Extraordinary Realm from Persuasion System

Chapter 18: Chapter 18: Actually, I am a Martial Artist

As roommates who had lived and eaten with Zhang Beixing for three years, the guys from Room 203 wouldn’t claim to know him like the back of their hand, but they certainly knew a thing or two about his character. In their minds, Zhang Beixing had always been lascivious, afraid of ghosts, and a leg-lover. Although he had been stimulated recently and, uncharacteristically, started running and working out, none of them really took it seriously. After all, with a constitution as weak as theirs, even if he ran, he’d probably manage only two or three kilometers at most. They figured they could do that much too.

But that was until today. Seeing Sophia Zhou, who had been utterly outpaced by Zhang Beixing, and then looking at Zhang Beixing himself, still running tirelessly, Zheng Jituo and the others suddenly had a realization.

Something was amiss!

Absolutely, extraordinarily amiss!

”Fuck, I must be seeing things! I actually saw Lao Zhang outrun the belle of Teacher’s College’s sports department. This is insane; I need to go back to sleep.”

”Am I crazy, or has the world gone mad? Lao Zhang has been running for over an hour and he’s still going? Is he really the Zhang Beixing I know?”

”Good heavens, this is too outrageous! So when Lao Zhang said he was running, he was serious after all! How many meters has he run now? Ten kilometers? Fifteen kilometers?”

”I have no idea. All I know is that Lao Zhang never rested throughout the whole thing. Damn, is he even human? Secretly competing and secretly improving behind our backs, huh?”

”Shit! That’s absurd!”

”...”

Up in the stands, everyone from Room 203 was shocked. Even Dong Guoning, who was usually busy fawning over his goddess, couldn’t help but be drawn to watch Zhang Beixing, uttering a ”Wow!” in admiration.

Even bystanders felt this way, let alone Sophia Zhou, who was directly involved. She walked slowly on the track, watching Zhang Beixing, who was still running. At that moment, she was dumbfounded.

As an athlete who had gained admission to Teacher’s College, a first-tier university, through a special physical education admissions track, Sophia Zhou’s own abilities were quite exceptional. Although she hadn’t reached the level of a second-level athlete, she was definitely among the best of ordinary people.

Yet, despite this, she was now at a science and technology university, outrun by an unknown, seemingly delicate young man!

What in the world is this?

Weren’t science students supposed to be bad at physical activities and dislike sports?

He has run thirteen kilometers already and has maintained his pace throughout the entire run. Is he some kind of Iron Man, not feeling tired at all?

Watching Zhang Beixing, Sophia Zhou couldn’t help but question him deeply. As an athlete, she naturally recognized the state of Zhang Beixing’s running. And it was for this reason that she found it extremely absurd!

Pace running is a high-intensity exercise. It tests not just endurance, but also willpower! Even with Sophia Zhou’s excellent physical condition, after more than fifty minutes of pace running, she would be exhausted and need to rest. But this man, having run for more than an hour, showed no signs of trouble at all. His pace was unbroken, his breathing unlabored. This didn’t seem at all like something a science student should be capable of!

Could it be...

Was he also like her, here to scout Shi University ahead of a training camp in a few days?

Thinking this, Sophia Zhou became convinced this was the case. Thus, when Zhang Beixing completed a lap and passed her, she stopped him and asked, ”Excuse me, classmate, are you also a participant here for the training camp?”

Hearing her words, Zhang Beixing was stunned. He had been fully focused on running. Other than taking a moment to add some Ability Points to restore his energy and relieve fatigue when he got tired, he really hadn’t paid attention to anything else. The reason he was able to keep running for such a long time was actually quite simple—it was because the Ability Points were helping him recover his energy. If Zhang Beixing were to truly run on his own ability, he naturally wouldn’t have lasted as long. It wasn’t until Sophia Zhou stopped him that he realized there was such an athletic beauty on the field whom he had never seen before.

But... Training camp? Competitor?

”Sorry, what are you talking about? I don’t quite understand,” Zhang Beixing frowned, looking at Sophia Zhou with confusion in his eyes.

The beauty was indeed pretty, but why did he get the feeling that she was a bit clueless?

Hearing Zhang Beixing’s words, Sophia Zhou was also bewildered. She looked at Zhang Beixing and asked instinctively, ”Training camp just means training camp. The provincial competition starts next month. Haven’t the authorities already decided to use Shi University as the training venue for us competitors? Could it be...”

Sophia Zhou suddenly realized something, her face filled with shock. She looked at Zhang Beixing and asked, ”Are you a student of Shi University?”

”What else?” Zhang Beixing spread his hands, speechless.

Come on, this is Shi University. If he isn’t a student here, what else could he be?

Seeing his reaction, Sophia Zhou realized she had made a blunder. Her face blushed with embarrassment, and she quickly apologized, ”Sorry, sorry, my mistake. I just saw you running for so long without seeming tired, so I thought you were an athletic student from another school.”

”I didn’t expect... I’m really sorry!”

”Let me introduce myself. I’m Sophia Zhou, a junior from the Sports Department of Teacher’s College.”

Zhang Beixing nodded, indicating he understood. He then looked at her seriously, unclear on her intentions.

Seeing this, Sophia Zhou tentatively asked, ”Can you share how you trained your physical fitness? Also, have you ever thought about being an athlete? With your strength, you could easily qualify as a second-level athlete!”

Her questions were mixed with flattery. Combined with her admiring and curious gaze, Sophia Zhou’s approach completely inflated Zhang Beixing’s ego; he was on cloud nine!

He waved his hand casually and said, ”Hey, you flatter me. I was just running casually; I’m far from an athlete and have nothing to share with you. But, a second-level athlete... that sounds great, but I’m not considering it at the moment!”

Sophia Zhou was puzzled. ”Huh! Why not? Your talent is so great...”

She even doubted whether she had heard him wrong.

That was a second-level athlete! A goal that many sports students strive for all their lives, exhausting all their efforts to reach! So far, there were only a little more than seven thousand second-level athletes recorded nationwide! Zhang Beixing had the ability to become one of them, yet he didn’t even hesitate and outright declined.

This...

Seeing Sophia Zhou’s shocked expression, Zhang Beixing thought for a moment and then, very flamboyantly, flicked his sweaty hair and said, ”Sorry, actually I’m a Martial Artist!”

Sophia Zhou was astonished, ”Martial Artist?”

”Yes, as Martial Artists, we are not allowed to participate in such competitions!”

”After all, our physical constitution far exceeds that of ordinary people. If we joined those competitions, it would just be bullying!”

Saying this, Zhang Beixing performed a couple of moves, which looked powerful and impressive.

Sophia Zhou was totally stunned by Zhang Beixing’s act, her mouth agape in disbelief.

Seeing her like this, Zhang Beixing also stopped his moves, stood with his hands behind his back, presenting himself as a master.

But in reality, only Zhang Beixing himself knew this was far from a masterful stance; he was actually in a bit of a pickle! Sophia Zhou had come to him to learn the secret behind his amazing physical abilities. He couldn’t very well just tell her he was a ’cheater’ and that he was so incredible because of the System, could he? But not answering wouldn’t be very polite either. So, to cover it up, he had to attribute his accomplishments to Martial Arts. Luckily, this worked, and Sophia Zhou was fooled.

Damn it, no wonder in many movies, those protagonists who show off never look back at explosions.

It’s not that they don’t want to look back, but if they did, they’d be caught with their pants down!

Good thing I was clever; otherwise, today would have been really awkward!

With a sigh of relief, Zhang Beixing reflected that being a show-off truly was a skillful art.