If You Suck, Just Train More!

After the duty soldier finished shouting,

"Run!" The recruits immediately surged forward in a crowd.

Ji Baichang took the lead, striding forward at a full sprint and quickly opening up a several-step gap between himself and most of the recruits behind him.

"See that? That's how fast I am! Xue Daochao, how are you gonna pass me?"

Ji Baichang still had enough energy to turn around and taunt him.

Xue Daochao kept close behind him. Hearing Ji Baichang's taunt, he only smirked, looking thoroughly unimpressed.

This was a three-kilometer run, not a hundred-meter sprint. It was about endurance.

Someone like Ji Baichang was clearly the type to go all-out for a couple of steps and then run out of steam. That was why he'd burst out of the gate, making himself look impressive.

In reality, he wouldn't be able to keep it up for long, and his speed would drop.

Sure enough, just as Xue Daochao had expected, after Ji Baichang had run about half a lap around the track, his speed dropped sharply, and his breathing grew steadily more labored.

Taking advantage of the dip in his pace, Xue Daochao picked up speed and passed Ji Baichang.

He even made sure to taunt him:

"If you suck, just train more."

Ji Baichang had been doing fine, but when he heard Xue Daochao dare to mock him like that, he immediately picked up his pace again.

There was no denying he had a decent burst of speed. He passed Xue Daochao once more, squeezing out a few words through gritted teeth to taunt him:

"You're no better! Get ready to wash my socks!"

Xue Daochao showed no reaction to Ji Baichang's taunt. He acted as if he hadn't heard a thing and kept running at his own pace.

By the time they finished the first lap, Ji Baichang was already breathing hard. Xue Daochao, on the other hand, was clearly in much better shape.

"Well, how about I go on ahead? You two seem to be just a little too slow."

Lü Qinglong, who had been following the two at a distance of a couple of steps, suddenly spoke up.

Then he accelerated and passed them with ease.

The two of them were already in the lead group, leaving the other recruits behind, but for Lü Qinglong, they were still a bit too slow.

He could tell that both of them were slower than he was, so he figured he might as well go on ahead by himself.

But when Ji Baichang, who was in the lead, saw Lü Qinglong pass him, he didn't react much.

Or rather, Lü Qinglong was simply too fast. Ji Baichang didn't have any energy left to sprint, so all he could do was let him pass.

As Lü Qinglong pulled ahead of them, he felt the wind rushing past his ears. Each time his feet struck the ground, they propelled him forward with even more force, making him feel lighter and faster with every stride.

A few veteran soldiers were warming up on the track in his lane. Hearing the commotion behind them, they instinctively looked back.

They saw a massive dump truck charging toward them as if nothing could stop it. Startled, they hurriedly moved out of the way and switched to another lane.

"Good grief! What kind of creature is this guy? If he ran into you, he'd send you straight to another world, wouldn't he?"

The veterans watched Lü Qinglong barrel forward like a savage warrior, shaken to the core.

And this wasn't even close to his limit.

The more he ran, the more fired up he got. By the time he finally crossed the finish line, he'd even caught up with the last of the recruits, who had only just finished two laps.

"Nine minutes and forty seconds."

The duty soldier looked Lü Qinglong up and down after seeing his time on the stopwatch. The guy seemed completely unfazed.

"With a time like that, you'll be one of the best in a veteran company after you get assigned!"

The duty soldier sighed in admiration and told Lü Qinglong he could go rest in the open area nearby.

That guy was seriously hardcore! He'd just run three kilometers, and there wasn't even a drop of sweat on his forehead!

"Okay, Squad Leader."

"Nine minutes and forty seconds? Seems a little slow. Was it because I ran with them during the first lap?"

Lü Qinglong shook his head and headed over to the open area to loosen up his limbs, though his eyes remained fixed on the rubber track.

"Whew, you've got pretty good stamina!"

"I admit I underestimated you before, Down-to-earth Daoist."

Ji Baichang and Xue Daochao had reached the final half-lap sprint. Ji Baichang was gasping for breath, his face flushed red from running.

"Come on. You're already in this sorry state, so stop talking."

"There's only half a lap left, right? You don't look like you've got any energy left to sprint."

Xue Daochao was in much better shape than Ji Baichang. After tossing out those two remarks, he sped up.

In only a couple of breaths, he had passed Ji Baichang.

Why hadn't he passed him earlier? Naturally, it was because he needed someone to break the wind for him.

This guy had been acting all high and mighty, so he might as well make him useful for once.

Ji Baichang had actually thought he couldn't outrun him. He was such an idiot.

"Wait! How the hell do you still have energy?!"

Watching the figure steadily pull away from him, Ji Baichang couldn't help cursing at the top of his lungs.

So he was the clown here, huh?!

He wanted to chase after him, too, but the aching, weak feeling in his thigh muscles made it clear he'd already reached his limit.

All he could do was watch Xue Daochao pass him and sprint toward the finish line.

"Ten minutes and fifty-five seconds. Not bad!"

The duty soldier hit the stopwatch, quickly found Xue Daochao's name on the chart, and recorded his time.

That was a pretty good time for a recruit, even faster than some veterans.

It wasn't as impressive as Lü Qinglong's, but if he kept training hard, he might be able to break into the under-nine-minute group.

"Thank you, Squad Leader."

Xue Daochao thanked him between gasps. That final sprint had clearly taken a lot out of him, too.

"Not bad, not bad. Go rest over there."

The duty soldier nodded. As Xue Daochao headed toward the rest area, he saw Lü Qinglong waving at him.

"Brother Qinglong, you're still a beast. You beat us by that much."

Xue Daochao didn't seem at all surprised that Lü Qinglong had come in first.

"Nothing special. How long did Ji Baichang take?"

Lü Qinglong stood curiously by the track entrance, waving at Ji Baichang as he staggered toward the finish line, looking ready to roll his eyes back into his head.

"Eleven minutes and twenty seconds. An average time, barely enough to count as excellent."

The duty soldier nodded and recorded Ji Baichang's name and time.

"Xu Gou."

Xue Daochao's expression was cool, but there was a hint of amusement in his eyes.

Who starts off sprinting and burns through all their energy? Otherwise, he probably could've run a bit faster.

"Good grief, I feel like my lungs are on fire!"

Ji Baichang didn't have the energy to argue with Xue Daochao. He collapsed onto the grass nearby, gulping down air.