Liu Ru's Thoughts

Meng Chuan only saw Instructor Liu Ru arrive late after he stepped out of the blood-qi testing room.

He had heard other students gossiping that Instructor Liu Ru had been arriving later and later recently, and she always seemed distracted during lessons.

However, the male students were understanding about this, offering their excuses:

"Sister Ru is probably having her time of the month; we should be considerate of her."

After Liu Ru changed into her training gear and arrived at the training ground, several male students who had been performing their moves with perfect form immediately began flailing about the moment she appeared.

"Oh dear, this punch is so difficult. Sister Ru, could you come help me out?"

Liu Ru had been feeling very anxious lately regarding the matter of taking on a master, but she remained professional; hearing the request, she immediately walked over to provide hands-on instruction.

Meng Chuan practiced his Pao Fist against the Wooden Dummy, wanting to break through to the Proficient realm as soon as possible.

Although sparring with others would increase his proficiency faster, it was said that Sister Ru wasn't feeling well, so it wouldn't be appropriate to ask her for a sparring session right now; he decided it was better to wait until she was feeling better.

After Liu Ru finished teaching a few students who had incorrect postures, she found herself walking over to Meng Chuan.

Meng Chuan was exceptionally focused while practicing his punches, his mind entirely on the fist technique sequences. Even when his thoughts wandered, he was only thinking about proficiency +1 +1 +1, and he didn't notice someone standing behind him.

Liu Ru was also an expert in Xingyi, and seeing him slam punch after punch into the wooden dummy with visible progress, her mood grew even more complicated.

I'm afraid I have no chance. If the Master won't even take in little Meng, I have even less hope.

Cheer up. Teach well and let the Master see my effort; perhaps he'll be willing to offer me a bit more guidance.

Liu Ru had never thought about giving up on the path of martial arts. With little Meng around, if she didn't have the chance to become a personal disciple of Master Luo, she would just have to find another way and think of a new plan.

She believed that all paths in this world shared the same origin and led to the same destination; as long as she didn't give up, there would eventually be a day when she became a Martial Artist.

Come on, Liu Ru, you're the best!

Liu Ru cheered herself on internally, and her spirits clearly improved.

Meng Chuan finally noticed someone watching him practice, and upon turning around, he discovered it was Sister Ru.

Seeing that she seemed to be in good spirits, Meng Chuan immediately extended an invitation:

"Sister Ru, care to spar a few rounds and help me practice my Pao Fist?"

"Sure!"

Liu Ru gave a bright smile.

Pao Fist: Beginner (82%) → (97%).

Refreshing! Sparring really does increase proficiency faster.

Liu Ru's strength was far greater than his own. While sparring with her, Meng Chuan could launch attacks without any reservations, throwing punches wildly without worrying about hurting her or holding back.

After sparring with Liu Ru for over an hour, his proficiency increased by 15%, leaving him just a tiny bit away from breaking through to Proficient.

Meng Chuan had wanted to keep practicing for a while longer to push through in one go, but several students were staring at him with resentment.

Realizing what they meant, he felt it wouldn't be right to keep monopolizing Liu Ru.

"Let's stop here for today, Sister Ru. Thank you!"

Meng Chuan bowed in gratitude.

"It's nothing. Teaching you all is my job, after all."

Liu Ru waved her hand to show it was no trouble, then turned to go teach other students.

Master Luo Guanyun hadn't shown up all day. Meng Chuan had originally planned to demonstrate his limit-broken Guoyi Fist for him, but it seemed he would have to wait until tomorrow to check again.

I'll keep hitting the wooden dummy. With [One Proof Eternal Proof], there is no such thing as a bottleneck for me. I'll grind out the remaining 3%!

5:00 PM.

Meng Chuan wiped the sweat from his forehead as the martial arts panel sent a notification.

[Pao Fist: Beginner (100%) → Proficient (1%)]

"Done."

Just as he had hypothesized, as long as he kept punching, there would be progress; there would always be improvement.

Even if the proficiency gained became less and less, it would never stagnate. As long as he kept at it, breaking through that 100% was inevitable.

Normally, when a martial art broke through to the next stage, there would be a bottleneck period. Depending on the difference in one's innate talent and comprehension, the bottleneck could last for a long or short time.

Although it was a third-grade fist technique, unless one had superior innate talent, one would inevitably have to endure a period of hardship, waiting for a flash of inspiration to seize the opportunity to break through.

He needed to head back early today. Although the encounter with the Heavenly Demon had allowed him to break his limits, the danger of that moment was still fresh in his mind.

Taking advantage of the fact that the blood-qi testing room was empty, Meng Chuan went in to test himself again.

With the Pao Fist reaching Proficient, he had successfully broken through to the second level.

[Blood-qi Value: 2.11]

"Great, keep working hard!"

Every drop of sweat received a response, which gave him infinite motivation.

Meng Chuan decided to practice Pao Fist for another two hours after returning home, then finish his day perfectly with some standing meditation.

Just as he arrived home, his uncle Meng Yongzhi handed him the phone.

"Your Master Luo happens to be looking for you, come quickly."

Meng Chuan took off his shoes and socks, walked over, and took the phone:

"Hello, Master."

"Mm, little Meng, come to my training room at ten tomorrow morning. I've called some people from the Martial Arts Association over, don't be late."

Meng Chuan agreed, and the call ended. Master Luo must have found an expert from the Martial Arts Association to test his level of Guoyi Fist.

Opening his computer to log into the official website of the Martial Arts Association, Meng Chuan found the latest announcement regarding reward policies for optimizing martial arts.

After reading it carefully, his spirits soared.

In this era where everyone practices martial arts, the country would not treat talent capable of optimizing martial arts poorly.

For a universally popularized fist technique like Guoyi Fist, the starting bonus was in the millions, and it also came with a special honorary certificate, which was very useful for gaining extra points in the martial arts exam.

Meng Chuan couldn't help but feel a sense of anticipation; the panel wouldn't be wrong, and he had truly broken the limits of Guoyi Fist. As long as he demonstrated it step by step, he would certainly gain the recognition of the master and the Martial Arts Association.

"I'll skip Pao Fist for now and practice Guoyi Fist more instead. I need to make sure I perform beautifully tomorrow!"

Early the next morning, Meng Chuan waited at the martial arts gym with a nervous heart.

At ten o'clock, Meng Chuan adjusted his mindset and walked into the master's private training room.

Meng Chuan noticed a thin, tall man sitting side-by-side with the master in the training room.

The man was gaunt and lacked the sturdy build of a martial artist like Master Luo, but his knuckles were abnormally large, resembling a pair of eagle claws, making the teacup in his hand appear exceptionally tiny.

Seeing Meng Chuan walk in, the thin, tall man glanced at him. It was just a casual look, yet Meng Chuan felt as if he had been targeted by a predator in the sky.

Such a powerful aura.

Judging by his aura alone, this person was no weaker than the master, though he still felt that Master Luo looked more formidable when he was channeling thunder and lightning.

Luo Guanyun beckoned to him.

"Meng Chuan, come over and sit down first."

Meng Chuan sat directly opposite the thin, tall man. In an instant, he had the feeling that he was sitting across from a giant eagle soaring through the nine heavens.

The tall, thin man was not intentionally releasing pressure; it was simply the aura inherent to a limit-breaker, which would instinctively cause ordinary people to have such illusions.