Silver-Bottomed Golden Lion

Although the Heavenly King level is not the current ceiling of human combat power, Zhao Yingchun is the mentor of that very ceiling!

The current ceiling of global human combat power, Heaven-Tilting Great Sage Zhao Linyuan, is his direct disciple, taught entirely by his own hand.

Before the Great Chu was established, the martial arts world was dominated by Jianghu sects, gangs, and aristocratic martial arts families.

Zhao Yingchun was born into a martial arts family with strict lineage rules, but when turmoil erupted both inside and outside the Great Chu, he resolutely abandoned his family status to follow Taizu in conquering the world.

He eventually broke the barriers of sects and families, taking the lead in launching the famous Tianshan Reform.

He replaced the sect and clan system with a university system, gradually combining martial arts with technology to pioneer the modern Qi-Blood Martial Arts system.

Since then, the Great Chu has officially entered the era of universal martial arts!

If it were any other Heavenly King-level powerhouse, Luo Guanyun would never have lost his composure like this.

But for a legendary figure like Zhao Yingchun—the mentor of a Great Sage and a founding father of the Great Chu—to want to see Meng Chuan, anyone else would have gone completely insane.

Luo Guanyun struggled to suppress his emotions and said slowly to Meng Chuan:

"Chairman Zhao wants to see you."

Meng Chuan grew nervous instantly, not knowing what to say for a moment.

On the other end of the phone, Bai Junfeng laughed:

"Are you stunned? Is Meng Chuan there? When I first heard the news, I was just as shocked as you are."

"Calm yourselves down. Chairman Zhao just wants to see who could adapt the Guoyi Fist based on his own work; there's no other meaning behind it."

"Remember to be at the Martial Arts Association on time, 2:00 PM. Don't forget!"

After the call ended, Luo Guanyun sat on the sofa, filled with emotion:

"Chuan'er, when we meet the Chairman this afternoon, you must be polite. Just answer truthfully whatever Chairman Zhao asks, and don't be nervous!"

"Yes, Master, I understand."

Meng Chuan couldn't help but feel that his master looked even more nervous than he was.

He looked like a primary school student waiting for a teacher to spot-check his homework, sitting restlessly on the sofa.

After a quick bite to eat, Luo Guanyun couldn't wait to drag Meng Chuan to the Martial Artist Association.

Upon arrival, Meng Chuan was already familiar with the layout, having visited the Martial Artist Association many times to test the Guoyi Fist.

Bai Junfeng had been waiting there; seeing Luo Guanyun bring Meng Chuan, he stood up to greet them.

"You're here, Old Luo. Chairman Zhao was delayed on the road for a bit. Let's go collect the awards and medals first, and after the other procedures are finished, we'll wait for the Chairman."

Luo Guanyun let out a long sigh of relief:

"Oh, that puts my mind at ease. My heart has been pounding all the way here."

"What are you pounding for? Chairman Zhao is meeting Meng Chuan, what does that have to do with you?"

Luo Guanyun bristled:

"You old vulture, Meng Chuan is my disciple, so what?"

Hearing his master give someone another nickname, Meng Chuan remembered the "Bald Ape" Sheriff Long Jiu and couldn't help but chuckle softly.

"Stop mocking me in front of the kid. No more chatter. Old man Luo, you wait here; I'll take Meng Chuan to get his award."

Martial practitioners value efficiency and don't care for excessive formalities.

Before long, the two of them walked out of the Hall of Honor.

Most eye-catching of all was the medal in Meng Chuan's hand, made entirely of silver with flecks of gold shimmering in the center.

"Great Chu Silver-Base Gold Lion Medal."

Engraved on the back of the medal were four vigorous characters: [Jianwei Shouming].

Luo Guanyun reached out to take the silver medal from Meng Chuan, feeling deeply moved:

"I fought through life and death at Meng Lake for seven days and seven nights just to earn a silver medal. You kid, you really have good luck."

"Holders of the silver medal enjoy unimpeded travel within the Great Chu, exemption from all public transport fees and queues, and free lifetime public healthcare."

Luo Guanyun returned the medal to Meng Chuan:

"Those are just the basics. You also get a 10% discount on the entire Martial Arts Association shopping website, and either you or your children within three generations get bonus points for martial arts exams."

"The specific points are decided by each Martial University annually, but even for the nine elite Martial Universities, the minimum is three points."

"Keep it safe. You can just leave it at home; these privileges will be activated on your Citizen ID Card, so you don't need to carry the medal with you when you go out."

Hearing this, Meng Chuan tapped on the digital Citizen ID Card on his phone.

Overall, nothing had changed, except for the bottom of his profile picture in the top left corner, where a silver lion head pattern now shimmered as he touched it, significantly increasing its prestige.

Bai Junfeng stepped forward and said with a smile:

"Little Meng, you need to keep working hard. Above the Silver Lion Medal, there is the Golden Tiger, the Diamond Dragon, and the Supreme Pillar of the Nation Medal."

"To earn a Silver Lion at such a young age—when I was your age, I hadn't even seen a Bronze Eagle, haha."

Meng Chuan felt a little excited himself. Having been in this world for nearly 17 years, he had long considered himself a part of the Great Chu.

Now that he had received the Silver Lion honor, his long-composed heart finally couldn't help but ripple with emotion.

Bai Junfeng understood Meng Chuan's current state of mind, and after waiting for him to calm down, he continued:

"The 1.5 million bonus has also been transferred to your account; I've already notified the bank to process it as a priority.

You should receive the notification text that the funds have arrived before tonight. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me, and then..."

Before he could finish, an assistant stepped forward and whispered a few words into his ear, causing Bai Junfeng's expression to shift.

"I'll stop here; we need to leave immediately. Chairman Zhao has arrived, and he is currently at the Yunyan Pavilion."

About to meet a martial arts legend, the emotions Meng Chuan had just settled were stirred up once again.

Outside the banquet hall of the Yunyan Pavilion.

Meng Chuan knocked politely on the door and waited, and a moment later, the door was gently turned open by an invisible hand.

A middle-aged man dressed in a robe featuring a Taiji diagram sat at the head of the table. His figure was as upright and steady as an ancient pine, and his chiseled, rugged face showed no signs of the nearly five hundred years of history he had lived through. Only his eyes, tempered by the passage of time, appeared calm, profound, restrained, and powerful.

Looking at the man, Meng Chuan felt as if he were gazing up at a god.

He couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

A living legend.

"Come in and sit, little Meng. I have seen your Guoyi Fist; you are a child with many original ideas."

Zhao Yingchun's voice was kind yet powerful, pulling Meng Chuan back from his reverie to reality.

"This year marks the 437th year since the founding of the Great Chu. Since the introduction of the Guoyi Fist, it has undergone thirty-four generations of optimization and progress, and now you have added a significant stroke to its history. Congratulations, Meng Chuan."

After a brief pause, he continued:

"Do you know? When the Research and Judgment Group first submitted your information to me, I looked at it and thought, why is it an underage child?

At the time, I was thinking, isn't this nonsense? How could a 16-year-old child possibly improve this version of the Guoyi Fist?"