American Football: King of the Bay Area

Although Lu Ke had never studied yoga, he knew it was definitely not normal to be unable to hold a pose steady for a long time. Yoga was all about endurance, precision, and breath control. It wasn’t like jump rope, where you just followed one command after another; it was more of a static continuation, a settling of the mind.

So, losing his balance just three seconds after getting into position meant his form was wrong—or at least parts of it weren’t quite right.

’The first pose is already this difficult, and there are still four more to learn. I strongly suspect that at this rate, I probably won’t be able to complete tomorrow’s daily training task. Could it be that my five-month streak of meeting my daily training goals is going to end today?’

Deep breath. Another deep breath.

’Judging from the system’s tasks over this past period, its goal wasn’t to make me fail, but to challenge my limits. This meant that every daily task was achievable. It would then adjust accordingly based on my improvement, practically tailoring the training tasks just for me. This also meant the five yoga poses were no exception.’

Lu Ke forced himself to calm down and watch the video again. This time, he finally noticed something different. After watching it over and over, inspiration struck, and he finally discovered the secret within the pose: when executed correctly, the body formed a golden ratio, perfectly matching the principles of photographic composition—which was also the golden ratio in art.

’Does this mean my center of gravity still needs adjustment? Maybe that’s the real reason I kept failing before.’

This time, he would start from the beginning.

Lu Ke didn’t rush into the pose. Instead, he carefully analyzed every step in the video. Only then did he follow along, starting from a standing position with his feet together. He gradually extended his body, adjusting his center of gravity bit by bit, until he was finally in the correct position. His entire body was like a drawn bow, held perfectly upright, his right palm extended flat, searching for the stability and stillness of his core.

The sensation was strange. It felt as if every muscle was tensed, yet at the same time, his whole body felt relaxed. His agitated mind gradually settled, and all his thoughts focused inward, slowly turning blank.

Lu Ke didn’t even notice the red light next to the video in his mind turn green, indicating his pose was finally correct. He was completely focused, slowly regulating his breath. An indescribable, subtle sensation gathered in his Dantian core. He couldn’t tell if it was the airflow around him or the energy within his body, but one thing was certain: his mind was crystal clear.

One second, two seconds, three seconds...

”I’m back… Jesus Christ, Lu, what are you doing?” Jay opened the door to the room and saw Lu Ke in a bizarre pose. He blinked, his jaw nearly hitting the floor. Then Logan came in and let out a whistle. ”Whoa, Bambi, is that a move from the Indian Kama Sutra? I know the name of this pose, I definitely know it! Don’t tell me, let me think.”

Logan’s jester-like theatrics and Jay’s intrigued circling instantly broke Lu Ke’s breathing. As a yoga novice, he still needed more practice and experience, which he clearly lacked at the moment. The instant his breathing faltered, the entire pose crumbled like a tower of blocks. CRASH.

Stumbling back a couple of steps, he finally stopped himself by leaning against the back of the sofa. Looking at the gloating Logan and Jay, Lu Ke said to Logan with a deadpan expression, ”Tonight in bed, you’ll find out what pose this is. I’m sure you’ll enjoy being on the bottom.”

Jay let out a whistle, shouting with glee, ”Touchdown, Lu Ke! Fumble, Logan!”

Logan immediately hugged his arms in an exaggerated, shy maiden-like pose—except his bulky frame didn’t look shy at all, just weird. ”Please be gentle, okay? It’s my first time, I’m still a little shy.”

”Touchdown, Logan!” Jay, enjoying the show from the sidelines, was thoroughly entertained. All he was missing was a bag of chips.

”Don’t worry, I’ll be extra considerate, you little minx.” Lu Ke gave an exaggerated arch of his eyebrow, shot him a flirtatious wink, and reached out with his right index finger to lift Logan’s chin. Before the teasing gesture could even get close, Logan couldn’t take it anymore. With a look like he’d seen a ghost, he spun around and fled, pretending to gag. He quickly threw his hands up in surrender. ”I give up, I give up.”

Standing nearby, Jay darted forward and raised Lu Ke’s right hand. ”Round one thousand and one, Lu Ke wins!”

When it came to verbal sparring, Logan and Lu Ke had clashed countless times, but the outcome was never a surprise or an upset; Lu Ke was always the victor. In fact, even Jay himself had to admit defeat against Lu Ke. If he weren’t a professional football player, Jay believed Lu Ke would make an excellent journalist.

”So, what were you really doing?” After the joking around, Logan asked curiously. ”Yoga? Is that yoga?”

”Yeah. In last night’s game, my footwork was still terrible, and my flexibility wasn’t good enough when dodging,” Lu Ke recited the explanation he had read from the system. ”So I figured maybe yoga would be a good option.”

”I heard yoga can also help with focus,” Jay said, not looking curious at all as he walked straight into the living room. ”Lu Ke, why don’t you continue? Let us see. That pose you were doing earlier looked incredible. How on earth did you do it?”

”To be honest, I’m not really sure myself.” Lu Ke thought back for a moment and couldn’t help but laugh, starting to tease them. ”Maybe I should buy a videotape and learn properly.”

”A videotape? Jesus Christ, Lu Ke, what Era are you living in? The seventies?” Logan started roasting him again, a classic case of someone who forgets the pain as soon as it’s over. In fact, the pain wasn’t even over yet.

Lu Ke didn’t bother arguing back. He just shrugged, laughed, and accepted Logan’s roast. ”Actually, not only do I not mind, I kind of enjoy it. Don’t you know that all the best music, the best movies, and the best art came from before the nineties?”

Lu Ke’s cheerful reply made Logan and Jay exchange a look, both making comical faces as if they wanted to end it all. Lu Ke ignored the two jesters and brought up the video again, repeating the previous pose. Slowly, gradually, his body seemed to find the knack for it. He completed the pose without much difficulty, then steadied his breathing to stabilize it.

’Just as I expected, the tasks assigned by the system weren’t random. Each one was planned after assessing my physical condition and skill level. The five basic yoga poses seemed incredibly difficult, but they were definitely at a level I could achieve at my current stage.’

One pose, two poses… five poses. Lu Ke carefully tried all five. He completed all of them smoothly, except for the last one, which was still difficult. The fifth pose was hard because it required a split—his thighs weren’t nearly flexible enough. Forget about doing a full split; he couldn’t even press down into one. There was still a huge gap between his groin and the floor. ’I seriously don’t think I can complete this pose by tomorrow,’ he thought.

”AHH!” Just as Lu Ke was about to stand up, a powerful force pressed down hard on his back, forcing him down. A sharp pain shot through his groin, and before he knew it, his legs were forced into a split. ’My thighs are going to pop out of their sockets!’ Lu Ke thought. ”Logan Newman!” he practically growled, squeezing each syllable out through gritted teeth.

Logan put his full weight on Lu Ke’s back. ”Hey, buddy, looks like you can do it after all. All you needed was a little help. No need to thank me.” Logan chuckled smugly.

”Logan, I can’t feel my legs anymore. I have no feeling!” Lu Ke’s panicked cry didn’t fluster Logan in the slightest. He even leaned in, his face looming right in front of Lu Ke’s. ”Buddy, I noticed you were trying really hard to get this pose, right? This is good. Stretch out the muscles. Once they’re fully loosened up, you’ll have no problem in the future.”

Lu Ke held his breath, not saying another word. He focused, then suddenly shot his hands up and grabbed Logan’s shoulders. With a powerful forward lurch of his upper body, he flipped Logan clean over him. Logan’s back hit the ground hard, making him howl like a banshee. He squirmed like a worm, rubbing his back muscles while his cries of ”Oh, oh” were simply soul-stirring.

Jay had been about to come over and join the fun, but seeing this, he immediately snapped his mouth shut, turned, and tiptoed away, pretending nothing had happened. ”Something on your mind? I think you have something on your mind. You definitely have something on your mind. You’d better say it.” Lu Ke’s voice came from behind him. Jay had no choice but to turn around and force a smile.

Glancing at Logan, who was rolling around in agony beside them, Jay kept chuckling foolishly to hide his awkwardness. ”Uh, I just wanted to ask… um… right, right, the Rose Bowl! If the Brown Bear Team makes it to the Rose Bowl this year, has the coach mentioned anything about the starting quarterback? Are you confident? How’s the injury of the team’s previous quarterback, Kevin Price? Can he recover? Or is he going to keep resting?”

Lu Ke was still sitting on the floor in a full split. ’I genuinely don’t think I can get up anymore,’ he thought sincerely. ’You know, staying in this position seems pretty good.’ ”No, no news yet. But looking at the situation, it seems I might not make it to the Rose Bowl either.” Lu Ke pointed to his stick-straight legs with a deadpan look of complaint.