Young Hall Master

After receiving a wealth of invaluable insights into the Tiger Fiend Fist, Chen Mochuan cast aside all distractions and immediately immersed himself in them, eager to practice this fist technique.

He carefully performed every move of the Tiger Fiend Fist. Though his punches had yet to gather the true might of Tiger Aura, the framework of his technique had begun to take shape, faintly carrying a bit of presence.

After somewhat stiffly completing one set of the Tiger Fiend Fist, the messages on the light screen refreshed.

[You have achieved Initiation in the Tiger Fiend Fist]

[Tiger Fiend Fist: Not Initiated → Initiation (1%)]

Chen Mochuan paid little attention to the prompt on the light screen and remained absorbed in practicing and comprehending the Tiger Fiend Fist.

Since he had stayed in an inconspicuous corner of the Martial Arts Room, none of the other students noticed the rapid improvement of this unfamiliar face.

While Chen Mochuan was swiftly digesting his martial insights, Feng Shi, who had left the Martial Arts Room, caught up with a young man.

The young man's name was Hong Yucheng. He was the son of Mingxin Martial Arts Hall's master and a graduate of Yunhan University, one of The Big Six.

At seventeen, he had broken through the limits of the human body's Essence Gate, advancing from a martial practitioner into a Martial Artist of the Mortal Shedding Realm.

At twenty-two, he had gone a step further, knocking open the limits of the human body's Qi Gate and breaking through to become a Martial Artist of the Innate Realm.

Now thirty, he had already begun preparing to break through the limits of the Spirit Gate and advance to the Third Realm, the Inner Scene Realm.

Across the nation, Hong Yucheng might not have been among the very best, but within the county-level city of Antu City, he was undoubtedly a leading figure among the younger generation of Martial Artists.

Yet this talented young man was currently troubled.

The Songjiang Youth Martial Arts Tournament, organized by the Songjiang Provincial Martial Arts Association, would begin in the first half of next year.

This high-profile tournament in Songjiang Province was held once every three years, with participants restricted to Martial Artists under thirty-five from within the province.

Aside from seeded contestants, all other Martial Artists had to undergo two rounds of open selection, one at the city level and one at the provincial level, before sixty-four finalists were chosen for the main event.

Hong Yucheng's situation was somewhat awkward. As a Second Realm Martial Artist, his strength gave him limited competitiveness in this tournament.

Among Martial Artists under thirty-five in Songjiang Province, there were quite a few in the Third Realm, the Inner Scene Realm. There were even those who had reached the Core Formation Realm. Those who could attain the Fourth Realm before thirty-five were generally called Heavenly Prodigies.

With Hong Yucheng's current strength, passing the first round of open selection wouldn't be difficult. But breaking through the second round and making it into the final sixty-four for the main event was a faint hope indeed.

To make matters worse, another matter had been putting him under great pressure lately. A longtime rival from Qingyan City had successfully broken through the limits of the human body's Spirit Gate last month, becoming an Inner Scene Realm Martial Artist ahead of him.

Whether it was to bring glory to Mingxin Martial Arts Hall at the tournament and secure a place in the main event, or to avoid being completely suppressed by his old rival, he had to advance to the Inner Scene Realm in the short term.

Thus, over the past month, he had been traveling abroad, venturing deep into the Wilderness Zone to hunt Ferocious Beasts, trying to find even a sliver of an opportunity for breakthrough through extensive real combat.

He had returned to Mingxin Martial Arts Hall this time only because certain crucial martial cultivation resources had been exhausted and needed replenishing. Otherwise, he wouldn't have appeared here at all.

Just as he stocked up on enough key supplies to last several months and prepared to return to the Wilderness Zone, where he planned to settle down for a long time and continue seeking a breakthrough, Feng Shi called out to him from behind.

Feng Shi was a young man Hong Yucheng thought highly of. Four years ago, Hong Yucheng had been the one to discover this talent, bring him into Mingxin, and develop him into a core member.

When he learned that Feng Shi wanted him to inspect a newcomer in the Martial Arts Room, Hong Yucheng was somewhat surprised. This was the first time in four years that Feng Shi had recommended martial talent to Mingxin.

His curiosity immediately stirred, and he pulled up Chen Mochuan's information on the Personal Terminal connected to the martial arts hall's database.

But after taking one glance at the information, his brows instantly furrowed. "Feng Shi, did you get the wrong person?"

Still unsure what was going on, Feng Shi looked at the information Hong Yucheng was showing him. The glaring [Blood-Qi Value: 3.16] left him stunned for a moment.

He checked the photo attached to the membership information again. It was undoubtedly the student he had taken a liking to.

"No mistake. It's him," Feng Shi answered awkwardly. He had vaguely sensed earlier that Chen Mochuan's Blood-Qi Value wasn't high, but he had never imagined it had only barely surpassed 3.

Generally speaking, outstanding martial talents of the same age had Blood-Qi Values above 6. Compared to that, Chen Mochuan's 3.16 appeared exceptionally ordinary.

Hong Yucheng couldn't understand why the usually steady Feng Shi would make such an error.

There were only a little over two months left until the tournament. His time was already running short, and he truly had no desire to waste even a fraction of it on something doomed to be futile.

Still, to spare Feng Shi's feelings, he said tactfully, "I need to head to the Wilderness Zone. I won't inspect him for now. Observe him carefully for a while longer. If he truly performs exceptionally, we can discuss it then."

With that, he turned and walked toward the exit of the martial arts hall.

Seeing him about to leave, Feng Shi blurted out instinctively, "His comprehension is genuinely excellent. He'll probably achieve Initiation in the Tiger Fiend Fist in two or three days—faster than I did."

Hong Yucheng didn't stop walking or turn around. His voice drifted back indifferently. "With Blood-Qi Value that low, if he can achieve Initiation within a single day, then I might be a little interested..."

Only then did Feng Shi recall that Mingxin's Young Hall Master had been a martial arts genius renowned throughout Antu City since his youth. Not only had his Blood-Qi Value risen at an astonishing pace, his comprehension had also been exceptional.

It was said that he had achieved Initiation in the Tiger Fiend Fist in only a little over half a day. By comparison, the talent Chen Mochuan had displayed so far was indeed beneath notice in his eyes.

Feng Shi sighed inwardly. His first recommendation of talent to Mingxin had met with a setback, and a wave of dejection rose within him.

Yet by the time he returned to the Martial Arts Room, he had already adjusted his emotions. His face was calm again, revealing not the slightest hint of anything unusual.

However, the moment he entered and his gaze casually fell upon a certain corner of the Martial Arts Room, his former calm shattered instantly.

He stared straight at Chen Mochuan, who was practicing the Tiger Fiend Fist, his pupils involuntarily widening in shock.

"He's... already achieved Initiation?"

Feng Shi even suspected that during his brief trip there and back, several days had somehow passed within the Martial Arts Room. The feeling was so unreal that he stood there frozen.

Feng Shi, standing rigidly in the doorway of the Martial Arts Room, naturally drew the attention of some students. Gao Yin was one of them.

Seeing Feng Shi staring intently in a certain direction, he followed his gaze and eventually fixed his eyes on the figure in the corner.

At the beginning of class, he had paid special attention to Li Biao's friend. But with his own discernment, he couldn't perceive the deeper subtleties Feng Shi could. He had only seen that the other's fist technique was unfamiliar and halting, marking him as a complete beginner, so he had stopped paying attention.

But now, looking at that person's stance again, it seemed he had already achieved Initiation in the Tiger Fiend Fist?

How long had it even been?

The hands of the clock on the wall hadn't even reached ten-thirty. Less than an hour and a half had passed since class began!

Impossible! Absolutely impossible!