Trading Barbs

After waiting for about another quarter of an hour.

Tap, tap, tap!

The sound of high heels came from the classroom door!

Creak, creak!

Crisp, vigorous noises suddenly erupted throughout the classroom. Some students withdrew their gazes, while others adjusted their seats, creating a rather attention-grabbing commotion.

Zhou Yi stepped back into the classroom, her expression turning serious.

However, she was not wearing her human-skin mask. She had probably not had time to get it repaired yet.

She had changed into new clothes, though not a matching outfit. Standing at the podium, Zhou Yi resumed her initial stern demeanor.

"Something minor happened. I won't take attendance. Next, all of you will go to the plaza, put on iron vests, and start running!"

Jiang Mu's expression darkened slightly.

Just as the plot had predicted. No matter how much they delayed or dragged things out, running was still unavoidable. Did they really have to run? Was she really this stubborn?

"Teacher!"

Xiao Xiao raised her hand at that moment!

Seeing this, Zhou Yi rolled her eyes.

"No matter what type you are, you all have to run...!"

She had jumped to the conclusion that Xiao Xiao was raising her hand to defend herself, intending to run fewer laps because a battle Soul Master lacked the stamina.

Before she could finish, however, Xiao Xiao cut her off!

"Teacher, about an hour ago, this student suddenly fainted and vomited blood. Shouldn't you take him to the infirmary first?"

With a slightly pale face, Xiao Xiao pointed toward Huo Yuhao beside her.

"Hm? What happened?"

With that reminder, Zhou Yi noticed the student who had also arrived late and was in the back.

He was lying on the floor in a bizarre posture. Anyone unaware of the situation might have thought he was kissing the floor.

"What happened here?"

"We don't know."

The silent students all shook their heads at once, indicating that they had no idea.

"Hah!"

Zhou Yi's expression turned stern as well. She instantly jumped down from the podium and walked down the aisle to inspect the back of the classroom.

By then, the blood Huo Yuhao had vomited had already soaked his school uniform. It pooled around him into a puddle of blood, staining his face and clothes.

The smell of blood was thick.

Fortunately, the pool of blood was trembling slightly.

"This..."

Zhou Yi simply could not bring herself to touch him. He was covered in blood; even grabbing him by the neck would be difficult.

And if she grabbed him by the neck and he died, she would bear a great deal of responsibility!

After hesitating for a moment, Zhou Yi decided to have someone support him.

She tilted her head slightly and looked at the students around her.

"You two, you don't need to run for now. Come with me and carry him."

After looking them over.

Fortunately—or perhaps because she had not deliberately picked them—Jiang Mu, Wang Dong'er, and Xiao Xiao were not selected. Instead, two random male students were chosen.

"Huh?"

The two selected boys looked miserable and extremely displeased.

"What are you standing around for? Hurry up!"

Zhou Yi heavily knocked on the desk twice with her fingers to urge them on.

Those who had not been chosen all breathed a sigh of relief, but the real ordeal had only just begun.

Although she could not accompany them, Zhou Yi still had no intention of giving up on the running.

Her stern eyes swept across everyone again!

"The rest of you, go run. There's no speed limit. Keep running until I come back!"

"Huh?"

This time, the others were stunned.

"Keep running?"

Just taking someone to the infirmary and coming back would take at least half an hour.

That did not sound too long, but how could Zhou Yi, as a teacher, possibly just drop him off and return immediately? She would certainly stay for a while to observe him and explain the situation.

That would take at least an hour. Other Soul Masters could probably endure running nonstop for an hour, but it would be rough for auxiliary Soul Masters.

Thinking of this, the two selected boys smiled. Looking at it this way, being chosen was actually a fairly easy job.

A little girl in the classroom suddenly stood up, raised her hand, and spoke.

"Teacher, I'm an auxiliary Soul Master. Can I run a little slower?"

"That's right, that's right."

The others immediately chimed in after hearing the question.

As long as they could run more slowly, running for longer would not be a problem.

But Zhou Yi merely rolled her eyes.

"Hehe, run slower."

"Do you think enemies on the battlefield will spare you just because you're an auxiliary Soul Master?"

"Run slower? Instead of giving it your all to escape and evade pursuit, do you expect others to go soft on you, show mercy, and let you go?"

"Let me tell you this: if you don't risk your life today, your life will play with you in the future!"

Those words left the students speechless, unable to think of any retort.

The words sounded reasonable at first, but only at first.

They were children, after all. It was normal for them to have the occasional mental lapse and not think things through. But to Jiang Mu, this brainwashing was far too shallow.

The trap was obvious.

Jiang Mu curled his lips. She was just talking nonsense.

"Teacher, that's completely sophistry."

"Oh?"

Zhou Yi turned around, her expression stiffening. She had not expected Jiang Mu to be the one to refute her.

She wanted to retort forcefully, establish her authority, and recover the dignity she had lost, but she was also afraid Jiang Mu would spread what had happened in the office.

In the end, her tone softened.

"Hehe, it seems this student has a different opinion. Then tell me, where exactly is the sophistry?"

"Is it that enemies will show you mercy, or something else?"

Jiang Mu stood up directly and spoke with great confidence.

"Hehe, Teacher, I don't know whether an auxiliary Soul Master on the battlefield would be shown mercy by enemies and not killed."

"But if the faction you join is sending auxiliary Soul Masters onto the battlefield, is there any reason to stay there?"

"Do auxiliary Soul Masters need to charge at the front too?"

"Even if we follow your logic, Teacher."

"Let's say they are sent to the front lines and pursued, ignoring every other factor in a one-on-one fight. An auxiliary Soul Master of the same level, no matter how hard they struggle, cannot defeat agility-attack or assault-type Soul Masters!"

"Not to mention that this kind of running has no immediate effect and no accumulated benefit. Its effect is not even as good as gaining half a level of Soul Power."

The more Jiang Mu spoke, the darker Zhou Yi's face became, while the students' eyes grew brighter and brighter.

That was right. What decent faction would send auxiliary Soul Masters to the front lines?

Even if they were sent there in a life-or-death crisis, a little improvement from running would not change the outcome. Such improvement was unnecessary. If they really had the spare time, they would be better off cultivating properly for a while.

"Wow, so cool."

Stars had practically appeared in Xiao Xiao's eyes. She looked at Jiang Mu like a little fangirl.

A confident smile appeared on Jiang Mu's face.

"In summary, Teacher, if what you said just now wasn't sophistry, then what was it?"

"You, I..."

Zhou Yi had actually been left stammering with an ugly expression, unable to think of a response.

"How could it be useless? Ten thousand years ago, the Master trained the Shrek Seven Monsters with this method."

Hearing that, Jiang Mu wanted to laugh even more.

That statement was simply a huge lie. Could running allow one to absorb Soul Rings beyond one's level, or could it make one become a god?