Chapter 64

That AAA-grade energy essence concentration field is located hundreds of miles away. This trip is not as comfortable as the previous Glory Pre-school Training Camp, where the wind element dominator escorted them all the way. The academy also treated this as an endurance test, so the students had to walk to their destination.

Due to the long distance, everyone set off early in the morning. They first gathered on a piece of open ground between the two academies. Then, a representative from the federation gave a speech: "This hiking trip is not organized by academy or class. If you believe your endurance is strong enough, you can leave the group and compete with others. Also, the first fifty students to reach the site will receive a scholarship."

Scholarship?

When Luo Feng heard these three words, his eyes lit up.

Now, although he has Lucia's help, enjoying the benefits of spirit medicine, a private energy tower, and training equipment, which are usually only available to the wealthy, Luo Feng is determined to earn his own living expenses. Therefore, he is very sensitive to money and always strives for scholarships. Hearing that he could earn money through a speed competition, he immediately became excited.

When the team started to move, Luo Feng said to his roommate beside him: "Aaron, I want to get that money, so..."

Before he could finish, Aaron interrupted him irritably: "So you want to leave me behind and go first, right? Hey, Luo Feng, don't be so arrogant, always underestimating me. It's like you think I can't keep up with you. Listen, I also want to get that scholarship. Now we are competitors. We'll see who gets there first!"

With that, he sped up, taking strides of over two meters, and immediately left Luo Feng behind.

Oh, it seems I've upset Aaron again. My roommate is really competitive.

However, Luo Feng was worried about Aaron. This is a long-distance race, and being faster at the start doesn't guarantee an early arrival. If you expend too much energy at the beginning, you might end up achieving the opposite effect.

Luo Feng was very confident in his endurance. His stamina is one of his strongest points, but he didn't think Aaron had the same endurance.

However, he knew Aaron's personality well and knew that he wouldn't listen to advice, so he could only follow.

Soon, the teams from the two academies split into several distinct groups. The last group was mainly composed of the first-year, eighth class of Starlight Academy. Although the eighth class wanted to do well, they were a basic class, and their strength was limited. The key to long-distance running is to maintain steady breathing while moving at maximum speed. If you start off panting, it's not a good sign. So, most of the eighth class had a clear understanding of their limitations.

The next group was the regular classes of Starlight Academy, whose level was slightly better than the basic class, so they moved faster, but the distance between them and the others was not significantly different.

Then came the advanced classes of Starlight Academy, mixed with a large number of regular class students from Holy Virtue Academy, forming the middle layer of the overall team.

The first group was the few outstanding students from Starlight Academy, such as Gorin, and the advanced class students from Holy Virtue Academy. They were the best students.

However, two outliers soon appeared: Luo Feng and Aaron, who immediately caught the attention of the Holy Virtue Academy students.

"Who are those two? Aren't they from Starlight?"

"Look at their badges, wow, they're from the basic class!"

"Such presumptuous guys, wanting to show off isn't done this way!"

"..."

Most of the comments were unfriendly and mocking, but not everyone had the same disdain for Luo Feng and Aaron.

The first person to see Luo Feng and not be surprised was not his friend, but his rival!

Sometimes, rivals know a person's true capabilities better than friends. Gorin, who had been defeated by Luo Feng in the academy exchange competition, would never think that Luo Feng was just showing off.

Luo Feng's endurance was something Gorin had deeply experienced. Despite the significant gap in their martial arts levels and Gorin's awakened attribute, Luo Feng's endurance in high-intensity battles was still superior. The endurance of martial artists is largely determined by the duration of their martial arts energy, so Gorin understood why Luo Feng dared to move so fast in this long-distance race.

However, he was puzzled by Aaron keeping up with Luo Feng at the same speed. Gorin attributed it to Aaron's pride, as he didn't think the eighth class could produce two people like Luo Feng.

Besides Gorin, the leading students from the two advanced classes of Starlight Academy's first year had also seen Luo Feng's strength in the exchange competition and did not dare to underestimate him.

As for the Holy Virtue Academy, the only one who didn't look down on the two was someone Luo Feng knew.

"Brother Feng!"

The only one who called Luo Feng so affectionately was Qiqi.

Sure enough, the next moment, the little beauty detached herself from the Holy Virtue Academy's team and ran quickly to Luo Feng's side.

"Qiqi?" Luo Feng was somewhat surprised to see her.

Mages are very strong at low levels. It's quite difficult for martial artists of the same level to defeat mages. However, mages have weaker constitutions and are not as enduring as martial artists. Therefore, there were few mages in the leading group. Luo Feng hadn't expected Qiqi to be here.

He quickly realized the reason: Qiqi must also be trying hard to win the scholarship. So he said, "Qiqi, don't push yourself too hard. After all, you are a mage."

Qiqi smiled, "Don't worry, Brother Feng. I'm confident I can maintain this speed throughout the journey."

Luo Feng was about to say something when Aaron interjected, "Luo Feng, worry about yourself. Qiqi will be fine. Look at her feet."

Thanks to Aaron's reminder, Luo Feng noticed that Qiqi's steps were extremely light, almost as if she wasn't touching the ground, and she barely stirred up any dust.

Although Qiqi, as a girl, was lighter than most males, she wasn't that light.

Aaron revealed the secret, "Qiqi, you're using the Weight Reduction Spell, right? Not many people learn this spell."

"Wow, Aaron, your eyes are really sharp," Qiqi said, sticking out her tongue, somewhat surprised. After all, martial artists rarely pay attention to mages' spells, especially obscure ones like the Weight Reduction Spell.

As its name suggests, the Weight Reduction Spell reduces a mage's weight, making them as light as a swallow and more agile. It is a blue-rank lower-level enhancement spell with a duration. However, at this level, it's not easy for mages to master continuous spells. Among the blue-rank lower-level continuous acceleration spells, the Wind Control Spell is more popular because it has a better acceleration effect, even though its duration is shorter. Therefore, mages tend to focus on the Wind Control Spell, making the Weight Reduction Spell a neglected spell.

However, many people don't know that the Weight Reduction Spell is not as useless as it seems. Any spell offered as an elective by the academy has its reason for existence. While the Weight Reduction Spell's acceleration effect is not as good as the Wind Control Spell, it has a longer duration and can be stacked with other acceleration spells, including the Wind Control Spell, to further enhance a mage's agility.

However, few rookie mages know about this obscure use of the Weight Reduction Spell, and even fewer can learn both the Weight Reduction Spell and the Wind Control Spell and stack them. After all, spell stacking is a profound skill, and mages at this stage can only drool over it.

Qiqi, however, met both conditions. After learning the magic essentials taught by Luo Feng, the little beauty learned magic at an astonishing speed, similar to how Luo Feng learned martial arts. She could learn obscure spells or those that required a choice between time and effort. Spell stacking was difficult for others, but following the methods of the few great mages, Qiqi quickly mastered it. Therefore, she also learned the Weight Reduction Spell to enhance her acceleration in battles.

Qiqi explained, "One Weight Reduction Spell is enough to let me maintain this speed for about ten miles with minimal physical exertion. It doesn't consume much magic power, so I think I can make it to the energy essence concentration field."

Magic is truly versatile. Now, martial artists can only rely on their endurance, unlike mages who can use spells to reduce their burden.

Luo Feng had only learned the theories from the great mages, but he was very surprised when Aaron immediately identified the spell: "Wow, Aaron, you're really knowledgeable. You even know about the mages' Weight Reduction Spell!"

Aaron thought to himself, "Of course, my education is much more comprehensive than yours, including strategies for fighting mages. How could I not know about magic?"

The friendly chat with the little beauty finally made some people from Holy Virtue Academy guess Luo Feng's identity.

"Isn't that Qiqi, the flower of the magic department? Why does she seem so familiar with that guy from the basic class of Starlight Academy?"

"Oh, I know. Haven't you heard? Qiqi's boyfriend is from Starlight Academy. It must be him!"

"Luo Feng? You mean the Luo Feng that Scarlett publicly declared her love for?"

"No way, he looks so ordinary. How could he win Qiqi's heart, and even get Scarlett to declare her love? Is this a joke?"

"It's definitely not a joke. At Traci's, Qiqi's roommate's birthday party, many people saw it with their own eyes!"

"..."

Although the incident with Scarlett had been several months ago, the little devil's influence was still significant, and some people still remembered it.

Scarlett didn't study at Holy Virtue Academy, but the students there considered themselves a level above Starlight Academy. Now, the goddess in the hearts of the young men of the Holy City had publicly declared her love for a nobody from Starlight Academy, which naturally made them feel unbalanced. With Qiqi, the flower of the magic department, also having a crush on Luo Feng, they were even more displeased. Their gazes towards Luo Feng became more hostile.

Hmph, a guy from Starlight Academy, how much can he really be worth? He wants to stand out.

At this speed, they won't make it a hundred miles before they collapse!

Of course, they had no idea that Luo Feng wasn't trying to stand out. His goal was simple.

Money, money, money, he wanted to get that scholarship.

Luo Feng's breathing and movement subtly changed. He used a secret technique taught by the Instant Shadow Supreme: the Ultimate Inertia.

This technique doesn't make a martial artist reach their maximum speed, but it can maximize the effect of inertia through the rhythm of martial arts energy, breathing, and steps, reducing the energy consumption during movement to the minimum. It is perfect for long-distance running.

Others didn't notice, but Aaron quickly did, and he was amazed.

Because each step Luo Feng took was incredibly precise, with an error of no more than one centimeter, whether on stones or grass, uphill or downhill, straight or turning, there were no exceptions. At the same time, Luo Feng's breathing and step frequency were synchronized, with exactly four steps per breath, no more, no less. If you paid closer attention, you would notice that the time and height of each step were the same, as if he were replicating the same action countless times, which was incredibly strange.

Even though everyone has their own habits, their steps change due to terrain or other conditions during walking. These changes, no matter how small, increase the consumption of martial arts energy. The increase in consumption for one step might be negligible, but over hundreds of miles, it would be significant.

His father, the Supreme of the Extreme Path, had taught him a principle: the less a continuous action changes, the stronger the endurance of the martial artist.

Now, Luo Feng's entire body maintained an extremely stable rhythm, with his breathing, heartbeat, steps, and muscle movements highly synchronized, meaning his energy consumption would be very low.

This guy is even good at the "Way of Unchanging." Where did he learn all this?