Ji Luo arrived about half a lap behind her.
Then Chen Qing and the others came in one after another.
By now, those whose stamina had given out were running with badly broken form.
People kept dropping.
Soon the main body arrived.
Monkey and the rest were among them.
The instant they crossed the line, they all collapsed limp to the ground.
A moment later, He Qiang began the countdown:
"Ten, nine, eight, seven, six..."
Everyone near the finish line went all-out!
Several crossed one after another.
"Five, four, three, two, one!"
At the very last instant, a chubby boy flung himself forward in a desperate leap and crashed to the ground.
His head hit hard too, his face a mess of blood.
"Everyone behind him is out!"
"No! This isn't fair!! We're... we're just... ordinary students! This is... the f-first time running..."
"Out!"
He Qiang said coldly again.
Everyone behind wore looks of despair.
"Damn it! I don't accept this!"
"I don't accept it either!"
"It's not fair!"
"Come on! We'll go file a complaint! The Ghost-Control Army isn't yours to rule."
He Qiang didn't waver in the slightest. He called over a squad of soldiers, who steadily drove them all out of the compound.
"See that! Girls are no worse than boys!"
Hong Ya's voice carried a note of excitement. "First place was a girl—that's the proof!"
"Is this chick sick in the head?"
Monkey frowned. He knew, of course, how Hong Ya's family had treated Chen Qing, and found her thoroughly grating.
He Qiang spoke again: "You get ten minutes' rest, then report to the underground drill hall."
This one event alone had eliminated 28 people; 90 remained.
"Brutal," Monkey panted. "Never heard the Ghost-Control Army was this monstrous!"
"This is basically Ghost-Slaying Squad-level intensity!"
The chubby boy, face bruised and swollen, said it too, a little despairing.
"This is already too much for you?"
He Qiang sneered.
"Listen up! For the next twenty days, one lap is added each day—and the time limit... stays twenty minutes!"
"That's impossible!"
Someone cried out in alarm.
"So on the last day we run thirty laps in twenty minutes? This... this is impossible!"
"That's practically the hundred-meter record! Run every lap at hundred-meter-sprint pace?"
Chen Qing was a little shocked too.
This... could it be done?
"Rest's over!"
He Qiang picked up the stopwatch again. "Reach the underground drill hall within two minutes."
Everyone was aghast, scrambling to their feet and racing for the underground drill hall.
This time, another 3 were cut.
87 remained.
The underground drill hall was large, a bit bigger than a standard basketball court. Very dark, lit only by a few faint green lamps.
A wave of cold air struck; the hairs on everyone's body rose.
But Chen Qing's brow furrowed—
That wasn't cold air. It was yin qi!
Wu Kong stood in the darkness, the glint of his lenses just barely visible.
Once everyone had gathered, Wu Kong said clearly, "Which of you has ever seen a ghost?"
A scattered few raised their hands.
Seeing others do so, Chen Qing raised his too.
"The Ghost-Control Army—if you've never even seen a ghost, that's the real joke!"
"Look closely!"
A faint breeze passed, and a heart-clenching presence rolled in!
In that instant, everyone went rigid!
At once someone shrieked:
"A ghost... a ghost! A ghost!"
There in the air above the drill hall floated an enormous figure, its body somewhat like a toad, its huge mouth somewhat like a catfish.
Its lower half was mist-form, gulping down great mouthfuls of air.
The ghost meter on Chen Qing's wrist trembled faintly, the number settling at 164.
First-tier Malevolent Ghost!
"This is a Wind-Devourer," Wu Kong said slowly. "The form a Wandering Soul Breath-Eater takes after advancing to Malevolent Ghost."
"Feel what a Malevolent Ghost is."
As he spoke, the Wind-Devourer's head slowly turned.
An indescribable pressure blanketed the whole field in an instant.
"Aaah!"
A shrill scream rang out.
Someone toppled straight over.
The Wind-Devourer suddenly opened its mouth and inhaled hard!
As if their very souls were being drawn out!
Chen Qing swiftly ran his circulation cycle, and only then steadied his spirit.
Thud!
Thud, thud...
The sounds of falling kept coming, one person after another dropping to the floor.
Hiss—
A baboon abruptly appeared, shielding the first-place girl, raising its head to snarl at the Wind-Devourer.
The girl said something to it, and the baboon vanished again.
Wu Kong raised a hand, and the Wind-Devourer finally stopped.
Among all the recruits, only four still stood:
The first-place girl, Ji Luo, Chen Qing, and Chenkun. The first three held steady; Chenkun swayed a little.
Wu Kong gave the four a nod of approval.
Once everyone had come to, Wu Kong said calmly:
"The Wind-Devourer didn't use its full strength. Had it, at this range, every one of you would be dead."
Wu Kong's eyes swept slowly over the crowd.
"I won't eliminate anyone. But you're adults—think it through. Among the things you'll face from now on are ghosts like the Wind-Devourer. And even... far more terrible ones!"
"Make your choice."
Everyone fell silent.
"S-sorry!" A girl, fear still on her face. "I... I withdraw."
"I, I withdraw too. I never imagined the Ghost-Control Army was this... this dangerous."
Hands kept going up, people walking silently out of the drill hall.
After a while, the crowd settled.
72 remained.
"Now, class officially begins."
"First, you must decide your specialty."
"The Ghost Master mainly strengthens the soul. The stronger the soul, the more, and the fiercer, the pets it can command."
"The Body Cultivator mainly refines blood-qi—think of them as the front line, the tank, the assassin; a human cannonball."
"The Spirit Cultivator mainly refines spiritual qi—think of the cultivators or mages in novels. Our squad has no teacher for this; to become a Spirit Cultivator, you'd have to apply to transfer to the Ghost-Slaying Squad."
"Here's my advice: those who tested high in talent should choose Ghost Master."
Another round of choices; most stayed put.
Only 6 chose Body Cultivator, led away by a muscle-bound man.
"Now, class officially begins."
"First lesson: the basic concepts of a Ghost Master."
Wu Kong pointed his ghost meter, aiming it at the Wind-Devourer; the number jumped, settling at 165.
"This 165, in units of K, is the ghost-qi value—also called soul-force."
"You can basically treat it as combat strength."
Wu Kong turned the ghost meter on himself; the number jumped and settled at 318.
"This is my soul-force value: 318K."
"Remember: a master's soul-force value must! Must! MUST!"
"be higher than the pet's ghost-qi value."
"The moment your soul-force falls below your pet's ghost-qi value, the pet will betray you!"
"Never assume your pact with a pet is stable!"
"That's determined by the Ghost-Pact Art; it does not bend to human will!"
"Factoring in things like soul-force dropping when you're injured in battle, you should reserve about 50 percent. At the very least, keep 70 percent."
"Say your soul-force is 100—then it's best to pact a pet with a ghost-qi value of 50K."
"At most, don't exceed 70."
Chen Qing listened, and something stirred in him.
The Black Prison Ghost-Pact Art... didn't seem to have this restriction!
He'd have to find a chance to ask the captain.
"Soul-force strength brings many benefits:"
"One, you can pact stronger pets."
"Two, the greater the soul-force gap, the higher the pact success rate; when the gap between your soul-force and the ghost-qi exceeds tenfold, you can all but force a pact on any pet."
"Three, you can pact more pets."
"At Soul-Stir realm, you can pact 2 pets."
"At Essence-Soul realm, 3 pets."
"At Nether Spring realm, 4 pets."
Chen Qing suddenly thought of the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda.
Through it he could pact twelve pets. This...
He was invincible!