Ten Thousand Year Tradition

Zhou Yi wanted to use the "killing the chicken to warn the monkey" tactic this morning to establish her authority and temper their personalities, making them easier to control. If Xia Linyuan hadn't intervened, she might have actually succeeded, and the students would have swallowed their anger under her oppressive force. However, such submissive behavior from the students would only have fueled her arrogance, making her even more unscrupulous.

Today, under Xia Linyuan's deliberate guidance, not only did Zhou Yi fail to achieve her goal, but the situation backfired, inciting their rebellious nature instead. Although it wasn't apparent on the surface for now, the moment she tried to suppress them again, they would erupt with ten or a hundred times the intensity.

The current situation was that while they were unhappy, no one wanted to offend a lunatic—especially one who would be their homeroom teacher for a long time to come. They didn't want to be constantly targeted for trouble.

They were here to learn and grow stronger, not to invite a mountain of problems for themselves.

Xia Linyuan's inverted avatar followed Zhou Yi's instructions and moved one hundred thirty-jin iron vests to Shrek Plaza.

Hmm, it really is Shrek's unchanging old tradition—running with weights.

But at least Yu Xiaogang knew to distribute different weights based on each person's physical fitness, whereas this Zhou Yi...

"Xia Linyuan!" Zhou Yi called out.

Xia Linyuan responded calmly: "Here."

Seemingly unsatisfied with Xia Linyuan's attitude, Zhou Yi said to the group with a gloomy face: "I have reviewed all of your entrance examination results. So far, Xia Linyuan's cultivation is the highest, so I announce that from now on, he is the monitor of Freshman Class One."

"But!" Zhou Yi suddenly raised her voice by several decibels, "The position of monitor is fluid. As long as anyone has the ability to defeat him, they can take his place. Is that understood?"

As soon as Zhou Yi finished speaking, several sharp gazes immediately landed on him.

They didn't know what level Xia Linyuan's cultivation had reached, but they subconsciously felt that as fellow freshmen of similar age, even if his cultivation was higher, it wouldn't be by too much. Therefore, they believed they still had a great chance to replace him.

Only Gu Yuena had a vague understanding of just how terrifying Xia Linyuan's true strength was.

Appointed as the monitor of Freshman Class One by Zhou Yi, Xia Linyuan didn't say anything.

Zhou Yi pointed to the pile of iron chains and said: "These are iron vests I specifically prepared to improve your physical fitness. Each person takes one. From now on, run around Shrek Plaza until class ends. You may use spirit power, but you cannot use spirit skills to assist yourselves."

As she spoke, Zhou Yi flicked her toe, and an iron vest flew in front of Xia Linyuan.

Xia Linyuan picked up the thirty-jin iron vest with one hand and put it on. To him, the thirty-jin weight felt like nothing at all.

As for the others, the male students were fine, but when the female students felt the weight of the vests, their faces turned pale with shock.

Xia Linyuan seized the opportunity to step forward again: "Teacher Zhou, this doesn't seem right."

"Teacher Naiya, I know what you want to say. There is a natural gap between the bodies of boys and girls, and the physical fitness of different types of Spirit Masters also varies, so you think this is unfair to them."

"But think about it: if this were on the battlefield, would the enemy spare them just because they are female or because they are Tool Spirit Masters?" Zhou Yi spoke loudly, her tone filled with unquestionable authority.

Xia Linyuan said calmly: "Teacher Zhou, I admit that what you say has some truth, but don't forget, they are still just a group of children."

"First, this is an academy, not a military camp. And you can ask them: how many of them want to join the army after graduation?"

During wartime, unless a commander issues special orders or you act recklessly, armies generally do not slaughter those who are not soldiers. Since few people want to join the army, what chance would they have to reach the battlefield?

"Second, although it is said that logistics must be handled first when starting a war, logistics are of paramount importance on the battlefield. If the enemy can bypass the main force at the front, is there even a need to continue the war? No!"

"Third, this is physical training. Thirty jin is an excessive load for many of them, and your requirement is to run from now until the end of class—which is at least four hours away."

"Running with an excessive load for four hours might provide some improvement, but it's minimal. It's not stimulating potential; it's overdrawing it. Teacher Zhou, you aren't helping them grow; you are destroying them!"

Xia Linyuan's words were resonant and powerful, every syllable hitting the mark. That final sentence, "you are destroying them," struck Zhou Yi's heart like a giant hammer. Her mind went blank, and she couldn't think of a single word to refute him.

Seeing "Teacher Naiya" speaking up for them, the students felt as relieved as if they had taken a sedative.

"Teacher Zhou," Xia Linyuan said, "Although I am only an intern teacher with no teaching experience, I still know that everything must be tailored to the individual—not just teaching, but training as well."

"If I have done anything inappropriate, Teacher Zhou, feel free to report it to the academy."

After speaking, he walked up to a girl whose shoulders were sagging under the weight of the iron vest and directly unhooked several chains that were as thick as her arms.

With those chains removed, the girl was finally able to straighten her back.

"Thank you, Teacher Naiya," the girl said gratefully.

Xia Linyuan smiled slightly: "Don't push yourself too hard. If anything happens, I'll take the responsibility."

Until he had reduced the load for all the students to a range they could bear, Zhou Yi remained silent.

Although he could have easily used the Voice of the Black Pharaoh to issue a command to Zhou Yi to stop causing trouble for him, he didn't do so because he needed the recognition of these students.

The more people who recognized him, the stronger his existence force would become. The stronger his existence force, the more stable and solid his power would be. This was the reason why he had gone to the front lines of the Abyss Plane for the past few years.

"Alright, don't think that just because I've reduced your load, you don't have to run."

With Xia Linyuan taking the lead, the remaining ninety-nine students spontaneously followed, running along the edge of the plaza.

Even while wearing the thirty-jin iron vest, it didn't hinder Xia Linyuan from taking the lead at the very front.

Even as an avatar with only one-hundred-thousandth of his true strength, his physical fitness and cultivation were beyond anything these students—or even the gods of the Douluo God Realm—could compare to.