Embodying Myriad Traits, I Will Ultimately Become Immortal — Chapter 16

But none of this could have happened without Meng Chuan's own hard work. Just as before, he practiced his fists at four in the morning before going to school. After school, he practiced the Human-Shaped Stance, then went to shower and sleep once he was exhausted, only to repeat it all the next day, over and over in an endless cycle.

"My Blood Qi is probably more than just breaking one now. I'm afraid I'm already close to breaking through the Second Blood Qi Threshold. I can get a proper measurement at the martial arts academy today."

Over the past week, Meng Chuan's strength had changed almost daily. This rocket-like rise was a feeling he had never experienced before.

Yet at school, Meng Chuan did not make a fuss about how much his strength had improved, and neither his classmates nor teachers noticed the changes in him.

The National Obligatory Basic Fist Art incident had caused such a stir throughout the school before, but that had not been his intention.

He had never been one to flaunt himself. He still preferred to keep a low profile.

Besides, half the class still studied liberal arts. As long as he did not stir up trouble, no one had the time to care about his changes. The principal and homeroom teacher were also busy, and still thought he was that stubborn fool grinding away at the National Obligatory Basic Fist Art.

Moreover, most students with talent for martial arts had been poached by the various martial arts high schools. There was no need for them to attend a general high school.

Peaceful High School would not have professional martial arts teachers until students chose their specializations in their second year. During their first year, they mainly trained by themselves.

Early this morning, his good buddy Wang Yue had eagerly called to arrange a meeting at the martial arts academy. From the excitement in his voice, Meng Chuan had no idea what the guy was planning.

Still, this was a good thing overall. He also hoped Wang Yue would become more motivated in his martial arts training.

Meng Chuan had just changed clothes in the locker room. Before he could even grab breakfast, Wang Yue dragged him into the training grounds.

Ever since Meng Chuan had utterly crushed him last time despite being the weaker one, Wang Yue had gone home and specially sought out a teacher to drill a movement technique, Forest Piercing Steps.

His Blood Qi had also risen from 1.12 to 1.35. Now that he had mastered this divine art, he had come to the martial arts academy to avenge his last defeat.

Because he had recently noticed at school that Meng Chuan had begun practicing other fist arts.

As the person most familiar with Meng Chuan besides his family, Wang Yue knew that if he did not reclaim his dignity now, he might never get another chance in this lifetime.

Wang Yue planted his feet and cupped his hands toward the trainees practicing on the ring in the middle of the training grounds.

"Everyone, folks and neighbors, sorry to trouble you, but could you make some room?"

Meng Chuan immediately understood what he was thinking. He could only look at him with mournful eyes—little did Wang Yue know that a pitiful barrier already stood between them.

Wang Yue seemed provoked by Meng Chuan's look. He sprang up like an enraged fat orange cat with its fur standing on end.

"Chuan'er, what kind of look is that?! Looking down on me, huh? This time, I'll let you truly witness the might of my Image Form School's Tiger Form Fist!"

Everyone stopped what they were doing and gathered around to watch. Practicing fists was dull enough—who did not enjoy watching a spectacle?

"Hey, why are these two brothers going at it again?"

"The fat one lost last time and wouldn't accept it. He's here to reclaim his face."

"So who do you think will win this time?"

"Hard to say. Unless that fat guy's sick, he wouldn't come looking to get beaten up for no reason, right? But the academy master praised Meng Chuan's fistwork before, so it's really hard to tell."

"What do you know? I say the fat guy wins this time. One force can overcome ten techniques, after all. Child's Fist has a ceiling, and Brother Luo said Meng Chuan had already reached it.

"Besides, that fat guy looks so confident. He probably mastered another martial art before coming to reclaim his dignity. His Blood Qi has probably improved a lot too."

Hearing that, the crowd nodded in agreement.

"That makes sense. As expected of Brother Le—your analysis is clear and logical."

Le Ping cupped his hands toward the crowd.

"Just a humble opinion, just a humble opinion. Enough talking—they're about to start."

In the middle of the training grounds, Wang Yue was not as long-winded as last time.

He raised both hands before his chest, curling them with force into tiger claws. His wide-open eyes were like those of a tiger, fixed fiercely on Meng Chuan, while low, threatening growls rumbled from his throat.

This was the opening stance of Fierce Tiger Fist—Fierce Tiger Descends Mountain.

"Now that's more like it. Too bad it's useless."

Meng Chuan felt gratified by Wang Yue's change. He had not expected a single lesson last time to bring about such a huge transformation.

If beating Wang Yue up each time could ignite his fighting spirit, then Meng Chuan would not mind the trouble. He could beat Wang Yue up every day to help him grow—it would only take a little effort.

"I'm coming, Wang Yue. Be careful."

Wang Yue was extremely confident in the Forest Piercing Steps he had just learned. He wanted to first use his footwork to toy with Meng Chuan.

"Come on. Who needs to be careful is still up in the air."

I've practiced for so long. This is the perfect chance to see how Cannon Fist performs in real combat. But I can't use overt force. Its destructive power is too great—if I fail to hold back, the fat guy will really suffer.

Since Wang Yue wanted Meng Chuan to attack first, Meng Chuan did not stand on ceremony. The sooner he finished, the sooner he could still catch breakfast.

Though he had not learned any movement techniques, Meng Chuan was still incredibly fast with the support of his powerful Blood Qi. In the blink of an eye, he had closed in on Wang Yue.

Without giving him the slightest time to react, Meng Chuan rooted his legs into the training ground like a cannon carriage, raised his hand, and threw a punch without needing to build momentum.

Bang! Bang! Two dull blasts rang out, coarse and thunderous like firecrackers going off during the New Year. This was the Double Echo realm of Cannon Fist. Once one could achieve two echoes with Cannon Fist, mastery was not far away.

This differed from the crisp sound produced by overt force. Combining Cannon Fist with overt force would make it far too powerful, and Meng Chuan worried the fat guy could not take it.

Wang Yue had still been secretly gathering force to launch Forest Piercing Steps when the heavy punches struck him. He had not even processed what happened.

"Fuck, I'm done fighting! It hurts like hell!"

Meng Chuan had not aimed for any vital points, but Wang Yue still hopped around in pain. The spots that had been hit felt as though they had been bombarded by cannon shells. The tremendous impact instantly wiped away Wang Yue's tiger-like bearing.

Meng Chuan had still underestimated his own strength. He had not expected Wang Yue to be unable to take even a single move.

"It's fine, Wang Yue. I only hit the fat on your body. It'll stop hurting soon—just bear with it for now."

The other trainees watching were also a little dumbfounded. Before anyone could react, it was already over.

The fat guy had looked so imposing, yet he could not even take two punches? A silver candle, a wax spearhead—looks good but useless, was he?

Someone asked, "Brother Le, what was that analysis you gave just now?"

When someone called him out by name, Le Ping could not quite save face. He could only lower his head and laugh awkwardly.

"Didn't I say it already? Just a humble opinion. My eyes failed me, my eyes failed me."

On the other side, Wang Yue lay on the ground clutching his stomach and rested for quite a while. He finally felt a little better now, since Meng Chuan had not used overt force after all.

"Holy shit, what happened to you? You took banned drugs or something? How are you this fierce?"

"I had some realizations in my martial arts training recently, so my strength improved a little."

Wang Yue was truly feeling miserable now. He had come brimming with ambition, yet before he could even display his newly learned movement technique, he had been taken down in one move.

"Brother Chuan'er, I'm truly convinced this time. From now on, I'll follow you with absolute loyalty and never a second heart."

Meng Chuan helped Wang Yue massage the places he had been hit, then finally patted his shoulder in consolation.

"We're brothers. Why talk about following anyone? One failure is no big deal. Just train more afterward."

"Can training more let me beat you?"

Meng Chuan thought seriously for a moment before answering.

"Don't compare yourself to others. Compare yourself to who you used to be."

"Fuck!"

Wang Yue raised his middle finger high to show his respect.

In the cafeteria, the two brothers returned to their usual camaraderie and sat together eating breakfast.

"Fatty, I've always been curious. Don't you practice Image Form Fist? Why did you come to Infinite Martial Arts Academy to train?"

Infinite Martial Arts Academy was a standard Xingyi School boxing academy. It taught Xingyi Fist, and among all the students learning fist arts there, Wang Yue was the only one who practiced Image Form Fist.

Wang Yue swallowed the food in his mouth and casually said, "My dad arranged it. Martial Arts Grandmasters are like divine dragons—you see their head but never their tail. Below Martial Arts Grandmasters, he says Academy Master Luo is the strongest Martial Arts Grandmaster in all of Yong'an."

"If the academy master is willing to take me as a disciple, I'll switch schools on the spot."

"But I still prefer Image Form Fist, especially Tiger Form. It's just too imposing."

Meng Chuan nodded and said nothing more. Everyone had their own plans.

After breakfast, Meng Chuan first went to test his Blood Qi. Sure enough, he had already broken through the First Blood Qi Threshold and far surpassed the entry standard. He was not far from breaking two.

Blood Qi Value 0.98 → 1.88

In less than a week, his Blood Qi had undergone a terrifying increase of nearly double.

"Keep working hard. Once Cannon Fist reaches proficiency, I'll be able to break through the Second Blood Qi Threshold."

Meng Chuan had already made up his mind. Aside from his foundational stance training, he would focus on raising his Blood Qi. He had fallen too far behind in this area and needed to race to catch up.

Only after leaving the Blood Qi testing room did Meng Chuan see Instructor Liu Ru arriving late.

He had heard the other trainees discussing it: Instructor Liu Ru had been coming later and later recently, and even during lessons, she always seemed absent-minded.

But the male trainees understood and readily excused her: