"That's impossible!" The veteran shook his head slightly, rubbing his eyes as if he were seeing a hallucination, not the truth.
All eyes were on the strong young man, when suddenly, someone started it, and in an instant, the freshmen shouted in unison, their voices ringing out in every corner of the campus: "441, 442, 443..." Countless teachers and senior students, both inside and outside the campus, looked at the playground in surprise, wondering what had happened.
"500!" After the final, huge roar subsided, Ling Yun stood up with a smile amidst cheers. He clapped his hands, which were spotless, and his complexion was even, with not a single bead of sweat on his forehead, showing no signs of fatigue.
The stopwatch beeped to signal the end. "Five minutes and forty-seven seconds!" a student exclaimed in surprise.
"Sir, I've finished five hundred push-ups. Report complete." Ling Yun saluted the veteran.
"Disband!" The veteran stared intently at Ling Yun, spitting out the two words through gritted teeth, before turning and walking away with a livid face.
The students were surprised by how things turned out. They cheered and dispersed, running off in twos and threes to their favorite places.
Ling Yun hurriedly made his way through the throng of students toward the pretty girl possessed by the ghost. He knew this was abrupt and he didn't want to meddle in other people's business, but the ghost was clearly not a good thing. If it successfully possessed the girl, it might do something terrible.
Chapter Twenty-Eight: Four Beauties
The pretty girl was very happy to see that the military training had ended early. She was about to leave the playground with several classmates when Ling Yun walked up to her and gestured to stop her: "Excuse me, please wait."
The beautiful girl paused for a moment, then smiled elegantly, "Ling Yun, what brings you here?" She was already stunningly beautiful, like a vibrant summer scene. Her pearly white teeth and gentle smile made her even more captivating, like a blooming peach blossom. Her elegance was imbued with a perfect, noble air.
Ling Yun was a little surprised: "You know my name?"
"Hehe, Lingyun." The pretty girl covered her cherry-like mouth and chuckled to herself, thinking that this silly boy was actually quite cute. "You're a big celebrity now. I bet all the freshmen know your name. You did five hundred push-ups in less than six minutes. You're amazing!" As she spoke, she smiled sweetly and gave Lingyun a white thumbs up.
If any other guy were praised like that by a beautiful woman, his bones would probably go numb, and he'd feel like he'd ascended to heaven. But Ling Yun was like a block of wood, completely oblivious to the girl's natural charm. His mind was almost entirely drawn to that eerie, ghostly figure. But to others, it looked as if he was intently staring at the girl's face, and they couldn't help but secretly curse how shameless this guy was, openly flirting with and pursuing a strange beauty right in front of her, and doing it so naturally.
The girls in the same class as the pretty girl were quite surprised. In the past two days, the pretty girl had attracted the attention of many boys, but without exception, they had all been coldly rejected by her. Having grown accustomed to her aloofness, the girls assumed Ling Yun would receive the same treatment. They were completely astonished to find that the pretty girl seemed to have a strong liking for Ling Yun.
Several boys who had been rejected by pretty girls also witnessed this scene, and they looked at Ling Yun with great resentment. They all thought that this guy was no good in terms of looks, figure, or temperament, so why did he get the favor of beautiful girls? God was really unfair to people. For a moment, they couldn't help but feel a little anxious.
"Oh, thank you." Ling Yun didn't think doing five hundred push-ups was anything special; he could do fifty thousand, let alone five hundred. "Excuse me, young man, may I ask your name?"
"My name is Yang Yuqi, you can just call me Qiqi. I'm a freshman in the art department." Yang Yuqi smiled elegantly as she looked at Ling Yun. She didn't know why Ling Yun was paying so much attention to her. Although she initially thought Ling Yun was just a lovesick admirer, for some reason, this young man, despite his ordinary appearance, didn't give her the same feeling of disgust she had with other suitors. On the contrary, his attitude aroused Yang Yuqi's strong curiosity, making her find Ling Yun increasingly interesting.
"I'm sorry, Yang Yuqi, I know this is presumptuous, but I still want to talk to you alone, is that alright?" Ling Yun thought for a moment before speaking politely.
Before Yang Yuqi could answer, a girl wearing glasses next to her became impatient: "Hey, how can you be so annoying? Yuqi doesn't even know you, why should she talk to you alone? Can you please change your approach to pursuing girls? Don't be so direct next time. I'm embarrassed for you, you're so shameless." She said this with a look of disgust on her face.
Yang Yuqi gently touched her shoulder and said softly, "Xiaoting, don't be like this." Then, with a hint of apology, she said to Lingyun, "Don't blame her. A lot of boys have come to see me these past two days... and it has also affected my classmates. I hope you don't mind."
"It's alright." Ling Yun smiled faintly, he really didn't care. "I just wanted to ask you some things, of course, not the kind of boring questions that guys ask you. If you don't have time, that's fine." He had already made up his mind that if this girl really rejected him, then Ling Yun wouldn't be so eager to help her.
"Tch, so arrogant, what's with the act!" Xiaoting, the girl with glasses, became even angrier when she saw that Ling Yun didn't care about her at all.
“Hmm…” Yang Yuqi thought for a moment, “How about this, Lingyun, I might not have time right now because I need to arrange the cast list for the first act of the drama for the art department later. Give me your phone and I’ll call you tonight when I’m done. We can find a place to talk.”
“Tonight… alright.” Ling Yun used his senses to probe the ghost’s location again and felt relieved. It seemed that the ghost’s possession would take some time, and there would be plenty of time by tonight. He could use this time to discuss it with Xia Zhen, since Xia Zhen was more knowledgeable than him. Although he could see ghosts, he knew nothing about how to prevent them from entering his body. His mental field seemed to be able to attack ghosts, but he didn’t know if it would harm Yang Yuqi.
Furthermore, Ling Yun could also enter the fourth layer of the barrier to investigate what this ghost actually was. It seemed that there was nothing about extraordinary people and events related to supernatural abilities that Elder Yu was unaware of. The fourth layer of the barrier not only allowed for the cultivation of supernatural arts but also possessed powerful search capabilities. As long as any image, text, or sound was input, even if it was blurry, the barrier could provide the same or similar results.
So, Ling Yun gave Yang Yuqi his phone number and wrote it down before turning and leaving.
"Qiqi, why did you give him your phone number and even ask him out? This guy is shameless and his methods of pursuing her are clumsy. He doesn't seem to be rich either. Why bother with him?" Xiaoting was still upset about Lingyun's indifference.
"Hehe, Xiaoting, you can't judge a book by its cover. Never underestimate anyone." Yang Yuqi smiled slightly and took Xiaoting's arm. "Let's go to the drama club. I didn't expect to finish military training so early today. I have to thank Lingyun."
"Thank him my ass, he's just a jerk who made a fool of himself." Xiaoting muttered as she walked away with Yang Yuqi.
When Ling Yun returned to the dormitory, Qin Zhengwei and the other two had already returned and were chatting. Fang Xiaoming, due to his epileptic seizure, was fortunate enough to avoid standing under the sun for military training.
Upon seeing him enter the room, Qin Zhengwei stood up and said with a smile, "Lingyun, you really stole the show today, hehe, five hundred push-ups in less than six minutes. I didn't expect you to look so thin and weak, but have such strong stamina. No wonder Xiaoming isn't as strong as you." As he spoke, he couldn't help but become extremely vigilant. No wonder this young man could beat Fang Xiaoming like this; he was actually a hidden martial arts expert.
Lu Xing excitedly added, "That's right, Ling Yun! Didn't you see how angry you made that instructor turn pale? By the way, didn't he say that if you could do 500 push-ups every day, he could end the military training? Haha, this month will be so much easier! We only need to do military training for a little over five minutes each day. All my classmates admire you so much! How did you do that? You're amazing!"
Ling Yun smiled faintly and casually made up a reason: "I just have good physical endurance. When I first entered junior high school, a physical education teacher said I had a talent for fighting, so I practiced free fighting for seven years. Maybe I have some physical foundation, but it's really nothing."
Lu Xing suddenly realized, "I see. I was wondering why. This is nothing compared to Xiaoming, who is a well-known local boxer. Even he is no match for you. You are really amazing."
Fang Xiaoming gave an awkward laugh. He had lost several teeth on one side, causing him to slur his words and speak with a lisp. He simply remained silent and pretended to be dead. Because his other teeth were also loose, they had to be held in place with wire, and he wouldn't be able to get the rest of his dentures for another two weeks. It was extremely uncomfortable. Although Qin Zhengwei had instructed him to be polite to Ling Yun on the surface, he secretly hated Ling Yun to the core.
Seeing Ling Yun change out of his military uniform and about to leave, Qin Zhengwei quickly asked, "Ling Yun, where are you going?"
Ling Yun was taken aback: "I'm going to see a friend. What, do you have something to do?"
"It's nothing. I think it's been several days since school started, and our dorm hasn't had a get-together yet. Let's have dinner together tonight, it's on me," Qin Zhengwei said with a smile.
"Oh, Zhengwei, I'm sorry, I have something to do tonight and I'm afraid I can't get away. How about tomorrow? I'll treat the three of you. I felt really bad about that day, I was so heavy-handed, and I should apologize to Xiaoming and you all." Ling Yun smiled and politely declined, thinking of his date with Yang Yuqi that evening.
"It's alright, it's alright, there's plenty of time, any day is fine. You go ahead and do your thing, haha, we're brothers, no need for apologies, we became friends after a fight." Qin Zhengwei laughed it off.
Ling Yun nodded and left without saying anything.
The moment the door closed, Qin Zhengwei's natural smile vanished, replaced by an extremely gloomy expression: "Seven years of martial arts? Heh heh, I really misjudged you. Xiaoming, you deserved to lose."
Fang Xiaoming buried his body deep in the sofa, his slurred mouth spitting out a few vicious words: "I'll tear this bastard to pieces one day."
Lu Xing said worriedly, "Zhengwei, it's been more than a week since school started. You need to think of a way to get him kicked out quickly. We don't have much time. Boss Fu is pressuring us a lot."
Qin Zhengwei smiled contemptuously: "What does Boss Fu know? He's just a short-sighted brute. What real people who do great things are like him, only focused on immediate gains? Heh heh, getting rid of Ling Yun is easy enough. I have plenty of ways. But, after how he humiliated us that day, I want more than just him to get lost; I want him to be utterly disgraced!" When he said the last few words, Qin Zhengwei spoke almost one word at a time, gritting his teeth with hatred.
Ling Yun, who had already stepped out of the dormitory building, suddenly stiffened. Then, a half-smile appeared on his face as he shook his head slightly and turned back towards the girls' dormitory.
After much deliberation, Ling Yun decided to consult with Xia Zhen first. Although he could enter Elder Yu's barrier during the day, Yu Xiujie was usually in a meditative, dormant state, so Ling Yun didn't want to disturb his teacher's peaceful cultivation. In fact, even if he entered the barrier at night, Yu Xiujie wouldn't interfere, simply letting him cultivate on his own. The barrier had an automatic teaching function, so there was no need for further explanation.
He had called Xia Zhen beforehand, and before he even reached the entrance of the girls' dormitory, he saw Xia Zhen walking towards him from afar: "What's wrong, Ling Yun? Is it inconvenient to live in the dormitory?" Xia Zhen asked with concern.
Seeing the school beauty talking intimately with that freshman, the boys and girls around her, who loved gossip, all curiously looked at Ling Yun.