Zhu Zhuqing's Inferiority

"Cousin!!!"

Just as Ning Rongrong lay on Ye Liuyun's back, savoring that rare moment of peace and preparing to say something.

A pink figure came rushing after them in a gust of wind.

Xiao Wu carried the bamboo basket full of stones on her back. Not only was she not the least bit tired, she looked like an enraged little doe rabbit.

In just a few strides, she darted to Ye Liuyun's side, her long Scorpion Braid snapping through the air as she ran.

"You're playing favorites! You're playing favorites!"

Xiao Wu ran while glaring furiously at Ye Liuyun, then shot a vicious look at Ning Rongrong on his back.

"Why do you carry her but not me?!"

"I'm your cousin! Your real cousin!"

"How could you forget your old love the moment you found a new one?! This is way too unfair!"

Ning Rongrong's ears buzzed from the shout, and the words that had reached her lips were immediately swallowed back down.

Ye Liuyun was speechless and silently complained to himself.

What cousin?

You're a hundred-thousand-year-old Rogue Rabbit, and I'm an eight-hundred-thousand-year-old Blue Silver Grass. We aren't even the same species, so how are we related?

We only acknowledged that relationship to fool others, yet you actually got into character?

But he could not say that. He could only sigh helplessly, his face darkening.

"Shut up."

Xiao Wu obediently shut her mouth. Ning Rongrong did not dare speak either, afraid she would get scolded.

The world instantly became quiet.

Finally.

The twenty laps of the "Hell Run" came to an end.

Once the final lap was complete, the Shrek group's conditions could not have been more different.

Ye Liuyun looked as though nothing had happened. He set Ning Rongrong down and remained as calm as ever.

Ning Rongrong felt a little embarrassed and hid off to the side with a blush.

Thanks to a Spirit Beast's powerful physique, Xiao Wu had carried the stones through the entire course and was only breathing heavily as she glared at Ning Rongrong.

And Tang San...

Thud!

A dull sound rang out.

The "good captain," who had borne the weight of four people, dropped to both knees the instant he crossed the finish line and fell face-first into the dirt.

His clothes were soaked through enough to wring water from them. His chest heaved violently, and his breathing was heavy.

Even with the Endless Life of the Mysterious Heaven Skill, even with the physique he had built through years of blacksmithing.

Carrying the load of four people had completely drained his last shred of strength.

"Little San!"

Yu Xiaogang, who had been waiting at the finish line, saw his beloved disciple in such a state, and his stiff face immediately filled with distress.

He rushed over, pulled Tang San up, helped him catch his breath, and quickly examined his condition.

No.

He could not train any further.

Yu Xiaogang's original plan had been to run laps in the morning, then conduct a "trust exercise" in the afternoon so Tang San could continue demonstrating his leadership and big-picture awareness.

But seeing that Tang San had reached the limit of his stamina, he hesitated.

This was his only hope of proving his theories right.

If Tang San trained himself into ruin or developed some lasting illness, then Yu Xiaogang's life would truly be over.

"Teacher..."

Tang San struggled to stand, his gaze as steadfast as ever.

"W-What is the next training... I... can still hold on..."

Seeing such an obedient, hardworking disciple, Yu Xiaogang's eyes reddened, and his resolve became even firmer.

Rules?

Plans?

In front of his precious disciple's health, they were all bullshit!

Yu Xiaogang stood up with his back to the others, trying hard to maintain his usual stern and rigid demeanor as he announced loudly.

"Morning training is over."

"Since all of you have reached the limits of your physical endurance, in order to avoid damaging your bodies and affecting your future cultivation..."

"The afternoon and evening training are canceled!"

"Get some proper rest."

At those words, Ma Hongjun and Oscar were nearly moved to tears, while Zhu Zhuqing remained silently off to the side.

Night fell.

A cool evening breeze swept through the outskirts of Suotuo City.

After an afternoon of rest, Shrek Academy had returned to tranquility.

Tang San had long since fallen asleep under Yu Xiaogang's attentive care to recover his strength, while everyone else was lying in their dormitories resting.

Ye Liuyun was still in his dormitory, cultivating his right-arm Spirit Bone.

Only after his Soul Power was exhausted and even his mind felt somewhat fatigued—when continuing would mean consuming his life force—did he stop training.

Ye Liuyun stretched and walked out of the dormitory, feeling the cool evening breeze brush over his face.

With a blade of Blue Silver Grass between his lips, he wandered aimlessly to the edge of the training field, planning to take a walk and loosen up.

However, when his gaze swept across the field, his footsteps halted.

Under the dim moonlight, a slender black figure was mechanically running around the field.

It was Zhu Zhuqing.

At that moment, she had long lost her usual aloofness and neat appearance.

Her black skintight outfit was thoroughly soaked with sweat, clinging tightly to her body and outlining breathtaking curves.

Her steps were unsteady, and every stride seemed as though she were dragging an enormous weight.

Her breathing was rapid and disordered, like a broken bellows.

Those usually cool eyes had lost their focus and were filled with bloodshot veins. She was relying entirely on a desperate refusal to die to keep herself going.

Ye Liuyun frowned.

He could tell that Zhu Zhuqing's body had already reached its limit.

Slap.

Zhu Zhuqing finally hit her limit. Her legs gave out, and she lost her balance, falling stiffly toward the hard ground.

Just as her face was about to intimately meet the earth.

A hand firmly grabbed her arm.

There was no gentle embrace, only a skillful tug that forcibly pulled her upright and helped her find somewhere to lean against.

"Enough. Keep running and you'll hurt yourself."

Ye Liuyun's voice was flat, betraying neither anger nor joy.

Zhu Zhuqing panted heavily and took a long while to catch her breath.

When she saw clearly that the person supporting her was Ye Liuyun, her unfocused pupils abruptly contracted, followed by a powerful wave of rejection and disgust.

She suddenly shook off Ye Liuyun's hand, swaying as she tried to stand straight. Her voice was hoarse and cold.

"Don't touch me..."

"I don't need your concern."

Ye Liuyun raised an eyebrow as he looked at this stubborn wildcat.

"I kindly gave you a hand, and now you're treating me like an enemy?"

"Kindly?"

Zhu Zhuqing leaned against the tree, the corners of her lips curling into a bleak, mocking smile.

She looked at Ye Liuyun—at this gifted youth who still looked lazy even after waking up—and the jealousy and unwillingness in her eyes nearly overflowed.

"How could a genius like you... understand my pain?"

"You can cultivate greater Soul Power in less time and defeat Dai Mubai despite being at a lower level."

"In your eyes, I must look like an idiot desperately struggling for just a few levels of Soul Power, right?"

As Zhu Zhuqing spoke, her voice gradually lowered. Finally, it turned into a helpless sigh. She turned away and no longer looked at him.

"Go away."

"Our worlds are different."

"A favored child of heaven like you will never understand. If some people do not want to die, the only choice they have is to train themselves to death."