Embodying Myriad Traits, I Shall Ultimately Become Immortal — Part 43

This was one of the outward signs of good bone structure.

Because Fang Jianxing had gone so long without exercise, every muscle in his body trembled as he held the stance. Yet he still gritted his teeth and persisted.

Meng Chuan helped wipe the sweat from his forehead and said with a smile,

"Brother Fang, you've got pretty good talent for martial arts too. You picked up stance training so quickly—have you considered abandoning literature for martial arts?"

Fang Jianxing's face was flushed red as he answered with difficulty,

"My... talent is only average. Learning martial arts... can only strengthen myself. Throwing myself into technology is how I can save more people!"

Meng Chuan could not help but regard him with newfound respect.

Fang Jianxing had already grasped the essentials of stance training. He simply had not yet entered the door, so Meng Chuan did not need to guide him for the moment.

"Then keep holding the stance, Brother Fang. I'll go throw some punches nearby."

Fang Jianxing was too exhausted to speak, so he could only nod in response.

Seeing Instructor Liu Ru stop striking the wooden post, Meng Chuan walked over and said,

"Sister Ru, want to lend a hand?"

Liu Ru agreed and leaped onto a wooden post.

"Come on, Little Meng. You make the first move."

As a martial artist at the Sixth Blood Qi Barrier, Liu Ru had her own pride. She was unwilling to address Meng Chuan as Senior Brother like the others did.

Besides, she had always harbored one thought: to become Luo Guanyun's personal disciple as well!

Meng Chuan jumped onto a wooden post and assumed the stance of Luo's Eight Extremes Fist. He intended to use this practical fight to comprehend Manifest Force.

"A newly learned fist technique, Little Meng?"

It looked somewhat like Eight Extremities Fist, yet there were differences. Liu Ru guessed that Hall Master Luo had taught it to him recently, and an involuntary pang of sourness rose in her heart.

"That's right. Be careful, Sister Ru."

Meng Chuan burst forward with Inch Step, closing in on Liu Ru and engaging her at close range with the Six Great Openings of Eight Extremities Fist.

Hard and soft, real and feigned, shifted without end. For a moment, Liu Ru found herself constrained in every move; just as she reached out to exert force, she was dragged into a mire.

Liu Ru did not dare go all out. Their Blood Qi levels were too far apart, so she could only increase her strength little by little.

Fang Jianxing watched the two spar, utterly absorbed.

He simply gave up on holding the stance, plopped down on the ground, and watched intently.

"Go, Little Meng!"

Meng Chuan was wholly focused during combat. Instructor Liu Ru truly deserved to be called a peak intermediate-stage martial artist. No matter how his attacks changed, she could casually brush them aside.

As the two darted, spun, and shifted, they had already exchanged several hundred moves.

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The more Meng Chuan fought, the more exhilarating it became. The image of Teacher Luo driving his elbow into a wooden post flashed through his mind, and inspiration suddenly struck.

Meng Chuan entered a strange state, as though martial rhythm had possessed him. Liu Ru gradually released her Blood Qi, and only after reaching the peak of the Fourth Blood Qi Barrier was she barely able to withstand his storm-like offensive.

Here it comes!

Meng Chuan leaped fiercely into the air, changing his fist into a palm chop midair as he struck at Instructor Liu Ru.

Liu Ru's feet drifted, and she slid onto another wooden post. Meng Chuan's upright palm slammed viciously into the post beneath her feet just moments earlier.

As he exerted force and channeled power, his whole body shuddered, and the Blood Qi within him was rapidly mobilized.

In an instant, a hidden power within him burst from his palm!

Crack!

A crisp splitting sound came from the wooden post. A crack stretched from its upper surface all the way to the base.

Since his force was still far inferior to Teacher Luo's, Meng Chuan did not completely shatter the post.

The palm-edge side of Meng Chuan's hand had turned bright red from the post's rebounding force.

Yet he felt no pain at all. Instead, excitement appeared on his face.

"Manifest Force... I did it!"

"That strike just now could only burst forth through resonance within the body, driven by a massive amount of Blood Qi."

This was Manifest Force.

Why could intermediate-stage martial artists crush low-stage martial artists? The main reason was not the extra Blood Qi they possessed, but the devastating internal destructive power of Manifest Force!

Meng Chuan struck while the iron was hot and sought that sensation again.

In an instant, Overt Force and Manifest Force erupted in alternation. The two forces took turns, repeatedly striking and blasting toward that same wooden post.

Together with the earlier palm chop, cracks had already appeared on the post.

After several punches, he directly smashed the wooden post into four pieces!

Seeing this, Liu Ru cupped her hands in congratulations.

"Congratulations, Little Meng. You've already mastered Manifest Force."

"Thank you, Sister Ru."

Liu Ru waved her hand, stepped down, and said no more.

The wooden posts in the martial arts hall were all Teacher Luo's property, so Meng Chuan decided not to carry out any more destructive activities on the other posts.

Instead, he stood to one side and practiced Luo Family Eight Extremities against the air, continuing to feel out how to exert Manifest Force.

More than an hour passed, yet Meng Chuan still tirelessly practiced over and over.

He grew increasingly adept at triggering Manifest Force, while the proficiency of Luo Family Eight Extremities in his mind occasionally ticked upward as well.

Liu Ru stood nearby, occasionally stealing glances at Meng Chuan as he practiced. She buried her thoughts deeply, not allowing anyone else to see through them.

Whether she would be able to become Hall Master Luo's personal disciple in the future or not,

right and wrong, merit and fault—none of it had anything to do with Meng Chuan. Liu Ru gradually began to admire him.

The winter sun set quickly, and evening drew near.

After Meng Chuan gave Fang Jianxing more pointers, the latter bid him farewell.

"Little Meng, I've practiced enough today. My legs are practically killing me, haha."

"Brother Fang, you're just a little lacking in exercise. Stand more often while you work."

Fang Jianxing smiled helplessly.

"Well, that can't be helped. I have to strive for all humanity, after all."

Meng Chuan cupped his hands and smiled.

"Brother Fang, what righteous devotion!"

"Then I'll be off first. There's still work waiting for me in the lab."

"I'll see you out."

The two stood at the entrance of the martial arts hall. Fang Jianxing casually asked,

"Who was that girl who sparred with you just now? She felt even stronger than you, though she looked like she had a lot on her mind."

Meng Chuan explained,

"She's an instructor at our martial arts hall, so of course she's stronger than me. But she's been preparing for the martial arts hall competition lately, so she's probably under a lot of pressure."

Liu Ru hid her emotions well, and Meng Chuan had not noticed anything unusual from her appearance.

"So that's how it is. All right, it's nothing."

Thinking of something, Fang Jianxing added,

"I know a little psychology. Some emotions are easy to spot."

Meng Chuan nodded.

Along the way, Meng Chuan told Fang Jianxing a few precautions for practicing stance training alone.

When the bus arrived, Fang Jianxing cupped his hands in farewell.

"See you next time, Little Meng!"

"Bye, Brother Fang."

Meng Chuan turned and returned to the martial arts hall. The moment he stepped through the doors, a cool sensation suddenly came from the back of his head—the warning effect of Eight-Direction Warning from Luo Family Eight Extremities.

He immediately raised his arm and drove an elbow backward. Wang Yue flew back in response.

"Damn, do you have eyes on the back of your head?"