The function of the Arm of Rock was vastly different from what he imagined.
He had thought it would continue to enhance his offense or defense, but it turned out to be counter-injury and early warning.
"But these two functions are also good. I don't currently lack offensive and defensive means,
The meaning of the Rock Sense is that it increases my perception abilities in certain specific environments, which is indeed what I need."
For example, in the casino, the hidden tail of the Jiao Demon was underground.
If his Iron Arm had already broken its limit at that time, it wouldn't have been so dangerous.
For the first counter-injury function, Meng Chuan took a kitchen knife to test it out.
Without exerting any force, he just lightly touched the blade, and a "tear" sound was immediately heard as the blade curled.
How big of an impact the 20% counter-injury has needs to be further explored in actual combat.
Meng Chuan speculated that this is related to the strength of the enemy's attack and his own maximum defense limit.
...
As today's last standing exercise ended.
Before sleep, Meng Chuan took out a hand-copied version of [Doma Iron Crotch] that he had prepared and placed it at the bedside, ready to use it first thing tomorrow morning.
The place is quite dangerous, and he doesn't dare to practice blindly on his own.
He is planning to visit Brother Gang tomorrow morning to practice and fill the last gap in his Hard Skills.
This is the very simple Barrel Theory; even if he trains the Armor Technique to break the limit, the vulnerability position beneath is still a weak point.
Before falling asleep, he kept thinking to himself.
"After breaking the limit of the Iron Crotch, will the feature be Rock's Dio?
Surely its function wouldn't be counter-injury as well, but I can't exactly use my crotch to block a knife..."
...
Gangzi Club.
Meng Chuan arrived quite early, and Li Weigang had not yet come, so he started working out in the equipment area of the hall.
Casually, he picked up a dumbbell from the rack and tossed it in his palm.
This was a specially made tungsten steel training equipment by Li Weigang, weighing three hundred kilograms each.
An ordinary person would struggle to even move it, and even the martial artist members of the club have to remove a few plates according to their own capability before doing curls.
"Still a bit light."
So, Meng Chuan went directly to the martial artist bench-press area, gripping a 1,500-kilogram tungsten steel barbell with one hand.
This thing originally required four people to coordinate when adding or removing weight plates, but now it was effortlessly lifted in front of his chest by him alone.
"Starting to feel it, time to train the biceps with curls."
His right arm muscles suddenly expanded twice their size, bending the barbell into a semi-arc with high-frequency vibrations in his palm.
The twenty chrome-plated weight plates on the bar collided with each other, producing a dull thumping sound.
The onlooking members quickly took out their phones, even the club coaches were utterly shocked.
"Holy crap, isn't this supposed to be for bench pressing?"
Meng Chuan's endurance was absurd, doing sixty reps per set with a twenty-second interval between sets, completing all three sets in five minutes.
Seeing this, people couldn't help but exclaim at Meng's excellence.
Li Weigang just happened to push the door open and enter, seeing Meng Chuan using two fingers to bend a grip stick with squeaky sounds.
"Stop ruining my equipment, let's go and hit the pads."
He knew Meng Chuan would rush to train boxing after hitting the pads every day, so he reminded him.
Meng Chuan flicked his fingers, restored the grip stick to its original state, put it back in place, and followed the other into the padded room.
Entering through the door, Meng Chuan asked:
"Brother Gang, can you help me train this?"
With that, he handed the [Doma Iron Crotch] in his hand to Li Weigang.
"What kind of Hard Skill?"
Li Weigang was internally curious.
Meng Chuan had perfected the Iron Arm cultivation a while ago, and according to his training method, it was indeed time to prepare for new Hard Skills.
He originally wanted to recommend what he practices to Meng Chuan, but didn't expect him to be prepared already.
"Doma Iron Crotch Skill."
Upon hearing this, Li Weigang spews out the tea he was drinking.
"You're so young, why are you practicing Crotch Skills?"
He practiced the Shaolin Iron Crotch Skill himself because of its certain functionality that was particularly effective…
"Mainly to guard against female martial artists and to resolve the issue with my vulnerability, too."
Some male martial artists also don't follow martial virtues, often liking to ambush their opponent's lower three routes,.
Meng Chuan was also being preventive.
Li Weigang flipped through the contents of [Doma Iron Crotch], nodded earnestly, and said:
"Alright, but do you want to consider switching to train Shaolin Iron Crotch Skill with me?
The effects are similar, but I'm more familiar with this one."
Meng Chuan shook his head; this was also to collect the whole Doma set.
However, Shaolin Iron Crotch is also not bad; if time permits, he can practice another layer…
"Alright then. The acupoints for this Doma Iron Crotch are quite similar to Shaolin's, so stimulating them with pad hits is not a problem.
But you must think carefully in advance, the area being hit is rather unique; if it hurts or itches, you must endure and not scratch."
Meng Chuan nodded in assent; to be the best, one must endure hardships the most.
"Please, Brother Gang, assist me."
"Alright, first sit and regulate your breath; make sure not to be tense later.
If you tremble, causing me to hit the wrong spot..."
Meng Chuan wasn't originally tense, but hearing this suddenly made him shiver.
"Brother Gang, you must aim accurately..."
Li Weigang said nothing, turning around and retrieving a special tungsten steel padded hitting stick from the sterilization cabinet.
This is professional equipment, specializing in targeting local positions for hitting exercises.
Seeing Meng Chuan's somewhat tense look, Li Weigang laughed heartily and said:
"I'm not hitting you with this stick, don't be afraid.
"Come on, take off your shirt and pants, but leave your underwear on."
Meng Chuan complied, considering it a dedication to martial arts...
Li Weigang pointed to the acupoints near the crotch with a training rod, explaining to Meng Chuan.
Then he said:
"Understand?
It's just massaging the acupoints around here, similar to the Shaolin Iron Crotch that I practiced.
After massaging, follow the illustrations in the cultivation technique manual to knead it, facilitating the absorption of energy dispersing from the acupoints.
I can't help you with that; make sure to look at the illustrations, pay attention to the kneading technique, too light and it won't be effective, too heavy... no need to go too hard on yourself."
"Understood, thank you, Brother Gang."
"Come on, it's been a long time since I helped anyone with this. I suggest you apply some Blood Formation Ointment, just in case..."
"Huh?"
Meng Chuan hesitated immediately.
After thinking for a moment, he circulated the Qi of Kidney Water to wrap his lower body.
Adding internal membrane protection, he felt it should be foolproof.
"Getting hit from the outside might just hurt for a few days, as long as the internal spongy tissues are protected..."
Li Weigang, while putting on gloves, suddenly sensed Meng Chuan circulating his energy and clicked his tongue in amazement.
"What an incredible technique, it can mobilize the Qi of Kidney Water to protect the vital area inside, making it foolproof."
Even the best horse might stumble, he worried about hitting the wrong spot, and Meng Chuan's Martial Arts Master mentor would come after him...
The massaging began, and Li Weigang first used his hands to help him with Doma Iron Leg.
When he reached the base of the thigh, he switched to a training stick for poking and tapping.
Half an hour later, Meng Chuan felt a noticeable warmth below his abdomen.
Looking at the panel, Doma Iron Crotch hadn't progressed yet.
Li Weigang also breathed a sigh of relief, as he was quite tense during the process.
Luckily, his skills were still sharp, successfully completing the crotch massage to perfection.
"Despite your talent in hard skills, to master the Crotch Skill, you'll need another four or five sessions.
At your age, this area usually lacks practical training, so starting suddenly is like beginning from scratch."
"..."
Understanding Li Weigang's implications, Meng Chuan realized that even if Chen Tie practiced this technique, it might take a while to master it.
But that's not necessarily the case now.
Previously, while massaging on weekends, Meng Chuan occasionally saw Chen Tie training at the club, but he hadn't been around for the past month.
"I heard old Chen found a pretty girlfriend who teaches at the nearby school, seems he's completely fallen..."
Practicing Doma Iron Crotch doesn't require Esoteric Oil, after activating his Rainbow Light and resting, Meng Chuan began the second round of massage for the remaining two hard skills.
Three days later, at night.
"Awesome, I should have achieved the entry level."
After kneading, Meng Chuan felt a subtle warmth near the crucial spot, like the first ray of spring sunlight shining into a cold pond.
He shook himself, feeling significantly stronger.
He stood up and looked at the panel.
[Doma Iron Crotch Skill: Entry Level (1%) Awaiting Limit Breaking]
[Limit Breaking Trait: Rock Pivot (Basic)]
"Pivot implies a crucial link, seems the panel is not straightforward, rather reserved..."
He glanced at the next, about to break the limit – Doma Iron Leg.
[Doma Iron Leg: Perfection (8%) Awaiting Limit Breaking]
"Hard Skills have been restored to four again. Once this one breaks the limit, I'll replace it with the Iron Body.
By then, once all the Doma series break the limit, I'll move on to other hard skills."
Meng Chuan combined the limit-breaking traits of the Doma series, naming it the Counter-impact Set.
Based on the feedback from breaking the limit of the Iron Arm, the functionality proved pretty useful, so he aimed to gather all he could.
...
Meanwhile.
In December, Japan officially entered its rainy season.
Far away in Japan, Luo Guanyun, following a lead from an izakaya owner, finally obtained critical intelligence.
"The Parasite Association has planted numerous Demon Seeds in Osaka, planning to reap them around New Year."
He immediately set off, seeing it as a prime opportunity to seize a position among the upper echelons.
Luo Guanyun cleared his thoughts, casually crushed the can of beer in his palm into dust, put on a hoodie, and set off.
There were still two months until New Year's Eve; staying here indefinitely achieved nothing, better to leave sooner.
Soon after, the neon sign at Osaka's Nagata Station was drenched in night rain, as Luo Guanyun was about to meet an old friend.
"Luo Sang, long time no see."
...
Time flowed like water.
In the blink of an eye, only a month remained before the New Year.
"The vacation starts from February 10th next month, I must return home for the New Year,
I'll be back after the ninth, don't come in vain."
After finishing the massage for Meng Chuan today, Li Weigang gave him an early heads-up.
"Alright."
Meng Chuan planned to look for a substitute in Chen Tie, temporarily pausing the crotch practice.
He wasn't sure about Chen Tie's current condition, worrying if he'd become weakened after getting a girlfriend.
The chauffeured car waited by the roadside, and Meng Chuan sat in the back seat, heading to United University Preparatory High School to practice boxing.
[Don't be late, Grandmaster Wang from the university department is giving a lecture at ten in the morning.]
Meng Chuan received a message from Meng Jiaolong, to which he replied with an "Alright" and ended the conversation.
Putting down his phone, he immersed his heart and spirit into feeling his body.
After the morning massage session, his Qi Nourishing Armor Technique had progressed greatly.