By the fourth lap, the formation of runners had already split into several clear tiers.
At the very front was Zhao Mu.
From the moment the exercise began, he had never slowed his pace.
In his mind, everyone here was a potential rival. If he wanted to stand at the top of Qingfeng Camp, he had to prove it with absolute dominance.
And what better way to do that than overwhelming stamina?
If he could run until the others collapsed, then the result would be obvious.
In this boot camp, the instructors would only call a halt when everyone had reached their limit.
As long as someone could still run, the training would continue.
Zhao Mu understood that rule clearly.
So he kept moving forward.
Step after step.
His breathing remained steady and controlled.
But before long, he felt something unexpected.
A presence behind him.
Someone was catching up.
Zhao Mu hugged the inner lane of the track as he ran.
Suddenly—
A gust of wind rushed past his outer side.
A teasing voice followed immediately.
"What are you?"
"A beast reincarnated?"
"You've got the strength of a demon!"
Zhao Mu glanced sideways.
Running beside him was a slender and athletic girl with twin ponytails.
She carried the same heavy log on her shoulder as everyone else, yet she looked surprisingly relaxed.
It was Mo Guanguan, one of the special admissions this year.
She had an A-grade talent.
Zhao Mu stood at 187 centimeters tall, towering over most of the trainees.
Mo Guanguan was only about ten centimeters shorter.
Her body was lean and powerful, with the graceful strength of a tigress.
Even while carrying the heavy log, she could still talk casually.
Her large dark eyes burned with fierce competitiveness.
Zhao Mu's strength was already far beyond ordinary trainees.
Yet Mo Guanguan keeping pace with him was still impressive.
"I didn't expect anyone would be able to catch up," Zhao Mu said with a faint smile.
Despite running at high speed, his voice remained calm and steady.
Not a trace of heavy breathing.
Not a hint of exhaustion.
Mo Guanguan noticed this immediately.
A flash of defiance sparked in her eyes.
"Hah! Quite arrogant, aren't you?"
"But first place belongs to me today!"
With a sharp exhale—
She suddenly accelerated.
Her right foot slammed against the ground with explosive force.
In the next moment, she shot ahead of Zhao Mu like a bullet, overtaking him on the bend of the track.
Zhao Mu blinked in confusion.
He wasn't quite sure which of his words had angered her.
But then he remembered something important.
Mo Guanguan possessed an A-grade talent.
Her initial combat level was Level 12.
That was the same starting level as Lu Yan, another top trainee.
Meanwhile, Zhao Mu's official talent grade was only E-level.
His combat level was merely Level 2.
From her perspective, being compared with someone like him probably felt insulting.
Still—
Zhao Mu had no intention of surrendering first place.
He maintained his steady rhythm and followed closely behind her.
After all, the weighted run had only just begun.
This was a test of endurance, not just speed.
For the past few months, Zhao Mu had trained relentlessly.
Every single day, he ran twenty kilometers around town.
This exercise was practically tailor-made for him.
Sure enough—
The gap Mo Guanguan created didn't last long.
Within a short time, Zhao Mu gradually caught up again.
Soon, he appeared right beside her once more.
Mo Guanguan glanced at him in disbelief.
Shock filled her eyes.
She clenched her teeth and forced herself to accelerate again.
But her body had already reached its limit.
If she attempted another burst of speed, she might collapse before the next lap even finished.
"You… you monster!"
She panted heavily while glaring at Zhao Mu.
Zhao Mu simply smiled.
His white teeth flashed under the sunlight.
"No need to rush."
"Pace yourself."
"Why not rest for a bit? I'll go ahead first."
His casual tone almost sounded like friendly advice.
But to Mo Guanguan—
It was pure humiliation.
Her face flushed bright red.
She could only watch helplessly as Zhao Mu slowly pulled ahead once more.
A burning sense of defeat filled her chest.
The competitive tigress inside her wanted nothing more than to punch that smug back.
But she couldn't catch him.
Not now.
By the fifth lap, the situation behind them had become miserable.
Some trainees had already slowed to a miserable shuffle.
Their faces were pale.
Their legs trembled with every step.
Nearby, Bai Meimei stood with several members of the Discipline Department, watching coldly.
Her voice suddenly exploded across the field.
"Stopping?!"
"Run!"
"Who are you trying to pity with that pathetic face?!"
"No one here feels sorry for you!"
"If you can't handle this much, quit the camp right now!"
Her harsh words struck like whips.
Under that relentless pressure, the exhausted trainees could only grit their teeth and continue.
Just then—
A powerful gust of wind swept past them.
Everyone turned their heads.
They saw Zhao Mu jogging by.
Three heavy logs rested across his shoulder.
Sweat soaked his hair, yet his expression still carried a relaxed smile.
Someone muttered in despair.
"What kind of monster are we even training with…?"
The sight crushed their morale.
Many trainees had secretly hoped that everyone would collapse together.
If that happened, maybe the instructors would end the exercise early.
But with Zhao Mu still running strongly—
That dream was impossible.
As Zhao Mu passed by one trainee, he suddenly laughed.
"Hey, Shao Han."
"How did you end up ahead of me?"
"Oh wait…"
"It looks like I've already lapped you."
Shao Han's eyes widened instantly.
He nearly coughed blood.
"You… you…"
Zhao Mu grinned mischievously.
"Why not try running a little faster?"
"Maybe you can catch up."
The mocking tone made Shao Han furious.
His emotions exploded.
Thud!
In his anger, he stumbled and crashed onto the track.
Zhao Mu calmly stepped around him and continued running.
Behind him, curses erupted.
Most of the trainees were already running purely on willpower.
One small mistake could break them.
Shao Han's fall caused the log on his shoulder to roll across the ground.
Several nearby trainees tripped over it like falling dominoes.
As Shao Han struggled to stand up—
A pair of black boots appeared in front of him.
He looked up.
Bai Meimei stared down at him with terrifying eyes.
"Tripping while running?"
"What useless trash!"
"Why even come to Qingfeng Camp?"
"You should go home and run errands for your father!"
"This place trains elites—not spoiled brats!"
Shao Han's face burned with humiliation.
Silently, he lifted the heavy log back onto his shoulder.
Then he staggered forward again.
Bai Meimei snorted.
"Useless pumpkins."
She kicked two trainees who were lying on the ground.
"Playing dead?"
"Get up!"
"You think I can't see through your tricks?"
The two trainees froze in embarrassment.
They had indeed tried pretending to collapse.
But Bai Meimei had years of experience.
Their tricks were obvious to her.
With no other choice, they struggled back to their feet.
Once again—
They continued running.
At the front of the group, Zhao Mu remained far ahead.
Behind him, Mo Guanguan chased desperately.
Further behind them were Shen Moran and Lu Yan, forming the second tier.
The remaining trainees lagged hundreds of meters behind.
Any slight slowdown resulted in immediate shouting from instructors and discipline officers.
Under such pressure, everyone could only keep moving.
When Zhao Mu completed the tenth lap, something astonishing happened.
He had already lapped the entire group three times.
Even Shao Han had been lapped twice.
His face looked darker than the bottom of a pot.
Only then did Zhao Mu begin to feel genuine fatigue.
Even with his excellent Spiritual Power Control, carrying over four hundred jin for such a long time was exhausting.
Fortunately—
His training progress was accelerating.
Through continuous effort, the proficiency of Spiritual Power Control had already reached 65%.
Meanwhile, many trainees had entered a strange state.
Their movements were stiff and mechanical.
They looked like walking corpses.
Only sheer willpower kept them going.
Even Mo Guanguan, Shen Moran, and Lu Yan felt the enormous pressure.
Their shoulders felt like mountains.
The sun climbed higher into the sky.
The blazing heat transformed the training ground into a giant furnace.
Sweat poured down everyone's faces.
Many trainees glanced at Zhao Mu with pleading eyes.
Their expressions seemed to beg silently.
Please… slow down.
We can't hold on anymore.
But Zhao Mu felt something different.
His legs were heavy.
His shoulders burned with pain.
Yet strangely—
He felt excited.
Because he understood something.
The closer his body came to its absolute limit, the faster his Spiritual Power Control proficiency increased.
A fierce light flashed in Zhao Mu's eyes.
"Good."
He tightened his grip on the logs.
"Then let's push even further."
"Time to test my true limits."
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)