CHAPTER 200: CHAPTER 189: IRON SHIRT PERFECTION, COWARDLY BATTLE WITH LIZARD (3K)

"Aiya, I’ve been observing this trait of his all along, it feels like an all-purpose ointment.

He has advantages in practicing both fist skills and body refinement, but his comprehension in martial arts doesn’t stand out like [Transparent Martial Bones], nor can his body refinement compare to [Dragon Tendons, Tiger Bones].

Then there’s his high frequency of sudden insights, happening every few months at most.

This is quite similar to the top trait of the Buddhist sect, [Wisdom Heart Repeated Enlightenment], but it’s far from reaching that frequency of insight.

Venerable, you’ve seen a lot. What kind of trait do you think Meng Chuan has?"

"...Xiaomeng’s situation is complex, I’m not sure either, it should be a very versatile... mysterious type of trait?"

Yin Tianshou was dumbfounded, a trait related to the Phoenix shouldn’t have so many effects...

Unconsciously, he was led astray by Luo Guanyun’s unintentional words.

Seeing Meng Chuan leave the ring, Yin Tianshou was still pondering secretly in his heart.

"Luo Guanyun is almost the person who understands him the best besides himself. Did I really misjudge him..."

The referee next to them declared Meng Chuan the winner and encouraged him:

"Well done, keep it up, and the top ten... isn’t out of reach."

As a martial artist and referee of the Yong’an Martial Arts Association, he was also aware of Meng Chuan’s reputation.

Rumor has it that this kid’s combat strength is unparalleled in his realm, and he might really have a chance to overcome higher-ranked challengers?

In the audience stands.

Since Meng Chuan’s recent appearance on the big screen, many people are watching his performance.

Seeing him easily secure a victory, they cheered and encouraged him.

"Yong’an’s Meng Chuan!"

Among the crowd, Wang Yue proudly introduced to the people around him:

"This is my good buddy. We’ve been practicing martial arts together since we were kids, impressive right? Hahaha."

"Awesome, if you practiced together since childhood, your skills must be good too?"

"Pretty much a fifty-fifty, almost..."

Wang Yue suddenly felt a bit guilty.

After stepping off the ring, Meng Chuan glanced toward the judges’ area.

Luo Guanyun stood up from a distance, and the master and apprentice instinctively raised their arms together.

Meng Chuan smiled faintly and encouraged himself internally.

"Secure this bout, keep it up!"

Back in the rest area, Xu Qingfeng was all smiles.

He also got lucky, easily defeating a seventh-round opponent in just a few moves.

On the side, Meng Jiaolong was a bit unhappy, as expected she was out after one round...

Meng Chuan stood beside her and comforted her softly:

"It’s okay, just practice more if you’re not strong."

"..."

Meng Jiaolong responded by giving the middle finger.

However, she wasn’t too disappointed; bad luck got her against a ninth-round opponent, no use in struggling.

Fu Long and others were also eliminated, feeling indifferent.

There’s no way around it, the age gap can’t be bridged.

If they compete again in two or three years, there might only be a few peers able to defeat him.

At this time, the competition continued, and every ring would hold a total of ten matches before ending today.

He watched the matches of the ninth-rounders, and unknowingly an hour passed.

"Lin Yue?"

He saw a familiar figure on the screen.

Lin Yue’s injuries had long healed, and his figure seemed faster than before.

"But it doesn’t matter. My progress has been greater..."

With enhancements in physical attributes, Meng Chuan’s explosive power has become increasingly terrifying, comparable even to Lin Yue’s forte, speed.

Meng Chuan didn’t care whether he’d face Lin Yue.

With referees guarding the ring, he couldn’t get too aggressive.

After a glance, he no longer paid attention to Lin Yue, turning to watch other strong opponents’ matches.

Several ninth-round martial artists clashed, resulting in extremely intense battles, with a victor determined only after hundreds of moves.

The losing party wasn’t discouraged, as there was a revival match on the third day, with five revival spots in total.

Even those with strong abilities who faced an early loss could still enter the fourth day’s ranking matches.

Meng Chuan sighed internally:

"Under such rules, it seems almost impossible to capitalize on opportunities."

Moving on, Zheng Zhenzhen’s brother took the stage.

Zheng Chengcheng was even more popular than him, with a handsome appearance.

His cold face struck a chord with the female audience, and cheers were continuous since he stepped on the stage.

A faint golden dragon-form qi swirled around him, and even without drawing his sword, he sent an eighth-round opponent off the ring with one palm.

"Hiss... indeed, a bit fierce."

The judges’ panel nodded frequently.

"That’s the grandson of Celestial King Zheng, his Dragon Form Boxing isn’t bad."

As today’s final set of matches concluded, Meng Chuan followed his master back to continue practicing martial arts.

"Watching today, how do you feel?"

Sitting in the back row, Meng Chuan pondered:

"A bit of pressure, the ninth-rounders’ qi and blood advantage is evident, ultimately it depends on real combat performance."

Luo Guanyun nodded:

"Don’t feel too pressured, the age difference is there, just aim to have no regrets."

Then, Luo Guanyun continued:

"Chuan’er, you’re getting familiar with Principal Yin too. Today on the judges’ panel, I chatted with him for a bit, and he seems quite interested in you."

Hearing this, Meng Chuan tensed up.

He asked:

"Master, what did Principal Yin say?"

Luo Guanyun smiled lightly and said:

"It’s nothing, just mentioned some of your traits, he didn’t seem to notice either."

Afterward, Luo Guanyun explained to his disciple the analysis he had with Yin Tianshou at that time.

Meng Chuan, upon hearing it, let out a long sigh of relief.

He knew that perhaps unintentionally, his master had done him a big favor.

Although he didn’t know Venerable Yin’s intentions, getting his attention off him as soon as possible was more beneficial than not.

Nighttime.

The Gangzi Club had kept the lights on for him.

Li Weigang called Meng Chuan into the hitting room and started the session right away.

"You did well today, kid, didn’t think you could also do the soft fist."

He was also in the audience today, increasingly marveled at the strength of today’s young people.

When he was around twenty, he was still wandering around the sixth checkpoint.

Meng Chuan nodded, grinning and showing his teeth.

"Have you been training harder recently because your Iron Cloth Shirt is nearly perfected?"

"Yes."

Li Weigang said:

"The Iron Cloth Shirt is a top Shaolin method for physical strengthening. Even with the Wudang coat armor body protector, once perfected, your body’s defensive power will sharply rise.

In the subsequent matches, combined with your top-notch fist skills, you might even contend with those ninth checkpoint martial artists."

Meng Chuan nodded, which was also why he was training harder late into the night.

The gap in qi blood could not be bridged, so he focused on making up for it elsewhere.

After the hitting session, Li Weigang helped Meng Chuan apply Blood Formation Ointment on his back.

"You’re nearly out of Blood Formation Ointment, right? Once the Iron Cloth Shirt is perfected, you can use the Vajra Strong Tendon Ointment.

This one is more potent, and your body can handle it now."

"Okay."

With the advancement in hard skills and improvement in physical quality, the external cultivation ointments that Meng Chuan used were also constantly upgraded.

The price of Strong Tendon Ointment is three times that of Blood Formation Ointment, but to avoid hidden injuries and maintain the pace of advancement, this money shouldn’t be spared.

After applying the ointment, Meng Chuan’s body felt much more comfortable.

His entire back felt warm, and streams of heat flowed along his muscle pathways, reaching various acupoints.

The next morning, Meng Chuan woke up and checked his panel.

The Shaolin second-tier hard skill, Iron Cloth Shirt, had successfully progressed to perfection.

[Iron Cloth Shirt: Advanced (99%) → Perfection (1%) Awaiting Limit Breaking]

[Limit Breaking Trait: Flexibility (Basic)]

This pace of improvement justifies calling himself a hard skills prodigy without a doubt.

Meng Chuan gathered his strength, his muscles and bones seemed like molten steel, and his muscles were firm as iron.

He tried piercing with sharp objects and striking with blunt ones, remaining unscathed.

When looking in the mirror, he found that his skin color, under the joint effect of cultivation progression and Blood Formation Ointment, faintly displayed a bronze metal luster.

He exhaled deeply, the breath was long and thick, like clouds and a sharp sword, fully displaying the power of the perfected Iron Cloth Shirt.

"Top ten, secured."

Now that the Iron Cloth Shirt was perfected, except for a few, there were few in the Supernova match who could break his defense.

Martial Arts Competition Center.

"You’re number 77?"

Meng Chuan noticed the matching result on the big screen and asked Xu Qingfeng beside him.

"Damn!"

Xu Qingfeng was on the verge of tears, truly pissed off to have run into this guy.

"Cheer up, you’re going on stage soon, don’t look so defeated."

Meng Chuan kindly consoled him.

Meng Chuan dragged the battle-shy lizard, Xu Qingfeng, onto the stage, while hearing the host’s voice as loud as a bell.

"Focus your attention on platform number three, let’s give a round of applause to welcome Meng Chuan and Xu Qingfeng!

They encountered each other narrowly during the twenty-four joint exams, with Meng Chuan narrowly winning at the climax of their battle.

They are not only evenly matched opponents but also kindred spirits as comrades in arms. Today they meet again; let’s see if Xu Qingfeng can turn the tables!"

"Alright!"

Battles with a storyline are more loved by people, with many eyes focused on the display screen above platform number three.

"Damn it..."

Xu Qingfeng wanted to curse at the host’s heart.

No choice, can’t admit defeat before fighting...

He got into stance, flipped the iron fan in his palm, and cupped his hands:

"Come on, Brother Meng, we have to go at it again."

Xu Qingfeng’s strength wasn’t as weak as imagined, he drew out the iron fan in reverse, and under the cold arena lights, the fan ribs glistened.

Then, with the movement of Eight Trigrams Step, qi strength circulated around him, and with a low shout, the iron fan "swished" open.

As energy flowed throughout his body, the iron fan swept along with his wrist, tracing an Eight Trigrams shadow in mid-air.

The cyclone carried indescribable intent, sweeping towards Meng Chuan.

"Brother Meng, today I’ll show you what real Heaven and Earth Eight Trigrams is!"

Xu Qingfeng snapped the iron fan shut, striking like a short staff towards Meng Chuan’s heart, the tip of the fan infused with Eight Trigrams strength, making the move’s reality indiscernible.

"You’ve improved, not bad."

Meng Chuan gave a slight smile, yet his stance was unmoving, just right to test how effective the perfected Iron Cloth Shirt was.

The bronze-tinted skin faintly glowed, he withstood the incoming cyclone, raising his right arm like a steel whip, and charged with Eight Extremes [Top Heart Elbow] directly into the core of the fan array!

"Hah!"

No need for the Dragon Bone, the key to fighting Xu Qingfeng is to save energy...

The moment the fist edge touched the iron fan, the shrill sound of metal twisting erupted across the arena.

Xu Qingfeng felt acute pain in the tiger’s mouth, instantly unable to hold his iron fan.

After slipping from his hand, it spun in mid-air and shot below the platform, the Eight Trigrams qi strength simultaneously shattering and scattering.

Before Xu Qingfeng could hastily change his move, Meng Chuan’s left fist had already launched like a cannonball.

In the split moment of crossing his arms to defend, the brute force of Wood Attribute Crushing Fist [Piercing Cloud Rock Shatter] surged straight in, causing Xu Qingfeng to retreat several steps and nearly fall off the platform.