Luo Guanyun broke the silence:
"How's this kid, Old Bai? Not bad, right?"
The tall, slender man nodded in approval:
"Not bad. He's still young, but he already has the bearing of a master."
Luo Guanyun introduced him to Meng Chuan:
"This is Bai Junfeng, vice president of the Yong'an branch of the Martial Artist Association, also known as Iron Palm Eagle King. He was my classmate back in college."
"Just call him Senior Bai. He currently handles the review and rating of martial arts optimizations for the Martial Artist Association.
We're all on the same side, so there's no need to worry about anything else. Just give a good demonstration of your Guoyi Fist."
There was an undeniable authority in Luo Guanyun's words, which put Meng Chuan much more at ease.
"Greetings, Senior Bai."
Meng Chuan greeted him.
Bai Junfeng nodded in response, then said:
"Meng Chuan, you don't have to call me Senior Bai. It makes us sound like strangers. Luo Guanyun and I are close friends, so just call me Uncle Bai."
"I heard from Luo Guanyun that you broke through the perfect realm of Guoyi Fist. I specially set aside time to come here from out of town and verify it. If it's true, I can assure you right now that you won't miss out on a single reward from the Martial Arts Optimization Talent Incentive Mechanism."
Hearing that, Meng Chuan wasn't particularly excited. He remained calm.
"All right, Uncle Bai. I'll give it my all."
He knew that the greater the hopes, the greater the disappointment. If Senior Bai didn't consider his limit-breaking Guoyi Fist an optimized, upgraded version, then even the most generous reward wouldn't matter.
"How long have you been practicing Guoyi Fist?"
"I started when I was four. It's been over twelve years now."
"On average, how long did you practice each day?"
"I'm not sure exactly, but it should've been around eight hours."
Bai Junfeng nodded.
As a child, Meng Chuan had been frail and couldn't practice martial arts for long. If he was telling the truth, averaging more than eight hours of training a day under those circumstances was proof of his remarkable perseverance.
He continued asking:
"How did you break through the perfect realm?"
"I encountered a Heavenly Demon and had an epiphany at the brink of life and death."
With each of Meng Chuan's answers, Bai Junfeng took notes. They would all serve as useful evidence in determining whether Meng Chuan could be named as one of the compilers of the revised Guoyi Fist.
Half an hour later, Bai Junfeng had finished asking all his questions. Meng Chuan had answered truthfully, holding nothing back except for the Martial Dao Limit-Breaking Panel.
At last, Bai Junfeng closed his notebook and stood up:
"Come on. Attack me with your revised Guoyi Fist. Give it everything you've got. I'll suppress my strength and use Guoyi Fist as well."
"All right, Uncle Bai."
Meng Chuan knew he couldn't prove anything just by talking. They'd have to face off for real.
He stood up and bowed. Proper etiquette was still important.
"Please guide me, Uncle Bai."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Meng Chuan's gaze sharpened. He clenched his fists and planted himself in a firm bow stance.
Guoyi Fist was his pride. He firmly believed no one understood it better than he did, not even a martial artist.
"Here I come, Uncle Bai."
Guoyi Fist had sixteen moves in total. Starting with the first, Meng Chuan stepped forward with his left foot and threw a Thrust Punch.
To Bai Junfeng, Meng Chuan's movements were as slow as an ant crawling. His keen Eagle Eyes analyzed every detail:
"Power comes from the waist, fist turned palm-down, left fist drawn back to the waist, left bow stance. Not bad, very standard."
Bai Junfeng reached out with his right hand and pushed forward. Like a spiderweb, his hand easily caught Meng Chuan's fist. The instant it struck his palm, he felt the force behind it.
"There's a slicing force to it, and the fist accelerates just before it lands. At that instant, it's several times faster."
"The way he generates power differs from traditional Guoyi Fist. He's really come up with something fresh. Let's keep watching."
"Good, very good."
"Yes, that force is generated with real ingenuity. That's a good idea."
After demonstrating all sixteen moves, Meng Chuan added the four new moves he'd developed. Bai Junfeng's repeated praise made him feel that he had this in the bag.
After testing him, Bai Junfeng returned to his seat and began writing something in his little notebook. Meng Chuan stood patiently to one side.
Luo Guanyun invited him to sit down first:
"Have a seat, Xiao Meng. Your fist really is different from the one you used that day. You've made great progress. I'd say there's no problem."
Bai Junfeng had finished taking notes. He began:
"Your words don't count for much, Old Luo. We still need to conduct further tests."
"But it is clearly different from traditional Guoyi Fist, and it's an improvement. Next, Xiao Meng, you'll need to set aside half an hour each day to come to the Martial Association and cooperate with some adaptability training.
"You know, Guoyi Fist is a national-level technique. If it's too difficult to learn, then it'll be a failure."
Meng Chuan nodded to show he understood. He'd looked all this up online. An optimized martial art couldn't be much more difficult than the original unless its power had improved tremendously.
Bai Junfeng continued:
"Adding four moves has improved its variety. The new techniques for channeling force and the new parts of the body used to generate power have made the technique more practical."
"Taking all that into consideration, I believe it can be placed on the shortlist for discussion."
Luo Guanyun clapped in congratulations.
"Great!"
Meng Chuan didn't understand what that meant, so Bai Junfeng explained:
"For a martial art as widely taught as this, countless people apply for optimization every day. They think the techniques they've developed are much stronger than the original, but almost all of them end in failure."
"To save the experts' time, only after a technique makes the shortlist for discussion will the National Martial Arts Evaluation Group be sent over on a special flight to conduct a comprehensive review."
Bai Junfeng took a sip of tea and continued:
"If the evaluation group determines that more than half of the changes to your revised Guoyi Fist are effective optimizations, then congratulations. The million-yuan prize will be nothing more than an appetizer.
"Most importantly, your name will go down in history!
"From then on, when all the four-year-old children of Great Chu first encounter the National Compulsory Basic Fist Technique, they'll know.
"The compiler listed in the bottom-right corner is Meng Chuan. Every teacher introducing them to martial arts will immediately switch to your new fist technique and teach it!"
Even someone as levelheaded as Meng Chuan couldn't help but feel his blood surge after hearing that.
For a Martial Practitioner, aside from surpassing their own limits and challenging ever-higher peaks, there was little beyond fame and fortune. And by turning fame and fortune into resources to fuel one's martial path, that path could stretch much farther.
This was no longer an age when the fragrance of fine wine feared no deep alley. If you had ability, you had to show it. That was how you could gain more resources to aid your cultivation.
"Understood, Uncle Bai. Is there anything else you need me to do? I'll cooperate with everything!"
Before you continue