Minute after minute passed and the only break Ling Yun had taken was a sip of water after chapter four. Other than that, he was a hundred percent engrossed in reciting the content.
No one was willing to break his momentum. They allowed this obese-looking loser to continue with his recitation of the chapters.
Amazing would be an understatement of his wondrous ability. It was nothing short of phenomenal!
By now, all the mockery from his classmates had vanished. What remained of it were just looks of envy and jealousy towards Ling Yun.
At the side, Zhang Ling used her hands to cover her chest, so as to prevent her heart, which had been thumping very fast, from bursting out from her chest. She was probably the only person in the whole class who correctly guessed that Ling Yun would have something up his sleeve to retaliate against Mr. Wu. What she did not expect was the method Ling Yun used. It was shockingly simple yet fancifully effective.
As for Cao Shanshan, she was flabbergasted. She had to forcefully control herself to stay as composed as possible. This was after Ling Yun's incredible performance gave her the shock of her life, leaving her with a wildly pulsating heart. She was worried that she might affect Ling Yun's recitation if her breathing got too heavy.
Wei Tiangan was one of those students that were taken aback by Ling Yun's astounding recitation. At the start, he had been thinking about stirring up some trouble and making a big deal out of it so as to disrupt Ling Yun's memory. But now, he had entirely forgotten about it. Ling Yun's smooth and fluent recitation managed to take his mind off his nefarious schemes.
By the time the first period ended, Ling Yun had the first seven chapters all read out. However, he was disappointed at himself for being two chapters behind time. He presented a face full of probe at Mr. Wu, asking him if he wanted him to resume the chapters.
Mr. Wu could not control his excitement anymore as he joyfully crossed his arms to signal a stop.
While activities happening outside the classroom were chaotic and lively, there was complete silence inside the classroom of Grade 12 Class 6. It was so silent that even a pin drop could be heard. Only after a minute did the rounds of applause start. The applause carried on for what seemed to be almost an eternity before subsiding.
Some would say that even President Obama did not receive such a thunderous ovation when he got on stage to deliver his famous speeches.
Mr. Wu, who was clapping enthusiastically with vigor, walked up to Ling Yun and affectionately gave a pat on his shoulder. "Are you thirsty? Let me get you a drink," Mr. Wu insisted, in a gentle tone unbefitting of him. He picked up his cup of water and offered it to Ling Yun, looking at this student of his ten times more tenderly than he would at his beloved pet dog or dream lover.
To Mr. Wu, Ling Yun was not just one in a thousand, he was one in a million! He did not regret his underhanded tactics as that had been the key to discovering his precious student's hidden talent, although he hid feelings of heartfelt apology deep in his heart.
After serving the drink to Ling Yun, Mr. Wu walked to the front of the stage and uttered in a crisp and welcoming voice, "Students, what do you guys think about Ling Yun's recitation?"
"Great!" Everyone, other than the uneasy-looking Wei Tiangan, had the exact same sentiments.
"Doesn't everyone feel that the lesson we just had was extremely fruitful?" Mr. Wu inquired further. The class agreed energetically in response.
"Alright. Everyone, go and have a short break. Cao Shanshan, you will be in charge of the class discipline for now," Mr. Wu announced to the class. "And… Ling Yun, follow me to the office. I have something to talk to you about."
This time, Mr. Wu did not bother about whether the class greeted him or not as he walked over to Ling Yun and guided him out of the classroom in a welcoming fashion.
As Ling Yun walked out of the classroom, he looked back in the direction of Cao Shanshan and Zhang Ling. However, he did not meet their gazes. This meant that he had pretended to not know Cao Shanshan.
After Mr. Wu and Ling Yun's exit, silence devoured the classroom as if the students had all became mute. They were immersing themselves in Ling Yun's fabulous showing earlier. Such an occurrence had actually happened right in front of their own eyes! It would probably be one to stay in their memory banks for a long time.
"This is the fourth time already…" Zhang Ling blurted out.
"Huh? Fourth time…?" Cao Shanshan got very curious about Zhang Ling's statement.
"Yesterday night outside the hostel, this morning on the track, a few hours ago at the canteen against you, and now…", Zhang Ling recalled while counting with her fingers. "This is the fourth time already! I've told you he's changed but you did not believe me."
This time around, Cao Shanshan could not provide a rebuttal. She was still overwhelmed by Ling Yun's capability. How could someone's memory be so incredibly impressive? If he could remember so well, why would his academic results be so poor?
The students did not stay quiet for too long as they broke out of silence and started to exchange their views about Ling Yun.
"Impossible! It is definitely impossible!" The majority of the students commented.
"How is it impossible? If someone can recite Pi to its sixty thousandth decimal place, what makes you think that Ling Yun is not capable of putting to memory everything in this history textbook?" Voices of rebuttals were heard as well.
"But what you are talking about is a Guinness World Record. How can you compare that to Ling Yun, who is, more than often, the last in our class?"
"Hey… What's the big deal about being able to memorize the textbook content? That does not guarantee him a university admission! I don't get why Mr. Wu has to wait on him!" One of the students resented.
"Exactly! The end of year examinations is so much more than just History alone. Maybe he has spent the past three years doing nothing but memorizing these chapters…"
All these jealous and hateful remarks emerged, although not directly from the mouth of Wei Tiangan, but under his deliberate instigation.
Zhang Dong was an exception, as he stayed stuck to his seat in an aghast state. It was true that Ling Yun's accomplishment was nothing compared to that Guinness World Record but Zhang Dong had seen with his own eyes that Ling Yun only skimmed through the textbook once. Just once. There was no way he could have had it prepared beforehand.
It was unbelievable how Ling Yun had managed to memorize this vast amount of content within that limited time he had before the start of the lesson. As Zhang Dong looked out of the window at the track, he became even more impressed as he was reminded of Ling Yun's actions earlier that day.
Inside Mr. Wu's office.
"Hey Ling Yun, relax and take a seat." Mr. Wu caringly smiled at Ling Yun.
"I did not expect you to have such a talent. How did you train to have such an unimaginably good memory?" He asked. Of everything he had said or done to Ling Yun, that was the only question he was most interested in. If he could master then teach the skills to have a wonderful memory to his students, that would be beneficial to everyone taking the History subject.
As for Ling Yun, he understood the reason for that sudden change of attitude from Mr. Wu to him. He thought to himself. Everyone flocks to you and treats you like their king when you are successful, but look down on you when you lose your value and become a good-for-nothing.
"Nothing much actually. All I did was to put in more effort and memorize them a few more times," Ling Yun replied, obviously making his reason up on the spot.
Mr. Wu chose not to believe his words. To him, Humanities subjects required hard work in memorizing the key points in the content. But to be able to recite from memory seven chapters straight without missing out a single word was something even hard work and talent combined couldn't produce.
As Ling Yun clearly was not interested in sharing about his ability, Mr. Wu decided not to push Ling Yun any further for an answer. He proceeded to focus on his main reason for meeting Ling Yun face to face; to persuade him to achieve better results so as to enhance his reputation as a subject teacher.
"Ling Yun, I might not know how exactly you did that. However, since you have this natural talent in you, why not make the full use out of it academically? As you know, History is a subject that requires you not just to remember a lot of content, understanding the main concept and key points is more crucial," Mr. Wu advised Ling Yun convincingly into aiming for better results.
Looking at Ling Yun's serious-looking face, Mr. Wu was satisfied. " You have less than two months to the end of year examinations. Start by reading more history textbooks and getting your basic foundations right first. I'll arrange for the History representative to tutor you with your homework. If you still have any doubts, feel free to look for me".
Mr. Wu knew that with Ling Yun's ability to memorize so well, History, Geography, Political Science and his language subjects would pose no threat to him anymore. So long as he was able to perform well for these subjects, he should be able to gain entry into university without much of a problem. He immediately went on with his arrangements for Ling Yun.
"Thanks, Mr. Wu. I'll study hard," Ling Yun nodded his head in agreement. Why would anyone say no to free tutoring?
"Alright then, you can return to class now. I'll be looking forward to seeing your results in the upcoming mock exams," Mr. Wu motivated Ling Yun sincerely.
After Ling Yun stepped out of his office, Mr. Wu exhaled heavily and mumbled to himself, "It is such a pity this genius wasn't discovered earlier. Otherwise, he would be able to enter any university course that he desires."
As Ling Yun stepped into the classroom of Grade 12 Class 6, he started to feel awkward as everyone's sight fixated on him, like paparazzis' non-stop camera flashes on celebrities. He quietly made his way back to his place before picking up his book to read again.
"Well done, bro. You stunned Mr. Wu so badly he nearly p*ssed in his pants!" Zhang Dong leaned towards his tablemate and said.
"Nah, it's nothing much. Let's just study," Ling Yun smirked before responding back.
"If you do not know what the main points are, feel free to ask me because I have them in my books." Zhang Dong told Ling Yun, as he pointed to his mountain of books.
"Sure!" Ling Yun accepted his offer this time around.
The following lesson was Geography and the students were all looking forward to another showdown, this time with the Geography teacher instead. However, they were left disappointed as Ling Yun was law-abiding throughout and the teacher had nothing against him to reprimand him about.
"Hey bro, wanna join me for a game of basketball?" Zhang Dong asked Ling Yun, straight after the class was dismissed.
"Nah, it's fine. Thanks for asking though," Ling Yun replied, before returning to his books.
While History allowed Ling Yun to understand how the world had advanced and developed until today, Geography could give him an idea of the structure and layout of the earth, as well as a deeper understanding of nature and cultures here. Learning about Earth geographically would hasten his process of understanding this world.
Since he had landed himself in this situation on Earth, he would have to adapt as fast as possible in order to survive. To be able to survive and grow stronger, he had to first learn and understand as much as possible about this planet.
"Water covers more than 70% of Earth," Ling Yun stated as he immersed himself thoroughly into each and every word in the book. He was diligently discovering new facts about earth, so much so that he did not pay any attention to the teacher during the two periods of Geography lesson.
Though Earth might be at least a hundred times smaller in size than Cultivation World, it held a greater array of dazzling natural phenomena. From the voluminous oceans and statuesque mountains to the illimitable deserts and torrential rivers, Ling Yun's innate desire to explore had been awakened.
Ling Yun made marks on the map on the following places: China's Kun Lun Mountains, Egypt's Great Pyramid of Giza, Brazil's Amazon Rainforest, Africa's Sahara Desert, North Atlantic's Bermuda Triangle, Somalia, as well as the North and South Poles. He had been wanting to find out about the unknown secrets behind these places. However, his main concern was still about the country of his origin, China. There was this uniquely ancient but splendid civility breeding in this country that intrigued his curiosity to know more.
Through the history textbooks, he was bewildered by that fact The Great Wall Of China was built upon altitudinous mountains by the natives a good two thousand years ago. Little did he expect this famous attraction to look so majestic, like a sleeping dragon lying across the ridgelines of mountains, stretching from the East China Sea to the Kun Lun Mountains.
If only Ling Yun was physically fit enough, he would ascend off the ground to thousands of miles above just to have a look.
Being a descendant of China, Ling Yun visualized from bits and pieces of his memory an image of a dragon that was no different from the Golden Dragon present in Cultivation World. What is with this world I'm in? How is it related to Cultivation World? He was puzzled by everything that he was learning.
Another attraction that had drawn Ling Yun's attention to was the Terracotta Army of Qin Shi Huang. What Terracotta Warriors? More like a bunch of hidden soldiers! Someone is practicing longevity! Ling Yun exclaimed as it took him just a while to understand what was actually going on.
Realizing both the Great Wall of China and Terracotta Army were from the Qin era and recalling about Lao Zi's "Dao De Jing", Ling Yun broke out in cold sweat. Together with the myths and legends from ancient China, all these explorations and connections between them were enough to make Ling Yun confident about his hypothesis.
There are definitely self-cultivators in this world, or at least there were in the past.
Others might think that these were just mythical legends, but to Ling Yun, a genius at self-cultivating, he was certain these were not as simple as they seemed to be. After all, to Ling Yun, even kicking a mountain into the ocean was an effortless feat.
He continued to make markings on more locations on his textbook. East China Sea, Wudang Mountains, Mount Longhu and even Shaolin Monastery. I shall explore these places once the time is right
He was currently not even physically strong enough to protect himself, let alone travel to those venues.
"It's the first time this semester! I've never seen him so serious about studying in class before!" Zhang Ling exclaimed, still in a state of disbelief.
"So what? Isn't it our duty, as students, to pay attention and be serious about learning in class?" Cao Shanshan uttered, as she gave a face of disregard to her best friend.
"I know, I know. For us, that might be a natural thing to do, but to Ling Yun, it must be a drastic change!" Zhang Ling turned back and looked into the eyes of Cao Shanshan.
"Don't you think that Ling Yun is trying to turn over a new leaf?" The talkative Zhang Ling added.
"Zhang Ling, I think you are smitten with him! Since you are so curious, why don't you ask all these questions yourself?" Cao Shanshan grunted as she looked at her friend displeasedly.
Zhang Ling decided to walk the talk, as she stood up and walked over to Ling Yun's table.
What? Did she just give up her best friend for that fatty over there? Cao Shanshan got so agitated that she could shred a whole jungle worth of paper.
"Hey, Ling Yun…" Zhang Ling said as she casually took the seat beside him.
"Yes?" Ling Yun replied after being disrupted from reading his books.
Before Zhang Ling could see enough from what Ling Yun was reading, he frantically closed his books and stared at Zhang Ling.
"Nothing much. Just wanted to let you know you have to treat me to dinner later," Zhang Ling cheekily told him.
"Wait… Why?" Ling Yun was stunned by Zhang Ling's sudden and direct request.
'No reason why! In case you forgot, the History representative in our class is none other than yours truly!"
Ling Yun was puzzled over the connection between being the History representative and a free meal.
"Have you forgotten about it? Mr. Wu said he will assign the history representative to tutor you," Zhang Ling giggled as she was excited about her free meal.
Ling Yun recalled that Mr. Wu would make arrangements for him and he had duly agreed to it. But, he just hadn't expected the history representative to be Zhang Ling. Not wanting to lose out on his end, Ling Yun posed a question to Zhang Ling. "Treating you to a meal is possible, but what can you help me with?"
"Well, I'm not trying to boast but my history results have never slipped out of the top three since my first day of taking the subject! Even your sister, who ranked first in the level, fared much worse than me for History. Maybe you should ask me what would I not be able to assist you with." Zhang Ling asserted with pride written all over face.
Despite the fact that his sister was a Science student rather than an Arts student, Zhang Ling's achievements convinced him to nod his head in agreement.
"But, I want to bring Cao Shanshan along," Zhang Ling added. This suggestion was immediately rejected by Ling Yun.
"But why not? She's one of the school's most beautiful girls after all." Zhang Ling proclaimed while Ling Yun stood his ground, and shook his head harder.
"Come on! Be a gentleman! Shanshan has been to many countries before and some of them include those that you had made markings on." Zhang Ling persevered with her idea. Her eyes had been quick enough to spot what Ling Yun was reading before he closed his books earlier.
Finally, Zhang Ling succeeded as Ling Yun was tempted by the information he could extract from Cao Shanshan during the meal. "Alright, that is possible too. But I have a condition. Please make sure she keeps her princess-like attitude to herself and not bring it wherever she goes," Ling Yun warned his soon-to-be tutor.
"Fantastic! It'll be at Savant's Restaurant across the school then. Can you go and make a booking?" Zhang Ling asked of Ling Yun urgently before he could have a change of heart. Realizing that Ling Yun could not even afford a phone of his own, Zhang Ling took the responsibility of booking the table herself.
After successfully booking a table, Zhang Ling made her way back to her own seat, only to receive death stares and an angsty look from her best friend.
"So you've finally decided to come back after so long?" Cao Shanshan mentioned sarcastically.
"Shanshan, he has already given in for your sake. Must you be like this?" Zhang Ling remarked, looking tenderly into the eyes of the Cao Shanshan.
"Huh? For my sake? What's going on?" Shanshan wondered, curious and confused simultaneously.
Zhang Ling smiled at her, before explaining herself. "Okay, so this is the full story. Mr. Wu wants me to tutor Ling Yun in History by making full use of his talent in memory work. Hence, I've taken this opportunity to knock a free meal out of him".
"Are you serious? How can you do this despite knowing his family has financial difficulties? As classmates, we are supposed to help one another, not take advantage of each other!" Cao Shanshan raged, as she was disappointed by her best friend's actions.
"Hello, my dear, do you know what you are saying right now? Have you forgotten the reason you are famished now? He was the one that denied us of our lunch. Now, I wonder, who is the one falling for him!" Zhang Ling rebutted. "And to add on, didn't he take your thousand dollars just now? We might as well eat your money's worth then! You two can also take this chance to reconcile."
As the words exited Zhang Ling's mouth like bullets from a machine gun, Cao Shanshan was appeased, although at the same time, still being rather displeased for having been dragged into this matter by her best friend. Her alluring face blushed as she realized she had been repeatedly speaking up for Ling Yun unknowingly.
She went on to take a peek at Ling Yun.
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