As the only disciple of Master, Tang San was obviously the most familiar with him. After hearing his words, Dai Mubai nodded slowly, "I'm afraid it's really like that, let them come up and we'll discuss it first."

  Soon after, the five people behind caught up, and Tang San repeated his views on today's punishment.

  Oscar furrowed his brow and said, "I think Tang San is right. The master must be testing us. Our loads are different, the master must have calculated the limit of our physical strength. Like Tang San and Dai Mubai's situation should be within the limit that can be completed with some physical strength left over. Like Fatty it should just reach the limit. Naturally there are also those who exceed the limit. Only if everyone works together can we complete it. As for those who exceed the limit, I'm afraid there is me and Rongrong."

  In the end, he couldn't help but smile wryly. Having run only two kilometers, he already felt the bamboo basket on his back getting heavier and sweated on his forehead, with such a long distance still ahead of him, he wondered if he could definitely hold on.

  "Let's cheat instead. Let's secretly eat some of Xiao Ao's recovery sausages, are you afraid that our strength won't be enough?"

  "Cheating?" Oscar glared at the fatty with a bad temper, he was a clever person and would never do stupid things. "Fatty, I'll ask you one question, can you be certain that Master didn't let other teachers supervise us? If we get caught cheating, the punishment won't be as simple as it is now. Moreover, Master's intention in punishing us like this must be for our own good. Now we need to think of a way to conserve our energy."

  Tang San suddenly spoke up, "Teacher may have made us carry heavy loads and not use our soul power, but the total weight we seven people are carrying is this much. As long as we can complete the punishment with these weights, it's fine. Oscar, give me your stone."

  Oscar hesitated for a moment, then smiled and said, "Good brother. But it's not necessary yet. I think we should do this instead. From now on, the seven of us will run at a uniform speed, with the slowest person setting the pace. This way, everyone can stay together, and running at a uniform speed is also the most energy-efficient. When someone can't keep up, we'll help each other adjust our loads, so as to conserve energy as much as possible. What do you think?"

  Ning Rongrong chuckled and said, "Xiao Ao, I didn't expect it, but you're actually quite clever."

  Oscar had an expression of "it's only natural" on his face. "Didn't they used to call me the clever little prince when I was a kid? What's this?"

  Dai Mubai was the oldest among them and also the strongest, showing the leadership that an eldest should have. "No more nonsense. Talking will also waste physical strength, let's run. Let's do as Xiao Wu said."

  At this time, seven people started their long-distance running journey again.

  Needless to say, among the seven people, Oscar and Ning Rongrong, who were auxiliary Soul Masters, had the worst physical strength. Everyone else followed their pace as they ran forward steadily in the direction of Soto City.

  The first round trip was completed at this uniform speed for the entire distance.

  It wasn't until they actually started running that the crowd began to feel the pressure of carrying their heavy loads. If it were just ordinary running, even without using soul power, this round trip of about six kilometers would be no burden for them at all. The transformation of their bodies by soul power gave them physical abilities far surpassing those of ordinary people, and even Oscar and Ning Rongrong, as auxiliary soul masters, were no exception.

  With the heavy load, their bodies were clearly not adapted. After a round trip, Ning Rongrong and Oscar were already drenched in sweat, and the others also showed some signs of fatigue.

  Ning Rongrong was undoubtedly the weakest in terms of physical strength among everyone. Although Oscar was also a support-type soul master, he had at least broken through to level 30 and his body had the third soul ring's attribute bonuses, making his condition much better than Ning Rongrong's.

  Tang San and Dai Mubai had a fifteen-kilogram stone block on their backs, Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing and Ma Hongjun had ten kilograms, Ning Rongrong and Oscar only had five kilograms, but at this moment they felt as if they were carrying a mountain on their backs, their bodies getting heavier and heavier, they could only grit their teeth to maintain a steady pace.

  The college gate is in sight, and to everyone's surprise, the master is standing at the entrance of the college, watching them complete their first round trip back. Next to the master, there is also a table with a large bucket on it.

  "Everyone drink some water and continue." The master's words were always concise.

  Inside the bucket was warm water, slightly salty, as if salt had been added. Under the master's supervision, each person was allowed to drink only one cup of warm water before being urged once again to set out on their journey of punishment.

  As time passed, the massive fireball in the sky gradually drew closer to them, bringing with it a gradual increase in temperature. The people who had drunk the saline solution received some replenishment of their physical strength, but Tang San and Dai Mubai didn't feel much difference, whereas Oscar and Ning Rongrong clearly felt that they had recovered a bit of energy.

  Watching the students gradually disappear into the distance, the master stood still with a expressionless face, but seeing that the seven of them were returning together, his eyes clearly showed a few hints of satisfaction.

  Carrying a large bucket, he walked into the academy. At this time, he was not only a teacher who taught students but also an elder who cared about them. What he wanted to do was not to abuse the students, but to let them get real training.

  The second lap, the third lap, the fourth... Every time they returned to the academy, Master had prepared warm salt water for them. The warm water was easily absorbed, and the replenishment of salt helped to make up for the loss of body fluids due to sweating. Even Ning Rongrong and Oscar felt as if it was a miracle that they were able to persist in running four laps at an even pace, without any stops except to drink water.

  But when the fifth round began, Oscar and Ning Rongrong's speed had clearly slowed down, the scenery in front of them had begun to blur, their legs felt like lead, and the bamboo basket on their backs was like a mountain range bringing gravity.

  Under uniform conditions, others' physical strength can still be maintained, although at this time everyone has already sweated profusely, but their spirit remains very good.

  "Little Ao, give me your rock." Tang San said to Oscar.

  Dai Mu Bai also stretched out his hand to Ning Rong Rong at the same time.

  This time, Oscar and Ning Rongrong did not refuse. They were well aware that their physical strength had been somewhat overdrawn, and if they continued like this, they might not be able to hold on for the return trip either.

  Tang San and Dai Mubai's weight directly changed from fifteen kilograms to twenty kilograms, the bamboo basket turned into two stone slabs. Five kilograms didn't seem heavy, but under the circumstances of greatly consuming physical strength, this simple five kilograms had already brought a clear burden to both of them. Although they could still maintain their speed, the breathing of the two also became noticeably heavier.

  On the contrary, having lost five kilograms of pressure, Oscar and Ning Rongrong instantly produced a feeling of transcending everything, as if their entire body was light enough to float up, taking a few deep breaths, running suddenly became much easier, not only recovering their original speed but also having a sense of ease.

  The fifth, sixth and seventh rounds ended in such a situation. The eighth round started after nearly two hours had passed. At this time, the sun had already deviated from its center. Noon was over.

  Everyone's breathing became more difficult, their lungs felt like they were on fire, and every step left a clear water mark on the ground from the sweat dripping off them. Since the last round trip, the saltwater they had replenished at the entrance of the academy had turned into two cups. And there was also a brief rest time. The master did not rush them, still preparing warm saltwater for them after each round trip.

  "No, I can't go on." The speaker was Ma Hongjun, who stumbled and almost fell to the ground. He stopped and propped himself up with his hands on his knees, panting heavily. His chubby face had turned pale, as if every breath was extremely difficult.

  Everyone stopped one after another, and at this moment, everyone couldn't say a word. They looked at each other and found that every partner's clothes were already soaked with sweat. The most eye-catching was Zhu Zhujing, her age was the smallest among everyone, but she was the best developed of the three girls, her wet clothes clung to her body, outlining a stunning curve.

  Unfortunately, no one has the energy to pay attention to this beautiful scenery now, and they all stand still, panting constantly.

  Originally, Tang San and Dai Mubai shouldn't have been so exhausted, but they had taken on the heavy burdens of Ning Rongrong and Oscar, making their loads even heavier than others. Among the seven people, only Xiao Wu looked relatively relaxed, having also reached level thirty, her burden was similar to that of Zhu Zhuqing and Ma Hongjun. Plus, she was originally light-bodied, so at this time, only she had a feeling of being somewhat carefree.

  It took almost five minutes for everyone to slowly come back to their senses.

  "Anyway, we can't have lunch now, let's just slow down a bit. I'm done for, if we keep running like this, I'll probably die of exhaustion."

  Dai Mu Bai furrowed his brow and said, "Slow? Haven't you noticed that the master's salt water temperature is always the same every time he prepares it for us? But our speed has been decreasing all along. It's clear that the master has taken into account our physical condition. If we run back too slowly, I'm afraid there will be additional punishment. Although the master's training is a bit strict, he's doing it for our own good. We must persevere. Fatty, give me your weight."