Lantern Sister is still very capable.

Chapter 38 Running Laps

"Are you full? Good! If you're full, run a few more laps!" Huo Xuan said with a smile as he looked at the group of students who were late.

"Those who are not late will run fifteen laps around the track; for every minute late, an extra lap will be added!"

"what--"

"No, instructor!"

"Spare my dog's life!"

"I really can't do that!"

The late students licked the sauce off their lips with lingering relish, but sighed and groaned at the prospect of running laps, hoping the instructors would make an exception.

High school students who struggle to run 800 meters in regular PE class and are panting like oxen really can't handle 15 laps of 400 meters, which adds up to 6,000 meters.

"Stop talking nonsense! None of you can escape, let's go!" Huo Xuan kicked the boy closest to him, who groaned and jogged away.

"Let's warm up first," Chu Deng said to the five people behind him.

"I told you we shouldn't have gone to the cafeteria. Now look what happened, the food we just ate isn't enough to digest after running laps, even though it was really delicious," Meng Qiuhe said, shaking his head.

"You've already eaten, so don't complain." Pei Hanxing nudged her rather spoiled friend with her elbow.

Meng Qiuhe thought about it and agreed, then made a zipping motion on his lips with his finger.

"Open your arms and maintain your balance." Chu Deng helped Jin Xiaoyue hold her ankles and stretch her thighs.

"Hey hey hey..." Jin Xiaoyue called out repeatedly, pawing the ground with her right foot, which she stood on one leg.

Chu Deng laughed, "Your balance is a bit off; you'll need to practice your horse stance more."

“Okay.” Jin Xiaoyue nodded obediently.

"You two are the last to arrive, hurry up and start." Huo Xuan, who was standing to the side, laughed in exasperation when he saw how unhurried the others were. He had gotten to know everyone yesterday, not to mention Chu Deng and Pei Hanxing, who were his main focus.

"Chu Deng, 12 minutes late, 27 laps; Jin Xiaoyue, 12 minutes late, 27 laps; Pei Hanxing, 11 minutes late, 26 laps; Meng Qiuhe, 10 minutes late, 25 laps; Tu Leqi and Zhang Mengmeng, 5 minutes late, 20 laps," Huo Xuan called out each name.

Chu Deng and Jin Xiaoyue were delayed because they went to the teaching building's restroom to change into their combat uniforms. Meng Qiuhe was taken to the restroom by Pei Hanxing. Tu Leqi and Zhang Mengmeng were simply delayed because they ate a little slowly.

Although the other students also went to the cafeteria and lined up behind Chu Deng and his classmates, most of them were punctual and ate quickly, so they were mostly only a minute or two late.

Chu Deng stretched her wrists, thought for a moment, waved to Huo Xuan, and nodded, "Understood, Instructor."

"Understood, Instructor. We'll be going now." Jin Xiaoyue followed suit.

"Understood, Instructor." x4

Huo Xuan: ……

"Dengdeng, I feel like I might not be able to finish!" As soon as Jin Xiaoyue started running, she felt short of breath. The unique smell of the track went straight into her lungs, making her heart race.

"Don't talk, conserve your energy. I'll carry you if you can't finish," Chu Deng said. Ten thousand meters was a piece of cake for her; she could do it when she was at level three, and her physical condition underwent a qualitative change after she reached level four.

Moreover, after breaking through to level five and mastering elemental transformation in the game last time, she felt that she was really about to break through to level five again.

After speaking, Chu Deng slowed her breathing, glancing at Jin Xiaoyue out of the corner of her eye. Seeing that she was breathing with some difficulty, she slowed her pace, keeping in sync with Jin Xiaoyue, and called out to her in a chant: "One, two, one; one, two, one; one, two, one..."

Meng Qiuhe and Pei Hanxing were tall and had long legs, and the pace of boys and girls was different. The two of them were the type to have an early burst of energy, so they bypassed Chu Deng and the other two and left first.

Tu Leqi and Zhang Mengmeng were complete novices. The two of them followed behind Jin Xiaoyue, jogging slowly to the rhythm of Chu Deng's slogans.

The four of them easily completed the first four laps at a steady pace. Chu Deng noticed that the three of them were breathing heavily, so he continued to adjust his chants and pace, slowing down the rhythm.

Since the instructors did not set a time limit, the first training session was mainly to assess the participants' abilities so that they could plan subsequent training sessions, and also to evaluate each person's potential.

"One, two, one, one, two, one..."

The four girls marched past some of the people who had started walking. Most of the top students usually focus their energy on studying, and even if they have a habit of exercising, the 3,000-meter run is still a challenge for most of them.

Gao Nannan, who was not physically fit, was already panting heavily by the fourth lap. Her lungs felt like they were about to explode, and she could feel the blood in her breath.

She had no choice but to stop and slow down, but then she heard Chu Deng shouting slogans, and her heavy feet unconsciously started moving in time with the clear "one, two, one".

By the time Gao Nannan recovered, she had already run two more laps behind Chu Deng's group of four, and felt that her strength had returned so she could continue running.

"Exhale through your nose, or if that doesn't work, exhale through your mouth in small sips, but don't inhale through your mouth," Chu Deng reminded her.

The group has now run ten laps, which is basically their usual limit, but fortunately, Chu Deng has been paying attention to their condition the whole time, and none of them have fallen behind.

Some people on the playground who had already given up started to walk slowly, mainly because they had run too fast and too intensely in the early stages, which exhausted their energy and left them with no strength to continue.

Some even collapsed on the playground, panting heavily, looking like they were overexhaling.

Huo Xuan observed the actions of all sixty people. He rushed to the person who was lying on the ground, panting, pulled him up, and used his wind-based ability to help him breathe. He then told the person to get up and walk slowly to recover.

The person lying on the ground was Tang Zhen, the sports committee member of Class 1. His face was flushed red, and the veins on his neck were bulging. He was having difficulty breathing, but after Huo Xuan arrived, he felt a sense of comfort in his chest and felt much more relaxed.

"Don't lie down immediately after running. You have to walk slowly until your breathing stabilizes before you can rest!" Huo Xuan shouted. "Don't you, the sports committee member, even know this?!"

Tang Zhen blushed deeply, but since he was already flushed from the heat, no one cared that he was being reprimanded by the instructor.

But every now and then, when the students passing by saw the instructor standing to the side, they all looked over. Tang Zhen felt annoyed at being laughed at. He lowered his head, gritted his teeth, and thought to himself, why did they have to embarrass him in front of everyone!

"Take a rest, and you can keep running once you've recovered." Huo Xuan saw that he was alright, so he didn't bother him anymore. He looked around the playground again and noticed a group of students following behind Chu Deng. He immediately laughed and ran over curiously.

Before he even got close, Huo Xuan heard Chu Deng shouting slogans. Looking at Chu Deng, everyone else was covered in sweat, their faces were as red as monkey bottoms, and they were panting like dogs. Only Chu Deng had a thin layer of sweat on his forehead, his breathing was steady, and his slogans were delivered without the slightest stumble.

Clearly, he wasn't the only one who noticed Chu Deng's ease. Meng Qiuhe was so shocked that his jaw dropped. "Brother, compared to Chu Deng, you're completely outmatched."

Pei Hanxing wiped the sweat from her eyes and couldn't help but exhale. "Let's follow behind."

They had run thirteen laps and were almost at their limit. Pei Hanxing, in particular, was usually busy with holographic games and didn't exercise much, so he had a harder time running than Meng Qiuhe, who loved playing basketball.

“Okay.” Meng Qiuhe’s legs were also sore. Although he played basketball, it didn’t mean he was good at long-distance running. Seeing that Chu Deng was experienced, he decisively hugged his leg.