Embodying Myriad Traits, I Will Ultimately Become Immortal

They were all looking toward the arena, searching for Meng Chuan.

Xue Na wanted to say hello to Meng Chuan.

"Yiyi, why can't I see your little brother? Where did he go?"

"He's in the waiting area. I'll call him."

The call connected.

Xue Na excitedly snatched the phone.

"Chuan'er, good luck! Auntie is proud of you!"

"Go, little brother!"

Meng Yongzhi took the phone and said:

"Remember this: safety first, competition second. Protect yourself. We've still got a long road ahead of us! If you run into someone you can't beat, then admit defeat when you should. It's no big deal."

Meng Chuan smiled.

"Alright, I understand. Just watch my performance!"

Meng Yongzhi and Xue Na gave him another long string of reminders. Only when Meng Chuan had to change into the Infinite Martial Arts Academy training uniform and wait for his turn did they reluctantly hang up.

Looking at the three thousand spectators in the arena, Meng Yongzhi could not help breaking into a cold sweat for his nephew.

"Then I'm hanging up. Don't get nervous, and show them your very best!"

After Meng Chuan changed, Luo Guanyun walked over.

His martial aunt Ren Ping stepped forward, smoothed the wrinkles from Meng Chuan's martial arts uniform, and smiled in satisfaction.

"You look very handsome, Little Meng."

Meng Chuan responded with a bashful smile.

Luo Guanyun had always spoken with imposing confidence.

"Just perform normally. Your master believes in you. No one in that arena is your opponent."

Meng Chuan answered confidently:

"Of course!"

Luo Guanyun stepped forward again and reminded him:

"Your first opponent is a girl. She's also at the fourth Blood Qi Barrier and has mastered Manifest Force. Don't hold back just because she's a woman."

"Female martial artists are not the slightest bit weaker than men. One careless moment and you could capsize in a gutter. Martial Artists from the Martial Arts Association are stationed at ringside to prevent accidents, so just give it everything you have."

Meng Chuan nodded.

Then Luo Guanyun suddenly remembered something.

"If you run into that Chen Xuewu later, don't make him lose too badly. Their academy head, Liu Sanduo, is considered my little brother. Remember to call him Martial Uncle when you meet."

Meng Chuan indicated that he understood. Suddenly, he thought of the man who had looked at him strangely last night.

"Chen Xuewu? It was probably him."

The ring was still being calibrated while the host interacted with the audience beside it to warm up the atmosphere.

In Infinite Martial Arts Academy's waiting area, Meng Chuan sat cross-legged on the ground and regulated his breathing, ensuring that he would step onto the stage in his best condition.

In Azure Serpent Martial Arts Academy's waiting area, everyone from the academy was already popping champagne in advance.

"Sister Xiaoyue, you drew a great lot for the first match. This is in the bag!"

The academy head, Jade Bamboo Green - Li Cuizhen, was Li Xiaoyue's biological mother. She too was all smiles.

"Yueyue, that Meng guy is nothing special. The only thing worth mentioning is that he's perfected a third-rate Cannon Fist. You can conserve your stamina to deal with Chen Xuewu and those two, Li Bing and the other one."

The others were already celebrating her victory, but Li Xiaoyue did not feel that success was already in the palm of her hand. She continued reviewing the weaknesses of Xingyi Cannon Fist over and over in her mind.

The news that Meng Chuan had broken through the fourth barrier and likewise mastered Manifest Force had not spread. The intelligence in the hands of the other academies was all outdated.

As Teacher Luo put it:

"The information gap is the surest weapon for victory in a fight!"

Liu Ru was feeding Meng Chuan moves to warm him up. As they traded blows, she said:

"Little Meng, don't get nervous later. Just bring out the state you usually have when practicing martial arts. If you really get nervous, just pretend everyone in the stands is a bunch of radishes and cabbages!"

"Got it, Sister Ru."

In the audience, Wang Yue had specially commissioned an enormous glowing Meng Chuan fan sign. It was currently with his older sister, Meng Yiyi.

Meng Yiyi's idea of forming a fan club happened to coincide with Wang Yue's, so the two had joined forces.

Since this was Meng Chuan's first public match, they planned to give his morale a good boost and lay the groundwork for attracting fans in the future.

Wang Yue was about to leave the waiting area and head to the stands to find Meng Yiyi.

Before leaving, he shouted loudly at Meng Chuan:

"Brother Chuan, good luck later! Don't worry about what's going on below the stage. Just watch my performance!"

Meng Chuan was utterly baffled. He had an ominous feeling.

"What performance am I supposed to watch below the stage? What are you even going to do?"

As the ring calibration work concluded, all the academy heads had arrived at the judges' table.

The two seats in the very center were naturally reserved for the Martial Arts Association official in charge of the competition and Luo Guanyun, head of Infinite Martial Arts Academy and a Third Great Limit Martial Artist.

Luo Guanyun wore a black formal suit, his muscles stretching the fabric taut and bulging high. He looked exceptionally commanding.

Seated beside him was his "little brother," Liu Sanduo. Though Liu Sanduo did not look nearly as burly as Luo Guanyun, his Essence, Qi, and Spirit remained sharp as blades. The wrist occasionally exposed beneath his sleeve was veined all over.

Although he did not think Meng Chuan could defeat Li Xiaoyue, there were still some things he had to say.

"Brother Luo, I've already spoken to Xuewu. If he runs into Meng Chuan later, I told him to hold back and exchange a few more moves with him."

Luo Guanyun was rather puzzled. You wanted to hold back on me?

"Sanduo, are you dreaming?"

The other academy heads were also talking among themselves.

"Old Yuan, has your disciple mastered Manifest Force yet?"

"Hm? Yeah."

Yuan Huan, the head of Ape God Martial Arts Academy, was somewhat distracted. On one hand, he had to sit at the judges' table and keep the situation under control. On the other—

At this very moment, he was controlling Wang Xudong's body through the mother Seed of Fear!

In Ape God Martial Arts Academy's waiting area.

The Hu Brothers both felt that something was off about their senior brother.

Usually, Wang Xudong loved lecturing them about showing off. Yet today, at such a grand competition, he had not preached to the academy students at all.

The match was about to begin, yet Wang Xudong was still silently resting with his eyes closed. Second Brother Hu hurried over to remind him:

"Senior Brother, get up already. The competition is about to start."

"Alright."

Wang Xudong abruptly opened his eyes, rose to his feet, and strode toward the ring.

"Senior Brother, come back! They haven't called you up yet!"

Wang Xudong suddenly stopped. A flash of red glimmered in his eyes before vanishing without a trace. He turned back.

"Oh, alright."

Hu Jiarui felt that his second senior brother was getting stranger and stranger. How could he not even remember which match he was in?

"Wang Xudong clearly isn't obsessed with showing off anymore, so why do I find him even stranger now?"

The competition was about to begin. By custom, the Martial Arts Association official seated in the center had to give the opening speech first.

After all, he was the big money behind the event. Once he stood up, thunderous applause erupted throughout the venue. The host had already whipped the audience's emotions into a frenzy.

Once the applause subsided, the official, who was also a First Great Limit Martial Artist, did not waste words and spoke directly.

"Distinguished guests in the audience, competitors: the forty-sixth Yong'an Martial Arts Academy Ranking Tournament officially begins!"

Applause rose once more as the host took over.

"For this competition, the first to take the stage are the young contestants of the minor division. Every one of them represents the highest teaching standard of their respective martial arts academy. Let us welcome them to the stage with our warmest applause!"

The sixteen contestants walked onto the stage amid applause and lined up in a row, brimming with vigor.

Chen Xuewu, Li Xiaoyue, and Li Bing all looked at one another. They were the hottest favorites to win this competition.

Chen Xuewu looked at Li Xiaoyue, the only female contestant on the stage, his expression grave as he silently pondered:

"She has trained in martial arts under her Martial Artist mother since childhood. She's probably mastered far more than the basics of Manifest Force by now. And snake-form techniques are the most tricky and difficult to guard against. If I face her, I must be careful."

In his mind, Meng Chuan had already been eliminated by her.