Jue Ming closed his eyes with a compassionate expression, his hands clasped together as he fiddled with the gilded Buddhist beads around his neck.
"Seeing Donor Zheng in such a state now, I felt only sorrow."
"Our Ancestor Master Bodhidharma of Shaolin faced the wall for nine years, precisely to break the textual barriers of the sutras and rituals."
"Yet, in recent years, Yanhua has greatly constructed the Golden Dojo. I wonder if he still remembers 'All things with form are illusions'?"
Zheng Chengcheng's noble attire moved automatically without any wind, a faint glow of wisdom fluctuated around him, and golden light surged in his eyes.
"Do you know the profound meaning of Yanhua becoming a Buddha in this life? To belittle the cultivation of form in such a way—are you trying to learn from those Celestial Demons and extinguish the incense in the human world!"
With such an accusation, Jue Ming suddenly opened his eyes, like an angry-eyed Arhat.
"I only know the Diamond Sutra says, 'One should produce a Heart that does not dwell anywhere.'"
With his muscles swelling, the technique of 'Ananda's Golden Body' operated at full power, from the top of his head to his heels, seemed to be covered in a dazzling golden light, with a faint apparition of an Arhat appearing behind Jue Ming.
"Disrespect leads to stagnation in your Zen Heart. Donor Zheng, your obsession with the gem-studded dojo separates you little from those in the Demon Nest consumed by 'greed, anger, and delusion'."
In the next moment, Zheng Chengcheng had already vanished from where he stood.
Soon, a grand voice came from above Jue Ming's head.
"How many truly have a heart like still water through vegetarianism, Buddhist chanting, and meditation?"
"Let me see the skill of this sharp-tongued young monk!"
As the words fell, the audience burst into a shocked cry.
Jue Ming's head was now topped with brilliant yellow smoke, within the golden mist emerged a massive dragon's head, and Zheng Chengcheng stood atop it.
Since the start of the Supernova Tournament, Zheng Chengcheng exhibited his fist stance for the first time!
The dragon head drifted through the mist, its cheek scales opening and closing, and its long whiskers danced in the wind—vividly lifelike.
Below the stage, Meng Chuan squinted his eyes to observe, knowing in his heart.
"This dragon was merely a 'fake dragon' formed by the Buddha's Will to Cross the Dragon fist stance; although the scale is a bit exaggerated."
Meng Chuan compared it internally, as his own strongest technique was the five-form Heart Fire stance.
Even at its full extent, it was no more than surrounding oneself like a blazing flame, enhancing damage on himself.
Far inferior to the other's depiction of 'Clouds and Mist Surrounding the Yellow Dragon.'
Luo Guanyun saw differently than Meng Chuan; his level dictated his focus was more on the Zen dialogue between the two.
"Chuan, you may not practice the Buddhist Sect's method, but listening to these Buddhist debates is still beneficial."
Meanwhile, the scene on stage grew increasingly exaggerated, not looking like the actions of a Martial Artist, instead a tableau of a Diamond Warrior fighting the Yellow Dragon.
The Diamond Warrior of the Buddhist Sect glared angrily, accompanied by the resonant chanting, with surrounding Buddhist light gleaming!
While the Yellow Dragon carried heavy momentum, scudding through the clouds, its claw menacingly stretched out!
Upon hearing Master Luo's words, Meng Chuan nodded while watching the two battle.
"I truly didn't understand just now; please teach me, Master."
Luo Guanyun pondered for a moment before explaining slowly:
"To explain it word by word, honestly, even Master doesn't understand."
"But to summarize, according to Master's understanding, it's akin to another simple Buddhist idiom:
'Regardless of all things, not considering right or wrong, beauty or ugliness, nor strength or weakness, win or lose, all are woven by destiny's chance.'"
"Destiny..."
After listening, Meng Chuan seemed to understand yet seemed unable to see through completely.
Luo Guanyun patted his shoulder and laughed:
"Do not be stubborn about these things, you are young, when the time comes, you will naturally comprehend."
Perhaps thinking of himself, looking at the doctrinal contest on stage and the light in his disciple's eyes, he felt infinite emotion.
"The great talents in the world flow endlessly like a shoal of carp. Could it be that I, Luo Guanyun, will drown because of it?"
"Then I shall change everything!"
He too was once famed throughout the world for the 'Martial Extreme True Inheritance'!
Thinking of the turtle shell at home, Luo Guanyun steadied his heart spirit again.
"I could create the Luo's Eight Extremes, Thunder Ray Scattered Hands. Now that I reached Grandmaster level, why can't I resolve the flaws of Primordial Spirit Thunder Method by myself, instead of relying on my disciple?"
At this moment, Luo Guanyun seemed to regain some youthful 'fighting spirit.'
Meng Chuan's eyes gleamed as he watched the stage, and Luo Guanyun was equally filled with expectations.
All of this, all of it, was due to the interweaving of their fates, hence, the future was promising...
...
The next afternoon, Meng Chuan performed normally, defeating an opponent from the Central Military Academy.
Afterwards, he was to meet Zheng Chengcheng in the finals at ten o'clock the following morning.
The previous day, on the stage, Jue Ming displayed previously unseen Diamond strength.
But ultimately, he was outmatched by Zheng Chengcheng's Yellow Dragon stance and thus lost the battle.
After his defeat, his expression was crestfallen, but what he thought was unknown.
Yet, as Meng Chuan saw it, it was just a defeat; why escalate it to a doctrinal dispute?
What about someone like himself, a jack-of-all-trades candidate? It was just a simple match; no need to make it a big matter.
Regaining his composure, Meng Chuan faced Master Luo's attack with a ready stance.
After the match earlier, he and Master did not linger and left directly.
Afterward, at a nearby Martial Arts Dojo, they booked the entire venue for a day of practice.
The owner knew it was a Martial Arts Grandmaster, as well as the defending champion, asking to borrow it, remarkably not charging anything.
Only requested that he and the students in the dojo be allowed to watch how the two practiced martial arts.
Luo Guanyun ultimately only agreed to let him watch alone, as too many people would affect his disciple's training.
"Understood!"
The Martial Arts Family owner was not bothered.
He thought to himself, if he could gain some teaching essence from the Grandmaster, it was worth it.
...
In the Martial Arts Dojo, Luo Guanyun stood with his hands behind his back.
"First things first, the same old saying, do not be reckless tomorrow.
That Zheng Chengcheng injured the young monk, naturally, he could injure you too.
Next, I will use a touch of True Gang to simulate his power and presence, your main task is to learn how to combat such a colossal entity."
"Understood, bring it on, Master!"
Meng Chuan nodded, with silent thoughts in his mind.
In his ultimate vision, his figure could transform into something as vast as the boundless seas, as high as the towering Kunlun Mountains.
By then, beating these giant creatures would be like a father beating a son, bowing down and pounding them.
But now, he was still far from reaching that realm.
Therefore, the combat techniques advised by Master Luo still needed to be learned.
Coming back to his senses, Meng Chuan saw Luo Guanyun beckon with one hand, causing the True Gang's exquisite path to arise spontaneously.
In the wisp of dust-like energy, a semi-transparent tornado emerged from thin air.
The fierce wind spread across the entire Martial Arts Dojo in an instant, with a majestic dragon torso quietly protruding from the center of the enormous tornado.
"If you're ready, then step up."
Meng Chuan focused as he heard the voice of Master Luo emanating from the dragon's mouth, making the surrounding air vibrate audibly.
The dragon's body lowered its head to gaze down, and Meng Chuan felt the immense pressure from its massive stare, his figure tensed up for battle...
...
At night, after Meng Chuan trained with Master Luo all afternoon, he returned to the hotel and heard what Meng Yiyi had said, realizing that his phone had been blown up with calls.
Meng Chuan first called back his uncle, and after two long beeps, Meng Yongzhi answered.
[Chuan'er, you've become a star now! Reporters from Yong'an interviewed me all afternoon, I'm exhausted.]
Meng Yongzhi was extremely excited; he had never received such treatment before.
Xue Na grabbed the phone and said:
[Chuan'er, many people claim to be your fans, all crowded at the entrance of our residential area, and they can't be dispersed.
Some have even set up tents, insisting on waiting for you to come back...]
Meng Chuan was initially a bit tired, fighting against the "Dragon Stance" with his master was truly exhausting.
But upon hearing Xue Na's words, he immediately perked up.
The behavior of his "fans" was getting a bit too enthusiastic...
He thought for a bit and said:
[Let Uncle contact Chief Long to disperse the surrounding order, not to affect the daily lives of you two elders and the neighbors.
I will post a statement related to this on the short video platform to calm everyone down.]
With the help of Hanhai Company yesterday, Meng Chuan established his personal account on the Douyin platform.
In less than a day, the number of followers on his account skyrocketed.
With the company's aggressive purchase of traffic and his personal appeal, it surged to over two million, still increasing every moment.
He thought about it and still didn't want to show his face, so he posted a text statement.
In just a few minutes, the likes exceeded fifty thousand, and backstage there were countless private messages popping up nonstop.
Many fans were asking if he really had a "Steel Spear"...
There were also many advertisers looking to customize ads for him, with prices ranging from tens of thousands.
Meng Chuan didn't reply to any of them, he simply logged out of the account's backstage, making the world instantly quiet.
He still didn't want to do this kind of "harvesting" activity, the competition money was enough.
If he indeed ran short of money later, he'd let Hanhai Company help pick out quality, genuinely worthwhile ads.
As for whether he would "cool off" and be unable to get ads in the future, Meng Chuan had no such worries.
Because he was confident, not only in the "Supernova Tournament," but in any future martial arts competition, he would continue to win...
...
Finally.
Meng Chuan shared his happiness with Meng Jiaolong, Xu Qingfeng, and others in their group chat.
Everyone was cheering him on, congratulating him for making it to the finals.
Zheng Zhenzhen also messaged him, revealing all of his brother Zheng Chengcheng's strength data...
[Meng Chuan, you must be careful with my brother's Fist Stance, don't take it head-on physically.
I looked into Yanhua's internal data, and his "Buddha's Will to Cross the Dragon Stance" not only has massive destructive power but also affects the heart spirit.]
Meng Chuan thanked her earnestly:
[Don't worry, I'll be careful.]
After hanging up the phone, Hanhai's manager, Yu Chengguang knocked and entered.
"Xiaomeng, sorry to bother you a bit. Our north regional head from Hanhai, 'Five-Colored Xuan King Shen Shuo' Mr. Shen, the Grandmaster Shen, wants to speak with you via video."
"Alright."
Meng Chuan's heart stirred, after all, it was a Martial Arts Grandmaster level strongman, and with twenty million yet to be received, cooperating was natural.
Yu Chengguang opened his phone, and Meng Chuan looked at the video screen after taking over.
Shen Shuo stood firm in his Martial Arts Uniform, sweat on his forehead as if he were still standing postures.
He looked at Meng Chuan and said with a faint smile:
[Hello Meng Chuan, it's our first time meeting, but before this, I've watched all your matches. It was I who dismissed all dissenting opinions to sign this gambling contract with you.]
Meng Chuan quickly expressed his gratitude, thanking national policies for their excellence and the company for appreciating talent...
[Haha, no need for those empty words, as long as you keep winning, defeating that Zheng Chengcheng, I will apply for an extra reward for you from the company.
I can see you enjoy practicing hard skills and have a talent for horizontal training, this reward you will surely like.]