Although almost a month had passed since the start of the semester, Lin Ye had never once entered the gymnasium.
Upon entering the gymnasium, the first thing that caught his eye was a standard basketball court, followed by badminton courts and other sports fields.
In the innermost area of this field, a group of people dressed in Swordsmanship Club uniforms, holding bamboo swords, and wearing protective gear on their faces were sparring.
These people were in pairs, one attacking and one defending, full of vigor.
Beside this group, there was also a tall, spirited girl with a high ponytail, holding a bamboo sword, patrolling the area, occasionally stepping forward to offer technical guidance to those sparring in the field.
"Remember, it's not just about arm strength; you need to use your arm to drive your entire upper body core."
"Your footwork cannot be messy!"
"Raise your sword another 5 centimeters, show some spirit!"
"If you can't even hold your sword, how can you fight? Pick up your sword!"
With a cool voice and a serious expression, wherever the girl went, the people there would train exceptionally seriously.
Just as she was personally instructing a boy on how to exert force, Lu Keke pulled Lin Ye over to her side.
"Respected Club President, I've found you a very promising junior, he is very interested in Swordsmanship."
"Don't think that I only brought you one person this afternoon; it's not a problem with my ability, but rather that I know not just anyone can join our Swordsmanship Club. This one is a top talent, one in a hundred."
Lu Keke showed no embarrassment when she said this.
The girl with the spirited face and tall figure immediately glared at Lu Keke upon hearing her words.
"If you're slacking off, just say so; don't make so many excuses."
After saying this, her gaze turned to Lin Ye. After an up-and-down assessment, she nodded.
"His physique is quite good; he looks like he exercises regularly, so he shouldn't be as weak as the previous few."
"Hehe, I told you he was a talent in a hundred."
"Oh, by the way, Club President, let me introduce him to you. This junior's name is Lin Ye, a freshman from the Civil Engineering department this year, and he's also a very, very skilled Magician."
"Junior Lin Ye, this is our Club President. Her name is Su Xinyu. Don't let her cold demeanor fool you; in reality..."
Before Lu Keke could finish her sentence, Su Xinyu tapped her head with the bamboo sword in her hand.
"Ow!" Lu Keke rubbed her head, wincing in pain.
"If you talk nonsense again, I'll make you do extra training tonight!"
"If I'm not supposed to say it, then don't hit me." Lu Keke grimaced. "Junior Lin Ye, don't mind her. Although our Club President likes to hit people, she actually prefers to be hit. She's a..."
"Ow!"
Su Xinyu hit Lu Keke on the top of her head with another sword tap.
"I told you to stop talking nonsense!"
While the two were bickering, Lin Ye's gaze turned to the Swordsmanship Club members who were training nearby.
These Swordsmanship Club members clearly had been training for some time; they had the basic moves down, but their fundamentals were too poor.
Their hands were weak, their footwork was unstable, and their moves were too rigid.
Originally, Lin Ye had been a little curious about this so-called Swordsmanship Club, but after watching their demonstration, he couldn't help but shake his head.
His head-shaking motion also fell into Su Xinyu's eyes.
She immediately asked directly,
"Student, I saw you shaking your head just now. Are you not interested in our Swordsmanship Club?"
"Huh? Are you asking me?" Lin Ye, somewhat distracted, looked at Su Xinyu.
"Yes, I saw you shaking your head just now, and your expression seemed a bit disappointed. Do you find our Swordsmanship Club uninteresting?"
"Not at all, Swordsmanship itself is very interesting. I just found their sparring a bit too rigid and stiff, not quite what I imagined."
Lin Ye thought his words were already very tactful, but Su Xinyu still frowned after hearing them.
"Swordsmanship itself is like this. This student might have been misled by films and television."
"No, no, no, Swordsmanship is definitely not like this. Swordsmanship is the way of combat, not the way of performance. Your training here is merely to make movements more standardized and visually appealing, with no practical combat value whatsoever." Lin Ye shook his head.
Su Xinyu suddenly smiled, but it was a cold smile.
"Could it be that this student has some research into Swordsmanship?"
"Research is too strong a word; I just have a slight understanding," Lin Ye said calmly.
"Alright then, since you understand, why don't you spar with one of our members? That way I can see your so-called practical combat, and you can also point out the shortcomings in our training." Su Xinyu was clearly a little angry.
At this moment, Lu Keke, who was beside them, suddenly tugged at Lin Ye's sleeve and then whispered:
"Junior, don't say any more. Our Club President's family runs a Swordsmanship dojo. She's been learning Swordsmanship since she was 5 years old and is now a professional eighth dan. There's no way you understand Swordsmanship better than her."
After advising Lin Ye, Lu Keke quickly went to Su Xinyu.
"Club President, I think we should forget about sparring. Junior Lin Ye was just speaking casually."
However, her persuasion had no effect.
The next second, Su Xinyu directly called out to a boy who was sparring in the field.
"Fang Zhuo, come here for a moment. This student wants to experience Swordsmanship. Have a simple spar with him."
As soon as Su Xinyu finished speaking, the boy took off his face guard and trotted over to Su Xinyu's side.
"Club President, is this junior the one who wants to try it?" He looked at Lin Ye as he spoke.
"Yes, it's him. He seems to have some profound insights into Swordsmanship. You two spar. He probably hasn't touched a sword much, so be a little careful."
"Alright." The boy readily agreed, then he grabbed a bamboo sword from the side of the field and tossed it to Lin Ye.
"Junior, let's have a simple exchange. Don't worry, I won't use my full strength."
Seeing the other party throw the sword over, Lin Ye had no choice but to take the bamboo sword and follow the boy to the center of the field.
The other Swordsmanship Club members, who had been training, stopped their practice upon seeing this scene and began to watch the excitement.
Under their gaze, Lin Ye and the Swordsmanship Club boy stood opposite each other.
"Junior, don't be nervous. It's okay to lose; it's your first time trying it."
The boy put on his stance while not forgetting to comfort Lin Ye.
"Why don't you attack me first? I'll let you have a few turns."
Hearing the boy's words, Lin Ye smiled slightly.
"No need, Senior. Just attack as usual. I do have some foundation."
"Then I won't hold back."
With that, the boy named Fang Zhuo quickly attacked Lin Ye, raising his hand for the simplest vertical slash.
Faced with this move, a normal person would either parry or dodge, but Lin Ye neither dodged nor avoided. He simply held the bamboo sword straight in front of him, his posture as steady as a sword.
Just as the opponent was about to strike him, he suddenly sidestepped, dodging the attack, while his right hand's bamboo sword instantly slashed down on the opponent's bamboo sword. Then, with a flick, the opponent immediately felt a huge force coming from the sword.
As his palm went numb, the bamboo sword in his hand flew out.
By the time he reacted, the bamboo sword in his hand had already been flicked away by Lin Ye, and at the same time, the tip of Lin Ye's bamboo sword was pressed against his throat.
The entire process took only a few seconds, and most people hadn't even reacted.
By the time they did react, Fang Zhuo was empty-handed, with Lin Ye's bamboo sword pressed against his throat.
Whoosh...
The Swordsmanship Club members immediately erupted into an uproar.
"Holy crap, what just happened? Where did Fang Zhuo's sword go?"
"Yeah, I just blinked, and he lost?"
"This isn't right. Fang Zhuo is an old member; he's been practicing Swordsmanship for three years. How could he lose so quickly?"
...
Not only were the Swordsmanship Club members astonished, but even Su Xinyu, the Club President, also changed her expression dramatically.
She had been paying close attention to their spar. She had expected Fang Zhuo, with three years of training, to defeat Lin Ye, who only talked big. She never expected Fang Zhuo to not even last 5 seconds against Lin Ye.
Just then, Lin Ye calmly looked at Fang Zhuo and said,
"You lost. Your weaknesses are simply too many. However, this isn't your problem; rather, the content you're learning itself has significant flaws, so you don't need to feel discouraged."
His words not only failed to comfort Fang Zhuo but also completely enraged Su Xinyu.
"What did you say! Are you questioning my teaching methods!"
"It's not questioning; I'm just stating a fact. If the Swordsmanship of the Swordsmanship Club is only like this, then I truly have no great interest." Lin Ye's expression remained calm as he spoke.
"Good, good, good. Then let me see if your strength can match your arrogance!"
With that, Su Xinyu took her bamboo sword and walked to Fang Zhuo's position.
"You go rest on the side. You'll have extra training tonight!"
Hearing this, a bitter smile appeared on Fang Zhuo's face.
"Now I'll personally spar with you and see if there's a problem with my teaching!"
With that, Su Xinyu raised an eyebrow, and the bamboo sword in her hand pointed at Lin Ye.
"Come on, you make the first move!"
"Alright then, I won't be polite." As soon as he finished speaking, a helpless Lin Ye attacked Su Xinyu with the sword held in one hand.
Before Lin Ye even got close, Su Xinyu felt a sharp aura from him and immediately realized that Lin Ye was not as simple as she had thought.
Unfortunately, by the time she realized this, it was already too late.
She had just raised the bamboo sword in her hand to prepare for a counterattack when Lin Ye, just like before, knocked the bamboo sword out of her hand in a few swift moves, then fiercely slashed down towards the top of her head, so fast that she had no time to react.
She could only feel a rush of wind coming towards her head, and instinctively she closed her eyes.
Just as she thought she would be hit, the bamboo sword in Lin Ye's hand stopped less than half a centimeter from her scalp. The bangs on both sides of her forehead fluttered due to the wind brought by the bamboo sword.
After waiting for a long time and Lin Ye's bamboo sword still hadn't fallen, she quickly opened her eyes.
As soon as her eyes opened, Lin Ye gently tapped the top of her head with the bamboo sword in his hand.
Thump!
The force was not great, but it stunned her without causing injury.
After being hit like that, Su Xinyu froze on the spot, while the other Swordsmanship Club members present were all like they had been hit by a petrification spell, their eyes filled with disbelief.