Outrageous Lap

One must understand that Support-type Soul Masters primarily focus on spiritual power and auxiliary abilities; their physical constitution is inherently weaker, and their stamina is far inferior to that of Power Attack-type Soul Masters.

Even the exceptionally gifted Wang Dong, as a Power Attack-type Soul Master, was left pale, gasping for breath, and so drained after completing the required laps that he couldn't even lift his arms.

This is to say nothing of students like Huo Yuhao, who suffered from malnutrition since childhood and possessed a terribly poor physical foundation.

Yet, Zhou Yi still maintained an iron-hearted demeanor, sternly and righteously berating all the students.

She claimed that in a real battle, no one would care about your physical constitution or your Soul Master type; the weak deserve to be eliminated.

In Su Ming's view, this was nothing but sophistry! While battle is indeed cruel, one must distinguish between actual circumstances!

A Support-type Soul Master is the core backbone of a team; in actual combat, they are always protected by layers of Power Attack and Control-type Soul Masters.

It is nearly impossible for any enemy to get close, as they would first have to break through multiple defensive lines, during which time they would inevitably be brutally suppressed by the muscle-bound warriors.

If an enemy were truly determined to slay the support, would running laps in daily training really help them dodge the assassination?

This is putting the cart before the horse. To truly believe that the years of practical combat training of enemy Soul Masters are all in vain—such absurd logic is something only Zhou Yi could utter.

What's more, whenever a student lacked the stamina to complete the running task, Zhou Yi would immediately threaten to expel them on the spot.

Su Ming held nothing but contempt for this. These students had exhausted every effort and passed layer upon layer of assessments to enter Shrek Academy.

Carrying the dream of becoming a powerful Soul Master, they embarked on their academic journey full of longing, yet she would extinguish their opportunities with a single flippant remark.

By what right? Does she really think that because she holds the power over the students' stay or departure, she can act lawlessly, as if she were the supreme authority?

Does she truly believe that if Heaven is first, she is second? This arrogant, unreasonable style of manipulating students at will made Su Ming despise Zhou Yi from the bottom of his heart.

In Su Ming's view, what Zhou Yi was doing was not strict teaching at all; it was clearly using the pretext of disciplining students.

She was wantonly tormenting these freshmen, finding twisted ways to display her own pathetic and laughable authority to satisfy her desire for control—she was completely unfit to be a teacher.

Su Ming walked forward slowly and stood directly at the edge of the track, watching the exhausted freshmen who were gritting their teeth and sprinting with a tall, upright posture.

The sunset glow spilled across the playground, stretching everyone's shadows long; the sounds of panting and footsteps mingled, permeating the tension and fatigue of the freshman entrance examination.

Just then, a female student completely exhausted her stamina; her legs went soft, her vision darkened, and she fell uncontrollably toward the ground.

Seeing she was about to take a heavy fall, Su Ming moved slightly and reached out to steady her with a grip that was gentle yet impossible to break free from.

He then carefully helped her to a safe area beside the track, letting her lean against the ground to rest.

The girl had a petite figure, about 1.5 meters tall, looking like an exquisite porcelain doll amidst the crowd.

Her black hair was meticulously braided into two playful pigtails that hung over her shoulders, the ends naturally curled and swaying gently with her movements.

Su Ming was surprised to discover that this girl might be Xiao Xiao; after all, she looked too much like the anime version.

This girl's talent was also extremely good—a genius with Twin Martial Souls who could be recruited into the faction he planned to establish later.

Therefore, Su Ming spoke in a friendly tone: "Are you alright? Do you want to go to the infirmary?"

Xiao Xiao steadied herself, panting heavily, and looked up at Su Ming. Her round face was full of gratitude, her emerald eyes shining bright, and she quickly whispered her thanks:

"Thank you, Senior!" She then bit her pink, tender lip, rubbed her sore legs, and braced herself, unwilling to give up easily.

She turned and followed the team step by step, continuing to run forward with difficulty, her pigtails swaying gently with her movement.

Seeing this, Su Ming stopped paying attention; after all, there was no need to rush. His gaze then cut through the crowd, locking firmly onto the thin, small figure who was still gritting his teeth and persisting on the track—that was Huo Yuhao.

His mind was currently filled with his research on Soul Tool, and Huo Yuhao's monstrous talent for Soul Tool was an excellent asset he had finally set his sights on.

If this kid had an accident or was completely exhausted during the freshman assessment, where would he find such a top-tier, useful helper for his future Soul Tool research?

He didn't want to shoulder all the hard work of his research alone in the future; having a capable subordinate to help was the most worry-free choice.

Time passed bit by bit, the sunset gradually slanted, dyeing the horizon a brilliant orange-red. In the blink of an eye, it was dusk, and the freshmen's long-distance running assessment was coming to an end.

He happened to see Huo Yuhao dragging his leaden legs, struggling to hold on during the final lap, his body swaying as if he might collapse at any moment.

Wang Dong had already reached the finish line first and was standing there with a face full of worry, his eyes fixed on Huo Yuhao, ready to rush over and help at any time.

Su Ming stood quietly not far from the finish line, calculating in his heart.

He remembered clearly that in the original plot, Wang Dong would only step in when Huo Yuhao reached his limit and was about to fall, and the two would cross the finish line together.

But if he acted in advance now, pulling Huo Yuhao up when he was most helpless, it would surely make the kid trust him even more.

The relationship between them could become more solid, making subsequent matters much easier to handle.

As his thoughts raced, seeing Huo Yuhao's footsteps falter and his vision go black, he was about to collapse forward.

Su Ming did not hesitate; he took a step forward, grabbed Huo Yuhao by the back of his collar, and lifted him up with a light tug.

Wang Dong, who had been ready to sprint over, stopped in his tracks, his brows furrowed as he looked at this sudden scene with a face full of confusion.

Su Ming carried the completely drained and feather-light Huo Yuhao, walked steadily to the finish line, and casually set him down, letting him lean on his knees to pant heavily and adjust his state.

After doing this, he turned to look at Zhou Yi, a faint trace of mockery curling the corner of his mouth as he asked a question he already knew the answer to:

"Teacher Zhou Yi, your teaching method for freshmen on their first day is truly eye-opening. I am particularly curious about one thing: if a student fails to cross the finish line, how will they be dealt with?"

When Zhou Yi saw Su Ming suddenly appear on the playground and watch from the sidelines with cold eyes, her expression had already turned very ugly.

Now, being questioned by him in front of everyone, her face sank to the bottom, and the air pressure around her plummeted.