Transmigrating into Huo Yuhao, my abilities are refreshed every month.

After arranging these matters for Du Weiren, Yan Shaozhe smiled kindly and said to Huo Yuhao, "I've considered your suggestion for publicity, and it is indeed feasible, so I've decided to adopt it. Here's what we'll do: the academy will hold a challenger arena competition in half a month, encouraging all students to participate. As the one who proposed the suggestion, how about you be the first one to be challenged? If you win the competition, the academy will also give you an extra reward for proposing the suggestion."

When Yan Shaozhe said this, he had a smile on his face, and his eyes were full of earnest expectation and encouragement, just like a kind old man encouraging his younger generation to make progress. But no one could know what he was really thinking.

Yan Shaozhe felt that the student in front of him who dared to speak ill of Shrek Academy and give him advice directly was too arrogant, which was not conducive to the academy's efforts to win him over.

Fortunately, the academy is full of geniuses. This young man is just a one-ring Soul Master. Let the other geniuses in the academy thoroughly shatter his arrogance, and he'll understand the academy's power. Then, the academy will still give him the reward as usual. Shouldn't he be extremely grateful to the academy?

If it weren't for the fact that Zhiwei could advance to the Title Douluo level, he wouldn't bother targeting such a minor character.

Everyone in Class 1 was surprised that the Dean of Shrek Academy was so kind and approachable, even taking seriously the suggestions made by the freshmen and deciding on the spot to hold a challenger arena. How incredibly approachable!

Their initial wavering towards Shrek Academy vanished instantly.

Huo Yuhao was quite surprised that Yan Shaozhe wanted to create this Challenger Arena for the school motto, but he still decided to participate in this Challenger Arena.

Since obtaining the Heavenly Dream Soul Ring, his strength has increased dramatically, but he has little practical combat experience.

He reviewed his battle with Wang Dong several times and found that Wang Dong relied too heavily on overwhelming the number of his soul skills and suppressing his mental strength. Although this was part of his strength, it masked his weakness in close combat.

Huo Yuhao felt it was a disgrace that he couldn't even beat Wang Dong, that lazy dog, in close combat!

He felt that he needed to hone his close combat skills to the point where he could surpass Wang Dong and reach the level of two Dongs!

Melee combat doesn't have to be outstanding, but it can't be a weakness. It's like a legendary Pokémon—it doesn't have to be super strong, but it can't not fly, otherwise it'll become a laughing stock, right, Groudon?

After receiving a satisfactory reply, Yan Shaozhe nodded and smiled at the students, saying, "Class, let's continue the lesson!"

After saying that, he and Du Weilun left for other classes.

Zhou Yi watched Yan Shaozhe leave, then her face darkened again, and she said coldly, "Did you all hear that? The school motto is meant to encourage everyone to be brave and daring to take on challenges, not to bully the weak or cause trouble!"

"Now, everyone, get down there and run 100 laps in one hour!"

Distracted like this, Zhou Yi was too lazy to care about who Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong fought with or why they fought.

Since arriving in this freshman class, Zhou Yi has felt that everything is going wrong, and the source of it all is Huo Yuhao! But she doesn't dare to target Huo Yuhao right now. Not to mention that she already knows that Huo Yuhao's background is Zhiwei, she doesn't want to try it again in public because of the strange abilities Huo Yuhao possesses.

If in private...

Zhou Yi shook her head, dismissing the thought.

Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao, who had been following them, arrived at Shrek Square.

This is where they run. One lap is about 400 meters, and 100 laps is 40 kilometers.

For ordinary people, it would be difficult to complete the run in an hour. Even for these students with a foundation in Soul Master, some might not be able to do it.

Since Huo Yuhao awakened his abilities, his physical fitness has greatly improved. His physical fitness is now even better than Wang Dong's, so running a hundred laps is naturally no problem for him.

As for concerns about whether running might hurt his knees, Huo Yuhao wasn't worried at all. What do you think soul power is for? If you're afraid of hurting your knees by running, then you might as well not cultivate at all. Cultivation can even lead to qi deviation!

Huo Yuhao took the lead, running at a fairly easy pace. Seeing Huo Yuhao running so fast, Wang Dong was not to be outdone and followed closely behind him, while the other classmates also consciously trailed behind Huo Yuhao.

Huo Yuhao noticed that everyone was running at his pace, which was rather fast. He worried that some people might not be able to keep up with the pace for a hundred laps. So Huo Yuhao slowed down and reminded them, "Everyone, run at your own pace. Don't try to keep up with others. Just make sure you can finish in an hour. You don't need to be too fast. The key is to conserve your energy and make sure you finish on time."

Upon hearing Huo Yuhao's reminder, most people began to plan their speed according to their physical strength, while a small number followed behind Huo Yuhao.

Huo Yuhao regained his speed and began to exert himself, quickly leaving the others behind. Xiao Xiao, seeing that she couldn't keep up with Huo Yuhao, ran at her own pace. Only Wang Dong followed closely behind, panting and complaining, "Why are you running so fast? As long as we finish within an hour, it's fine."

Huo Yuhao smiled and said, "Wouldn't it be better to finish running sooner?"

“That’s true, the sooner we finish the run, the sooner we can rest,” Wang Dong agreed.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 39 The Nine Vajras?

Then, Wang Dong asked Huo Yuhao with curiosity, "I've noticed you've changed a bit today; you've become more helpful! I know you're not exactly a warm-hearted person. Tell me, what's your purpose?"

"Don't slander me. I've always been helpful since I was a child. I'll help an old man walk back and forth whenever I see him." Huo Yuhao was surprised by Wang Dong's keen insight, but he couldn't admit that he had ulterior motives.

Wang Dong looked completely incredulous.

"If you don't believe me, you can ask the guy sunbathing downstairs in our dorm. I've helped him walk around several times these past few days." Huo Yuhao presented concrete evidence to prove that he was indeed a helpful and kind person.

He did help Moon walk around these past few days, but it wasn't at his own request. He wouldn't want to take advantage of someone, would he? But Moon actually asked for it, so he had nothing to be embarrassed about.

The old man still used his oppressive aura to suppress him. After a couple of visits, Huo Yuhao noticed that his body felt much more open and his physical abilities had improved. This discovery made him feel guilty for a while—cough, at least a minute!

Wang Dong couldn't help but doubt herself. Had she really misjudged Huo Yuhao? Was he truly a helpful and kind person?

After running for a while, Huo Yuhao broke Wang Dong's reverie: "What are your plans after you graduate from the academy?"

"Why are you asking this?" Wang Dong felt a little strange and thought Huo Yuhao was being unreasonable, but she still replied, "I don't know what I'm going to do in the future either. We'll talk about the future later, anyway, there are still several years until graduation."

"Then why don't you come with me from now on? I'm planning to create a faction, and we can develop it together from scratch. What do you think? We can even invite our classmates to join." Huo Yuhao invited Wang Dong with a smile. Although Wang Dong was the young sect leader of the Haotian Sect, Huo Yuhao felt that she had no chance of becoming the sect leader in this lifetime. If she ascended to the God Realm, that would be a given, but if not, she definitely wouldn't survive past the current sect leader, Da Ming. So he might as well recruit Wang Dong in advance to prevent her from joining the Tang Sect again.

When Wang Dong heard the first half of Huo Yuhao's words, his mind went blank, and he couldn't even hear what Huo Yuhao said after that.

"Follow him from now on? What is this guy saying? How can he just say it so easily!"

She bit her cherry lips, her cheeks burning, and a wave of shy joy welled up inside her.

Forcibly suppressing his shyness, Wang Dong said with a wandering gaze, "Following you isn't impossible, but I need to observe you for a while. You'll have to treat me well."

"Then it's settled. After you've finished your evaluation, you have to join my sect, not any other sect!" Huo Yuhao said immediately.

"Huh? A sect? What sect?" Wang Dong asked blankly.

"Didn't you promise to join the sect I founded? Isn't that what you meant?" Huo Yuhao looked at Wang Dong with a suspicious expression.

"Huh?" Wang Dong's expression froze, and he quickly nodded to hide his embarrassment. "That's right, that's exactly what I meant!"

Wang Dong breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time felt a pang of disappointment.

When Huo Yuhao saw Wang Dong's blushing face, he guessed that she had definitely misunderstood.

However, he couldn't reveal his relationship with Wang Dong right now. He needed to build things up further and go through some experiences together. Otherwise, their relationship would be like a rootless duckweed, and things might change when he turned against Tang San. Shared experiences were the foundation of their relationship. Only with deep and broad roots could he firmly tie the girl to himself.

So, I'm sorry, Dong'er, this is—this isn't the last time, you don't need to be sad so soon.

Huo Yuhao felt apologetic towards Wang Dong in his heart.

After running a hundred laps, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong strolled around the square.

Huo Yuhao also observed his classmates and looked for the Nine Vajras from the original novel.

As most people finished running, only a handful of students remained on the track, but there was still plenty of time for them to complete one hundred laps.

Arriving at the place where his classmates had gathered, Huo Yuhao briefly reviewed his memories and discovered that the Nine Great Vajras seemed to have become the Six Great Vajras, as three of them had actually run away.

Huo Yuhao gently reminded them, "Some of you might have misremembered the number of laps and didn't finish. Think carefully and see if you've completed the required number of laps. If not, please continue running. Otherwise, given Zhou Yi's temper, even if she doesn't expel you, you'll still face other punishments."

Huo Yuhao noticed that after hearing his words, three people hesitated for a moment. One of them got up first and started running again, and the other two got up and followed the classmate.

Another person saw someone continue running, and his eyes wavered for a moment, but then he calmly sat down on the ground again, pretending to be nonchalant.

One of the more robust students looked unconcerned and said with a grin, "Don't worry, with so many people, she can't possibly keep an eye on everyone."

Huo Yuhao smiled faintly, "Maybe. I'm just reminding you. You'll have to bear the consequences yourself."

The man stopped talking, snorted, and leisurely sat down on the ground. This guy just loved to meddle in other people's business! He didn't believe that Zhou Yi would be punished for not running away with him!

Just as Huo Yuhao was about to turn and leave, a woman's voice, trembling with tears, came: "I have a muscle cramp and can't stand up."

Huo Yuhao looked in the direction of the voice and saw a petite girl with delicate features and a slightly chubby face that looked soft and sweet.

She tried to stand up by supporting herself with her hands, but she stumbled and fell to the ground in pain.

Huo Yuhao walked over and asked gently, "How many laps do you have left?"

"Two laps short." The girl blushed slightly when she saw Huo Yuhao's face getting closer.

Huo Yuhao nodded and said, "Then how about this, I'll carry you for the rest of these two laps."

"Eh? Is that alright?" The girl's face lit up with excitement. She glanced at Huo Yuhao, then blushed and thanked him in a voice barely above a whisper, "Thank you, Huo Yuhao! My name is Yun Xiaopiao."

Huo Yuhao crouched down, wanting the girl to climb onto his back.

Seeing this, Wang Dong snorted coldly, then activated his Light Goddess Butterfly martial soul, and took the lead, lifting Yun Xiaopiao up from behind and flying low around Shrek Square.

Huo Yuhao chuckled as he watched Wang Dong's reluctant expression, but he still carried Yun Xiaopiao around the square. The soft-spoken girl named Yun Xiaopiao gasped in surprise. After realizing what had happened, she puffed out her cheeks in anger, and the disappointment in her eyes lingered for a long time.

The two laps were over quickly. Wang Dong lifted the girl to the ground and said casually, "You've finished running two laps. No need to thank me."

After being put down, Yun Xiaopiao was stunned for a moment. Hearing Wang Dong's words, she pouted, but finally thanked him reluctantly, saying, "I still want to thank you."

"Of course, I am most grateful to Huo Yuhao!" Yun Xiaopiao looked at Huo Yuhao with sparkling eyes.

Wang Dong couldn't help but stand in front of the girl, blocking her view of Huo Yuhao. The girl, who had difficulty moving, looked at Wang Dong with resentment, and for a moment, the two were locked in a stalemate.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 40 When Favors are Exhausted, Slowness Settles

At this moment, Zhou Yi's voice reached the ears of every student: "Speed ​​up, gather at my position as the endpoint."

The runners slowly gathered around Zhou Yi, standing loosely in Shrek Square.

In the final five minutes, all the trainees stood around Zhou Yi. Zhou Yi, timing it precisely one hour, turned to all the trainees expressionlessly and said calmly, "Tang Ling, Tai Long, step forward!"

Tailong walked forward leisurely, while Tang Ling moved somewhat nervously in front of Zhou Yi.

Huo Yuhao glanced around and realized that Tailong was the one who had just been smiling and telling him that Zhou Yi wouldn't notice the missing laps among so many people, while Tang Ling was the one who was just slacking off.