Chapter 68: I'm! Hurrying to the Provincial Stadium! Ready to make a grand display of my powers there!_1
The next day, at 5:30 a.m., outside the gates of Luo City Number One High School, Su Yan had arrived early. He was leisurely eating a pork bun and drinking soy milk, waiting for the bus with a relaxed and contented expression.
Besides him, 32 other students were also waiting silently for the bus. Counting Su Yan, these 33 students were all those from Luo City Number One High School who had qualified for this year's tournament.
Out of these 33, 28 were from the key class, Senior Year (1), having almost monopolized all the spots for the school's tournament selection. The remaining five included Su Yan and Lin Ruoxi from Senior Year (10), along with three students from other ordinary classes.
This year's evolutionary physical fitness test at Luo City Number One High School had 369 participants. But in the end, only a scarce 33 students were chosen for the tournament. Consequently, the pass rate for the school's physical fitness test this year was a pitiful 9%, far below last year's city average. In other words, Luo City Number One High School's physical fitness test assessment had utterly tanked this year.
Time ticked by. Before long, the bus designated to take them to the Provincial Stadium arrived.
Seeing this, the waiting students quickly boarded the bus in small groups. Su Yan, however, didn't rush. He simply stood there silently, waiting. Only after everyone else had boarded did he leisurely step onto the bus.
The moment Su Yan boarded, all eyes on the bus turned toward him. Everyone looked at him with curiosity. Some of the girls stared so intensely, their eyes practically green with envy, looking as if they wanted to devour him.
At that very moment, everyone on the bus was thinking the same thing.
This boy from an ordinary class was unheard of before yesterday. Yet, during yesterday's physical fitness test, he bulldozed through the opposition, brutally defeating academic champions from various schools, all while looking cool and capable. Frankly, it was hard for the boys not to feel envious, jealous, and resentful, and for the girls not to be dazzled and infatuated, seeing such a protagonist-like figure from a novel suddenly appear in reality.
Su Yan ignored the focused attention and walked alone toward an empty spot at the back of the bus. That was only on the surface, however. Inwardly, he was secretly thrilled.
Boarding the bus last was a smart choice, he thought. From the moment I stepped on, I've been the center of attention. I've garnered admiring glances from female classmates and provoked the masculine ire of male students. This feeling is absolutely exhilarating! It's the epitome of exhilaration, a 360-degree Armstrong spiraling delight!
Soon, Su Yan reached the last row of the bus and sat down, occupying the entire row by himself. He had barely settled in for two seconds when Lin Ruoxi, who had been sitting at the front, somehow appeared standing before him.
"Su Yan, can I sit next to you?" Lin Ruoxi asked, her attractive eyes curving into crescents as she flashed a sweet smile. Her voice was melodious, with a tender, girlish softness that was very pleasant to hear. Instantly, several boys from the key class nearby were stirred, their hearts practically howling.
Compared to those boys, Su Yan appeared much more composed. He merely glanced up at Lin Ruoxi. She really is the kind of girl who could make countless young men fall for her, he thought.
Then, he smiled and said, "Sorry, Class President. I'd prefer to sit by myself."
Lin Ruoxi: "???"
She was momentarily stunned by Su Yan's rejection.
Damn it! No matter what, I used to be your goddess! Can't you even give me that little bit of courtesy? You clueless, insensitive blockhead! May you stay single forever!
Furious, Lin Ruoxi could only curse inwardly as she turned to walk away.
However, before she had taken more than a few steps, the bus, now with everyone on board, suddenly lurched forward. The unexpected momentum caught her off guard, causing her to stumble. Then, with uncanny precision, she tumbled straight toward Su Yan.
A pinpoint strike... Su Yan thought.
"AAAH~!" Lin Ruoxi couldn't help but let out a panicked, girlish shriek as she fell toward Su Yan, sounding utterly helpless.
Seeing this, Su Yan, who was sitting right there, reacted instantly and decisively, reaching out a hand.
With a resounding SLAP! Su Yan's strong hand landed accurately on Lin Ruoxi's upper body, perfectly steadying her.
"SSSK!" Lin Ruoxi sucked in a sharp breath, then began to curse Su Yan furiously in her heart.
That dog of a man! How could he hit me so hard! Doesn't he know it hurts?!
Unaware of Lin Ruoxi's intense internal diatribe, Su Yan smiled at her with concern. "Class President, are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Luckily, you were there to steady me. Su Yan, thank you so much!" Lin Ruoxi replied with a forced smile, then stormed back to her seat in a huff.
Watching the beautiful class president's retreating figure, Su Yan couldn't help but find it amusing.
This girl is quite the actress, he mused. Pretending to lose her balance and fall towards me when the bus started moving. It was so obviously fake! Seriously, what kind of Advanced Level Being would be so clumsy they couldn't even handle the inertia of a bus starting? That's clearly ridiculous.
With that thought, Su Yan took an A4 sheet of paper from his pocket. It was a list of top students from various cities in Nanjiang Province, with their information printed on it.
Name: Qin Hansheng
City: Narrow State
School: Narrow State First Middle School
Strength: Throughout his entire senior year, consistently ranked first in every city-wide exam.
Gossip: Rumored to be a playboy.
...
Name: Fang Pingyuan
City: Shenzhen
School: Shenzhen First Middle School
Strength: Won first prize in the Provincial Qi and Blood Value Competition and second prize in the Provincial Spiritual Power Competition.
Gossip: Said to be somewhat greedy.
...
Name: Lü Shuyu
City: Dongguan
School: Xiguan No.1 Middle School
Strength: Throughout her entire senior year, scored full marks in every physical fitness test without exception.
Gossip: Rumored to have a sharp tongue.
...
Name: Xu Qinian
City: Partial Mountain
School: Partial Mountain First Middle School
Strength: Successfully passed the independent recruitment of Jingdou University and has been recommended for admission.
Gossip: Said to be involved with several people at once.
...
It took Su Yan about ten minutes to read through the information on his potential rivals. He considered the following candidates to be the biggest threats:
From Narrow State City: Qin Hansheng, Chen Nuoke...
From Shenzhen City: Fang Pingyuan, Su Yuyue...
From Dongguan City: Lü Shuyu, Li Changxiao...
From Partial Mountain City: Xu Qinian, Yang Jianming...
XX City... XXX... XXX...
Since successfully evolving into a Half-step Legendary Level Being last night, Su Yan's memory had improved dramatically, allowing him to remember everything he saw. Thus, he had already thoroughly memorized all the information about these potential rivals from the A4 paper.
This A4 sheet is just waste paper now, he thought. I can throw it away.
However, Su Yan was bored with nothing else to do, so he decided to make use of the A4 paper. He placed it flat on his thigh and, concentrating intently, used his formidable spiritual power to manipulate it.
Under the control of his powerful spiritual power, the A4 paper resting on his thigh, as if manipulated by an invisible hand, suddenly folded itself into a paper airplane. Then, in an incredibly bizarre manner, it took off without any wind, performing high-intensity flight maneuvers—dives, drifts, and all—in the air above the rear seats. The whole scene looked quite eerie, almost like a haunting.
However, it wasn't a haunting. It was Su Yan using his potent spiritual power for Telekinesis, controlling the paper airplane's flight.
After three minutes, Su Yan grew a bit tired of controlling it. He directed the paper airplane out of the window, letting it crash into a roadside garbage bin.
And just like that, the paper airplane, which had existed for less than five minutes, met its unfortunate end.
With the airplane gone, Su Yan continued to utilize his spiritual power, but he shifted the focus of his control from the paper airplane to himself.
Advancing from Telekinesis to Airwalking is an incredibly difficult process. It is also one of the biggest distinctions between Rare Level Creatures and Legendary Level Creatures.
At this moment, Su Yan was intensely focusing his spiritual power, trying to make himself levitate. He gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead, as he attempted to lift his body into the air.
After a strenuous effort, Su Yan finally succeeded in levitating. However, he only managed to hover about 18 centimeters above his seat, and only for less than three seconds. Then, exhausted, he quickly sank back down, gasping for breath.
It seems I still have a long way to go before I can truly fly in the air... he thought.