The Final Victory

After running the first lap, then the second... they actually began to enjoy the feeling!

"Everyone, follow me and chant: Left, right, left, right..."

"Left, right, left, right..."

This time, everyone cooperated. Their orderly chants were deafening, and together with their neat formation, they gave off the impression of a disciplined, battle-hardened lion, enough to make anyone tremble.

An inexplicable sense of pride and honor welled up in the boys and girls. Their chants grew louder and louder, until nearly half of the Outer Court's Martial Soul Department could hear them.

The teaching building stood right beside Shrek Plaza. The commotion soon drew many teachers out of their classrooms to see what was happening, and even the students peered out from their classrooms.

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

Are you sure they're running, and not doing military training?

They weren't the only ones shocked. Even Zhou Yi was stunned.

How had things taken such a different turn from what she'd expected?

Just as Xia Linyuan had said, though she hadn't said it outright, she'd planned to expel the first person who gave up after class, as a warning to the others. It wouldn't matter if anyone objected; at most, the academy would give her a reprimand.

At the same time, if Xia Linyuan couldn't motivate the entire class, she would remove him from his position as class monitor without hesitation and replace him with someone more suitable, someone with leadership ability.

But she had never imagined that not only would no one give up, but Xia Linyuan would also manage to rally them into a disciplined, battle-hardened lion.

Seeing this, Xia Linyuan's clone quietly left Shrek Plaza.

When he returned, he brought not only himself but also a large vat of salt water.

The longer they ran with weights, the more pronounced the effects became. Although Xia Linyuan had taken some of the weights off several people earlier, after running for nearly half an hour, everyone except Xia Linyuan and Gu Yuena had sweat streaming down their faces.

"Everyone, attention! Left, right, left—halt!"

Xia Linyuan had to put some inner force behind his shout; otherwise, he couldn't have drowned out the voices of ninety-nine people.

The students had already gotten the hang of it without Xia Linyuan needing to teach them. They took three synchronized steps and stopped in place.

Never mind how much stamina and Soul Power they'd used; after chanting for half an hour, there was no way they weren't thirsty.

Zhou Yi had only said they had to keep running until class ended. She hadn't said they couldn't stop along the way, had she?

Xia Linyuan didn't know how many worlds in the vast universe had cultivators who needed to replenish their fluids after running for half an hour, but he knew that Spirit Masters on Douluo Continent did.

"Dismiss where you are and have a cup of water to rehydrate. Fall in here again in five minutes."

To his and even Zhou Yi's astonishment, the students didn't scatter as Xia Linyuan had ordered. Instead, they lined up in an orderly fashion. The next row waited until the one before them had filled their cups and returned to the formation before stepping up for water.

They weren't the only ones stunned. Yan Shaozhe, Mu En, and the many teachers who had gathered after hearing the commotion were watching from hiding, and this scene left them deeply shaken.

It was only the first day of school! In less than half a day, Freshman Class One had developed such strong class unity. It was truly unbelievable!

And Xia Linyuan—was he really only eleven years old? He'd managed to get his classmates moving together in such a short time. His leadership ability was simply terrifying!

Yet Xia Linyuan, who was seeing the same scene, remained expressionless, his gaze utterly detached. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

They'd chanted loudly for half an hour, and their throats were so dry they felt as if they were smoking. Yet their enthusiasm hadn't diminished in the slightest. Once they'd had some water, it only stoked their high spirits even more.

What a group of vibrant young people.

Exactly five minutes later—not a second more—the students started running again of their own accord, chanting in unison without waiting for Xia Linyuan to direct them.

Seeing this, the teachers watching from hiding were shaken once more.

From this day on, the names Xia Linyuan and Freshman Class One would be etched deep in their minds, impossible to forget.

One teacher came back to his senses and immediately turned to walk into his classroom. "All of you, get out here and take a look! Look at how they're doing it, then look at how you're doing it! Before class tomorrow, every one of you will hand in a reflection on what you've seen!"

Dozens of students poured out of the classroom in a rush. When they saw the scene, they were all deeply shaken.

Badass!

Time passed slowly. Even though Xia Linyuan stopped every half an hour and gave them five minutes to rest under the pretext of letting them rehydrate, five minutes was pitifully little. It was nowhere near enough to restore their strength.

With only fifteen minutes left before class ended, everyone had already exhausted their stamina and Soul Power. Their white uniforms had long since been soaked through with sweat.

Fatigue had thrown their formation into disarray more than twenty minutes earlier. Only their dazed minds drove their stiff bodies onward. Like the walking dead, they mechanically repeated the motions of lifting a leg, stepping forward, and setting it down.

Even Tang Wulin, whose cultivation and stamina were the best after Xia Linyuan and Gu Yuena's, and who even possessed the Golden Dragon King Bloodline, was already on the verge of his limit.

"Fifteen minutes left. Hang in there! Perseverance is victory!" Xia Linyuan encouraged them.

The Iron Vests they wore had become a burden. They rubbed constantly against their sweat-soaked uniforms and skin, and even with their minds dulled by exhaustion, they could still clearly feel the burning pain where the fabric chafed.

Apart from their minds, they felt as if no part of their bodies belonged to them anymore.

"Left, right, left, right..."

Their chants no longer had the same force as before. They were forcing the words out in hoarse shouts.

Out of the corner of his eye, Xia Linyuan saw Huo Yuhao lagging behind, stumbling forward like the walking dead. He slowed down, seized the right moment, and supported him.

"Yuhao, how are you? Can you keep going?"

"Mom... Mom..."

A soft, tearful murmur reached his ears.

Huo Yuhao's voice sounded a little strange, neither quite male nor female. His voice must have been changing early.

Hearing that tearful murmur, Xia Linyuan said nothing more. He simply supported Huo Yuhao and kept moving forward.

"Ring, ring—"

When the class-ending bell rang, the crooked formation looked ready to collapse completely. Xia Linyuan growled, "Don't stop! All of you, walk one more lap! That's an order!"

Hearing Xia Linyuan's voice, which sounded like an enraged male lion, the ninety-eight students in Freshman Class One—everyone except him and Huo Yuhao—felt as if a basin of icy water had been dumped over their heads. They jolted and snapped somewhat back to their senses.