[My Immortal Diary]

For these boys and girls, who had been training since the age of five or six, running wasn't particularly difficult. However, long-distance running was still a grueling test of endurance.

Su Hao estimated that one lap around the training field was about 1,500 meters (0,93 miles). Running twenty laps meant covering 30 kilometers (18,64 miles)—a challenge far beyond the capabilities of the average person.

By the time Su Hao completed his fifth lap, some students had already slowed down and were eliminated for falling behind.

When he reached his eighth lap, a portion of the students collapsed from exhaustion and were also eliminated.

By the time Su Hao hit the tenth lap, some students simply gave up, lying down on the ground, cursing, and subsequently being disqualified.

By the twelfth lap, about 80 students had been eliminated, including Su Hao's new roommate, Hua Wanli.

As time went on, the number of eliminations continued to rise.

At this point, Su Hao noticed that both Little Fatty and He Qingqing were struggling.

By the fifteenth lap, the group had stretched out into a long line. One by one, the students were gasping for breath, clearly reaching their limits. By now, over a hundred had been disqualified.

At the front of the pack was Jin Dayan.

His face was flushed, and he was panting heavily, but despite his appearance, he still had plenty of energy left. From his observations, apart from a few people whose limits he couldn't gauge, most of the students were nearing exhaustion. In his mind, securing first place was practically guaranteed.

"Hmm?" Jin Dayan suddenly noticed a familiar figure—it was the boy he'd encountered at the restaurant the other day. But surprisingly, the boy appeared relaxed, not even panting heavily. Could he be faking it?

Frowning, Jin Dayan watched him for a while but couldn't make out anything unusual. He calculated the distance between them: "He's more than half a lap behind me, and there are only five laps left. No matter what, he won't be able to catch up."

With that reassurance, Jin Dayan focused on his own running, confident in his victory.

....

After Su Hao finished his fifteenth lap, he realized something. Once a student had run more than fifteen laps, they wouldn't be eliminated even if they reached their limit and collapsed. The ones who were disqualified were those who gave up before reaching their limit.

Feeling more certain, Su Hao ran over to He Qingqing and said, "Qingqing, as long as you have even a little strength left, keep running. Trust me."

He then slowed down and repeated the same thing to Little Fatty.

By this point, Little Fatty didn't even have the strength to respond. He was running like a zombie, barely conscious of who he was, where he was, or what he was doing. All he knew was that he had to keep running. Otherwise, he'd never be able to hold his head up again, doomed to be a coward for the rest of his life.

Seeing this, Su Hao was slightly relieved. His greatest fear was that Little Fatty would give up out of exhaustion, which would make all his previous efforts go to waste.

Carefully observing the state of the other students, Su Hao couldn't help but nod in approval.

These students were indeed warriors who had been training since childhood. The strong ones were numerous, and those who were eliminated simply proved to be too weak.

There were still at least a hundred students maintaining a relatively steady pace. The ones at the front were particularly impressive, showing only slight signs of exertion—flushed faces and heavy breathing, but hardly any sweat.

When Su Hao reached the eighteenth lap, 118 students had been disqualified, but Jin Datong, the supervising teacher, still hadn't called an end to the race.

Suddenly, Little Fatty stumbled and fell, losing consciousness before he even hit the ground.

Su Hao reacted quickly, catching Little Fatty before he hit the ground and gently laying him down. Without wasting a second, he resumed running.

This action immediately caught Jin Datong's attention.

Jin Datong watched Su Hao closely, frowning in suspicion. "Where did this freak come from? Of the more than five hundred students here, all of them are panting like a oxen and sweating buckets. But this kid—he's not even sweating, let alone panting. Is he just pretending to run?"

After pondering for a moment, Jin Datong decided to test Su Hao's capabilities. He shouted, "Alright, everyone, let's make this interesting! Whoever finishes first will get a reward of ten gold crowns!"

Jin Datong glanced at Jin Dayan, who was running at the front, calculating the distance and smiling smugly.

'Ten gold crowns would be an attractive prize for everyone, but with only two laps remaining, no one could possibly catch up to his idiot brother. Once Jin Dayan secured first place, he could easily weasel out of the reward. Haha∼!'

Everyone heard his announcement loud and clear.

Behind him, eight teachers exchanged puzzled glances. They couldn't remember Jin Datong ever being this generous. In past years, the prize had only ever been one gold crown.

Upon hearing the reward, the students' eyes lit up, as if newfound energy surged through their bodies.

Those with energy left began to speed up, while those completely exhausted could only sigh in disappointment.

Right after Jin Datong made the announcement, He Qingqing collapsed, and Su Hao caught her, gently laying her on the ground. She was still conscious but too out of breath to speak.

Ten gold crowns—a sum equivalent to nearly 100,000 in purchasing power. It was a considerable amount of money.

And Su Hao needed money.

Without hesitation, Su Hao activated his full strength.

"Those ten gold crowns are mine. No one else stands a chance!"

Su Hao mobilized all the power within his body, and in an explosive burst of speed, he surged forward, running faster and faster. At near peak condition, he overtook one student after another.

Those he passed stared in shock, many of them forgetting to continue running, stopping in place as they watched Su Hao dash ahead.

'Who is this guy?'

This question echoed in everyone's mind.

At the front, Jin Dayan gritted his teeth and kept accelerating. He had heard his brother, Jin Datong, announce the reward as well, and for him, ten gold crowns was no small sum. It was enough to buy himself a flashy new set of armor.

Though he still had plenty of energy left, he was confident that the first place was his.

But just as he was brimming with confidence, a figure zoomed past him with a "whoosh∼," leaving him momentarily stunned.

"What the...?"

When he focused, he saw that it was a boy, younger than him, and the speed at which this boy was running left Jin Dayan in the dust.

His confidence shattered, Jin Dayan found it hard to believe.

"How is this possible?!"

His morale crumbled. Filled with frustration and disbelief, his pace slowed until he stopped altogether, watching Su Hao disappear into the distance.

Continuing to run made no sense anymore.

What followed was a bizarre scene on the training field: all the students stopped running, standing in place and watching Su Hao as he ran farther and farther ahead.

When Su Hao entered his final lap, he realized everyone had stopped running. As he passed by, they all moved aside to give him a clear path, resembling the scene of a school sports day race.

"What's going on?" Su Hao was momentarily confused, but he quickly brushed it off. There was only one lap left, and those ten gold crowns were as good as his.

In his previous life, Su Hao had never cared much for money, having more than he could ever spend. But now, in this new life, he was poor, and he couldn't afford to be indifferent about money. Until he earned enough, he'd maintain a high motivation to make as much as he could.

Keeping up his speed, Su Hao soon crossed the starting line, completing the twenty laps.

Then, without breaking a sweat or losing his breath, he jumped onto the platform and walked straight up to Jin Datong. Extending his hand, he said, "Teacher Jin, I finished first. I'll take those ten gold crowns now. Thanks."

Jin Datong's face twitched. He didn't even have any money on him. He turned to the eight teachers behind him for help, but they all slightly averted their gazes, pretending not to notice.

Awkwardly coughing, Jin Datong asked, "Uh... Good. What's your name?"

"Wu Xiangwu," Su Hao replied.

Jin Datong quickly composed himself and, with a stern and authoritative tone, said, "Well done, Wu Xiangwu. I'll remember you. You did a great job."

Su Hao extended his hand again. "Teacher Jin, where's my ten gold crowns?"

Jin Datong's face nearly contorted in frustration. This brat had the nerve to ask for the reward twice, and his skin was even thicker than Jin Datong's own!

When he had announced the prize, it was with the expectation that his brother, Jin Dayan, would win. That way, he wouldn't have to actually pay up.

Who would've thought that this freak would come out of nowhere and leave everyone in awe? Now, it seemed he had no choice but to part with the ten gold crowns.

Jin Datong cursed his idiot brother in his heart.

Taking a deep breath, Jin Datong said, "Don't worry, Wu Xiangwu. I won't cheat you out of your ten gold crowns. Tomorrow, right here, I'll present them to you in front of everyone. I keep my word!"

Su Hao frowned. When it came to money, delays were always risky. There was a high chance of encountering various "complications" the longer things dragged on. If Jin Datong decided to hide tomorrow, where would Su Hao even find him?

So, under the watchful eyes of everyone present, Su Hao pulled out a piece of paper and a pen from his pocket and began writing on the ground.

Curious, Jin Datong asked, "Wu Xiangwu, what are you writing?"

"An IOU," Su Hao replied.

(TL: Expression for promissory note, I owe you (IOU))

Jin Datong's face turned green. Him, the great Jin Datong, a respected teacher—since when had he ever been treated like this?

Behind him, the eight teachers could no longer hold back their laughter, bursting out in amusement.