Chapter 110: The Contest of Speed
After Yu Xinghan finished his one-sentence advertisement, he knew that an advertising fee of 100,000 would be credited to his account. He smiled, waved at the camera, and slowly walked off the competition field.
Song Hailong watched Yu Xinghan on the large screen coldly, his eyes betraying no emotion, as if the outcome of this match had long been expected.
Song Hailong believed that no one in the entire arena understood how strong Yu Xinghan was better than he did.
“The first place in this athletics meet can, without a doubt, only be him.”
“Everyone else is just competing for second.”
“Defeating him is not something that can be accomplished overnight.”
Song Hailong had already made up his mind; whether it took one year or two, he would definitely defeat this strongest opponent he had ever faced during his high school years.
The next moment, his figure flashed. His legs, as thick as pillars, carried a terrifying impact as they swept viciously towards the approaching Yu Xinghan.
Bang!
Yu Xinghan raised his calf and casually blocked Song Hailong’s sweeping kick.
As their forces collided, a strong gust of wind exploded from between them.
Yu Xinghan gave a helpless smile. “Too direct. How many times have I told you to be more subtle, to hide your hostility? Such a straightforward attack is useless against me.”
Song Hailong retorted without backing down, “It’s no problem for me to ambush you, but I will defeat you honorably and openly.”
In the spectator stands.
Gang Shan exclaimed in amazement, “Yu Xinghan… what a powerful body. Is he really a first-year high school student?”
Le Jingchen nodded and said, “He is a Golden Core disciple, after all. I heard he is also True Person Starfire’s final disciple, so the investment he has received is incomparable to that of an ordinary student.”
“I’m afraid he will be the champion of every round for the rest of this first-year athletics meet.”
After watching Yu Xinghan’s performance in the previous round, Le Jingchen understood one thing.
The champion of this athletics meet was already certain to be Yu Xinghan.
Therefore, what he needed to do next was to downplay the influence of body tempering technology on Yu Xinghan as much as possible and reinforce the public’s impression of his identity as a Golden Core disciple. It would be best to attribute all of the other’s victories to True Person Starfire.
In the Songyang High School rest area on the other side.
Bai Zhenzhen looked at the large screen with some resentment, which was still replaying the spectacular highlights of Yu Xinghan’s performance just now.
“Damn it, this Golden Core disciple is truly a monster.”
“Before my physical strength breaks through to level 5.0, I probably have no chance of beating him.”
“But…”
Bai Zhenzhen looked at Zhang Yu beside her and said, “Yu-boy, I think you have a chance to beat him.”
Zhang Yu, while drinking water, chuckled. “Is that so? I’m afraid there are only two people in this entire arena who would believe in me like that.”
Bai Zhenzhen asked quizzically, “Oh? Who else has such unique insight as I do?”
Zhang Yu laughed heartily. “That would be me, of course.”
The two looked at each other and smiled. Bai Zhenzhen then continued, “That guy feels like he has eyes in the back of his head, which is why he had such a huge advantage in the first round. Otherwise, he might not have been so far ahead of us.”
“But when it comes to a real competition of absolute strength and speed, although his physical strength is a bit higher than yours, I don’t think his control is as strong as yours…”
Level 10 Heavenly Martial Heart-Tempering Art, level 10 Thirty-Six Body-Strengthening Forms, level 10 Dragonback Mountain Toppler Hand, level 10 Crimson Marrow Primordial Qi, and also level 10 Excavator Palm, Crane Claw, Sports Car Legs, Elevator Ascent…
Zhang Yu nodded slightly. He believed that on this competition field today, no one was stronger than him in terms of muscle control and physical strength extraction.
Although his physical strength was 4.95, with his extraction of his body’s power, the strength and speed he could unleash were comparable to, and even surpassed, the few students on the field with physical strength above level 5.0.
He subconsciously touched his heart.
If the competition were held a little later, when his heart had grown stronger, Zhang Yu would be more confident in defeating Yu Xinghan in a contest of strength and speed.
But as for now…
Not only do I have to defeat my opponents in the next two matches, but I also have to create a large enough gap to surpass him in the overall score.
The pressure was immense.
Zhang Yu downed the stamina potion in his hand and seized every second to rest, recovering the energy and stamina he had expended in the previous match.
He Dayou, who was listening to their conversation from the side, rolled his eyes internally, his mind seemingly mocking their arrogance.
But he said nothing, because no matter how arrogant these two were, their achievements had already crushed him completely.
In other words, in He Dayou’s mind, Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen had unknowingly earned the right to be as arrogant as they pleased in front of him.
After everyone had rested for about half an hour, the walls of the venue suddenly trembled in unison and began to descend.
Following that, a circular track appeared before everyone present.
The third event of the athletics meet was about to begin.
The content of this event was also very simple: a 5000-meter race. Points would be awarded based on the contestants’ completion times, with a maximum total of 75 points.
Once again, no magic power could be used; the race had to be run relying purely on physical strength. Techniques like Sports Car Legs and Elevator Ascent, which required magic power for support, were naturally all unusable.
Under these conditions that relied entirely on the physical body, simple running was the most efficient method of movement for the vast majority of people.
And while 5000 meters is long for an ordinary person, it is very short for a high school student; most of the race could be maintained at a sprinting pace.
Wang Hai looked at the rules being explained on the large screen and thought to himself, The key to this round is how to unleash the speed of one’s own body to the greatest extent possible.
Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen applied their magic detection patches and stood in order behind the starting line.
The contestants who did not make it into the top 20 in the previous round had all been eliminated.
At this moment, only 20 people remained on the track.
Everyone was wearing the running shoes and sportswear uniformly provided by Purple Cloud High School to prevent anyone from gaining an advantage through any Immortal Dao technology on their shoes or clothes.
After all, this was an athletics competition that tested pure physical strength. Taking drugs and injections was fine, but tampering with shoes and clothes was a serious violation.
Zhang Yu glanced at Song Hailong, Hu Yuntao, Xiong Wenwu… and Yu Xinghan not far from him. He took a deep breath and activated the Heavenly Martial Heart-Tempering Art, casting aside all distracting thoughts.
Only one thought remained in his mind.
Defeat everyone!
And at the very instant he activated the Heavenly Martial Heart-Tempering Art, Yu Xinghan suddenly turned his head and looked in Zhang Yu’s direction.
Zhang Yu, as if sensing something, also met Yu Xinghan’s gaze.
In that moment, both saw an endless fighting spirit in the other’s eyes.
And in that instant, both understood that the other person had also activated the Heavenly Martial Heart-Tempering Art.
Yu Xinghan smiled faintly and thought to himself, Seems to be the guy who got third place in the last round. He knows the Heavenly Martial Heart-Tempering Art too? Right, I heard Senior Sister Li say that they had originally found a suitable successor over here…
With a shift of his gaze, Yu Xinghan silently formed two words with his lips for Zhang Yu.
“Keep up.”
Then he turned his head back to face forward.
3!
2!
Following the announcer’s count, all 20 contestants tensed their muscles. The very air around them seemed to freeze as they held their breath.
1!
The next moment, it was as if twenty cannons had fired at once.
With a series of explosive bangs, twenty afterimages stretched out on the track as everyone shot forward.
Amidst the booming sounds, the one charging at the very front was none other than Hu Yuntao!
This demon-kin student from Red Pagoda High School was now on all fours, his dragon scales bristling with the rise and fall of his powerful muscles, shimmering with a multicolored halo.
His posture and habit of running on all fours gave him a huge advantage at the start, as if he were flying through the air… he shot out dozens of meters in one breath, taking the lead.
The wind rushed against his face, blowing across his eyes, which had turned increasingly scarlet from the excitement of his nerves and blood vessels.
“Father! Watch closely, I will take first place in this round!”
The memory of the scolding his father had delivered after the last martial arts competition filled Hu Yuntao with intense unwillingness, shame, and fear.
The fear of working, the fear of being disowned… these had haunted his mind for the past two months, pushing him to squeeze out his latent potential time and time again.
Whenever he thought of those ‘brothers’ and ‘sisters’ who had died on the assembly line, Hu Yuntao was always able to break through his physical limits in training.
Especially now, he was no longer fighting alone.
His father’s blood essence, after being adapted by the bodies of his brothers and sisters, had been injected into his own body, awakening his Black Dragon bloodline.
At this moment, Hu Yuntao could almost feel the blood of his father, brothers, and sisters flowing within him, like a fire that caused his body to erupt with terrifying power.
Bang!
His feet kicked up a blast of air on the track.
I can win!
First place in this round…
Just as Hu Yuntao was running faster and faster, his confidence burning brighter with his fiery blood, a shadow suddenly fell over his vision.
A male voice came from his side. “Little kitty, you’re pretty fast off the line.”
“What?” Hu Yuntao whipped his head around, only to see Yu Xinghan passing him at full speed like a meteor, continuously pulling away.
“This guy!” Hu Yuntao let out a sudden roar. The dragon blood throughout his body seemed to boil, and as steam rose from his entire frame, he accelerated once more, chasing after Yu Xinghan.
He could almost feel countless brothers and sisters cheering for him from within his boiling dragon blood.
“Run!”
“Run faster, Yuntao!”
“Run out of the factory!”
It was as if the factory gates had opened behind him, and if he were even a step too slow, he would be swallowed by this boundless darkness.
But what made Hu Yuntao feel utter despair was that even as he accelerated frantically, Yu Xinghan in front of him was getting farther and farther away.
The other person was like a real star in the sky; no matter how hard he tried, no matter how much he fought, he couldn’t even touch a speck of it.
And the continuous, frantic acceleration had disrupted his original rhythm. Coupled with the weight and wind resistance from his already large frame… all of this caused his stamina to be consumed at a frantic rate, and his speed began to slow slightly.
Just then, another gust of wind swept past.
Song Hailong, Zhang Yu, Bai Zhenzhen, and Le Mulan had all surpassed him one after another.
Hu Yuntao watched this scene in horror, feeling as though even though he was running forward desperately, as person after person overtook him, he seemed to be continuously moving backward, back into the factory gates.
And those factory gates had at some point transformed into a giant dragon’s mouth… about to swallow him whole.