CHAPTER 262: CHAPTER 246: IT’S COMING—ROCK PIVOT, LIMIT BREAKING!

The opponent ranks first on the Earth Demon List, receiving a monthly reward of three hundred points.

I rank second, only receiving half of what he gets. It’s really unpleasant.

Seeing his good brother’s distressed expression, Xu Qingfeng thought Meng Chuan was feeling defeated.

He comforted him:

"Meng, this wild list isn’t worth looking at. No matter what, in my heart, you are always number one."

Meng Chuan felt gratified, "You’ve really grown up, good boy."

But then the conversation shifted, and Xu Qingfeng said firmly:

"So when will you take me to do some small tasks? Please, take me with you!"

"...Let’s talk about it when I return from Shanghai."

This boy couldn’t say a few kind words without showing his true colors.

But he’s indeed not lacking points right now.

Initially, he was a bit short, but with the rewards from the Earth Demon List, plus the previous month’s bonus, he has racked up four hundred and fifty points, enough to buy courses and practice sparring.

Seeing it wasn’t early, and the daily practice time with Dong Yue was approaching, Meng Chuan got up to leave.

On the way, Meng Chuan glanced at his martial arts panel.

The top-tier body technique he rarely practiced was finally nearing perfection.

[Eight Steps to Catching a Cicada: Accomplished (92%)]

"When I’m close to breaking through, I’ll find Teacher Zhao Chun for enhancement."

Although Xu Qingfeng described the opponent rather unfavorably, his accomplishments in body techniques are quite high, well-known on the United University forum.

With sponsorship from the Earth Demon List, Meng Chuan isn’t tight on points anymore, and these points are affordable for him.

With less pressure, he’s feeling particularly refreshed.

Looking up, the maple leaves burn like fire, and the withered lotus clings to frost.

In the late autumn, Huaqing Pool resembles a faded ancient painting, silently conveying the passage of time.

While admiring the scenery, Meng Chuan thought to himself:

"This year, there’s only one task left unfinished, which is upgrading [Northern Champion] to [National Champion].

Besides the enormous rewards from the country and Hanhai Company, my martial artist career will be without regret..."

...

Time flew by, and November came to an end.

The early winter brought a slight chill, sweeping across all of Lishan Mountain.

Night.

Meng Chuan had just finished practicing his fists and casually stripped off all his clothes, revealing a body seemingly forged from steel.

A bit of cold wind is naturally not feared by his constitution.

He jogged, jumped, and with a "splash," the water splattered as Meng Chuan soaked in the hot spring again.

He could no longer do without a soak after practice; the feeling of the underground sulfur water enveloping his body could erase the day’s fatigue.

Usually, Meng Chuan would squint in the hot spring pool for twenty minutes to relax, but today was different.

He had serious business to attend to.

Meng Chuan plunged both arms into the bottom of the pool, slowly gathering them together.

Gradually, the previously calm water surface shook with the movement of his shoulders, sending rippling waves outward.

The waves spread from the center point in front of Meng Chuan, growing larger and more fierce, like a raging tide!

Why both hands?

Because one hand couldn’t hold it.

Why was it shaking?

Because it’s the kneading technique of a certain cultivation technique...

Suddenly.

Meng Chuan’s face turned red, like a rising sun on his cheeks.

Immediately, his back straightened.

"It’s coming!"

Next second.

Meng Chuan stretched his hands straight like columns, his body arched backward like a taut bow, his Qi Blood surged violently, and the sulfur water churned relentlessly.

He let out a low shout, drawing his waist and hips down as his muscles twisted like steel cables, compressing power layer by layer to the perineum.

In an instant, the pool water exploded in waves of surging air.

The water splashed into the sky like pillars, seemingly piercing through the Star Soup pool completely!

As the technique stopped, the incense by the pond gradually extinguished, and [Rock Pivot] had already formed!

Brown muscular dragon coiled around the column, its color deep and full of mystery, as if resonating with Lishan Mountain’s earth veins!

Meng Chuan looked at this scene with an extremely strange expression!

"...Is this my...first external feature?"

Not overthinking it, the panel for [Doma Iron Crotch Skill] burst into dazzling light, successfully breaking limits.

[Doma Iron Crotch Skill: Perfection (100%) → Broken Limits]

[Obtained Limit Breaking Trait: Rock Pivot (Basic)]

As the Qi Blood gradually receded, the muscular dragon hid back into the mountain, Meng Chuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

If it was always like that, his pants would need to be custom-made from now on.

Coming to his senses, Meng Chuan checked its function.

Function One: Pillar of the Great Brahma Heaven, capable of withstanding blunt impacts below his defensive capability, such as kicking, squeezing, and crashing without harm.

Function Two: Coordinated defense of rock sense resonance, enhancing the range of Earth Vein Rock Sense by 50%, allowing relatively precise prediction of enemy movements through rock/ground vibrations.

Function Three: When [Rock Body], [Arm of Rock], and [Rock Leg] are simultaneously activated, forming the four-phase earth vein effect (to be activated).

Previously, he had somewhat guessed the functions of the [Rock Pivot] trait.

The first enhancing second brother’s defense, the second, like Iron Arm and Iron Leg, continues to strengthen earth vein-related perception.

It’s just that the last one surprised him a bit, as it still has a function awaiting activation.

"It seems that [Function Three] is the set effect after collecting all four Doma Hard Skills."

Only one [Doma Iron Body] remains, this method is a second-tier Hard Skill, currently at the stage of Perfection, sprinting towards Limit Breaking.

Calculating it, it won’t take more than two or three months to break the limit.

"By then, I’ll be able to know the effects of the four Earth Veins, hopefully they won’t disappoint..."

Finally, as this great and fierce Hard Skill breaks its limit, Meng Chuan feels an unprecedented sense of power filling his entire body.

Just by slightly mobilizing Qi Blood, he can see a dragon raising its head high!

At this moment, confidence soars to the sky, Meng Chuan feels that he is the strongest man in the entire Great Chu!

"No more words, next is the Shaolin Iron Crotch Skill."

"A sharp sword is honed through grinding," having already tasted the sweetness of Crotch Skills, he naturally intends to push through all the way to the end...

...

Meanwhile.

From the foot of Dragon Tiger Mountain, winding along the Luxi River, the Celestial Master Mansion stands by the shore, with flying eaves and painted beams, smoke curling up, showcasing the solemnity and tranquility of Taoism.

Inside the Xuantan Hall.

A delicate figure dressed in a moon-white robe embroidered with cloud patterns, holding a sword with dragon scale patterns, is practicing sword skills.

Upon closer inspection, that face, more exquisite than a woman’s, is as cold as frost; the entire person seems like an immortal from a classical painting.

The right hand wields the sword, the left hand forms a seal; where the sword points, everything freezes and withers.

As the ancestral hall of the Daoist School, its inherited magic sword techniques align with the principles of Qi Blood Martial Arts.

As the sword’s edge flows, it secretly complements the meridians and Qi Blood operation principles, using its icy sword momentum to temper acupuncture points, nurturing the martial artist’s Qi Blood in return.

The holder of the magic sword must use Fist Skill’s Power as a guide, transforming the sword into a bridge of Qi Blood, making the magic sword a medium for conducting martial arts inside and out, cutting away outside evil and refining the self.

Seeming to sense something, he stands silently waiting with the sword on his back.

A moment later, a Taoist elder in a purple robe slowly descends from the steps outside the hall.

Though the distance is far, vaguely, the elder seems to have mastered the Divine Power of Shrinking Ground into Inches, and in a blink appears beside him.

"Luo’Er, do you have absolute confidence this time?"

"Absolutely certain."

"Oh?"

The elder is slightly surprised, as this disciple has always been proud, and "absolutely certain" is already a relatively "modest" term.

"Then, Luo’Er, where lies the variable?"

The magic sword behind him trembles slightly, a crisp sound shakes the snow off the hanging pines.

"In the north."

...

The world is flying with frost, time has entered mid-December.

For some reason, this winter in Yong’an is unusually cold, and the entire city has donned a silver coat overnight.

It seems the whole of Great Chu is the same, with temperatures dropping significantly compared to previous years.

Some say, "Three days of snow in winter, foretells ten years of abundance."

But in the eyes of Martial Arts Families, this signifies that next year will surely not be good.

"The sudden change in celestial phenomena, a Great Demon descends. A powerful Celestial Demon feared to break its shackles, borrowing the extreme cold weather."

But all this is just speculation, although the official stance of Great Chu subtly keeps the state’s third-level war readiness on extreme alert.

Any slight change would immediately trigger an upgrade in readiness level to adapt to all changes.

But these have little to do with Meng Chuan, currently just a small Qi Blood martial artist.

At this moment, he seemingly feels no chill in the weather, still bare-chested soaking in the hot spring in the backyard.

The phone screen lights up, and seeing the things he ordered have been delivered to Huayun Prefecture, he dials the number.

[Remember to wear something thick, two down jackets I bought have arrived, tell Aunt to collect the package today if she’s free.]

[Alright, and you too, Chuan’er, this winter is really cold, at our workplace today...]

Listening to Uncle’s rambling, Meng Chuan’s eyebrows gradually relax, as if nurtured and melted by this familial warmth.

Martial arts is not the path of the heartless, among fists and kicks lies the hot-blooded spirit, within the sword and blades lies the yearning.

A true strong man, aside from being solitary, has a light in their heart to protect, and Meng Chuan is no exception.

[Alright, you’ve said a lot again, Uncle really gets more talkative with age, won’t disturb your martial practice, keep it up!]

[Uncle, I’m leaving for the competition in Shanghai tomorrow, we’ll talk when I get home.]

On the other end, inside the villa in Huayun Prefecture, not affected by the weather at all, the heating is more than sufficient.

It’s all thanks to the child, Meng Yongzhi, wearing a thin nightgown, says with a hearty laugh:

[Good, then we’ll let Aunt prepare a good meal, and the two of us can have a good drink!]

...

After completing the exercises, Meng Chuan feels the pleasure of progress in Hard Skills, and goes to find Teacher Zhao Chun to practice Body Technique.

[Cyan Netherworld Dragon Lock Body: Skilled (100%) → Proficient (1%)]

After several months, this method has finally progressed to proficiency, Meng Chuan is filled with emotion.

He suspects a lot of dragon energy has been secretly absorbed by the Dragon Demon through some method...

Otherwise, why is the opponent so robust, born that way?

At this time, the Dragon Demon senses the change in the master’s mood, with a sly sinister smile on its snake face, it peeks its head out from the back of his head.

The exaggerated body shape emerges, instantly covering the clear sky above Meng Chuan’s head.

He gathers momentum around him, the Heart Fire scorches, the Dragon Demon roars unwillingly and retreats back into his body.

Every time its dragon energy is about to fill up, the body width is almost as thick as his own thigh.

As the Cultivation Technique progresses, its body continues to expand and grow bigger.

This growth speed makes Meng Chuan have to suspect, is each practice session allowing this thing to hide some nutrients...

"But Teacher Dong always beats this guy into a mummy, it shouldn’t be..."