My Martial Soul is My Fiancee in Douluo

Shrek Square was quite vast, and as luck would have it, they ran straight into Class One.

In front of Class One, Zhou Yi stood expressionless, with a pile of iron chains before her—or rather, iron vests constructed from chains.

Is this the plot where Huo Yuhao becomes the class monitor?

On the other side, Zheng Li, standing among the crowd of Class Five, frowned.

It seemed the original plot didn't involve Class Five being inserted here!

Did things change because of him and Xiao Nai?

The so-called butterfly effect?

But they didn't seem to have done anything to interfere with the plot; that shouldn't be the case.

After thinking for a while, Zheng Li couldn't come up with any conclusion, so he let it go.

However, this afternoon's combat practice was ruined...

Shen Lan had just walked up to Zhou Yi, and though it was unclear what was being said, anger surged onto her face in just half a minute.

Zheng Li couldn't help but sigh: he remembered that Zhou Yi didn't have a good relationship with a teacher named Mu Jin, and judging by the situation, she didn't seem to get along with his own homeroom teacher either.

Was there some kind of grudge?

If Zheng Li knew that Zhou Yi had expelled Shen Lan's younger brother, he would certainly understand the reason.

Soon, Shen Lan returned, her face cold as she said, "This afternoon's combat practice is canceled. We are switching to running. Like Class One, you will all put on these iron vests until the end-of-class bell rings."

Having said that, Shen Lan paused before continuing, "You may use your Spirit Power, but not your Martial Soul. No slacking off or cutting corners! I'm sure some of you have heard of the severity of Class One's teacher, Zhou Yi. Today, the person who runs the fewest laps in Class One by the time the bell rings will be expelled. I am not as severe as she is, but if I catch anyone slacking off, then pack your things and leave Shrek Academy yourself!"

The students of Class Five: "..."

"I'll leave you with this: put away your arrogance. This is Shrek, and there is no shortage of geniuses here!"

After speaking, Shen Lan swept a stern gaze over them.

This made many of them straighten up in their hearts.

"Additionally, your teacher and that Zhou Yi do not get along. I hope that one of our Class Five students will be the last one standing. You wouldn't want to lose to people from another class, would you? The position of class monitor will go to the one who is the last to fall!"

"These are the iron vests! One for each of you! The weight is the same, so don't talk to me about fairness. On the battlefield, no one cares whether things are fair."

Shen Lan's words made some people swallow the complaints they were about to voice.

Iron vests were something every class had, intended to improve the students' physical fitness.

As for their origin, it could be traced back to when the ancestor Tang San and his six companions used baskets filled with stones to run and train.

(Grandmaster: Is that so?)

"Class One has already started, so let's get moving as well!" Shen Lan glanced at the crowd from Class One and said.

After Shen Lan finished speaking, Dai Huabin was the first to put on an iron vest and dash out, with Zhu Lu following closely behind.

Seeing this, the others stepped forward one after another.

Zheng Li, Ling Nan, and Su Yunqing also stepped up to take one each.

Upon holding it in his hands, Ling Nan's expression turned bitter: "It's so heavy! I'm just an Agility Attack System Spirit Master; why must I endure what I shouldn't have to? This should only be for Power Attack System Spirit Masters!"

"Stop complaining and just start running." Zheng Li said, then took off running.

He said that, but the iron vest was truly heavy.

Su Yunqing patted Ling Nan on the shoulder and sighed, "You... are hopeless!"

After saying that, she also ran out.

Ling Nan: "..."

How was he hopeless? He was just complaining.

Thinking this, he followed closely behind.

Shen Lan was right; students from their own class could lose to others in their own class, but they could not lose to students from other classes!

Whether it was between the boys of Class One and Class Five, or between the girls, the air was filled with gunpowder; no one wanted to admit defeat.

It wasn't just about the class; it was because their own pride wouldn't allow it.

Yet, all of this had nothing to do with three people: Zheng Li, Ling Nan, and Huo Yuhao.

Why? Because from the start, they were the only three maintaining a steady pace.

Ling Nan was following Zheng Li, and he also felt that a steady pace saved energy.

What a waste of your cat-type Martial Soul.

Zheng Li glanced at Ling Nan and thought.

At this moment, Shen Lan looked at Zhou Yi provocatively. Zhou Yi didn't give any reaction, which infuriated Shen Lan.

She hadn't changed the combat practice to iron vest running entirely for her own sake, but for the Freshman Assessment.

If she had still chosen combat practice, the spirit skills of her Class Five students would inevitably be exposed to Class One. When the time came for the Freshman Assessment, if Class Five met Class One, Class One would already know the spirit skills of Class Five, which would naturally be disadvantageous to them.

Of course, she didn't deny that her personal emotions played a part.

Time passed second by second.

At this moment, the fastest runners, Dai Huabin and Wang Dong, had already finished fifteen laps.

As Wang Dong passed by Zheng Li, Zheng Li took a close look. How should he put it? She was truly worthy of being a god's daughter; very handsome and very much like a boy, though he couldn't imagine what Wang Dong looked like as a girl.

Pictures from his past life? He could only say there was a discrepancy with reality.

Zheng Li and Ling Nan had now run thirteen laps and were starting their fourteenth.

Huo Yuhao was one lap behind them. Although they were all maintaining a steady pace, Zheng Li and Ling Nan were clearly much faster.

Passing by Huo Yuhao, Zheng Li could clearly hear his heavy, ragged breathing; it felt as though Huo Yuhao had already reached his limit.

Slowly, over an hour had passed.

Now, everyone's school uniform was almost soaked through with sweat, and beads of sweat were dripping down their faces one by one.

Some girls had already collapsed, sprawling on the track and refusing to get up no matter what.

"Zheng Li, slow down, slow down..." Ling Nan was so exhausted by now that he couldn't keep up with Zheng Li's steady pace, falling quite a bit behind.

Even then, he still wouldn't conserve his energy.

He shouted at Zheng Li, gasping for air.

Zheng Li was also very exhausted by this point, but his physique was truly not weak; otherwise, how could he have withstood a six-hundred-year-old first spirit ring?

Only now did Zheng Li truly feel the physical enhancement brought to him by Xiao Nai and the Heart of Spirit.

He deliberately slowed down to match Ling Nan's pace, looking at his face, which was flushed red as if congested, with even the sweat beads tinged with a reddish hue. He was panting incessantly, and his gray shoulder-length hair had clumped into strands, sticking to his shoulders as if he had just washed his hair.

"If you can't make it, don't force yourself. Don't turn into a dead cat," Zheng Li advised. He was genuinely afraid that Ling Nan's face might start bleeding.

Ling Nan didn't agree, instead saying, "Get lost! You're the dead cat! Zheng Li, are you a freak? Even though I'm an agility-type spirit master, I have nineteen levels of spirit power! A four-level gap in spirit power, and yet... I haven't lasted as long as you..."

"And you look like you still have energy to spare!"

"..." Zheng Li was speechless. "If I'm a freak, then the one from Class One who started at our pace must be a monster. You might not know this, but he's a special admission student with only eleven levels of spirit power."

Ling Nan was stunned, then his eyes widened. "Eleven levels?! Holy crap! Zheng Li, are you kidding me?"

He had said that with quite a lot of energy! Zheng Li couldn't help but remark, "You have energy again now?"

"Forget that, tell me first if he really only has eleven levels?" Ling Nan turned his head to look at Huo Yuhao, who was not far behind them.

"It's true! You can go ask around."

"..." Ling Nan was speechless.

"Zheng Li, I don't want to live anymore."

"No one is stopping you."

"Heartless..."

Chapter 12: The One Who Persists to the End

Another twenty minutes or so passed, and by now, Zheng Li felt he had almost reached his limit.

His mouth was dry, his legs felt like they were filled with lead, and it felt as if a "Five-Finger Mountain" was pressing down on his back—it was incredibly heavy!

Beads of sweat dripped down, and he looked no better than Huo Yuhao had earlier.

At this moment, Su Yunqing happened to pass by Zheng Li. Panting heavily, she said with a tone of admiration, "Zheng Li, you've already knocked out basically everyone else. You don't have to force yourself so hard."

Hearing Su Yunqing's words, Zheng Li choked. What did she mean by "knocked out"?

He realized that this little girl, Su Yunqing, had a rather peculiar way of thinking.

But then again, there really weren't many people left running on the track now.

In Class One, besides Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, only one other person was still running. As for his own Class Five, there was himself, Dai Huabin, Su Yunqing, and two other boys.

As for Ling Nan, he had long since collapsed somewhere, becoming a "dead cat"!

In terms of numbers, Class Five had more, but the outcome... was not necessarily certain.

He didn't know if it was a good thing that Huo Yuhao and Dai Huabin had met early. Through his observations, he discovered that every time Huo Yuhao couldn't go on, he would take a look at Dai Huabin, and then he would be able to go on again!

Was he using Dai Huabin as a "generator"?

In the blink of an eye, another five minutes passed, and Wang Dong sat down on the ground with a "thud."

Immediately after, the other boy from Class One also collapsed.

Class Five was now left with only Dai Huabin and Zheng Li, as Su Yunqing and the other two had also collapsed a minute ago.

Dai Huabin was understandable; he was a Soul Elder.

Huo Yuhao was using the Mysterious Heaven Skill to trigger that peculiar circulation method.

What did Zheng Li have going for him?

Many people were thinking about this question. First was Shen Lan; she and Zhou Yi had the same thoughts about Huo Yuhao.

Even if Zheng Li's physique was a bit better, based on his spirit power, he should have reached his limit long ago, right?

Then there were Dai Huabin and the others.

Dai Huabin gritted his teeth, glaring at Zheng Li and Huo Yuhao more times than he could count! Especially at Zheng Li, someone he hadn't even cared about at the very beginning!

He just wondered if Dai Huabin would go insane with rage if he found out about Huo Yuhao's Soul Power Level.

Zheng Li wasn't sure, he only knew that he was currently feeling dizzy, his breathing unable to keep up due to a lack of oxygen.

As for why he was able to persist?

The reason was similar to Huo Yuhao's.

Huo Yuhao relied on his willpower and the Mysterious Heaven Skill, while Zheng Li's own willpower was not lacking, and another reason was his own cultivation technique, the Spirit Sutra, along with the Heart of Spirit.

As mentioned before, the Heart of Spirit would absorb various types of energy and convert them into a unique form of energy, which would then disperse and integrate into every part of his body.

It wasn't that the conversion had stopped, but rather that once he reached his limit, this unique energy no longer integrated into his body, instead shifting to restore his stamina and physical state.

Furthermore, he discovered something else.

This unique energy seemed to be...

Disdainful of his soul power?

Had it gained sentience? Or was it just his imagination?

Zheng Li pondered, but couldn't come up with any logical explanation.

There was still nearly twenty minutes left before the end of class, and only the three of them remained on the track; he was slightly faster than Huo Yuhao, and Dai Huabin was slightly faster than him.

A few minutes later, the scene from the original plot finally unfolded: Wang Dong from Class One was the first to struggle to his feet and catch up to Huo Yuhao, followed by the rest of Class One.

Seeing this, Class Five naturally refused to admit defeat and chose to get up and follow behind Dai Huabin, leaving only Ling Nan and Su Yunqing beside Zheng Li.

They didn't speak, perhaps simply not wanting to waste the effort.

Zheng Li felt a bit helpless; he deliberately slowed down, allowing Dai Huabin, who had been behind him, and the people following him to catch up faster, causing them to merge into the collective group of Class Five.