Although last year, when he returned, Meng Chuan's power had undergone a dramatic transformation.
He was still within the range of normal people.
Before returning home this year, he heard from his boyfriend at Yong'an Martial Arts University that Meng Chuan had now reached the seventh level.
He participated in various martial arts competitions and won first place.
He even bought a big villa for his family!
Meng Yongzhi kept recounting the "legend" of Meng Chuan to Meng Yiyi.
While drinking the plum soup at the bottom of her cup, Meng Yiyi asked curiously:
"How has your martial arts practice been recently?"
Meng Chuan nodded.
"Smoothly."
"That's really great..."
Meng Yiyi sighed with emotion.
Once she also longed for martial arts and was a devoted fan of various martial arts competitions, but her talent was too poor.
All martial artists are long-lasting, capable of reaching the fourth major limit as Martial Arts Grandmasters, and can live for three to four hundred years.
Thinking of Meng Chuan in the future, possibly shining alongside the sun and moon.
By then, she would surely have turned into a heap of yellow earth.
She felt a silent bitterness, feeling somewhat heartache.
This was also the result of her brother's hard work, putting aside distracting thoughts, Meng Yiyi smiled and said:
"I hope you can keep up the good work and break into the Martial Arts Family soon!"
"Thank you, cousin."
After chatting for a while, having wished New Year with Wang Yue and several friends, seeing it was late, Meng Chuan hurried upstairs for his Posture Stance Skill.
Even on New Year's Eve, Meng Chuan continued to train diligently.
...
Early the next morning.
Even on the first day of the New Year, he did not slack off.
With the New Year here, even if Northern United University is strict, they'll have a few days off.
Brother Gang had gone home for New Year, no one was there to give him a beating, so Meng Chuan trained alone in the neighborhood.
After absorbing Purple Qi, feeling the morning breeze, Meng Chuan dedicated himself to practicing the Five Elements Qiankun Fist.
Unknowingly, it was noon.
Practicing to the end, Meng Chuan suddenly felt a tremor in his five organs, the Five Qi drawing from the outside world, converging in his body like a torrent.
Kidney Water nourishes Liver Wood, Wood Qi drives Heart Fire, Heart Fire tempers Spleen Earth, Earth Spirit nurtures Lung Gold, Lung Gold returns to Kidney Water, in a ceaseless cycle.
At this moment, a surge of Qi Blood emerged simultaneously in Meng Chuan's apertures.
The newly born massive Qi Blood flowed through his five organs and six viscera, eventually gathering at the treasure site of his meridians.
At the same time, the muscles and skin all over his body kept growing and expanding under the power of the new Qi Blood.
Meng Chuan exhaled like a rainbow, Five Qi's brilliance emanating from his body, startling the birds on the treetops.
As he looked down, he finally felt himself merging with the surrounding environment, realizing the Five Elements Qiankun Fist had reached mastery.
[Five Elements Qiankun Fist: Proficient (100%) → Mastery (1%)]
He then closed his eyes, standing still to practice the Qi Eating Skill, forming a world within three feet around him.
Qi Blood surged like mercury in his meridians, the five-element qi rhythm from the Five Elements Qiankun Fist transforming into a substantial phenomenon like mist in the mountains.
He knew that his Qi Blood had entered the eighth level.
And it's not just barely breaking into 128 points.
In the instant Meng Chuan opened his eyes, the mysterious phenomenon around him instantly retracted into his body, his figure leaping into the treetops.
Looking at the withered wood beneath him, the Lung Gold power of the eighth level gathered in his right palm, and he swung down fiercely!
—Boom!
With a "crack," the withered wood beneath him was split in half by the Lung Gold Qi, as if struck by lightning!
In the moment Meng Chuan flipped and jumped down, his feet stepping on the Cloud-Ascending Ladder, suspended mid-air, he struck several punches.
Heart Fire erupted at the core, Kidney Water Qi wrapped in Spleen Earth's suppressive force, and Liver Wood's spirit like roots penetrated the rings of the withered wood.
Upon landing, the giant withered tree that needed two people to embrace suddenly transformed into pieces covering the ground.
Seeing this scene, Liu Sanduo, secretly observing from afar, said helplessly:
"This brat, being lively even during the New Year…"
After Meng Chuan left, he walked to the crime scene.
Looking at the shattered branches and fragments all over the ground, he felt secretly shocked:
"Could this brat have reached the ninth level, otherwise why would the destructive power be so great?
No, I remember he was still at the seventh level a while ago..."
Unable to figure it out, Liu Sanduo swept the place clean with a palm wind imbued with True Qi, then returned home.
"Next time I need to tell this brat, every time he makes a mess, he doesn't clean up, it really burdens me..."
At the dining table, due to his cultivation improvement, Meng Chuan was in quite a good mood.
While eating, he still wondered who had been secretly watching his martial arts practice.
But this person harbored no malice, even helped him clean the battlefield every time.
Meng Chuan speculated, wondering if there's an old martial arts master in Huayun Prefecture who appreciates him...
After the meal, he headed to the attic.
Sitting cross-legged on the Team Divine Mat, entering meditation, practicing [Dragon Sitting Meditation].
Time passed, feeling his Heart Spirit gradually tiring, Meng Chuan ended the practice and stood up.
[Dragon Sitting Meditation: Level One (51%)]
Since exchanging Merit Points from the police station for the Team Divine Mat, practicing this Secret Technique on it is certainly much faster.
Thus, as Spiritual Power grows, he can vaguely sense that someone in the neighborhood is secretly watching his martial arts practices.
Had this been before, he would surely have been blind to this.
"Spiritual Power is indeed useful."
He thought again of the [Shiva Elephant Washing Skill] first volume sitting on the bedside cabinet.
"I can't practice it at all..."
If he did, the little Spiritual Power he had would transform into muscles...
...
Meanwhile.
In a dry landscape garden in Japan.
A girl sits under a cherry blossom tree, with Fang Jianxing standing respectfully nearby.
"In my humble opinion, I feel it's not appropriate to let New Temple handle the final finishing work,
though everything is proceeding according to plan, I've been feeling uneasy."
Recently, everything has been going wrong for him, even his last spy remaining in Yong'an was eliminated, so he immediately raised his concerns when he felt a premonition.
The young girl closed her eyes, cherry blossoms around her transformed into a mysterious wind, enveloping her, and in the next moment, she disappeared without a trace.
Only a voice lingered in the air:
"Mirror, just take care of your own tasks.
This isn't Great Chu, you're overthinking this."
...
Three days later.
[Master, when are you coming back?]
[It should be soon, with eight boundaries you can't afford to slack off, aim to hit nine boundaries within this year and become a Martial Arts Master before twenty!]
[Okay.]
Meng Chuan sighed helplessly; every time he called his master, the conversation would eventually circle back to his cultivation.
As he hung up the call, the dedicated car from Huayun Prefecture arrived, Meng Chuan sat in the backseat and closed his eyes to rest.
Since Brother Gang's Hard Skill Club wasn't open yet, he headed straight to United University Preparatory High School to practice his fists.
Unlike regular high schools, United University Preparatory High School didn't have a long winter vacation.
It only lasted until the third day of the Lunar New Year, and today happened to be the first day of school.
Once he arrived, Meng Chuan headed straight for the Qi Blood Testing Room.
Moments later, he stepped out happily.
"Eight boundaries indeed, and it exceeds the standard of 128 points by 15 points.
This fist skill is truly top-notch; when fully mastered, it might directly reach nine boundaries."
Ordinary top-tier fist skills require perfection to push Qi Blood to 256 points, reaching nine boundaries.
The extreme limit of nine boundaries requires 500 points of Qi Blood, only then can one begin true skill cultivation and break through the first major limit.
Therefore, typical martial artists must practice at least two to three top-tier fist skills to push their Qi Blood to the limit.
Meng Chuan believed that solely relying on the Five Elements Qiankun Fist, his Qi Blood could reach 500 points.
He had already made up his mind.
If nothing unexpected happens, he will choose [Primordial Spirit Thunder Planting Skill] as his Limit Breaking True Skill!
Ever since the conversation with Luo Meng, he knew Master Luo's health was unstable, and he could fall due to the Thunder Skill at any time.
Though he wasn't sure if Master Luo gained anything during his trip to Japan.
But Meng Chuan thought there's no time to dabble in other true skills first for experience.
Firstly, to fulfill his master's orders; secondly, the power of the Thunder Planting Skill is indeed remarkable.
One must be true to their words and sincere to their resolve.
Thinking of this, the joy of breakthrough in Meng Chuan's heart was diminished considerably.
After regaining his spirit, he turned and stepped towards the Martial Arts Dojo to practice his fist.
"Master Luo is waiting for me, and Sister Ru is waiting for me to avenge her, there's no time to waste, I must diligently train and improve..."
...
Meng Jiaolong and Xu Qingfeng attended the opening ceremony, then the two headed to the Martial Arts Dojo.
Lu Zhuxiao had mentioned that the first lesson after the school began would be a practical combat class.
Whether anyone slacked off during the break would become evident in the ring.
Meng Jiaolong sensed the aura around Xu Qingfeng, always feeling that it had strengthened from before.
Ever since Meng Chuan came to school to train, a wave of competition arose, even Xu Qingfeng's laid-back attitude was largely restrained.
Xu Qingfeng casually leaned on his head with both hands and said:
"The vacation was way too short, feels like it hasn't even happened, and the time just flew by."
"Looks like you have your laziness acting up again..."
"Did you hear? Lin Yue transferred schools right after being discharged last year."
"If he hadn't transferred, why bother staying in United University Preparatory High School? In my opinion, Meng Chuan should've punched him to death!"
Meng Jiaolong had been bullied by Lin Yue often, and coupled with his pretentious demeanor, she preferred someone more masculine.
Unconsciously, she visualized Meng Chuan in her mind...
She shook her head to dispel the distracting thoughts, claiming it's merely from an appreciation standpoint.
In the martial arts world, there's not much room for love affairs, only competition.
As they entered the Martial Arts Dojo, familiar faces were seen in familiar places.
"He's truly freakish, such talent and so hardworking, completely leaving no room for others,"
Xu Qingfeng exaggerated.
Meng Jiaolong wholeheartedly agreed, having sparred with Meng Chuan multiple times last year, each time leaving her utterly defeated.
Xu Qingfeng sighed:
"Luckily my Qi Blood always leads him by a bit, should likely reach eight boundaries sooner than him."
Though he couldn't defeat Meng Chuan, his Qi Blood had always been slightly higher than Meng Chuan's.
Last time measured was 123 points, not far from eight boundaries.
"Meng Chuan, after practice, come upstairs for a spar?"
The first practical combat class after school began included all students above seven boundaries.
The duo did not dare to slack off; after speaking to Meng Chuan, they went straight upstairs.
"Sure."
Meng Chuan concentrated on dealing with the silicone pile in front of him, the Five Elements Fist's Qi Eating cultivation was connected to the Spiritual Sea, with limited practice time each day.
Once practicing, he must give it his all until mental exhaustion.
Two hours passed, Meng Chuan recovered his posture, adjusted his breathing, and headed to the second floor of the ring area.
On the ring, two seven-boundary martial artists were sparring with intertwined fists and kicks, fighting fiercely.
Meng Chuan roughly assessed; now one punch each wouldn't be a problem.
"You're here?"
Xu Qingfeng greeted as he saw Meng Chuan coming.
"Yeah."
"Want to spar a bit later?"
Meng Chuan joked:
"I've reached eight boundaries, are you sure?"
Xu Qingfeng seemed struck by lightning, incredulously stating:
"Damn! You're at eight boundaries? Are you on drugs, really?"