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

Chapter 25 Like a Hammer Strike

Lin Zhuo arrived at the Iron Horse Fighters Association very early today. The venue was sparsely populated and seemed deserted. The shouts and footsteps of each person echoed for a long time.

He looked around as soon as he entered, then headed straight for his target. The students along the way greeted him, and Lin Zhuo smiled and nodded in response as he walked to a corner of the venue.

Here, a figure stands in front of an iron rack, wielding a longsword in one hand, and keeps poking at the bottle caps of several soda bottles hanging on the rack with the tip of the sword.

The iron sword clashed repeatedly with the iron plate, producing a series of crisp cracking sounds. The sword was as agile as a swallow, chasing after the three bottle caps in mid-air, making them fly and swirl like bees fleeing for their lives, never able to fall.

Lin Zhuo watched silently from the side, without disturbing him.

Only when the swordsman ran out of breath, withdrew his sword, retreated, finished his flourish, and slowly exhaled the stale air from his chest did he speak up in praise: "Excellent swordsmanship."

The swordsman was startled by the sound and quickly turned his head. His previously calm and composed face froze, and he was speechless upon seeing Lin Zhuo. Min Pei'er couldn't speak, but shook her head and waved her hands, humbly indicating that her skills were lacking.

Lin Zhuo didn't bother with further pleasantries and said directly, "It's still early. I'll go to the training room first. Please let me know when the kids arrive."

"No, no problem." Min Pei'er hurriedly agreed, her expression slightly sad, still feeling remorseful about her embarrassment this morning.

Lin Zhu went to the locker room to change into training clothes, and then made a chain hammer for practice using simple cotton rope and rubber balls. He planned to create the chain hammer martial arts technique first.

To make it easier to practice, he specifically chose the most spacious training room, moved the equipment and clutter to the wall, and then stood in the open space in the middle.

The logic behind how Qigong masters and ordinary martial artists wield weapons is quite different.

Ordinary people need to coordinate their body muscles to give the weapon kinetic energy and adjust their body posture to control the weapon's direction and trajectory when using weapons, so every move they make is traceable.

However, for Qigong masters who use their Qi to propel weapons, they can achieve any movement of the weapon simply by secretly applying different forces. Therefore, they are not restricted by many routines, and their moves can be as unrestrained as a wild horse's whims and as ingenious as a gazelle hanging its horns, making it impossible for their opponents to predict.

Take the chain hammer as an example. The essence of this soft weapon martial arts routine lies in how to throw the hammer head. The core concept is to hold the rope, swing the hammer head to rotate and accumulate power, and then throw it directly from the hand, or use the elbow, knee, or neck as a fulcrum to suddenly change the direction of the hammer head, and use the power of the shoulders, back, waist and legs to launch the hammer head at a faster speed.

No matter how deceptive the movements are, the chain hammer always needs to rotate in circles, and once it is launched, it will not change direction midway.

But in Lin Zhuo's hands, the chain hammer's rope seemed to come alive. Even when it was completely hanging down on the ground, it could suddenly pounce and bite. Even when it was thrown, it could twist and change direction in mid-air, accelerating multiple times.

This is the difference between Qigong master's martial arts techniques and ordinary martial arts routines. The key lies in the distribution of true Qi and the tricks of exerting force, while physical movements are secondary, or even unnecessary.

Lin Zhuo stood in the center of the field and practiced for a while to familiarize himself with the self-made chain hammer in his hand. He had also been exposed to rope darts when he was in school, and its martial arts routines and long rope chain hammers were completely interchangeable.

Jade maiden shuttles, wild horse overturns the trough, meteor chases the moon—these are all basic hand-hitting techniques. The rubber ball spins beside him, he launches it with ease, and then quickly retrieves it.

Then came the more difficult elbow strikes, such as the "Dragon's Coil Elbow"; the shoulder strike, "Overlord's Toast"; the foot strike, "Back Kick with Purple Gold Crown"; and the thrilling neck strike, "Phoenix Nodding".

After practicing a dozen or so commonly used routines, the movements, initially a little unfamiliar, will soon become fluid and natural.

After finishing his final move, Lin Zhuo raised his hand and caught the rubber ball that had flown back, satisfied that his skills from a few years ago had not been wasted.

He also knew some fancy but impractical tricks, all taught to him by a roommate who was an expert in soft combat. For example, he could stomp his foot and strike the hammer straight up by pointing an incense stick towards the sky. When they learned this trick, everyone pretended to say that it could be used to deal with fighter jets flying at very low altitudes or attacking drones.

After warming up a bit, Lin Zhuo loosened the rope from his left hand and handed the entire rope to his right hand, letting the long rope hang softly to the ground.

He silently refined his inner energy and officially began practicing martial arts.

[A new, unnamed, blank skill has been created. Please begin refining the skill's operational principles.]

A purely offensive martial art primarily utilizes [Destruction] Qi, and then adjusts it according to the style of the moves.

If you need to strike like the wind and attack like rain, you can use the Divine Speed ​​True Qi to accelerate. If you want to be as still as a mountain and fight with a hard stance, you can use the Body Protection True Qi to enhance your defense. And if you want to make your moves more mysterious and unpredictable, you will naturally need the Mysterious Secret True Qi to participate.

Lin Zhuo's creative approach was to work backward from the end.

First, imagine a killer move as the core.

He planned to fire the hammer like a loaded cannonball—heavy, explosive, powerful, and fast—as a finishing blow to a disoriented enemy after the Seven Wonders of the Heart Bell took effect.

The real trump card doesn't need to be flashy. Just silently accumulate the destructive and protective true energy, and then unleash it along with the chain hammer when the power is full.

A single move is too weak, at least during the charging phase. If the opponent breaks free from their dazed state or is not affected by the sonic attack, then some agile moves will be needed to engage in a prolonged fight.

Lin Zhuo's chain hammer is as agile as a long whip, so it can be used not only to swing, smash, and flick, but also to shake, chop, sweep, and entangle. In addition, the hammer head is a bell that can make a sound to interfere with the enemy's hearing, so the number of routines and moves that can be designed is very rich.

The core move, plus two or three additional moves, and more than ten freehand moves, constitute a relatively complete set of chain hammer martial arts.

Lin Zhu rehearsed the scene several times in his mind and, after preparing his draft, began to practice.

The method for controlling true qi and strength is still the "Supreme Transformation Dragon Controlling Qi Method". The mastery of this skill has quietly reached 5%. This is the benefit brought by the perfected "Flowing Qi Scripture", which has also made Lin Zhuo's control over mental qi a little better.

The first thing they practiced was the individual moves and routines. Lin Zhuo raised his hand and the chain hammer that had been lying limp on the ground suddenly leaped into the air like a snake, swirling in the air like a dragon dancing in the wind. The whip twisted and turned, causing the hammer head to fall densely like summer hail.

Even a small, solid rubber ball can still emit a mournful, whistling sound as it cuts through the air.

[A practical demonstration has been detected; data entry is in progress]

[Skill completeness 0%...25%...]

[Skill credibility 0%...10%...]

Lin Zhuo remained calm and patient, first using a rubber chain hammer to refine the rudimentary moves and techniques.

To be honest, some of the moves he designed were difficult to execute and quite dangerous. Several times I almost got hit by the hammer, but luckily it was soft, so I could just reach out and catch it.

If it were a real weapon like the Roaring Serpent Chain Hammer, and someone tried to block it with their hand without the support of protective internal energy, they would definitely suffer several broken bones.

Time passed quickly, and it was almost three o'clock. The stadium slowly filled with people, and the group of elementary school students poured in like a bunch of ambulances, making a lot of noise. Although there weren't many of them, the spacious main stadium felt a bit crowded.

"Quiet down! Quiet down!" Min Pei'er was internally collapsing but still pretended to be strong. "Your Coach Lin is here today. I'll call him over right now. If you keep arguing and disobeying, Coach Lin will deal with you one by one!"

The group of kids quieted down for a moment, then continued their playful antics while Lin Zhuo was still out.

"Sigh, what am I expecting?" Min Pei'er sighed inwardly, and quickly walked out of the main stadium to find Lin Zhuo's training room.

As she reached the door and raised her hand, she suddenly heard an unusually deep and loud whistling sound from inside, like an iron bird skimming across the low sky or a cannonball tearing through thick fog. Then, a strong and clear wave of air burst out from the very narrow crack in the door, chilling her exposed ankles. Goosebumps instantly crawled up her calves, down her back, and onto her arms.

Min Pei'er froze for a few seconds before carefully knocking on the door.

"Comrade Lin Zhuo...?"

Click, the training room door opened from the inside, and the first thing she noticed was Lin Zhuo's right hand. A long cotton rope was wrapped around his forearm, but the fibers at the end of the rope were completely torn apart, the rubber ball that was attached to it was nowhere to be seen, and the cuffs of his training clothes were tattered, as if they had been rubbing against heavy stones.

"Comrade Min Pei'er, I want to apologize to you."

"Huh? What happened? Are you hurt?"

"I was not injured, but due to my own operational error, I accidentally damaged public property. I will use my work points to apply for a replacement of the same equipment to make up for the association's loss."

Lin Zhuo stepped aside to reveal the scene behind him. A sandbag near the wall had a hole in it, and the filling inside was spilling out, making a mess.

"Where did you get this gun?" Min Pei'er muttered to herself.