As he walked out of the Qi and Blood testing room, Meng Chuan saw Sister Ru arriving late.
He'd heard others say that recently Sister Ru had been arriving later and appearing quite distracted during her classes.
But the male students were understanding and said:
"Sister Ru might be dealing with some personal matters lately, we should be considerate of her."
After changing into her practice clothes, Sister Ru walked into the training area. A few male students, who were initially performing their moves quite accurately, immediately started flailing upon seeing her.
"Oh, this move is really tough, Sister Ru, come help me out."
Sister Ru was anxious about the matter of taking on disciples, but she remained professional, immediately going over to teach them hand-in-hand.
Meng Chuan practiced the Cannon Fist against the Wooden Man Posture, eager to break through to the proficient level sooner.
Though sparring with others would improve proficiency faster, he thought it might not be suitable to ask Sister Ru, who seemed under the weather, to partner up right now and decided to wait until she felt better.
After correcting some other students' improper positions, Sister Ru found herself walking over to Meng Chuan.
Focused entirely on the fist routines, Meng Chuan didn't notice anyone approaching from behind, even when he got distracted, he only thought about gaining more proficiency.
Sister Ru, being an expert in Xingyi, watched as he delivered punch after punch to the wooden post, visibly progressing, her feelings growing more complicated.
"Seems like I may have no chance, if the Hall Master won't take even Xiaomeng as a disciple, then I surely hold no hope."
"Pull yourself together, show the Hall Master your diligent teaching, maybe he'd guide you a bit more."
Sister Ru never thought of giving up on Martial Arts. With Xiaomeng around, if she couldn't become Hall Master Luo's direct disciple, she would find another path.
She believed that all methods of the world lead to the same end. As long as she didn't give up, she would one day become a member of the Martial Arts Family.
"Come on, Sister Ru, you're the best!"
Sister Ru cheered herself on, feeling significantly better.
Meng Chuan finally noticed someone watching his punching practice and turned around to find it was Sister Ru.
Seeing her in good spirits, Meng Chuan extended an invitation:
"Sister Ru, join me for a few rounds of practicing Cannon Fist."
"Sure!"
Sister Ru replied with a hearty laugh.
Cannon Fist: Entry Level (82%) → (97%).
"Awesome! Sparring really increases proficiency quickly."
Sister Ru's strength far surpassed his. While sparring with her, Meng Chuan could attack freely without worrying about injuring her.
Over the course of more than an hour, sparring with Sister Ru increased his proficiency by 15%, leaving him just shy of achieving proficiency.
Meng Chuan wanted to keep practicing to break through, but several students were casting envious glances his way.
Realizing their intentions, he didn't feel right monopolizing Sister Ru any longer.
"Let's stop here for today, Sister Ru, thank you!"
Meng Chuan bowed in gratitude.
"It's nothing, teaching you is my job."
Sister Ru waved off the thanks and turned to instruct other students.
Today, Luo Guanyun hadn't come. Meng Chuan originally intended to show him his Limit Breaking on the Nationalistic Fist today, but it seemed that would have to wait until tomorrow.
"Back to practicing on the Wooden Man Posture; with 'Constant Breakthrough,' I don't really have a bottleneck to worry about, I'll grind out these remaining 3%!"
Five in the afternoon.
Meng Chuan wiped the sweat off his forehead, and his Martial Arts panel sounded a notification.
[Cannon Fist: Entry Level (100%) → Proficient (1%)]
"Made it."
As he expected, constant punching guaranteed progress, and there would always be improvement.
Even if the gains in proficiency lessened, it would never stagnate. Persistent effort ensured breaking through the 100% barrier would eventually happen.
Normally, when Martial Arts breakthroughs occur, there are bottlenecks due to differences in comprehension and endowment, with durations varying.
Though a third-rate Fist Skill, it would still involve diligent struggle unless one had exceptional natural talent, awaiting a moment of inspiration to seize an opportunity for breakthrough.
He needed to return early today. The fierce encounter with a Celestial Demon which allowed him to break limits was still vivid in his memory.
With the Qi and Blood testing room empty, Meng Chuan went in for another check.
With the Cannon Fist proficient, he successfully achieved double breakthrough.
[Qi and Blood Value: 2.11]
"Fantastic, keep it up!"
Every drop of sweat found a response, giving him boundless motivation.
Meng Chuan decided to practice Cannon Fist for another two hours after returning, then finish the day with stance training.
...
Just as he got home, his uncle Meng Yongzhi handed him the phone.
"Your Hall Master Luo has something for you, hurry over."
Meng Chuan removed his shoes and socks, stepped forward, and took the call:
"Hello, Hall Master."
"Ah, Xiaomeng, come to my training room at ten tomorrow morning. I've got some Martial Arts Association people coming over, don't be late."
After promising to be there, the call ended. Hall Master Luo probably had arranged for some experts from the Martial Arts Association to evaluate his Nationalistic Fist skills.
He logged onto the Martial Arts Association's website, found the latest announcements regarding the rewards policy for optimizing Martial Arts.
Reading through carefully, he was filled with excitement.
In this era of martial culture, the state rewards those capable of enhancing Martial Arts.
For a universally practiced skill like the Nationalistic Fist, the starting bonus was in the millions, along with special honor certificates that were quite advantageous for Martial Arts exams.
Meng Chuan couldn't help but feel anticipation, confident that the panel wasn't wrong about his breakthrough with Nationalistic Fist. A proper display would definitely gain Hall Master and Martial Arts Association recognition.
"Won't practice Cannon Fist now, focus on Nationalistic Fist to ensure a stunning display tomorrow!"
...
Early the next day, feeling anxious, Meng Chuan waited at the martial hall.
At ten o'clock, having composed himself, he entered the Hall Master's private training room.
Inside, he noticed a tall, lean man sitting alongside the Hall Master.
The man was extremely thin, lacking the muscular build typical of martial artists, with unusually large knuckles resembling eagle claws, making the teacup in his hand appear minuscule.
When Meng Chuan walked in, the tall, lean man glanced at him casually, yet Meng Chuan felt as if prey under the watchful eyes of a predator in the sky.
"What a powerful aura."
Judging by aura alone, the man was comparable to the Hall Master, but Meng Chuan still believed Hall Master Luo, with his command over thunder and lightning, was even more formidable.
Luo Guanyun waved him over.
"Meng Chuan, come over and sit down."
Meng Chuan sat down facing the tall, lean man, and suddenly felt as though he was seated opposite a mighty eagle soaring through the heavens.
The tall, lean man hadn't intentionally released pressure, but the natural aura of a Limit Breaking expert instinctively created an illusion for ordinary people.