Corporal Punishment Meets a Numerical Monster

Zhou Yi let out a cold snort before turning her gaze toward the other students who were still seated and had not stood up.

"Look at them; these two dared to fight the moment they arrived at the academy. This kind of boldness is something you all should learn from."

Familiar with this "praise before punishment" routine, Mu Chen waited quietly for what the old woman had to say next.

Zhou Yi swept her gaze over the students who hadn't fought: "All of you who didn't fight, get to the track and run one hundred laps for me! If you don't finish within one hour, you're expelled!"

As soon as these words left her mouth, the students all wore expressions of utter despair.

Most of them were only one-ring Soul Masters; even with the use of their martial souls and soul power, they would be completely wrecked after running a hundred laps.

"Start timing now!"

Zhou Yi ignored their wails, pulled out a timer, and began the countdown.

Wang Dong let out a sigh of relief. "I didn't expect that fighting with a guy like you would have this benefit."

He muttered quietly to Mu Chen, who was standing beside him.

"What did you call me?"

Mu Chen smiled at Wang Dong and raised his fist.

"Big... Big Brother!"

"Just you wait, she hasn't finished speaking yet."

Seeing Mu Chen's meaningful smile, Wang Dong was left confused.

"You two still have the nerve to laugh? Now, let me address you two who fought: each of you will run two hundred laps. The time limit is the same as theirs—you must finish within one hour!"

"What? Teacher, didn't you just praise us a moment ago?"

Zhou Yi pushed up her glasses, her tone sharp: "When did I praise you? Besides, even if I had, you'd still have to run. The timer has already started; instead of wasting your breath with me, you'd be better off running."

Wang Dong wanted to say something more, but Mu Chen grabbed him and pulled him toward the track.

"Old hag, today I'll show you what a stat-monster is!"

Mu Chen had grown up by the sea and often went swimming, so his endurance had long since been honed to an exceptional level.

Moreover, running was a common exercise that might be enough to make things difficult for one-ring or two-ring students, but by the third ring, the effect was negligible. For Mu Chen, an overpowered Soul Ancestor, running two hundred laps while controlling his pace was a breeze.

"Our homeroom teacher is truly terrifying. I really want to teach her a lesson!"

Wang Dong complained while running.

"Forget it. With those two soul rings of yours, looking for trouble with her is just asking for humiliation. Anyone who can become a teacher at Shrek is no simple person; she's likely a Soul Emperor."

Wang Dong curled his lip: "Big Brother, can you stop crushing my confidence? Just because I can't beat her now doesn't mean I won't be able to in the future. My talent is very high, you know!"

"High talent? If your talent is so high, why are you only a two-ring Soul Grand Master at twelve?"

Wang Dong: "..."

Mu Chen ran very fast, looking as if he didn't feel tired at all.

Wang Dong was able to keep up with his rhythm at first, but he gradually began to fall behind.

"Big Brother, can you slow down?"

In the original story, Wang Dong could easily complete the one hundred laps just like everyone else.

But now, with two hundred laps to cover—and at the pace of Mu Chen, a Soul Ancestor—he was starting to reach his limit.

"I told you, you need to exercise more. I don't feel a thing, yet you're already exhausted."

As Mu Chen spoke, he reached out and grabbed Wang Dong by the back of his collar, hoisting him up like a chick.

"Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing? Put me down!"

In his panic, Wang Dong's voice cracked, sounding infinitely close to a girl's.

Mu Chen tucked him under his arm horizontally: "Stop yapping, I'll carry you."

With Wang Dong tucked under his arm, Mu Chen picked up speed, his feet kicking up a breeze as he ran lap after lap.

Wang Dong's face was bright red, but he couldn't break free.

I wonder if Tang San can see this.

Mu Chen thought to himself.

In any case, Old Tang probably couldn't see, as he wouldn't proactively monitor the outside world when there was nothing going on.

Just like that, with Wang Dong tucked under his arm, Mu Chen finished the two hundred laps in just over half an hour.

Mu Chen set Wang Dong down, and the other boy's face was flushed beyond belief.

In contrast, Mu Chen wasn't even winded, his face neither red nor his heart rate elevated.

"It's not like I'm complaining, Wang Dong, but I'm the one carrying you—why are you the one blushing?"

Wang Dong turned his head away and didn't say a word.

Zhou Yi's expression was rather ugly; she had intended to make things difficult for Mu Chen, but she hadn't expected to run into a stat-monster.

Mu Chen's gaze caught sight of a figure on the track.

That thin, frail figure was stumbling as he ran: Huo Yuhao.

This time, without Wang Dong's help, there was a high probability he would not be able to finish the one hundred laps within the allotted time.

This was not something Mu Chen wanted to see.

He could roughly guess the reason Old Tang had asked him to get close to Huo Yuhao, and therefore, Huo Yuhao could not be kicked out just yet.

Mu Chen immediately dashed back onto the track and, using the same maneuver he had employed with Wang Dong, carried Huo Yuhao through the remainder of the distance.

The time taken was even shorter than in the original story.

Zhou Yi had not set any explicit rules before the run began, so while she felt displeased by Mu Chen's actions, she could not say anything against it.

Once an hour had passed, Zhou Yi began to throw her weight around as a homeroom teacher once again.

"Those who haven't finished can go straight home."

Following that, just as in the original story, she called out a long list of names.

"You lot who cut corners, don't think I didn't see you! Get out of here, all of you!"

Just like that, on the very first day of the new semester, the class was missing quite a few people.

In the entire lower grade department, only this old woman would be capable of such a thing.

Once the running was over, the day's lessons came to an end.

Huo Yuhao walked over to Mu Chen's side: "Big Brother Mu, thank you for just now. If it weren't for you, I might have had to leave Shrek."

"A mere trifle, not worth mentioning."

"Big Brother Mu, let's go find Teacher Xiao Ya together. She asked me to bring you to her."

Mu Chen nodded.

Tang Ya was clearly still thinking of him, but Mu Chen didn't mind; as he had said before, joining the Tang Sect was already part of his plan.

Guided by Huo Yuhao, Mu Chen arrived at the east side of Shrek City, where the snack street was located.

"Yuhao, Mu Chen, you're here!"

Tang Ya and Bei Bei were standing in front of a stall, with a pushcart set up before them.

"Yuhao, ever since I ate your grilled fish yesterday, I haven't been able to forget the taste. I think you could totally set up a stall here; you'd be able to earn some money to subsidize your tuition. Bei Bei and I got this food cart for you, so it's all yours now!"

Just like in the original story, Huo Yuhao had been roped into selling grilled fish.

There was no helping it; he truly needed to earn money to cover his tuition and daily expenses.

"Let's set the price at five copper soul coins per fish!"

Tang Ya took out a wooden board and was just about to write it down when Mu Chen stopped her.

"Let me do it."

In a place like this, Mu Chen only needed to apply a few simple sales techniques from his past life to achieve excellent results.