Physical Education Class

On the playground of Tiantou Technology Academy, students attending physical education class were running along the track.

"How about we race for speed?"

Feng Rulang asked the other three. As an agility-attack system soul master, he naturally wanted to show off now that they had reached his area of expertise.

"Sure, let's see who's faster."

Lei Yuan was eager, as he was also an agility-attack system soul master. Huo Tian curled his lips, dissatisfied, and said:

"What's so good about racing for speed? If you've got guts, let's compete in str... in actual combat!"

Huo Tian had originally wanted to say strength, but after glancing at Chen Ming, he immediately changed his words.

"You wouldn't be scared, would you?"

"Yeah, old Huo, I know you have self-awareness, but I didn't expect you to lack even the ability to compete."

Hearing this, Feng Rulang and Lei Yuan burst into laughter. Huo Tian instantly turned bright red; the blush on the young man's face was more potent than any profanity.

"Who's scared! Bring it on!"

Having his competitive spirit ignited, a hot-headed Huo Tian agreed to the challenge. Once the competition was set, the three of them looked at Chen Ming.

"Old Chen, don't you go losing to us."

"Oh my, you guys are really making it hard for me. I'm just a lowly tool soul master."

Chen Ming helplessly spread his hands as he stood on the track with them. Shortly after, the physical education teacher's voice rang out.

"Alright, if anyone has any physical issues, come tell me. Everyone else can start running now."

As the teacher's voice fell, the four of them shot off like arrows released from a bow. The other students who had been preparing to slack off were stunned for a moment before scrambling to follow.

"Gale Demon Wolf, Martial Soul Avatar!"

"Lightning Leopard, Martial Soul Avatar!"

Feng Rulang and Lei Yuan immediately activated their martial souls, using their advantages to leave Chen Ming and Huo Tian behind.

"Despicable! Just because I'm not a speed-type beast soul master, you're bullying me, right!"

Huo Tian cursed and grumbled, then turned to look at Chen Ming. Fortunately, there was still someone keeping him company.

"What are you spacing out for? Let's go."

Chen Ming understood the look in his eyes, chuckled, and his speed instantly surged, leaving Huo Tian behind in a flash.

"Damn it! Old Chen, you didn't wait for me!"

"Sorry about that, old Huo, I'll leave the last place to you."

Chen Ming waved at him with a smile. Huo Tian cursed and grumbled; one by one, they had all left him behind!

Soon, many agility-attack system soul masters in the class overtook him. The class had three students with Innate Full Soul Power, nine with innate level nine, fifteen with innate level eight, twenty-two with innate level seven, and about fifty with innate level five or six.

There were about a hundred people in a class, but the better the academy, the higher the elimination rate. By the time the first semester's final exams were over, a large number of people would likely be eliminated.

Within a few minutes, everyone had finished the one-thousand-meter run. Huo Tian ran over, furious and indignant:

"You guys! You actually left me behind and ran off!"

"Old Huo, can you really blame us for that?"

"Yeah, old Huo, if you're weak, practice more. If you can't afford to lose, don't play."

"I don't accept this! If you've got guts, let's have a one-on-one!"

The few troublemakers bickered here, and soon the teacher arranged for them to do warm-up exercises and stretches.

After finally running another ten laps—about four thousand meters in total, with each lap being four hundred meters—they were dismissed.

However, this was quite a challenge for everyone. After finishing, some were sprawled out while others were collapsed on the ground.

Even the three troublemakers were the same, lying under a tree, unwilling to move. Chen Ming, however, was completely fine. Bored, he raised his hand and gestured.

A gorgeous and exquisite golden longsword appeared in his hand, shining brilliantly under the bright sun like a meticulously carved work of art.

Various basic sword techniques flashed through Chen Ming's mind—pointing, flicking, slashing—and his figure began to move accordingly.

"Is that Old Chen's martial soul?"

"Old Chen is practicing swordsmanship? He still has that much stamina?"

"Strange... didn't Old Chen say his martial soul was something called a lump of dirt?"

The three noticed Chen Ming's figure practicing swordplay nearby and looked up to discuss it. Naturally, others in the class also noticed Chen Ming dancing with his sword.

Because Chen Ming was the class heartthrob, many female students watched the scene without blinking as he moved with an ethereal temperament, wielding the gorgeous golden longsword.

"He looks so good."

"And it's a sword martial soul. I love sword immortals the most."

Even female students resting from other classes felt the same. There wasn't much else to look at, so they watched the sword dance, especially given Chen Ming's appearance and the beauty of the longsword; it was a feast for the eyes.

Of course, at this age, many male students were hot-blooded, and seeing someone steal their spotlight naturally made them unhappy.

Just as Chen Ming was immersed in the pleasure of his sword skills improving, a whistling sound cut through the air. He rotated his body, his white school uniform fluttering slightly.

The golden longsword swung, a diagonal slash cleaving the incoming stone in two and successfully intercepting the attack.

"Hey! You from Class Nine, you sure love showing off, don't you? Dare to have a contest?"

Chen Ming looked up and saw a youth walking out from Class Six, looking at him with a face full of annoyance.

"Sneak attacks aren't a good habit, you know. What do you want to compete in?"

Chen Ming naturally wouldn't bicker with a child; it was just a bit of horseplay. He spun the sword in a flourish and sheathed it with one hand, looking completely indifferent.

"What an arrogant guy..."

Seeing Chen Ming's nonchalant demeanor, the other party felt extremely irritated and subconsciously called him arrogant. Upon hearing this, Chen Ming's expression shifted, and he instinctively took a step back to put some distance between them.

"Hey, hey, hey, what kind of talk is that? Have you actually smelled it? You wouldn't happen to... have some special hobby, would you..."

Hearing this, the other party's expression changed. Sensing the increasingly strange gazes from those around them, his face turned from green to white, and he immediately flushed red with rage.

"Bastard! Watch me crush you!"

As he spoke, a yellow spirit ring appeared on his body, and a Flame Lion martial soul manifested, charging toward him.

"Chen, watch out!"

Seeing this, Lei Yuan immediately shouted a warning, and the other two also stood up, ready to intervene, but Chen Ming reassured them:

"Don't worry, I can handle this."

Watching the figure charging toward him, the golden sword in Chen Ming's hand transformed into a block of dirt, which he placed directly in front of himself.

The opponent was instantly startled, unable to brake in time, and crashed into the dirt, falling flat on his face. Just as he tried to get back up, he saw a golden longsword radiating a sharp aura hovering right in front of his head.

"You lost."

Chen Ming's calm voice drifted over. The opponent looked up, only to see that Chen Ming had maintained an indifferent expression from start to finish.

He felt unconvinced and wanted to fight again, but the sharp golden sword before his eyes extinguished any desire to continue.

Chen Ming sheathed his sword with a flourish and flicked his wrist, causing the weapon to vanish as he stored it directly into his inventory, looking incredibly cool.

"Chen, that was awesome!"

"One-shotted him in a single move?!"

"So flashy?!"

His roommates were all shocked, and the rest of the crowd was equally stunned. A one-hit knockout against a one-ring spirit master, and someone of the same age as them at that! The others who had intended to step up lost their nerve, shrinking back like quails and sitting obediently in their places.

ps: The second update for February 22nd, totaling four thousand words.