With Countless Qualities Bestowed Upon Me, I Shall Ultimately Become Immortal

As for the identity of the second seed contestant, Old Lu suspects it will be taken by Shaolin's Jue Ming of the "Zen Sect Ancestral Temple".

He possesses the Zen Sect's secret hard skills—the Ananda Golden Body—and during the preliminary round, no one could break through his defense.

Old Lu boldly speculates that he has reached the Great Completion or even the Perfection level of practice.]

The blogger spoke while playing the match video of Jue Ming the little monk.

Meng Chuan immediately deduced that the monk's secret hard skills were not just at the level of mastery; they were absolutely perfected.

Because, just like Meng's purple armor, it possesses a hard-skill killer move!

It's what he later heard Li Weigang call the [Horizontal Body Training].

In the phone video, Jue Ming's entire body glowed golden, even his bald head was shining.

This full-body gold light effect is his Horizontal Body Training, similar to his own purple armor.

He continued watching the video, Jue Ming lowered his eyes, hands clasped together, not dodging or evading, enduring over ten sword strikes without injury.

Finally, finding the right moment, he punched his opponent from the stage, sending them flying dozens of meters into the audience seats.

"Impressive, this little monk."

Meng Chuan looked forward to a battle with him; this bald monk also wielded a pair of gloves, matching his style.

We shall see whether the Qi Nourishing Armor is stronger, or the Zen Sect's secret hard skills.

Meng Chuan, interested, continued watching the commentary.

"Will the third place be taken by Wudang's Wang Ye?"

He felt the strength of Grandmaster Zhao's disciple wasn't weak either; standing before him, Wang Ye's aura was as calm as autumn water, not a hint of danger.

This was the root of the problem; Meng Chuan's perceptive ability had never been weak.

The Daoist School stresses "seeing and listening inwardly, clearing desires and the heart".

Wang Ye was an expert in this path; achieving such a level proved his proficiency was not just a façade.

But the video revealed an unexpected result, different from Meng Chuan's guess.

He underestimated the talent from the Northern Lands, forgetting about his future senior.

In the blogger's subsequent predictions, Wang Ye didn't even make the top six.

The third spot goes to Xu Nuo from the Northern United University's main campus, deep in the northern heartland!

Like a sweeping force throughout, dominating through the preliminary round. Mastering Elephant Form Sect's Wolf Form Skill to such depth, Old Lu suspected he might soon become a Martial Arts Family.]

Also, Xu Nuo wielded a Demon-Slaying Treasure Saber. Old Lu wasn't clear on the material, but cautiously placed him behind the "Indestructible" Jue Ming.]

Meng Chuan nodded, the second stage was truly a gathering of heroes.

Finally seeing someone else using [Demon Path Weapon], and it was a senior from Northern United University.

"I wonder if its blade is sharp enough to breach my defense..."

...

Continuing, Wang Ye was ranked eighth, the sole representative from Wudang in the northern division, truly lacking prominence.

But with Wudang based in the central-southern region of Great Chu, most of its inner experts participated in the southern division preliminaries, fiercely contending with Dragon Tiger Mountain's Celestial Master Mansion.

[... As for the final tenth place, Old Lu deliberated for a long time. This final seat still goes to the only Eight Barrier contestant in the entire division, San Qin's Yong'an contender Meng Chuan.

Anyone who's watched Meng Chuan's final preliminary battle against the Huo family's Tiger Head Gold Spear knows. This kid's strength cannot be assessed by Qi Blood alone.

Exceptional Xingyi Boxing skills, outstanding combat talent, coupled with solid Horizontal Body, I choose to still believe in miracles!

Meanwhile, Old Lu senses that Meng Chuan is now likely at the Nine Barrier level; we can eagerly anticipate his performance.]

The final video image froze on the scene of himself beating Huo Yonglin, stepping on the ladder clouds above his head, ready to throw a punch.

Terrifying muscles, a grim smile, no matter how you look, he doesn't resemble a good person...

...

The next morning, his cousin Meng Yiyi arrived at the hotel.

Meng Chuan was practicing in his training room when he heard a knocking sound, evaporated the sweat from his body, and went to open the door.

"Early visit, sis."

Meng Yiyi saw Meng Chuan wearing a short protective suit for practicing boxing, knowing he had just been boxing, and expressed concern:

"Practicing boxing so early, that's tough."

Meng Chuan smiled and replied:

"I have a match tomorrow, need to hurry a bit."

"Good luck, I requested a few days off from my mentor specifically to watch your match."

"Alright, you might as well get a room here too, save the travel back and forth. I'll cover your ticket costs."

The second stage's twenty million prize, along with the two million sponsorship Hanhai Company will provide for securing the top seed status.

In Meng Chuan's mind, not even considering the fifteen million for the later finals, this total of forty million is nearly secured.

Meng Yiyi's expenses would only be a few tens of thousands, something he could easily cover as her younger brother.

"Wow, you've really grown; you don't know, my boyfriend Yu Kaidong is always talking about you..."

Afterward, Meng Yiyi pulled Meng Chuan aside, chatting about her days of research on the mountain.

Meng Chuan looked serious; just listening made him worried, advising Meng Yiyi to be cautious.

He informed her about the [Mountain's Whisper] statue, and Meng Yiyi hesitated, eventually making a firm decision.

"Alright, brother, you're right. In a few days, I'll ask my mentor to return to campus; at worst, I'll forgo the study points."

Hardly any persuasion needed, Meng Yiyi played along.

Since Meng Yongzhi and Xue Na had told her early on that her brother was now their family's pillar, she should listen to him more often.

Subsequently, Meng Chuan took out a protective suit for her to carry with her for safety.

He couldn't use it now, and the teacher agreed, giving it to his elder sister was making use of it.

For someone like Meng Yiyi, who is not a martial artist, she can possess this special model of protective gear by simply reporting its intended use to the local authorities.

After teaching Meng Yiyi how to use it, Meng Chuan called the front desk to book another room, making it easier for Meng Yiyi to watch the competition in the following days.

After registering her information, Meng Yiyi returned and asked:

"Are you going to practice boxing in the afternoon, or should I take you around? I'm quite familiar with Wu'an City, often coming down from the mountain to play."

"No, I'd better sharpen my skills before the battle."

Tomorrow is the opening performance, so today I need to get the feel of it. It would be terribly embarrassing to have a setback.

Meng Yiyi felt helpless yet gratified; her brother still retained his martial arts obsession.

"Alright, then I'll go back to rest. I got up too early this morning. I really admire you martial artists, always rising with the dawn.

I'll come get you for dinner; the barbecue at the street corner ahead is really good."

"Okay, I'll invite Master too."

...

Early the next day.

At the Taihang True Dragon Martial Arts Competition Center.

This is Great Chu's first provincial-level martial arts competition center since its founding.

The building's exterior is adorned with flying eaves and wooden brackets, blue bricks and black tiles, exuding a grand and refined aura full of traditional martial arts flavor.

Meng Chuan thought, this kind of ancient-style architecture still has charm. While the martial arts competition center in Yong'an is quite modern, it somehow lacks this feeling.

Meng Yiyi can only enter with the audience after nine in the morning, while Meng Chuan and Luo Guanyun headed backstage to the venue first.

Passing by the front hall, Meng Chuan glanced around, and found it identical to Yong'an's martial arts competition center layout.

The second stage of the competition had a total of a hundred participants. They were all young elites from various Northern provinces, gathered today at Taihang True Dragon.

Aside from the three seeded contestants from each province, the remaining seventy people would compete all on the first day.

After taking his number badge and competition uniform printed with "San Qin" on the back, Meng Chuan went to the backstage area to rest and wait.

This time the number wasn't 6, but 66...

Meng Chuan found it absurd, feeling that this world is filled with metaphysical mysteries, and not just because of the number badges.

Even during his progress in Western Region's hard skills, there's always that current of appreciation surrounding him...

There are too many secrets in this world, and with my current strength, I'm far from being able to uncover them.

"But one day, I will reveal them one by one."

Meng Chuan had this confidence, but right now, the most important thing is that he needs to compete on stage...

Retrieving his heart spirit, he had countless issues that need resolving.

Family's safety, the drawbacks of Lightning Technique, revenge on Fang Jianxing, and even annihilating the Demon Path and overturning Demon Nest.

Exploring the world like that, it's something to think about once retired...

...

Meng Chuan had some good luck in his first match; his opponent's strength was comparable to Thunder Ape Tian Kang.

As the blogger's tenth most competitive candidate, and the only "Eight Gates," he has already gained some fans from outside.

Amidst the crowd's cheering, Meng Chuan used a somewhat rough Qi Jiguang's Long Fist to spar with the opponent for a hundred or so moves, eventually knocking him off the platform.

Back in Yong'an's United University branch campus, Meng Jiaolong and others gathered to watch Meng Chuan's match.

Xu Qingfeng said speechlessly:

"Damn, Lao Meng can really show off, practicing boxing during a match is something else..."

Meng Jiaolong squinted and looked teasingly at Xu Qingfeng:

"Meng Chuan has high skills and guts, unlike you, constantly fluttering around!"

"Practicing boxing with opponents of the same realm even in the ring, could it be you're interested in Meng Chuan?"

"Nonsense!"

Meng Jiaolong's cheeks turned rosy, like peach blossoms blooming in early February.

After the game, Meng Chuan listened to his master's advice.

"For subsequent matches, control them well on your own; sometimes perception can deceive you, try not to practice boxing with opponents.

Your strength is well-known to me, steady and sure, winning a seed contestant slot shouldn't be an issue."

Meng Chuan nodded to show understanding, and would be more cautious following his master's advice for the next round of matches: 50 in, 25 out.

After his match, Luo Guanyun left first, and Meng Chuan went to the stands to watch matches with his older sister.

When Meng Yiyi saw Meng Chuan come, she proudly introduced him to her lab classmates nearby.

Then she praised him:

"Your fight just now was beautiful, it felt like Xiaomeng completely crushed the opponent, no wonder you were confident yesterday, hahaha."

Meng Chuan jokingly said:

"It won't be that easy in the subsequent rounds; most of the contestants are quite strong. Sis, you better buy my injury medicine in advance."

Upon hearing this, Meng Yiyi's mood suddenly turned a bit subdued.

She originally planned to persuade her brother to be restrained, but thought of the twenty million competition prize...

She sighed and said:

"I'll no longer advise you, but during the matches, try to be careful not to harm your body.

Our family is not exceptionally affluent, having such circumstances naturally means going all out, better than how mom and dad understand."

"Mm, I know, let's watch the competition, sis."

Meng Chuan understood her concerns, but the martial arts path is just as it is, and his character is the same.