Chapter 113

Song Hailong, after surpassing Hu Yuntao, was now in second place on the track.

But there was no trace of joy on his face; he only stared intently at Yu Xinghan in the distance.

"That man..."

For Song Hailong, the only opponent in this race was Yu Xinghan.

At this moment, Song Hailong's entire body muscles contracted, making him look thinner, exuding a streamlined aesthetic.

This was his temporary transformation into a speed form, relying on his strong control over his imitation demonic flesh.

Because of its strong plasticity, imitation demonic flesh allowed students, after receiving the modification, to gradually retract the beast features on their bodies as their physical control increased.

For a top student like Song Hailong, who had originally undergone elephant muscle implantation modification, adapting to imitation demonic flesh was not difficult; he could even temporarily change his body's form to enhance speed as his physical control improved.

Although the speed thus gained was only explosive and lacked controllability, making it unusable in the previous stage, it was just right for the speed competition in this stage.

Every muscle fiber, after extreme contraction, burst forth like springs made of steel bars, erupting with surging kinetic energy.

Blood flow, with each violent heartbeat, was pumped into every muscle throughout the body, continuously transporting surging energy and dispersing various medicinal powers into the limbs and bones.

"But it's still not enough."

"To defeat Yu Xinghan, this is still not enough."

Song Hailong recalled his failures over the past period—falling before Yu Xinghan time and again, losing to this man in every aspect: Dao heart, magical power, sports, martial arts, Dao techniques...

He recalled being humiliated by this man again and again in front of the entire school's teachers and students.

He recalled the humiliation of kneeling, his father's disappointment, his elder brother's criticism...

But he knew that at this moment, he could only endure.

"To defeat Yu Xinghan, I can only chase after him bit by bit."

"Delusionally trying to soar to the sky and defeat him in an instant would be disrespectful to his talent and also to the wealth of the Golden Core True Man."

"I will remember the failure of this race in my heart."

"In the future, I will definitely defeat you."

For Song Hailong, taking second place in this race was already a failure, a humiliation sufficient for him to remember deeply.

But a moment later, Song Hailong, who had been in second place, suddenly shifted his gaze.

In the periphery of his vision, a sudden whooshing sound of air being cut rang out, and he saw two figures, one left and one right, rush out from behind him.

Zhang Yu thought to himself, "Thanks, Old Song. Hiding behind you helped us block a lot of wind resistance."

"For the remaining distance, I'm going to sprint at full speed."

Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, who had been staying slightly behind Song Hailong to conserve stamina, suddenly exerted force at this moment.

Watching Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen overtake him, charging forward like lightning, Song Hailong was slightly startled.

"These two have physical strength clearly inferior to mine, yet they can burst out with this speed? And they surpassed... me?"

Song Hailong wanted to chase, but suddenly realized he couldn't catch up.

"Have I become slower?"

"No, they are accelerating! These two guys can actually go even faster?"

Song Hailong stared intently at Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, who were close ahead, watching the constantly rising, contracting, and swelling muscles on their bodies.

"Has this Bai Zhenzhen been practicing a body-tempering technique focused on speed?"

Watching their high-frequency body movements and extremely coordinated muscular rhythm, Song Hailong sensed an incredible lightness from them.

He had to admit that he could probably surpass them in strength, but in speed, he was behind.

As for Zhang Yu...

Under the tight-fitting sportswear, Song Hailong's eyes could clearly see the outline of Zhang Yu's muscles, seeing how the flesh from top to bottom seemed to be integrated into one whole, emitting a dazzling brilliance like a perfect work of art with every movement and every burst.

This was something only someone with a level of physical control and physical strength like Song Hailong could see the stunning radiance, allowing him to feel the precision and fluidity of that body.

"Zhang Yu... he has perfectly utilized every ounce of strength in his entire body..."

Zhang Yu's physical strength might not be as great as his own, Song Hailong's, but his control over his body, his mastery over every sinew and muscle, and the explosive speed he unleashed in that moment—all of it seemed dazzling to Song Hailong.

It was like how everyone has electromagnetic force inside their body, but not everyone can fire an electromagnetic cannon.

And in that instant, as Song Hailong looked at the Zhang Yu before him, whose physical strength was still slightly inferior to his own, he felt nothing but a kind of power, a familiar sense of power.

"It's... Yu Xinghan!"

"Could Zhang Yu's ability to recruit strength from every muscle in his body... have already reached the same level as Yu Xinghan?"

Watching Zhang Yu pull farther and farther away, Song Hailong desperately pumped his legs, but he could not catch up by even a hair's breadth.

This feeling was exactly the same as every time he tried to catch up to Yu Xinghan.

Without realizing it, the figure of Zhang Yu before him seemed to overlap with Yu Xinghan's back.

No... it wasn't just overlapping!

"Damn it... this kid Zhang Yu is about to catch up to Yu Xinghan!"

Under Song Hailong's astonished gaze, after Zhang Yu passed him, he quickly left Bai Zhenzhen behind as well, and under an unceasing acceleration! Acceleration! Even more acceleration! he actually began to approach Yu Xinghan.

His steps grew lighter and lighter, each instant spanning tens of meters, as if he were about to soar into the sky and pluck the stars above, and that sparkling star he was gradually closing in on was none other than Yu Xinghan.

Song Hailong's heart shuddered: "He wants to challenge Yu Xinghan?"

Challenge Yu Xinghan? Challenge the absolute number one who, in terms of overall physical attributes, towered over every other competitor present?

Meanwhile, on the other side, the third eye at Yu Xinghan's brow saw the figure gradually catching up with perfect clarity.

Yu Xinghan laughed: "Oh? You really followed, huh?"

Right at this moment, when everyone was sprinting at full speed and unleashing all the power in their bodies—

Yu Xinghan suddenly twisted his head around and looked at the approaching Zhang Yu.

He even opened his mouth to speak, sighing: "I know you."

"You're the guy I eliminated, aren't you?"

"If it weren't for me, it seems you would have been accepted as a disciple by the master." "So... do you hate me a lot?"

Hearing that powerful voice mixed in with the howling wind, Zhang Yu did not answer.

He had no intention of wasting energy on conversation; at this moment, his eyes held only victory.

Whether the opponent was Song Hailong or Yu Xinghan, to him they were just opponents he had to defeat.

"Beat them, win this competition."

"Get into the Top Ten."

"Climb up to Kunxu's second level with A'zhen!"

At this moment, Zhang Yu simply kept unleashing the power of his physical body, just like the running he had done day after day in the past. Though he could not circulate spiritual power now, he could still freely vent the strength of his flesh and blood.

And as if sensing the determination in Zhang Yu's gaze, Yu Xinghan smiled slightly: "Not a bad state. As expected of a fellow who, like me, has mastered the Divine Martial Heart-Forge Art."

"In that case... let's play a little."

Under everyone's astonished gaze, Yu Xinghan actually slowed his own speed. In contrast to the relentlessly chasing Zhang Yu, it was as if he had instantly moved backward, dropping back to run level with Zhang Yu.

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Then, as Yu Xinghan and Zhang Yu raced side by side, kicking up a gust of wind, his right hand slowly extended three fingers.

3!

Then two fingers.

2!

Zhang Yu's breath sank, and he grit his teeth inwardly: "A countdown? This guy..."

Zhang Yu instantly understood: Yu Xinghan wanted to drop back to the same position as him and then compare again.

The next moment, the fingers Yu Xinghan had extended became one.

1!

Zhang Yu let out a furious roar in his heart.

If he had been sprinting at full power just moments ago, then at this instant, every sinew and every surge of blood and Qi within Zhang Yu's body erupted beyond their limits under his exquisite control.

Although he couldn't channel magical power right now, each of the Level 10 techniques—Running Vehicle Legs, Elevator Jump, Thirty-Six Forms of Body Fortification, Primordial Marrow Chaotic Qi—and every experience of his body racing at full speed was being pushed to its utmost by Zhang Yu in this moment.

Every muscle and piece of flesh across his entire body seemed to become an extension of his will, charging forward madly under the command of his intent.

For the competition team of Songyang High School, unlocking the body's self-restriction required surgery, but for Zhang Yu at this moment, it was something he could directly break through by relying on his powerful control over his physical body.

Under this overloaded eruption, his sinews began to tremble, his internal organs seemed to groan, and his entire body burst forth with speed that surpassed all limits.

But he no longer had the energy to focus on that; his eyes were fixed solely on Yu Xinghan, who was being tightly pursued by his side.

"I can..."

"I can defeat him."

"My control over my body is stronger than his; I'm better at accelerating, better at surpassing limits than he is."

"Even if my physical strength is slightly lower, I can still be faster than him!"

Under the shocked gazes of countless people on the scene,

Zhang Yu and Yu Xinghan kept accelerating, as if starting a fresh sprint in the middle of a race.

Their figures were like two streaks of light, instantly leaving everyone behind as they shot along the track.

Neck and neck!

"So fast!" Qian Shen murmured. "Can a first-year high school student really be this fast?"

In the rest area of Songyang High School, He Dayou, Qian Shen, Zhao Tianxing, and others all stared in shock at this scene, watching Zhang Yu run neck and neck with the strongest contestant, Yu Xinghan, like two lightning bolts weaving along the track.

"With a physical strength level of 4.95, matching Yu Xinghan at 5.07..." Wang Hai stared excitedly at Zhang Yu moving at high speed on the big screen, his heart trembling as he thought: "Does that mean Zhang Yu's excavation of physical strength is... above Yu Xinghan's?"

But he quickly suppressed this incredible thought.

"No, impossible. It must be some kind of stimulant drug that unleashes potential."

"But to make Zhang Yu catch up to Yu Xinghan's speed, the side effects of that drug must be enormous."

Wang Hai looked worriedly at Zhang Yu on the big screen: "Can he hold on?"

In the audience stands.

Anchor Gang Shan exclaimed in amazement: "This student from Songyang High School can actually keep up with Yu Xinghan's speed? These two are stronger than most second-year high school students, right?"

Le Jingchen was also extremely surprised by this sight, thinking to himself: "What exactly did Songyang High School do?"

He nodded: "He must have taken some kind of strong drug to catch up with Yu Xinghan's speed in such a short time. It goes to show that with new technology and drugs, it's not impossible for ordinary people to challenge Golden Core disciples."

As he spoke, he had Gang Shan turn the camera toward Le Mulan.

"After warming up for so long, the drug's effect should have fully taken hold. Mulan is about to make her move, right?"

On the track, Le Mulan, who had been in fifth place all along, suddenly accelerated. First, she passed Song Hailong in one breath, then kept closing in on Bai Zhenzhen.

At this moment, her cheeks were flushed, her breathing heavy, streams of heat rising from her flesh, and the purple vertical pupil mark on her forehead grew more vivid.

Le Mulan's mind flashed back to what her coach had just said.

"This is the latest banned drug from the Purple Cloud Lab. One dose costs a hundred thousand, and its potency can burn out the internal organs of an ordinary high school student."

"But you, having undergone the super-metabolic surgery, can fully withstand it."

"Because after the drug's effect wears off, your muscles and flesh will fall into extreme fatigue, so you can only take it before this round begins."

"And after taking it, you need to run to warm up, waiting for the drug's effect to manifest."

"Then the only thing you need to do is... run."

"Before the drug's effect ends, use all your strength to finish the remaining distance."

(There was a mistake in previous chapters; the start of first year should be eight and a half months ago. I accidentally wrote seven and a half months. The relevant parts have been corrected. I'm clarifying here again.)