The Final Victory

After the first lap, then the second... they actually started to enjoy this feeling!

"Everyone, shout with me! One, two, one! One, two, one..."

"One, two, one! One, two, one..."

This time, everyone was very cooperative. The rhythmic, deafening chants, combined with their orderly formation, gave them the aura of an iron-blooded lion, enough to make anyone tremble.

An inexplicable sense of pride and self-esteem welled up in the hearts of these young boys and girls, and their chants grew even louder, audible to nearly the entire Martial Soul Department of the outer courtyard.

The teaching building was right next to Shrek Plaza, and the commotion was so great that many teachers stepped out of their classrooms to see what was happening, while students poked their heads out from inside.

When they saw the orderly formation at the edge of the plaza and heard the resounding chants, they were completely stunned.

Are you sure this is running, and not military training?

Not to mention them, even Zhou Yi was dumbfounded.

How did this turn of events differ so much from what she had imagined?

Just as Xia Linyuan had said, although she hadn't stated it explicitly, she had intended to expel the first person to give up when class ended to make an example of them. Even if someone objected, it wouldn't matter; the academy would only criticize and educate her anyway.

At the same time, if Xia Linyuan couldn't lead the entire class, she would have unhesitatingly stripped him of his position as class monitor and replaced him with someone else suitable with leadership skills.

But she never expected that not only did no one give up, but they were also driven by Xia Linyuan, appearing like an iron-blooded lion.

Seeing this scene, the clone of Xia Linyuan quietly left Shrek Plaza.

When he returned, he didn't just come back alone; he brought back a large vat of saltwater.

As time passed, the effect of the weighted running became increasingly apparent. Even though Xia Linyuan had removed some of the weight for many of them earlier, after running for nearly half an hour, beads of sweat were constantly sliding down everyone's faces, except for Xia Linyuan and Gu Yuena.

"Attention, everyone! One, two, one, halt!"

For this command, Xia Linyuan had to infuse a bit of internal energy, otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to drown out the voices of ninety-nine people.

Without needing Xia Linyuan to teach them, the students had already mastered it, taking three neat steps before stopping in place.

Setting aside the consumption of physical strength and spirit power, just from shouting for half an hour, it was impossible not to be thirsty.

Zhou Yi had only said they had to run until the end of class; she hadn't said they weren't allowed to stop midway, right?

Xia Linyuan didn't know how many worlds existed where cultivators needed to replenish water after running for half an hour, but he knew that Spirit Masters on the Douluo Continent certainly did.

"Dismissed in place. Drink some water to replenish your fluids. Assemble back here in five minutes."

What shocked him, and even Zhou Yi, was that these students did not disperse in place as Xia Linyuan had ordered. Instead, they lined up in an orderly fashion, with the next row only stepping up to get water after the previous row had finished and returned to the formation.

Not just them, but even Yan Shaozhe, Mu En, and the many teachers who had come to investigate were deeply stunned by this scene.

It was only the first day of school! In less than half a day, this Freshman Class One had cultivated such strong class cohesion; it was truly incredible!

And then there was Xia Linyuan. Was he really just an eleven-year-old child? To be able to lead his classmates in such a short time—this leadership ability was truly terrifying!

Xia Linyuan, who was also watching this scene, remained expressionless, his eyes indifferent, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking at that moment.

Having shouted slogans for half an hour, their throats felt like they were smoking, yet it hadn't diminished their passion in the slightest. After being moistened by the water, it added even more fuel to their soaring spirits.

What a group of vibrant, energetic children.

Five minutes, exactly five minutes—they wouldn't even spare an extra second. Without needing Xia Linyuan to direct them, the students spontaneously began to run again, following the rhythm of their synchronized chants.

Seeing this, the teachers hiding in the shadows were stunned once again.

The names Xia Linyuan and Freshman Class One would be etched deep into their minds from this day forward, impossible to erase.

One teacher came to their senses and immediately turned to walk into their classroom. "All of you, get out here and look! Look at how they do things! And look at how you do things! Before class tomorrow, everyone is to hand in a reflection paper!"

When dozens of students swarmed out of the classroom and saw the scene, their minds were severely shaken.

Awesome!

Time passed slowly. Even though Xia Linyuan stopped them every half hour to rest for five minutes under the guise of replenishing water, those five minutes were pitifully short and couldn't restore much physical strength at all.

With only fifteen minutes left until the end of class, everyone's physical strength and spirit power had long since been overdrawn, and their white uniforms were already soaked through with sweat.

Fatigue had shattered their formation more than twenty minutes ago. Only their muddled brains drove their stiff bodies to keep moving forward, like walking corpses, mechanically repeating the actions of lifting their legs, stepping out, and landing.

Even Tang Wulin, who had the highest cultivation, the best stamina, and even the bloodline of the Golden Dragon King—aside from Xia Linyuan and Gu Yuena—was nearing his limit.

"Fifteen minutes left, hold on! Persistence is victory!" Xia Linyuan encouraged.

The iron vests worn on their bodies had become a complete burden. The vests rubbed constantly against their soaked uniforms and skin, and even though they were dizzy with exhaustion, they could still clearly feel the burning pain from the friction.

Except for their brains, they felt as if no part of their bodies belonged to them anymore.

"One, two, one, one, two, one..."

The chants were no longer as resonant and powerful as before; they were being roared out through sheer willpower.

Seeing Huo Yuhao out of the corner of his eye, lagging behind the others and stumbling like a walking corpse, Xia Linyuan slowed his pace and, timing it perfectly, reached out to support him.

"Yuhao, how is it? Can you still hold on?"

"Mother, Mother..."

A tearful murmur reached his ears.

Huo Yuhao's voice sounded a bit strange, neither quite male nor female—his voice must have begun to change early.

Hearing the tearful murmur, Xia Linyuan didn't speak again, but simply supported Huo Yuhao as they continued to move forward.

"Ding-a-ling—"

When the bell for the end of class rang, and seeing that the crooked formation was about to collapse completely, Xia Linyuan roared, "Do not stop! Everyone, walk one more lap! That is an order!"

Hearing Xia Linyuan's voice, which sounded like an enraged lion, the ninety-eight students of Freshman Class One, excluding him and Huo Yuhao, felt as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped over their heads. They jolted, suddenly becoming a bit more clear-headed.