After his heartbreak, Tang San became a different person.
Before, although he had never talked much, he would at least exchange a few words with Xiao Wu and occasionally bicker with Yi Yun.
Now, he fell completely silent.
Every day, he got up early, practiced Pole Vault, ate after practicing, practiced more after eating, ate after practicing, practiced again after eating, then went to sleep after practicing.
Of the twelve two-hour periods in a day, he spent eight practicing Pole Vault.
Of the remaining four, he spent two eating and sleeping and two staring into space.
Seeing Tang San like this, Xiao Wu felt a little guilty.
"Brother Yun, did Tang San take too hard a blow?" Xiao Wu tugged at Yi Yun's sleeve and asked quietly.
Yi Yun glanced at Tang San, who was leaping back and forth in the distant sandpit over and over, and shook his head.
"It's not the blow. He's running away."
"Running away?"
"Yes. He's numbing himself with training so he has no time to think about his troubles."
Xiao Wu nodded, only half understanding.
"Then what should we do? We can't just let him keep going like this, can we?"
Yi Yun thought for a moment, and the corners of his mouth slowly lifted.
"I have an idea."
Seeing that smile on Yi Yun's face, Xiao Wu suddenly felt a wave of foreboding.
Every time Yi Yun smiled like that, someone was about to suffer.
The last time he had smiled like that, Tang San had received the Pole Vault Martial Soul.
The time before that, Tang San had started practicing Pole Vault.
And the time before that, Tang San's hidden weapons had been crushed by the Gatling Gun.
"Brother Yun, you're not going to screw Tang San over again, are you?" Xiao Wu asked cautiously.
"How can you call it screwing him over?" Yi Yun said with righteous conviction. "I'm helping him."
"Helping him with what?"
"Helping him step out of the shadow of heartbreak."
Xiao Wu looked at Yi Yun dubiously, feeling that there was more to it than that.
Tang San was practicing Pole Vault when he suddenly heard footsteps behind him.
He knew who it was without turning around. In all of Nuoding Academy, only one person had footsteps that light.
"Brother Yun," Tang San said without turning his head.
"Little San, stop."
Tang San stopped, turned around, and looked at Yi Yun.
Yi Yun stood before him, his hands behind his back, his expression so serious that he hardly seemed like his usual self.
"Little San, you've been pushing yourself too hard lately."
"I have no choice," Tang San said.
"Why not?"
"Because I need to get stronger."
"What do you want to get stronger for?"
Tang San fell silent for a moment.
"For..." He opened his mouth, only to find that he could not say "for Xiao Wu."
Because Xiao Wu was no longer his.
"For myself," Tang San said at last.
Yi Yun looked at him and nodded.
"Having a goal is good, but your approach is wrong."
"My approach is wrong?" Tang San frowned.
"You practice Pole Vault every day. You're improving, yes, but very slowly. Have you ever wondered why?"
Tang San thought for a moment. "Because my physical fitness still isn't good enough?"
"Exactly." Yi Yun snapped his fingers. "Your strength, speed, flexibility, and coordination all have plenty of room for improvement. Pole Vault is just a move. What really determines your limits is your physical fitness."
Tang San looked thoughtful.
"Then what should I do?"
Yi Yun smiled.
He took a scroll from behind his back and unrolled it.
Little figures were drawn all over the scroll, each performing a different movement.
Tang San stared at the drawings on the scroll, utterly bewildered.
"What is this?"
"Peerless Martial Art." Yi Yun's expression was utterly sincere.
Tang San's eyes lit up briefly. "Peerless Martial Art?"
"Yes. This martial art is called Radio Calisthenics."
Tang San: "..."
He thought Yi Yun was joking.
But Yi Yun looked far too serious to be joking.
"Radio Calisthenics?" Tang San's voice trembled slightly. "You call this a Peerless Martial Art?"
"Don't underestimate these calisthenics." Yi Yun pointed at the little figures on the scroll and explained with a perfectly straight face, "They were created by a mighty master in ancient times. There are eight sections, each with eight movements, hence the name Eight Sections, Sixty-Four Movements Radio Calisthenics."
The corners of Tang San's mouth twitched.
"These calisthenics can comprehensively train your strength, speed, flexibility, and coordination. Keep practicing for three months, and your physical fitness will make a qualitative leap."
"A qualitative leap?"
"Yes. By then, you'll be vaulting through the heavens with ease."
Tang San stared at the scroll for a long time, then looked at Yi Yun's sincere eyes.
He kept feeling that something was wrong.
But he could not say what.
"Are you sure you're not screwing me over?" Tang San asked.
"When have I ever screwed you over?"
"You gave me the Pole Vault Martial Soul."
"That's an unrivaled martial soul."
"You made me practice Pole Vault."
"That's a Peerless Movement Technique."
"You're making me do Radio Calisthenics."
"That's a Peerless Cultivation Method."
Tang San took a deep breath, then slowly let it out.
"Fine. I'll practice."
The next day, Tang San stood in the middle of the training grounds, surrounded by a ring of students.
They had all come to watch the spectacle.
Because Yi Yun had spread the word yesterday that Tang San would demonstrate a Peerless Martial Art today.
The words "Peerless Martial Art" had drawn half the academy.
"Is Tang San really going to demonstrate a Peerless Martial Art?"
"I heard Yi Yun taught him personally. It must be amazing!"
"I wonder what martial art it is. I can't wait!"
The students chattered, their eyes full of anticipation.
Tang San stood among the crowd, his face as dark as the bottom of a pot.
He did not want to perform.
But Yi Yun had said that if he refused, he would not teach him the later moves.
For the sake of getting stronger, he endured it.
"All right, all right, quiet!" Yi Yun stood beside Tang San like a host. "Today, I bring you a spectacular performance! My disciple Tang San will demonstrate a Peerless Martial Art for you: Radio Calisthenics!"
Scattered applause rose from the audience.
Tang San took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
Then he began his exercises.
"Section one, Stretching Exercise! One, two, three, four! Two, two, three, four..."
Following the pictures on the scroll, Tang San stretched his arms, kicked his legs, bent at the waist, and jumped.
His movements were as stiff as a puppet's, his expression as pained as if he were being tortured.
The audience fell silent for three seconds.
Then.
"Pfft, hahahahahaha!"
"What the hell is this? Hahahaha!"
"This is a Peerless Martial Art? I'm dying! Hahahaha!"
"Tang San looks like a penguin! Hahahaha!"
Laughter surged like a tsunami, each wave higher than the last.
Some students laughed so hard they squatted on the ground, some slapped their thighs, and some laughed until tears came out.
Tang San's face went from black to red, from red to purple, and from purple to green.
He wanted to stop.
But Yi Yun shouted beside him, "Don't stop! Keep going! Section two, Chest Expansion Exercise!"
Gritting his teeth, Tang San continued.
"One, two, three, four! Two, two, three, four..."
His movements grew stiffer, his expression more pained, and the laughter louder.
The entire training ground became an ocean of joy.
And Tang San was the only lonely island in that ocean.
Xiao Wu stood outside the crowd, watching Tang San exercise and laughing so hard she could not straighten up.
"Hahahahaha! Brother Yun is so mean! Hahahaha!"
Zhu Zhuqing stood beside her, the corners of her mouth twitching slightly.
She did not know whether she should laugh.
If she laughed, Tang San was too pitiful.
If she did not, she really could not hold it in.
"Sister Zhuqing, go ahead and laugh. Don't hold it in." Xiao Wu patted Zhu Zhuqing's shoulder.
Zhu Zhuqing pressed her lips together, but finally failed to contain herself and burst out laughing.
After laughing, she felt a little guilty again.
"Isn't Brother Yun being too harsh on Tang San?" Zhu Zhuqing said quietly.
"Harsh?" Xiao Wu wiped away the tears she had laughed out. "I think it's fine."
"You call this fine?"
"Brother Yun said it's for Tang San's own good."
Looking at Xiao Wu's innocent expression, Zhu Zhuqing suddenly felt that this little rabbit had already been thoroughly brainwashed by Yi Yun.
Yi Yun stood beside Tang San, calling out the counts while observing his movements.
To be honest, Tang San was not doing badly.
Although his movements were a little stiff, he executed every one properly and maintained the rhythm very well.
This showed that Tang San had strong control over his body.
"Not bad, not bad." Yi Yun nodded. "A few more days of practice, and you'll catch up to the Square Dance aunties."
Hearing this, Tang San nearly stumbled and fell to the ground.
Square Dance aunties?
He, Tang San, a distinguished outer-sect genius of the Tang Sect, with innate full soul power and twin martial souls, the future protagonist.
Was he being compared to Square Dance aunties now?
"Yi Yun!" Tang San could not help roaring.
"Call me Brother Yun."
"Brother Yun, my ass!"
"Looks like you haven't practiced enough. One more time! Section one, Stretching Exercise! Ready, begin!"
Tang San closed his eyes in despair.
Yi Yun's counting filled his ears, the students' laughter surrounded him, and blue skies and white clouds hung overhead.
He suddenly felt that his life might truly never go back to what it had been.
Three days passed.
Tang San did Radio Calisthenics once every morning and evening, without fail, come thunder or lightning.
The students went from roaring with laughter at first to getting used to it, and from getting used to it to numbness.
Now, no one laughed when Tang San did his exercises.
Not because it was no longer funny, but because they had laughed their fill.
But Tang San no longer cared.
He had grown used to being watched, used to being laughed at, used to being the one who stood out.
Besides, he had discovered one benefit of Radio Calisthenics: his body really was improving.
His strength had increased, his speed had improved, his flexibility had grown, and his coordination had improved too.
Practicing the Pole Vault was noticeably easier than before.
"Brother Yun," Tang San said, walking up to Yi Yun after finishing his exercises, "these exercises really do work."
"No kidding. How could anything I teach not work?" Yi Yun lay on the grass with his legs crossed, a foxtail grass stem between his lips.
"Thank you," Tang San said earnestly.
Yi Yun paused, then smiled.
"You're welcome, but don't thank me too soon. There are tougher things coming."
Tang San's eyelid twitched. "Tougher? What else is there?"
"Radio Calisthenics is just the foundation. After that, there's Eye Exercises, Tai Chi, Five-Animal Frolics..."
Tang San's face darkened again.
"Just how many things are you going to teach me?"
"Plenty. Enough to keep you learning for a lifetime."
Tang San took a deep breath, then slowly let it out.
"All right. I'll learn."
He turned and left, carrying the vaulting pole over his shoulder, his steps firm.
Yi Yun watched Tang San walk away, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.
This kid is shaping up more and more.
At noon, the four of them sat down to eat together.
Tang San ate considerably more than usual that day, polishing off three bowls of rice in a row and adding a plate of braised pork.
Watching Tang San wolf down his food, Xiao Wu couldn't help asking, "Tang San, why are you eating so much today?"
"The exercises made me hungry," Tang San said indistinctly.
"Don't you find doing those exercises embarrassing anymore?"
"I did at first. Not anymore."
"Why?"
Tang San swallowed the rice in his mouth and said earnestly, "Because they work."
Looking at Tang San's earnest expression, Xiao Wu suddenly felt that although she had rejected him, he hadn't become dispirited because of it.
He was growing stronger in his own way.
Even if that way looked ridiculous.
He was still working hard.
"Tang San, keep it up," Xiao Wu said.
Tang San paused, then nodded.
"Yeah."
Zhu Zhuqing sat beside them, eating quietly, occasionally glancing at Tang San, then at Yi Yun.
Of those two, one was a monster who seemed frivolous but whose strength was unfathomable; the other was an unlucky fellow who seemed serious but kept getting tricked until he questioned his life.
Zhu Zhuqing found the subtle relationship between them very interesting.
"Zhu Zhuqing, do you want to learn Radio Calisthenics too?" Yi Yun suddenly asked.
Zhu Zhuqing's face instantly flushed.
"N-no!"
"Come on, learn it. It's good for your health."
"No!"
"Not even if I call you big brother?"
"Not even if you call me grandpa!"
Yi Yun laughed, thoroughly delighted.
Zhu Zhuqing lowered her head, her face growing even redder.
She realized that since coming to Nuoding City, she had blushed more often than in all her previous years combined.
It was all because of Yi Yun.
The sun sank in the west, its golden afterglow spilling across the training ground.
Tang San was doing his exercises alone.
There were no spectators, no laughter, only him.
"One, two, three, four; two, two, three, four; three, two, three, four; four, two, three, four..."
His movements were already fluid, no longer as stiff as they had been three days earlier.
Standing some distance away, Yi Yun watched Tang San exercise and nodded.
"This kid really does have talent."
Xiao Wu stood beside him, watching Tang San too.
"Brother Yun, how strong do you think Tang San can become?"
"Very strong," Yi Yun said. "Stronger than me? Impossible. But stronger than most people? Definitely."
"You think that highly of him?"
"It's not about thinking highly of him. I understand him."
Watching Tang San's back, Yi Yun thought of the Tang San from the original story.
Exceptionally gifted, firm in resolve, unbowed by a hundred setbacks.
Someone like that would never fall, no matter how badly Yi Yun tricked him.
Because he was Tang San.
Tang San, who could not be beaten down.
Before you continue