Martial Momentum

Evening.

"Chuan, are you all right? Were you hurt?"

As soon as Meng Chuan got back, Meng Yongzhi hurried over to check on him.

Although his coworkers had already told him that the boy was completely fine, he still couldn't help worrying.

Meng Chuan handed over the gifts for the two of them and said, "I'm fine. The other guy was the one who got hurt."

"That's good. Be careful next time. Don't play the hero—if you run into something like this again, stay well away."

Meng Yongzhi worried that Meng Chuan might put himself in danger by stepping in again.

Meng Chuan smiled and nodded.

His uncle and aunt took the gifts. Meng Yongzhi lifted the windbreaker and looked it over again and again. He said that Meng Chuan shouldn't waste money, but the smile that kept creeping into the corners of his eyes betrayed how he really felt.

Aunt Xue Na had received a new-season LX handbag and was so delighted she could hardly stop grinning. She kept praising Chuan for growing up and becoming so thoughtful.

She could afford one herself if she really wanted to, but it felt different when her nephew bought it for her.

Xue Na couldn't wait to share her joy with someone.

"I'm going to call Juan'er and Yiyi to show it off. Yongzhi, keep an eye on the kitchen for me. The ribs are simmering in the pot—remember to turn off the heat once the sauce has reduced."

After dinner, the housekeeper at Huayun Mansion called. The private car arranged by Luo Guanyun was already waiting outside their residential compound.

Meng Chuan picked up the gift he had prepared for Teacher Luo and was about to change his shoes and leave.

Suddenly, Xue Na came over with her phone raised and asked, "Chuan, look. Is that you in this video?"

Meng Chuan avoided short-video apps so they wouldn't distract him from practicing his fists, so he asked, "Which video?"

"A Douyin short video. It's trending."

Meng Chuan took Xue Na's phone and had a look.

In the video, Meng Chuan first knocked the robber to the ground. When the man tried to run, Meng Chuan punched him unconscious. Someone nearby must have recorded the whole thing and uploaded it to a short-video platform.

He opened the comments. Everyone was applauding.

"This young guy's got some power. One punch and he knocked the robber out."

"Such promise at such a young age. A great prospect for the martial arts world."

"The country needs young people with a sense of justice like this. Well done!"

Meng Chuan noticed that the most-liked comment had been posted by someone named Liu Yue. Curious, he tapped into her profile and saw that she was the livestreamer who had been robbed that afternoon.

She had also posted a video explaining what had happened that afternoon, and thanked him at the end.

Meng Chuan handed the phone back to his aunt.

Xue Na took it, beaming. "Chuan, are you really that strong now? That robber was tall and burly, but you knocked him down with one punch."

Meng Chuan smiled as he explained, "Auntie, looks can be deceiving. That robber was probably only just entering the first Qi-Blood Pass. I'm far stronger than he is, so of course he was no match for me."

Xue Na praised him over and over for making something of himself. Meng Chuan was starting to feel overwhelmed, and when he saw that he was running out of time, he quickly changed his shoes and said goodbye.

After Meng Chuan went downstairs, Xue Na first posted to her Moments, showing off the new handbag her nephew had bought her.

Then she posted a second update, telling friends and family that Meng Chuan had stepped in to help someone and was now trending.

In an instant, her Moments comments were filled with praise. Xue Na felt as proud as could be.

In the private car, Meng Chuan was resting with his eyes closed, adjusting himself for training, when his phone rang. He picked it up and saw that it was his good friend Wang Yue calling.

[Don't say anything yet. Let me guess—you saw that video too, right?]

[Brother Chuan, you really do know me. You even predicted what I was going to say. You're incredible! You're famous now.]

A girl's voice suddenly came through the phone:

[Brother Chuan, that cool turn you did at the end was so handsome! And your skills are even better than mine now.]

Meng Chuan listened carefully before recognizing Qin Mengya's voice.

[You flatter me. Um, why are you two together so late at night?]

There was a brief silence on the phone. Wang Yue hurriedly explained:

[Don't get the wrong idea. Exams are coming up, so we're both at the same cram school studying cultural subjects. You think everyone's like you, practicing fists all day instead of going to class?]

[All right. Oh, by the way, Fatty, I bought you a treadmill as a New Year's gift. Keep an eye out for it over the next couple of days.]

Meng Chuan noticed that the car had stopped outside Teacher Luo's house, so he was about to hang up.

[I have to go. I'm hanging up—I'm about to start training.]

Wang Yue started spouting nonsense again on the other end of the line.

He called Brother Chuan the Greek god of boxing, and Meng Chuan cringed so hard that he hurriedly hung up.

Meng Chuan couldn't help feeling that technology really had come a long way. What had happened that afternoon was already known by everyone that same evening.

Huayun Mansion, Villa A003

While Meng Chuan changed into his training clothes, Luo Guanyun sat in the living room, looking at the New Year's gift Meng Chuan had given him. He felt touched.

With Luo Guanyun's wealth and status, what clothes couldn't he afford to buy?

But this had been a gift from his disciple. That made it different.

His daughter, Luo Meng, had never given him a gift growing up. Now that she was older and had grown wings, she had even run away from home.

Now he had taken on a grateful disciple, one who was gifted and respectful to his elders. Luo Guanyun suddenly felt he had something to look forward to.

At first, he had only wanted to find a disciple who could carry on the Thunder Method. Now things were different. The more he looked at Meng Chuan, the more he felt as if he were his own son.

But thoughts of his daughter resurfaced, and a trace of worry crossed his face.

Meng Chuan came out after changing into his training clothes and happened to notice that Luo Guanyun didn't look well.

"What's wrong, Teacher Luo?"

Seeing Meng Chuan, Luo Guanyun composed himself. "It's nothing. Come on, let's go to the training room. I want to see your Pao Fist at the Great Achievement stage."

Teacher Luo didn't want to talk about it, so Meng Chuan didn't press him.

I need to practice hard. Mastering the Thunder Method someday will be the best way to repay Teacher Luo.

Luo Guanyun walked into the training room first. Once he had stopped, an astonishing aura burst from him. Faint sounds of thunder and lightning seemed to emanate from within him, the humidity in the air rising rapidly as the surroundings grew strange with the change in his presence.

"Before we practice today, I want to teach you some basics about martial artists."

"Looking at me now, what comes to mind?"

Meng Chuan answered without hesitation:

"The pressure is immense. It feels suffocating."

"Exactly. In technical terms, this is called Martial Momentum."

"When you have complete control over your own body and combine it with your Martial Will, you can begin to condense your own Martial Momentum."

"When your Martial Momentum fuses with the True Technique you've learned, you reach the Realm of Artistic Conception that I've attained, and become a Martial Arts Master."

"Watch closely. It looks like this."

Luo Guanyun held out his right hand and curled it into a fist. As he did, the air boomed.