"The two are obviously in a subordinate relationship. If I want to move the flow of qi while throwing a punch, I must first try to control the wind."
Under Meng Chuan's full exertion, his punch's wind was like a knife. As his right elbow brushed past the tree trunk, the three-inch-thick moss exploded into a green mist.
At the same time, the shattered leaves briefly formed a tornado shape amidst the air wave.
When his left arm retracted from the punch, the reverse airflow shook the scattered stones on the ground, causing them to rustle noisily.
Feeling the power contained within, Meng Chuan finally understood.
"No matter how powerful the punch's wind is, it's only like a blade cut. If qi is used well, it itself is an invisible steel knife!"
He once again punched at the scattered stones from a distance.
The heart fire qi mixed in the gale split and exploded upon touching the ground!
Like a crimson python of fire, it strangled in all directions, blasting the stones into fragments!
Meng Chuan repeatedly punched, starting a storm of bombardment among the scattered stones.
Moments later, he switched to the Five Elements Fist route, the Lung Metal qi touching the stone, slicing through it smoothly and roundly like a sharp knife through tofu;
The Liver Wood qi grinded the green stone, eventually turning it into flying ash!
He hadn't yet mastered the remaining Water and Earth forces that well.
After several attempts until his strength waned, he stopped to regulate his breath.
A joyful expression appeared on his face.
"It worked! This is the true punch momentum!"
Originally, Meng Chuan's punch momentum was merely raising a gale to win by force.
Facing true experts like Lin Yue, it was just for show, and close combat was needed to truly land punches.
Now, with the manipulation of the Five Elements qi, his momentum could genuinely harm from a distance, penetrating three feet deep!
For those who practice sword, once they reach a certain level, they can comprehend Sword Qi.
And for those skilled in boxing and kicking, what they comprehend is the punch momentum!
Meng Chuan benefited from the advantages of the Five Elements Qiankun Fist, with all Five Elements at his disposal.
With Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth, whichever punch momentum he wanted to use, he could switch by employing the Qi Eating Skill.
Moreover, he secretly pondered that the path of breaking limits in the Five Elements Qiankun Fist was now clear to him.
It's the unification of the Five Elements!
Meng Chuan envisioned that if he could unleash the punch momentum of the Five Elements with one punch, combined with his various battle traits.
"When I reach the extreme of nine barriers, can I defeat a Martial Arts Family who manipulates True Qi?"
Master Luo remarked that the essence of True Qi is actually an ethereal concept.
Without becoming a Martial Arts Family, one can never truly understand what it is.
But the power of True Qi is dozens of times greater than qi.
Even though Meng Chuan possessed multiple traits, after thinking it through, he felt there was no hope.
The reason why the path of progression for a Martial Arts Family is called Limit Breaking is that their bodily structure has completely surpassed human limits.
If it weren't for the lack of reproductive isolation from ordinary people, they might well be called a "new species."
Having experienced it once again, the progress tonight was indeed immense.
Subsequently, Meng Chuan left contentedly, preparing to return home to stand post.
After he left, a figure slowly emerged from a distance, with a look of utter astonishment.
This person was none other than Chen Xuewu's master, the second limit Martial Arts Master Liu Sanduo.
Due to Luo Guanyun's request, he was responsible for protecting Meng Chuan's safety in the neighborhood, which is why he had been observing in the shadows.
"The Fire momentum, the Wood momentum, and one I couldn't see clearly, probably the formless Xin Metal momentum."
"Just seven barriers, yet he's comprehended the true punch momentum? And not just one kind."
He couldn't fathom it, unable to understand why Meng Chuan was so abnormal.
Recalling how Meng Chuan had comprehended killing intent early on, Liu Sanduo felt somewhat reassured.
Killing intent is more rare. He was a genius to begin with, so it's not surprising that he's grasped some new things.
Glancing one last time to confirm Meng Chuan reached home safely, he turned and left.
He muttered to himself:
"Don't compare yourself to others. Xuewu, I hope you hold steady and make your move in the later stages..."
...
The following day.
Shortly after Meng Chuan finished practicing his fist, he received a call from Chief Long Jiu.
[Meng Chuan, do you have time this afternoon to come to the police station?]
[I have time. What's up, Chief Long?]
Chief Long paused for a moment and continued:
[It's confidential. I'll tell you in person.]
Meng Chuan roughly understood.
[I'm worried it will add chaos...]
With his master not around, Meng Chuan was relatively cautious.
[Merit, Armory... and bonus points for the Martial Exam?]
[Say no more, I'll come after lunch. Wait for me!]
Hanging up the phone, Meng Chuan thought silently.
"I am indeed short of money and resources, but I must act within my capabilities. I'll assess the difficulty in the afternoon first."
It's been a long time since he engaged in life-and-death combat. Meng Chuan wasn't sure where his current strength stood.
If it were Lin Yue, who initially entered the Eight Barriers, now, he might be smashed down with a dozen punches.
"Up to the Eight Barriers, I can attempt it, but if it's Nine Barriers... better to hold steady. Let's forego the task."
After lunch, Meng Chuan stood by the pool washing his hands.
Looking up at the mirror above the pool, as Meng Chuan rubbed his hands, the two steel-like arms in the mirror seemed to come alive, with bulging muscles slowly undulating.
"Getting bigger with practice..."
Body size is indeed something that cannot be controlled.
The size and density of muscles, in most cases, reflect the strength.
"Can't have it both ways... However, there should be a certain trait that can solve this problem."
Meng Chuan lowered his head and continued washing his hands, while immersing his heart spirit in the panel.
[Body Armor Cultivation: Mastery (78%) Awaiting Limit Breaking]
[Limit Breaking Trait: Flesh Flower (Intermediate)]
This is Meng Chuan's longest and most troublesome hard skill practice, without a doubt.
He needs to train externally, endure strikes, and absorb Purple Qi for internal nourishment every morning.
Meng Chuan always feels that the Flesh Flower trait can bring him surprises.
"Within this month, achieving major progress in the Body Armor Cultivation isn't a big problem. My physical strength can be further improved."
The Body Armor Cultivation is Meng Chuan's strongest hard skill method, and each improvement leads to comprehensive progress in physical qualities.
Whether it's muscle strength or the protective ability of the inner and outer membranes, these are all that Meng Chuan needs.
He flicked the water off his hands and set off for the police department.
...
Meanwhile, inside the police department.
Long Jiu is conducting thorough arrangements for the netting operation.
Recently, the Yong'an police finally confirmed what the Demon Summoning Hall intended with their massive acquisition of soul-nourishing items.
They also identified the black market personnel's trading locations supplying the Demon Summoning Hall with soul-nourishing items.
Next comes the netting operation...
"Wang Xuan, you'll lead the raid on the harbor stronghold tomorrow. Only success is allowed, no failure!"
"Yes!"
"Alright, you may go prepare now."
[Stone-breaking Hand · Wang Xuan] is the mole in the police department, and the harbor stronghold is naturally false, just to deceive him.
At the right time, the team will include Martial Arts Masters borrowed from the Martial Arts Association to subdue him.
Besides, the actual netting operation of the police department still requires splitting into several directions.
The main hiding spot of Yong'an branch Bishop Fan's sacrificial rituals and three other branch strongholds.
Simultaneously, they also need to capture these black market personnel daring to provide soul-nourishing items to the Demon Summoning Hall.
The laws of Great Chu stipulate that any collusion with the Demon Path is regarded as abetting an enemy in treason!
The specific sentence would only be definitive after capturing, investigating, and fully judging them.
But no matter what, black market personnel cannot escape liability.
Those forced to participate may be lightly sentenced, while active traitors face certain death!
Great Chu aims to dispel certain people's crafty notions with such strict laws!
"Soul-nourishing items, the escaped Jiao Demon's residual spirit..."
The Thousand Heads Jiao Demon is powerful, and even the crippled True Spirit is beyond what a Martial Arts Master like him can handle.
However, Long Jiu has already devised coping strategies, that is, to seek powerful external reinforcements...
...
Inside the Chief's office.
"Xiaomeng, long time no see. You've really bulked up a lot, young man."
Long Jiu tapped Meng Chuan's shoulder with a hearty laugh.
As a Martial Arts Master, he can naturally sense Meng Chuan's intense aura.
He was secretly amazed, thinking Meng Chuan was still lingering at the early stages of the Seventh Gate.
Today, upon seeing him, he didn't expect Meng Chuan was already close to the Eighth Gate.
Moreover, his martial aura is much stronger than that of some at the Eighth Gate!
"Below the Eight Gates, you should be unbeatable now. It seems like this task can be safely entrusted to you.
Come, come, sit down and have some water while we talk."
Meng Chuan sat down and listened as Long Jiu continued:
"Xiaomeng, do you remember the Demon Summoning Hall?
This netting operation is related to it; we want to take down all its strongholds in Yong'an City in one fell swoop!
But your task is relatively simple, mainly to capture a group of black market personnel hiding in the demolition building casino of Bailiu District.
The mission process is similar to the last chemical plant battle.
Regularly tally the accomplishments, and exchange rewards in the Armory after the mission ends.
Additionally, since this is a coordination task involving recruiting societal martial artists.
Your student status will earn you two points noted in your personal file at the police department, which can be used as bonus points for martial exams."
Long Jiu isn't granting Meng Chuan any special favors, as the need to split forces required collaboration with well-known martial artists several days ago.
But Long Jiu remembered Luo Guanyun's request for his old friends and specifically reserved this task for Meng Chuan.
After considering for a moment, Meng Chuan said:
"Uncle Long, is there any intelligence detailing the potential risks in capturing black market personnel?"
With his master absent and police personnel needing to split forces, he could only rely on his own strength.
Long Jiu appreciatively remarked:
"You've grown more cautious, huh?
Don't worry, during the mission, you'll also need to capture or eliminate the accompanying Demon Summoning Hall members as much as possible.
However, their highest level is merely having just undergone their so-called third sublimation, not reaching the Eighth Gate.
With your strength, I'm planning to have you lead a team to annihilate them entirely!"
Meng Chuan nodded, seeing that based on Chief Long's description, the task indeed seemed low-risk.
"However, you must still be mindful of your safety. Don't rely on your hard skills to recklessly charge.
Some demon path martial artists can release demonic qi through certain curse arts, even aggregating it into fireball-like attacks, as you've witnessed before.
Moreover, according to our latest intelligence, they might even possess abilities similar to the Celestial Demon Position coverage, don't hesitate to activate your steel defenses when needed."
Meng Chuan nodded, acknowledging that being only at the Seventh Gate himself, he wouldn't underestimate any opponent.