Chapter 362: Chapter 362

Meng Chuan was taking on a Martial Artist level task for the first time.

Upon seeing the final statement, he suddenly realized.

No wonder Senior Chen Jing rarely took the initiative to look at the task system.

Yet, whenever he needed credits, he could always quickly pick up high-reward tasks.

It turned out to be because he had the United University’s "task recommendation rights."

As long as I continue to accumulate practical combat performance, I can also earn such privileges like Chen Jing in the future.

Coming to his senses, the Longhu brothers had also finished reading the task, looking quite surprised.

"Wow, the rewards are really plentiful, there’s so much credit."

"Adding the rewards from the Demon Path disciple and the police station, I’d say, earn a billion!"

"... You’re slightly overestimating."

Meng Chuan shook his head. Such large reward tasks—we should not even think about it without second-limited or even above third-limited strength.

Of course, unless you encounter a "奇遇" during the task.

There’s no lack of stories about sudden fortune, but they are very rare.

Meng Chuan, having conducted many police station tasks before, continued discussing task details with the two as they headed to the Martial Virtue Tower.

Grandmaster Chen posted in the group yesterday, saying she would explain True Skill Fist Skill related martial principles today.

Meng Chuan was prepared to start cultivation, not to be missed.

Martial Virtue Tower, Classroom C985.

Chen Qiushui arrived early today; upon seeing Meng Chuan come in, she teasingly said:

"Oh, rare guest here, how long has it been since you came to listen to martial arts principles? I almost thought you’ve mastered them all."

"... The student’s attainments remain shallow and still require learning..."

Meng Chuan wondered if Grandmaster Chen still "bore a grudge" because he had explicitly and implicitly rejected Meng Jiaolong’s words at the time...

"Alright, sit down, it seems you’re ready to learn True Skill Fist."

"The cultivation of True Skill Fist is difficult, requiring high comprehension and understanding of Martial Principles, so listen carefully to my explanation first."

Chen Qiushui was not so petty; she naturally understood the subtext of Meng Chuan’s words back then.

This kid is pretty good all around; it’s just that her daughter didn’t have the destiny...

Seeing that almost everyone was here, Chen Qiushui no longer waited and began the class.

Meng Chuan focused on listening, watching as she gently tapped the lectern with her fingers and began narrating:

"To accommodate those who haven’t started cultivation, I’ll start from the essence.

The greatest difference between True Skill Fist and ordinary martial arts lies in the refinement of [Martial Arts True Essence].

This is why I recommend everyone, at low levels, if your understanding isn’t enough to comprehend True Essence, don’t consider using copied versions; focus on the original True Skills available at United University."

Then, Meng Chuan saw a hint of blue light rising from her palm:

"What is Martial Arts True Essence? Each technique has its own understanding, but all share a [precise path] left by its creator or improver, which can only be used as one root; the rest are [copies].

Like my Blue Firmament Strength, it requires specific regulations to induce inner power, and the trajectory of the fist must match up, forming a cyclical imprint in the meridians.

This entire[complete and correct]process is its Martial Arts True Essence.

It is also the key point lacking in the copied version; only...

Only by comprehending this essence, when activated, can the power far exceed ordinary fist skills."

Meng Chuan unconsciously nodded; Grandmaster Chen explained it clearly for him to understand.

The Martial Arts True Essence, when thoroughly explained, is but a "shortcut" to help martial artists with insufficient understanding.

If you’re innately a comprehension genius, learning from copies and they become self-taught; there’s nothing wrong with that...

But for now, he is mostly not qualified.

If he accumulates comprehension qualities and trains a lot, gaining deeper martial understanding, perhaps he can comprehend it himself.

He shook his head and turned his attention back to continue listening to the lecture.

"Another significant difference between True Skill Fist and ordinary martial arts is that it doesn’t teach you how to [throw a punch] but how to better exert force.

This again highlights the importance of Martial Arts True Essence, where techniques are just carriers, and true essence is the soul.

Without cultivating the original, and unable to comprehend it independently, even ten years of practice will end up being hollow.

Take the complete Fist Skill I currently have, like[Cloud Abyss Surprise Dash Fist], an advanced true skill.

Its essence lies in[transforming cloud into blade, condensing the abyss into momentum].

Seemingly light and floating like cloud wisps, it actually conceals the profound heavy force of the deep sea.

If only mastering the copied version, the trajectory barely reflects the form of cloud shadow, without the capability to condense true qi into a surprising burst of a fleeting moment, the power is reduced by ninety percent."

Meng Chuan immersed himself in the lecture without realizing an hour had passed.

"...remember, cultivating true skills is like a craftsman carving jade: a tiny margin of error can lead to vast mistakes. Chapters first released on novel·fiɾe·net

Alright, class dismissed."

Chen Qiushui finished her lecture and left, leaving the audience in the classroom with much to ponder.

She had matters to attend to in her fist skill research lab, so she didn’t allocate any time for questions and answers.

After leaving the Martial Virtue Tower and returning to the dormitory, Meng Chuan went to find Qi Shuai.

Once he was settled, he began to regulate his breath while sitting on the ground studying[Melting Core Flame Burst Fist].

As time passed, he spent half an hour faintly capturing the so-called true essence between the lines.

He tried practicing it a couple of times, but ultimately gave up.

He thought to himself:

"It’s not easy, primarily because I haven’t trained true skill fists before; better to find a teacher to guide the entry, to avoid going astray.

Not sure if Master Lu understands fire attributes; if he can teach me, it’d save some credits..."

The fee for true skill teaching is no small amount, and Meng Chuan is currently a bit strapped for cash, so savings are needed wherever possible.

Considering his current martial understanding, he figured that even Five Elements Fist to a first-class level could be self-taught without external instruction.

Other schools’ Xingyi Boxing below second-tier would not be an issue, even first-class could be learned efficiently in half an hour if he followed properly.

But the gap between ordinary Martial Arts and True Skill cannot be discussed in the same breath.

He glanced at another book in his hand, "Five Thunders Strike at the Top," which seemed like reading celestial scriptures.

"What Grandmaster Chen said was true. True Skill isn’t about teaching me how to punch, but more about guiding me on how to make my punches more powerful..."

He made a phone call to Master Lu and set a meeting for tomorrow morning.

If he could teach, he would; if not, he would recommend him to one of his friends.

"Master Lu sure is well-connected..."

Meng Chuan sighed as he held his stance.

Master Dong was the one recommended to him by the other person.

Before going to bed at night, Meng Chuan checked his bank account and saw a deposit of ten million from a short video platform.

Combined with his monthly salary from the martial arts center, his account balance rose to sixty million.

Browsing through the news, Meng Chuan didn’t see any news about the Demon Path in Yong’an or any hint of it.

This was to avoid alerting the enemy and to eliminate the newly established branch of the Demon Summoning Hall in one go.

"Feels like Chief Long has also ’grown’ a lot..."

Although Long Jiu held the position of chief, he was mostly seen as the muscle of the police station.

After several incidents in Yong’an City, Meng Chuan felt that Chief Long had become much smarter in strategy...

"Stop thinking about it; I’m already worried about becoming a Martial Arts Master... Time to sleep, tomorrow I’m learning True Skill!"

Meanwhile, in the middle of the night.

At a secret outpost in the outskirts of Yong’an.

After fully enjoying the nutrients of "Whisper of the Mountains," "Lin Yue" wiped his mouth and left satisfied.

As the deputy priest, he was second-in-command at the Yong’an outpost, above hundreds.

With so many people running errands for him, Lin Yue felt some of the comforting sensation of the "Whisper of the Mountains."

Coming back to his senses, he saw the chief priest beside him on the phone, looking extremely grim.

From time to time, he heard him shouting "Spare me."

Pretending nothing was wrong, he walked away, while the mycelium in the wall crevices perked up to listen.

"Useless! Damn you, the outpost just established and there’s already a problem!"

"Spare me, my lord! I truly don’t know why the nutrients have shrunk, even though the quantity is sufficient..."

"Sufficient my ass! I don’t care about the rest; the revered god has already sent down the thunder, and you must fill the previous gap within this month!

If you can’t... I’ll use you to fill it..."

Hearing this, the corners of "Lin Yue’s" mouth curled into a sly smile.

It seems it won’t be long before he has the opportunity to rise to become the "Chief Priest"...

The next morning, Meng Chuan was practicing in the courtyard while waiting for Master Lu.

A moment later, Lu Zhuxiao pushed the door open and entered.

Before speaking, he paused to observe Meng Chuan’s boxing.

The sharp sounds of air bursting occasionally broke out, and Lu Zhuxiao marveled in his heart:

"This kid’s Five Elements Fist is truly beautiful. Though they are all third-tier moves, there’s just... that spirit to it!"

After the incense stick burned out, seeing Meng Chuan stand still and regulate his breathing, he laughed and said:

"Seeing your solid foundation in the Five Elements Fist, I’m confident now.

Though I mainly practice Golden and Fire Attributes, teaching you might be challenging, but guiding you to the basics shouldn’t be a problem."

Meng Chuan smiled and handed him a can of beer, then demonstrated the "Molten Core Flame Burst Fist" to Master Lu.

Lu Zhuxiao took it, speaking suspiciously:

"You’re sure hanging out with old Dong too long and got hooked on this...

Even though alcohol can’t affect a Martial Artist, it can cause trouble, remember that."

"No Master Lu, it’s just that the weather’s been hot, so I wanted to cool off a bit."

Meng Chuan had no addiction, but that truckload of beer from Master Dong couldn’t be finished alone, so he helped a bit.

He doesn’t usually buy it; if someone gives him some, he drinks; if not... he doesn’t drink.

Lu Zhuxiao studied it for a while, and Meng Chuan continued to practice boxing aside.

A short time later, Master Lu spoke:

"Alright, let’s begin. The fist technique Professor Li gave you indeed follows the ’Thunder and Fire Mutual Generation’ path.

As stated in the technique, ’Thunder bursts, igniting Heart Fire,’ its power surpasses ordinary low-level True Skill fist techniques. No wonder it has such a dominating name."

Having never practiced the Five Elements Qiankun Fist, Lu Zhuxiao naturally didn’t know that the Molten Core Flame Burst Fist was the narrative of the Heart Fire movement by Xiang Wang.

"With your foundation in Professor Li’s Five Elements Fist and considering it’s a modern fist technique, not as obscure and difficult as ancient martial arts, it shouldn’t be too hard to practice.

Try to comprehend the true essence according to the instructions, and I’ll guide you from the side."

Meng Chuan nodded and smiled:

"Master Lu, do you want to practice together?"

"Haha, I’ll pass, you practice yours.

I also dabble in Wood Attribute Long Fist, but I don’t have your level of comprehension. Better to focus on fewer things."

With that, Meng Chuan started following the cultivation technique to practice boxing.

Focusing and gathering qi, after memorizing all the movement essentials, he slowly mimicked the starting pose while pondering the true essence.

"Pay attention to the resonance between the fist stance and internal breath. First, gather the Heart Fire momentum, then separate a portion to channel the thunder.

Experience the true essence, creating an internal circulation of thunder and fire around the meridians."

Following Master Lu’s guidance, Meng Chuan nodded without speaking.

As he practiced boxing, he carefully sensed the true essence within.

Amid the haze, practicing in such a cat’s imitation manner, he surprisingly felt an increasing sense of smoothness the more he practiced.