Huh?
Jiang Fan raised his eyes slightly.
The scene shifted.
At the foot of Plow Mountain.
The special training class stared at Plow Mountain, which rose several hundred meters above sea level, their faces turning sickly.
Did they really have to climb this?
Wei Cangyue looked at everyone. "As a reward for first place, I'll pay out of my own pocket and offer a Body Restoration Pill."
At these words, everyone who had been reluctant suddenly seemed pumped full of chicken blood.
Jiang Fan was naturally among them.
A Body Restoration Pill was good stuff. Whether the injury was internal or external, taking it had excellent healing effects.
Something like this was even more precious than a Qi and Blood Raw Stone, with a market price of around a hundred thousand.
Jiang Fan really wanted it, but...
His gaze shifted to Lan Shengxue.
Lan Shengxue was a Martial Artist. Even if he removed his F-grade alloy weighted rings, he would be no match for her.
Just then, Wei Cangyue received a phone call and called Lan Shengxue over.
"Lan Shengxue, your family has something urgent to see you about. They want you to go back."
Lan Shengxue nodded and left.
Seeing this, Jiang Fan was overjoyed. Even heaven is helping me!
Wei Cangyue said, "Get ready, everyone. The first person to reach the summit and return to stand before me can claim the Body Restoration Pill."
"Three."
"Two."
"One!"
The next second, almost everyone charged up Plow Mountain.
Wei Qi took the lead, looking back smugly.
"Come on, classmates! It's pretty lonely out in front all by myself. It really is cold at the top."
He had barely finished speaking when Mu Feng swept past him, then pulled far ahead and left him behind.
"Hahaha! Wei Qi, still showing off?" someone jeered.
Wei Qi's face turned livid. "You're behind my ass, and you've got the nerve to laugh at me?"
"Sure, I'm behind your ass, but now you're behind Mu Feng's ass too."
"Hey! So what if I am? At least there's only one ass in front of me. How many are in front of you?"
Wei Qi had barely finished when another figure shot past him like lightning.
Huh?
How could this be?
In the entire special training class, Lan Shengxue ranked first in strength, Mu Feng second, and he ranked third. How could anyone else run faster than him?
Who on earth was it?
Wei Qi jerked his head up to look higher up the slope. Upon seeing the boy's slender figure, his mouth fell wider and wider, as though he had witnessed something inconceivable.
Jiang Fan!
How could it be him?
The others also saw that the person who had overtaken Wei Qi was Jiang Fan, and astonishment appeared on every face.
Had it been anyone else, they would at most have said, "Holy shit." But this was Jiang Fan, someone who had only just become an early-stage martial apprentice, and he had now easily overtaken Wei Qi, whose qi and blood measured 119 N.
This was no longer "holy shit," but "holy shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit-"
Wei Cangyue, who had been watching all along, noticed this too.
"What was this kid's name again? Something Fan? Not bad at all. Huh?"
Wei Cangyue's gaze fell on Jiang Fan's ankles. He noticed a faint resistance every time Jiang Fan lifted his feet to run, as though someone were tugging at his ankles.
By now, Jiang Fan had moved into second place.
They would reach the summit soon. If this continued, he would not get the Body Restoration Pill.
But he was already using almost all his strength. Unless he removed the F-grade alloy weighted rings on his ankles-then his chances of overtaking Mu Feng and taking first place would be almost a hundred percent.
But Crazy Old Man had said that once he put on these weighted rings, he could not remove them. Only when his physical strength and qi and blood had reached the point where he could switch to E-grade alloy weighted rings could he remove the F-grade ones.
At this thought, Jiang Fan immediately dismissed the idea of removing the weighted rings. He raised his head and looked at Mu Feng running above him, his fists suddenly clenching as an incomparably sharp gaze burst from his eyes.
Charge!
Jiang Fan gritted his teeth, constantly drawing out his potential.
Forward!
Keep going forward!
As the seconds ticked by, the distance between Jiang Fan and Mu Feng grew shorter and shorter.
Mu Feng noticed this too and looked back, but there was no one behind him.
Suddenly, he realized something and whipped his gaze to the side, where he saw Jiang Fan running neck and neck with him.
How was this possible?!
He was a late-stage martial apprentice! Jiang Fan was merely an early-stage martial apprentice!
Wei Qi followed behind the two of them. He clearly saw Jiang Fan steadily close the distance to Mu Feng, then draw level with him.
Throughout it all, his mouth opened wider and wider, his jaw ready to drop at any moment.
The students behind them began to stir.
"Jiang Fan, it's Jiang Fan! He actually caught up to Mu Feng!"
"Heavens! How did he do it? Could he be cheating?"
"..."
Wei Cangyue felt things were becoming more and more interesting.
It seemed the truth he suspected was about to surface.
Mu Feng occasionally glanced sideways at Jiang Fan, while Jiang Fan maintained his original rhythm from beginning to end, his breathing never becoming uneven.
Jiang Fan's ability to do this was also connected to the tireless training he had done every night over the past several days.
A few minutes later, Jiang Fan and Mu Feng reached the summit almost simultaneously.
Yet the instant they started downhill, Mu Feng suddenly accelerated, intending to shake Jiang Fan off.
But whenever Mu Feng opened up a gap, Jiang Fan always caught up in the shortest possible time and ran neck and neck with him again.
No matter how many times Mu Feng tried, Jiang Fan appeared beside him just as before.
Because Mu Feng kept changing his rhythm, he ultimately lost control of it, and his breathing became uneven.
Here's my chance!
Upon noticing this, Jiang Fan, who had long since adapted to their current speed, suddenly exploded forward. Like an arrow loosed from its bowstring, he shot ahead with a whoosh.
In a single instant, he swept past Mu Feng. Under Mu Feng's disbelieving gaze, Jiang Fan used every last bit of his strength to charge up to Wei Cangyue.
He braced his hands on his knees, supporting his body to keep himself from collapsing.
His hunched figure fully revealed the boy's utter exhaustion.
But even so, he did not fall.
"Huff-hah-" Great gulps of air poured into his chest, making it feel like a gas cylinder about to burst from being overfilled.
Jiang Fan knew very well that after strenuous exercise, it was best not to gulp down air.
But at this moment, he had completely surpassed his limits. The suffocating sensation of extreme oxygen deprivation still made him unable to resist opening his mouth wide and taking a few breaths.
After just a few breaths, Jiang Fan hurriedly brought it under control.
Only after quite a while did he slowly recover and regain normal bodily function.
"Pretty impressive, aren't you? But-" Wei Cangyue abruptly changed tack, his gaze falling on Jiang Fan's ankles.
"What are you wearing on your feet?"
That single question made Jiang Fan's breathing pause slightly.
Meanwhile, looks of sudden realization appeared on everyone else's faces.
"I told you! Jiang Fan only just became an early-stage martial apprentice. How could he possibly outrun us or Wei Qi? Never mind Mu Feng, who's a late-stage martial apprentice. So he was cheating!"
"What a despicable trick! Cheating like that! Instructor Wei, just kick him out of the special training class."