Chapter 11: Changing Views
Editor: Sparrow Translations
"How heavy is that sandbag?" Tang Meng asked while walking towards Cheng Zhiye. At the same time, he tossed him a pack of cigarettes.
Whenever there were any sports meet or physical competition within the school, Tang Meng would be there to start a wager on Cheng Zhiye and the other sports program students. As a result, everybody knew who he was.
After regaining his composure, Cheng Zhiye took a glance at his teacher in charge, Ma Lingfeng, who was busy teaching a Grade 11 class. After making sure that his teacher was well engrossed in his task, Cheng Zhiye then took a cigarette from the pack, lit it up before taking a long and deep puff.
"26kg," Cheng Zhiye replied.
Being a competitive long-distance runner, maintaining a pair of strong and healthy lungs was vital for Cheng Zhiye's performance. If his teacher saw him holding a cigarette, he would probably have the daylight beaten out of him.
"You guys started a wager on that bloke?"
Tang Meng's eyes focused solely on Ling Yun who had just finished his first lap around the track.
"It was just a joke. I didn't expect Xie Junyan to actually agree to the bet… he even placed $5000 on Ling Yun!" Tang Meng exclaimed while nodding his head.
"You guys are betting on the rounds?" Cheng Zhiye quizzed.
"Yeah," mumbled Tang Meng before finally turning his attention to Zhiye.
Tang Meng looked at Zhiye and asked, "If you were to carry this same sandbag and run with everything you've got, how many rounds do you reckon you would be able to complete?"
Looking at Tang Meng's serious expression, Cheng Zhiye could only force a smile before replying, "Look at my lanky body, do you think I would even be able to lift this and run?"
Tang Meng seemed to be in a deep thought. He looked at Cheng Zhiye and asked, "If I reduce the weight to 15kg or a weight that you can handle, how many rounds do you think you can run?"
Having understood Tang Meng's intentions, Cheng Zhiye gave it a thought before looking back at him.
"If that's the case, I reckon I can pull off at most 3 rounds, no more than that," Cheng Zhiye replied in a serious tone.
Tang Meng breathed a sigh of relief after he seemed to compare the two of them in his mind. After much thought, he figured that there was no way he would lose. Losing the money was one thing but he just didn't want Xie Junyan to have the last laugh. To Tang Meng, Xie Junyan was an arrogant and conceited brat that he hated. Therefore, winning him in this bet would be much sweeter than a few thousand dollars.
"Talk to you guys later, I want to see how far this Ling Yun thinks he can run". Tang Meng exclaimed before finding a suitable seat to observe Ling Yun attentively.
As Ling Yun ran past his area, Tang Meng thought to himself. After staying low for 3 years I didn't expect you to pull such a wager on me… this should be interesting.
"Amazing! He finished one round!" Someone in the stands shouted.
"Huh… huh… huh…" Ling Yun breathed heavily as he shouldered the sandbag and ran. He was perspiring continuously and his body was drenched from head to toe. His wet clothes stuck to his chubby body as he ran.
As exhausted as he may be, his tempo and speed remained unchanged. He took deep breaths with each step to absorb as much oxygen into his fatigued body as possible. The sandbag hanging on Ling Yun's right shoulder felt like he was carrying Mount Tai. It seemed to be getting heavier with every step that he took. It was as if he was walking on cotton and his knees were so stiff that he thought he had lead inside.
As Ling Yun continued his run, a mysterious painful soreness could be felt in his muscles, bones and even his blood which further impeded his task.
Despite all these obstacles, the fight in his eyes got brighter. Ling Yun's expression was that of pure determination and he could feel his will getting stronger with each step. This will of his was no ordinary will. it was one tempered through countless trials during his time in the Cultivation World as he advanced into the Tribulation Stage. This undying will of his was from his dao heart.
Ling Yun also knew that once this painful and sore sensation spread to his whole body, his mind would enter into a zone that would allow him to run non stop.
In addition, by using his will to push this body to its utmost limits, the energy stored in the Shichiyou herb within his body would be absorbed and released into every single meridian, muscle and his blood. That would rejuvenate all the cells in his body, cleanse his body and give him the energy to continue running.
He was exhausted but his smiling expression could not hide his excitement. He put in some effort to straighten his back and he noticed that he was actually able to go faster.
He was actually smiling in the face of such pain.
"What the h*ck? 400 meters down and he's still getting faster?" Tang Meng shouted in disbelief as he stands up from the stands.
"This bloke is insane!" Cheng Zhiye mumbled to himself as he stood up and looked at Ling Yun. What was supposed to be a total joke of a bet was turning out to be something else entirely.
Cheng Zhiye couldn't believe his eyes. He was the champion long-distance runner in Qing Shui City. Even for him, he would not have been able to run more than 50 meters with such weight on his body. However, this fat Ling Yun had run over 400 meters and was actually speeding up.
At the start, Ling Yun used small steps and his pace was so slow that it could hardly be considered as jogging. He took more than 20 minutes for him to complete his first round.
However, despite his body facing such pain and soreness from overworking, he was starting to get used to the weight. With his new tempo, it was as if the weight had become a part of his own body.
The reason behind all this was that Ling Yun possessed something no one else had. Even though he could no longer use spiritual energy or any movement skills, he still possessed his overwhelmingly strong soul.
He had attained this soul through enduring tough times. It had been tempered by the pandemonium he experienced during the heavenly tribulation in order to reach the Tribulation Stage.
"This bit of fatigue is nothing to be afraid of," Ling Yun laughed to himself.
While gritting his teeth and holding on to the sandbag tighter than before, Ling Yun braced himself. He widened his steps and he started running much faster as he began the second round.
It was at this moment that all the audience including Tang Meng and Cheng Zhiye realized that Ling Yun had not been using his full strength from the start.
"Come on, you can do it! Don't give up!" a person shouted.
A minute later, an earth-shattering roar followed. Almost all the audience joined in and cheered for Ling Yun. This made the desire within Ling Yun burn even stronger than before and gave him the energy to go even faster.
In the classroom of Grade 12 Class 6.
Cao Shanshan could hear the deafening roar of cheers coming from the stands even in class. She did not know what was going on but she was certain that it was due to the fact that Ling Yun was still running. Cao Shanshan's lips puckered up to form a slight smile almost like that of Mona Lisa's. In her three years of studies, this was the first time that she was distracted in class.
In the classroom of Grade 12 Class 1.
During this time, Ning Lingyu was no longer listening to the lesson. She was having a hard time holding herself back from running out of the class to go and cheer for her big brother.
When the witty Zhuang Meina heard the deafening cheers, she immediately knew that Ling Yun had already finished his first round. It was obvious since before Meina entered the class, Ling Yun had already finished half a round. More than 7 minutes had passed and the eruption of cheers clearly proved that Ling Yun was still running.
Zhuang Meina was now gnashing her teeth with anger; so much that her face was distorted and ugly. On the other hand, Xie Junyan was listening in class attentively. When he heard the cheers, he just smiled slightly which showed his satisfaction of making the correct judgment in this bet.
7 minutes passed.
Under the earth-rocking cheers and support of the audiences, Ling Yun finished the second round like a bolt of lightning as he proceeded on to the third round.
He only took about 13 minutes for the second round.
Even though Ling Yun was feeling giddy and he couldn't think properly, he continued to push his body forward like a machine.
"By finishing this round in the same tempo, this painful soreness will definitely permeate through my entire body!" Ling Yun screamed to himself as he pushed his body forward.
The pain that Ling Yun was experiencing was one that would only occur when a person pushed himself or herself to the absolute limit. This pain would induce sleepiness in the person as the body would attempt to shut itself down.
However, Ling Yun was actually trying to use this pain to his advantage! By using his incredibly strong will and soul, Ling Yun was trying to convert this pain into a driving force for movement.
To train one's body, one must strengthen the heart.
Without a strong heart, how would one master the flow of energy?
"It's already the third round and he's not even slowing down! Where is he getting all the energy from?" Tang Meng exclaimed in exasperation as his eyes followed Ling Yun closely. As for the already dumbfounded Cheng Zhiye, he stood at the same spot motionlessly and repeatedly mouthed the word, "Impossible".
7 more minutes passed.
Ling Yun was already three quarters done with the third lap. With each breath and each step, he was moving closer to the audience stand. Everyone watched intently as he ran, it was almost as if they were running with him.
As planned, the painful sensation had spread throughout Ling Yun's entire body and he was keeping his eyes open with just his will. However, he knew that he had not reached his true limits. In order to reach that limit, he decided to use everything that he had left to speed up even more.
"He is going even faster!"
"He's so strong! Even though he seems to be at his limit…" the girls in the field exclaimed with an anguished tone as they watched on.
"Come on! Let's go closer and cheer him on!" One of the girls shouted as she ran towards Ling Yun.
Sometimes, all it takes is one incident to change people's perspectives.
In the whole of Qing Shui High, who didn't know about Ling Yun? Who had not ridiculed Ling Yun before?
However, at this very moment, everyone's perspective of Ling Yun was changing drastically from this single incident.
This included the students taking sports classes, the sports program athletes, Cheng Zhiye, Tang Meng, the sports teachers and even Ma Tian Feng!
"This kid…" the tall and muscular sports teacher, Ma Tian Feng, mumbled under his breath in disbelief as he watched Ling Yun. If he had seen Ling Yun's running when he was Grade 11, he swore he would have pulled Ling Yun into the track team by hook or by crook.
Just as Ling Yun ran pass Tang Meng, the image of Cao Shanshan's expression when she made the bet floated into Tang Meng's head.
"Maybe she was right… if he doesn't faint, he might really go beyond the fifth round." Tang Meng said softly.
Chapter 12: The Manliest of men
Editor: Sparrow Translations
"Look! He has already began the fourth round!" Someone from the stands shouted in astonishment as he watched Ling Yun.
This was accompanied by a fleeting moment of silence from the audience. After which, a series of ear-splitting cheers resounded through the air. Cheers were now mixed together with an explosion of applause by onlookers.
Yet, amidst all the cheers, Ling Yun only had one thought in his mind.
What a joke… how slow can I be?
Ling Yun chided himself with a look of self-contempt. Following that, he bit hard into the tip of his tongue, as if he was trying to punish himself.
The pain was unimaginable.
Nevertheless, in the midst of all this excruciating pain, Ling Yun's bloodshot eyes still shone with wild determination.
Ling Yun used the 1st round to attune himself to the weight of the sandbag as he tried to find his balance and the optimum tempo.
In the 2nd round, he was focused on depleting all his energy to force the painful sensation instead to pervade his entire body.
Last but not least, in the 3rd round, Ling Yun had to use his endurance and willpower to push himself forward. All of this was done in hopes of pushing his body to the peak of fatigue, pain and soreness in the fourth round.
That being said, even after 45 minutes, he was only able to cover 1200 meters! To the proud and strong Ling Yun from Cultivation World, this was a humiliation he could barely swallow.
Now that Ling Yun had entered the fourth round, all he could depend on was his iron will.
To ordinary folk, this painful soreness would be no different from endless torture. Be that as it may, to the great Ling Yun, this was just the perfect opportunity for him to hone his mind and surpass his limits.
It's do or die!
To Ling Yun, the answer was obvious; he had to continue. However, with all his energy and endurance exhausted, all his battered body could rely on was his powerful will to drive his lifeforce forward.
"Hey, fat bloke! I don't know what's wrong with you today but listen up! If you have the guts to start the fourth round, you jolly well finish the fifth!" A deafening voice shouted beside Ling Yun.
With sweat cascading down his body like rain droplets, Ling Yun's sweat-filled eyes could no longer open. All he could feel was a looming tall shadow moving beside him.
Unwilling to wipe the sweat from his eyes for fear of breaking his tempo, all he could do was twist his neck towards the speaker and manage a weary smile. Then, he was back to business. He gritted his teeth even harder and he widened his strides.
What everyone else did not know was that if Ling Yun still had the energy to move his mouth, he probably would have spat in Tang Meng's face.
Five rounds? Don't underestimate me!
On the other hand, Tang Meng who ran beside Ling Yun had stopped and was left in a daze. This was because Ling Yun's smile had conveyed his scorn at Tang Meng's ridiculous idea that he could only run five rounds.
It was also at this moment that Tang Meng realized Ling Yun's reason for running.
"He isn't trying to entertain the crowd or prove himself to anyone… That guy is just trying to challenge himself!" Tang Meng uttered softly to himself as he realized the truth.
"Cao Shanshan, it's your win!" Tang Meng exclaimed while looking at Ling Yun with a perplexed expression.
The atmosphere around the track was now electrifying! The students watching in the field could no longer contain their excitement, a female student even went as far as to chase after Ling Yun! After the first student, there was soon a second followed by a third. Soon, there was a group of students running with Ling Yun, cheering him on nonstop.
"Ling Yun, we are here for you, go for it…"
"Come on, you can do it!"
The countless encouragements by onlookers on the field combined with those from the stands were almost earth-shattering. It was as if Qing Shui High was holding another sports meet.
In the classroom of Grade 12 Class 1.
The third period was almost over. Xie Junyan's facial expression was no longer as relaxed and confident as before. He now had a complicated look as he stared at the text on the screen of his iPhone 5.
The text wrote: "Boss, that fat turd has started the 4th round, what should we do now?"
With a frown on his face, Xie Junyan hesitated for a moment before replying: "Let him finish this round but if he decides to run the fifth, make sure to stop him by any means… Even if you have to break his legs!"
As he typed, Xie Junyan's eyes were filled with malevolence and ruthlessness for a brief moment. Yet in a blink of an eye, his facial expression had returned to normal and his attention had returned to the lesson.
Back on the field.
Li Lei, a man who worked out regularly with Cheng Zhiye, put his phone back into his pocket. His eyes were following Ling Yun's every movement. Li Lei actually specialized in mixed martial arts and was Xie Junyan's loyal underling. At the same time, he also served as Xie Junyan's heavy hitter, roughing up anyone that Xie Junyan disliked. He was often seen with his master, fooling around after school. However, in order to maintain Xie Junyan's model image in school, they hardly met up during school hours. Instead, Li Lei's orders were sent to him via texts.
In the case of this bet, it was obvious that if Xie Junyan had the guts to bet five grand, he no doubt already had all precautionary measures in place to win. Afterall, if Ling Yun followed as he had predicted all would be good but if he did not, then all Xie Junyan had to do was use Li Lei to make sure he did.
Li Lei was also the reason why Xie Junyan had refused to go with Tang Meng to the track to count the laps. Since he could just wait in class for his underling's regular updates on the situation. All this was also so that Xie Junyan would not have to go head-on against Ning Lingyu. This was because he still desired to win her heart before his university entrance exams.
"Come on, just 100 meters more!"
"Don't give up!"
With the loud cheers of the lower grade students, Ling Yun was now running wildly. Instead of slowing down from the pain, his speed was actually rising. As unbelievable as it seemed, Ling Yun was actually enjoying the pain that his body was suffering.
Even for someone like Ling Yun, and despite all his efforts, he knew that this mortal body was at its utmost limits. Now he was struggling for air with each step and his breathing was becoming more and more ragged by the second. It was as if a hot searing iron was being pressed against Ling Yun' s throat. The pain was making breathing a near impossible task.
The sweat that was flowing down his body had also stopped and was now instantaneously evaporating into hot vapor as they come into contact with his absurdly high body temperature.
The reason that Ling Yun was still capable of running was pure inertia alone. Despite being able to maintain his strides, his steps were no longer aligned and his tempo was almost broken.
"After all, this is a mortal's body," Ling Yun uttered with a sigh.
His remaining ray of hope was the spiritual energy stored within his body from the Shichiyou herb. However, there were no signs of the energy being released…
Ling Yun knew deep down that if this energy was not released throughout his body soon, he would undoubtedly crumble into a lifeless heap after the fourth round.
Even the crowd was beginning to realize that Ling Yun was truly at his limits.
"Looks like four rounds is the most that he can go," One onlooker said with a sigh.
As he looked on at the pitiful sight of Ling Yun, who was on the verge of collapsing, Tang Meng could only shake his head sympathetically with a regretful expression. At that moment, Tang Meng had forgotten all about winning and losing. All he could feel swelling up within him was regret that Ling Yun could not go past 4 rounds.
It was at this moment that something unexpected happened.
Just as Ling Yun was about to finish his fourth round, all of a sudden, he stumbled over a pebble. Staggering for a moment, it almost seemed as if his whole body was going to topple over.
Silence fell over the crowd.
Two students running behind Ling Yun attempted to support him.
"Don't touch him!" Tang Meng's voice exploded from the side, causing the two boys to back away immediately.
Tang Meng instinctively knew that if someone was to lend a hand to Ling Yun in his current state, Ling Yun would no doubt give in and stop running completely. In his condition, he would surely be transported straight to the infirmary.
On the other hand, all that Ling Yun could see in front of him was pure darkness and with a cough, a considerable amount of blood spilt out from his mouth, splattering on the track.
Upon witnessing this horrific scene, the crowd let out a loud gasp, with the students running with Ling Yun left dead in their tracks.
"He actually puked blood…"
"How is that possible from running…"
"Hey, look, he's still not stopping!"
The whole crowd was in shock as Ling Yun was still trying to run.
"Oh my God, he actually finished the 4th round!" someone shouted.
A wave of emotions flooded Ling Yun's physical education teacher Ma Tian Feng upon seeing this.
"Vomiting blood from running is only a sight seen during international marathons or during the special forces' grueling training… How far is he gonna push himself?" Ma Tian Feng said to himself in disbelief.
As Ling Yun's P.E. teacher, Ma Tian Feng wanted to stop Ling Yun so badly. He knew that he would be held responsible if Ling Yun ended up dying.
"If I don't stop him, he's really gonna run to his death!" Ma Tian Feng uttered desperately under his breath.
However, Ma Tian Feng was not the only one having such thoughts. Tang Meng had fallen flat onto his bottom as he was in a huge amount of shock after seeing the bloody scene.
"What is wrong with him? What's driving him so far?" Tang Meng questioned.
As stunned as all the onlookers were, they were also equally puzzled. Ling Yun's footsteps appeared to be getting lighter and his tempo was becoming smoother.
At that instant, only Ling Yun knew what had exactly occurred. Unbeknownst to the onlookers, he was actually grateful to the pebble for tripping him. This was because without the pebble, he would not have stumbled over. Without stumbling over, he would not have awoken the spiritual energy from the Shichiyou herb. It was the catalyst he needed.
Following the expulsion of the blood that had clotted up within his throat, the energy in the herb stored within his body was also released. This energy, like a flowing fountain, then spread rapidly through all his meridians, permeating his whole body!
Finally! It's a success!
With the immense amount of energy pulsing throughout every inch of his body, Ling Yun's lifeless eyes were rekindled and his vision was restored. With this new found energy, Ling Yun exploded forward, running like never before!
"My god, he's going faster than before!"
Stunned beyond words by Ling Yun's change, Tang Meng jumped to his feet as if he was possessed.
"Impossible!" Cheng Zhiye shouted with eyes opened so wide it almost seemed as if they were gonna pop out of his sockets.
Ma Feng Tian, who was on his way to stop Ling Yun, had stop and instead started looking at his watch.
"At the rate at which he's going, he might just finish the fifth round under six minutes. This kid…"
He was probably right as Ling Yun was feeling better than ever. He was even smiling with his bloodied teeth showing.
"After cleansing my meridians and body for the whole night, of course the plan would be a success!" Ling Yun exclaimed with confidence.
Now all that was left for Ling Yun was to run as fast as he could and for him to use up every single bit of his new supply of energy.
"Oh my god, he's the bravest of the bravest!"
"The manliest of all men!"
The crowd that was watching Ling Yun was so pumped with excitement and amazement that their cheers were filling the whole campus.
Some of the ladies were even crying for Ling Yun.
However, there was one person who was not as excited…
Li Lei, who had thought Ling Yun was gonna go down in the fourth round, let out a deep breath as his facial expression darkened.
It was time for work.
"He's started the fifth round, I will stop him."
With the text sent, Li Lei immediately started walking towards Ling Yun.
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