Across the web, immortals and true beings, their thoughts and energy creating the heavens.

Chapter 16: The Sound of Bells Conveying Affection, Four Junior Disciples

"Brother, what are you doing here?"

Lin Wubing shrank back and walked out from behind the female classmate.

He was even thinner than the little girl and seemed to have always been protected by her. However, this reliable female bodyguard became as docile as if she had seen Hakimi of the Dayun Heavy Truck after seeing Lin Zhuo.

Some people, just by standing there, can make the air around them feel heavy. Lin Zhuo was one of those people. The mischievous monkey that Min Peier couldn't persuade no matter what, all turned into quiet roast ducks in front of him, standing straight with their chests out and bellies protruding.

Lin Zhuo raised his hand and ruffled his younger brother's hair. "That's what I should be asking you. What are you doing here?"

Lin Wubing explained everything in detail.

The Iron Horse Association's combat courses have always been part of the extracurricular activities for primary and secondary school students.

After-school extracurricular classes are part of the curriculum. After all, most parents are still at work at this time and don't have time to take care of their children. So the school will cooperate with various organizations to send students to sheepfolds all over the city for a while.

Lin Wubing signed up for the combat course, but he wasn't a participant in the Junior Cup. Most students came here just to play for a while; only the best talents were recommended by the association to compete in the tournament.

To be honest, Lin Wubing had been a member of the Iron Horse Association much longer than Lin Zhuo; this little guy was the real veteran. It's easy to imagine how horrifying it was to suddenly discover that his older brother had become his instructor.

Lin Zhuo had a brief chat with Min Peier and then took over the work.

"Looks like you got home safely last night, but please come earlier next time."

"OK."

"That iron ball in your hand... uh, a bell? An iron bell? Where did you get this thing?"

"I just made it today. You could call it a workout machine."

"This is the roster. The names of those four contestants are marked with an asterisk. You can arrange the training program as you see fit. If you have any questions, send a message to Coach Tang Jingyun. I'll send you his email address later." Min Peier spoke quickly and then slipped away like a whirlwind.

Lin Zhuo began to call out names one by one, matching each name with a face, paying particular attention to the contestants and the female classmate next to Lin Wubing.

"Beautiful face."

"Here!" came the crisp reply. This girl was Lin Wubing's friend. She wasn't a competitor, but she had rosy cheeks and a healthy physique, making her a promising athlete.

Fang Ruichi.

"Here." A round-faced boy raised his hand. He was clearly a head taller than his peers, and despite his young age, he had a rather broad and thick build.

"Hou Shiying," Lin Zhuo called out again, but there was no response. "Didn't Hou Shiying come?"

"He's here," the children answered timidly in low voices. "He's probably gone to another room."

"Go find him and bring him back to the assembly." Lin Zhu waved his hand, and the group of boys scattered. They finally caught him in a single training room.

Lin Zhuo watched as a group of classmates brought the boy over, seven or eight small hands grabbing his clothes and preventing him from leaving.

This child has incredibly sharp eyes, even sharper than a real monkey's. Although he's all smiles, he can't hide his arrogance. Lin Zhuo knew at first glance that this was a top contender for the championship.

"Young comrade, you must be Hou Shiying?"

"Yes, hehe. And who are you?"

"Come in."

Lin Zhuo continued calling out names, and the remaining two contestants were two girls.

"Yu Zhenzhen".

A tall, slender girl with long, thin arms raised her hand. Her arm span was such an advantage that Lin Zhuo nodded secretly in approval.

"Xiao Min".

"Teacher, I'm here." The last little girl was short, and apart from her pretty and cute appearance, she didn't seem to have any particular advantages in terms of looks. She also spoke in a weak voice. However, Lin Zhuo trusted the judgment of Tang Jingyun and the other instructors; this girl must have something special about her.

Once everyone was accounted for, he began to lead the warm-up exercises. His movements were precise and powerful, but the iron bell he always carried looked rather strange, distracting many children who were observing it.

The boy named Hou Shiying muttered something under his breath, and no one knew what joke he made, but it made the surrounding classmates burst into laughter.

Lin Zhuo glanced at it, then gently shook the handbell. A thud sounded, but the tone was strange and gloomy. An inexplicable, deep chill filled the air, and the laughter was immediately silenced.

The children, who were already afraid, became like quails. Some of the more timid ones even trembled during the warm-up exercises, no longer daring to be distracted.

Skill completion rate: 21%

[Skill Credibility 15%]

Lin Zhuo is creating a sonic technique that uses the sound of bells as a medium to transmit profound true energy, forcibly resonating his thoughts and feelings with the listener.

The technique of integrating Xuanji True Qi into sound waves is quite simple and straightforward; he only needed a little practice to make it look quite professional.

Whether it is a calm and peaceful voice, a voice of fear and panic, or any other emotion such as joy, anger, worry, love, or hate, it can be expressed at will.

However, such a short distance is not enough to qualify as a complete and competent martial art.

He needed to figure out how to use his true energy to strike the bell tongue, producing sounds of different tones, and then use it to play music, infusing various emotions into melodies, like the surging waves of a river, stirring the listener's thoughts and causing them to fall into a state of reverie.

Lin Zhuo had some knowledge of music theory, but his expertise was not high. He would need to work hard to develop his sonic skills.

However, these basic moves are sufficient for most everyday situations. True sonic power is used in combat, after all, to forcibly disrupt attention. If the opponent's mind wavers, they will be caught off guard and take a blow from his chain hammer.

At this moment, the trainees in the venue were all quietly observing the commotion.

They also noticed the bell, but the faint Xuanji True Qi weakened significantly during transmission. By the time they heard it, they could only feel that the sound was rather eerie, but they could hardly detect anything unusual. They just thought that Instructor Lin was very skilled and could easily manage the children. He truly had the demeanor of an education expert.

"Alright. Now I'll divide you into groups."

Lin Zhuo divided the students into groups of four, assigning them the main task of supervising each other to prevent any dangerous actions. He also set up no-go zones, prohibiting them from approaching dangerous fitness equipment, and then let them play on their own.

That's how extracurricular classes for elementary school students are: exercise is secondary, happiness is the main thing.

No matter how Lin Zhuo arranged things, no child dared to disobey his requests. In Min Pei'er's eyes, they were a group of little monkeys, and in his eyes, they were all well-behaved children.

"Hou Shiying, Fang Ruichi, Yu Zhenzhen, Xiao Min, come here." The contestants were grouped separately, and Lin Zhuo prepared to give them special training.

Even the most mischievous Hou Shiying had learned to be afraid, though he was still defiant, staring at the new instructor in a small protest. The other three, on the other hand, were completely obedient.

"You were trained by Coach Tang before, right? He wasn't feeling well, so I'm filling in to ensure the quality of your training before you head to the competition. My surname is Lin, Lin with two 'wood' radicals, and my given name is Lin Zhuo, with the 'hand' radical and the character 'chu' added."

The four little ones nodded vigorously, without offering any opinion.

"Alright, now I want to see your skills. Men and women, form groups, put on your protective gear, and have a match."

The arena had come alive again, with shouts and cheers echoing from the combat training. Lin Zhuo watched the four trainees sparring with his hands behind his back, silently assessing their physical fitness, fighting styles, strengths, and weaknesses.

As he expected, Hou Shiying was indeed a champion seed. He had excellent hand-eye coordination and limb coordination. He was not stiff at all when playing. He was agile, fast, and had a strong drive. However, he was too arrogant and needed to be tempered.

Fang Ruichi was stronger than him, but he was being beaten and suppressed. However, this kid was tough and could endure hardship. Even when he was at a disadvantage, he was not impatient or angry. To put it nicely, he had the demeanor of a great general. To put it bluntly, he was slow-witted.

The situation in the women's group is not so optimistic.

Yu Zhenzhen has long arms, but her punching speed is slow, and she is prone to momentary lapses in concentration. Xiao Min's advantage is her agility; she can dart away like a rabbit the moment someone raises their hand. However, she is indeed lacking in courage, afraid of getting hurt, and even more afraid of hurting others.

"That's enough. Everyone stop."

The four children behaved obediently. They were all slightly out of breath. The boys were tired from playing, and the two girls were tired from chasing each other around the field.

Lin Zhuo silently added a physical training program for them.

However, the most pressing issue is to address his personality flaws.

Perhaps we can use the empathy effect of Xuanji True Qi to inspire their fighting spirit, and with verbal instruction and personal example, we can probably correct the fighting style of these children.

He pondered silently for a while, and the surrounding air seemed to grow even colder because of his serious expression.

The four children dared not look directly at Instructor Lin's pensive face, and could only look down at their toes.

"Look up, what are you afraid of?" Lin Zhuo shook his head and chuckled when he saw their timid little faces. "Come with me, it's too noisy here, let's train somewhere else."