The One Who Persevered to the End

Shrek Square was quite large. As luck would have it, they ran into Class One.

At the front of Class One, Zhou Yi stood with an expressionless face. A pile of chains lay in front of her—though, in fact, they were an Iron Vest made of chains.

Was this the part where Huo Yuhao became class monitor?

Meanwhile, Zheng Li frowned amid the crowd from Class Five.

The original story hadn't had Class Five woven into this part!

Had things changed because of him and Xiao Nai?

Was this the so-called butterfly effect?

But they hadn't done anything to interfere with the plot, so that shouldn't be it.

He thought about it for a while but couldn't come up with an answer, so he let it go.

Still, this afternoon's practical training was done for...

Shen Lan had just walked up to Zhou Yi. Zheng Li couldn't hear what she was saying, but within half a minute, anger had risen to her face.

Zheng Li couldn't help sighing. He remembered that Zhou Yi had a poor relationship with a teacher named Mu Jin, and from the looks of it, she didn't get along with his homeroom teacher either.

Was there some kind of grudge?

If Zheng Li had known that Zhou Yi had expelled Shen Lan's younger brother, he would have understood the reason.

Before long, Shen Lan returned, her face cold. "This afternoon's practical training is canceled. We'll run instead, just like Class One. Put on your Iron Vests and keep running until the end-of-class bell rings."

Shen Lan paused, then continued, "You may use Soul Power, but not your Martial Souls. No slacking off! Some of you have probably heard how strict Zhou Yi, Class One's teacher, is. When the bell rings today, the person who's run the fewest laps in Class One will be expelled. I'm not as strict as she is, but if I catch anyone slacking off, pack your things and leave Shrek!"

The students of Class Five: "..."

"I'll leave you with one piece of advice: put away your arrogance. This is Shrek. There's no shortage of geniuses here!"

With that, Shen Lan gave them a stern look.

Many of them immediately sobered up.

"Also, I don't get along with that Zhou Yi. I hope one of our Class Five students is the last one standing. You don't want to lose to students from another class, do you? The last one to fall will become class monitor!"

"These are Iron Vests! One for each of you! They all weigh the same, so don't complain that it's unfair. Nobody on a battlefield will care whether things are fair."

Shen Lan's words made several students swallow what they'd been about to say.

Every class had Iron Vests, which were meant to improve the students' physical fitness.

As for their origins, they could be traced back to Ancestor Tang San and the other six training by running with stones in their carrying baskets.

(Grandmaster: Is that so?)

"Class One has already started. We should get going, too!" Shen Lan said, glancing at the students of Class One.

As soon as Shen Lan finished speaking, Dai Huabin was the first to put on an Iron Vest and rush off, with Zhu Lu right behind him.

Seeing this, the others stepped forward as well.

Zheng Li, Ling Nan, and Su Yunqing each went to get an Iron Vest.

The moment Ling Nan picked his up, his face fell. "It's so heavy! I'm just an Agility Attack System Soul Master. Why should I have to bear a burden I shouldn't? Only Power Attack System Soul Masters should have to do this!"

"Stop complaining and get running," Zheng Li said, then set off.

He'd said that, but the Iron Vest really was heavy.

Su Yunqing patted Ling Nan on the shoulder and sighed. "You... can't cut it!"

With that, she ran off, too.

Ling Nan: "..."

How couldn't he cut it? He'd only complained a little.

Thinking that, he hurried after her.

Shen Lan was right. Class Five could lose to its own students, but it couldn't lose to students from another class!

The boys and girls from Class One and Class Five were both bristling with hostility. None of them wanted to back down.

It wasn't just about their classes. Their own pride wouldn't let them lose, either.

But three people were out of it: Zheng Li, Ling Nan, and Huo Yuhao.

Why? Because they were the only ones who had kept to an even pace from the start.

Ling Nan was following Zheng Li. He also thought an even pace took less effort.

What a waste of that cat-type Martial Soul of yours.

Zheng Li glanced at Ling Nan and thought.

Just then, Shen Lan shot Zhou Yi a provocative look. Zhou Yi didn't react at all, which infuriated Shen Lan.

She hadn't changed the practical training to running in Iron Vests solely for her own sake. It was also because of the Freshman Assessment.

If they'd gone ahead with practical training, Class Five's students would have inevitably revealed their Soul Skills to Class One. Then, when the two classes met during the Freshman Assessment, Class One would know Class Five's Soul Skills, putting Class Five at a disadvantage.

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

Time passed, minute by minute.

By now, the fastest runners, Dai Huabin and Wang Dong, had completed fifteen laps.

When Wang Dong passed Zheng Li, he took a careful look at her. What could he say? As expected of a god's daughter—she was very handsome and looked a lot like a girl, though he couldn't imagine what Wang Dong would look like as a girl.

Pictures from his previous life? He could only say they didn't quite match reality.

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

Huo Yuhao was a lap behind them. Though they were all keeping an even pace, Zheng Li and Ling Nan were clearly faster.

As Zheng Li passed Huo Yuhao, he could clearly hear his heavy breathing. It seemed Huo Yuhao had reached his limit.

Gradually, more than an hour passed.

By now, nearly everyone's uniform was soaked with sweat, and beads of perspiration dripped from their faces.

Several girls had already fallen and slumped down on the track, refusing to get back up.

"Zheng Li, slow down... Slow down..." Ling Nan was so exhausted that he couldn't keep up with Zheng Li's even pace and had fallen well behind.

Even so, he still wasn't saving his strength.

He called out to Zheng Li between gasps.

Zheng Li was exhausted, too, but his constitution really was strong. Otherwise, how could he have endured a six-hundred-year First Soul Ring?

Only now did Zheng Li truly feel the improvement to his physique brought by Xiao Nai and the Heart of Spirit.

He deliberately slowed down to draw level with Ling Nan. Ling Nan's face was bright red, as if it were swollen with blood. Even his sweat had taken on a reddish tinge. He panted heavily, and his short gray hair hung in damp, separated strands over his shoulders, as though he'd just washed it.

"If you can't go on, stop pushing yourself. Don't turn into a dead cat," Zheng Li advised. He was genuinely worried Ling Nan's face might start bleeding.

Ling Nan didn't agree. Instead, he said, "Get lost! You're the dead cat! Zheng Li, are you a freak? I'm an Agility Attack System Soul Master, and I have nineteen levels of Soul Power! That's a four-level difference! How am I... still unable to last as long as you?"

"And you still look like you've got energy to spare!"

"..." Zheng Li was speechless. "If I'm a freak, then what does that make the guy from Class One who started running at the same pace as us? A monster? You might not know this, but he's a special admit. His Soul Power Level is only eleven."

Ling Nan froze, then his eyes widened. "Eleven?! Holy crap! Zheng Li, are you messing with me?"

He'd sounded remarkably energetic. Zheng Li couldn't help asking, "So now you've got energy again?"

"Forget that. Just tell me—is he really only at Level Eleven?" Ling Nan turned to look at Huo Yuhao, who was some distance behind them.

"Really. You can ask around."

"..." Ling Nan was speechless.

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

"Nobody's stopping you."

"How heartless..."

The person who lasted until the end

Nearly twenty minutes later, Zheng Li felt that he was almost at his limit.

His mouth was parched, and his legs felt as if they were filled with lead. It was like he had a whole Five-Finger Mountain weighing down on his back—unbearably heavy!

Sweat dripped from him, and he looked no better than Huo Yuhao had earlier.

Just then, Su Yunqing passed Zheng Li. Panting, she said with admiration, "Zheng Li, you've already worn out almost everyone. You don't have to push yourself so hard."

Su Yunqing's words caught Zheng Li off guard. What did she mean, "worn out"?

He felt that the girl's way of thinking was a little unusual.

But then again, hardly anyone was still running.

Apart from Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, only one person from Class One was still running. In Class Five, there were Zheng Li, Dai Huabin, Su Yunqing, and two other boys.

As for Ling Nan, he'd collapsed somewhere ages ago and become a "dead cat"!

Class Five had more people left, but the outcome was still uncertain.

He wasn't sure whether it was a good thing that Huo Yuhao and Dai Huabin had encountered each other so early. He'd noticed that whenever Huo Yuhao seemed about to give up, he'd glance at Dai Huabin, then somehow find his strength again!

Was he using Dai Huabin as a "generator"?

In the blink of an eye, another five minutes passed, and Wang Dong plopped down on the ground.

Immediately afterward, the other boy from Class One fell, too.

Class Five was now down to just Dai Huabin and Zheng Li. Su Yunqing and the other two had fallen a minute earlier.

Dai Huabin's stamina was understandable. He was a Soul Elder.

Huo Yuhao, meanwhile, had the Mysterious Heaven Skill, which had activated that peculiar way of circulating energy.

But what about Zheng Li?

Many people were wondering the same thing. Shen Lan was one of them, as was Zhou Yi, who had the same thoughts about Huo Yuhao.

Even if Zheng Li had a better physique, judging by his Soul Power, he should have reached his limit long ago, shouldn't he?

Then there was Dai Huabin and the others.

Dai Huabin gritted his teeth and glanced at Zheng Li and Huo Yuhao several times! Especially Zheng Li—he'd been someone Dai Huabin hadn't even paid attention to at first!

He wondered if Dai Huabin would be furious if he learned Huo Yuhao's Soul Power Level.

Zheng Li didn't know. He only knew that his vision was growing hazy and his breathing was completely out of rhythm. It was from lack of oxygen.

As for how he had managed to last this long?

The reason was much the same as Huo Yuhao's.

Huo Yuhao relied on his willpower and the Mysterious Heaven Skill. Zheng Li's willpower wasn't bad, either, and the other reason was his own cultivation technique, the Spirit Sutra, and the Heart of Spirit.

As mentioned earlier, the Heart of Spirit absorbed all kinds of energy, converted them into a strange kind of energy, then spread it through and fused it with every part of his body.

It wasn't that the conversion had stopped. Rather, once he reached his limit, the converted energy stopped fusing with his body and began restoring his stamina and body instead.

He'd also noticed something else.

That strange energy seemed to look down on his Soul Power...

Had it developed a mind of its own? Or was it just his imagination?

Zheng Li pondered this, but couldn't figure it out.

There were still nearly twenty minutes before the end-of-class bell. 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 story finally played out. Wang Dong from Class One was the first to struggle to her feet and catch up to Huo Yuhao. Then the rest of Class One followed.

Naturally, Class Five refused to lose. They got back up and followed behind Dai Huabin, leaving only Ling Nan and Su Yunqing beside Zheng Li.

They said nothing, perhaps because they didn't want to waste the energy.

Zheng Li was a little helpless. He deliberately slowed down so that Dai Huabin and the others behind him could catch up faster and join the group from Class Five.