Upon hearing this, many people were eager to have a go, like the new trainee who just asked Wang Dong, itching to give it a try.
And there's Le Ping, with the strength of the third Qi and Blood Gate and recent breakthroughs in Cannon Fist.
Looking around, he felt like he was second to none.
"Meng Chuan."
Hearing Master Luo call him, Meng Chuan responded and walked up to the ring.
Le Ping closed his eyes, ready to face the challenge.
"Ah… Hmm???"
He wondered if he heard wrong; how could it be Meng Chuan?
Wang Yue also didn't react immediately upon hearing Hall Master Luo call Meng Chuan, staring at him blankly, not knowing what to say.
"Master, I refuse to accept this; I want to challenge."
Before Le Ping could react, the new trainee had already initiated a challenge against Meng Chuan.
"[Tongbei Fist]Yang Ping, second Qi and Blood Gate."
"Meng Chuan, third Qi and Blood Gate."
"Damn! You've broken through the third gate?"
Yang Ping blurted out; other trainees also looked incredulous.
"Junior brother, be careful."
Meng Chuan reminded him, then pushed off with his feet and charged to Yang Ping's front.
Yang Ping had no time to react; the fist halted in front of his face, lightly touched his forehead.
To prevent injury, Meng Chuan stopped there.
"You've allowed me, junior brother."
Yang Ping then reacted, smiled bitterly, cupped his fist, and saluted:
"Thank you, senior brother, for going easy."
Then he silently left the ring.
Meng Chuan knew he wasn't the only underage person with the third Qi and Blood Gate in the martial arts school, there's also Le Ping, so he asked:
"Does anyone else want to challenge?"
"I'll do it."
Le Ping flipped like a kite and landed in the ring.
Though he's surprised at Meng Chuan's rapid improvement; previously, during the test, he hadn't reached the stage, and within just a few months, he's broken through the third gate. Still, he was confident he could win.
Le Ping gave himself a pep talk:
"I've been at the third Qi and Blood Gate longer, my fist techniques are more mature, there's no problem."
"Do you think Meng Chuan can win this time?"
"I doubt it; both are at the third gate, but Brother Le has obviously deeper foundations."
"But Meng Chuan is quite fierce too; don't know why he hasn't been here recently, but he used to be very tough, wasn't he the Little Prince of National Fist?"
Le Ping launched the attack first.
He struck with all his might, instantly closing in on Meng Chuan, then an uppercut at a 60-degree angle.
The fist strength produced explosive sounds in the air, and listening carefully, you could hear six distinct sounds, exactly like a heaven-piercing cannon fist attack!
Meng Chuan was not afraid at all, staring at the approaching fist without blinking.
He's too familiar with Cannon Fist, displaying Inch Step, drawing a semicircle with his right foot to dodge this strike, then using waist twisting force, made a left hook aimed at Le Ping's face.
Le Ping reacted quickly as well, reached out his right arm to guard his ear side and blocked this punch.
Even though blocked, there's still a "bang!" sound, and his body staggered.
"Meng Chuan's reaction speed is way too fast! His moves chain one after another, endlessly."
"Case solved, who said Meng Chuan was taking advantage of Sister Ru during practice, see? He's honing his combat ability."
Le Ping steadied himself, quickly adjusted his stance, pulled his right arm back to above ear level, and raised his left arm straight forward with the fist eye upwards.
He reset his fist stance, looking very serious.
"Again!"
"Good!"
Meng Chuan also fought energetically and wanted a satisfying fight with Le Ping.
As the words fell, Meng Chuan bent forward and burst instantly to Le Ping's side, voice preceding him!
The cannon sound exploded at the opponent's ear, equally a six-sound burst, no less than Le Ping's.
Le Ping's eyes are full of astonishment; he couldn't believe how Meng Chuan achieved mastery in Cannon Fist so quickly.
Cannon Fist is fierce and formidable, cannot be received head-on.
But Le Ping didn't have master-level Body Technique, had to put away his fist stance and roll to dodge awkwardly.
Meng Chuan still wanted to practice Cannon Fist more, improve his proficiency, didn't choose to beat a downed opponent.
After Le Ping got up, the two continued to grapple with each other.
Liu Ru often practiced and fed moves with Meng Chuan, naturally could see his thoughts at the moment.
"Meng Chuan won, this kid…"
"His progress is remarkable, like a different person, is it because he awakened some trait recently?"
Liu Ru genuinely felt Meng Chuan's change was too great, even less assured about becoming Hall Master's direct disciple.
In a blink, Meng Chuan already exchanged about a hundred moves with Le Ping, his fist strength grew stronger with the momentum of Inch Step, his training clothes swished with his body force.
The crowd exclaimed:
"Wow, this is real martial combat, just watching is thrilling!"
Le Ping always felt each punch from the opponent grew heavier, was about to lose grip, hastily blocked the next punch, then retreated to catch his breath.
The timing was almost ripe, Meng Chuan didn't give him this chance.
A high whip kick from his right foot blocked Le Ping's retreat path, immediately followed by a waist twist, swinging and exerting force, leapt into the air, kicking with his left leg a double rear spin kick, knocking Le Ping off the ring.
Le Ping flipped up with a fish-style spring, showing no resentment on his face; he could feel Meng Chuan held back.
"I lost, didn't expect you to be so formidable now."
Meng Chuan smiled and said:
"A win or loss doesn't mean much, let's continue next time."
Le Ping was not someone who couldn't accept defeat; his previous taunting during the Qi and Blood test stemmed from pettiness. This loss convinced him entirely.
"Alright, this fight has taught me a lot, wait until I improve my Body Technique, and then we'll battle again!"
Meng Chuan cupped his fist with a smile in return, then turned his gaze to the others under the ring, loudly asked:
"Fellow seniors, anyone else wishing to challenge?"
He felt low consumption this battle, mainly testing moves, now in good condition, could handle two or three more Le Ping without issue.
Waited a few breaths, no one came up to challenge, they could all see Meng Chuan's performance, under 18 at the martial arts school, indeed no one could match him.
At this moment Luo Guanyun stepped forward and said:
"Since that's the case, the contestants for the underage group are decided, Meng Chuan!"
The crowd applauded, Meng Chuan's strength was evident, they'd accepted.
Meng Chuan patted his chest:
"Thank you all, I'll definitely bring glory to our martial arts school."
Luo Guanyun continued:
"Then I'll announce to everyone, I've taken a new direct disciple."
Hearing Hall Master taking a direct disciple, discussions immediately rose around.
Some older trainees had been here two or three years, never seen Hall Master accept a direct disciple.
Some trainees speculated inwardly:
"Instructor Liu Ru is Hall Master's registered disciple, with highest strength, would it be her?"
Liu Ru felt intensely nervous; she always wanted to become Hall Master's direct disciple.
Expressed this openly and secretly many times but got refused.
She felt she had no chance, guessed it was probably Meng Chuan, so looked at him.
"Ah, what's the use of high Qi and Blood, I know it in my heart."
Luo Guanyun announced:
"From this day onwards, Meng Chuan will be my first Qianyuan Thunder Strike direct disciple; his effort seen by many, potential and strength are evident."