Li Fengyuan returned to the class where all the eyes of the students were on him.
Obviously, all were curious to know what the Head Alchemist wanted with someone like him who was obviously a troublemaker without any talent.
Li Fengyuan walked towards his seat without much care.
Elder Meng was also curious about what the Head Alchemist wanted from Li Fengyuan; however, he couldn't just ask as a teacher.
He must maintain his dignity.
He continued his teaching despite most of the students' attention being elsewhere.
"Hey, Fengyuan, what did the Head Alchemist want from you?"
Zhao Dazhu whispered.
Jia Hao also bent closer to Li Fengyuan, wanting to hear the answer.
"Nothing much. Just wanted to ask about the pills that I refined yesterday."
Li Fengyuan replied honestly.
"Just that?"
Zhao Dazhu asked confusedly.
Well, someone like him who didn't know much about refining pills apart from eating wouldn't understand what a big deal it was.
While he knew that Li Fengyuan's pill was incredible, he didn't think that it would be to the point that the Head Alchemist would barge into class and desire to meet Li Fengyuan.
"What else could there be?"
***
As usual, the class ended after theory was taught and students were free to go.
However, today in particular, students seemed rather excited.
Well, tomorrow and the next day were the weekend, which meant they could do whatever they wanted.
Many spent their days either cultivating or practising, while sometimes also going on leisure walks with their friends.
Li Fengyuan planned to cultivate for today, then take Zhao Dazhu and Jia Hao to train their bodies for the weekend.
After all, while cultivation itself was important, the body too needed to be refined.
Well, Zhao Dazhu's body would become stronger the more he cultivated, but it would be more efficient if he trained his body too.
Moreover, just cultivating wasn't enough. One should also know how to utilise their strength; otherwise, one could end up wasting that power.
Li Fengyuan told his plan for the weekend, and the two of them had no objection.
They cultivated for the rest of the day using the pills, their cultivation soaring even further.
***
The Next Day!
The three of them gathered at the Training Ground of Heavenly Path Academy.
"Fengyuan, what is the plan? Should I run around the ground?"
Zhao Dazhu asked excitedly.
"Anyways, I have been feeling restless and feel my body has become stronger and wanted to test it. Let's race and check who is the fastest!"
Zhao Dazhu suggested enthusiastically.
Jia Hao also seemed to be on it and wanted to see just how strong he had become since the breakthrough to Two-Star Disciple.
"Not so fast!"
Li Fengyuan stopped them before the two of them stormed off.
He handed the two of them a set of weights to be attached to their arms or legs.
"Heh! Li Fengyuan, I didn't know you were so old-fashioned."
Zhao Dazhu teased.
"But such small weights are going to make no difference."
Zhao Dazhu said as he took the weights.
Thud!
However, when he took the weight, the unexpected heaviness made Zhao Dazhu drop the weight on the ground, which made a thundering sound.
"Eeh! What are they made of?"
Zhao Dazhu was now scared off, and he was also relieved that the weight didn't fall on his legs, otherwise…
"Fengyuan, how can such small weights be so heavy?"
Jia Hao asked as he took them and found just how heavy the apparently small wrist band and leg band were.
By appearance, it would be 3 kg at most, but when actually holding it, it was more like 10 times the weight of its appearance.
"They are 30 kg each! So, in total you must run with 120 kg on your body."
Li Fengyuan answered.
As for the answer to why those small things weighed so much, it was because he added a little something.
A small formation which increased the weight of any object by 10 times. It wasn't a very useful formation or a complicated one, not to mention it dispersed the moment Qi touched it.
So, it couldn't be used for many things but was perfect for this exercise.
"Wear them! And don't use your Qi at all."
Li Fengyuan commanded.
Zhao Dazhu scratched his head in confusion, about not using Qi and also about how such a small weight weighs so much, but he still did as he was told.
After strapping the weights onto his arms and legs, he finally understood just how terrifying they were.
Despite the recent increase in his strength, the moment he stood up, his legs trembled slightly, and his body sank as if an invisible mountain had been placed on his shoulders.
"So heavy…" Zhao Dazhu muttered under his breath.
Jia Hao didn't fare much better, rather he was much worse off than Zhao Dazhu.
His face stiffened as he adjusted his breathing, while Li Fengyuan remained calm though he was struggling the most among the three of them.
"Start slow," Li Fengyuan said calmly. "Just run slowly!"
The three of them began moving, their steps heavy and sluggish.
Forget running—calling it walking would have been generous.
They moved around the training ground at what could only be described as a turtle's pace.
Nearby students soon noticed the strange scene.
"Hey, look at those idiots! Are they pretending to be turtles?"
"Haha! What kind of training is that? Running so slowly—are they scared of sweating?"
Laughter rang out openly, and mocking voices followed them wherever they went.
Zhao Dazhu clenched his fists, his face flushing with anger.
"Damn it! These guys—"
He was about to shout back when Jia Hao grabbed his arm and shook his head. At the same time, Li Fengyuan spoke in a calm, steady voice.
"There's no need to pay attention to them."
Zhao Dazhu turned toward him, still fuming.
"Focus on your training," Li Fengyuan continued. "Their words don't matter. In two months, they'll find out for themselves how strong you've become."
Hearing that, Zhao Dazhu took a deep breath and slowly calmed down.
In two months, there will be an examination which will determine which class you will enter.
Zhao Dazhu nodded, gritted his teeth, and forced his legs to move forward again.
Each step felt like agony. Sweat quickly soaked his clothes, and his breathing grew heavy, but he didn't stop.
The three of them continued running—slowly, painfully—while the laughter of others faded into the background.