Yu Xiaogang's Little Trick

Ye Liuyun let Yu Xiaogang's words go in one ear and out the other, not taking them seriously at all.

The blazing sun hung high overhead.

The once-dry dirt road had been soaked patch after patch with sweat.

As the laps increased, the line inevitably stretched out.

Differences in stamina could not be erased with a few bowls of chicken soup.

Thanks to cultivating the Mysterious Heaven Skill, Tang San possessed deep, enduring inner energy. Combined with the physique he had built through years of blacksmithing, he remained in first place.

Although Ye Liuyun wore an expression that said, "I'm exhausted," he maintained a steady pace and gradually moved toward the front as well.

Close behind him came Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing.

At the very back of the group, however, was a hellish scene.

"I can't... I can't keep going..."

The fat all over Ma Hongjun's body trembled, sweat pouring down him like a waterfall. His face was deathly pale, and every step required him to gasp for breath three times.

"Fatty! Don't stop! Keep going!"

Yu Xiaogang stood at the side of the track and shouted coldly.

"This is your body's limit, not your will's limit! If you stop now, then you'll be nothing but useless forever!"

"Look at yourself. Do any women even like you?"

That humiliating personal attack made Ma Hongjun grit his teeth, tears welling in his eyes as he could only force himself to keep moving.

Behind him, the situation was even worse.

As Support System Spirit Masters, Ning Rongrong and Oscar naturally had the weakest constitutions.

Oscar had at least trained his physical fitness under Flender.

But Ning Rongrong, a pampered young lady, had never gone through anything like this. Her little face had already gone from red to white, and her legs felt as heavy as if they had been filled with lead.

The basket of stones pressed against her delicate back. Every sway felt like a sledgehammer smashing into her spine.

I can't lose... I'm the genius of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect... I can't let Ye Liuyun laugh at me...

She stubbornly held on through sheer pride, unwilling to be looked down upon.

But the body's limits would not bend to one's will.

"Ah!"

Suddenly, Ning Rongrong's foot gave out, and she was tripped by a protruding stone.

The heavy bamboo basket instantly lost balance. The powerful momentum sent her crashing hard onto the ground, and the stones spilled out with a clatter, some even striking her on the head.

"Rongrong!"

Hearing the commotion, Oscar, who had been running ahead, hurriedly threw down his own bamboo basket and ran back, intending to help Ning Rongrong up.

"Don't touch me!" Tears streamed down Ning Rongrong's face from the pain, yet she stubbornly shoved Oscar away and tried to get up on her own.

But after several attempts, her legs trembled so badly that she could not stand steadily at all.

"Enough!"

Oscar suddenly turned around and shouted at Yu Xiaogang:

"Grandmaster! This isn't fair at all! We're Support System Spirit Masters, so why do we have to carry the same weight as Power Attack System Battle Spirit Masters? Rongrong is a girl—she's already at her limit!"

"If she keeps running, her body will collapse!"

Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing stopped as well, gathering around Ning Rongrong with worried expressions.

The entire team was forced to halt.

As Yu Xiaogang watched the scene, a glint flashed through his eyes.

It had finally come.

This was the opportunity he had been waiting for.

With his hands behind his back, he slowly walked before the group. His face was frighteningly grim. Rather than showing any concern for Ning Rongrong's injury, he launched into a furious rebuke:

"Not fair?"

"Oscar, would enemies on a battlefield cut you one less time just because you're a Support System Spirit Master?"

"Ning Rongrong, would enemies show you mercy just because you're a girl?"

"Look at yourselves! You're a scattered mess! You complain and fall apart at the slightest difficulty! Other than Ye Liuyun and Tang San, the rest of you are practically useless!"

Yu Xiaogang's gaze swept across every face like a blade before he coldly declared:

"Remember, you are a team!"

"Today's task is for everyone to complete twenty laps! If even one person is missing, or one lap is short, then it does not count as complete!"

"Since someone can no longer run, that is your team's problem."

"Since you are a team, you can complement one another and share the burden."

"You can figure out the rest yourselves. If you don't finish running, no one gets to eat!"

This was an utterly blatant scheme.

He was forcing the strong to make sacrifices for the weak.

The moment Tang San heard those words, he understood that his teacher was building a stage for him.

Without the slightest hesitation, he walked over to Ning Rongrong and Oscar in a few strides.

"The Grandmaster is right. We are one whole."

Tang San's voice was steady and strong, filled with a reassuring power.

He bent down, picked up the stones Ning Rongrong had scattered across the ground, and dumped them all into his own bamboo basket.

"I'll carry Rongrong's share."

Tang San straightened up. Though his body swayed slightly, he quickly steadied himself and looked at the others with firm resolve.

"I'm the captain. I have a responsibility to take care of every member of the team."

"Oscar, help Rongrong run slowly. Fatty, if you can't hold on, give your stones to me."

At that moment, Tang San's figure was not particularly tall, yet beneath the sunlight, he appeared incomparably imposing.

That radiant image of self-sacrifice and willingness to shoulder responsibility instantly broke through Oscar and Ma Hongjun's defenses.

Even Ning Rongrong, looking at Tang San's back bent beneath the weight, felt a trace of complicated gratitude flash through her eyes.

This really was how a captain ought to be!

As Yu Xiaogang watched the scene, the corner of his mouth lifted almost imperceptibly.

Very good, Tang San.

This was the charisma of a leader.

Then, his gaze passed over the crowd and landed on Ye Liuyun, who stood at the very edge with his hands in his pockets, watching the show.

His eyes carried a hint of warning, as well as a concealed rejection.

He silently prayed in his heart:

Ye Liuyun, you'd better not move.

Just keep acting cold and selfish.

Whatever you do, don't come over and help.

The stamina of Support System Spirit Masters was worlds apart from that of Tang San, who had spent years blacksmithing and cultivating the Mysterious Heaven Skill.

This kind of burden was merely routine training for Tang San, yet it could win people's hearts to the greatest extent.

If a troublemaker like Ye Liuyun also stepped forward to help now, not only would he steal Tang San's spotlight, his casual attitude might even make this emotional performance seem cheap.

So just stand there and be an outsider rejected by the team.

That was the effect I wanted.

However.

Ye Liuyun found Tang San's seemingly unsteady back rather strange.

He had known Tang San for many years and knew that he had been blacksmithing since the age of six. He even carried baskets full of iron blocks in his daily life, so why did carrying some stones make him seem so weak?

Then he glanced at the complicated look in Yu Xiaogang's eyes.

He suddenly smiled.

Ye Liuyun walked up to Tang San, panting heavily as he said:

"My injury from the Star Dou Great Forest hasn't healed yet. Fighting Dai Mubai earlier already pushed me to my limit."

"Carry mine for me too."

The entire place instantly fell dead silent.

Tang San's waist nearly snapped from those words.

But he could not refute them. Everyone knew Ye Liuyun had been injured in the Star Dou Great Forest.

And he had fought Dai Mubai just moments ago, so it was understandable that he lacked the strength to continue.

But Tang San did not want to carry Ye Liuyun's stones at all. Helping someone he disliked was far too unpleasant.

"But I can see that you still have strength."

Tang San spoke up.

The moment the words left his mouth.

Ye Liuyun clutched his chest and began coughing repeatedly, his face turning pale as though he were one step away from coughing up blood on the spot.

"I'm an injured person!"

"Are you really going to ignore an injured person?"

"Aren't we a team?"

Tang San: "...Fine. I'll carry them for you."