This humble Taoist priest wants to take the college entrance exam.

Chapter 54 Natural Charm
The physical fitness test is over.

The plastic playground was scorching hot under the afternoon sun, and the air was filled with a dry and unique scent. The sunlight gradually slanted, casting long shadows of the school buildings.

These shaded areas are the places where students, outside of the sports field, love to spend their free time.

"Go on your free time. Come back to the assembly point five minutes before get out of class ends. Do not return to the classroom without permission."

"Phew~ Dismissed~!"

Boys who love playing sports have already gone to play; basketball, badminton, and table tennis are among the most popular sports among students.

Almost no girls play basketball; the sport seems to be exclusively for boys. Most girls either play badminton, or stroll around the school in twos and threes, chatting, or reading under the shade of trees with their vocabulary notebooks and review materials.

Because of the requirement that students could not return to the classroom during physical education class, Lin Mengqiu did not go back.

She didn't play badminton or go for a walk with other girls; instead, she sat alone in the shade, reading her vocabulary notebook.

She almost fell during the physical test and hasn't said a word since she left Chen Shi'an's arms. Now her pretty face is no longer red, she's stopped sweating, and her breathing is calm. Apart from her ponytail, the girl still doesn't seem to want to say anything more.

Chen Shi'an glanced at her from afar. Seeing the girl's adorable appearance, for some reason, he suddenly thought of "Little Rabbit Crying." He wanted to laugh but had to hold it in; it was really uncomfortable to suppress it.

He still vividly remembered Lin Mengqiu's panicked, helpless, and bewildered expression the moment before she fell, a stark contrast to her usual confidence and pride.

If she really fell, for someone as strong-willed as her, it would probably rank among the top three most embarrassing things in her life...

Chen Shi'an was very sensible. He knew that talking to her at this time would only cause trouble, so he had to protect the girl's little pride.

If there were any memory erasure technique, Chen Shi'an had no doubt that Lin Mengqiu would tie him up and crack his skull open first.

Physical education class has already ended, and Chen Shi'an has no intention of playing any ball, whether it's basketball, badminton, or table tennis. Although he doesn't know much about how to play, his classmates' physical strength, reaction speed, and explosiveness are not on the same level as his, so they don't enjoy playing with him.

Lin Mengqiu, who was looking at her vocabulary notebook, seemed to sense something and looked up at him.

Chen Shi'an quickly looked away.

Let's take a stroll and go for a walk.

Just as Chen Shi'an was about to leave, Teacher Wan called him back.

"Chen Shi'an".

"Yes, teacher."

Aren't you going to play ball?

"Teacher, you really don't know how to hit. You were just fooling around with everyone yesterday."

"Hehe, you're in pretty good physical condition!"

As a physical education teacher, Mr. Wan's image and temperament are different from those of teachers of other subjects. The scar at the corner of his eye adds a lot of his江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry) air.

Teacher Wan's broad, kind hand naturally rested on Chen Shi'an's shoulder, kneading him as if he were stretching his bones, then his expression turned to surprise... He knew how strong he was, but even so, Chen Shi'an's seemingly frail body remained completely still, as if his hand were resting on a boulder as heavy as a mountain.

He had just witnessed Lin Mengqiu almost falling. Like the other students around him, he hadn't even had time to react to that moment. Chen Shi'an, who was standing outside the edge of the track, had already moved. No one knew where Chen Shi'an got such speed and reaction. He hadn't even seen how he ran over. When he came to his senses, Chen Shi'an had already caught Lin Mengqiu.

In any case, Teacher Wan asked himself, if this scene happened again, and if he had prepared in advance, he probably still wouldn't have been able to catch such a sudden fall.

"I heard from your teacher Liang that you are a legitimate Taoist priest?"

“Yes, I’ve been cultivating Taoism with my master on the mountain since I was a child. Teacher Wan, do you also know about this?” Chen Shi’an had nothing to do, so he naturally started chatting with Teacher Wan. That’s just his personality; as long as the other person is willing to talk, he can chat with anyone for a while.

"Hehe, what do I know? When I was young, I read a lot of martial arts novels, about the martial world, Taoists, kung fu, and tai chi. I was obsessed with these things back then."

"No wonder I said Teacher Wan has a kind of江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry) vibe. How did Teacher Wan get that scar near his eye?"

"Sigh, I got injured playing basketball when I was younger."

"I see."

The boy's tone was meaningful.

Teacher Wan was astonished by Chen Shi'an's highly perceptive gaze. That scar was indeed from playing basketball... He got into a fight while playing basketball because he disagreed with the referee's bias... He was young and naive, that's what they call "street smarts"!
Even though the young man in front of him was less than half his age and was his student, for some reason, Teacher Wan didn't dare to underestimate him.

"You've been practicing Taoism in the mountains for a while now that you're enrolled in school, will you be able to do our school's daily morning exercises?"

"I didn't know how to do it at first, so I just followed along with everyone and learned as I went. Teacher Wan, did the school have a unified curriculum for learning broadcast exercises before?"

"Yes, all freshmen receive standardized instruction, including regular physical education classes taught by us teachers. So, how do you usually exercise? Your physical fitness is really good."

"Sit quietly and meditate, practice breathing exercises, or do exercises like Baduanjin, Wuqinxi, or Daoyin exercises."

Upon hearing this, Teacher Wan's eyes lit up. Even though he was over forty, he was still attracted by the novels he used to be obsessed with, not to mention that there was a proper Taoist priest right in front of him.

"I also practice Baduanjin myself, but I always feel like I'm not practicing it correctly. Shi'an, you should be very familiar with it, right?"

"I've been practicing since I was a child. I wouldn't say I'm highly skilled, but I'm definitely very familiar with it."

"Could you demonstrate for me? I'd like to ask you for some pointers."

"I wouldn't presume to ask for your guidance, but if Teacher Wan is interested, I'd be happy to."

Chen Shi'an is humble yet not at all shy; his relaxed and natural demeanor is truly unlike that of his peers.

As a physical education teacher, he had a somewhat stereotypical view of top students as "bookworms," ​​but Chen Shi'an really surprised him.

The two were currently in a shady spot on an open concrete surface. Lin Mengqiu was sitting on the nearby steps, and some classmates who hadn't left were chatting and enjoying the cool air. Seeing Chen Shi'an and Teacher Wan talking for a long time, many people cast curious glances at them. Teacher Wan stepped back two steps to make room for Chen Shi'an.

Chen Shi'an stood still, his gaze fixed on the cool afternoon breeze that blew through the shade, causing his loose school uniform to sway gently.

Immediately afterwards, Chen Shi'an slowly separated his feet, then suddenly twisted his wrists lightly, raising his arms slowly to his chest as if embracing the bright moon. At the same time, he slowly inhaled, then slowly raised his crossed hands upwards, tilting his head back and lifting his hands to the sky. This was the starting posture of the Eight Pieces of Brocade, "Holding the Sky with Both Hands to Regulate the Three Burners".

The boy's waist and spine stretched slightly with the rise and fall of his arms, and the folds of his school uniform flowed over his back like water. Every inch of his muscles and bones stretched out like a willow and became as strong as a pine tree in this movement.

Teacher Wan's eyes lit up at just this starting stance.

He could tell that Chen Shi'an was not practicing the broadcast version of Baduanjin at the moment, but a more complex Taoist version.

Teacher Wan has practiced it himself, and he knows that the most mysterious and difficult thing to master is actually the control of breathing between movements, that is, breath regulation.

Breathing in, consuming, swallowing, circulating, gathering, breathing upwards, breathing downwards, full breath, rushing breath...

Every step is a learning experience; otherwise, you'll just end up like me, practicing a lot but only getting the form, not the spirit.

"What are Teacher Wan and Master Dao doing...?"

Are they practicing gymnastics?

"Eight Pieces of Brocade! We did this during recess in middle school! But it seems a little different from what we learned..."

"Let's go take a look, let's go take a look!"

When transitioning to the second move, "Drawing the Bow Left and Right Like Shooting an Eagle," Chen Shi'an stretched out his arms, bent his knees and lowered them, raised his left leg and pointed his toes, then slowly straightened the leg in mid-air and lowered it to the left in a horse stance. The leg in mid-air was slow and steady. He inhaled when raising his leg and exhaled when lowering it, resembling the posture of drawing a bow left and right.

"Fuck!!"

"Is Daoist a gymnast?! He can do such a difficult move on one leg without even swaying his body?!"

"That horse stance...! It looks so powerful!"

"Even though their movements are so slow, they seem to have such a powerful presence!!"

Not only were the other students watching stunned, but even Teacher Wan, who had specially practiced, was stunned. After regaining his senses, he quickly took out his phone and recorded a video of this rare 'teaching' session.

More and more students gathered around to watch, so the environment was far from quiet, but Chen Shi'an was not affected at all and continued his actions with complete focus.

Lin Mengqiu, who never liked to join in the fun, also shifted her gaze from the vocabulary book to Chen Shi'an in the room.

If a classmate, being inconsiderate, blocks her view, the girl will move aside to continue watching.

But as the crowd surrounded Chen Shi'an and Teacher Wan, she had no more room to watch. She had to stand up, but she still didn't squeeze into the crowd. Instead, she walked up a few more steps to get a better view of him from a distance.

Chen Shi'an extended his left index and middle fingers forward like an arrow, while his right hand was drawn up to his chest like a bow. His gaze followed his fingertips into the distance, his eyes calm as a deep pool, as if an eagle were truly circling in the clouds.

Despite the noisy environment, everyone felt as if they could hear a rhythm of the wind, a rhythm that matched his breathing, even and long, perfectly in sync with the rise and fall of his movements.

Sometimes 'handsome' doesn't just refer to appearance; it can also be a feeling. Girls think Chen Shi'an is incredibly handsome, and boys also think Dao Ye is incredibly handsome.

Who would have thought that the same set of movements would be performed with such a completely different aura by Chen Shi'an!

[A natural and elegant style]!

After witnessing Chen Shi'an's Eight Pieces of Brocade, Teacher Wan's mediocre skills were left with only these four words in his mind.

Lin Mengqiu was also captivated by the sight.

Only at this moment did she gain a glimpse into Chen Shi'an's past cultivation experiences...

This made her even more curious... How exactly did he spend those eighteen years of his life? Where was he, and what was he doing, while she was studying for exams?

This curiosity, like a black hole, drew the girl's thoughts, and by the time she came to her senses, Chen Shi'an had already finished his practice.

Chen Shi'an placed his hands lightly together in his dantian, his breath slowly returning to its origin. He stood still for a moment, as if breathing in unison with heaven and earth, before slowly opening his eyes, his gaze filled with a gentle and peaceful light.

A burst of enthusiastic applause spontaneously erupted from the group of students watching.

"Master Dao is awesome!!!"

"Master Daoist! Please accept me! I really need to learn this!"

"Teacher Wan! Why don't you suggest to the school that we change our exercise routine to this from now on?"

"Hehe, I can consider it..."

Teacher Wan put away her phone, which was recording a video, and then noticed that the group of students gathered there included not only students from Class 5, but also students from other classes who were also having physical education class.

Only Chen Shi'an could have spontaneously attracted so many people.

"Alright, alright, what are you all doing crowding around here!"

After the crowd dispersed, Teacher Wan approached Chen Shi'an.

"Shi'an, could you teach me sometime when you have some free time? I always feel like I'm not doing a good enough job, could you take a look for me then..."

"...Teacher Wan is too modest."

"Hey—you're being modest! You're being modest!"

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(End of this chapter)