Several male students who wanted to compete with Xia Linyuan chased after him as hard as they could. But after sprinting after him for one or two laps, they realized that no matter how much they sped up, they couldn't even catch a glimpse of the dust behind him.
Even when he ran at a steady pace, he was still much faster than everyone else, because he was keeping pace with his own speed, not theirs.
What was even more discouraging was that Gu Yuena, Tang Wulin, and Wang Dong easily passed them, and they still looked as if they had energy to spare.
Huo Yuhao, who knew his physical condition well, didn't push himself to grab a high place like the others. From the start, he ran steadily at the back without rushing.
By the time Xia Linyuan had completed ten laps, Huo Yuhao had only finished four. Everyone else had completed around six, more or less. It was clear that Huo Yuhao's physical fitness was far worse than the others'.
When most of them had completed around fifteen laps, those with weaker physiques and cultivation had begun to flag.
Xia Linyuan, who had been leading the pack, slowed down too.
Was he tired?
No, not at all.
He gave up his position and waited until the main group caught up before saying, "Everyone, follow my instructions."
"Why should we listen to you?" Hearing Xia Linyuan tell them to obey him, someone muttered in displeasure.
Xia Linyuan wasn't annoyed. He merely said calmly, "Why you should listen to me isn't important. What matters is that doing so will benefit you."
The person hadn't expected Xia Linyuan to hear him despite how quietly he'd spoken, and his face flushed with embarrassment.
Xia Linyuan used his spiritual sense to set up a soundproof barrier around them. "After everything that's happened today, I'm sure you all understand what kind of person Zhou Yi is, right?"
At the mention of Zhou Yi, the first thought that came to mind for every one of the ninety-odd students was the same: Damn, are you crazy?
Xia Linyuan continued, "Although Teacher Naiya has been doing her best to stand up for us, don't forget that she's only a newly hired trainee teacher. Zhou Yi is still our homeroom teacher."
His words snapped everyone to attention. Teacher Naiya was only a newly hired trainee teacher. Thinking about how she had stood up to Zhou Yi several times for their sake, they couldn't help worrying about her.
"As far as I know, Zhou Yi will expel you from the academy without hesitation if you try to be clever in front of her, or even dare to question her in front of everyone."
"If Teacher Naiya hadn't been there this morning, don't doubt it—one of you might have been among those expelled. The students in the year above you are a perfect example."
"Last year, Zhou Yi taught third-year students. She should have continued with her class as they moved up to fourth year, but this year she suddenly started teaching a freshman class again. Do you know why?"
The students looked at one another, then shook their heads.
"Because only a tenth of the students in her class made it to fourth year. Shrek Academy enrolls a thousand freshmen each year, and the freshman assessment three months into the school year eliminates two-thirds of them. That leaves four hundred, by my count."
"Those four hundred are then split into four classes, with an average of a hundred students per class. I won't even count how many students Zhou Yi may have expelled along the way. Only a tenth of those hundred students made it to fourth year. Do you know what that means?"
Only a tenth of a hundred students had made it to fourth year. Hearing this, everyone drew a sharp breath.
"Class monitor, the academy really doesn't do anything about Teacher Zhou's methods?" someone asked.
"Unfortunately, the academy gives priority to respecting the teachers' decisions. Considering Zhou Yi's actions, that means teachers really do have the right to expel you, whatever the reason."
"Hiss..." Everyone drew another sharp breath.
"Although Zhou Yi hasn't said so outright, judging by what happened this morning, she might suddenly announce after class that whoever ran the fewest laps has been expelled."
"It's only a guess, but it's not impossible. Believe me or don't, but as class monitor, I don't want to see that happen. If any of you gets expelled, then as far as Zhou Yi and I are concerned, you'll have been expelled because of my failure to do my job."
"So I hope you'll cooperate with me in this thankless task. Everyone, I'm sure you don't want Zhou Yi to suddenly come after you—or even expel you, do you?"
Remembering Zhou Yi's unpredictable temper, the students felt uneasy.
"Class monitor, just tell us what to do."
"Yeah, class monitor, we'll all listen to you."
"Class monitor, what should we do?"
"..."
Watching them all talk at once, Xia Linyuan's lips curved into a strange smile.
"Cao Suning, Zhang Yage, Chen Shichao, Guo Sheng..." Xia Linyuan called out ten names in one breath. Du Weilun had given his clone the roster for Freshman Class One at noon. "You ten, line up from shortest to tallest, with half a meter between each of you."
At that, everyone instinctively glanced around to see who had been called.
The ten students who had been called sped to the front and quickly lined up as Xia Linyuan had instructed.
"The rest of you have one minute to form a grid of ten rows and ten columns, arranged from tallest to shortest."
They quickly figured out what to do. First, they formed a grid of ten without sorting by height. Then, they spent half a minute checking their classmates' heights and figuring out where they belonged. Finally, they used the remaining half minute to rearrange themselves.
Exactly one minute later, a perfectly orderly formation stood before Xia Linyuan.
Xia Linyuan nodded slightly. "Good. Now follow my commands. Start by stepping with your left foot."
Although the students didn't know what Xia Linyuan was planning, they were all fully alert.
"Everyone, get ready! Forward, march! One, two, one, one, two, one..."
Following Xia Linyuan's cadence, their steps were a little disordered at first. Some moved too quickly, others too slowly, but thankfully, there was enough space between them to keep anyone from colliding.
Then everyone was surprised to discover that as long as they followed Xia Linyuan's cadence, their entire formation moved in perfect unison, even developing a peculiar rhythm.
Combined with the sound of their synchronized footsteps, that peculiar rhythm made them feel strangely exhilarated.
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