Was Tang San the Pole Vault Champion?

Tang San discovered that ever since Yi Yun appeared, his life had become a disaster.

No, not a disaster.

A comedy.

And he was its only clown.

Awakening a Pole Vault Martial Soul was humiliating enough, but Yi Yun clearly had no intention of leaving it at that.

Early the next morning, before dawn had even broken, someone pounded on Tang San's dormitory door.

"Up, up! Morning is the key to the whole day!"

It was Yi Yun's voice.

Tang San rolled over, pulled the covers over his head, and pretended not to hear.

"Tang San, I know you're awake. If you don't get up, I'll tear this door down."

Gritting his teeth, Tang San climbed out of bed and opened the door with a dark expression.

Outside, Yi Yun stood in a white training outfit, full of energy and beaming as though he'd been pumped full of stimulants.

Behind Yi Yun stood Xiao Wu, munching on a carrot as she watched the fun.

"What are you... doing... this early..." Tang San's voice was hoarse, and he could barely open his eyes.

"Training, of course," Yi Yun said matter-of-factly. "Didn't you awaken a Pole Vault Martial Soul yesterday? Starting today, I'll personally teach you pole vaulting."

Tang San's face immediately darkened.

"I'm not doing it."

"Why not?"

"I'm a Soul Master. Why would I practice pole vaulting?"

"So what if you're a Soul Master? Soul Masters don't need physical exercise? Soul Masters don't need a well-rounded education in morals, intellect, fitness, aesthetics, and labor?" Yi Yun spoke with righteous conviction. "Besides, if you don't use that Martial Soul for pole vaulting, what else can you do with it? Hang laundry on it?"

Tang San: "..."

Xiao Wu burst out laughing beside them.

"I think hanging laundry on it sounds pretty good," Xiao Wu said with a grin. "Pretty practical."

Tang San glared at Xiao Wu. She stuck out her tongue and hid behind Yi Yun.

"Let's go!" Without allowing any argument, Yi Yun grabbed Tang San's arm and dragged him outside.

"I'm not going! Let go of me!"

"Stop struggling. You can't beat me."

"..."

Tang San was dragged out of the dormitory in despair.

Nuoding Academy, training grounds.

The early-morning training grounds were deserted, with only a few early-rising sparrows chirping away.

Yi Yun stood in the middle of the grounds, holding Tang San's pole and drawing several lines in the dirt.

"See? This is the starting line, this is where you plant the pole, and this is the landing area," Yi Yun explained expertly, pointing at the ground with the pole. "The keys to pole vaulting are a fast run-up, an accurate plant, an explosive takeoff, and a stylish clearance. Got it?"

Tang San stood there expressionlessly with his arms folded, wearing a look that said, Go on. I'm listening.

"Here, give it a try." Yi Yun offered Tang San the pole.

Tang San didn't take it.

"I'm not trying."

"Come on, give it a try. It won't kill you."

"No."

"Just one little try." Yi Yun's voice turned wheedling.

"No."

"Tang San!" Yi Yun suddenly put on a stern face. "Are you a man or not?"

The corner of Tang San's eye twitched. "What did you say?"

"I said, are you a man or not? What kind of man are you if you're too scared to even try pole vaulting?" Yi Yun planted his hands on his hips, looking as though he resented iron for failing to become steel. "And here I thought you had potential. Turns out you're a coward!"

Tang San's expression grew uglier and uglier.

He knew Yi Yun was baiting him.

But he just couldn't help himself.

"Who's a coward?" Tang San snatched the pole. "Fine, I'll try!"

Yi Yun's lips curled upward. The fish had taken the bait.

"That's more like it." Yi Yun clapped his hands. "Here, I'll demonstrate once."

He took the pole, stepped back a few paces, and drew a deep breath.

Then he began his run-up.

He went faster and faster, so fast that Xiao Wu's eyes could barely keep up.

Plant, takeoff.

Yi Yun shot into the air, flipped twice, traced a perfect parabola, and landed steadily more than ten meters away.

As he landed, he even struck a pose, raising one hand high and smiling like an Olympic champion on the podium.

"See? It's that simple." Yi Yun beckoned to Tang San.

The corner of Tang San's mouth twitched.

Simple?

You're a level 99 Peerless Douluo, and you're telling me it's simple?

"Your turn." Yi Yun walked back and handed Tang San the pole.

Tang San took it and walked up to the starting line.

He drew a deep breath, tightened his grip on the pole, and began his run-up.

His speed was neither fast nor slow, and his steps were reasonably steady.

Then he planted the pole.

Thud.

The pole sank into the dirt, but Tang San mistimed his takeoff, and both he and the pole plunged into the sandpit.

Face-first.

"Pfft-hahahaha!" Xiao Wu laughed so hard she crouched on the ground.

Yi Yun laughed too, but he held it in and walked over to pull Tang San out of the sandpit.

"Not bad, not bad. Managing that on your first attempt is already very good."

Tang San's face was covered in sand, his expression as dark as the sky before a storm.

"Again," Tang San said through gritted teeth.

He, Tang San, had never been someone who gave up easily.

The second attempt.

Run-up, plant, takeoff.

This time, he got airborne, but he lost his balance in midair and fell onto the edge of the sandpit in an extremely contorted position.

"Ow." Tang San rubbed his aching lower back, his expression pained.

"Good, you're improving!" Yi Yun applauded. "At least you left the ground this time."

Tang San glared at him.

The third time.

The fourth time.

The fifth time.

The tenth time.

The twentieth time.

Tang San tried again and again, falling again and again.

His clothes were dirty, his face was covered in sand, and a few blades of grass were stuck in his hair.

But he didn't give up.

Yi Yun stood to the side, watching Tang San get up over and over, a glimmer of appreciation flashing in his eyes.

This kid really does have a stubborn refusal to lose.

Too bad. However stubborn he is, he still can't escape my palm.

"Good!" On his thirtieth attempt, Tang San finally completed a full pole vault. Although he still staggered a few steps upon landing, at least he didn't fall.

"Good! You've got the makings of an Olympic champion!" Yi Yun clapped hard, the applause ringing especially loudly across the empty training grounds.

Tang San panted heavily, his hands trembling slightly around the pole.

He had succeeded.

Although he hadn't jumped high, although his form wasn't pretty, he had succeeded.

"See? I told you." Yi Yun walked over and patted Tang San on the shoulder. "You've got talent. Practice a hundred times every day from now on, and in a month, you'll be ready for the Continental Pole Vault Championship."

Tang San's face darkened again.

"The Continental Pole Vault Championship? What on earth is that?"

"I just founded it," Yi Yun said with a perfectly straight face. "The first competition will be held next year. I've already signed you up."

"..."

"No need to thank me. It's what I should do."

Tang San took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled.

"Yi Yun."

"Hm?"

"I want to hit you."

"You can't beat me."

"I know."

"Then why say it?"

"Because saying it feels better."

Yi Yun laughed, very loudly.

Xiao Wu laughed too, so hard she could barely hold her carrot.

Watching the two of them rocking back and forth with laughter, Tang San suddenly found it a little funny himself.

But he held it in.

He was the aloof Tang San. He couldn't laugh.

Absolutely not.

At the training grounds that afternoon, the academy's other students began arriving one after another for class.

Then everyone saw a bizarre sight.

Tang San-the Tang San who wore a stern face all day, rarely spoke, and was mocked as Blue Silver Grass trash-was holding a green pole on the training grounds, jumping back and forth over and over.

"What's Tang San doing?" a student asked curiously.

"No idea. Looks like... the high jump?"

"No, no, he's jumping with a pole. It's called pole vaulting!"

"Pole vaulting? What the heck is that?"

"It's... using a pole to push yourself up and jump over."

"...How boring."

"But it looks really funny."

It really was funny.

Especially when Tang San fell, landing spread-eagled in the sandpit. The sight couldn't have been more comical.

More and more students gathered to watch, and the laughter grew louder and louder.

Tang San's face grew redder and redder, but he gritted his teeth and kept practicing.

Yi Yun had said he had to practice a hundred times today.

A hundred times. Not one less.

"What are you doing?" a stern voice suddenly rang out.

It was the academy's dean of discipline, an old man in his fifties with graying hair and a serious expression.

The students hurriedly cleared a path.

The dean of discipline walked onto the training grounds and saw Tang San jumping about with a pole. His brows knitted into three deep lines.

"Tang San! What are you doing?"

Tang San stopped and wiped away his sweat. "Training."

"Training? Training what?"

"Pole vaulting."

"Pole vaulting?" The dean of discipline's voice shot up eight octaves. "You're a Soul Master! Instead of cultivating Soul Power or practicing combat techniques, you're jumping around here? Is there something wrong with your head?"

Tang San's expression darkened.

"This is my Martial Soul training."

"Martial Soul? What Martial Soul?"

Tang San raised the pole in his hand and channeled his Soul Power, making the pole emit a faint green glow.

The dean of discipline froze.

"This... this is a Martial Soul?"

"Yes. A Pole Vault Martial Soul."

The corners of the dean's mouth twitched several times. Then he turned and left.

As he walked, he muttered, "Young people these days are getting harder and harder to understand. A Pole Vault Martial Soul? What's happened to this world?"

Tang San watched the dean walk away and let out a deep sigh.

He had even angered the dean into leaving.

How exactly had his life turned into this?

The sun sank in the west, its golden afterglow spilling across the training ground.

Tang San finally completed his hundredth pole vault and collapsed onto the ground, panting for breath.

Yi Yun walked over and handed him a bottle of water.

"You did well today. Keep it up tomorrow."

Tang San took the water, gulped down a mouthful, then wiped his mouth with his sleeve.

"Yi Yun."

"Hmm?"

"What exactly are you trying to do?"

Yi Yun tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

"You've been targeting me from the start." Tang San looked straight into Yi Yun's eyes. "Giving me the Pole Vault Martial Soul, making me practice pole vaulting, making me embarrass myself in front of the entire academy-what exactly are you trying to do?"

Yi Yun fell silent for a moment, then smiled.

"If I said it was for your own good, would you believe me?"

"No."

"Then there's nothing I can do." Yi Yun shrugged. "You just need to know that I won't harm you."

Tang San stared at Yi Yun for a long time.

He could not tell what Yi Yun was thinking.

This man's eyes were too deep, like a well whose bottom could not be seen.

"All right." Tang San finally nodded. "I'll trust you this once."

Yi Yun was a little surprised.

He had thought Tang San would keep pressing him, not that he would believe him so easily.

"Why?" Yi Yun could not help asking.

Tang San stood up and brushed the sand and dirt off himself.

"Because even though you screw me over, you've never actually hurt me. Besides..." Tang San paused. "You're far stronger than I am. If you wanted to harm me, you wouldn't need to go to all this trouble."

Yi Yun froze for a moment, then smiled.

"Smart."

"So I'll trust you." Tang San rested the pole on his shoulder. "But I'm warning you, don't go too far."

"Don't worry. I know where to draw the line."

The two exchanged a glance, a subtle atmosphere hanging in the air.

Xiao Wu watched from the side, her head tilted, feeling that there was something strange about their conversation.

But she could not say what was strange about it.

"Come on, let's eat." Yi Yun patted Tang San on the back. "You did well in training today. I'll treat you to braised pork."

Tang San hesitated. "Can we have something other than braised pork?"

"What do you want, then?"

"Carrots."

Xiao Wu's eyes lit up. "You like carrots too?!"

Tang San remained expressionless. "No. I just think carrots are cheaper."

Xiao Wu: "..."

Yi Yun burst out laughing.

The three headed toward the dining hall together, the setting sun stretching their shadows out long, long behind them.

The dining hall lady jumped when she saw Tang San covered in sand.

"Tang San, what happened to you? Did someone beat you up?"

"No," Tang San said expressionlessly. "I was practicing pole vaulting."

"Pole vaulting?" The dining hall lady looked baffled. "What's that?"

"It's a sport," Yi Yun explained from beside him. "You use a pole to vault yourself over."

The dining hall lady looked even more baffled. "Why would you jump?"

"For fun."

"Fun?"

"Yes. It's especially fun."

The dining hall lady shook her head, feeling that young people these days were truly beyond reason.

She served the three their food and gave Tang San an extra piece of braised pork.

"Eat more. Look how skinny you are."

Tang San looked at that piece of braised pork, his feelings mixed.

This was the only kindness he had received today.

From a dining hall lady who did not know him.

Tang San took a bite of the braised pork and suddenly felt that perhaps this world was not so terrible after all.

Even with Yi Yun screwing him over like mad, at least...

The dining hall lady's braised pork was still delicious.

Late that night, Tang San lay in bed, holding the emerald-green pole.

After practicing a hundred pole vaults today, his body was exhausted, but his mind was clear.

He began seriously considering a question.

Could pole vaulting actually be used in combat?

Yi Yun said it could, but he felt that Yi Yun was pulling his leg.

But what if...

What if it really could?

Tang San closed his eyes, and an image surfaced in his mind.

An enemy charged at him. He whipped out his pole, planted it, and vaulted into the air, dodging the enemy's attack. Then he descended from the sky and drove the pole through the enemy's head.

That... might actually work?

Tang San opened his eyes and looked at the pole in his hand, his gaze growing serious.

"Maybe... Yi Yun was right."

"A pole really can become a weapon."

He rolled over, set the pole beside his bed, and closed his eyes.

Tomorrow, I'll keep practicing.

One day, I'll show everyone that a pole can pierce the heavens too.

Yi Yun stood by the window, looking at the moon outside.

Xiao Wu had already gone back, leaving him alone in the room.

"That kid Tang San is pretty interesting," Yi Yun muttered to himself. "Even after I screwed him over so badly, he's still willing to trust me."

He smiled.

"But that's good. Trusting me is the right choice. Stick with me, and your days ahead... will be even more miserable."

A devious smile spread across his face.