"You... hello!" Su Wanwan was chatting with the two roommates who had accompanied her when a large figure suddenly stepped up close, leaving her somewhat flustered.
"Junior, I think you're very pretty. Can I have your WeChat?" Zhang Yun tried his best to maintain a suave demeanor.
"Ah, this..." Su Wanwan subconsciously looked toward Ning Chen.
Ning Chen looked completely indifferent.
"Sorry, senior." Su Wanwan politely declined.
She had expected Zhang Yun to take the hint and back off just like any other suitor.
"Give me a chance, junior!"
Zhang Yun put his hands on his hips, flexing the solid muscles on his arms. "To be honest, junior, with a personality as gentle as yours, you should find a strong boyfriend to protect you, or else you'll have all sorts of punks harassing you."
"Aren't you just a punk yourself..." Fang the Fatty muttered under his breath, though he didn't dare say it too loudly.
"Senior, Wanwan already has a boyfriend."
At that moment, Su Wanwan's roommate Xu Rongli couldn't watch any longer and pointed unceremoniously at Ning Chen. "Right there! His name is Ning Chen!"
"Junior, he's your boyfriend??"
Zhang Yun pointed at the scrawny Ning Chen, his face a mask of astonishment.
Su Wanwan lowered her head, feeling a slight twinge of disappointment at Ning Chen's apathy.
"Ning Chen, are you even a man?"
Another female classmate, Jiang Ying, glared at him and said, "Wanwan is being harassed, and you're not even going to react?"
"Why should I react?" Ning Chen asked, genuinely puzzled.
"Because Wanwan is your girlfriend!" Jiang Ying scolded. "Not even protecting your own girlfriend—what kind of man are you?"
"Yingying, stop talking, he... he's actually not..." Su Wanwan's voice was so soft that hardly anyone heard her.
"..." Ning Chen was utterly speechless.
Why did everyone assume Su Wanwan was his girlfriend?
Couldn't a guy and a girl just have a purely platonic friendship?
This world was sick!
Zhang Yun was a veteran of the romantic scene; one look at this situation told him exactly what was going on.
The two of them had probably just gotten together and hadn't made it official yet.
"Junior Ning Chen, with a scrawny little frame like yours, you even dared to sign up for the shot put? You've got some guts!"
While mocking him, Zhang Yun reached out to shove Ning Chen, hoping to send him tumbling and make a fool of him.
Yet Ning Chen stood like an ancient tree with deep roots, letting the rough palm apply force to his shoulder without budging an inch.
"You! H-how is that possible?"
Discovering that he couldn't budge Ning Chen at all, Zhang Yun flushed bright red.
"I don't believe it!"
As a shot put athlete, Zhang Yun possessed strength several times that of his peers; how could he possibly fail to push over a freshman?
He dropped his center of gravity, strained his muscles, and planted his entire palm flat against Ning Chen's chest.
Suddenly, Ning Chen stepped aside!
Carried forward by his own momentum, Zhang Yun stumbled several paces ahead. Ordinarily he wouldn't have fallen, but the former deliberately played dirty, flicking a finger to trip Zhang Yun with an invisible, colorless strand of True Qi.
"Ow!"
With a loud *thump*, Zhang Yun hit the ground face-first, taking a hard header.
"Look, isn't that Zhang Yun from the shot put club? What is he doing?"
Many people looked over, including several P.E. teachers.
Ning Chen lifted a finger. With a sharp *rip*, the seam of Zhang Yun's pants split wide open, exposing a pair of Sailor Moon-themed boxers.
"Pfft, hahahaha!"
The surrounding students and teachers burst into gales of laughter.
Especially Fang the Fatty and Zhang Dachun, who laughed the loudest.
"Damn it!"
Zhang Yun scrambled up, hastily borrowing a jacket to tie around his waist. Gritting his teeth, he glared at Ning Chen. "Brat, you played dirty!"
"Senior, it's only September, why are you already wishing everyone a Happy New Year?"
Ning Chen smiled faintly. "Besides, senior, your tastes are quite unique. I never would've thought a big guy who stands 1.9 meters tall would be into girls' things. Tsk tsk, fascinating."
"Despicable..."
Subconsciously covering his backside, Zhang Yun's weathered face turned the color of an eggplant.
Having his quirky habits exposed in broad daylight made him wish a crack would open in the ground so he could crawl into it!
Especially when he caught Su Wanwan looking at him with a bizarre expression, he wanted to die even more!
"Brat, you just wait..."
Zhang Yun looked ready to tear Ning Chen apart with his bare hands.
Su Wanwan's two best friends, Xu Rongli and Jiang Ying, were also laughing so hard their stomachs hurt.
Yet Su Wanwan gazed at Ning Chen with a deeply suspicious look.
Before long, the shot put competition began.
Along with it, Zhang Yun's confidence returned in full force.
"Let me tell you, in this entire university, nobody throws the shot put farther than me!"
Zhang Yun boasted arrogantly, slapping his chest with his hand. "The Qingda shot put record is held by me—nobody's been able to break it in three years."
He deliberately spoke in a booming voice so that Su Wanwan's group could hear as well.
But Su Wanwan was completely unimpressed.
Very few people cared for the shot put anyway; in terms of visual appeal, it lagged far behind sprints or basketball.
"Only I can break my own record!"
No sooner had Zhang Yun roared those words than Ning Chen stepped into position and casually tossed the shot put.
The surrounding students and teachers saw only a dark blur streak past their eyes before the shot put landed with a heavy *thump* more than twenty meters away.
"Oh no!" Ning Chen thought to himself, realizing he hadn't controlled his strength well.
*Chapter 31: Accidentally Breaking the National Record*
"Holy crap! Did I see that right? He threw it that far?!"
"I was just about to say he doesn't even know how to do the glide technique..."
"This... this is over ten meters—no, twenty meters at least!"
"No, impossible, I must be dreaming... the world record is only a little over twenty meters."
An uproar erupted at the scene.
Even the judges were dumbfounded, staring blankly at Ning Chen with dropped jaws.
When Zhang Yun saw where the shot put had landed, he let out a freaked-out shriek: "Holy shit!!"
Moments later, the distance was measured.
21.41 meters.
The national record was broken.
The world record stood at 23.12 meters.
The shot put field fell into a dead silence.
A freshman had broken the national shot put record—the feat felt completely unreal to everyone present.
"Sigh, what a hassle," Ning Chen muttered inwardly, letting out a sigh.
Not far behind him, Su Wanwan took the lead in applauding. "Wow, amazing!"
Xu Rongli and Jiang Ying were both stunned, while Fang the Fatty and Zhang Dachun stared at Ning Chen as if he were a monster.
"I don't believe it! I don't believe it! There has to be something wrong with the ball!!"
Howling, Zhang Yun rushed toward the shot put Ning Chen had thrown like a madman, but no matter how thoroughly he inspected it, the ball was standard regulation.
At that moment, he collapsed onto the ground.
His entire belief system had crumbled.
Too lazy to continue breaking his spirit, Ning Chen turned and walked back to his class.
He had considered using a spell to erase the memories of the onlookers, but doing so would mean wasting spiritual energy... forget it.
News of the shot put event spread quickly.
The vast majority refused to believe a freshman could break a national record; was this some kind of joke?
If it were the national football team, anything was possible. But this was shot put—if the prestigious national team couldn't even outperform a college student, they might as well disband on the spot.
Li Xuanming didn't hold back either, relentlessly mocking Ning Chen.
"If that punk broke the national record, I'll eat all the shit in every toilet on campus!"
There was no video footage of the competition.
Ning Chen assumed the matter would just blow over.
Unexpectedly, a group of teachers marched over aggressively before long, including Department Head Liu Wei and Counselor Wang Chuan.
"Which one is the Ning Chen?"
The bald department head demanded the moment he arrived.
"Reporting to Department Head Liu, it's him! He's Ning Chen!"
Assuming they had come to give Ning Chen a hard time, Li Xuanming immediately pointed at him and shouted, looking as pumped as if he'd been injected with adrenaline.
The bald department head was astonished. Just this kid surpassed the national record by a full meter??
"Ning Chen, your counselor and department head are here!"
Su Wanwan, Fang the Fatty, and the others hurried to warn him.
Reluctantly, Ning Chen stood up. "Counselor Wang, Department Head Liu."
"The 21.41 meters just now—you threw that?"
A middle-aged man with a stern demeanor stepped forward, hands clasped behind his back, eyeing Ning Chen with undisguised suspicion.
"Yes." Knowing so many pairs of eyes had witnessed it, Ning Chen knew he couldn't hide it.
"Can you tell me how you pulled that off?" the middle-aged man asked.
"Not really sure." Ning Chen spread his hands.
"Ning Chen, fix your attitude!"
Counselor Wang Chuan snapped, his face flushed with anger. "This is Deputy Director Ma from the Municipal Sports Bureau, here at the school to guide us today! Stop messing around and tell the truth!"
"I don't know, that *is* the truth." Ning Chen blinked.
"..." Ma Hong was somewhat speechless and suggested that Ning Chen throw it again.
Not in the mood to run around, Ning Chen refused right on the spot.
"Ning Chen, what's wrong with you? Do as you're told, why are there so many useless words out of you?" Wang Chuan grew displeased and barked.
"Then you go throw it. I'm lazy." Ning Chen simply sat back down in his seat.
"You..." Wang Chuan nearly choked with rage.
With so many people watching, this punk actually refused to give him, his counselor, any face!
Ma Hong frowned; he had never encountered such an arrogant student either.
An uproar broke out in Clinical Class 2, and even the neighboring classes came over to watch the spectacle.
Li Xuanming immediately jumped out, pointing a finger at Ning Chen's nose. "Ning Chen, is that any way to talk to Counselor Wang?"
"How I talk to Counselor Wang is none of your damn business."
Ning Chen didn't even glance at him as he spoke, infuriating Li Xuanming to no end.
Just as Li Xuanming was about to retort, the sight of an old and a young figure appearing drew the attention of the entire crowd.
"Haha, Deputy Director Ma, trust you've been well."
Finding the voice vaguely familiar, Ning Chen turned his head to look: it was the elderly president, Wen Yue.
His granddaughter, Wen Qinglan, accompanied him by his side.
"That's Senior Wen Qinglan from year four? She really is gorgeous!"
The freshmen present all lit up at the sight.
Today, Wen Qinglan wore a set of tight athletic gear that perfectly outlined her curvaceous figure. Paired with her pretty yet cold and aloof face, she made it genuinely difficult for anyone to look away.
Fang the Fatty and Zhang Dachun nearly had their eyeballs pop out of their sockets.
"Old Wen!"
"Old President!"
Department Head Liu Wei, Counselor Wang Chuan, and Deputy Director Ma Hong of the Sports Bureau hurried to greet Wen Yue, their expressions extremely respectful.
Ma Hong's attitude in particular was utterly deferential.
Working in the municipal sports bureau's office, he had access to plenty of societal resources and knew that "Qingda President" was merely the most unassuming of Wen Yue's many titles.
Before Ma Hong could speak, Wen Yue smiled and said, "Deputy Director Ma, a word in private."
How could Ma Hong dare refuse?
They stepped off to the side.
"Old President, what are your instructions?" Ma Hong asked.
"Ning Chen isn't an ordinary college student; he is a martial artist," Wen Yue went straight to the point.
"A martial artist?!" Ma Hong's pupils constricted sharply.
Understanding dawned on him instantly.
"Old Wen, I recall the Ancient Martial Association has strict regulations prohibiting martial artists from participating in secular sports events. How did this..." Ma Hong asked again.
"The boy Ning Chen has some special circumstances. I'll explain it to you later," Old Wen brushed him off.
"Understood, Old Wen, I get it." Ma Hong let out a breath of relief.
If he was a martial artist, it all made sense.
The community of martial artists was terrifying—calling them supermen wouldn't be an exaggeration. Even Olympic champions were at the very bottom tier among them.
Over by Wang Chuan and Liu Wei's group, they were still chewing Ning Chen out, telling him that now that the old president was here, he had better cooperate later and do whatever was asked of him.
Ning Chen dug into his ear, treating them as if they were thin air.
"Ning Chen, you really should cooperate. Otherwise, I'm afraid the counselor and department head will make things difficult for you behind your scenes," Su Wanwan whispered by his side, a hint of anxiety in her voice.
She had heard plenty of stories about schools making things difficult for students.
If you didn't obey, a single diploma could be withheld to mess with you for half your life.
"It's fine."
Ning Chen looked completely unconcerned; he was just coasting through life anyway.
"Ning Chen, stand up right now!"
Department Head Liu Wei scolded in a low voice, "The old president and Deputy Director Ma are walking over!"
"Oh." Ning Chen agreed verbally, but his body didn't budge an inch.
"Are you paralyzed in your damn legs?" Counselor Wang Chuan wished he could slap Ning Chen across the face with a heavy blow.
If a student refused to be managed, the department would inevitably question his administrative capability, which would directly impact his future prospects!
With that thought, Wang Chuan lowered his voice and said, "Ning Chen, do you even want to graduate?"
*Chapter 32: Ancient Martial Association*
"Whatever."
Ning Chen still looked completely indifferent.
"You..."
It was Wang Chuan's first time running into such a prickly freshman, and he was so angry his face and neck turned red.
At that moment, Wen Yue and Ma Hong walked back over.
Sweating profusely with anxiety, Wang Chuan and Liu Wei wished they could each grab a side and haul Ning Chen up from his seat by force.
"This punk actually dares to cross the counselor and department head; he's simply tired of living," Li Xuanming thought with glee.
"Is he really trying not to graduate?" Zhang Xinyan furrowed her delicate brows.
"Ning Chen!"
At that moment, Wen Yue's majestic voice rang out, causing everyone to tense up.
"It's almost noon. Let me treat you to lunch."
Wen Yue's tone carried a hint of warmth.
"?"
Question marks popped up over the heads of all the onlookers.
The old president was treating a freshman to lunch? Surely they hadn't heard wrong!
"Hey, Grandpa is calling you!"
Visibly displeased, Wen Qinglan walked up to Ning Chen, though her gaze quickly drifted to appraise Su Wanwan.
*Such a pretty girl. Is she this guy's girlfriend?* she thought to herself.
Su Wanwan hurriedly nudged Ning Chen's arm as well.
Only then did Ning Chen sluggishly reply, "What are we eating, Old Man Wen?"
"..."
Liu Wei, Wang Chuan, and the others nearly tripped and fell flat on their faces!
The students all dropped their jaws, thinking their ears were playing tricks on them!
Did Ning Chen just call the old president "Old Man"?
Was he out of his mind??
Just as Wen Qinglan was about to flare up, Wen Yue waved a hand. "The steamed sea perch in the third cafeteria is quite good. Let's have that."
"Fine."
Finally willing to stand up, Ning Chen followed the Wen grandfather and granddaughter away.
Seeing this, Ma Hong also chimed in, "Department Head Liu, I have some business back at the bureau, so I won't stay any longer."
Liu Wei and Wang Chuan rushed off to see him out, leaving behind a group of dumbfounded students.
They couldn't fathom why Ning Chen had shown such blatant disrespect to the old president, yet the old president was still inviting him to lunch.
"The old president turns out to be such an easygoing person!"
Li Xuanming felt a jolt of shock internally.
He immediately thought of a distressing problem that had been plaguing him lately—perhaps he could ask the old president for a favor.
***
In the third cafeteria.
Wen Yue and Ning Chen sat down, while Wen Qinglan took charge of getting the food.
"Such fresh sea perch."
*Nom, nom...*
Ning Chen chatted as he ate, his mind inevitably reminiscing about the even tastier spiritual carp of the Little Southern Heaven Realm.
Aside from eating, truly very few things could spark his interest anymore.
Wen Yue smiled, in no rush to pick up his chopsticks.
"My young friend, you possess the strength of External Force Great Accomplishment, and your physical stats leave even Olympic champions in the dust. Why on earth did you want to take part in the school sports meet?" he asked.
"Why else, to show off!" Wen Qinglan said, irritated.
Ignoring her, Ning Chen replied, "I didn't want to join either, but our class monitor and counselor were too annoying."
"I see."
Wen Yue gave a bitter laugh. "I'll have a word with your department head this afternoon. Your situation is indeed rather special."
"Really? Then thanks, Old Wen."
Ning Chen smiled as well, then pointed his chopsticks at the sea perch on Wen Yue's tray. "Are you going to eat that?"
"Huh?"
Wen Yue froze for a moment before pushing his tray toward Ning Chen. "You eat it. I'm not hungry; I mainly wanted to have a chat with you today."
"Awesome."
Without a trace of politeness, Ning Chen took the tray and dug in voraciously.
Two large sea perches, along with a helping of vegetables and rice, vanished down his throat like a whirlwind tearing through the clouds.
"Hey! Were you a starving ghost in your past life? What is my grandfather supposed to eat if you eat his food?" Completely exasperated, Wen Qinglan slapped the table.
"It's fine, it's fine. Being able to eat is a blessing for a young man."
Wen Yue waved his hand with a smile and then asked, "My young friend, has anyone been tailing you lately?"
"Are you talking about people from the Duan family?" Ning Chen asked between bites.
"They came looking for you?" Wen Yue's brows sank.
"Uh, no..." Ning Chen shook his head, keeping the matter of Tu Tao, the leader of the Ten Heroes, under wraps.
"That shouldn't be."
Wen Yue frowned. "The Duan family acts ruthlessly and always repays grudges; it isn't like them to drag things out this long... In any case, my friend, you should be careful recently. The Duan family won't let you off easily."
"Got it, got it," Ning Chen replied perfunctorily.
"There is one more thing..."
Wen Yue spoke again, his expression turning somewhat solemn. "My young friend, you've heard of the Ancient Martial Association, haven't you?"
"Never heard of it." Ning Chen shook his head honestly.
"..." The Wen family grandfather and granddaughter were both dumbfounded.
"You don't even know about the Martial Association?" Wen Qinglan suspected Ning Chen might be toying with her.
"Why on earth *must* I know?" Ning Chen was puzzled.
Wen Qinglan was speechless.
For a martial artist not to know about the Martial Association was just as absurd as an ordinary person not knowing about the police station.
Without delay, she briefly introduced the largest and most powerful organization in the martial arts world to Ning Chen.
"In short, martial artists are forbidden from participating in any secular competitions. That's a rule set by the Martial Association; you can think of it as the law of the martial world."
By the end of her explanation, Wen Qinglan warned him word by word.
"I just joined a school sports meet, what does that have to do with them?" Ning Chen said with utter disdain.
"They will arrest you and lock you up in a prison custom-built for martial artists," Wen Qinglan said coldly.
"Heh." Ning Chen chuckled.
"You think I'm joking?" Her pretty face icy and stern, Wen Qinglan said earnestly:
"To prevent martial artists from disrupting the lives of ordinary people, the laws of the Martial Association are far harsher than ordinary laws. You'd better behave yourself, or if you end up locked away inside later, don't say I didn't warn you!"
"Qinglan, it's not that serious."
Wen Yue waved his hand. "A sports meet isn't the Olympics; at worst, it's just a warning."
"Grandpa! Qingda is under your jurisdiction. If this punk stirs up any trouble, you'll be the one held accountable," Wen Qinglan complained discontentedly.