The First Step Toward Resisting Tyranny

"I'm going for a run. You can keep arguing here."

After tossing out that line, he turned and walked out, leaving Wang Dong at a loss.

Seeing Qian Chaoguang leave, Wang Dong stomped her feet hard twice and chased after him.

"You bastard! Wait for me!"

Beyond the freshman teaching building lay Shrek Square.

Compared to the athletic fields on Blue Star, running here was an extremely unwise choice.

Each lap was three hundred meters, all over granite pavement. In an era when running shoes had yet to be invented, it was truly a trial for the knees of adolescents still growing.

After Qian Chaoguang and Wang Dong joined the running formation one after the other, there were no sounds of schadenfreude.

Zhou Yi had lectured longer than in the Original Work. The Class One students were now sprinting through their hundred laps with everything they had, unwilling to waste any extra energy.

Once Qian Chaoguang reached the square, he said nothing. Instead, he suddenly started running at the speed everyone else used for a hundred-meter sprint, leaving Wang Dong, who had just arrived behind him, utterly stunned.

To Qian Chaoguang, thirty thousand meters was nothing. It was simple enough that it did not even count as a warm-up.

Before coming to Shrek, he and Huo Yutong had run up and down the mountain for their morning training, sometimes even carrying weights.

Not only Wang Dong and the other students, but even Zhou Yi was extremely shocked.

Qian Chaoguang was overtaking those ahead of him at an astonishing speed, lapping others like crazy without showing the slightest sign of fatigue.

Wang Dong even Activated her Martial Soul and chased after him at full speed just to barely keep up.

After barely more than ten minutes, Qian Chaoguang and the exhausted Wang Dong had caught up with the leading group. Only then did Qian Chaoguang gradually slow down and run side by side with Huo Yutong, who was holding first place.

"Are you... a monster? You run faster than me without even using your Martial Soul?"

The intense dash had left Wang Dong panting heavily. Out of breath, she asked the question in broken gasps.

Qian Chaoguang could not be bothered with her and pulled Huo Yutong along as he slowly picked up speed.

Huo Yutong glanced at her brother in surprise and explained, "My brother and I have done morning training every day since we were three. This is nothing to him. Even I can finish it easily."

"You started exercising every day at three? You two siblings are both monsters!"

Though Wang Dong was indignant, a trace of comfort suddenly appeared In Her Heart.

"Can I ask what level your brother is now?"

"Huh? He... I don't know either..."

Huo Yutong had been about to say Level 13, but when she turned and saw the look Qian Chaoguang gave her, she hurriedly changed her answer.

Still unwilling to accept it, Wang Dong wanted to Continued to Inquire, but Qian Chaoguang choked her off with a single sentence.

"No matter what level I am, you still lost to me when I wasn't using my Martial Soul. And you were utterly crushed."

"Bastard! I just let my guard down!"

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Time passed quickly. As the lap count increased, the students' breathing gradually became heavier.

At this point, the gap in physical fitness and cultivation became vividly apparent.

Qian Chaoguang was the exception. Even now, he had not broken a sweat. He looked about as relaxed as if he were taking a stroll.

More than half the time had passed when Zhou Yi's voice suddenly rang in every student's ears.

"Speed up. My position is the finish line."

As she spoke, Wang Dong suddenly accelerated, flashing past her with a whoosh and becoming the first to complete one hundred laps.

Huo Yutong and Qian Chaoguang came next.

The three of them were far too far ahead of everyone else.

With her hands on her hips and breathing heavily, Wang Dong said to Qian Chaoguang, "I won!"

Qian Chaoguang's expression remained utterly calm as he led Huo Yutong around at a walking pace.

Collapsing onto the ground or drinking large amounts of water immediately after running could harm the heart, lungs, and kidneys. It was best to walk around before resting.

"Oh, you won. You're amazing. Congratulations."

That perfectly ordinary sentence nearly made Wang Dong's nose twist with anger. It was like punching cotton.

Qian Chaoguang ignored her and took Huo Yutong for a walk.

With half an hour left before the time limit ended, Qian Chaoguang appeared in the area where the rest of the class was sprawled on the ground.

He said, "Cheng Cheng, Qiu Jianrao, Tang Dao, Shangguan Chentian, Lin Zeyu, Zhuge Yun, Tailong, Tang Ling, Yun Xiaopiao. I suggest you get up immediately and make up the laps you haven't finished."

The group stared at the person who had casually called out their names, bewildered.

This should have been their first time meeting, right?

Why did he know their names?

The answer was that Qian Chaoguang had read the Original Work and had also looked over the roster beforehand. It included simple sketches and descriptions of everyone's appearances.

With his memory, all it took was one glance.

One tall youth said disdainfully, "Who told you I didn't finish? I finished my hundred laps ages ago. Besides, what the hell does whether I finished have to do with you?"

Qian Chaoguang did not get angry. Instead, he used Divine Sense to send his voice directly into everyone's ears while mouthing the words.

"Whether you finished has nothing to do with me, but I find this Teacher Zhou Yi extremely unpleasant, so I want to make her unpleasant too. I believe you all find her unpleasant as well, right? Before school started, I conducted a thorough investigation. She takes pleasure in expelling students and even says that is her teaching philosophy. It is no different from raising poisonous insects. So long as no one is expelled, she will be unhappy.

"Do not doubt the truth of my words. If you fail to finish, you will one hundred percent be expelled. Do you think you have what it takes to cheat in front of a Soul Emperor?"

With that, Qian Chaoguang pulled Huo Yutong away.

If not for wanting to irritate Zhou Yi, he could not have cared less whether these people got expelled.

The nine of them looked at one another, seeing unease in each other's eyes.

One girl said nervously, "How about... we run? Just in case?"

"I... I think so too. Better safe than sorry. We're only a few laps short anyway, so it's not worth risking..."

"Then... shall we go?"

Amid a flurry of voices, they all stood up and rejoined the runners.

Only Tailong, who had been mouthing off earlier, looked disdainful.

"You can go if you want. I already finished!"

Time slowly passed. In the last five minutes, all the students had completed one hundred laps within the allotted time and stood scattered across Shrek Square.

Zhou Yi turned toward the students expressionlessly and said flatly, "Tailong, step forward."

Tailong sauntered out.

"You can get lost. From this moment onward, you are no longer a student of Shrek Academy."

"Huh?"

The students erupted into an uproar.

The eight people Qian Chaoguang had just warned were especially horrified.

Zhou Yi really would expel students just for failing to finish a run!

After several rounds of confrontation, Tailong left with an unconvinced look on his face.

He was clearly heading to the Dean's Office to file a complaint.

Who could accept being expelled over something so minor?

However...

Going to the Dean's Office was just for show. It was probably the equivalent of—who is kneeling before this court, and why are you accusing this official?

Thanks to Bottle of 1982 Mineral Water, One Sword, Three Rising Lotuses, and Four-Star Satellite for the tips.