Zhou Da's Good Big Brother

"Ugly Monster~~~ Can you not turn on the lights~~~ Sigh~~~"

As soon as Ling Yun stepped into the classroom, he heard Zhou Da's incredibly piercing voice, which could only be described as "wailing like a ghost," echoing through the room. The tune was so off that the classmates in the room would have bought standing-room-only tickets and fled overnight.

Fortunately, the teacher hadn't arrived for the morning self-study yet, otherwise the dean of students in the office downstairs would have probably charged up with a broom.

"Zhou Da! I'm begging you! Stop this torture! If you want to torment people, go bother the next class!"

"Brother Da! Emperor Ling Tian's divine song wasn't meant to be defiled like this! Be careful, his fan club might hunt you down across provinces!"

"Help! My ears!!"

The classmates in the room covered their ears, launching a "cruel and inhumane" verbal assault on Zhou Da. Their stance was as if Zhou Da sang one more note, they would collectively "eliminate evil for the people."

Zhou Da flinched at the sight and quickly swallowed the rest of the lyrics, making a zipping motion across his lips.

"Tsk tsk tsk, little brother Da Zi."

A rather handsome boy with an artistic flair stood up. He was Zhang Letian, the class's enthusiastic arts activist, who planned to pursue music as a specialty. His singing skills were indeed impressive.

"Listen, what's singing, and what's noise? There's a difference!"

He cleared his throat, adjusted his stance, and then, unhurriedly and with clear enunciation, sang a rendition of "Ugly Monster."

Although it couldn't compare to Ling Yun's original, his pitch and rhythm were well-controlled, and his emotion was quite on point.

"Good!"

"Nice one, Letian!"

"Now that's what I call singing!"

The classroom erupted in applause and cheers.

"Little brother Da Zi," Zhang Letian looked at Zhou Da with an expression of "a promising student," with a hint of smugness, "Do you see the difference? Call me Master, and I might consider teaching you a few tricks."

"Get lost! Who's your little brother?"

Zhou Da's neck stiffened, and he instantly activated his "protector mode."

"In this life, I, Zhou Da, only recognize one brother! And that is--Brother Yun!" He pointed at Ling Yun, who had just walked in, his tone decisive.

Zhang Letian's eyes widened: "??? I... I just said your singing was terrible! I didn't question who your big brother is! Brother Yun is a recognized big shot!"

He was speechless, how did the topic veer into recognizing a big brother?

"Hmph! Everything else is just floating clouds! My big brother is only Brother Yun!"

Zhou Da wore a serious expression, as if this was a matter of principle, touching his core beliefs.

Zhang Letian rubbed his forehead: "...Alright, alright! Your big brother is the best! So... about the singing, did you learn anything?"

He just wanted to quickly end this debate about "big brothers."

"Hmph! Your little tricks?" Zhou Da tilted his nose up, looking down on everyone, "Just you wait! I'll show you what real skill is later! I'll slap you in the face!"

His eyes burned as he looked at Ling Yun, who had just sat down.

"Brother Yun! You're finally here!" Zhou Da, as if seeing a savior, dashed to Ling Yun's side.

"Yo, Da Zi, still 'saving all living beings' with your singing? I heard the wailing from a mile away."

Ling Yun put down his schoolbag, looking at him with a playful smirk, "Heard your popularity in class is almost on par with biochemical weapons?"

"Oh, Brother Yun! They just don't appreciate it!" Zhou Da automatically filtered out the teasing and leaned in, lowering his voice, his tone full of admiration, "The way you sang 'Ugly Monster' on your live stream last night was absolutely amazing! Our class has almost become your fan club's branch!"

"Standard procedure, don't make a fuss." Ling Yun waved his hand, looking nonchalant.

"Brother Yun! Don't be modest!"

Zhou Da clasped his hands together, his eyes filled with pleading, "I need your help urgently! I just bragged to defend your honor (and mainly my face)! Can you bear to watch your most loyal Da Zi get slapped in the face?

Please, Brother Yun, show them what you've got! Shock them!" He tried hard to squeeze out a couple of "crocodile tears."

Seeing Zhou Da's loyal (and mostly face-saving) demeanor, Ling Yun smiled helplessly, "Alright, seeing as you're defending your 'Godfather' so much, I'll help you hold the fort."

"Got it! Godfather is mighty!"

Zhou Da instantly revived, puffing out his chest and swaggering over to Zhang Letian, hands on his hips, mimicking the other's tone, "Little brother Letian! Keep your eyes wide open later! Watch carefully, learn well! See how Brother Yun interprets this song!"

He threw Zhang Letian's words back at him verbatim.

Zhang Letian quickly waved his hands, "No, no, no! Da Zi! I absolutely believe in Brother Yun's ability! What I did just now was purely... uh, artistic exchange! Yes, exchange!"

He didn't want to accidentally offend the great god Ling Yun.

"It's fine," Ling Yun stood up, smiling as he nodded at Zhang Letian and the classmates, "Since Da Zi is so enthusiastic, and everyone is here to support, I'll make a fool of myself and sing a short acapella."

"Welcome, Brother Yun!"

"Classmate Ling Yun, good luck!"

The classroom instantly burst into enthusiastic applause, several times louder than what Zhang Letian received, filled with anticipation.

Ling Yun made no extra movements. He stood firm, closed his eyes slightly to adjust his breath, and then began.

No accompaniment, no microphone, just pure human voice.

But as his clear, bright, magnetic, and penetrating voice rang out, the entire classroom fell silent.

Every note seemed to carry a touch of magic, striking the listeners' heartstrings with perfect precision.

The feeling of playful arrogance, the hidden deep affection within self-mockery, was performed to perfection by him!

Even without infusing mental power, his world-class singing skills and naturally gifted voice were enough to crush any level of performance.

After the song finished, the lingering sound seemed to still echo around the classroom rafters.

A brief silence was followed by even more frenzied applause and whistling, almost enough to blow the roof off!

"Holy crap! That was amazing!"

"The original singer! This is definitely the original singer walking among us!"

"Brother Yun is truly born to be the protagonist! Brother Yun is eternal!"

"My ears are going to get pregnant!"

Zhou Da swaggered over to Zhang Letian, who was still immersed in the song's afterglow, and nudged him with his shoulder: "Hey! Little brother Letian! Did you learn it? Hmm?"

Zhang Letian snapped back to reality, looking at Zhou Da's smug face, and helplessly rolled his eyes.

"Learn what?! Brother Yun's level, is that something us mere mortals can learn? That's the ceiling! That's a dimensional attack! I'm impressed, completely impressed!"

He was genuinely convinced.

"Glad you know!"

Zhou Da's tail was practically in the sky, his nostrils flaring, "From now on, if you want to give me pointers on singing? Weigh yourself first, and talk about it when you can even touch my Brother Yun's heels!"

He didn't forget to praise Ling Yun again.

Zhang Letian looked at Zhou Da's comical act, feeling both annoyed and amused, and could only nod repeatedly.

"Alright, alright! Brother Da! I was wrong! I definitely won't show off in front of you elders anymore! You and your Brother Yun are gods, I can't afford to offend you!"

The entire class was amused by the interaction between these two clowns, and the classroom was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

Just then, the preparatory bell for morning self-study rang crisply, and like magic, it instantly silenced the boisterous classroom.