Chapter 47 Yu Xiaogang's Little Tricks
Ye Liuyun ignored Yu Xiaogang's words completely, letting them go in one ear and out the other.
The sun was blazing overhead.
The once dry dirt road was now soaked with sweat in one spot after another.
As the number of laps increased, the queue inevitably lengthened.
The gap in physical strength could not be bridged by a few motivational words.
Tang San maintained his position as number one because he cultivated the Mysterious Heaven Art, which gave him long and powerful internal energy, and because of the physical strength he had developed from years of blacksmithing.
Although Ye Liuyun had a "I'm so tired" expression on his face, he maintained a steady pace and gradually moved ahead.
Following closely behind were Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing.
At the end of the line, however, lay a hellish scene.
"I can't... I can't take it anymore..."
Ma Hongjun's entire body was trembling with fat, sweat poured down like a waterfall, his face was deathly pale, and he had to gasp for breath with every step he took.
"Fatty! Don't stop! Keep going!"
Yu Xiaogang stood on the sidelines and coldly shouted.
"This is your physical limit, not your willpower limit! If you stop now, you'll always be a useless piece of trash!"
Do you see any women who like you?
This insulting personal attack made Ma Hongjun grit his teeth, tears welling up in his eyes, and he could only force himself to move forward.
Behind him, the situation was even worse.
As support-type Soul Masters, Ning Rongrong and Oscar were the weakest in terms of physique.
Oscar had some physical training under Flander.
Ning Rongrong, a young lady from a wealthy family, had never experienced anything like this before. Her face turned from red to white, and her legs felt as heavy as lead.
The basket of stones pressed down on her delicate back, and each sway felt like a heavy hammer pounding on her spine.
I can't lose... I'm a genius of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect... I can't let Ye Liuyun laugh at me...
She stubbornly held on, driven by a pride that refused to be looked down upon.
However, physiological limits were beyond control.
"Ah!"
Suddenly, Ning Rongrong's legs gave way and she tripped over a protruding stone.
The heavy bamboo basket instantly lost its balance, and the enormous inertia caused her to slam heavily to the ground. The stones tumbled out with a crash, some even hitting her on the head.
"Rongrong!"
Oscar, who was running ahead, heard the commotion and immediately dropped his bamboo basket and ran back to help Ning Rongrong up.
"Don't touch me!" Ning Rongrong cried out in pain, tears streaming down her face, but she still stubbornly pushed Oscar away and tried to get up on her own.
She tried several times, but her legs were trembling and she couldn't stand up at all.
"Enough!"
Oscar suddenly turned around and yelled at Yu Xiaogang:
"Master! This is not fair at all! We are support-type Soul Masters, why should we carry the same weight as attack-type Soul Masters? Rongrong is a girl, she has already reached her limit!"
"If she keeps running, her health will collapse!"
Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing also stopped and anxiously surrounded Ning Rongrong.
The entire team was forced to a standstill.
Yu Xiaogang watched this scene, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.
It had finally come.
This was the moment he had been waiting for.
He walked slowly to the front of the crowd with his hands behind his back, his face terribly gloomy. He showed no concern for Ning Rongrong's injuries, but instead launched into a furious tirade:
"Unfair?"
"Oscar, on the battlefield, will the enemy spare you a hit just because you're a support character?"
"Ning Rongrong, do you think the enemy will show you mercy just because you're a girl?"
"Look at you all now! A complete mess! You complain and break down at the slightest difficulty! Apart from Ye Liuyun and Tang San, the rest of you are utterly useless!"
Yu Xiaogang's gaze swept across everyone's face like a knife, and finally he coldly announced:
"Remember, you are a team!"
"Today's task is for everyone to run twenty laps! If even one person is missing, or one lap is missing, it doesn't count as a completion!"
"If someone can't run anymore, that's a problem with your team."
"Since we are a team, we can complement each other and share the burden."
"You're on your own to figure out the rest of the way. No one is allowed to eat until you finish!"
This was a blatant and overt conspiracy.
He was forcing the strong to sacrifice themselves for the weak.
Upon hearing this, Tang San immediately understood that his teacher was setting up a stage for him.
Without any hesitation, he walked a few steps to Ning Rongrong and Oscar.
"The master is right, we are one."
Tang San's voice was steady and powerful, filled with a reassuring strength.
He bent down, picked up the stones Ning Rongrong had scattered on the ground, and put them all into his bamboo basket.
"I'll carry Rongrong's portion."
Tang San straightened up, and although his body swayed slightly, he quickly regained his balance and looked firmly at the crowd:
"As the team leader, it is my responsibility to take good care of every team member."
"Oscar, help Rongrong run slowly. Fatty, if you can't keep going, give me the stone."
At this moment, Tang San, though not particularly tall, appeared incredibly imposing under the sunlight.
That shining image of "selflessness" and "courage to take responsibility" instantly struck Oscar and Ma Hongjun's defenses.
Even Ning Rongrong, looking at Tang San's bent back, had a complex look of gratitude in her eyes.
This was exactly how a captain should be!
Yu Xiaogang watched this scene, and the corners of his mouth turned up almost imperceptibly.
Very good, Little San.
This was the power of leadership.
Immediately afterwards, his gaze swept across the crowd and landed on Ye Liuyun, who was standing on the outermost edge, watching the show with his hands in his pockets.
His eyes held a hint of warning and a subtle sense of rejection.
He prayed silently in his heart:
Ye Liuyun, you'd better not move.
You can continue to be your cold and selfish self.
Don't come up and help.
The physical abilities of a support-type Soul Master were vastly different from those of Tang San, who spent years forging iron and cultivating the Mysterious Heaven Art.
This kind of burden was just routine training for Tang San, but it could win people's hearts to the greatest extent.
If you, the "troublemaker," were to come and help now, you would not only steal Tang San's spotlight, but your easygoing attitude might even make this melodramatic scene seem cheap.
So just stand there and be an outsider rejected by the team.
This was the effect he wanted.
However.
Ye Liuyun looked at Tang San's swaying back and felt strange.
He had known Tang San for many years and knew that this guy had been blacksmithing since he was six years old. He often carried a basket of iron blocks on his back. How could he become weak after carrying a stone?
Then he glanced at Yu Xiaogang's complicated expression.
He suddenly laughed.
Ye Liuyun walked up to Tang San, panting heavily.
"I haven't recovered from the injuries I sustained in the Star Dou Forest yet, but the battle with Dai Mubai just now pushed me to my limit."
"Can you carry it for me too?"
The entire venue fell into a deathly silence.
Tang San almost broke his back from those words.
But he couldn't find a way to refute it, as it was common knowledge that Ye Liuyun had been injured in the Star Dou Forest.
Having just fought Dai Mubai, it was understandable that he was exhausted.
But he had no desire to help Ye Liuyun carry stones; helping someone he disliked was too much of a hassle.
"But I see you still have energy."
Tang San spoke up.
He had just finished speaking.
Ye Liuyun clutched his chest and coughed repeatedly, his face pale, almost spitting blood on the spot.
"I'm wounded!"
"Are you going to abandon the wounded?"
"Aren't we a team?"
Tang San: "...Alright, I'll carry it for you."
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[end of the chapter]