Chapter 15: Keep It Up!
By the time everyone else had come out to the playground, Huo Yuhao had already finished one lap.
Wang Dong also saw Huo Yuhao's diligent running and muttered in her heart, 'Wimp, so afraid of the teacher.'
Teacher Zhou Yi arrived at the playground, her arms crossed over her chest, watching the running students with an expressionless face.
Simply running laps wasn't tiring, especially with the Light-body Techniques of the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track. Huo Yuhao ran quite briskly, maintaining an upper-middle speed among the students.
As if as a provocation, Wang Dong ran to Huo Yuhao's side and suddenly spoke, "Keep it up."
After saying that, she accelerated directly and overtook Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao's brow furrowed; he couldn't tolerate this. He also accelerated, came to Wang Dong's side, and shouted, "KEEP IT UP!!!"
The sudden loud voice startled the students running nearby, and they all glared at Huo Yuhao with anger.
Wang Dong was also startled. Looking at the receding figure, she gritted her teeth and overtook Huo Yuhao, "Keep it up!"
Huo Yuhao's legs were spinning like a top, and he didn't expect her to catch up. He exploded with speed again, overtaking Wang Dong, "Keep it up!"
Wang Dong refused to back down, "Keep it up!"
Huo Yuhao, "Keep it up!"
"Keep it up!"
"Keep it up!"
The two of them were so focused on shouting 'keep it up' that they forgot everything else; their only thought was to overtake the other.
Every Spirit Master student who could enter Shrek possessed their own pride. To their ears, those shouts of 'keep it up' sounded like some kind of mockery; they felt provoked, and their competitive Spirit was ignited.
Subsequently, a pursuit race of overtaking one another unfolded across the entire playground. Shouts of 'keep it up' rose and fell one after another.
Teacher Zhou Yi's forehead was covered in black lines. Looking at the two ringleaders, Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao, she didn't know whether to praise or scold them for a moment.
Before two hours had even passed, all the students had finished their laps early. They were drenched in sweat, panting with their hands on their knees, looking at those around them with indignation, as if to say, 'I overtook all of you!'
Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were both gasping for air. From the moment they finished until now, their gazes hadn't left each other for even half a second, filled with the scent of gunpowder.
Wang Dong had a trace of a sneer. Huo Yuhao had originally led everyone by a lap, but in the end, she had finished several laps ahead of him. In terms of speed, she had won without suspense.
Huo Yuhao naturally understood the meaning of that smile. He gritted his teeth hard, feeling quite annoyed.
Teacher Zhou Yi kept a cold face, but she was quite satisfied with this result. Since everyone had finished, she spoke, "Fifteen minutes. Go back and change clothes, then assemble in the classroom for class!"
Upon hearing this, Huo Yuhao dashed out a great distance again. Wang Dong reacted and chased after him; the two of them pursued each other.
Running all the way to the dormitory building, Huo Yuhao faced the closely pursuing Wang Dong and used the hallway to block her path.
When Wang Dong tried to break through to the left, Huo Yuhao would shift his body to block her, and it was the same for the right.
"Despicable person! If you have the ability, don't block me! Let's see who's faster!" Wang Dong scolded, completely unaware that because she was breathing heavily, she had exposed her original female voice—tender and pleasant, sounding almost like she was acting spoiled.
Huo Yuhao sneered, "Who told you to be half a step slower than me? Just deal with it!"
The two had a tacit understanding; they didn't use spirit power or Spirits, relying purely on the speed of their Physical Body.
Ultimately, Huo Yuhao reached the dormitory door half a body length ahead. He opened the door, and Wang Dong dashed inside with a flash, then slammed the door shut. She stuck out her tongue and made a face at Huo Yuhao through the door, "Bleh!"
Huo Yuhao could certainly sense Wang Dong's movement into the room; he just hadn't reached out to pull her out. He stood outside the door shaking his head helplessly; how childish, how did he end up acting like a kid too?
The dormitory door couldn't be locked from the inside. Huo Yuhao shouted, "Open the door quickly! Or I'll kick it down! Don't think you can block me with the desk!"
Wang Dong hadn't expected Huo Yuhao to be so crude as to break in. She was already in the bathroom changing clothes. With a man in the dorm, she would still feel shy... "You... wait a moment, I'll be ready soon. Didn't you say you have no money? If you break the door, you'll have to pay for it!" Wang Dong answered nervously.
There was no response from outside the door.
Huo Yuhao had slipped away right after speaking; his clothes were kept in his Storage Spirit Tool Ring. After changing in the public restroom, he was already on his way back to the classroom.
This round counted as his win.
Not wanting to waste time, Wang Dong finished changing and came out in less than a minute. She moved the desk and opened the dorm door, "Okay, you can chan—"
Seeing no one outside the door, Wang Dong's heart skipped a beat. Could he be angry? Thinking of this, she felt a bit embarrassed. Or was he hiding?
"Classmate Huo Yuhao? Are you there?" Wang Dong called out toward the stairs but found no response. Guessing that Huo Yuhao had gone back to the classroom first, she also headed there to find him.
Arriving at the classroom, Wang Dong looked at Huo Yuhao in the back row with an apologetic gaze. But she keenly noticed that the clothes on Huo Yuhao's body had no sweat stains and were very dry. When did he change his clothes?
Huo Yuhao waved at Wang Dong like he had won a battle.
Wang Dong's face went cold, and she gave Huo Yuhao a fierce glare before sitting down in her seat.
Once all the students had arrived, Teacher Zhou Yi officially began the class. However, before that, she needed to clarify something to the students. Her gaze was deep as she said coldly, "Huo Yuhao, stand up and tell everyone your Rank."
She was truly curious now why Huo Yuhao, at Rank 11, could match Wang Dong in terms of speed. Furthermore, his Spirit was not a Beast Spirit that enhanced physical attributes.
Huo Yuhao stood up straight, "Reporting to Teacher Zhou, Rank 13."
The students couldn't believe their ears. After all, Shrek enrollment required Rank 15; they were very skeptical of a Rank 13 suddenly appearing.
Only after Teacher Zhou Yi explained that Huo Yuhao was a Special Admission Student did the students suddenly understand.
However, Teacher Zhou Yi herself immediately felt something was wrong. Didn't the registration information say Rank 11? How did he rise two Ranks in just three days? Could he have taken drugs to force growth? Also, his running speed was very unusual.
While Teacher Zhou Yi lectured, she kept a mental note; she had to interrogate this kid after class.
The bell rang, and Huo Yuhao was called to the office.
Inside the office, Teacher Zhou Yi sat in her office chair, holding a cup of tea. She blew on the rising steam and took a small sip before saying, "Tang Sect Special Admission Student... tell me, what's with rising two Ranks in three days?"
Looking at the Teacher Zhou Yi who appeared old and frail on the surface but was actually young and beautiful, Huo Yuhao honestly confessed, "Reporting to Teacher Zhou, after my spirit power absorbed the first spirit ring, it had already reached the threshold of Rank 11. I rose to Rank 12 two days ago. Then, in these past two days, I seemed to enter a state of Deep Meditation, meditating for two days straight and rising another Rank. That's why I almost ran late this morning, as you saw."