Rise from a Low-class Family to Martial Artist

Chapter 84: Chapter 79: Is This Guy Crazy?

In the arena!

Chi Hanfei and Meng Yuan faced each other.

Chi Hanfei had a smile on his face: ”Junior Brother Meng, I didn’t expect us to be in the same group; it’s really a bit of a pity.”

Meng Yuan looked at Chi Hanfei, silent.

”The top fifty rankings in the March Martial Arts Competition among the Eight Great Martial Arts Halls are very important to each hall. The higher the rank, the more resources the martial arts hall receives.”

Chi Hanfei looked at Meng Yuan, confident that Meng Yuan was not his match, as the Clear Wind Palm was not something the Mantis Fist could compare to.

Disciples from other martial arts halls had a sense of superiority when facing the Mantis Martial Arts Hall.

The purpose of saying this was to hopefully make Meng Yuan know his limits. Rather than stubbornly fighting here, it would be better to conserve strength and aim for a top fifty ranking in the losers’ bracket.

The assessment of the Eight Great Martial Arts Halls is based on a point system.

The fiftieth place gets 1 point, the forty-ninth place gets 2 points, and so on increasing upwards.

The final ranking is determined by the accumulated points from the top fifty rankings of the martial arts hall students.

With Meng Yuan’s strength, as long as he remained uninjured, he could securely get into the top twenty.

Meng Yuan understood the meaning behind Chi Hanfei’s words and smiled: ”Senior Brother Chi is right, so is Senior Brother Chi planning to concede?”

Upon hearing Meng Yuan’s words, Chi Hanfei’s expression turned cold; he had not expected Meng Yuan to be so ungrateful, could he really believe that the Mantis Fist could make him a worthy opponent?

Feeling Chi Hanfei’s displeasure, Meng Yuan’s eyes revealed a firm resolve.

Concede? That’s not going to happen.

As a student of the Mantis Martial Arts Hall, he knew other halls always underestimated them, and Chi Hanfei’s condescending tone was just a reflection of the attitude of students from other halls.

But today, he was going to prove to those from other halls that students from the Mantis Martial Arts Hall were not inferior to those from other halls.

At the referee’s signal, Chi Hanfei struck first, his figure flashed, executing the Clear Wind Palm. Since Meng Yuan did not know what was best for him, Chi Hanfei would quickly defeat him.

Especially since there was another tough battle ahead; the longer it dragged on, the worse it would be.

Chi Hanfei’s hand moved like a breeze through willow leaves, with gusts of wind, attacking Meng Yuan. The mastery of the Clear Wind Palm was exceptionally powerful.

In the face of Chi Hanfei’s attack, Meng Yuan did not panic. He took a deep breath, his body moving nimbly like a swift mantis, skillfully dodging Chi Hanfei’s descending palm, and then his fists, like two blades, swiftly targeted Chi Hanfei’s vital points.

The agility of the Mantis Fist was displayed to perfection by Meng Yuan.

Feeling Meng Yuan’s speed, Chi Hanfei was startled but not worried. He struck again, creating gusts of wind and shadows of palms all around.

Facing the continuous seamless attacks of Chi Hanfei’s palms, Meng Yuan’s body remained incredibly agile, weaving through the palm shadows unaffected. Rather, each punch forced Chi Hanfei to involuntarily switch his moves to defend.

In just a dozen or so exchanges, Chi Hanfei was forced to retreat continuously, causing a loud uproar for the first time in the field.

Both at the Seven Acupoints realm, yet it was the Mantis Martial Arts Hall’s Meng Yuan who held the advantage!

Qi He glanced towards the vice hall master of the Mantis Martial Arts Hall, who responded with a smile.

”Mantis Fist at Small Success, the Mantis Martial Arts Hall really kept such a hand hidden.”

By now, how could Qi He not see that Meng Yuan’s Mantis Fist had already reached Small Success?

While the Mantis Fist’s power was at the bottom among the Eight Great Martial Arts Halls, that referred to the same stage. The Small Success Mantis Fist had more power than the Clear Wind Palm.

In the arena, as Chi Hanfei delivered continuous strikes, Meng Yuan seized a gap and finally stopped evading, launching himself with full power, the Small Success power of the Mantis Fist fully unleashed. His fists were like sickles, heavily striking Chi Hanfei’s chest.

Chi Hanfei’s eyes widened with disbelief, his body flung back several meters like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily to the ground.

The entire place fell silent instantly, everyone was stunned by this scene.

A moment later, thunderous cheers erupted from the Mantis Martial Arts Hall’s side.

”Senior Brother Meng is mighty!”

”Senior Brother Meng is fierce!”

At this moment, the students from the Mantis Martial Arts Hall were filled with pride, in contrast, the students from the Clear Wind Martial Arts Hall couldn’t believe what had happened.

Both at the Seven Acupoints realm, yet Senior Brother Chi lost!

”Meng Yuan’s Mantis Fist at Small Success, Chi Hanfei’s loss isn’t unjust.”

Chen Chunfeng shook his head, the Mantis Fist’s power is indeed not equal to the Clear Wind Palm, but that refers to when both techniques are at the same realm proficiency. The Small Success Mantis Fist significantly increases agility and power, it would be surprising if Chi Hanfei won instead.

Besides the Clear Wind Martial Arts Hall, the eyes of students from other halls became more ardent with Meng Yuan’s victory.

Although Meng Yuan couldn’t be considered a dark horse, his victory proved one thing, this competition would be thrilling.

Who could guarantee that other halls didn’t have students whose cultivation techniques also reached Small Success?

”Junior Brother Lin is truly impressive!”

Fu Jingya praised Lin Chen, thinking that he guessed correctly because of his dissatisfaction with the Clear Wind Martial Arts Hall, rather than truly seeing Meng Yuan’s greater strength.

Lin Chen smiled without explaining. He believed Meng Yuan would win, not because of any aversion to the Clear Wind Martial Arts Hall, but because the expression of the vice hall master of the Mantis Martial Arts Hall made him think that they might have some hidden strategies.

At that time, he suspected that Meng Yuan might have already reached small success in the Mantis Fist.

Heroes are as numerous as carp crossing the river.

There is no reason why only he could cultivate the Water Cloud Palm to small success. The world does not revolve around just one person.

After praising Lin Chen, Fu Jingya showed a worried expression: ”With Meng Yuan having reached small success in the Mantis Fist, I fear for Junior Sister Gu’s safety.”

At this moment, Group B only had Gu Qingqing and Meng Yuan left. After defeating Chi Hanfei, Meng Yuan had high hopes for victory.

The main reason was Chi Hanfei’s underestimation of the enemy, which did not cause much trouble for Meng Yuan, leaving Meng Yuan’s strength intact.

The final battle went as everyone expected, without surprises, and in the end, Meng Yuan emerged victorious.

Gu Qingqing had given it her all, but unfortunately, Meng Yuan’s movements were too agile, truly like a mantis, with jumps and fists as sharp as blades.

Unlike Chi Hanfei, who was knocked out humiliatingly.

During the fight between Meng Yuan and Gu Qingqing, in the final moment, Meng Yuan withheld his fists. The fists that should have hit Gu Qingqing’s lower body, ended up pushing instead, making Gu Qingqing stagger back a few steps.

Gu Qingqing’s pretty face blushed slightly. She knew Meng Yuan had shown mercy.

”You win.”

Gu Qingqing conceded readily. Although the competition rules allowed the fight to continue as long as no one had fallen, she didn’t have the nerve to keep going.

”Thank you for letting me win, Senior Sister Gu.”

Meng Yuan clasped his fists, looking a bit embarrassed. He rarely interacted with women and had acted on reflex, realizing his inappropriate action only after striking. Fortunately, his small success in Mantis Fist allowed him to quickly change his moves.

”A win is a win; there is no mercy. You’re very skilled. We can spar again if there’s a chance.”

Leaving those words, Gu Qingqing walked towards the Jingshui Martial Arts Hall, while Meng Yuan stood where he was, scratching his head, not quite understanding what Senior Sister Gu meant.

Spar?

”Haha, not bad.”

Meng Yuan returned to the Mantis Martial Arts Hall, where the vice hall master was beaming. Now, let’s see who dares to underestimate their hall.

Most importantly, Meng Yuan performed well, and it seemed that the female disciple from Jingshui Martial Arts Hall had taken a liking to him.

The Mantis Martial Arts Hall had always been looked down upon by other halls. If this kid Meng Yuan could win Gu Qingqing’s heart, it would be a credit to their hall.

There had always been a secret competition among the seven martial arts halls: the more Jingshui female disciples one hall’s disciples could win over, the stronger the hall was considered.

”Hall Master Kong, I have embarrassed the hall.” Gu Qingqing returned to the lineup, her face showing a hint of shame.

”Meng Yuan reached small success in Mantis Fist, so your loss is understandable. This is just the first competition; there will be another in three months.”

”Rest assured, Hall Master. I will diligently train in martial arts so that I can win back next time.”

”Hmm.”

Kong Yinglei nodded, as the referee from the Martial Affairs Office announced Meng Yuan as the winner of Group B, and Group C was up next.

”Hall Master Kong, Instructor Shen, I’m going up now.” Seeing the referee announce the start of Group C, Lin Chen prepared to go up.

”Just perform normally.” Kong Yinglei nodded, giving him some instructions.

”Junior Brother Lin, I believe you can win.” Fu Jingya clenched her fists to encourage Lin Chen.

”Senior Brother Lin, you’ve got this.”

Li Xue and other female disciples also cheered for Lin Chen. Lin Chen smiled slightly, turning to look at the center of the martial arts arena, where the participants from the other seven martial arts halls had already taken their places.

”Thanks to the blessings of my senior sisters, I will give it my all.”

As Lin Chen stepped onto the martial arts arena, he drew everyone’s attention, not because the other halls knew about Lin Chen, but because he was the only male disciple of the Jingshui Martial Arts Hall, naturally attracting attention.

On the central arena, Lin Chen glanced at his seven opponents and also noticed the hostile gaze from a disciple of the Clear Wind Martial Arts Hall.

Hmm?

It seems I don’t know this person, so where is this hostility coming from?

Could the Clear Wind Martial Arts Hall’s students consider me a traitor for joining the Jingshui Martial Arts Hall?

Ridiculous.

From the beginning, the only thing I learned from the Clear Wind Martial Arts Hall was the Clear Wind Palm; I never took a single resource from them.

Even the Opening Acupoints Pill — when the Clear Wind Martial Arts Hall didn’t accept me back then, other halls would have taken me because of my master mother’s connections.