Chapter 48: Ouyang Yu

As the weather warmed and spring arrived, the flowers, grass, and trees in Yanjing Zoo began to bud anew, filling the place with vibrant life. It truly was as Lin Tian had said—a haven where birds sang and flowers bloomed fragrantly.

However, the incessant calls of the gorillas in heat were starting to get on Ye Yang’s nerves. He practically ran toward the teaching building, hands clamped over his ears.

“Hey! You there! Stop!” A voice suddenly rang out behind him. Ye Yang froze in surprise. Were there still visitors in the zoo this early? Turning around, he found himself staring at a silver-haired boy—the same one he had encountered a few days ago while walking with Qi Fang near the game room.

“You! Why haven’t you been to the game room these days?” the boy stepped forward, demanding an explanation.

Ye Yang scratched his head. Aside from moving house, he’d mostly been resting these past few days. He’d only gone to the game room late at night once, and even then, Qi Fang mostly played on her own.

“Come on! I want to challenge you to a KOF duel!” Without further ado, the boy grabbed Ye Yang’s arm and started pulling him outside. Ye Yang was embarrassed. What was wrong with this kid? Just grabbing someone off the street to duel? He struggled hard, saying, “No, I’ve got things to do. Sorry! Maybe another time.”

“Are you scared?” the boy raised an eyebrow.

“Scared… not exactly, but really, I’m busy.”

“Hmph! If you’re not scared, then come on!” The boy snorted coldly and grabbed Ye Yang again.

That was the last straw. Ye Yang’s temper flared. Usually, people would just curse and walk away in such situations, but he had politely explained himself. Yet the boy was so stubborn, refusing to back down.

“Damn it! Let go, you’re nuts!” Ye Yang’s fury surged, and he involuntarily unleashed a touch of his demon power, hoping to scare the boy off.

With a loud “bang,” a whirlwind of energy exploded where their wrists met, sending them both stumbling backward. Ye Yang was stunned. He hadn’t used much demon power—how could it cause such a reaction?

“You… you’re a Hunter?” the boy was equally shocked.

“Huh? You are too?” Ye Yang blinked. It made sense—no one who wasn’t a Hunter would come to the zoo this early.

“Ye Zi! Huh? Xiao Yu? What are you two doing?” A voice called out hurriedly, and Sang Shi rushed over, alarmed at their tense standoff. “What’s going on? You’re both Hunters, there’s no need for this. Is it some misunderstanding?”

The boy snorted disdainfully, gave Ye Yang a cold glare, and walked off without a word to Sang Shi.

“Damn! That kid…” Ye Yang was ready to explode, but Sang Shi grabbed him firmly.

Wiping the sweat from his brow, Sang Shi advised, “I suggest you don’t provoke him. That kid… he’s not someone you want to mess with.”

“What? Is he some illegitimate son of Wang Feng? Or connected to some powerful backing? Big deal!” Ye Yang retorted stubbornly. He and Lin Tian were close as brothers—no need for favors or connections. He wasn’t afraid of the WHO!

“Well… not anyone’s illegitimate son,” Sang Shi gritted his teeth. Seeing Ye Yang’s confusion, he explained, “Though he’s only a Level 3 student like you, his real strength is terrifying. He’s very proud and… well, before you arrived, he actually challenged the Thunder King to a duel!”

“What? He’s suicidal? How is he still alive?” Ye Yang was dumbfounded. Challenging Wang Feng—the invincible powerhouse of the Chinese Alliance—was madness. Surviving such a fight was a miracle.

“Yeah… you have no idea how terrifying he is,” Sang Shi wiped his sweat again. After hearing the explanation, Ye Yang was thoroughly drenched in sweat too. This young man, Ouyang Yu, was indeed as fearsome as Sang Shi described.

Ouyang Yu was Level 3—not very high, even lower than Sang Shi who was about to reach Level 4—but his terror wasn’t in his Hunter rank; it was something else.

Though young and recently inducted into the Hunters, Ouyang Yu was already a key focus for training. Rumored to be the academy’s ultimate prodigy, unmatched by any other! This had only amplified his already arrogant nature.

Before Ye Yang arrived, Ouyang Yu had recklessly challenged Wang Feng, the invincible figure of the Chinese Alliance. Half the academy thought he was crazy; the other half bet on whether Wang Feng would kill him.

Wang Feng didn’t refuse the challenge. Surprisingly, Ouyang Yu displayed unimaginable strength in that battle—he didn’t lose. Of course, Wang Feng didn’t lose either, but for a newcomer Level 3 to hold a stalemate against a super Level 5 was terrifying in itself.

“Impossible! How did he do it? Why didn’t he lose?” Ye Yang was completely dumbfounded.

Sang Shi smiled. “His situation is special. Hey! Like you, Ye Zi, he’s an unconventional Hunter. The difference is, you have only demon power without supernatural ability, but he’s the opposite—invincible supernatural ability with weak demon power, capped at just over 700.”

“Over 700 demon power? That’s average.” Ye Yang scratched his head. Sang Shi had 850, and Ye Yang himself was approaching 600 after his last internship. 700 wasn’t strong at all—Wang Feng had over 2000!

“Anyway, just don’t mess with him. He’s the only guy in the academy I don’t dare unleash magic cannon on. If I did, I’d probably die instead!” Sang Shi shook his head with a bitter smile, refusing to answer Ye Yang’s further questions.

“Damn you! Why keep it secret?” Ye Yang was frustrated. He was genuinely curious about Ouyang Yu’s supernatural ability and envied those with powerful abilities—well, except for Yao Jun, who was a freak.

After parting ways on the second floor, Ye Yang returned to the classroom on the third floor. He wanted to study more combat materials and try out some demon power training methods from the lab.

“Huh? Hero’s back?” Before he entered, two girls blocked his path—the only twin sisters in Class C.

“Hero?” Ye Yang was puzzled. When had he become a hero? The girls just giggled mysteriously.

“Hero, please take care of us from now on! I’m An Xin, and this is my sister An Jing,” the girl on the right smiled warmly as she introduced themselves. Ye Yang returned the smile. The twins were quite charming—rare beauties in Class C.

“Come on in! We were just talking about you,” An Xin teased, pulling her sister along, both laughing as they walked inside.

“Talking about me?” Ye Yang entered the classroom, bewildered, but soon understood. A group of girls were gathered around Chen Yun, chattering excitedly about their internship, especially about him.

Soon, Ye Yang regretted coming back to class. For the next half hour, he was completely surrounded by these girls, like a flock of chirping sparrows, bombarding him with questions about the internship—most of which were utterly ridiculous.

“Do you like our Yun Yun? Wow, risking your life for her, even tearing apart a predator!”

“Yeah, yeah! Jumping off a cliff together, I’m so jealous! I want to jump too!”

Ye Yang sighed deeply. Girls sure cared more about gossip than anything else. Didn’t they care about encountering demons and monsters? No, they only talked about the rumors surrounding him and Chen Yun.

He really wanted to tell them: Want to jump? Go ahead. He wouldn’t stop you.

But considering he was new and unfamiliar with the place, it was best not to anger the girls. As the saying goes, the hardest to get along with are petty men and girls. Another saying: You can offend every man in the world, but never a girl.

Ye Yang practically escaped the classroom, eager to search through materials, but had no chance. These girls were determined to unearth every detail of his and Chen Yun’s supposed entanglement.

“Ye Zi… I’m sorry,” Chen Yun hurried after him, a commotion trailing behind her. Her face was flushed red, her hands nervously twisting the hem of her clothes.

“They really forced me to say those things. It wasn’t my idea,” Chen Yun said awkwardly. She had only confided some thoughts to close friends, but the gossip spread instantly, and Ye Yang got caught in the crossfire.

“It’s okay… but… sigh, I guess no reading today. Will you train with me instead?” Ye Yang smiled wryly.

“Huh?” Chen Yun’s face flushed again. Did training need a partner? Still, she agreed. After the internship, her fondness for Ye Yang had grown considerably.

Ye Yang really needed company—more precisely, help. He wanted to test the effects of his demon power.

“Watch the time for me. Calculate the speed differences over three runs,” Ye Yang handed her his phone. Once Chen Yun was ready, he burst into a sprint.

The first run was without any demon power—just pure physical strength. The academy track was 800 meters per lap, and Ye Yang finished in 1 minute 55 seconds. Not bad—almost a women’s world record.

The second run unleashed his demon power fully, and the speed was astonishing—1 minute 5 seconds! He felt as if he was flying.

“One more time!” Ye Yang gritted his teeth. Inspired by Gao Ting’s combat demonstration, he wanted to try concentrating demon power in his legs and waist for a more explosive burst.

The third run was a staggering 45 seconds. Chen Yun was stunned. Though she could also enhance her body with demon power, her best was about 1 minute 10 seconds.

“Still not used to it. I should be able to go faster,” Ye Yang mused, rubbing his chin. Seeing Chen Yun’s dazed expression, he smiled, “It’s just an experiment—focusing demon power on the legs and waist for greater burst strength.”

A hearty voice interrupted, “Hey, that’s your own idea? Not bad! But all that’s in your combat materials. Maybe you haven’t read them carefully.”

It was Ling Fengyan walking over. Ye Yang wiped sweat from his brow. Indeed, he hadn’t finished reading those materials. Chen Yun, being lower level, hadn’t encountered such combat applications yet.

“Come on! Race me,” Ling Fengyan grinned, dragging Ye Yang to the starting line without waiting for a reply.

Soon, Ye Yang was utterly shocked. He thought his speed was impressive, but Ling Fengyan was far faster. Ye Yang’s best was 43 seconds; Ling Fengyan clocked in at 30 seconds!

“That’s not even my limit. I’m really not good at speed,” Ling Fengyan chuckled awkwardly. Ye Yang broke out in a cold sweat. Not good at speed but still so much faster?

Laughing, Ling Fengyan added, “If Xiao Ting ran this distance, she’d do it under 15 seconds. But her extreme sprinting doesn’t last long.”

“15 seconds?” Ye Yang grimaced. That girl’s speed was like a blur—almost invisible. Covering 800 meters in 15 seconds meant over 50 meters per second. Was she even human?

“How fast is Wang Feng?” Ye Yang almost ground his teeth asking.

“Him? One second!” Ling Fengyan smiled bitterly. “But that’s using supernatural ability.”

Ye Yang and Chen Yun both collapsed to the ground, unable to get up for a long time. Their understanding of Hunters had just been vastly expanded—these guys were beyond superhuman, utterly unbelievable!