"This is bad. It's getting hard to breathe. My lungs feel like they're on fire!"
Tang Jian forced himself to finish the fourth lap, but he felt like he was about to collapse. His legs felt filled with lead, unbearably heavy and weak. Every breath of oxygen entering his lungs felt like flames burning within them.
That was mainly because he had sprinted too hard just now, draining his stamina even faster and more severely. He was already struggling to hold on.
"No, this won't do. Without cheating, there's no way I'll get that five-thousand-yuan prize. I have to cheat."
Tang Jian panted like an ox, his eyes bloodshot. He ran like an elderly woman taking a stroll, his butt swaying from side to side.
It couldn't be helped. His physique was simply too poor, even worse than Yang Mao's. And this was a contest of speed and endurance. Even though he had once been a card master, his body was now so weak that he ranked at the bottom even among card apprentices.
He was just too weak.
He Chong, whom he had originally been about to catch, was now getting farther and farther ahead.
He Chong glanced back at Tang Jian, who was plodding along slowly, and quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
If he got overtaken by this kid who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, then he, the third-ranked figure in Class 12 of Senior Year Three, would be utterly humiliated.
Behind Tang Jian, Yang Mao, who had already passed Wang Lele and Jia Ling, began chasing hard. Seeing Tang Jian slow down and jog as if drunk, Yang Mao could not help smiling as though he had expected this all along.
"Serves you right for sprinting so hard earlier. Hehehe, three-second man, you're done already, huh? I'm the one with real endurance!"
Yang Mao was delighted. He ran even harder, brushing past Tang Jian in a flash before turning his head and smugly taunting him.
"Bro, your big brother is heading on ahead."
Sweat poured down Tang Jian's face. Watching Yang Mao overtake him, he ignored him and continued jogging slowly while focusing his mind on his eyes.
Immediately, the Attribute Template appeared before his eyes.
"Host: Tang Jian. Card Energy: 14/46+ Mental Strength: 3/6+ Physique: 6.5+ Special Functions: 1, ??? (???) 2, Dream. (???) Current Energy: 0+"
"As expected, I've burned through too much stamina. The Card Energy that had almost fully recovered over the whole morning has dropped quite a bit now."
Tang Jian immediately understood when he saw the data displayed on the Attribute Template.
The stronger one's physique, the easier it was to cultivate Card Energy.
Card Energy was directly linked to a person's physical condition. If someone expended a great deal of stamina, their Card Energy would decrease and weaken accordingly.
Conversely, if Card Energy recovered, physical strength would recover along with it.
Tang Jian was currently severely exhausted, so naturally his Card Energy had also fallen sharply.
"There are two choices before me now. One is to use Energy Cards to restore and strengthen my Card Energy. The other is to use Energy Cards to directly strengthen my physique."
Tang Jian jogged as he felt the two Energy Cards in his pocket, pondering his options.
Before leaving home this morning, he had made a One-Star Blank Energy Card.
Then, urged on by Sun Yiying, he had made another One-Star Blank Energy Card.
Those two cards were now lying in his pants pocket.
With those two cards, Tang Jian could cheat.
But if he directly used Energy Cards to strengthen his physique, Tang Jian had no idea how much energy it would take to raise his physique by even one point.
Even if his physique improved, his Card Energy would not necessarily rise immediately. He would still need further cultivation.
But if his Card Energy increased, then under the nourishment of that strange internal energy, his physique would naturally improve as well.
Generally speaking, normal people first improved their physique, then used that powerful physique to cultivate Card Energy. It was difficult to first cultivate Card Energy, then use it to strengthen the physique.
It was like first finding firewood, then using it to start a fire. It was difficult to conjure a fire from thin air, then find firewood to feed the blaze.
But Tang Jian possessed the Red Card Cheater, allowing him to pull off such an outrageously difficult maneuver directly.
"Using Energy Cards to restore Card Energy is something I already know works, while strengthening my physique is unknown. Better choose the sure thing."
Tang Jian had never tried directly improving his physique. If the two Energy Cards in his pocket were not enough to improve it, that would be rather awkward, though the possibility was not great.
Just as Tang Jian was considering this, Wang Lele and Jia Ling caught up from behind and passed Tang Jian, who was running like an elderly woman.
"Tang Jian, I told you to run slower. Out of strength already, huh? Can't you last a little longer?"
Wang Lele bounced along as she panted flirtatiously at Tang Jian.
Jia Ling did not pay Tang Jian any attention at all, but as he passed Tang Jian, the little fatty felt uneasy. Is this guy playing the pig to eat the tiger again?
"Brother, keep it up! Your teacher really is a good person—pretty and generous too. Five thousand yuan in prize money!"
A student from another class ran past Tang Jian and encouraged him, clearly full of envy and jealousy.
Tang Jian barely managed a smile in response, focusing his thoughts on the Energy option.
The next moment, the two One-Star Blank Energy Cards in his pocket were completely consumed.
At the same time, the Energy value on the Attribute Template, which had originally been "0," became "199."
One of the two One-Star Blank Energy Cards had been used to charge the desk lamp, consuming one point of energy.
However, that did not affect Tang Jian's next move.
His consciousness swiftly focused on the Card Energy option, and he frantically pressed the "+" behind it.
All 199 points of energy were consumed at once.
Tang Jian shuddered all over, his legs nearly going weak as he dropped to his knees.
He felt a surge of energy shoot out from his head and rapidly spread throughout his body. A powerful sense of fullness washed away all his fatigue.
His leaden legs regained their lightness and strength. His previously hollowed-out body felt as though it had been injected with powerful maca and stimulants.
At that moment, only one thought remained in Tang Jian's mind.
"A man should be this tough!"
The Attribute Template's data changed drastically before settling into place.
"Card Energy: 47/47+" "Energy: 0+"
All the energy had been used up, but his Card Energy was instantly full.
Cheating successful!
Full health, full energy, fully restored!
"Burn, my calories!"
Like a bull in heat, Tang Jian let out a wild roar. His tiny steps, like an elderly woman strolling through a park, abruptly turned into a surging sprint.
Jia Ling was the first person Tang Jian overtook again. He nearly fell flat on his face, tears streaming down his cheeks as he watched Tang Jian's retreating back and jogged behind him, eating dust.
"You damned bastard, you're still playing the pig to eat the tiger!?"
Soon, Wang Lele also screamed as Tang Jian, swift as the wind, overtook her again. If she had been wearing a skirt today, there definitely would have been quite a tantalizing sight when Tang Jian passed her.
"What's going on?"
Yang Mao heard Tang Jian's roar from ahead. When he turned around and saw Tang Jian charging toward him with unstoppable momentum, he nearly cried. Tang Jian overtaking him was only a matter of moments.
"Brother Jian? Brother Jian, I was wrong!! Did you eat some miracle tonic pills today?"
The next moment, Yang Mao was overtaken by Tang Jian without the slightest surprise.
"Ahhh!" Yang Mao was humiliated and enraged as he chased fiercely after Tang Jian.
On the steps near the podium, Gao Shang watched Tang Jian sprinting wildly, then looked at Sun Yiying beside him. His smile had become stiff, and his face hurt from embarrassment.
"This kid recovered such powerful explosiveness again after resting for only a little while?"
Sun Yiying's beautiful eyes fixed on Tang Jian as he sprinted powerfully across the field. She was puzzled, but then she felt a wave of relief and delight.
On the field.
A man like the wind roared as he streaked past.
On the sixth lap, Tang Jian directly overtook He Chong.
"Bastard!!"
He Chong roared and sprinted for a stretch, trying to overtake him again. But in the end, he discovered in humiliation that he no longer had the stamina and could only watch Tang Jian run farther and farther away.
On the seventh lap, amid Gao Yang's unwilling roar, Tang Jian's figure swept past him and overtook him.
By this point.
Both of them had slowed down. Even Tang Jian, whose energy had just been replenished, was beginning to feel tired again.
He almost gritted his teeth until they cracked, his face twisted in a fierce grimace as he forced his legs forward and persisted through the final distance, completing all ten laps.
"Tang Jian, you're amazing! You're a real man!"
Liu Kun, who had already completed the entire course within eighteen minutes and was standing at the finish line, greeted Tang Jian as he ran over. His expression was full of shock and surprise as he raised a thumbs-up.
Unexpectedly, the instant Tang Jian crossed the finish line, he collapsed like a deflated balloon.
Liu Kun jumped in fright and hurriedly reached out to catch Tang Jian, preventing him from falling.
From afar, Sun Yiying watched Liu Kun support Tang Jian. A victorious smile appeared on her pretty face. Then she lowered her head to glance at her watch, her beautiful eyes flicking toward Gao Shang, whose smile was frozen.
"Teacher Gao, you've already lost. My student completed the entire eight-kilometer course in nineteen minutes and thirty-three seconds..."
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