Prioritizing the Teacher's Decision

A few male students who wanted to compete with Xia Linyuan chased hard behind him, but after sprinting at full speed for a lap or two, they discovered that no matter how much they accelerated, they couldn't even catch the dust trailing behind him.

Even at a steady pace, he ran much faster than the others because he was maintaining his own natural speed, not pacing himself to match theirs.

What hit them even harder was that Gu Yuena, Tang Wulin, and Wang Dong all easily overtook them, and they still looked like they had energy to spare.

As for Huo Yuhao, who was well aware of his own physical condition, he didn't try to fight for a top spot like the others; instead, he remained calm and steady, jogging at a consistent pace from the very beginning.

By the time Xia Linyuan had completed a full ten laps, Huo Yuhao had only finished four, while the others had all run roughly six laps or so. It was clear that Huo Yuhao's physical fitness was truly far inferior to the rest.

When most of the students had reached about fifteen laps, those with weaker physical constitutions and lower cultivation levels began to show signs of collapse.

Xia Linyuan, who had been leading the pack the entire time, also slowed his pace.

Was he tired?

No, not at all.

He vacated his position and waited for the main group to catch up to him before saying, "Now, everyone listen to my command."

"Why should we listen to you?" Hearing that Xia Linyuan actually expected them to take orders from him, someone muttered in dissatisfaction.

Xia Linyuan wasn't annoyed; he simply said calmly, "Why you should listen to me isn't important. What's important is that listening to me will benefit you."

The person hadn't expected that his quiet grumbling would be heard by Xia Linyuan, and his face immediately flushed with heat.

Xia Linyuan used his spiritual sense to cast a sound-insulating barrier around them. "I believe that after today's events, everyone understands what kind of person Zhou Yi is, right?"

At the mention of Zhou Yi, the first thought that popped into the minds of the ninety-plus students was, without exception: Damn, is she insane?

Xia Linyuan continued, "Although Teacher Naiya has been fighting for us, don't forget that Teacher Naiya is merely a newly hired intern teacher. Our homeroom teacher is still Zhou Yi."

Hearing this, the students suddenly snapped to their senses. "Teacher Naiya" was just a new intern. Thinking of how "Teacher Naiya" had stood up to Zhou Yi several times for their sake, they couldn't help but worry for him.

"As far as I know, with a person like Zhou Yi, if you try to be clever in front of her, or even dare to question her in front of others, she will expel you from the academy without a shred of mercy."

"If not for Teacher Naiya this morning, don't doubt it—some of you might have been among those expelled. Your seniors from the previous year are a perfect example."

"Last year, Zhou Yi taught the third-year students. If things had gone as expected, she should have continued to lead her class into the fourth year, but this year she suddenly took over a freshman class again. Do you know why?"

The students looked at each other, then shook their heads.

"Because in the class she led, only one-tenth made it to the fourth year. Shrek Academy recruits one thousand freshmen every year, and the freshman assessment three months after the start of the term eliminates two-thirds. Let's say four hundred remain."

"These four hundred are then divided into four classes, with an average of one hundred students per class. I won't even count how many students Zhou Yi might have expelled during that time. If only one-tenth of those hundred students make it to the fourth year, do you know what that concept means?"

Only one-tenth of a hundred making it to the fourth year—hearing this, everyone gasped in unison.

"Class Monitor, if Teacher Zhou acts like this, does the academy really not care?" someone asked.

"Unfortunately, the academy prioritizes respecting the teachers' decisions. Combined with Zhou Yi's track record, the implication is that she truly has the authority to expel you, regardless of the reason."

"Hiss~" The group gasped again.

"Although Zhou Yi hasn't stated it explicitly, given what happened this morning, perhaps when class ends, she might suddenly drop a line saying that the person who ran the fewest laps is expelled."

"While this is just my speculation, it's not impossible. Believe it or not, as your Class Monitor, I'm not keen on seeing that scenario unfold, because if any of you are expelled, to me and to Zhou Yi, it would mean you were expelled because of my failure to lead."

"So, I hope everyone can cooperate with this thankless task of mine. Fellow students, I don't think any of you want to be suddenly targeted by Zhou Yi, or even expelled, right?"

Thinking of Zhou Yi's volatile temperament, everyone felt a sense of dread.

"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 chime in one after another, the corners of Xia Linyuan's lips curled up, forming a strange arc.

"Cao Suning, Zhang Yage, Chen Shichao, Guo Sheng..." Xia Linyuan called out ten names in one breath. Du Weilun had sent the freshman class roster to his clone at noon. "You ten, line up in a single file from shortest to tallest, with half a meter between each of you."

Hearing this, the students subconsciously looked left and right to see who had been called.

The ten people named sped up to the front of the group and quickly lined up according to Xia Linyuan's requirements.

"The rest of you, I'll give you one minute to arrange yourselves into a ten-by-ten square formation, ordered from tallest to shortest."

Hearing this, their minds worked quickly. They first formed a ten-person square without regard for height, then spent half a minute observing their classmates' heights to determine their positions, and finally used the remaining half-minute to swap into their correct spots.

Exactly one minute later, an incredibly neat formation appeared before Xia Linyuan.

Xia Linyuan nodded slightly. "Very good. Now, listen to my command: step out with your left leg first."

Although they didn't know Xia Linyuan's intention, the students still gathered all their focus.

"Everyone, get ready! Run—march! One-two-one, one-two-one..."

Driven by Xia Linyuan's cadence, although their steps were a bit messy at first—some faster, some slower—the spacing between them was sufficient, so they didn't collide.

Soon, the students were surprised to find that as long as they followed Xia Linyuan's rhythm, their entire formation became incredibly uniform, even developing a unique sense of cadence.

This special rhythm, accompanied by the synchronized sound of their running, actually made them feel a surge of excitement.