Chapter 185: Guan Yu vs. Qin Qiong
The library science students in the audience saw Zhou You gain a full body length lead right from the start. Once he got going, he was two to three body lengths ahead of the other competitors, an obvious advantage. The cheers never stopped, growing louder and more enthusiastic. They felt proud of him.
12.13 seconds. The best time so far.
At the finish line, Zhou You waved to his classmates and headed off to prepare for the finals. He had to admit, professional gear made a real difference. Back when he trained at the sports school, his performance had improved significantly. This time was decent, not his best, mainly because the other runners didn't push him hard enough.
In the following rounds, the best time was 12.11 seconds, slightly better than Zhou You's. But he didn't care. For the teacher, making it to the finals was already a win. Now he was aiming for second place while fighting for first—at least top three.
After the first round, Zhou You felt like he'd just warmed up. He wasn't even breathing hard. It was an easy run.
After a 20-minute break, the finals began. This time he was in lane three, a good position. He felt a bit tense, so he jumped in place a few times to loosen up. In the stands, there were scattered crowds of over a thousand people. Saying he felt no pressure would be a lie. Zhou You wasn't naturally outgoing. Being under so many eyes made him uncomfortable. But after years of training and facing big occasions, he'd improved. The old Zhou You would have been even more nervous. Still, a little tension helped him get excited and run better.
He crouched down, set his posture, and focused completely.
A crisp gunshot rang out.
Several figures shot forward simultaneously.
The audience in the stands shouted nervously, cheering loudly.
For the first 50 meters, there was almost no visible gap. Everyone who made it to the finals was exceptional. In the second half, they began to separate. Zhou You gradually stood out, pulling a body length ahead of the person next to him, but the lead wasn't huge. As he ran, he caught a glimpse of the figure beside him out of the corner of his eye, also pushing with all their might. Nearing the finish line, he used a lean technique. He tilted his head slightly forward, maintaining balance, and surged ahead.
Whoosh. He hit the line.
A classmate nearby, worried Zhou You might fall, stepped forward to steady him, and he walked a few slow steps.
"Teacher, you're first! That's amazing!" a student beside him exclaimed in surprise.
"What's the time?"
"11.38 seconds."
Zhou You let out a breath. That was basically his best time. As his sports school teacher used to say, "With your physique, if you trained properly, you could aim for first-level athlete status." He was already satisfied.
The students in the stands couldn't help but stand up and cheer.
"Teacher Zhou is awesome!"
"Teacher Zhou is mighty!"
Haha, Zhou You couldn't help but laugh too. The feeling of running freely was incredibly comfortable. No wonder humans wanted to fly. Running gave him the illusion of riding clouds.
Alright, Zhou You was a bit tired. He waved to his classmates and headed back.
Li Houliang was waiting at the entrance. Seeing Zhou You come out, he drove him straight to the training hall for a massage from a professional masseuse. Professional massage greatly alleviated post-exercise effects, preventing muscle damage, joint pain, and soothing the tendons and bones.
As for the award ceremony, it was scheduled for the last day, with centralized awards to save time and effort.
No one else had a professional support team like Zhou You's. The saying "poverty for literature, wealth for martial arts" wasn't just talk.
The next day: standing long jump.
To be honest, this event wasn't very exciting to watch, not as interesting as the triple jump. Especially the women's triple jump in international competitions. Those who watch know. The combination of beauty and strength had a huge impact. Healthy beauty was a choice etched into human genes. Only healthy women could produce healthier offspring with higher survival rates. Women who were both healthy and beautiful had a much greater impact than someone like Lin Daiyu.
Zhou You's standing long jump was also in the morning, with over 30 participants. Each person had three tries, so it went quickly. Zhou You was near the back, jumping three times in a row: 2.65 meters, 2.71 meters, 2.87 meters. But there was a tall, long-legged jumper with incredible talent who easily reached 2.92 meters, completely beating Zhou You. He ended up in third place, which he was content with. This event was the simplest and easiest. After three jumps, he hadn't even broken a sweat. Still, he went to the Sanda hall for a massage to prepare for the next day's Sanda competition.
The third day. The day Zhou You was most looking forward to.
Ever since he could trade blows with Li Houliang, Zhou You had grown to love this sport more and more. After overcoming his fear of getting hit, his progress was rapid. As Li Houliang put it, "Brother You, your defensive talent is excellent. Most people can't even break through your defense, let alone beat you." Zhou You thought to himself: I play games with high health and defense because I'm afraid of dying.
In the afternoon, Li Houliang followed him to the school, still a bit worried. Fists and feet were unpredictable, and he didn't want Zhou You to lose unexpectedly. Having him there allowed for on-the-spot guidance and support.
That day had the largest audience. Martial arts competitions were much more interesting to watch than running.
Zhou You looked around and saw Yin Na and the others there. He smiled and waved. Yin Na jumped up and down happily, making a cheering gesture.
Zhou You still didn't know the rules. He waited for them to be announced. Only when all the martial arts participants had gathered did someone announce them.
"This is the first time we're holding a martial arts competition, so we're not very experienced. There aren't many registered participants—only ten in total, including Sanda, boxing, wrestling, and Taekwondo."
Hearing this, Zhou You looked around and saw that there were indeed only a few people in different competition uniforms, standing scattered. He had thought some hadn't changed clothes or were backstage. Now he realized it was due to low registration.
In martial arts, you learn to take hits before you dish them out. Many students had no foundation, only learning in various university clubs. They mostly knew the basics and didn't dare to compete—it would be pure punishment. Those who registered were either confident or club leaders who couldn't back out, forced into it.
The announcer continued, "So for this competition, we're trying a new format: everyone competes together, regardless of specialty."
As soon as he said that, the crowd erupted.
Everyone knew the basics of the rules. How could they fight? Not only were the fighting styles different, but the judging criteria and strengths were also different.
The announcer went on, "Don't worry, it's just a sparring session. As the principal said, this is real combat. Everything is decided in the ring."
Zhou You didn't know what to say. This was pure chaos. What were the odds of getting injured in real combat? How many of these people had actually fought? What if someone got hurt? Could the school take responsibility? At best, it was irresponsible. At worst, it was just messing around—abusing authority without considering reality.
Guan Yu vs. Qin Qiong—such an absurd scene was actually happening at a university.