"Alright, I need to continue my training now.
Come back in five days, as you're not a pre-college student, I'll grant you a student judge status to enter the venue,
You'll also be able to observe the martial arts demonstrations among peers, which will be quite beneficial for you."
"Thank you, Master!"
Meng Chuan thought, Yang Huan truly is very kind to him, it seems he has no choice but to attend United University.
Being a judge won't delay his training either, Yang Huan's stance work earlier gave Meng Chuan some inspiration.
"At that time, I can also stand and watch the martial arts demonstrations and learn from others' strengths."
After leaving, Meng Chuan cast aside distractions, still savoring the martial principles the other just spoke of.
Every time a martial arts expert lectures, he benefits greatly.
Such opportunities are exceedingly rare. Let alone Grandmasters, even figures like Grandmaster Wang cannot attend classes through money.
For top martial artists like them, they have long reached the stage of viewing money as dirt.
"However, I am still unable to escape the constraints of money for now..."
Meng Chuan bought a quarter's worth of herbs for Five Elements Soup, his wallet dwindled to the low seven-figure range, on the brink of bankruptcy.
...
In the afternoon, after practicing the Five Elements Fist, Meng Chuan adjusted his breath and began practicing [Luo's Eight Extremes].
With his current fist skill proficiency, he was nimble and swift, his force radiated like lightning.
Whether long punches or short strikes, transitions were smooth and routines flexible.
Yet the path of fist skills is endless, to break limits one must retrace the origins.
Meng Chuan would stop to contemplate frequently, and each time he had an epiphany, he would stand up and continue practicing.
By the afternoon's end, Luo's Eight Extremes was a step closer to breaking limits.
[Luo's Eight Extremes: Perfection (82%) → (83%) Pending Limit Break]
He integrated the Five Elements Qi swapping theory into Luo's Eight Extremes.
Using the fierce strength of eight extremes as the backbone, long and short strikes as muscles, borrowing the transformation of hardness and softness of the Five Elements, he turned the straight force into a winding silk!
This is his path to breaking limits, further combined with newly acquired traits of [Moisture Breath] and [Combined Strength].
Instantly released five short strikes, triggering the mark of tidal traces.
The Earth Qi infused his fist edge, employing Long Fist Jujutsu to trap the enemy invisibly.
After resting briefly, Meng Chuan thought secretly:
"With my current understanding of Luo's Eight Extremes, could I have already surpassed Master Luo?"
This is the confidence brought by relentless practice, day after day of cultivation.
Back home, Meng Chuan stood and recalled yet again the martial principles Principal Yang explained earlier in the day.
Martial principles are elusive and can't be permanently recorded with a single verification, they only exist through continuous contemplation.
But any place he understood was still etched in his memory.
As his cultivation deepened, and his fist skills became more diverse, Meng Chuan increasingly realized the value of the phrase [One Proof, Eternal Proof].
Mastery of martial arts that never forgets or degenerates, how many martial artists dream longingly of this.
After a shower, Meng Chuan felt he had another fulfilling day.
Sitting on the Team Divine Mat, he also practiced [Doma Iron Crotch] a bit, and then went to sleep contently...
...
The sixth day of the new year.
After morning practice, Meng Chuan couldn't wait to head to Gangzi Club.
It's been a while since he was beaten, and his skin was truly itchy...
In the hitting room, Li Weigang hadn't seen Meng Chuan for a long time, and now he was also full of passion!
The sound of hits echoed once again throughout the club.
While hitting, Li Weigang said with admiration:
"Your outer membrane is as thick as a mystical turtle's shell, your armored body must be very accomplished, truly impressive!
In that case, I'll continue to increase my strength; hold on for me!"
As soon as he finished speaking.
A faint earth-yellow glow appeared on Li Weigang's hand.
This is the external manifestation of a small amount of True Qi condensing in his palm!
Every strike that followed made Meng Chuan feel like he was in heaven and hell.
He initially thought he could rely on the toughness of hard skills, aspiring to challenge Martial Artists during the Nine Gates period, but it seems he was indeed too young...
"Hold on! Think about your future, when your armored skill is perfected and the glorious image you'll have!
No need for True Qi to protect, you could venture seven times in and out of a forest of guns and bullets just with your physical body!
Having said that, Li Weigang secretly mustered his strength.
His overwhelmingly strong body rang with the sound of a grand metal bell, echoing far and wide!
"Look at you, Brother Gang's invincible hard skills. Who at the same level dares to speak of victory against me?
Your future will far surpass mine, hold on for me!"
Meng Chuan gritted his teeth; Brother Gang used some True Qi during the strikes, indeed making it quite intense.
Gradually, as his body's skin and membrane got accustomed, he finally completed the hell difficulty level of the hitting task.
Of course, it was only half done.
Next would be the hitting of the Doma Iron Leg and... the crotch.
"Brother Gang, promise me.
When striking around the crotch acupoints, don't use True Qi..."
The Earth Qi of water cannot protect if Li Weigang misses, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
Next moment, Li Weigang picked up a hitting stick, the pointed end glowing slightly yellow.
"Your outer membrane even wraps around these acupoints; without using True Qi, it can't penetrate..."
"Then please aim carefully..."
Considering it was only the surrounding acupoints, he gritted his teeth and decided to endure it.
After the nerve-wracking hitting session ended, Meng Chuan finally exhaled a long breath.
Afterwards, Li Weigang used his fingers to tap along Meng Chuan's legs once more.
A moment later, he asked strangely:
"Isn't your Iron Leg already at perfection? Why are you still practicing?"
"I feel I'm still a bit short, after all, a man must first train his legs to be strong. I don't think I've reached the limit yet..."
Meng Chuan talked nonsense in a serious manner.
"Tsk... You brat."
Hearing this, Li Weigang couldn't say much.
Including hard skills, the progress of martial arts actually has no clear standards, and varies from person to person.
The stages of entry, proficiency... perfection are just clear distinctions based on the external manifestation of cultivation techniques, to make it easier to identify one's level of proficiency in martial arts.
As the two rested, Li Weigang was full of emotion.
Leaving aside the endurance for four-gate combined training, just this speed of progress alone is enviable.
"I'm not going to let you call me Brother Gang for nothing. If you want to learn the hard skills I practice in the future, I can teach you for free, including the True Skill level of [Weituo Mountain Carrying Skill]."
Once again feeling the strength of Meng Chuan's talent, Li Weigang also wanted to form a good relationship.
Offering free sparring might be too much, but free teaching is just right.
Meng Chuan nodded happily.
He could guess some of Brother Gang's thoughts; it seems being a genius does come with its perks.
...
The next day, evening approached.
Before sleeping, Meng Chuan felt his Iron Leg, and looked at the panel.
[Doma Iron Leg: Perfection (84%) Waiting to Break Limit]
"If it's soon, I can break the limit in about a week."
He exerted force with his legs, pounding the wall in a pendulum-like motion from the bedside.
The dull thud of "dong dong" suddenly sounded as if rocks were being smashed against the wall.
"Armor Cultivation mainly trains the protective membrane, while Doma Iron Leg is different,
it's like it's changing the texture of my skin, making it more solid and powerful."
Thinking this, Meng Chuan looked at his second brother.
Although Doma Iron Crotch hasn't been practiced long, he could feel that it has a unique effect similar to the accomplishments of Iron Leg training...
He felt that his persistence in facing True Qi these past few days made everything worthwhile.
"Gotta practice, just have to practice..."
Before sleeping, he opened his phone and glanced at the news.
The top news caught his attention, exactly what he had been concerned about recently.
[The First Supernova Competition Scheduled!]
Clicking in, it detailed the specifics of the preliminary round and the prize money issue Meng Chuan was most concerned about.
This is a national martial arts competition, led by the state and implemented by the Martial Arts Association, with sponsorship from major business giants.
The entire event is divided into three main stages, the first stage being the preliminary round.
The preliminaries' qualifications are distributed by each Martial Arts University, and independent martial artists cannot participate.
Because the purpose of this competition is for the state to support university martial artists in breaking through to martial artists.
After the conclusion of the last National Martial Arts Championship, Great Chu had long planned to cultivate some fresh blood.
The championship victory by [Great Saint Zhao Linyuan] established the top-tier combat power of Great Chu.
At the same time, the country also needs to mass train martial artist talents through university martial artists to fill the grassroots combat power.
They even want to find potential strong contenders who can bear the future burden of Great Chu.
Therefore, the National Martial Arts Supernova Competition was born.
A total of 900 spots are allocated to nine special Martial Arts Universities.
Thirty top universities, with 30 slots each.
The remaining second and third-tier universities total 200 slots, with a total of 2000 participants in the preliminary stage.
Finally, 100 people are selected to enter the second stage, with 50 spots each in the northwest and southeast regions.
And Yong'an, being the provincial capital of Qin Province in the northwest region.
In April, the top ten university martial artists in the province will be selected here to participate in the competition for the strongest in the country.
Being among the top hundred, the state starts with two hundred million, with two million yuan awarded to each person!
Meng Chuan's eyes couldn't help but shine; no wonder it's state-led, even the preliminary round is so generous, the finals must be unimaginable?
Turning off his phone, Meng Chuan lay on his bed and closed his eyes to sleep.
Although independent martial artists are not involved, special Martial Arts Universities like Northern United University, surely there are many experts among them.
He also didn't dare to rashly assert that he could definitely win the championship, as he is still developing and needs time to hone his skills.
"The time for the latter stages hasn't been announced yet, but first, I need to secure a top ten position in the province and get that two million prize..."
...
Within the ancestral home of the Liu family in Yong'an City.
"Ancestor, didn't we agree on the slots with United University? Why are we competing again?"
The young girl asked puzzledly.
The slots at United University were divided among the Liu, Zhou, and Zheng families, so how did the Luo family suddenly pop up?
The one called [Ancestor] was young, tall, and thin, not appearing to be someone of high age.
The reason is, the Grandmaster is no longer human, having touched a higher level of life, they can naturally change their external appearance at will.
This person is [Blazing Feathered Golden Crow Liu Yang], the current Martial Arts Grandmaster of the Liu family.
Liu Yang remained silent, just affectionately rubbed the top of her head.
The decision of United University is to be followed, there is no need to say more.
Seeing the ancestor remain silent, Liu Shuxue pouted and turned her head to look at her second uncle, Liu Sanduo.
Liu Sanduo's other identity is as a member of the Liu family.
"Second Uncle, what is the situation with this Meng Chuan, Yong'an's Luo family?"
Liu Sanduo said helplessly:
"Shuxue, it's not to discourage you, but this kid is a disciple of my friend, his strength is considered invincible among his peers.
If he selects you, you... surrender immediately, don't hurt yourself and affect the martial exam in July."