Victory

Although Lu Feng's attacks looked exceptionally fierce, Chen Mochuan could see that his form had already fallen into disarray, and openings in his punches were appearing more and more frequently.

Just as Chen Mochuan retreated to the edge of the ring, seemingly with nowhere left to dodge—

"Die!"

Wild with excitement, Lu Feng let out a beastlike roar. He finally abandoned defense completely, his Blood-Qi surging to its limit as his right fist shot out like a cannonball in a savage straight punch!

Yet at that critical moment, a cold gleam flashed through Chen Mochuan's eyes.

Now!

Facing that fist, powerful enough to shatter flesh and bone, he planted his feet in a cross-step. In the sliver of space between life and death, he twisted at the waist and spun sharply. The fist howled past, grazing the front of his shirt, but ultimately struck nothing!

Then, instead of retreating, Chen Mochuan advanced. With a stomp, he instantly slipped into Lu Feng's wide-open guard. His opponent's body was still lunging forward, leaving him no time at all to defend!

His right fist shot forth like a meteor chasing the moon, precisely catching the fleeting opening beneath Lu Feng's ribs. Blood-Qi power condensed into a single point before erupting explosively!

"Crack!"

The crisp sound of breaking bones exploded across the ring.

"Aah—!"

Lu Feng let out a miserable scream. Agonizing pain surged through his body like an electric current, causing him to lose all control. He staggered backward, his eyes filled with disbelief and unwillingness.

Chen Mochuan gave him no chance to catch his breath. He stepped forward, his figure following close behind.

"Bang!"

The first punch slammed into Lu Feng's raised jaw!

"Bang!!"

The second punch struck straight into his utterly undefended chest!

The force of the punch penetrated deep into his body. Lu Feng's eyes rolled back, and he fell stiffly backward, crashing onto the ring without another sound.

The next moment, a settlement screen appeared before Chen Mochuan. The Virtual Battle Net determined that Lu Feng had lost his ability to fight.

This battle of the weak overcoming the strong ended with Chen Mochuan's victory.

Inside the battle room, the central screen displayed the striking words: "Chen Mochuan—Victory." An uproar immediately broke out.

Li Biao pumped his fist and cheered excitedly, while Lu Ren's face turned deathly pale. He muttered in disbelief, "Impossible... With Blood-Qi that high, and even... how could he lose..."

Just then, Chen Mochuan stepped out of the Holographic Virtual Pod. Hearing that, he said coldly:

"If Blood-Qi Value represented everything, then all martial arts competitions could be canceled. Everyone could just compare numbers directly."

Lu Ren clenched his knuckles until they turned white, glaring at him unwillingly.

Chen Mochuan hadn't shown off at all, but that only made Lu Ren angrier, as though the person Chen Mochuan had defeated was nothing more than an insignificant nobody.

Li Biao moved close to Chen Mochuan and asked in a low voice, "Lu Feng's condition seems off. Do you think he took stimulants?"

He had noticed something unusual as well, but since he hadn't fought Lu Feng directly, he didn't know the details. He never imagined Lu Feng would dare take banned drugs and had only assumed it was an ordinary stimulant.

Chen Mochuan gave a slight nod to show that he understood, but said nothing more.

Though he had more or less confirmed that Lu Feng had used an Energy Burning Potion, he knew full well that such banned drugs weren't something ordinary people could get their hands on. To avoid dragging certain troubles into the open, he didn't expose it in public.

But when he passed Lu Ren, he smiled and said pointedly, "Your brother was especially eager to attack today. If not for that, I'm afraid it would've been difficult for me to win."

Lu Ren remained silent, but his expression grew even uglier.

Li Biao timely chimed in from the side. "Are you sure you don't want to check on Lu Feng? He still hasn't come out of the Virtual Pod."

Only then did Lu Ren remember his younger brother. From the moment Lu Feng had taken the Energy Burning Potion until now, the ten-minute effect had already passed. He realized Lu Feng had entered his weakened period.

He hurriedly opened the Virtual Pod, helped his weakened brother up, and awkwardly headed outside.

Li Biao suddenly remembered something and kindly reminded him, "Oh, right—the wager. Don't forget it. We'll come collect tomorrow..."

Lu Ren stumbled at the doorway and nearly fell.

Watching the two brothers' retreating figures, Li Biao was somewhat puzzled. "No matter how badly someone gets hurt in the Virtual Battle Net, at most they'll be mentally drained in reality. It shouldn't leave them unable to walk steadily or needing someone to support them, right?"

Seeing Lu Feng's current state, Chen Mochuan was now one hundred percent certain that he had used an Energy Burning Potion. However, the dose should have been small, which was why its effects had lasted such a short time.

He didn't intend to tell Li Biao about it, lest his best friend get dragged into trouble. So he smiled and said, "Maybe he lost to me despite having such a high Blood-Qi Value and felt too ashamed, so he's deliberately pretending to be like this."

Li Biao suddenly understood. "Makes sense! That kid's really sly. Seeing him like that just now, I really didn't have the heart to mock him."

After all that commotion, it was already nearing eight o'clock. Chen Mochuan politely declined Li Biao's invitation for a late-night meal, returned to the Martial Arts Arena, and began training alone once more.

Only now did he have time to check the messages that had appeared on the light screen during his battle with Lu Feng.

[You experienced a battle and gained a deeper understanding of Foundation Building Fist.]

[Foundation Building Fist: Great Completion (6%) → Great Completion (8%)]

The Virtual Battle Net's simulated battles could actually speed up the digestion of spiritual insights. A fight lasting less than ten minutes had raised his fist technique's progress by 2%, equivalent to more than half a day's hard practice.

This was far better than training with his head down. Chen Mochuan decided that he should seek out more opportunities for sparring in the future.

The only regret was that Stance Training was difficult to apply directly in combat. It couldn't improve as quickly as his fist technique and still required the slow, grinding work of water dripping through stone.

At nine thirty that night, in a large comprehensive supermarket near Star Lake Residential District.

In the martial arts section, shelves upon shelves displayed all kinds of martial arts-related medicines and supplements.

There were Blood-Qi Capsules priced at 800 yuan a box for twenty pills, Blood Qi Supplements priced at 2,500 yuan a box for ten bottles, and countless other martial arts cultivation resources.

Chen Mochuan stopped before a special shelf and began picking through its goods.

Every product on the shelf bore labels with yellow backgrounds and red borders, marked [30% off], [20% off], and so on.

This was the section for products nearing their expiration dates. The supermarket often cleared out inventory through discounted promotions.

Chen Mochuan usually chose Blood Qi Supplements with one month left before expiration, discounted by 20%. The 2,000-yuan reward for breaking one technique through to Great Completion was just enough to buy a box.

Although his parents weren't martial artists, both had graduated from prestigious universities and held stable jobs in the pharmaceutical industry. In Antu City, a county-level city with a fairly strong economy, they each earned over ten thousand yuan a month. Their family circumstances were above average.

However, a few years ago, for the sake of his education, his parents had spent a great deal of money on a school district apartment at the peak of housing prices, leaving them burdened with a heavy mortgage.

On top of that, after Chen Mochuan entered high school, the resources needed for his martial arts training were no small expense. As a result, the family didn't have much savings.

Even so, when Chen Mochuan's grades had steadily declined during his second year of high school, his parents had continued to fully support his martial arts training. They hadn't reduced the resources they provided him just because his Blood-Qi Value had been growing slowly.

They never considered the cheapest Blood-Qi Capsules, insisting instead on the more expensive but more easily absorbed Blood Qi Supplements, doing everything they could to provide their son with better conditions for martial arts training.

Chen Mochuan understood his parents very well. So, to save some money and ease the burden on his family, he often secretly came to buy discounted products nearing expiration without telling them.

Other high school students might have been too embarrassed to buy near-expiration products for the sake of face, but Chen Mochuan didn't care. They saved a considerable amount of money and had no difference in effectiveness—why not?

Just as he was choosing his items, a strangely behaved man also came to the shelf for near-expiration products.