Meng Chuan Hunts the Tiger

Ever since Wang Yue was fancy-whipped and beaten by Meng Chuan in an upset last time, he had gone home and specifically sought out a teacher to painstakingly practice a movement technique: Chuanlin Step.

His blood-qi had also increased from 1.12 to 1.35, and this time, with his divine skill perfected, he was heading to the martial arts gym specifically to settle the score.

Because he had recently discovered at school that Meng Chuan had already started practicing other fist techniques.

As the person who knew him best besides his own family, Wang Yue knew that if he didn't reclaim his dignity now, he might never have the chance again in this lifetime.

Wang Yue stood firm and cupped his hands toward the students practicing on the central sparring ring:

"Fellow elders and neighbors, please be so kind as to clear some space for us."

Meng Chuan understood his intentions immediately and could only look at him with a sorrowful gaze—little did he know, a pathetic barrier had already grown between them.

Wang Yue seemed stung by Meng Chuan's look and jumped up suddenly like a startled, fluffy orange cat:

"What's with that look, Brother Chuan? Looking down on me, are you? This time, I'm going to make you truly witness the power of my Xiangxing Sect Tiger Form Fist."

Everyone stopped what they were doing and crowded around to watch; after all, practicing was dull, and who doesn't love a good show?

"Hey, tell me, why are these two at it again?"

"That fatty lost last time and isn't convinced, so he wants to get his revenge."

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

"Hard to say. Unless that fatty is sick, he wouldn't seek a beating for no reason. But the gym master praised Meng Chuan's punching technique before, so it's really hard to say."

"What do you know? If you ask me, the fatty can win this time. It's the principle that 'one force overcomes ten techniques.' The limit of Wawa Fist is right there; didn't Brother Luo say he's already hit the ceiling?

Besides, the fatty is so confident, he probably mastered another martial art, which is why he dared to come back for revenge. His blood-qi must have increased quite a bit."

Everyone nodded in agreement upon hearing this:

"Makes sense. As expected of Brother Le, his analysis is spot on."

Le Ping cupped his hands toward the crowd:

"Humble opinion, humble opinion. Enough talk, it's starting."

In the middle of the training ground, Wang Yue didn't spout nonsense like last time.

He immediately raised his hands to his chest, curled them into tiger claws, and stared at Meng Chuan with eyes wide as saucers, emitting a low, threatening growl from his throat.

This was the opening stance of the [Ferocious Tiger Fist]: Ferocious Tiger Descends the Mountain.

"Now that's more like it, but unfortunately, it's useless."

Meng Chuan felt gratified by Wang Yue's change; he hadn't expected that a single lesson last time would lead to such a significant transformation.

If beating him up every time could ignite Wang Yue's fighting spirit, then he wouldn't mind the trouble. Beating Wang Yue daily to help him grow would just be a convenient favor.

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

Wang Yue was very confident in his newly learned [Chuanlin Step] and wanted to use his movement technique to toy with his opponent first:

"Come on then, we'll see who needs to be careful."

I've been practicing for so long, this is the perfect time to test the actual combat effectiveness of Pao Fist. But I can't use Ming Jin; the lethality of Ming Jin is too high. If I can't hold back my strength, the fatty will really suffer.

Since Wang Yue let Meng Chuan attack first, Meng Chuan didn't stand on ceremony; finishing early meant he could still make it in time for breakfast.

Although he hadn't learned any movement techniques, with the support of his powerful blood-qi, Meng Chuan's speed was still incredibly fast. In the blink of an eye, he had invaded Wang Yue's personal space.

Without giving the other party a second to react, he planted his legs firmly into the training ground floor like a cannon mount, raised his hands, and struck without needing to build up momentum.

"Bang! Bang!" Two dull, explosive sounds rang out, as rough and loud as firecrackers during the New Year. This was the double-echo realm of Pao Fist; once one could achieve the double-echo, it proved they were not far from mastery.

This was different from the crisp sound of Ming Jin. If he combined Pao Fist with Ming Jin, the power would be too great, and Meng Chuan worried the fatty wouldn't be able to take it.

Wang Yue was still secretly gathering strength, preparing to launch his Chuanlin Step, and hadn't even reacted when the heavy punches landed on him.

"Ow, damn it! Stop, stop! It hurts like hell!"

Meng Chuan hadn't aimed for any vital points, but Wang Yue was still jumping around in pain. The area where he was hit felt as if it had been blasted by a cannonball, and the intense impact instantly drained Wang Yue of his tiger-like momentum.

He had still underestimated his own strength; he hadn't expected Wang Yue to be unable to take even a single move.

"It's alright, Wang Yue. I only hit your fat, it won't hurt in a while. Just bear with it."

The other students watching were a bit dazed; it was over before anyone had even reacted.

This fatty had such high momentum, yet he couldn't take two punches? A paper tiger, right?

Someone asked:

"Brother Le, what was that analysis of yours just now?"

Hearing his name called, Le Ping couldn't keep his composure and could only lower his head with a sheepish laugh:

"Like I said, just a humble opinion. My eyes were blind, my eyes were blind."

On the other side, Wang Yue lay on the ground, clutching his stomach for a long time. He finally felt a bit better, as Meng Chuan hadn't used Ming Jin after all.

"Damn, what's wrong with you? Did you take some forbidden drugs or something? You're so fierce!"

"I've had some insights into martial arts recently, so my strength has improved a bit."

Wang Yue was truly feeling miserable now. He had been full of ambition, and his newly practiced movement technique hadn't even been displayed before he was taken down in one move.

"Brother Chuan, I'm truly convinced this time. From now on, I'll definitely follow your lead and never have any second thoughts."

Meng Chuan helped Wang Yue rub the area where he had been struck, then finally patted Wang Yue on the shoulder to comfort him.

"We're brothers, so what's this talk about following leads? One failure doesn't matter; just go back and practice more, won't that do?"

"Will practicing more let me beat you?"

Meng Chuan thought about it carefully and replied:

"Don't compare yourself to others; compare yourself to who you were in the past."

"Screw you!"

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

Inside the cafeteria, the two brothers had returned to their usual rapport, sitting together to eat breakfast.

"Fatty, I've always been curious. You practice Xiangxing Fist, right? Why did you come to Infinite Martial Arts Hall to train?"

Infinite Martial Arts Hall was a standard Xingyi Sect gym that taught only Xingyi Fist, and among the students who came to learn, no one practiced Xiangxing Fist except for Wang Yue.

Wang Yue swallowed the food in his mouth and said casually:

"My dad arranged it. Grandmasters are elusive, but below the level of a Martial Arts Grandmaster, he says Master Luo is the most formidable martial arts master in all of Yong'an."

"If the Master would take me as his disciple, I'd switch schools on the spot."

"But I still prefer Xiangxing a bit more, especially the Tiger Form; it's just so imposing."

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

After the meal, Meng Chuan went to test his blood-qi first and discovered that he had indeed broken through the first blood-qi barrier, and he had far exceeded the entry-level standard, not far from breaking the second.

Blood-qi value 0.98→1.88

In less than a week, a terrifying increase of nearly double.

"Keep working hard. Once Pao Fist reaches the proficient level, I'll be able to break through the second blood-qi barrier."

Meng Chuan had already decided that, aside from basic stance training, he would focus his energy on increasing his blood-qi. After all, he had fallen too far behind in this area and needed to seize the time to catch up.