Chapter 215: with translation of chapter title

On the eve of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Miss Meng Yao of the Zhen Guo Gong Fu went missing.

The news caused a huge uproar.

As a lady of the Zhen Guo Gong Fu who was pregnant, her disappearance at this moment is most likely a misfortune.

The entire Zhen Guo Gong Fu fell into chaos; Grand General of the Cavalry Meng mobilized every possible force, sparing no cost to find Meng Yao.

"The miss from Zhen Guo Gong Fu just returned for a family visit and vanished; she's probably facing a life‑or‑death situation,"

"I heard that miss married into Yuncheng? Supposedly she was childless for years after the marriage, finally got pregnant, and now she's missing…"

"Rumor has it the Zhen Guo Gong Fu is in total disarray; even the lord of Yuncheng has mobilized Yuncheng's forces to search for Miss Meng,"

……

In the teahouse, Ye Huanhuan listened to the surrounding chatter, her lips barely twitching.

At this moment, at a manor in the East Suburb, the Jiuzhou Second Corps training ground.

A long formation was running drills, led by Qin Feng and Ji Feng.

"Too tired, still thirty laps left; it's impossible to finish!"

"Exactly, I feel I've hit my limit! Keep going and I might die on the spot!"

"Who ordered us to run fifty laps? That's inhumane!"

……

Many muttered complaints while running.

Ye Qingran sat at the edge of the training field, watching the long line of soldiers, and frowned, "Too slow—did none of you eat breakfast?"

By now, the newly formed unit had already run nearly twenty laps around the field; each soldier was getting weary, and Ye Qingran's remark stirred a bit of irritation in them.

"Are you strolling or training? Huh?"

……

The faces of the crowd grew increasingly grim.

Especially when they saw Ye Qingran perched up there, elegant and pristine, starkly contrasting with their own disheveled, sweaty state, their resentment deepened.

Finally, someone couldn't hold back and complained, "It's one thing you only came back once, but here you whine and give useless orders—if you think you're good, try it yourself!"

The speaker was Ji Feng.

Hearing that, Zhuang Xian and Han Xing Leng Yue, who had arrived together, both wore odd expressions.

It is recalled that the current top figure of the Jiuzhou Corps, the fearsome Dragon Fang friend who once terrified enemies, said the same thing when he first arrived.

But later? He was thoroughly beaten by their miss, bowing in complete admiration of her.

Ye Qingran gave a cold smile, her tone mocking, "Is this the weak's resistance?"

The weak?

"We are certainly not the weak!" Ji Feng snarled, raising his neck.

He would never admit he is weak!

"Right, we are not weak!" Inspired by Ji Feng, the others shouted hysterically at Ye Qingran.

The more a person is battered by life, the less willing they are to surrender easily. This is vividly displayed in these people.

But Ye Qingran insisted on making them see life's true nature!

Only by knowing that life's essence is cruel can one go farther and become stronger, right?

"In my eyes, you now are the weak, worse than rats in a filthy gutter!"

Comparing them to rats in a filthy gutter?

That's simply excessive!

Ji Feng grew angry, "What right do you have to speak of us? Though our strength is modest, even the worst of us possess a mid‑grade Spiritual Root; you, however, have none!"

Ye Qingran nodded, acknowledging Ji Feng's words, yet remained unruffled.

That is a fact.

"And then? I'm a useless person without a Spiritual Root; you can't surpass me—so are you even more worthless?"

"Bold words! If you have the skill, come run fifty laps and test it!"

"Is that so? Fifty laps aren't enough? How about this: you still have thirty laps left, right? If I don't finish a hundred laps before you finish those thirty, consider me defeated—how about that?"

What?

With those words, not only were the fresh recruits of the Jiuzhou Corps shocked, but even Ling Shaoyang and Xia Zhimeng, who had come to observe, were stunned.

"Sister Qingran, that's a bit of an over‑the‑top joke, isn't it?" Xia Zhimeng waved her hand, somewhat disapproving. She had just observed that running fifty laps around the field was already her limit; yet Qingran intended to run a hundred, aiming to finish before they could complete the remaining thirty!

It's fundamentally an impossible task!

Ling Shaoyang assessed his condition and said honestly, "I can finish a hundred laps, but I can't finish them that quickly."

"Tch, keep bragging! You can't even finish fifty laps, yet you claim you'll run a hundred?!"

"Exactly! I think she can't even manage twenty laps!"

"Just bragging, I can do that too!"

……

Shocked, these recruits clearly looked down on Ye Qingran, deeming her a braggart, and sneered at her one by one.

Ye Qingran smiled, ignored them, stood up, removed her cloak, revealing a black combat outfit underneath.

She was clearly prepared.

"If I don't complete it today, I will never interject a word in your training again. But… if I do manage it, then whenever I hear a complaint, I'll add another fifty laps!"

She strode onto the track, tying her long black hair into a neat ponytail, performed a few joint‑warming motions, and then started running.

Her speed wasn't blazing, but it wasn't slow either—at least she was considerably faster than those recruits.

Her movements were professional, her breathing synchronized with her stride.

Looking at the track, that figure speeding like a bolt of lightning, Xia Zhimeng was practically intoxicated, "Just say run and run, my sis Ran is too cool!"

Zhuang Xian and the others glanced at her, thinking, "Is that all? You haven't seen anything cooler yet!"

Qin Feng watched Ye Qingran's figure for a while, his eyes growing more determined. He said nothing from start to finish, focusing on his own pace. Now, influenced by her, his steps unconsciously quickened a bit.

Ji Feng frowned, after a moment he snorted coldly, "Starting off that fast, let's see how she holds up later!"

The other recruits weren't optimistic about Ye Qingran. A lady with no Spiritual Root, raised in luxury—how could she possibly run a hundred laps at such high speed?

That's just idle talk.

What they don't know is that the 'pampered' lady they speak of has already changed at her core; inside resides someone who has endured countless hardships, shed immeasurable blood and sweat, and ultimately become a supreme overlord of an era!

Ye Qingran hasn't run like this in a long time.

In this crisp autumn day, running around the training field, she dazedly felt as if she had returned to the past, to those days of sweating it out.

Her heart was calm as water.

Her steps flew like the wind, a rhythm etched into her bones.

Ten laps…

Twenty laps…

Thirty laps…

……

Apart from sweating and breathing a bit heavier than before, her speed remained unchanged, as if precise to the millisecond.

When Ye Qingran finished fifty laps without stopping, the recruits who had initially doubted her finally couldn't stay calm.

"She actually ran fifty laps!"

"Her speed is exactly the same as at the start, as if it hasn't changed at all!"

"Is this something a person can actually do?"

……

At first, they even thought completing fifty laps was impossible. But Ye Qingran did it. She proved with her actions that fifty laps isn't an insurmountable obstacle.

Qin Feng's eyes flickered, his resolve growing firmer.

He grew more confident in his choice.

As long as he perseveres on this path, he will surely achieve his wish!

Ji Feng's face was full of solemnity. He pressed his lips tightly, no longer holding any grudge; the anger initially sparked by Ye Qingran had completely vanished.

When they still had ten laps to go to reach fifty, Ye Qingran had already run sixty. Yet their strength waned, their steps grew chaotic, their speed dropped repeatedly, and some even started to stutter-step.

Only that person remained, eyes forward, mind undistracted, using ultimate steadiness to oppose the fatigue and pain brought on by prolonged high-intensity exercise.