Physical Education Class

On the track at Tiantou Technology Academy, the students in physical education class ran lap after lap.

"Want to race?"

Feng Rulang looked at the other three and asked. As an Agility-type Soul Master, he naturally wanted to show off when they reached the event he was best at.

"Sure. Let's see who's faster."

Lei Yuan was eager, since he was an Agility-type Soul Master too. Huo Tian curled his lip and grumbled, "What's so great about speed? If you've got the guts, let's compete in strength... I mean, in a fight!"

Huo Tian had originally meant to suggest a strength contest, but after glancing at Chen Ming, he immediately changed his mind.

"Are you scared?"

"Yeah, Old Huo. I knew you had a realistic view of yourself, but I didn't think you'd be too scared to even compete."

Feng Rulang and Lei Yuan immediately laughed at him. Huo Tian's face flushed red. A boy's blush said more than any curse could.

"Who's scared? Let's do it!"

Fired up by the challenge, Huo Tian agreed without thinking. After the three settled on the contest, they turned to Chen Ming.

"Old Chen, don't you dare lose to us."

"Oh, come on. You're asking a lot of me. I'm just a humble Tool Martial Soul Soul Master."

Chen Ming spread his hands helplessly, then joined them on the track. Just then, the physical education teacher called out.

"All right. If you have any physical problems, come tell me. Everyone else can start running."

As soon as the teacher finished speaking, the four of them shot off like arrows loosed from a bow. The other students, who had been planning to take it easy, stared in a daze for a moment, then hurried after them.

"Gale Demon Wolf, Possession!"

"Lightning Leopard, Possession!"

Feng Rulang and Lei Yuan immediately entered Martial Soul Possession. With their Martial Souls giving them an advantage, they left Chen Ming and Huo Tian behind.

"Cheap shot! Picking on me because I don't have a speed-type Beast Martial Soul, huh?"

Huo Tian grumbled, then looked over at Chen Ming. At least he still had someone to keep him company.

"What are you staring at? Move."

Chen Ming read the look in his eyes and chuckled. In the next instant, he picked up speed and left Huo Tian in the dust.

"Holy crap! Old Chen, you're not even waiting for me!"

"Sorry to leave you in the lurch, Old Huo. I'll leave last place to you."

Chen Ming waved at him with a smile. Huo Tian cursed under his breath. One after another, they'd all left him behind!

Soon, many Agility-type 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, and twenty-two with Innate Level Seven. There were also about fifty students with Innate Level Five or Six.

Each class had about a hundred students, but the better the academy, the higher the dropout rate. Once the first semester's final exams were over, a whole lot of them would probably be cut.

Within just a few minutes, everyone had finished the thousand-meter run. Huo Tian came charging over, fuming with indignation.

"You guys! You really did leave me behind!"

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

"That's right, Old Huo. If you're weak, train more. If you can't handle losing, don't play."

"I'm not convinced! I challenge you to a duel!"

The four jokers horsed around, and soon the teacher had them do warm-up exercises and stretch their muscles.

After a quick ten laps, the class was dismissed. That was about four thousand meters, with each lap measuring four hundred meters.

It was still quite a challenge for the students. Once they finished, some collapsed onto the ground while others sprawled out.

Even the three jokers were slumped beneath a tree, unwilling to move. Chen Ming, on the other hand, wasn't tired at all. With nothing else to do, he lifted a hand and summoned something.

An ornate, beautiful golden longsword appeared in his hand. Under the blazing sun, it gleamed like a carefully sculpted work of art.

A stream of basic sword techniques flashed through Chen Ming's mind—thrust, flick, slash. His body moved along with them.

"Is that Old Chen's Martial Soul?"

"Is Old Chen practicing swordplay? How's he got so much energy?"

"That's strange... Didn't Old Chen say his Martial Soul was called a clod of dirt?"

The three noticed Chen Ming practicing with his sword and looked up to talk about it. The rest of the class had naturally noticed him too.

Since Chen Ming was the class heartthrob, many of the girls stared without blinking as he moved with an ethereal grace, swinging the magnificent golden sword.

"He's so handsome."

"And he has a Sword Martial Soul. I've always loved sword immortals."

Even girls from other classes who were taking a break were watching. There wasn't much else to see, so they were happy to enjoy a little sword dance. Especially with Chen Ming's looks and the gorgeous sword, watching him swing it was a feast for the eyes.

Of course, the boys were full of youthful fire at that age. Seeing someone steal the spotlight naturally made them unhappy.

Just as Chen Ming was lost in the pleasure of his swordsmanship steadily improving, something came whistling through the air. He spun around, his white school uniform fluttering lightly.

His golden sword flashed, cutting the incoming stone in half with a diagonal slash and stopping the attack.

"Hey, you from Class Nine! You love showing off, don't you? Dare to compete?"

Chen Ming looked up and saw a boy from Class Six walking over, glaring at him with obvious annoyance.

"Ambushing people isn't a good habit. What do you want to compete in?"

Chen Ming wasn't about to take a childish quarrel seriously. He flourished his sword, then sheathed it one-handed, looking perfectly calm.

"What a smug jerk..."

Seeing how calm Chen Ming was, the other boy grew even more irritated and blurted out that he was smug. Chen Ming's expression changed. He instinctively took a step back to put some distance between them.

"Hey, hey, what's that supposed to mean? Have you even smelled me? You wouldn't happen to have... some kind of weird fetish, would you?"

The other boy's expression changed. As he felt the people around them start to look at him strangely, his face turned pale, then flushed red with anger.

"Bastard! I'll beat you to a pulp!"

As he spoke, a Yellow Soul Ring appeared around him, and a Flame Lion Martial Soul charged at Chen Ming.

"Old Chen, watch out!"

Lei Yuan immediately warned him. The other two also got up, ready to step in, but Chen Ming reassured them.

"Don't worry. I can handle it."

Watching the other boy charge at him, Chen Ming's Golden Sword turned into dirt. He placed a block of it right in front of himself.

The boy was startled. He couldn't stop in time and crashed into the dirt, tumbling to the ground. When he tried to get back up, he found a golden longsword, sharp enough to cut through anything, hovering right in front of his head.

"You lose."

Chen Ming's calm voice rang out. The other boy looked up and saw that Chen Ming's expression had been indifferent the whole time.

He wasn't satisfied and wanted to fight again, but the sharp golden sword before him put an end to that thought.

Chen Ming withdrew his sword, flourished it, then flicked it away. It vanished, returning straight to his Inventory. The move was impossibly cool.

"Old Chen, you're awesome!"

"You took him out in one move?!"

"Show-off!"

His roommates were stunned, and so was everyone else. He'd beaten a One-Ring Soul Master in a single move—and one the same age as them, at that. The others who had wanted to step forward lost their nerve too. They sat back down where they were, quiet as quails.

P.S. The second update for February 22, bringing the total to 4,000 words.