Because I'd Been Counting All Along!

Hiss... I suddenly remembered something. With Huo Yuhao's current Soul Power and physical condition, there was no way he could support himself through that many laps. And now that there had been a slight change in the relationship between Wang Dong'er and Huo Yuhao, if Wang Dong'er didn't help carry him along while running... wouldn't Huo Yuhao be directly expelled by Zhou Yi for failing to finish the laps?

Hmm... that actually seemed pretty likely. But leaving Shrek Academy wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing for Huo Yuhao. If he went elsewhere, he might not do any worse than he did at Shrek Academy.

According to the original novel, Huo Yuhao could choose to go to the Body Sect. With his Spirit Eye martial soul and Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, he could still grow stronger. Moreover, the Body Sect's cultivation of body martial souls was definitely superior to Shrek Academy's. With Huo Yuhao's luck and hard work, a second awakening would come easily. As long as he could undergo a second awakening, the Body Sect definitely wouldn't hesitate to pour resources into him.

Even if Huo Yuhao failed to enter the Body Sect and instead drifted to the Sun Moon Empire, with his outstanding talent for Soul Tools, he would probably still be able to enter the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy. It wouldn't even be impossible for him to join Mingde Hall or catch Kong Deming's eye.

Of course, if he joined the Sun Moon Empire, Huo Yuhao might end up becoming an Evil Soul Master.

Whether he joined the Body Sect or went to the Sun Moon Empire, Huo Yuhao wouldn't meet Wang Dong'er, wouldn't follow her back to the Clear Sky Sect, and certainly wouldn't cause Snow Empress to lose control and lead to Electrolux's complete demise.

As long as Electrolux didn't perish, with Electrolux's help, Huo Yuhao might end up as far more than merely the God of Emotion. He might even create his own god position. After all, Electrolux was a powerful being who could cultivate to the demigod realm even in the world of Divine Throne of Seal!

With Ao Yao's reminder, Wang Dong'er also noticed Huo Yuhao lagging behind at the very end. Yet there wasn't the slightest ripple of sympathy in her heart. She even found it a little funny.

It would be best if Huo Yuhao couldn't finish. Then Zhou Yi would expel him, and she wouldn't have to look at that annoying face every day anymore.

As for whether Huo Yuhao would become stronger by joining the Body Sect or going to the Sun Moon Empire than he would at Shrek Academy, she didn't care in the slightest.

As long as that guy stayed far away from her and didn't provoke her, that was enough.

"Whew..."

Huo Yuhao felt that he had reached his limit.

Both physically and mentally, he had reached his limit.

Golden stars danced before his eyes, the world spun around him, his legs were weak and powerless, and every breath carried an intense taste of blood. All of it made Huo Yuhao miserable.

But he didn't dare stop.

If he stopped, he might truly be unable to start again.

And he would probably really be eliminated by Zhou Yi.

Am I... really going to be expelled?

Looking at the few laps still remaining around the track, Huo Yuhao couldn't help giving a bitter laugh in his heart.

Soon, the time Zhou Yi had set ran out.

Without Wang Dong'er's help, Huo Yuhao indeed failed to complete the last few laps. His final result stopped at lap ninety-six.

Only four laps remained...

Though he desperately wanted to finish them, Zhou Yi forcibly called him over.

Huo Yuhao was deeply unwilling, but he didn't dare argue with Zhou Yi. He could only stare stubbornly at her with pleading buried deep in his eyes.

To Huo Yuhao's surprise, Zhou Yi didn't even look at him. She merely called out several names. "Cheng Cheng, Qiu Jianrao, Tang Dao, Shangguan Chentian, Lin Zeyu, Zhuge Yun, Tai Long, Tang Ling, Yun Xiaopiao, you nine, step forward!"

The faces of the nine students whose names had been called instantly turned pale as they stepped out trembling.

Zhou Yi's voice was devoid of emotion. "Cheng Cheng, ninety-five laps. Qiu Jianrao, ninety-four laps. Tang Dao, ninety-two laps. Shangguan Chentian, ninety-six laps. Lin Zeyu, ninety-eight laps. Zhuge Yun, ninety-three laps. Tai Long, ninety-seven laps. Tang Ling, ninety-one laps. Yun Xiaopiao, ninety laps. I said it before: anyone who failed to finish one hundred laps would be expelled immediately. Shrek Academy has no need for students who try to game the system and have improper attitudes. Now, you can get lost."

Lin Zeyu couldn't help saying, "Teacher, we were only a few laps short, and we did our best."

Tai Long glanced at Huo Yuhao, who stood nearby, from the corner of his eye. He stepped forward, his face still carrying a trace of defiance. "Why are the nine of us being expelled while he isn't?"

As he spoke, Tai Long pointed at Huo Yuhao, whose face had gone somewhat pale and whose legs were unsteady from the intense exertion. "He didn't finish one hundred laps either. Why isn't his name among those being expelled?"

At that, a trace of confusion flashed through Huo Yuhao's eyes.

He had truly thought his name would be called as well, yet it hadn't appeared on the list. And he really had failed to finish the hundred laps. Now that Tai Long had brought it up and the entire class was watching him, Huo Yuhao felt somewhat ashamed.

Zhou Yi immediately sneered. "Am I the homeroom teacher, or are you the homeroom teacher? Since you're unconvinced, I'll make you convinced! When you reached lap ninety-seven, you clearly still had strength left. But since time was running out, you took a gamble. You thought I wouldn't notice if you skipped a few laps, so you came back here with the rest of the group. Am I right?"

"And Yun Xiaopiao, you simply returned to the group after reaching lap ninety while there was still plenty of time left. Do you think I'm blind, or do you take me for a fool?"

"If you had all run seriously to the end like Huo Yuhao, I might have shown some leniency. But you didn't. I said it before: Shrek Academy doesn't need opportunistic students like you! Now, immediately pack your things and get lost!"

As she spoke, Zhou Yi's sixth soul ring flashed, and a powerful force of spiritual power instantly enveloped the nine of them.

Feeling that terrifying pressure, the nine no longer dared say anything. They could only turn and leave dejectedly.

Wait... that worked too?

As Ao Yao wrote in his diary, he discovered that from his position, he could clearly see Huo Yuhao running laps. After confirming repeatedly that Wang Dong'er hadn't helped Huo Yuhao, Ao Yao had kept watching the situation below.

In the end, that old hag Zhou Yi really didn't expel Huo Yuhao.

"This guy only ran ninety-six laps. He clearly didn't meet that old hag Zhou Yi's requirement of one hundred laps, yet he still wasn't expelled. Zhou Yi really is from Shrek—she's as consistently hypocritical as ever!"

"How did you know he ran ninety-six laps?"

Ning Tian, who had been silently watching Ao Yao all along, couldn't help curiously asking when she heard him mutter.

"Because I'd been watching him run the whole time and counting. Since he was the slowest, I was curious how many laps he could run."

At that, the corner of Ning Tian's mouth twitched.

Why was someone able to be this idle?

Watching someone else run laps was one thing, but he was actually idle enough to count exactly how many laps they ran?