Chapter 37 – The Crow and the Shuttle

The matches on the stage continued.

When it reached the tenth match, the last one of the night.

Lin Zhiqin, who was explaining, suddenly stopped and turned his attention to Lu Yuan. “When do you have time every day?”

Lu Yuan was taken aback.

After a moment of silence, he replied, “School ends at 5:30 PM, so anytime after that.”

“In two weeks, it’s summer vacation. I’ll have a lot of free time then.”

“Good.”

Lin Zhiqin smiled upon hearing Lu Yuan’s answer.

This marked Lu Yuan’s official agreement.

“Then tomorrow afternoon, I’ll come pick you up. Which school do you attend?”

Lin Zhiqin’s tone seemed to lighten and become more familiar.

“So soon?”

Lu Yuan thought for a moment and said, “I wanted to prepare a bit, maybe get some insurance or something.”

“Haha.”

Lin Zhiqin couldn’t help but laugh and chide, “What are you thinking? I’ll teach you some practical combat techniques first, along with some other things. Your basics and boxing power are good, but you’re still a bit short of getting on stage. Although competing is mainly for practical training, it’s best to avoid getting hit when you can. This way, you can avoid a few scoldings at home too.”

Suddenly, Lu Yuan found Lin Zhiqin in front of him quite endearing.

After all ten matches were finished, there was another dance performance similar to the one at the beginning.

The four large screens displayed the Mosa Sect emblem.

The eyes of the huge Goat Head statue at the top of the venue began to flash red continuously.

This time, Lu Yuan was certain that there were red sensor lights inside.

Before the dance performance on stage ended, Lu Yuan and Lin Zhiqin left the venue.

They passed through the hall, the corridor, and took the elevator to the first floor.

It was completely dark outside.

The streetlights along the road were lit, and there was a moon hanging in the sky.

It was quite round, but hazy and indistinct.

“It’s almost nine. I’ll take you home.”

Lin Zhiqin called Lu Yuan to get in the car.

Just as Lu Yuan was about to open the car door.

He suddenly heard a flurry of wings flapping overhead.

He looked up towards the sky.

Suddenly, the cloud that had been covering the moon dispersed, revealing a large, round, and bright moon in the night sky.

In this serene moonlit sky, a flock of black birds swiftly flew by and disappeared into the distance.

“What is that…”

Lu Yuan squinted, staring for a moment. “Crows?”

“How could there be so many crows in the city?”

Lu Yuan shook his head, got into the car, and didn’t think about it further.

“12.33 seconds!”

“One more time!”

“12.54 seconds!”

“Again.”

On the track field, a young boy was repeatedly practicing 100-meter sprints.

At the finish line, another boy about the same age was recording the times on his phone.

After another sprint, the boy who was recording suddenly jumped up, shouting excitedly.

“Holy crap! 11.89 seconds!”

“Lu Yuan, you’re amazing! This speed is almost on par with sprinters!”

Cheng Peng looked at Lu Yuan with astonishment, holding his phone as if he were looking at a monster.

Lu Yuan slowly walked back from a distance.

“My speed has improved a lot. I couldn’t even break the 13.5-second mark for the 100 meters before. It’s probably due to increased agility and strength. My leg explosive power has improved significantly. Also, [absolute concentration] definitely helped.”

The last sprint was done with [absolute concentration] activated, and it helped him break the 12-second barrier.

Although Cheng Peng’s phone timing wasn’t entirely accurate, it was still a remarkable improvement.

Multiple sprints in a short period caused a significant buildup of lactic acid in Lu Yuan’s leg muscles, making them feel a bit sore and numb.

Cheng Peng was still exclaiming loudly.

“When did you get so good? Seriously, did you secretly start taking something?”

Cheng Peng considered himself quite the athlete, but Lu Yuan’s performance was leaving him far behind.

“I’ve just been practicing.”

Lu Yuan casually replied while gently massaging his legs.

“Come on, you haven’t been training that long!”

Cheng Peng grumbled, then couldn’t help but complain, “Seriously, you dragged me out of afternoon self-study just to practice running?”

“Exercise is good for you. Sitting in the classroom all day makes your butt numb. Getting some activity helps your brain work faster and makes studying more efficient.”

“You’re second in the grade. You’re amazing. You’re incredible.”

Cheng Peng couldn’t resist giving him a thumbs-up, though his face showed an expression of “You really did it.”

The results of the Monthly Exam had come out.

As Lu Yuan expected, he made it into the top three in the grade, ranking second, just a few points shy of first place.

Naturally, he received plenty of praise from the head teacher and other subject teachers, as well as admiration from his classmates.

A month ago, Lu Yuan might have been thrilled.

But now, it didn’t seem like such a big deal.

It didn’t compare to the sense of achievement he got from advancing in martial arts.

However, the 2,000 yuan scholarship he received for making the top three in the grade was quite practical.

“The final exam is in two weeks. I can get it again.”

Thinking of this, Lu Yuan felt better and called out to Cheng Peng, “Let’s go to the snack shop. It’s on me today. Take whatever you want.”

“Really?”

Cheng Peng seemed tempted but glanced at the time.

His eyes suddenly started to flicker.

“Forget it. I’ve got something to do. I’ll take a rain check on that feast.”

Saying this, he started running towards the teaching building.

Lu Yuan sensed something was off and couldn’t help but shout, “Where are you going?”

Cheng Peng turned his head and smiled at him, winking. “Delivering something to someone. I’m in love, haha!”

“Damn!”

Lu Yuan was taken aback and instinctively blurted out, “Since when?”

“I’ll tell you later. We’re almost in our senior year. If I don’t fall in love now, my youth will slip away! Ling Yue is all yours. Think about it seriously, Lu Yuan!”

Without looking back, Cheng Peng ran off, spreading his arms as if he were embracing his youth.

Unfortunately, this idyllic moment was shattered within two seconds by a loud shout from the distance.

“Hey, you there! Which class are you from? Stop right now!”

Cheng Peng took off like a rabbit, running even faster than Lu Yuan’s recent 100-meter sprint.

“…”

Lu Yuan stood there, speechless, watching Cheng Peng’s figure quickly disappear.

He wasn’t concerned about being caught by the Dean of Students.

As the second in the grade, not only could he skip class without repercussions, but even if he urinated on the field, the school leaders would probably praise him for watering the plants.

“Youth… romance…”

Lu Yuan shook his head, trying to dismiss these thoughts.

“Such a waste of time. Better to focus on studying and martial arts.”

“Let’s practice a bit more.”

Lu Yuan glanced at his professional panel. This series of sprint practices had actually earned him a few experience points in basic footwork.

Just as he was about to run two more laps around the track, a faint buzzing sound came from above.

“Buzz buzz buzz”

It sounded like numerous dragonflies flapping their wings overhead.

Instinctively, he looked up.

He saw several silver-gray, shuttle-shaped aircraft slowly gliding across the sky.

They were so close it seemed he could reach out and touch them.

“Maglev shuttle.”

Lu Yuan was taken aback.

He had only seen these in TV news reports.

For some reason, Lu Yuan suddenly remembered what Lin Zhiqin had mentioned in the car yesterday.

“From above.”

“Are these people from above?”