CHAPTER 196: CHAPTER 185: WHISPERS OF THE MOUNTAINS, ORIGIN OF THE CELESTIAL DEMON (3K)

Meng Chuan was surprised, he weighed it in his hand.

"One million, just for this little ball?"

"Yes, if the whole thing were made from Purple Ridge Iron and nurtured over time, it would achieve True Martial status."

Zhenzhen continued:

"If you don’t need it, sell it to me. It’s quite rare on the market.

I’m planning to collect more Purple Ridge Iron to forge a shiny purple tiger-head knife, hehe."

Another wealthy woman, this stuff is so expensive, how much would it cost to make a big machete...

Meng Chuan waved his hand to refuse.

He found it handy earlier when hammering the demon, the power was impressive indeed.

Usually hidden at the waist, it strikes unexpectedly with a critical hit.

"I’m not selling, I’m keeping it for use against your brother."

Zhenzhen:

"..."

...

True feelings are revealed in times of hardship.

Meng Chuan finally still informed his family and stayed to watch over Zhenzhen for the night.

Slept beside Zhenzhen.

On the hospital bed for caregiving.

This girl seemed quite pitiful, with a father on a business trip, a mother staying behind, and a brother practicing fist skills at school, everyone in the family was busy.

The next morning.

As dawn broke, Meng Chuan awoke from his sleep.

Seeing Zhenzhen drooling and deeply asleep, he took the opportunity to lift his waist garment to check his injury.

"Hiss, it’s hard as a crust, scabbed over."

He reached up, exploring...

Felt his solid chest muscles.

Meng Chuan’s last worry faded away.

"Luckily my physique is strong, in two or three days the scab will fall off, and I’ll be almost fully recovered."

Unnoticed, Meng Chuan’s body was nearing extraordinary.

The movement during exploration was somewhat loud, Zhenzhen groggily opened her eyes.

Seeing Meng Chuan acting stealthily, she couldn’t help but check him.

Moments later, she gasped; the unexpected event last night was too thrilling, causing her to feel a bit hyper, which led her to con Meng Chuan into staying for care.

Now coming to her senses, she instantly became nervous.

"Meng Chuan! Quickly leave, my brother is coming!"

"??"

...

Meng Chuan eventually left, as he didn’t want to waste words and cause unnecessary misunderstandings.

Standing at the hospital entrance, he happened to catch a glimpse in the waiting time for the car.

Zhenzhen’s imposing brother was rushing towards the hospital building, completely unaware of him.

Seeing the opponent’s anxious look, Meng Chuan thought to himself:

"Is he a sister complex?"

Meng Chuan took a taxi to the police station entrance.

The waist injury today prevented him from finding Brother Gang for training, so he simply took a leave.

Brother Gang remarked:

"You should’ve been resting earlier, enduring daily training, even an iron man can’t handle it."

Ending the call, Meng Chuan walked into the police station.

At this time, the police station building was empty, with only a few staff members maintaining basic operations.

Meng Chuan was quite familiar here.

With surveillance from the Skynet, a two-hundred-word account of events was enough.

Before leaving, he asked further:

"Brother Lin, does this guy have a bounty?"

The person referred to as Brother Lin was the captain of the Martial Arts Family stationed at the police station.

He helped Meng Chuan check and shook his head.

"Seems not. Maybe it was too dark to see clearly.

But from previous surveillance, this bald guy was with Li Xiao, coming to Yong’an with an ice-fresh truck."

"Alright, thanks Brother Lin, don’t tell my uncle."

Meng Chuan didn’t want his family to worry about these things.

"Understood, don’t worry Xiaomeng."

Captain Lin was very considerate.

...

Took a nap in the afternoon, woke up two hours later and started practicing fist skills.

In the evening.

Luo Guanyun returned, exhausted, and saw his disciple in the Martial Arts Chamber.

"Master, did you catch that Li Xiao?"

Meng Chuan asked while practicing.

Luo Guanyun sighed:

"Li Xiao took the Black Water remnants and escaped through the node, the passages are intricate and hard to find."

Meng Chuan nodded in understanding, it seemed the person planned to escape to another Demon Nest through the node.

"Don’t worry, now the entrance to the Jiao Demon’s Nest is guarded by a rotating dignitary, at least he won’t be able to sneak into Yong’an City."

If Li Xiao sneaked into the city, Yong’an residents would suffer.

Luo Guanyun continued:

"Recently, the whole nation is actually quite unstable, practice well, strengthening oneself is the most important."

Meng Chuan stopped moving, adjusted his breathing, and said:

"Got it, Master."

Then he took out the mysterious monster statue from last night.

Surprisingly, the multiple cracks on it seemed to possess vitality, showing signs of healing.

"Master, this is left by people from the Demon Summoning Hall, please take a look."

Meng Chuan explained the course of events to his master.

Luo Guanyun reached out to take it, turning it over to examine it for a moment before saying:

"It seems this person is from the Taihang Jin region, where the people from the Demon Summoning Hall believe in this fellow.

The ultimate darkness of Taihang Mountain, [Whisper of the Mountain].

This little thing is what those people call a belief statue, containing the exclusive aura of the Whisper of the Mountain, which they also refer to as [Divine Power]."

Meng Chuan nodded and asked:

"Master, do the demon path followers ultimately transform into inhuman black mist creatures through this so-called [Divine Power]?

Like the person possessed by the Jiao Demon I encountered during my police task last time, not only do they lose their rationality, but they gradually lose their humanity too."

Luo Guanyun nodded and said:

"Yes, this is the final method of mutual destruction for those on the demon path.

Through certain incantations, aided by this so-called Divine Power, they change their form to become a true Celestial Demon, unlike the partial bodily diversification."

"Master, by saying that, could the Celestial Demons in the Demon Nest be..."

Meng Chuan had a bad suspicion, might they all be transformed humans?

Luo Guanyun said gravely:

"What you’re saying is currently a prevailing assumption in the Great Chu, but the origin of Celestial Demons is yet to be definitively concluded.

The Celestial Demon Realm exists in the dark side of the world, limited by strength, its secrets have been explored to less than 10% by humans, even the Great Saints dare not speak lightly.

But regardless, if the world were ruled by the demon path followers and Celestial Demons, it would be inconceivable for humanity."

Upon hearing this, Meng Chuan was heavy-hearted.

Luo Guanyun smiled and said:

"Alright, when the sky falls, the tall ones hold it up.

Great Saint Zhao first holds it up, and if he can’t, then it’s the master’s turn. What are you worrying about?"

Meng Chuan nodded, what Master Luo said was right, thinking too much is useless.

He doesn’t know what the so-called [Celestial Demon] actually is, but it’s not critical.

As long as his strength is sufficient, all evil spirits must bow under the Iron Fist.

Master checked his spiritual power and said:

"Kid, you actually found fortune amidst misfortune. I see your spiritual power has increased quite a bit without any hidden dangers.

The whispers you mentioned are indeed the erosion of its aura.

Due to your strong will, you resisted it and absorbed the residual spiritual power left by the demon path followers’ day and night prayers.

This statue is always a scourge."

Saying that, Luo Guanyun squeezed the monster statue into powder with one hand.

Meng Chuan was relieved, what he needed most was spiritual power, and its increase is good as long as there are no hidden dangers.

He suddenly thought, could he use these statues to glean the benefits from the demon path martial artists...

Expressing his question, his Master completely dispelled this idea.

"Don’t be foolish, this so-called [belief statue] may err countless times, but you can only err once."

"Understood."

Meng Chuan was just speaking off the cuff.

...

Time flew by, and it was already the end of March.

Until today, the [Blood-Drinking Demon Sword] still eludes capture.

The esteemed one was too busy to keep watch daily,

Hence, the Yong’an Grandmaster Committee appointed people to take turns on daily watch, preventing Li Xiao from returning to Yong’an.

Three days ago, the police department buried the sacrificed officers with martyr honors.

At the same time, the Silver Medal was posthumously awarded to Yong’an Police Department Captain Liu Jinglong for the benefit of his family and children.

Attending the funeral, Meng Chuan once again lamented the unpredictability of life, Liu’s demeanor still fresh in his mind.

Learning from the past, henceforward one must not be reckless, but rather act steadily.

...

Meanwhile, the national Martial Arts Supernova competition had not been affected in the slightest.

The Provincial Martial Arts Competition Center was announced completed last night.

Its vast scale was built to meet the specifications of national-level top events.

A center that can accommodate ninety thousand spectators, with a competition venue that supports the full exertion beneath the Grandmaster Level.

It far exceeds the venue for Meng Chuan’s last martial arts hall competition, the Beilin District Stadium.

Now, Meng Chuan’s waist injury has fully recovered, today he’s heading to Brother Gang’s for some sparring.

Sitting in the car, he noticed many unfamiliar young faces appeared across the streets of Yong’an.

Each showcased youthful vitality, their posture and demeanor indicating exceptional skills.

Presumably rushing in from other regions of the San Qin area to partake in the [National Martial Arts Supernova Competition].

"Only seven days left until the competition begins."

Meng Chuan had already drawn his competition number from United University, number 6, quite auspicious.

is his lucky number because his birthday is June 6th.

There was a bit of traffic jam, still some time before reaching Gangzi Club, so he opened Douyin video.

The blogger is named as the official account of the Supernova Competition.

[The first stage of the inaugural Great Chu National Martial Arts Supernova Competition will be launched nationwide on April 7th, lasting four days in total.

This competition includes outstanding young martial artists from over a hundred martial arts colleges across the country, showcasing their talents at the martial arts competition centers in provincial capitals on April 7th.

The top ten representing the highest level of martial arts students in their provinces will meet those from other divisions in the second stage.

As for the start date of the second stage, please allow the editor to keep it confidential for now. It will be synchronously updated and published on the account at the end of the first stage, remember to like and follow. ]

The video ended with footage of top students from various schools practicing martial arts, and Meng Chuan saw Zheng Zhenzhen’s poser prince brother there.

"Does Zheng Chengcheng have the confidence to secure a top ten spot?"

Zheng Chengcheng stood with his hands behind his back, calmly saying:

"My goal is national first place."

Meng Chuan was speechless, indeed a poser king.

However, the other party has the confidence, and he, yet to reach Nine Passes, might truly not be his match.

The video ends here, and Meng Chuan closed his eyes to rest after shutting off his phone.

...

Sparring finished.

Meng Chuan stretched his tense body while checking the panel.

[Iron Cloth Shirt: Achieved (80%) → (81%)]

If it weren’t for being injured for a while, he would probably have been close to Perfection.

"It’s a pity, I could have reached Perfection before the Supernova competition."