Gather at Dawn, Run First

Shrek Academy was even shabbier at dawn than Bai Jin had imagined.

A rooster crowed fitfully from the far end of the village, and the wind smelled of earth and wet grass. The training ground was small and pitted. A little rain had fallen overnight, leaving the ground soft and damp underfoot.

The hour of the rabbit had barely begun when Dai Mubai arrived first.

He was neatly dressed, his blond hair tied loosely behind his head. There was no trace of sleepiness on his face, but defiance showed plainly in his strange eyes.

He had seen plenty of powerful people.

But someone like Bai Jin—a Seven-Ring Soul Sage at twenty-one, with a thousand-year Second Soul Ring and a ten-thousand-year third ring—was someone he truly had never seen.

That did not mean he was willing to bow his head.

Tang San and Xiao Wu arrived next. Tang San wore simple clothes and looked calm, as though he had long been used to rising this early. Xiao Wu was still rubbing her eyes and grumbling nonstop; only when she saw Bai Jin did she wake up a little.

Zhu Zhuqing emerged from the shadows last.

She said nothing, but she stood as steady as a short blade resting in its sheath.

Ning Rongrong and Oscar appeared almost at the same time.

One had reluctance written all over her face; the other kept yawning, plainly not awake yet.

Ma Hongjun made the noisiest entrance, jogging over and shouting, "Come on, the sun isn't even up!"

Bai Jin sat on a rock beside the training ground with a piece of candy in his mouth. Next to him sat a bag of breakfast bought on the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's account.

Flender stood a short distance away, pushing up his glasses and trying hard to look as though he were merely passing by.

"Headmaster," Bai Jin said without turning around, "there's a fee for spying."

Flender gave a dry cough. "I'm the headmaster. I'm just taking an interest in my students' training."

"Then you should pay even more."

After a moment's silence, Flender simply pretended he had not heard.

Ning Rongrong looked at the shabby training ground and frowned. "What exactly are we training?"

"Running," Bai Jin answered crisply.

Everyone fell silent for a moment.

Xiao Wu blinked. "Just... running?"

"Just running."

"Can we use Soul Power?" Ma Hongjun asked at once.

"Yes."

Ma Hongjun visibly relaxed.

Then Bai Jin added flatly, "But anyone who uses a Soul Skill runs ten extra laps."

Ma Hongjun's face fell at once.

Dai Mubai frowned. "What can running train?"

Only then did Bai Jin stand.

He swept up a hand, and several small stones landed on the wooden posts around the training ground. Though tiny, each lodged firmly in the top of a post, marking out a makeshift circuit around the battered field.

"It'll teach you how long you can actually keep going."

His tone was mild.

"The mistake Soul Masters make most often is thinking that as long as they still have Soul Power, they can keep fighting. But when it's life or death, your legs go weak, your hands shake, your breathing falls apart, and your mind surrenders before your body does."

He looked at Dai Mubai.

"You're strong, so you're used to taking hits head-on."

Something shifted in Dai Mubai's eyes.

Bai Jin turned to Xiao Wu.

"You're quick to burst into action, but you lack patience."

Xiao Wu protested at once. "I do not!"

"You do right now."

Xiao Wu: "..."

Tang San stood to one side without speaking.

Bai Jin glanced at him and smiled. "I don't need to tell you. You already know."

Tang San paused, taken aback.

He really was listening—not just to Bai Jin's words, but to how everyone reacted to them.

Ning Rongrong folded her arms. "What about me?"

"First, learn not to take other people's protection for granted."

Ning Rongrong's face stiffened.

She wanted to argue, but the words caught in her throat at the sight of Bai Jin's lazy expression.

He had not even scolded her or gotten angry.

Yet that single sentence struck truer than any long lecture could have.

Oscar asked quietly, "What about me?"

"First, stay alive until someone needs a sausage."

Oscar opened his mouth, then closed it again.

Ma Hongjun raised his hand. "And me?"

Bai Jin studied him for a moment.

"First, eat less."

Ma Hongjun cried out indignantly, "That counts as training?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because you can't run."

Flender could not hold back a laugh.

Ma Hongjun turned around. "Teacher!"

Flender immediately put on a stern face. "Mr. Bai has a point."

"Start."

The moment Bai Jin spoke, the very first lap descended into chaos.

Dai Mubai charged into the lead, running as though he meant to grind every ounce of his defiance into the mud. Xiao Wu followed close behind, light on her feet and glancing back at Tang San now and then. Tang San kept an even pace, his breathing astonishingly steady. No Blue Silver Grass appeared, but his hands stayed positioned where he could bring his strength to bear at a moment's notice.

Zhu Zhuqing followed silently, off to the side and a little behind.

She was not the fastest, but she moved like a shadow skimming the ground, never wasting the slightest bit of effort.

Ning Rongrong began panting after only two laps.

She had been pampered since childhood, and support-type Soul Masters were hardly known for their stamina. Back at the sect, someone would already have urged her to rest.

But no one did here.

Bai Jin sat back down on the rock, opened his breakfast, and ate at his leisure.

Seeing him like that only made Ning Rongrong angrier.

"You're just going to sit there and watch?"

"What else would I do?"

"Aren't you here to protect me?"

"I am."

Bai Jin took a bite of his steamed bun.

"So when you're about to fall, I'll give you a hand."

Ning Rongrong gritted her teeth. "I'm about to die right now!"

"Don't worry. You're a long way from dying."

Xiao Wu ran past and nearly laughed herself breathless.

Tang San did not laugh.

He glanced at Ning Rongrong's pale face, then at Bai Jin. Bai Jin neither stopped her nor urged her on. He simply sat there, as though waiting for her to decide for herself.

Run or stop.

In the end, Ning Rongrong kept running.

Her steps were ragged, her face looked awful, and her eyes were red, but she did not stop.

Bai Jin watched her back, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

"Little princess's first day away from home. Barely a pass."

Flender heard him, and a thoughtful look flickered through his eyes.

The training continued until sunrise.

Bodies lay sprawled across the training ground.

Dai Mubai sat on the ground, gulping for air, his face much grimmer than when he had arrived. Zhu Zhuqing leaned against a wooden post without a word. Xiao Wu was so exhausted that she slumped against Tang San's shoulder. Sweat beaded Tang San's forehead too, but he still sat straight-backed.

Bai Jin rose and clapped his hands.

"We continue this afternoon."

Everyone looked at him at once.

Ma Hongjun's voice came out faint. "There's more?"

"Of course."

Bai Jin smiled brightly.

"This morning, you trained to stay alive. This afternoon, you'll train to make sure your opponents don't."

Just then, a small black bird landed soundlessly on Bai Jin's shoulder. A secret message from Spirit Hall was tied to its leg.

Bai Jin unfolded it and skimmed the contents.

The Spirit Hall team from Heaven Dou City was ordered south to assist with training.

At the end was a line in Qian Daoliu's own hand:

Don't torment only Shrek.

Bai Jin folded the message and smiled even more broadly.

"Good news."

Ning Rongrong asked warily, "What good news?"

"Starting tomorrow, a few more people will be suffering alongside you."

The training ground fell silent for a moment.

Tang San looked at the message but asked nothing.

Spirit Hall's people were coming. That meant this training was no longer just a matter for Ning Rongrong's family. Yet Bai Jin still smiled as casually as though he were merely setting two more pairs of chopsticks at the table.

There was something strange about that ease.

It made them faintly uneasy, yet it also made them feel that if the sky truly came crashing down, he would probably complain about the noise first.

Ma Hongjun gazed mournfully at the sky.

"You call that good news?"