A Thousand Grinds, Ten Thousand Strikes, a Heart Forged in Iron

"So heavy..."

Zhu Zhuqing had initially not thought much of this twenty-pound weight.

But the moment she truly started to run, that heavy, dragging force began to spread throughout her body.

This was only after she had strapped on the weighted gear and taken just a few short steps.

Under normal circumstances, even without using her soul power, running a lap around the training grounds would have been no burden for her at all.

Soul power had long since remolded her body, granting soul masters physical stamina far exceeding that of ordinary people.

Furthermore, she had fought her way out of her family in the Star Luo Empire, and her bones and muscles had been tempered to be incredibly resilient; she was certainly not comparable to some pampered young lady of a noble house.

Yet, with these twenty pounds of weight added, her body immediately showed signs of struggle.

After running only a single lap, her breathing had already lost its rhythm, and a wheezing sensation rose in her throat.

It was currently the peak time for the academy's evening training to conclude, and the area around the track was bustling with people, with students passing by in twos and threes.

Some caught a glimpse of Zhu Zhuqing on the track and couldn't help but steal a few extra glances.

"Damn, what a beautiful girl. How come I've never seen her before?"

"Must be a new student, right? Her temperament is just too outstanding."

However, no one paid much attention to her weighted run.

At Martial Soul Hall Academy, diligent cultivation was the norm; students who polished their physical bodies to improve their strength were everywhere, so running laps with weights was hardly a rare sight.

But if they knew that Zhu Zhuqing intended to run a full ten laps with these twenty pounds of weight, everyone's expression would surely become incredibly colorful.

Zhu Zhuqing didn't pay the slightest bit of attention to the commotion around her.

Her gaze was fixed solely on the ground a step ahead, and Gu Chensha's words echoed repeatedly in her mind.

The body is the foundation of everything for a soul master.

"Hoo... hoo..."

After finishing two laps, she returned to the starting point, panting as she picked up her salt water bottle to take a few sips.

It had only been two laps, yet her form-fitting black training gear was already soaked through with sweat, clinging tightly to her body and outlining the exquisite, graceful curves of the young girl.

The evening breeze lifted the slightly damp strands of hair from her forehead, revealing those cold and sharp eyes.

Halfway through the third lap, the weight finally bared its fangs.

A sour, aching sensation surged from her calf muscles all the way up to her thighs and waist.

With every step she took, the lead weights strapped to her limbs felt as if they had taken root, dragging downward with all their might, trying to completely collapse her stride.

Her breathing grew increasingly heavy, and her once steady pace unconsciously shortened, yet she still gritted her teeth and pressed forward.

By now, there were more and more people around the training grounds.

Students who had just finished sparring inside came out in groups, and many stopped in their tracks the moment they saw Zhu Zhuqing on the track, their eyes lingering on her as they whispered to one another.

"Isn't that the new student, Zhu Zhuqing, who knocked Lei Xiang flying with one move this afternoon?"

"It really is! What is she doing? I saw her running a while ago; what lap is this already?"

The discussion wasn't exactly quiet, but Zhu Zhuqing acted as if she hadn't heard a thing.

In her world, there was only the track that continued to stretch out beneath her feet.

The fourth lap, the fifth lap...

Every time she passed the starting point, she would pick up the salt water bottle for a sip, though her once steady hand had already begun to tremble slightly.

Halfway through the fifth lap, she ran past the main entrance of the training grounds.

Below the steps, a student suddenly frowned and stopped, his gaze fixed heavily upon her.

The person beside him nudged his arm, his tone laced with mockery.

"Yo, Brother Xiang, isn't that the new student who beat you today?"

Lei Xiang didn't speak, merely staring fixedly at Zhu Zhuqing's figure, his molars grinding together with a creaking sound.

After being defeated in a single move today, the teacher's attitude toward him had turned cold instantly, blaming him—both overtly and covertly—for losing face.

Now, being teased in public by those around him, all his embarrassment and resentment were heaped entirely onto Zhu Zhuqing.

It was all her fault!

He clenched his fists, his nails digging deep into his palms, his eyes never leaving the figure running incessantly on the track.

And on the track, Zhu Zhuqing continued to run forward, step by step.

As the sixth lap ended, Zhu Zhuqing felt as if every bone in her body had been soaked in sour water.

The twenty pounds of weight now felt like a massive mountain, pressing down on her with unrelenting force.

Sweat slid down her jawline and neck, splashing onto the track and blooming into small, damp marks.

On the steps of the training grounds' main entrance, Lei Xiang remained standing.

He watched her from the fifth lap, all the way until the eighth.

This woman hadn't stopped for a moment since she started running.

He truly couldn't understand.

What was the point of running so many laps with a heavy burden, without using her spirit power?

And she was already in that state, yet she still wouldn't stop.

Did she have a masochistic tendency?

But his feet felt rooted to the spot, never leaving.

Because an evil thought had sprouted in his heart.

As she neared the end of the eighth lap, Zhu Zhuqing's consciousness was already beginning to blur.

All the voices around her sounded as if they were filtered through a thick layer of water, indistinct.

She bit her tongue hard, using the stinging pain to maintain her clarity, telling herself repeatedly in her heart:

She wanted to escape the Star Luo Empire's devouring fate, to break free from the shackles of destiny, to stand in a sufficiently high place.

What was this little bit of suffering?

She couldn't stop.

Absolutely could not stop.

She stepped across the finish line of the eighth lap.

The moment she crossed the line, after the extreme soreness, a feeling of breaking free like a butterfly from its cocoon surged through her.

Her legs, which had felt like they were filled with lead, suddenly shed that suffocating heaviness.

Her numb muscles regained sensation, and even her breathing settled back into a steady rhythm.

She had broken through the first bottleneck of her physical limit.

On the ninth lap, her stride actually lengthened slightly, and she ran more steadily than on the seventh and eighth laps.

But this feeling of lightness didn't last long.

Just halfway through the lap, fatigue and soreness several times more intense than before swept over her body like a tide.

Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to endure the ninth lap.

"Ah... ha..."

She panted heavily, even the voice transmitted to Gu Chensha in her sea of consciousness was intermittent.

"Teacher, I can't go on... I really can't..."

"Can I rest... rest for a bit?"

"Of course, you can."

Gu Chensha's reply made her freeze instantly.

"...Huh?"

Even though he had agreed to her request, Zhu Zhuqing's consciousness, which had been on the verge of dissipating, suddenly cleared up a bit.

Why...

Why would Teacher say that?

"I said, of course, you can."

She didn't understand.

Gu Chensha's voice remained calm, with no discernible emotion.

"You're tired, you can't run anymore, so naturally, you can stop."

"No one will force you, and no one will blame you."

"Whether you stop or not is entirely up to you."

"But you need to think clearly, what you're stopping today is never just this lap of the track."

His calm words, however, were like a heavy hammer, fiercely striking awake Zhu Zhuqing's muddled consciousness.

She bit her lip, which was already starting to bleed, and replied.

"I understand, Teacher, I will definitely finish!"