Training Under Crushing Pressure

Yang Yang's academic performance at Haicheng High School was at best only slightly above average.

With this score, it wasn't particularly outstanding in that top-tier city high school where academic geniuses were everywhere.

However, Yang Yang's fame in middle school was never based on her grades, but on other more dazzling achievements, such as the WEG free solo climbing women's speed climbing champion, the MCG archery women's runner-up, crossing the Indian Ocean at the age of 16, and summiting Mount Everest from the Nepalese south side at the age of 17.

For most students, these honors require more than just knowledge; they also require courage.

Yang Yang was always alone during her time at Haicheng High School. She didn't have many male friends, or even many female friends.

To outsiders, he always has a "keep away" attitude.

Now, this girl suddenly sits in the classroom and says to Qing Chen as if it were perfectly natural: You have to take me home.

What insolent and lewd words!

Nan Gengchen might just be listening to the excitement, but for Hu Xiaoniu and Zhang Tianzhen, who were familiar with Yang Yang, it was a different story.

"What did Yang Yang just say?" Zhang Tianzhen asked, puzzled.

Hu Xiaoniu: "She said she wanted Qing Chen to take her home."

"What did Yang Yang just say?"

Hu Xiaoniu: "..."

"You must have misheard," Zhang Tianzhen said confidently.

After saying this, the two fell silent again.

They recalled that Yang Yang had once told them: Don't mess with Qing Chen.

Looking at Yang Yang's behavior now, Hu Xiaoniu and Zhang Tianzhen suddenly seemed to have something on their minds.

Both of them realized that Yang Yang's understanding of Qing Chen far exceeded their expectations.

The same applies to the relationship between Yang Yang and Qing Chen.

At this moment, Yang Yang said to Qing Chen, "Skipping class is not good."

But then Qing Chen looked Yang Yang up and down seriously and said, "Judging from your appearance, you don't seem like the type to attend class diligently."

"Speak properly, don't make personal attacks," Yang Yang said, raising her eyebrows.

"If you don't want to skip class, you'd better sit here obediently," Qing Chen muttered. "Anyway, I'm not going to waste my time here."

After saying that, Qing Chen broke free from the other person's grip on his arm and walked outside without hesitation.

The other person's back seemed to be saying silently: Women only slow down my knife-wielding speed.

Hu Xiaoniu, Zhang Tianzhen, and Nan Gengchen, the three gossipers, gave a thumbs up in their hearts.

However, something unexpected happened to them.

As Yang Yang watched Qing Chen's departing figure, she also packed her things, got up, and followed him.

The three onlookers silently watched as the boy and girl walked out of the classroom under the setting sun, then passed through the glittering windows in the corridor, and finally disappeared from sight.

Hu Xiaoniu recalled the scene when they first met Qing Chen, who was just as proud and aloof.

He also recalled the calmness and composure the other person displayed when his father wanted to sell the house.

This student always seems to be different from others.

Hu Xiaoniu hesitated for a moment and looked at Nan Gengchen: "Have any female classmates ever pursued Qing Chen?"

"He still paid attention to her in the first year of high school, but he never bothered with her," Nan Gengchen sighed. "Later, all the female classmates silently gave up."

Hu Xiaoniu sighed, "Yang Yang is just like him."

These two people, who are supposed to be unapproachable, have inexplicably come together. Is it a case of two negatives making a positive?

Even now, Zhang Tianzhen was still in shock. "Was I just imagining things?"

"Maybe," Hu Xiaoniu replied.

On the way, Yang Yang walked side by side with Qing Chen and asked curiously, "Classmate, have you always been this unique?"

"If you call having your own opinions a personality trait, then I've always been like that," Qing Chen thought for a moment and replied, "If I know what I want, it's hard for others to influence my thoughts."

"Don't you have to consider what other people think?" Yang Yang curiously.

Qing Chen suddenly fell silent for a long time. "When we were little, we always listened to the adults, greeted the uncles and aunts, and even if it was embarrassing, we would still perform a show for everyone during the New Year. When we grow up, we care about what the people around us think. Some people think you are rude, some people think you are selfish, and you are forced to change yourself by them, but in the end you find that you are not actually happy."

He looked at the girl. "A person is never born to live for others. Guilt and concern for others are actually negative energy, while willfulness and ego are actually underestimated virtues."

Yang Yang gave Qing Chen a strange look. "It's rare to find someone with such insight."

At this moment, Qing Chen suddenly asked, "You also came to Luocheng Foreign Language School with a purpose, right?"

"Why do you ask that?" Yang Yang asked, tilting her head.

Qing Chen shook his head. "I have my own guess, and we'll find out soon enough. Others' target is Liu Dezhu, but I guess your target is Prison No. 18, where Liu Dezhu is, right?"

"It seems you do have to be careful when dealing with smart people," Yang Yang smiled, and neither of them revealed the secret.

When he got home, Qing Chen said, "See you tomorrow."

Yang Yang pouted. "We might meet again in a little while."

Qing Chen returned home alone and cooked a meal.

He originally planned to steam rice for only one person, but after thinking about it, he steamed rice for two people instead.

After cooking the dishes, Qing Chen turned off the range hood and began to count silently in his mind: 10, 9, 8... 3, 2, 1.

Knock, knock, knock—there was a knocking sound at the door.

He opened the door without any emotional reaction, and saw that the girl next door had changed into casual home clothes and looked very relaxed.

Yang Yang stood at the door holding a letter in her hand. "Um... there's a letter for you."

Qing Chen nodded and took it. "When was this letter sent?"

"This morning," Yang Yang said expressionlessly.

Qing Chen was helpless. The other party saw the letter when he woke up in the morning but didn't bring it to him. It was obvious that he was saving it to use for a free meal that night.

Yang Yang peeked into the room and found that two bowls of rice and two pairs of chopsticks had already been placed on the table.

Her expression immediately brightened. "I'm not going to eat your meal for nothing, I can help you with something!"

"What kind of help?" Qing Chen asked curiously.

"You'll find out soon enough," Yang Yang said mysteriously.

This statement greatly surprised Qing Chen, who had no idea what the other party was planning to do.

It's 9 p. m.

Qing Chen unfolded the letter that Yang Yang had brought. This time, the letter was very simple, just telling him how to reply.

Perhaps because the other party hadn't received Qing Chen's reply for a long time, they finally remembered to tell Qing Chen how to reply.

It's also possible that the other party's attempts to test the waters failed, so they decided to continue recruiting.

There's a chance, but Qing Chen's best option is not to reply; less talk, less mistakes.

He took off his shirt to prepare for cultivation, but at that moment, an inexplicable force came from nowhere, squeezing his bones and muscles.

It was as if something in the earth's core was pulling him, forcing him to submit to the earth.

It's gravity.

Qing Chen had an epiphany.

The invisible gravity kept probing and increasing until Qing Chen felt he could no longer bear it. At that moment, the one exerting the force just happened to stop the gravity at that stage.

"Call!"

Flame Markings bloomed on Qing Chen's cheeks, and the restraints on his body seemed to lessen with each breath.

Someone next door let out a soft exclamation, and soon, gravity rose to his "critical point" again.

"So, this is what 'helping with a small favor' means."

Knowing that he was cultivating and that he was suffering from a lack of weight, the other party created a unique gravity field for him.

He was forced to practice when he reached his limit.

Qing Chen's expression remained unchanged, and he continued his cultivation as if nothing had happened.

The content of his practice today was no different from before, but the benefits he gained were exceptionally fierce.

With each breath, he could even feel the Endorphin that the Breathing Technique brought him rapidly accumulating. Those wonderful endorphins quickly regulated his heart rate, blood oxygenation, and muscle condition.

This prompted him to strive ever closer to his perfect athletic state.

He had previously undergone weight training under Ye Wan's guidance, but the weight of the dumbbells was fixed, while the person's physical fitness increased slowly.

It's impossible to gain 15KG of strength by practicing today.

Therefore, the burdens of spiritual practice in the past were either too light or too heavy.

At this moment, Qing Chen's feelings were completely different from before. The gravity that the other party gave him was almost perfectly matched to his physical abilities.

Moreover, unlike external loads, he is now in a true "gravity chamber".

Knock, knock, knock—the sound of knocking came from the door.

Qing Chen felt the weight on his body suddenly release, and he felt incredibly relaxed.

This inexplicable sense of ease, combined with the soothing effect of Endorphin, caused him to break out in a sweat in an instant, yet he also felt extremely energetic.

He looked at his palms and arms, and this method of practice combined with Breathing Technique seemed to have a miraculous effect.

Qing Chen stopped his Breathing Technique, put on his shirt, and then went to open the door. Yang Yang gave him an appreciative look. "I thought you would be shirtless. Not bad, very polite."

The girl was also wearing fluffy blue dinosaur pajamas, covering herself up completely.

Qing Chen asked, "Did you discover beforehand that I was cultivating every day through force field perception?"

"Of course," Yang Yang said.

Qing Chen frowned. If the force field perception was so sharp, wouldn't that mean that his very essence had been detected by this neighbor?

"Don't worry," Yang Yang explained, sitting on the sofa, "Force field perception doesn't form such a clear picture. The reason I was able to tell you were cultivating is because the force field fluctuations are more obvious when a person is in high-efficiency motion."

"Anyway, I should say thank you," Qing Chen thought for a moment and said, "If you can help me with this every day, I can cook for you every day."

This is definitely a real benefit for him.

For an ordinary person, it might take one or two months to feel the benefits of gravity training, but since he has Breathing Technique, the changes are far too obvious.

Yang Yang thought for a moment, "Cooking is an acceptable condition, but your cooking is nowhere near as good as the one upstairs. I overestimated you. Speaking of which, I'm a little curious, since becoming a superhuman should naturally increase your strength, why are you still struggling to cultivate using ordinary methods?"

Qing Chen did not answer the question, because it was a secret.