At the school gym, Room C.
As soon as school let out that afternoon, Lin Zichen brought Shen Qinghan here.
When they first went in, Guo Xiangyuan was the only one there, leisurely sipping tea and scrolling through short videos.
"Coach Guo."
Lin Zichen called out to him, changing his form of address from "Teacher" to "Coach."
Guo Xiangyuan immediately looked up and smiled. "You're early. None of the kids on the team gets here faster than you. They could all stand to improve their attitude."
"Come on in and have a seat. Have some tea first. Once everyone's here, I'll show you around." Guo Xiangyuan fetched two cups and poured them each some tea.
As time passed, people started trickling in from outside.
They were all boys—not a single girl among them.
As they came in, each one looked curiously at Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan beside the tea table. Most of their gazes landed on Lin Zichen.
Lin Zichen was famous at Shanhai High School. There wasn't a student who didn't know him, and nearly everyone had heard the various legendary tales of his academic prowess.
They just hadn't expected that this top student, whose academic ability was so astonishing it defied the heavens, would also have such outstanding athletic talent.
"You?"
Just then, a boy hurried in from outside. When he saw Lin Zichen sitting at the tea table, his reaction was a little intense.
It was none other than the boy Lin Zichen had beaten at the school sports meet, forcing him to win a full house of second-place finishes through tears.
Lin Zichen looked over at him and smiled politely. "Hello."
"My name's Zhang Kai. Remember it," the boy replied coolly. Then he walked off to the side with his schoolbag on his back, paying Lin Zichen no further attention.
Lin Zichen only smiled without saying anything. Zhang Kai sure is cocky. Well, boys in middle school were in the throes of puberty. It was understandable.
Once all the team members had arrived, Guo Xiangyuan stood up and smiled as he looked around.
"This handsome young man is Lin Zichen. I'm sure you're all familiar with him, so I won't waste time introducing him."
"Starting today, Zichen is a member of our Martial Arts Team. Let's give him a round of applause!"
"Clap, clap, clap..."
Guo Xiangyuan started clapping as soon as he finished speaking.
The team members followed suit, enthusiastically cooperating with their coach.
There was one exception: the boy named Zhang Kai.
After the applause died down, Guo Xiangyuan said to the team, "By the way, introduce yourselves so Zichen can get to know you."
"I'm Huang Tianxing from Class 3, Grade 9. Just call me Ah Xing."
"I'm Li Shutong from Class 6, Grade 9. Call me Xiao Li. Everyone calls me that, and I like the nickname."
"I'm Han Yisuo. You can call me Brother Suo..."
The team members seemed easy to get along with. One after another, they introduced themselves with a smile.
Lin Zichen smiled back, responding with "I look forward to learning from you" after each introduction.
The Martial Arts Team wasn't large. Besides Lin Zichen and Guo Xiangyuan, there were only seven others, so everyone finished introducing themselves quickly.
Throughout it all, Shen Qinghan stood quietly beside Lin Zichen, holding both their lunch boxes. She didn't say a word and kept very still.
She only became talkative and lively when she was with Lin Zichen.
Around strangers, she was mostly shy.
Especially around boys she didn't know, she seemed almost afraid to socialize.
"By the way, how should I address you?"
Whenever Guo Xiangyuan saw Lin Zichen, Shen Qinghan was with him. Knowing the two were inseparable, he figured he should get to know her too.
"I-I'm Shen Qinghan. You can call me Xiao Shen or Qinghan."
Shen Qinghan introduced herself somewhat nervously.
Guo Xiangyuan smiled. "Then I'll call you Xiao Shen from now on."
After that, he told the older team members to practice on their own, while he took Lin Zichen around the room for a quick look at the training equipment.
There were only ordinary things like punching bags, weighted sandbags, and wooden dummies. There wasn't much to see.
"Zichen, five members of the team are in Grade 9, and two are in Grade 8. You're the only one in Grade 7. I have high hopes for you. Keep learning from me, and I guarantee you'll be the team's star within a year."
After they had made a round of the room, Guo Xiangyuan suddenly said this to Lin Zichen. It sounded a little like he was making grand promises, but he really meant it.
"Thank you for believing in me, Coach."
"By the way, Zichen, have you ever trained in martial arts?"
"No."
Guo Xiangyuan nodded, then said, "In that case, I'll teach you a basic set of punches and kicks today, so you can get a feel for martial arts training."
"Okay."
Guo Xiangyuan soon stopped in an open area up ahead and demonstrated the basic punches and kicks at an unhurried pace.
Lin Zichen watched closely, engraving every movement Guo Xiangyuan performed into his mind.
About ten minutes later.
The demonstration ended.
Guo Xiangyuan slowly drew back from his final pose, like a grandmaster of martial arts, then smiled at Lin Zichen.
"Don't let the simplicity of these moves fool you. They're quite difficult. Xiao Li, who picked them up the fastest on the team, still took a week to master them."
"But no matter how much I explain, you won't get a feel for them unless you give them a try."
"Go on, give it a shot."
As he spoke, Guo Xiangyuan stepped aside to make room for Lin Zichen.
Lin Zichen walked over and stopped. Drawing on what he'd just watched, he quickly reproduced Guo Xiangyuan's punches and kicks, perfectly matching them down to the smallest detail.
His Heavenly Human Wisdom Root let him grasp every movement after seeing it just once.
Use-Disuse Evolution made his movements more explosive each time he repeated them.
As he moved faster and faster, familiar lines of text soon appeared in the Void.
[You are practicing punches. Qi and blood +1, hand muscle strength +1, hand dexterity +1, punch proficiency +1] [You are practicing kicks. Qi and blood +1, leg muscle strength +1, leg dexterity +1, kick proficiency +1]
Beside them, Guo Xiangyuan was completely dumbfounded.
Was this really his first time training in martial arts?
Was he serious?
Was he sure he wasn't faking it?
The other team members were practicing on their own nearby, glancing over now and then. When they saw Lin Zichen master the basic punches and kicks in an instant, they were all left staring in disbelief.
"Zichen, is this really your first time training in martial arts?"
After a moment, Guo Xiangyuan came back to his senses and asked doubtfully.
Realizing he'd made himself look a little too incredible, Lin Zichen made up an answer on the spot. "Well, it's not exactly my first time. I signed up for an extracurricular class in elementary school and practiced punches and kicks for a while."
"No wonder. I was wondering how you'd mastered everything so perfectly on your first try. You gave me a scare."
Guo Xiangyuan chuckled, rubbing his forehead. He figured he'd been overthinking it.
How could anyone who'd never practiced martial arts learn everything just by watching once?
If humans had such incredible learning abilities, how could things have come to this? Every day, the Exotic Beasts beyond the human realm were eyeing them like prey.
Countless geniuses would have emerged long ago, beating those Exotic Beasts beyond the human realm until they were scattered like fallen leaves and fleeing flowers.
Time flew by, and before they knew it, it was six thirty in the evening.
The Martial Arts Team usually trained until seven thirty.
But Lin Zichen didn't want to train that late, so he asked to go home an hour early.
Guo Xiangyuan didn't mind. He was always casual about coaching, and most of the time he relied on the team members to motivate themselves.
As for training until seven thirty, that was only because he, as their coach, stayed at the gym until then.
"Zichen, remember to pack a clean set of clothes in your schoolbag tomorrow. Otherwise, you'll be drenched in sweat after practice and could catch a chill on the way home." Guo Xiangyuan called after Lin Zichen as he was about to leave.
Lin Zichen nodded. "Got it. Thanks for the reminder, Coach."
Then he left the gym with Shen Qinghan.
When they reached the bicycle shed,
Shen Qinghan saw that Lin Zichen was still sweating. She took out a tissue and said, "Xiao Chen, you're still all sweaty. Let me wipe you down."
As she spoke, she picked up the tissue and carefully wiped the sweat from Lin Zichen's face and neck.
There wasn't anything she could do about the sweat under his clothes.
When Lin Zichen felt she'd wiped him off enough, he let her climb onto the back seat. Beneath the warm evening sun, he pedaled her home at a leisurely pace.
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