There was nothing special about the return journey, except for the last stage - jumping into the pit, which shocked the soldiers again.

The final stage involves jumping into a two-meter-deep trench and then climbing out. Any soldier who has completed the 400-meter obstacle course knows that stamina decreases as you advance. While this final stage doesn't require any technical skill, many soldiers simply ran out of energy and couldn't climb out, relying on their comrades to pull them out.

The college students were still secretly cheering for Qingshan, thinking that there was only a short distance left to run, but the soldiers in the third row were sweating, wondering if Chen Qingshan had enough physical strength to make sure he didn't fail at the last level!

Before everyone had finished worrying, Chen Qingshan jumped into the pit and then jumped out with a bang. It was as if there were two big springs tied to the soles of her feet. She looked so relaxed that it didn't seem real at all!

Zhou Shuyi: ...(⊙_⊙)

Leng Xing:...Fuck!

Soldiers in the third row: ...Oh shit!

College Student Team: ...Yeah yeah yeah!

"Matsuko, time?"

"One minute and twelve seconds!"

Qingshan breathed a sigh of relief and deliberately slowed down in the last 100 meters. Her goal was to beat Zhou Shuyi. Winning by one second was also a win. There was no need to set a military record, which would be too eye-catching.

Qingshan didn't know that Zhou Shuyi's 400-meter steeplechase was the best in the entire team. Beating him would already be a record for the entire army, which was very eye-catching.

Qingshan staggered across the finish line, and Leng Xing clicked the stopwatch in his hand. He glanced at the numbers, his face changed slightly, and handed the stopwatch to Zhou Shuyi.

Zhou Shuyi looked at the numbers and was stunned. "1'29"08" He lost? Lost to a little girl? No... Calm down, he must have had heatstroke and was hallucinating!

Qingshan watched them pass the stopwatch around without saying anything, and frowned slightly: Please don’t deny the results of my hard work!

"Commander, what are my grades?"

Leng Xing had no intention of bullying the little girl or cheating after losing. He was just too shocked and worried that Zhou Shuyi would not be able to come to his senses, so he gave him some buffer time.

"Chen Qingshan's score - one minute and twenty-nine seconds! Chen Qingshan - wins!"

Third Platoon Leader: Oh my god, with this result, we can participate in the military competition!

Tuanzi and Hongdeng hugged each other in space:

"Shanshan, you are so awesome!"

"Master, Master, you are extraordinary! Those who obey her will prosper, those who disobey her will perish!"

Qingshan: Well, keep a low profile, keep a low profile!

The university students' team was silent for three seconds before cheering: "We won, we won?!" "We won—we won—!" "Long live Chen Qingshan—!"

The soldiers in the third platoon were actually quite excited and wanted to applaud, but seeing their leader's expression, they lowered their raised hands again, looking at each other - they felt a little worried:

After losing to the brigade commander, the regimental commander trained like crazy, and today he finally broke the brigade commander's record of one minute and thirty-one seconds. But then a female student showed up, and the regimental commander's new record was broken before it was even publicly announced! It was over, it was over. He could still handle losing to the brigade commander—they were both soldiers, after all—but losing to a little girl... I was really worried the regimental commander would be upset...

Qingshan did not use any spiritual power from beginning to end today. He relied entirely on his body movements and muscle strength to complete the competition. It was a fair competition and Zhou Shuyi's loss was not unfair.

Zhou Shuyi's face was ashen, his cheeks were clenched, and he was still holding a stopwatch in his hand. You could tell from his pale fingers that he was exerting a lot of strength.

Third Platoon Leader: Damn it, that’s my stopwatch, you broke it, Commander!

Qingshan walked over and held out his hand to Zhou Shuyi: "Coach Zhou, friendship comes first, competition comes second. Winning and losing are common in the military, don't take it to heart!"

Zhou Shuyi looked at the girl's fair, slender hands, feeling a pang of frustration. Before the match, he'd said to Qingshan, "You'll never know your own strengths and weaknesses unless you compete once." Now that the competition was over, he knew for sure, knowing his own strengths and weaknesses, a slap in the face. He'd seen Chen Qingshan's performance just now; his moves were clean and sharp, and his loss was well deserved. This girl wasn't as delicate as she looked; she might even be a martial artist. Apparently, appearances are not to be judged. Should he change his old way of judging people, thinking "soft and fair skin means sickly young masters and delicate young ladies,"?

Zhou Shuyi had a bad temper and a twisted mind, but at least he was fair and honest. If he lost, he lost. He stretched out his hand and gently shook hands with Qingshan:

"I lost, you are very strong!"

After saying this, he turned to face the university students' team and said in a loud voice:

"Everyone—! Stand at attention! Hey, students, I apologize for my inappropriate behavior this morning! You're not a bunch of losers! At least... one of you isn't!"

"Pfft!" All the students erupted in laughter. "One of them isn't?" So, besides Chen Qingshan, everyone else is useless? This Instructor Zhou is such a stubborn idiot. But he's also right. Compared to Qingshan, aren't they all just useless?

Zhou Shuyi kept his promise, gathered the students on the list, and sent them to the office to report to the instructor.

Leng Xing took the opportunity to correct the soldiers' mindsets, encouraging them to emulate Zhou Shuyi and Chen Qingshan, not to be arrogant in victory and not to be discouraged in defeat. He then told everyone to continue training. He took the four people from Qingshan's dormitory to see the school counselor. Chen Qingshan's performance today was too eye-catching. She couldn't stay in the team anymore. To prevent these college students from constantly complaining about her and refusing to obey Zhou Shuyi's discipline, it would be difficult to lead the team. It would be better to send these four troublemakers away.

Leng Xing, with his eloquence, suggested that Qingshan, Xuanxuan, and Li Lulu also join the kitchen staff, citing the revolutionary spirit of "unity, friendship, and never abandoning or giving up on teammates." The department counselor, bewildered, thought, "Since we're on your turf, how can I say no?" and naturally agreed. This delighted the girls, who danced and laughed around Qingshan. Wu Jiaying was the happiest of the four. Their roommates had been implicated for helping her, and now they could join the kitchen staff, a blessing in disguise.

After Chen Qingshan and the others left the training ground, the heavy curtains in a room in the office building facing the training ground moved, as if someone had been standing in the room and had just left.