Slamming into an iron plate at full force! That face-plant was quite a distinctive pose!

Another long half hour passed.

The freshmen in formation had long since lost their initial vigor. Like frost-wilted eggplants, they swayed and slumped every which way.

Fatty Wang's legs shook as though fitted with motors, sweat dripping from his chin with little plops.

Standing behind Lin Bei to his right, Zhang Liang clamped his left hand over his right shoulder, sucking in sharp breaths of pain.

After that collision, he felt as though wind were leaking through the gaps between his bones.

But the more he thought about it, the more aggrieved he felt.

Lin Bei was as scrawny as a bamboo pole. How could he possibly withstand a collision with his hundred-and-sixty-plus pounds?

My foot must've slipped just now. I applied my strength wrong, and that's why it backfired.

Gritting his back teeth, Zhang Liang found himself a perfect excuse.

He stole a glance at Second Company's formation next door.

Zhou Zihao was staring at him like he was trash, impatience written all over his face.

Those reverse-swoosh Air Jordans worth nearly ten thousand were about to fly out of his grasp.

No! I have to win back my face!

Zhang Liang took a deep breath, his gaze gradually turning vicious.

He fixed his eyes on the center of Lin Bei's completely unguarded back.

You got lucky just now, punk. This time, I'm putting everything into it. I'll send you face-first into the dirt!

In front of the formation, Instructor Zhao Tianlong paced with his hands behind his back, his booming voice echoing across the field.

"Stand up straight! You can't take it after just half an hour? Did you come here for college or retirement?!"

"Look at yourselves! Where's even a trace of youthful vigor?!"

Zhao Tianlong continued berating them as he walked toward the back of the formation.

His attention was entirely on the girls who looked ready to collapse. He paid no attention to the boys at the back.

My chance!

Zhang Liang's eyes lit up.

He quietly adjusted his stance, spreading his feet slightly and planting them firmly on the soft rubber track.

His thigh muscles instantly tightened, his whole body like a fully drawn bow.

This time, he absolutely would not miss.

Not only would he send Lin Bei flying, he would make him knock down the girls standing ahead of him too!

Make a huge mess of it!

Once the instructor lost his temper, Lin Bei would certainly have more than he could chew.

Standing ahead of him, Lin Bei did not even turn his head.

But his senses, far beyond those of ordinary people, had already picked up Zhang Liang's every movement with perfect clarity.

Even the sound of Zhang Liang's lungs expanding as he breathed deeply and the faint scrape of his soles against the track were all within his grasp.

The corner of Lin Bei's mouth twitched.

This lackey really won't shed a tear until he sees the coffin.

I only relied on my physical toughness to take the last hit without striking back hard, and this guy actually dares to try again.

Fine. Since you insist on asking for trouble, I'll add a little extra.

Whoosh-

A hot breeze swept across the field.

Now!

Zhang Liang abruptly raised his hand, pretending to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

Using that movement as cover, he suddenly drove through his waist and pushed hard off the ground with his right foot!

His hundred-and-sixty-plus pounds of body weight, combined with the explosive power built up through years of basketball, were all concentrated in his left arm.

Zhang Liang held nothing back in this strike, putting every last ounce of strength into it.

He could almost see Lin Bei being knocked sprawling, his face covered in blood.

However.

At the very instant Zhang Liang's shoulder was about to touch Lin Bei's clothes.

Lin Bei moved.

Lin Bei leaned forward less than half a centimeter, a movement almost impossible to detect with the naked eye.

Then, with a slight shift of his intent.

The pure spiritual energy in his dantian instantly boiled, racing through his meridians to his back, waist, and abdomen.

Zhang Liang felt as though he had slammed into an extremely springy airbag. His mountain-toppling, sea-churning force failed to send Lin Bei flying. Instead, like a clay ox sinking into the sea, it vanished without a trace.

What's going on?!

The thought had only just flashed through Zhang Liang's mind.

The next second, the spiritual energy around Lin Bei's waist and abdomen followed the force of Zhang Liang's collision and abruptly surged back out!

Borrowing force to counter force, moving a thousand pounds with four ounces!

Zhang Liang had no time to react.

He felt a strange recoil several times stronger than his own exertion surging back up his left arm.

He had charged forward with every ounce of strength he possessed, only for that recoil to completely destroy his balance.

"Holy shit-!" Zhang Liang cried out, his voice cracking.

Under the stunned gazes of the entire class.

This basketball recruit, standing 1.9 meters tall and weighing over a hundred and sixty pounds, actually left the ground with both feet and went flying!

Yes, flying.

Because he had used too much force, combined with Lin Bei's recoil, his whole body sailed past Lin Bei in a ridiculous "toad diving into water" pose, shooting straight toward the empty space in front of the formation.

Splat!

The dull thud of flesh hitting the ground rang out, enough to set teeth on edge.

Zhang Liang landed in a solid face-plant.

"Aaaah!!!" A piercing scream instantly tore through the sweltering heat over the field.

Clutching his mouth, Zhang Liang rolled frantically on the ground.

Blood poured between his fingers. Two gleaming white front teeth lay quietly on the track less than half a meter away, looking particularly glaring.

Dead silence.

The entire Third Company formation was deathly silent.

Everyone stared, dumbfounded.

No one had clearly seen what had happened.

All they had seen was Zhang Liang suddenly launching himself out of the back of the formation like a madman, then smashing himself into a truly miserable state.

A full three seconds passed.

"Pfft-hahahaha!" Fatty Wang was the first to lose it, breaking down in laughter, every roll of fat shaking.

"Holy shit! Z-Zhang Liang! That face-plant was quite a distinctive pose! What, was the track too hot, so you decided to cool it down with your face?"

Fatty's shout hit the entire class's laughter pressure points.

"Hahahaha, I can't! Is this guy a comedian?"

"Fucking flying tackle! I thought he was about to do a forward roll!"

"That's brutal. He knocked his front teeth out. Won't air whistle through when he talks now?"

"Some sports representative he is. All he does is perform acrobatics for our class!"

Roaring laughter erupted.

Even Ruan Qingwu, who had kept a straight face all along, could not help covering her mouth with the back of her hand.

She had actually caught Zhang Liang's little movements out of the corner of her eye, her heart rising into her throat, afraid Lin Bei would be hurt by the collision.

Instead, Lin Bei had not even moved, while Zhang Liang himself went flying.

The sight was simply too striking.

"What are you laughing at?! All of you, shut up!" Zhao Tianlong's roar cracked like thunder out of a clear sky.

He strode over, his expression so dark it could have dripped water.

Although his back had been turned to the formation, he had heard the commotion.

When he turned around, he saw Zhang Liang rolling on the ground with blood all over his face.

"Zhang Liang! What the fuck are you doing?!" Zhao Tianlong marched up and kicked Zhang Liang in the thigh, blazing with anger.

"I told you to stand at attention, and you're putting on a flying trapeze act?!"

Tears and snot streamed down with the blood as Zhang Liang writhed in pain. His mouth tasted entirely of blood, and air leaked through as he spoke.

"In... Instructor... He... he hit me..." With a trembling hand, Zhang Liang pointed at Lin Bei, who stood in place without moving a muscle.

Zhao Tianlong followed his finger. Lin Bei was still standing at perfect attention, hands pressed against his trouser seams, his eyes clear and innocent.

"He hit you?" Zhao Tianlong laughed in furious disbelief, pointing at their respective positions.

"He's standing in front of you! Does he have eyes in the back of his head to hit you with?! Do you think I'm fucking blind?!"

"First you fall over on flat ground, then you go flying! Your stance is weaker than a woman's!"

Zhao Tianlong did not believe a word of Zhang Liang's bullshit.

As far as he was concerned, Zhang Liang simply could not stand steadily and had lost his balance from fidgeting too much.

"Go to the infirmary and stop the bleeding!"

"Once they've treated the wound, get your ass straight to the track! Five laps! No lunch until you finish!"

Zhang Liang's vision went black, and he nearly fainted on the spot.

Five laps?

Two thousand meters!

Under this blazing sun, with his front teeth knocked out, five laps would leave him half dead.

But he did not dare argue. Covering his gap-toothed mouth, he could only head miserably toward the infirmary as the entire class watched him like a monkey on display.

As he passed Second Company's formation.

Zhang Liang instinctively looked toward Zhou Zihao for help.

Instead, Zhou Zihao turned his head away with a dark expression, pretending he did not know this idiot at all.

Humiliating! So fucking humiliating!

Zhou Zihao was so angry that his stomach churned like an overturned sea again, and his sphincter contracted involuntarily.

The muscle he had paid for had not done anything to Lin Bei, but had instead smashed himself into this sorry state.

If word got out, where would Young Master Zhou put his face?

Useless! Absolutely fucking useless!

Zhou Zihao silently cursed eighteen generations of Zhang Liang's ancestors.

Meanwhile.

Standing in Third Company's formation, Lin Bei lowered his eyelids slightly, the corner of his mouth lifting a little.

Trying to play dirty with a cultivator?

You're still too green!