At that thought, Luo Guanyun immediately perked up and guessed:
"Could it be traits like Meridian Conduit or the Dragonling Physique?"
Traits were treasures hidden in the deepest parts of the body. They could only be judged through outward physical manifestations and could not be conclusively detected.
The manifestation of the Meridian Conduit trait was Marrow Cleansing Classic, the opening of all eight extraordinary meridians, and twice the results for half the effort in martial arts training.
The Dragonling Physique was even more remarkable. Those who awakened the Dragonling Physique trait could be said to undergo a complete rebirth. After Marrow Cleansing Classic, their bones and tendons would be remade. They possessed twelve animal forms and were born with the supreme trait for cultivating Form Imitation martial arts.
At the same time, it gave them strong tendons and bones, nourished their internal organs, and made them equally suited for practicing martial arts that came with certain destructive side effects, such as the Primordial Spirit Thunder Seed Technique!
"This kid seems to have grown a little taller. His dragon spine is abnormal... Could he really have the Dragonling Physique?"
Luo Guanyun's interest was instantly piqued, but he still retained the bearing of a Martial Arts Grandmaster and would not jump to conclusions. He secretly thought:
No rush. I'll observe him a little longer. Traits are hidden within the body, and unless someone spends day and night with him, they won't notice the changes. This kid still has to renew his membership at the martial arts school, so he won't be going anywhere anytime soon.
Chief Long drove quickly and delivered Meng Chuan home before long.
The other man had matters to attend to and did not linger for small talk. He merely reminded Meng Chuan to visit the Qindu Branch Bureau at the end of the month before leaving.
At home, Xue Na was cooking, making all of Meng Chuan's favorite dishes.
"This child must have been terrified. Make more of what he likes and help him recover properly."
Meng Yongzhi had already received a call from Chief Long that morning, saying Meng Chuan was safe and would be brought home by noon.
Just as the meal was ready, Meng Chuan pushed open the door and walked in.
"Auntie, Uncle, I'm back."
Meng Yongzhi hurriedly rose from the sofa and walked over, circling Meng Chuan as he checked him over repeatedly.
"It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back. Nothing happened to you, right?"
Meng Yongzhi only knew that many people had died in Tongjia Alley last night. He had no idea what that had to do with his nephew.
Meng Chuan stretched out his arms and legs for his uncle to inspect, then jumped in place a few times.
"I'm fine. I ran into a Heavenly Demon while walking at night, but luckily Master Luo saved me. Look, I'm completely unharmed."
"I can tell just by looking at you that nothing serious happened."
Meng Yongzhi did not think much of it. Seeing that Meng Chuan was intact, he gave his shoulder a firm pat.
He felt that Meng Chuan seemed different after returning this time. He could not say exactly what had changed, but the young man seemed much more spirited.
Meng Chuan had once spent all day studying how to break through the limits of the National Obligatory Basic Fist Art, and he had inevitably seemed somewhat gloomy. Now, however, he was brimming with vitality.
A woman's focus really was different from a man's. Auntie came out of the kitchen in an apron and cried out in pleasant surprise the moment she saw Meng Chuan:
"Oh, Chuan'er, how come your skin looks better after just one day apart?"
Meng Chuan smiled and explained:
"I ran into a Heavenly Demon last night. It scared my face pale."
With Meng Chuan safely home, the family finished lunch amid laughter and cheerful conversation.
After the meal, Meng Chuan impatiently wanted to return to his room to train, but his uncle stopped him.
"Master Luo said you still need to recuperate for a while. Don't train yet. Your health is what matters most. Once you've rested well, you'll have plenty of time to practice martial arts."
"I'm fine, Uncle. If you don't believe me, I'll show you."
With that, Meng Chuan threw a few punches, using the force-generation technique of Bright Force at the same time. Crisp explosive cracks rang out in the air.
"Is that... Bright Force?"
"I think so. I only just comprehended it."
Meng Yongzhi nodded repeatedly in delight.
"Good lad! I only learned the Bright Force force-generation technique when I broke through the Three Gates, but you learned it so quickly. You must have entered the ranks already. Remember to test your vitality and blood again at the martial arts school this weekend."
"Oh, right, Uncle. Chief Long said you should take me to the Qindu Branch Bureau at the end of the month to collect the reward. Altogether, it's three hundred thousand."
Meng Yongzhi nodded.
"I know. Chief Long told me. Keep the reward and decide how to use it yourself. Just spend it on things that will help with your martial arts training."
"What happened to you this time was far too dangerous. Don't take such risks again."
Meng Chuan said he would not do it again and that this time had been an accident. After showing his uncle his fist art once more, Meng Yongzhi returned to the living room in satisfaction.
"Yongzhi, I heard our child earned three hundred thousand?"
Xue Na leaned closer and asked.
Meng Yongzhi put down the newspaper in his hands, frowned, and said unhappily:
"He earned that with his life on the line. Don't start getting ideas about that money."
Hearing her husband say that, Xue Na hurriedly defended herself:
"I was just asking. I hadn't even said anything, and you're already picking a fight with me."
"As long as he keeps practicing martial arts, the child will become more and more accomplished in the future. What's three hundred thousand? Once Chuan'er becomes a martial artist, earning three million will be easy."
Xue Na did not refute him this time. When she had gone grocery shopping that morning, she had seen posters plastered throughout the streets announcing the successful conclusion of Yong'an City's Young Eagle Cup.
Even for competitions involving children under fourteen, the highest prize money was one hundred thousand.
"Hubby, do you think Chuan'er could compete?"
Great Chu governed through martial arts, and martial arts had thus flourished among the people. As a result, people had little interest in movie stars or singers, and the state did not encourage such things either.
Likewise, after meals and in their spare time, ordinary people did not like watching films or television dramas. They preferred watching broadcasts of martial arts competitions.
In everyone's eyes, no program was more captivating than an exhilarating martial arts duel.
For some highly popular martial arts superstars, tickets to a single one of their matches could be scalped for several times their original price.
Hearing his wife's words, Meng Yongzhi said firmly:
"No problem. I believe Meng Chuan will definitely make a name for himself in the arena someday!"
In the bedroom, Meng Chuan stood in a stance resembling the Chinese character for "human." His upper body was as proudly upright as green bamboo, while his lower body had both legs slightly bent, rooted firmly to the ground like an ancient tree.
His posture was exactly like the illustration in the Three Powers Stance manual, a textbook-perfect example of the exercise.
While holding the stance, maintaining proper alignment, smooth circulation of vital energy, and inward focus of the mind was an extremely difficult task. The soreness constantly spreading through the body tested the perseverance and resolve of anyone practicing the stance every moment.
"This Three Powers Stance looks simple. All I have to do is stand still, but on one hand, I have to keep my form from deforming, and on the other, I have to deliberately control my breathing rhythm. It really isn't easy."
After gaining the One Proof, Eternal Proof trait, Meng Chuan always identified the key issue in martial arts training with pinpoint accuracy.
After completing several cycles of movement, Meng Chuan felt that he still had strength left, so he continued holding on.
After a grueling hour and a half, Meng Chuan was drenched as though he had been steamed in a sauna. Sweat streamed from his forehead to his thighs. Feeling that his body had reached its limit and that he could not hold on any longer, he collapsed onto the bed.
"Whew, an hour and a half. That's far more progress than before."
Meng Chuan guessed that perhaps this was his first time practicing the stance after gaining One Proof, Eternal Proof, which was why the improvement had been so obvious, directly adding half an hour to his duration.
If every future stance session improved by half an hour over the last one, then after a few years, he might be able to plant himself on the ground and hibernate.
Let's see how effective it was. The boost in comprehension brought by One Proof, Eternal Proof worked on stance training as well. Otherwise, Meng Chuan would not have gained so many new insights while practicing just now.
Grand Unity Three Talents Stance: Human Stance (2%) → Human Stance (3%)
"It went up by 1% that easily. The results of one stance session today are almost equal to the total of the previous week. One Proof, Eternal Proof truly is incredible!"
Only now could Meng Chuan clearly feel the gap between geniuses and ordinary people.
According to what Master Luo had said before, the difficulty of stance training increased in steps. As proficiency grew higher and higher, how could the difficulty of improving in the later stages be merely a hundred times greater than in the early stages?
With his previous talent, he probably would not have been able to break through to Earth Stance even if he trained until death.
Perhaps some people with traits suited to stance training, or those with above-average innate talent, were progressing in stance training even faster than him right now.
But with the Martial Arts Limit-Breaking Panel, once myriad traits stacked together in the future, any genius would have to bow before him.
In the blink of an eye, it was Saturday. In just a few short days, Meng Chuan's panel had undergone earth-shaking changes.
Martial Arts
National Obligatory Basic Fist Art: Limit-Breaking (One Proof, Eternal Proof) (Super)
Cannon Fist: Beginner (82%) Awaiting Limit-Breaking
Limit-Breaking Trait: Heavy Blow (Beginner)
Stance Training
Grand Unity Three Talents Stance: Human Stance (6%) Awaiting Limit-Breaking
Limit-Breaking Trait: Morning and Evening Enlightenment (Beginner)
Cannon Fist was the new fist art Master Luo had taught him before. In only a few days, it had gone from uninitiated to nearly breaking through to proficiency.
This was all thanks to One Proof, Eternal Proof. Every time he performed the fist art's sequence, it became an indelible memory and was ingrained within his body.
It allowed Meng Chuan to gain new insights from every subsequent practice session, building on the last.
Before you continue