17: Chapter 17 Heart Rate 120, This is the Rhythm of a Martial Saint

Chapter 17: Heart Rate 120, This is the Rhythm of a Martial Saint

Within two minutes of the gunshot, the situation on the playground became clear-cut.

The Awakeners in the first echelon were like racing cars with cheats enabled; the light effects of various acceleration skills painted the track in a kaleidoscope of colors.

Wind rose beneath Li Shaobai's feet as he covered massive distances with every step, leading by a wide margin.

Wang Gang relied on the violent propulsion of his mechanical exoskeleton to bite hard at the second position, the sound of metal joints grinding together sounding particularly harsh.

At the very back of the pack, Lin Qi carried that bloated tactical backpack, running like an old lady who had just learned how to walk.

The first ten laps ended.

Lin Qi had already been lapped twice by the main group.

In the stands, students from the ordinary classes were pointing and gossiping.

"This is the tail-ender of the Special Training Class? Just watching him makes me feel tired."

"He's just a blank slate after all. To be able to run while carrying fifty kilograms is already decent; don't set your expectations too high."

"That Wang Gang is too fierce. The power of that exoskeleton is simply ridiculous; he'll probably take first place this time."

The Dean sat on the rostrum, holding a teacup, and shook his head.

"Instructor Su, this student of yours probably won't even touch the passing line. When it comes to physical fitness, it's just fate."

Instructor Su Qing didn't respond.

She simply crossed her arms, her gaze fixed intently through her sunglasses on the figure trailing at the very end.

"It's not time yet."

She replied coldly.

The Dean sneered and looked down to sip his tea.

The fifteenth lap.

The originally noisy track began to grow quiet.

Those students who had been frantically spamming skills at the beginning now had pale faces and unsteady steps.

Mana points were not infinite.

Skill cooldowns and the depletion of Mental Energy caused their speeds to plummet off a cliff.

Those few agility-type students who had been charging ahead now felt as if their legs were filled with lead, gasping three times for every step they lifted.

Wang Gang wasn't having an easy time either.

His forehead was covered in cold sweat, and that silver-white power exoskeleton no longer emitted a smooth hum, but instead began to make mechanical noise.

The indicator light had turned from green to yellow, flashing with increasing frequency.

"Damn it, why is this batch of batteries so short-lived?"

Wang Gang gritted his teeth and was forced to turn down the power output.

Without the power assistance, the heavy metal frame became a burden instead, pressing down until his knees ached.

Just as the speed of the entire field generally slowed down.

An extremely steady sound of footsteps, like a tireless metronome, echoed on the track.

Da, da, da.

Lin Qi was still at that same speed.

Not fast, but definitely not slow either.

His back was held straight, and his breathing rhythm hadn't changed at all.

Inhale every three steps, sinking the Qi into the Dantian.

Exhale every three steps, expelling all turbid air.

This was the most basic Breathing Technique from the "Ten Thousand Li Lone Traveler" movement technique.

To others, it looked like he was running, but in reality, he was using the running motion to "recover Qi."

With every step that landed, the reaction force of his soles gripping the ground was transmitted through specific muscle groups to his entire body, propelling him forward.

This running method had extremely low consumption.

The twentieth lap.

Lin Qi passed by a girl wearing mage robes.

This girl was a famous fire-system Genius from the Third Middle School; she had charged the hardest earlier and was now clutching her knees and dry-heaving.

A figure glided past her at a constant speed.

The resulting gust of wind blew her bangs.

The girl looked up, her eyes vacant.

"Was that... Lin Qi?"

Before she could react, Lin Qi had already run more than ten meters away.

It wasn't just her.

More and more students discovered that the "blank slate" who had been left two laps behind was now overtaking people like a ghost.

One, two, three.

Without any fancy movements, it was just pure running.

But that calm and unhurried posture caused a surge of panic in everyone who was overtaken.

Inside the monitoring room.

The teacher responsible for recording data suddenly stood up, his chair making a piercing screech against the floor.

"The equipment has malfunctioned!"

He pointed at a data line on the screen.

"Instructor Su, look at Lin Qi's heart rate chart!"

Instructor Su Qing leaned in.

On the screen, the heart rate curves of most students were fluctuating violently, some even soaring to the dangerous red line of 180.

There was only one green line.

It was as straight as if it had been drawn with a ruler.

[Heart Rate: 120 beats/min]

From the start until now in the twentieth lap, this line had almost no fluctuations.

"This is impossible!"

The recording teacher had an expression like he'd seen a ghost. "Running ten kilometers with a fifty-kilogram load, how can the heart rate be so stable? Even professional athletes would soar above 150!"

"Unless..."

Instructor Su Qing narrowed her eyes, looking at that steady value on the screen.

"Unless his physical fitness far exceeds this load level. He's exercising in the aerobic zone; for him, this is just a warm-up."

Instructor Su Qing's words left the recording teacher stunned.

Warm-up?

Running twenty kilometers with fifty kilograms is called a warm-up?

What kind of monster is this?

The twenty-fifth lap.

The situation on the track was in total chaos.

Only three people remained in the original first echelon.

Li Shaobai, Wang Gang, and one from the beastification-system.

Meanwhile, most of the people in the second echelon could only watch helplessly as that figure in the school uniform forcibly cut in from the outside lane.

Overtaking.

Overtaking again.

Lin Qi ran up beside the Rock Guard named Zhao Tie.

Zhao Tie was huffing and puffing; seeing Lin Qi come up, his eyes widened into circles.

"Qi... Brother Qi? You're too good at enduring, aren't you?"

Lin Qi didn't speak, only nodding to him, his pace rhythm unchanged as he directly overtook him.

Zhao Tie wanted to speed up to keep pace, but the moment he accelerated, his thigh muscles cramped, and he nearly tumbled over.

This was the gap.

It wasn't a gap in explosive power, but a world of difference in the control over one's body.

There was no longer anyone mocking in the stands.

Those students who were just making snide remarks were now all open-mouthed and silent.

This scene was too bizarre.

A group of well-equipped, noble-classed Awakeners were being overtaken one by one like herded sheep by a blank slate wearing canvas shoes.

Li Shaobai was running at the very front.

His mana was already hitting bottom, and the light of the wind-system magic circle beneath his feet was dim and flickering.

He heard the movement behind him.

That specific sound of breathing.

Long and deep, like the breath of some large predator before a hunt.

Li Shaobai glanced back.

This one look made his scalp tingle.

Lin Qi was less than fifty meters behind him.

And the distance was still closing.

"This lunatic..."

Li Shaobai gnashed his teeth, pulled a Mana Recovery Potion from his pocket, gulped it down, and forcibly pushed the magic circle to accelerate.

He would never allow himself to lose to a piece of trash.

Lin Qi saw Li Shaobai's actions.

He smiled.

The smile was faint, but it appeared exceptionally piercing under the sunlight.

The blood and Qi in his body had gone through twenty laps of preheating and were only just now starting to boil.

The tough tendons brought by Skin Refining Major Achievement were craving a higher intensity load.

Lin Qi adjusted his breathing frequency.

From one breath every three steps to one breath every two steps.

This wasn't because he was tired.

This was to crank up the engine's RPM.

His stride suddenly lengthened, and his whole person was like a fully drawn longbow, brimming with explosive beauty.

Speed increased by thirty percent.

In just half a lap, he caught up to Wang Gang ahead.

Wang Gang was in a pathetic state right now.

The power exoskeleton's indicator light had turned a piercing red, and alarms were ringing incessantly in his ears.

The mechanical legs that originally provided assistance were now dozens of kilograms of scrap metal, dragging him down so that every step required his full strength.

Lin Qi ran to a position side-by-side with him.

He didn't directly overtake him, but instead maintained the same speed for two steps.

Wang Gang turned his head, his face flushed red and sweat blurring his eyes.

He saw Lin Qi's face, which was excessively dry and clean.

"Your exoskeleton seems to have run out of power."

Lin Qi's voice was steady; even his breathing was very light.

Wang Gang was stunned and was about to curse.

"The indicator light is red. Forcing the drive shaft to operate at this time can easily burn out your knee meniscus."

Lin Qi pointed at Wang Gang's knee joints. "Listen to the sound; the gears inside have already started to slip. If you keep running, you'll be needing prosthetic limbs."

These words were like a curse.

The tightly wound string in Wang Gang's heart snapped.

Fear overwhelmed his desire to win.

He instinctively slowed his pace, wanting to check the equipment.

With this slowing, the breath he had been holding escaped.

The heavy exoskeleton instantly crushed him; his legs went soft, and he stumbled, falling onto the grass beside the track.

Lin Qi didn't give him another look.

He exerted power with his feet, and his speed increased once again.