On the vast training ground of Qingfeng Camp, Zhao Mu continued to run at full speed with three heavy logs resting across his shoulders.
His breathing was deep and rhythmic, each step steady and powerful as his feet pounded against the dirt track.
The oppressive weight of the logs pressed against his muscles, while the continuous strain pushed his body closer and closer to its physical limit.
Yet instead of feeling discouraged, Zhao Mu felt exhilarated.
Every second of this brutal training brought visible improvement.
On the interface of the Demon Clown Card, the proficiency of his abilities was steadily increasing.
This alone was enough to fill him with excitement.
To Zhao Mu, every drop of sweat shed on this training ground had meaning.
Nothing was wasted.
"Haha! This is refreshing!"
While most of the cadet soldiers were on the verge of collapse, Zhao Mu was still laughing loudly as he ran.
Sweat poured down his face and soaked through his clothes, but his eyes were bright with excitement.
Behind him, Mo Guanguan clenched her teeth as she followed closely.
Her breathing was ragged, and her body trembled from exhaustion.
Yet she refused to slow down.
When she heard Zhao Mu's laughter echoing across the training ground, a strange light flashed in her eyes.
"Monster…"
She muttered through clenched teeth.
Ignoring the intense fatigue in her limbs, she forced herself to speed up and chase after him.
However, the gap between them remained enormous.
By the time Zhao Mu completed the thirteenth lap—13,000 meters, the situation on the training ground had become extremely clear.
He had already lapped several cadet soldiers five times.
Even Shao Han, one of the stronger recruits, had been lapped three times.
Many of the weaker cadets no longer looked like human beings.
Their expressions were blank, their eyes dull.
They resembled a group of exhausted zombies stumbling along the track.
Their bodies were numb from fatigue.
Their legs felt as heavy as iron.
At this point, they were no longer running because of strength.
They were moving forward purely through sheer willpower.
Finally—
Thump!
A cadet soldier collapsed to the ground.
His body slammed heavily onto the dirt as he lay there like a lifeless rag.
He tried to push himself up.
But his arms trembled violently.
He couldn't even lift his own body.
A figure quickly walked over.
It was Bai Meimei.
She looked down at the collapsed cadet with cold eyes.
Then she kicked him lightly with her boot.
"That's all it takes?"
Her voice was filled with contempt.
"Take him away."
Immediately, members of the Discipline Department rushed over.
They lifted the exhausted cadet and dragged him to the shade of a nearby tree.
One of them opened a bottle of nutrient solution and poured it into his mouth.
Fortunately, he had only fainted from exhaustion.
After resting for a while, he would recover.
However, his collapse had a huge psychological impact on the others.
The moment the first person fell, the final thread of hope in many cadets' hearts snapped.
Those who had already given up on achieving a good ranking finally stopped forcing themselves.
One by one—
They dropped their logs.
And collapsed onto the ground.
The scene became chaotic.
Those who quit were dragged to the roadside like dead dogs.
Instructor Xie Yingxue stood nearby, recording everything expressionlessly on her tablet.
Every cadet who dropped out was marked and graded accordingly.
There was no mercy in Qingfeng Camp.
By the time Zhao Mu reached the twentieth lap, the spiritual power inside his body was finally completely exhausted.
He could no longer rely on supernatural abilities.
From that moment onward, he could only depend on pure physical strength.
His legs felt incredibly heavy.
Every step felt as though he were dragging chains.
Yet his eyes shone even brighter.
"So this is Qingfeng Camp's training…"
He muttered to himself.
"It really lives up to its reputation."
Under this extreme physical pressure, the speed at which he improved his Spiritual Power Control was astonishing.
Compared to his previous solo training, the improvement here was several times faster.
Not only Zhao Mu—
Most of the other trainees were also improving.
Although they were exhausted to the point of collapse, the intense suffering forced them to learn how to better use the [Condense] technique.
Extreme pressure often brought out hidden potential.
Zhao Mu steadied his breathing and slowed down slightly.
Ahead of him, a figure moved slowly like a staggering zombie.
It was Shao Han.
Zhao Mu jogged forward and caught up easily.
"Yo, Shao Han."
He spoke casually.
"I've caught up to you again."
"How many laps have you run so far?"
At this moment, Shao Han's running speed was slower than a snail.
His lips were pale.
His breathing was extremely disordered.
When he heard Zhao Mu's mocking voice, his already unstable breathing completely collapsed.
He tried to reply—
But before he could say anything—
He collapsed to the ground.
Zhao Mu chuckled softly and continued forward.
Soon after—
Beep!
A sharp whistle pierced the air.
Zhao Mu crossed the starting line.
Instructor Zhang Biao shouted loudly:
"Training ends!"
"Thirty minutes of rest!"
"Prepare for the next exercise!"
Hearing the command, Zhao Mu finally slowed down and stopped running.
With great effort, he lifted the heavy logs from his shoulders and threw them aside.
His body trembled uncontrollably.
He felt as though every muscle had been torn apart.
At that moment, it felt like his body didn't even belong to him anymore.
Yet strangely—
He felt incredibly happy.
"Qingfeng Camp's training…"
Zhao Mu muttered with a grin.
"…is really exhilarating."
He turned around.
Behind him, only about a dozen cadets were still running.
Mo Guanguan was among them.
She panted heavily, glaring at Zhao Mu like an angry tigress.
Then she defiantly threw down her logs.
Other strong trainees also remained standing.
Zhuo Yun.
Lu Yan.
Zhu Meng.
However, Zhao Mu remembered clearly that they were all three to five laps behind him.
When they heard the instructor announce the end of training, everyone sighed with relief.
Some collapsed directly onto the ground.
Others bent forward with their hands on their knees, gasping for air as sweat poured down their faces like rain.
At that moment, Xu Zhixiong walked over.
His expression was extremely stern.
He shouted angrily:
"I didn't expect the quality of this batch of recruits to be so poor!"
"You're already finished after just a few laps?!"
"With your level of strength, you'll only become cannon fodder on the battlefield!"
The cadets felt humiliated.
But none of them dared to raise their heads.
Because deep down—
They knew he was right.
More importantly—
They had just witnessed Zhao Mu's terrifying performance.
In the very first training session, Zhao Mu had already completely subdued them.
Xu Zhixiong walked toward Zhao Mu, who was slowly heading toward the roadside shade to get a nutrient drink.
Suddenly—
Smack!
A powerful hand slapped Zhao Mu on the shoulder.
"You're not bad!"
Zhang Biao laughed loudly.
The strength of the slap was carefully controlled.
But it was still strong enough to make Zhao Mu lose his balance and fall onto the ground.
Laughter erupted from the surrounding cadets.
Those who had been pushed to their limits by Zhao Mu finally felt a little better.
Zhao Mu simply sat on the ground and smiled calmly.
"It's not easy being the one who stands out."
He understood the situation clearly.
The first training exercise of the boot camp was meant for the instructor to establish authority.
If Zhao Mu completely stole the spotlight, where would the instructor's dignity go?
If the instructors hadn't been worried that others might stubbornly try to match Zhao Mu and injure themselves, they might have forced him to keep running until he collapsed.
Still—
That slap also contained a hint of praise.
At that moment, everyone began looking at Zhao Mu differently.
Even the B-grade special recruits silently remembered his name.
Zhao Mu.
After resting for a while, Zhao Mu walked toward the roadside.
He received a bottle of nutrient solution.
While drinking slowly, he quietly circulated the Turtle Breathing Technique to regulate his energy.
He had been using this breathing technique even while running.
Anyone experienced with long-distance running understood one thing—
Breathing rhythm was extremely important.
Just as Zhao Mu relaxed in the grass—
A round figure suddenly rolled toward him.
"Mmmph…"
It was Meng Qiuqiu.
He crawled out of the grass and lay beside Zhao Mu.
"Brother Xiao Mu…"
"Are you Superman or something?"
"You carried three logs and pushed everyone to their limits!"
Meng Qiuqiu's face was pale from exhaustion.
He had fallen behind halfway through the run.
However, he hadn't been among the very first to quit.
Instead, after noticing many people had already dropped out, he estimated that he wouldn't be the last.
So he simply chose to give up.
Zhao Mu chuckled.
"I didn't expect someone as chubby as you to have such good stamina."
Meng Qiuqiu leaned closer and whispered mysteriously.
"It's all thanks to this."
He opened his hand slightly.
Inside were several glowing fragments.
"Ember remains."
"My grandmother bought them for me before I left home."
"I have eight of them."
"Five are Amplification Jinhai, which temporarily boost physical attributes."
"I just rotate them during training."
Zhao Mu's eyelids twitched slightly.
Sometimes—
Talking to rich people could be painful.
But he didn't mind being friends with rich people.
Soon, Lu Yan and Zhuo Yun also walked over.
The group lay flat on the grass like everyone else.
At that moment, even sitting upright was painful.
Their waist muscles felt like they were about to snap.
While Zhao Mu continued regulating his breathing—
He suddenly felt a venomous gaze from nearby.
He turned his head.
It was Shao Han.
Shao Han stood not far away, pouring an entire bottle of water over his head.
His hair stuck messily to his face.
He looked miserable.
But his eyes—
His eyes resembled those of a hungry wolf.
They stared directly at Zhao Mu.
Filled with resentment.
And unwillingness.
By now, Shao Han had already realized something.
If Zhao Mu hadn't provoked him earlier—
If his rhythm hadn't been disrupted—
His performance wouldn't have been so terrible.
And because of that realization—
His hatred toward Zhao Mu had grown even stronger.
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)