Martial Arts Genius?

Gymnasium, Room C.

As soon as school let out in the afternoon, Lin Zichen brought Shen Qinghan here.

When they first walked in, the only person inside was Guo Xiangyuan, who was leisurely sipping tea while scrolling through short videos.

"Coach Guo."

Lin Zichen called out, changing his address from the previous "Teacher" to "Coach."

Hearing this, Guo Xiangyuan immediately looked up and smiled, "You've come quite early. None of the brats on the team are as punctual as you; their attitudes leave much to be desired."

"Come, sit down and have a cup of tea first. Once everyone has arrived, I'll take you around for a tour." Guo Xiangyuan grabbed two cups and poured tea for both of them.

As time passed, people began to file into the room one after another.

They were all boys; not a single girl among them.

Upon entering, everyone looked curiously at Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan by the tea table, with most of their gazes landing on Lin Zichen.

Lin Zichen was quite famous at Shanhai High School; there wasn't a student in the school who didn't know him, and they had all heard his various legendary tales of being an overachieving student.

However, no one expected that this student, whose academic prowess was heaven-defying, would also possess such outstanding athletic talent.

"It's you?"

Just then, a boy hurried in from outside. When he saw Lin Zichen sitting at the tea table, his reaction was somewhat dramatic.

The person who arrived was none other than the boy who had been edged out by Lin Zichen during the school sports meet, forced to tearfully settle for the runner-up position.

Lin Zichen heard the voice and looked at the boy, offering a polite smile, "Hello."

"My name is Zhang Kai. Remember it," the boy replied coldly. After saying that, he slung his backpack over his shoulder and walked to the side, paying no further mind to Lin Zichen.

Lin Zichen just smiled and said nothing, thinking that this Zhang Kai was quite arrogant. He supposed that middle school boys in the throes of puberty were all like this; it was understandable.

Seeing that the team members had all arrived, Guo Xiangyuan stood up, smiled, and looked around the room.

"This handsome young man is named Lin Zichen. I believe none of you are strangers to him, so I won't waste time with introductions."

"Starting today, Zichen is a member of our Martial Arts Team. Let's give him a round of applause!"

"Clap, clap, clap..."

After Guo Xiangyuan finished speaking, he started clapping himself.

Seeing this, the team members followed suit, being very cooperative with their coach.

There was one exception: the boy named Zhang Kai.

After the brief applause died down, Guo Xiangyuan said to the members, "Right, everyone introduce yourselves so Zichen can get to know you."

"I'm Huang Tianxing, from Class 3, Grade 9. You can just call me A-Xing."

"I'm Li Shutong, from Class 6, Grade 9. You can call me Xiao Li; everyone calls me that, and I quite like the nickname."

"I'm Han Yisuo, you can call me Brother Suo..."

The team members seemed easy to get along with, introducing themselves one after another with smiles.

Lin Zichen returned their smiles, responding to each introduction with a polite, "I look forward to your guidance."

There weren't many people on the Martial Arts Team; excluding Lin Zichen and Guo Xiangyuan, there were only seven members, so the introductions finished quickly.

During this time, Shen Qinghan stood silently by Lin Zichen's side, holding both of their lunch boxes. She remained completely quiet throughout the process.

She only became talkative and lively when she was in front of Lin Zichen.

When facing strangers, however, she was mostly introverted.

Especially when facing strange boys, she appeared somewhat socially anxious.

"Right, and this student, how should I address you?"

Every time Guo Xiangyuan saw Lin Zichen, he noticed Shen Qinghan was there too. Knowing the two were inseparable, he figured he should get to know her as well.

"I—I'm Shen Qinghan. Everyone can just call me Xiao Shen or Qinghan."

Shen Qinghan introduced herself with some reserve.

Guo Xiangyuan smiled, "Then I'll call you Xiao Shen from now on."

After saying that, he let the veteran members practice on their own while he took Lin Zichen on a brief tour of the room to familiarize him with the training equipment.

They were all very ordinary items like sandbags, weighted bags, and wooden posts; there wasn't really much to see.

"Zichen, five of the team members are in Grade 9, and two are in Grade 8. You are the only one in Grade 7. I have high hopes for you. Follow my lead and train hard, and I guarantee that within a year, you'll be the ace of this team."

After the tour, Guo Xiangyuan suddenly said this to Lin Zichen. It sounded a bit like he was trying to "Draw a Big Pie," but in reality, he wasn't.

Lin Zichen: "Thank you for your confidence, Coach."

Guo Xiangyuan: "By the way, Zichen, have you ever practiced martial arts before?"

Lin Zichen: "No."

Guo Xiangyuan nodded after hearing this, then said to Lin Zichen, "In that case, today I will teach you a set of the most basic punches and kicks, just to let you experience what it feels like to practice martial arts."

Lin Zichen: "Alright."

Soon, Guo Xiangyuan walked to an open space in the front and stopped, demonstrating the basic fist techniques and leg techniques to Lin Zichen with unhurried, deliberate movements.

Lin Zichen watched with great focus, engraving every movement Guo Xiangyuan performed into his mind.

About ten minutes later.

The demonstration concluded.

Guo Xiangyuan slowly retracted his stance like a martial arts master, then looked at Lin Zichen with a smile and said:

"Don't let the simplicity of these movements fool you; they are actually quite difficult. Even Xiao Li, the fastest in the team to master them, took a whole week back then."

"However, no matter how much I say, it's hard to truly understand without trying it yourself."

"Come, give it a try."

As he spoke, Guo Xiangyuan stepped aside to make room for Lin Zichen.

Lin Zichen walked over and stopped. Relying on the memory of what he had just observed, he quickly replicated the entire set of fist and leg techniques Guo Xiangyuan had performed—a perfect, one-to-one recreation.

His Heavenly Human Wisdom Root allowed him to grasp the essence of every movement after just a single viewing.

The principle of Use-Disuse Evolution meant that with each repetition, his movements became increasingly explosive.

As he performed the techniques faster and faster, familiar text information soon appeared in the void.

[You are practicing fist techniques, Blood Qi +1, hand muscle strength +1, hand flexibility +1, fist technique proficiency +1]

[You are practicing leg techniques, Blood Qi +1, leg muscle strength +1, leg flexibility +1, leg technique proficiency +1]

Beside him, Guo Xiangyuan was completely stunned.

This was his first time practicing martial arts?

Is this for real?

Are you sure this isn't a prank?

The other team members, who were practicing on their own and glancing over from time to time, were also filled with disbelief as they watched Lin Zichen master the basic fist and leg techniques in an instant.

"Zichen, is this really your first time practicing martial arts?"

After a moment of recovery, Guo Xiangyuan asked with some skepticism.

Lin Zichen realized he might have performed a bit too heaven-defyingly, so he casually fabricated an excuse: "Actually, it's not exactly my first time. I took an interest class in elementary school and practiced some fist and leg techniques for a while."

"No wonder. I was wondering how you could master it so perfectly on your first try; you scared me there."

Guo Xiangyuan laughed while rubbing his forehead, feeling that he had simply overthought things.

How could anyone who had never practiced martial arts learn it just by looking once?

If humans possessed such powerful learning capabilities, why would they be in their current predicament, constantly eyed by the Exotic Beasts outside the human borders?

Countless geniuses would have been born long ago, beating those Exotic Beasts outside the human borders to a pulp.

Time passed quickly, and before they knew it, it was 6:30 PM.

The Martial Arts Team usually trained until 7:30 PM.

However, Lin Zichen did not want to train that late and requested to head home an hour early.

Guo Xiangyuan did not mind; he was always laid-back when leading the team, relying mostly on the members' own self-discipline.

As for training until 7:30 PM, that was simply because he, as the coach, would remain in the Gymnasium until then.

"Zichen, remember to bring a clean set of clothes in your bag tomorrow. Otherwise, you'll be drenched in sweat after training, and it's easy to catch a cold on the way home," Guo Xiangyuan reminded Lin Zichen as he prepared to leave.

Lin Zichen nodded and said: "I understand, thank you for the reminder, Coach."

With that, he left the Gymnasium with Shen Qinghan.

When they arrived at the bicycle shed.

Seeing that Lin Zichen was still sweating, Shen Qinghan took out a tissue and said to him: "Xiao Chen, your sweat hasn't dried yet; let me wipe it for you."

As she spoke, she took the tissue and carefully wiped the sweat from Lin Zichen's face and neck.

As for the sweat inside his clothes, there was nothing she could do about that.

Feeling that he was sufficiently wiped down, Lin Zichen let her sit on the back seat of the bike and, under the gentle setting sun, rode her home in a leisurely and contented manner.

PS: Setting out my bowl, begging for monthly tickets and recommendation votes!