Supreme Electromagnetic Tyrant-Chapter 523 - 343: The Chase

Luo Yimeng, seeing Ji Xinghuo so confident, still had doubts in his heart, but he didn’t say anything more and sped up to run ahead.

Ji Xinghuo focused on running.

The rules of the Global Marathon were simply described, but to fully comply without any violations was actually quite difficult.

Even the Sky Kings would inevitably commit a few violations throughout the course and then be penalized.

The route also couldn’t be mistaken. If one strayed beyond the designated route, they would be penalized as well. If they didn’t return to the correct route within one minute, their result would be directly invalidated.

While running, he tapped lightly on his left wrist.

A small screen projected in front of him, where he could see real-time positions of the other contestants, all marked on the route, along with each contestant’s speed, estimated finishing time, and more, all at a glance.

Ji Xinghuo found his position in one look.

He was currently in fourth place.

The Sun King was leading at the front, having pulled more than 10 kilometers ahead of Ji Xinghuo in just two or three minutes.

Divine Walker Jeffrey was following closely behind the Sun King, fewer than a kilometer away, biting at his heels.

Luo Yimeng was in third place.

The speeds of these three Sky Kings were all above 400 meters per second, belonging to the first echelon, and growing more distant from Ji Xinghuo.

Hosts and marathon experts were continuously analyzing the situation, and the main broadcast was switching between the contestants.

When it came to Ji Xinghuo, they were not optimistic.

"Ji Xinghuo’s Star Power and physical fitness are far behind those of the Sky Kings. Although he took the lead at the start, which was very eye-catching, it’s a pity that he can’t last. He is currently maintaining a speed of 1 Mach, temporarily in fourth place, but in my judgment, his rank will continue to drop as he is overtaken by later contestants..."

Another expert agreed, "After all, Ji Xinghuo is just a Super Mutant. It is already very surprising that he can run at supersonic speeds."

"Indeed."

"The Global Marathon is different from flying; he might be better at flying, but running on the ground limits his speed."

"Moreover, his tactics are lacking. He shouldn’t have sprinted with all his might at the beginning; this will quickly deplete his Star Power. The Global Marathon is a long-duration sport. It’s not just a competition of speed, but more crucially, of Star Power, physical fitness, and will."

"However, Ji Xinghuo has one very impressive advantage."

"Which aspect?"

"So far, he hasn’t violated the rules once, accumulating zero penalty time. This is very rare, showing his strong control over his body, not inferior to those marathon Mutants who have trained for years."

"I heard that Ji Xinghuo only started practicing marathon running after signing up. If that’s true, it’s astonishing."

"First in the heavenly ladder, of course, it won’t be that simple."

The few experts on the screen analyzed for a while and, although they were not optimistic, they did not completely discredit him, offering some praise as well.

The host asked, "What do you think will be Ji Xinghuo’s final result? What kind of rank can he achieve?"

"45 to 50 hours," one expert answered, "ranking around tenth."

The other few predicted similar results.

As they spoke, someone began to exert force and gradually caught up with Ji Xinghuo.

This was also one of the Sky Kings, from the New Roman Empire, nicknamed "Arrowhead," his name was "Maxim Kalinin," ranked 24th among the Sky Kings.

The screen immediately switched to him, and all the viewers saw him on a highway across a field, with Maxim’s speed increasing fast. In front of him, another running figure appeared—it was Ji Xinghuo.

The distance between the two quickly closed, and then, Maxim overtook him, leaving Ji Xinghuo behind.

"Ji Xinghuo has dropped to fifth place," the host immediately announced.

The guest experts all nodded, this scene confirming their predictions about Ji Xinghuo, one of them said, "The foundation of being first in the heavenly ladder is ultimately not as strong as that of the Sky Kings. Losing this Global Marathon doesn’t matter much, but in October, if he loses to Li Xuan, he would lose a Star-falling Species."

When the bet between Ji Xinghuo and Li Xuan came up, the people on the screen unanimously shook their heads.

The broadcast also made a point of showing Li Xuan.

At that moment, Li Xuan was also running at full strength, but since he was really not adept at it, he was only maintaining a lead based on his substantial Star Power, ahead of a group of Legends and marathon Mutants, not leading by much, currently ranked 17th.

Seeing this scene, both the host and the audience laughed, this social media-famous Sky King participating in the marathon every year for traffic.

The quadrennial Global Marathon, of course, he couldn’t miss.

But this was too slow.

"If Li Xuan was comparing running with Ji Xinghuo, he’d already have lost, and lost miserably," one expert chuckled.

The host, however, disagreed, "Combat is a combination of multiple capabilities. Li Xuan is not skilled in long-distance running, but his swordsmanship, offensive techniques, and combat experience are all top-notch globally. Ji Xinghuo’s chances of winning are very slim."

His words met with agreement.

While they made light of the situation, no one dared to underestimate the power of a Sky King.

Among the 49 global Sky Kings, the vast majority have their strengths and weaknesses—if not, more than six Sky Kings would participate in the Global Marathon.

A true hexagonal Sky King, there’s only one Sun King in the world.

The screen changed and the topic moved to other contestants.

Ji Xinghuo was unaware of the hosts’ and experts’ commentary about him; he was just focused on running, maintaining a speed of 1 Mach.

In the first hour, he ran 1260 kilometers.