul skill, casting a gravity soul skill on the students present.

And with every additional ten laps, the pressure on their bodies increased another degree.

Gradually, Dai Mubai, who had started out in the lead, began falling behind.

"Hah! Zhao Wuji... hah... he's really... damn it... hah!"

Dai Mubai panted heavily, as though he carried a thousand pounds on his body.

Though Dai Mubai complained aloud, his body honestly continued forward. After all, he had already run more than ninety laps.

Although Dai Mubai had fallen behind, he believed he would definitely be the first to finish the laps!

Thus, like a car with a full tank of gas, Dai Mubai charged forward again.

"Aren't you going to fight him for first place?"

Zhu Zhuqing unusually asked such a competitive question.

After all, in girls' eyes, boys were all competitive.

"No need!"

Qian Qiao's answer was that he did not need something like that to prove himself. Zhu Zhuqing instantly understood upon hearing it.

So Zhu Zhuqing fell silent again, while Qian Qiao quietly stayed at her side. The two maintained the same rhythm and breathing as they began their final few laps.

And if one looked closely, Zhu Zhuqing was drenched in fragrant sweat. Her body would occasionally, unconsciously lean toward Qian Qiao, wanting to borrow his body for a little rest. Qian Qiao, however, remained like a block of wood and let Zhu Zhuqing lean on him without saying a word.

This was because Zhu Zhuqing's body and subconscious instinctively believed that Qian Qiao at her side was reliable, which was why she acted that way. Perhaps even Zhu Zhuqing herself had not realized it yet.

Behind the two of them were Tang San and Xiao Wu. Unlike Zhu Zhuqing and Qian Qiao's silent companionship, Xiao Wu kept talking while Tang San listened.

Occasionally, Tang San responded with a "Mm" or an "Ah."

After all, Zhao Wuji's soul skill had placed heavy pressure on both of them, and whenever Xiao Wu ran out of strength, she would directly shift the burden from her body onto Tang San.

That made Tang San, who had initially been relaxed, feel somewhat worse.

All in all, Tang San and Xiao Wu were doing steadily.

Behind Tang San and Xiao Wu was Ma Hongjun. His tongue hung out of his mouth, making him look like an old dog about to die from the heat.

"Ah, hah! How many... laps are left... hah!"

Ma Hongjun panted, his legs feeling as though they had been filled with lead and were nearly unable to hold on.

But in reality, Ma Hongjun had only run a little over seventy laps, still quite far from one hundred.

Yet Ma Hongjun was already unable to continue and looked ready to collapse at any moment.

Oscar, behind Ma Hongjun, was not worried at all. Oscar had asked Headmaster Franky earlier, and Franky had said that ordinary Soul Masters had to run one hundred laps, while support-type Soul Masters like them only needed to run eighty. Having already run more than seventy laps, Oscar was brimming with confidence.

Yet despite his growing confidence, Oscar kept glancing back from time to time as he ran, looking toward Eldest Miss Ning Rongrong, who had already run out of strength.

Because the author used the great technique of skipping the original plot, King Crimson automatically skipped the part where Ning Rongrong verbally sparred with Franky, Franky lectured Ning Rongrong, and Ning Rongrong cried.

Thus, Ning Rongrong's tear tracks had only just dried. Looking far from refined, she trembled as she jogged forward.

I'll definitely show him!

Ning Rongrong's heart was filled with anger toward Franky, yet she did not want to lose to anyone. Though she was furious with Franky, her body continued to run stubbornly.

Because Ning Rongrong wanted to prove through her actions that she was not merely a pretty vase, she gritted her teeth and kept running.

Somewhere Ning Rongrong did not know about—

"Rong Rong really has grown up."

Watching Ning Rongrong's performance, Ning Fengzhi sighed with emotion. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect finally had a worthy successor.

"Mm. Ning Rongrong really has grown up. It seems I should properly thank this Headmaster Franky."

Sword Douluo spoke of gratitude, but the bulging veins on his face showed that this was absolutely the same kind of "thanks" Tang Hao had given Zhao Wuji.