Claiming Another Victory

Xia Linyuan took a few quick steps with Huo Yuhao and the others, catching a girl who was about to collapse and keeping her upright. He forced her to keep walking slowly.

At his command, those who could still hold on—and those who couldn't, but had friends supporting them—dragged their stiff, almost alien bodies forward one step at a time.

For a while, Shrek Plaza looked like the site of a zombie outbreak. Everyone was lurching along at odd angles.

Shrek Plaza was three hundred meters around. Apart from Gu Yuena, even the fastest took nearly ten minutes to complete the lap.

When they finished the final lap Xia Linyuan had demanded, they fell like dominoes. Their Iron Vests clanged against the ground one after another. Apart from Xia Linyuan and Gu Yuena, who sat on the ground, everyone else lay sprawled across Shrek Plaza.

From the moment their homeroom teacher had called them out until now, the corridors of all four teaching buildings had been packed with people. Not a single person had left.

They watched the students sprawled across Shrek Plaza take ten minutes to finish that last lap. The shock in their eyes hadn't faded in the slightest—and that included Beibei and Tang Ya.

Huo Yuhao slid down beside Xia Linyuan and collapsed onto the ground. Gasping for breath, he said weakly, "Thank you, Linyuan."

Xia Linyuan wiped the "sweat" from his forehead and smiled. "You're welcome."

At the edge of Shrek Plaza, Zhou Yi watched the scene and slowly took a deep breath.

She had thought she could use this to make an example of a few students and reestablish her authority in Freshman Class One. But she never expected Xia Linyuan to be able to lead them this far. Even the teachers were willing to give up four hours of class so their students could witness Freshman Class One's unity and take it as an example.

If she still wanted to expel students to make an example of them after all this, then she would be the one who didn't know what was good for her.

Zhou Yi looked at the sprawled-out students of Freshman Class One, her expression complicated. She waved toward the distance, and a man dressed in white promptly drifted over.

The man nodded to Zhou Yi and Xia Linyuan, then turned toward the students. Seven dazzling Spirit Rings rose beneath his feet.

He raised both hands, and a gentle green light began to bloom from his palms. At the same time, the seventh Spirit Ring around him swirled with black light. He swayed, and in the blink of an eye, he had transformed into a towering tree.

The tree swayed, and emerald leaves fell from its crown, landing on the students. Exactly one hundred leaves, no more and no less.

As the leaves touched them, the students were astonished to find their stamina returning and the wounds caused by their Iron Vests healing at an astonishing speed.

"Is this the power of the Tree of Life, one of the pinnacles of Plant-type Martial Souls?" Wang Dong exclaimed.

"Good heavens, he's a Plant-type tool-soul Soul Saint above level seventy!"

"A Plant-type tool-soul Soul Saint above level seventy used his Martial Soul Avatar just to heal us? That's ridiculously extravagant!"

As everyone marveled at the Tree of Life's powerful healing ability and at a Soul Saint above level seventy using his Martial Soul Avatar to restore their strength and heal their injuries, Xia Linyuan took advantage of no one watching him and flicked a finger. The leaf floating in front of him instantly disintegrated into dust.

Forget how much energy he could have used running around Shrek Plaza—which was only three hundred meters around—for four hours. He and the living beings of the Douluo World were on completely different levels in both life and power.

It wasn't that the Tree of Life, supposedly one of the pinnacles of Plant-type Martial Souls, had no effect on him. It had absolutely no effect at all.

Huo Yuhao said in amazement, "If my dried-up Soul Power weren't reminding me this was real, I wouldn't believe we'd just spent four hours running around Shrek Plaza."

Xia Linyuan smiled. "Was it really that unbelievable?"

Huo Yuhao rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Of course, it's probably mostly just my imagination playing tricks on me."

Their strength returned, and the exhaustion in their muscles eased. Even though they still felt mentally worn out, it didn't stop them from bouncing back completely. Some of the more outgoing students were even starting to joke around with their friends.

Xia Linyuan watched them and took a deep breath. "Fall in!"

The students who were still fooling around heard Xia Linyuan's voice and immediately straightened up, jogging over to gather together.

In just one class, Xia Linyuan had established himself as the undisputed leader of Freshman Class One.

"Gu Yuena, start the count!"

"One!"

"Two!"

"Three!"

"..."

"Ninety-nine!"

Xia Linyuan stepped into the line and said solemnly, "One hundred!"

"Teacher Zhou, all one hundred students of Freshman Class One are present. Please give us your instructions."

Seeing this, Zhou Yi couldn't keep her composure.

She had worked so hard and tried every possible way to establish her authority in Freshman Class One. Yet everything she'd done had ended up paving the way for someone else. How could she possibly stay calm?

First Nyarlathotep, and now Xia Linyuan. Why did fate have to toy with her like this? This wasn't the script she'd planned!

Zhou Yi would probably never know that "Nyarlathotep" and Xia Linyuan had been the same person all along.

Xia Linyuan sensed Zhou Yi's intense mental fluctuations clearly, but he wasn't surprised in the slightest. From beginning to end, everything had been under his control.

Zhou Yi looked at the students standing in neat formation, took a deep breath, and said in a low voice, "In this class, you gave me an answer I never expected. In more than ten years of teaching, I've never seen anything like it."

"I'd already decided on the punishment for anyone who failed to meet my demands. You should thank Xia Linyuan. He organized you all, bringing you together and igniting the fighting spirit you should have at your age."

Hearing this, the students of Freshman Class One proudly puffed out their chests, looking more spirited than ever.

So, do you still dare call us garbage and idiots? Do you still dare call us talentless and useless just because we didn't fight during registration?

Do you dare?

"Xia Linyuan, step forward!"

"Here."

"As class monitor, you not only set a good example, but also brought everyone together in such a short time and ignited the fighting spirit young people your age should have. You strengthened the class's unity, and you deserve praise. I hope you keep it up and don't let your teacher down."

Zhou Yi offered a couple of lukewarm words of praise, but Xia Linyuan could hear how little enthusiasm they held.

"Yes."

"All right, you're dismissed. Your other teachers will be giving you theory lessons tomorrow. Be sure to meditate and recover, and take the time to absorb everything this class has taught you. I'm teaching the day after tomorrow, and I don't want to see another useless student then. Don't forget to take your Iron Vests back with you, either."