Chapter 26

Puh puh puh, the sound of punches hitting like leather echoed in the dry, cold air.

Meng Qi knew he was far from Zhen Miao and had long been prepared to lose, but when they actually fought, he realized the gap was much larger than he had imagined. Even when he suppressed his strength to the level of Xuchiqi (a stage of internal energy cultivation), and even when he only used the Luohan Fist, he still felt that his mind and eyes could not keep up with his hands. If it weren't for the Iron Shirt technique, he would have been defeated long ago. The puh puh puh sounds were the sounds of Zhen Miao's punches hitting him.

Although none of these hits struck vital points, the continuous strikes still made Meng Qi feel a dull pain.

Of course, such a battle also brought Meng Qi great gains, giving him a sense that the changes in the Luohan Fist were becoming an instinct of his body.

He couldn't help but be secretly grateful for Jiang Zhimi's guidance. If it weren't for her allowing him to exchange for the Iron Shirt technique, a form of external cultivation, he would have had to go through many failed sparring sessions to master a fist technique when he was weak and lacked combat experience. Now, with the Iron Shirt as his backup, one sparring session was equivalent to many failures, allowing him to slowly calm down and internalize the fist technique.

Zhen Miao's fists generated wind, his techniques strict and powerful, gradually pushing Meng Qi to a dead end, leaving him no chance to fight for his life with the Iron Shirt!

"No, I must find a way. In a few more moves, I won't be able to hold on..." Relying on the Iron Shirt and knowing it wasn't a life-or-death battle, Meng Qi was not panicked. He tried hard to find an opportunity to counterattack.

Suddenly, he noticed a clear gap on Zhen Miao's left side, a gap that allowed him to temporarily escape the front and catch his breath!

This time, Meng Qi's mind and feet moved in unison. He feinted a move and darted to the left.

Just as his body moved, a leg wrapped in white bandages appeared from nowhere, kicking directly at Meng Qi's abdomen.

"Damn!" Meng Qi cursed inwardly and quickly sidestepped to avoid the kick. At that moment, a gust of wind rushed by his ear, and a fist stopped beside his temple, the force of the punch making his head ache.

"Please bear with me." Zhen Miao retracted his right fist, clasped his hands together, and a faint smile appeared on his face, as if he was very eager to wash away the shame of the previous day.

Meng Qi, while reflecting on his gains and losses, bowed and said, "Thank you, Senior Brother, for your guidance."

Regardless of Zhen Miao's motives, such sparring sessions were indeed very helpful to him.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him. He thought about the feint Zhen Miao had used earlier. If he had used one of the steps from the Divine Step technique, he could have easily avoided Zhen Miao's kick and instead exposed a real gap.

This thought just arose, and Meng Qi blurted out, "Senior Brother Zhen Miao, please continue to guide me tomorrow." Ah, he was still not proficient with the Divine Step technique, only remembering it now!

"Huh?" The other martial monks seemed to have not heard clearly and looked at Meng Qi in surprise. Was he daring to challenge Senior Brother Zhen Miao again?

"Tomorrow, if you can't withstand my ten moves, don't mention guidance again." Zhen Miao was taken aback for a moment but then nodded slowly.

On the way to the dining hall.

"Tsk, are you addicted to getting beaten?" Zhen Yong looked at Meng Qi as if he didn't recognize him, examining him from head to toe.

Zhen Hui looked at Zhen Yong in confusion, "Senior Brother Zhen Yong, aren't all great heroes like this? They never admit defeat!"

Zhen Yong gave Meng Qi a strange look, wondering what strange stories he had told his junior brother.

Meng Qi knew his actions were strange and didn't hide it, "Senior Brother Zhen Yong, I just thought of a powerful move that I could use in that situation, so I blurted it out."

"Is that move not proficient? You only thought of it after the sparring session..." Zhen Yong picked up on the hidden meaning in Meng Qi's words.

Meng Qi nodded and said thoughtfully, "I need to find someone to spar with in the martial hall later."

After dinner, Meng Qi sat in meditation to practice the Shaolin Heart Method for a while, then eagerly entered the martial hall.

He looked around and a smile appeared on his face when he saw Zhen Liang sparring with a martial monk, his expression fierce and his moves aggressive, as if he wanted to vent all his frustration and anger from the previous day.

Meng Qi slowed his steps and circled around. The martial monk was weak and was suppressed by Zhen Liang's momentum, quickly being hit repeatedly and becoming black and blue.

"Ha ha." Zhen Liang laughed heartily as the martial monk stumbled out the door, but at that moment, he felt a powerful force hit his back, losing his balance and colliding with another martial monk.

"Great, Junior Brother, you're getting more and more arrogant today, daring to hit me with your back. Come, let's spar."

That hateful, despicable voice! Zhen Liang's body tensed, and he slowly turned around, wanting to say something defiant, but involuntarily said, "Senior Brother, I have an opponent."

"Is that so? I saw him just leave. How about this, I'll give you a moment to catch your breath, Junior Brother." Meng Qi said with a smile, his appearance delicate and his smile charming, but to Zhen Liang, he looked like a demon.

Zhen Liang looked around and saw that only a few martial monks who were close to him were standing nearby, while the others were far away. He had a sense of righteousness and didn't want to drag his friends into it. He gritted his teeth and said, "Senior Brother, let's start now!"

Seeing Zhen Liang's resigned expression, Meng Qi smiled, his face turned serious, and he shouted, advancing to attack.

After a moment.

"Senior Brother, I surrender! I surrender, okay?" Zhen Liang fell to the ground like a dead dog, unwilling to stand up.

Meng Qi touched his faint stubble and nodded with a smile, "Alright."

At least he had truly mastered that step of the Divine Step technique. As long as Zhen Yong didn't use any martial arts other than the Luohan Fist, he could give him a "surprise"!

Hearing Meng Qi's words, Zhen Liang felt as if he had been pardoned and quickly got up and fled.

After running a few steps, he suddenly stopped and said calmly, "My elder brother is a disciplinary monk in the Discipline Hall."

"Huh, calling for your parents now?" Meng Qi said with a half-smile.

His strange response completely caught Zhen Liang off guard, leaving him momentarily speechless.

Meng Qi, with the pressure and resources of the cycle world, was not particularly concerned about the disciplinary monks. He chuckled, "My dharma name is Zhen Yong, and I always act with integrity. If I violate the rules, I will accept the punishment. Junior Brother, are you still here? Do you want to continue sparring?"

Zhen Liang was terrified and fled, rolling and crawling. He had "dominated" the martial hall for over a year and had never seen anyone who was not afraid of the disciplinary monks!

"Zhen, Zhen Yong? Junior Brother, are you sick?" Zhen Yong asked in confusion, why was he calling himself Zhen Yong?

Meng Qi looked at him, "Just having some fun. Our appearances are quite different, no one will mistake us."

Sigh, it's no fun being humorous when no one appreciates it.

...

The next day, after the training session, Meng Qi eagerly stepped forward and bowed, "Please guide me, Senior Brother."

Zhen De and the other martial monks had been waiting for this, but when it actually happened, they still found it hard to believe. Was Zhen Ding's brain eaten by a dog? How could he dare to challenge Senior Brother Zhen Miao again!

Did he think he was on par with Senior Brother Zhen Miao just because he won once by chance when Senior Brother Zhen Miao didn't know his true strength?

How ignorant!

Yesterday truly showed the real gap!

Zhen Miao, with a stern face, nodded and got into position, waiting for Meng Qi to make the first move.

This sparring session was similar to the previous day. Although Meng Qi had a deeper understanding of the Luohan Fist, the gap between him and Zhen Miao was still large. He could only take a few fewer hits, and gradually, he found himself in the same predicament as before, being slowly pushed to a dead end by the calm and composed Zhen Miao.

"I knew it, where did he get the confidence to challenge Senior Brother Zhen Miao!" Zhen De was very pleased with the situation.

"Right, he's just too ignorant." Another martial monk agreed, always instinctively rejecting their out-of-line comrades, "Senior Brother Zhen Miao will definitely win again today!"

"Winning is certain, but Senior Brother Zhen Miao is always cautious and won't use the same move as yesterday." Zhen De said confidently.

Meng Qi did not wait for Zhen Miao to make a feint. When he noticed Zhen Miao's left shoulder slightly sinking, he suddenly used his shoulder to block a punch and attacked Zhen Miao's right side.

Zhen Miao had some reserve strength and did not fully commit to his move. He deftly dodged Meng Qi's charge and countered with a double ear strike, aiming for the temple.

Suddenly, Zhen Miao's vision blurred, and Meng Qi seemed to disappear!

This wasn't because Meng Qi was too fast, but because his low and quick turn chose a direction and position that completely surprised Zhen Miao, making his attention unable to keep up and creating the illusion that Meng Qi had vanished.

"Damn!" Zhen Miao thought, and as he slid and turned, Meng Qi had already passed him, their backs facing each other.

At the same time, Meng Qi's iron elbow struck backward, hitting Zhen Miao's back hard.

Puh! Meng Qi's elbow hit Zhen Miao's back, but it felt as if it hit nothing. He turned his head slightly and saw Zhen Miao's monk's robe bulge, absorbing most of the force.

This was not something a Xuchiqi practitioner could do! Meng Qi's heart raced, and he retracted his hand, smiling, "Please bear with me, Senior Brother, you are truly formidable."

Zhen Miao's face turned ashen, furious at losing again:

"Let's fight again tomorrow."

His words seemed to indicate that he now considered Meng Qi a true opponent and was not willing to admit defeat.

Their exchange was swift and dazzling, and before Zhen De and the other martial monks could react, the match was over. For a moment, they stared at Zhen Miao and Meng Qi in disbelief, feeling as if it were a dream.

After a while, they looked at Meng Qi with genuine respect and caution.

No matter what means he used, to defeat Senior Brother Zhen Miao a second time, Zhen Ding must have exceptional abilities!

"Amazing! I can hardly believe you've only been learning the Luohan Fist for a short time." After the training session, Zhen Yong caught up with Meng Qi and Zhen Hui, looking at him as if he were seeing him for the first time.

Meng Qi felt a bit smug and said boastfully, "Junior Brother has a bit of talent in martial arts."

He couldn't say it was because of the cycle world.

"Are you going to the martial hall later?" Zhen Yong asked.

Meng Qi nodded vigorously, "Of course, I need to prepare for tomorrow's sparring with Senior Brother Zhen Miao."

After dinner, after practicing his internal skills, Meng Qi entered the martial hall on a regular schedule.

As soon as he entered, he saw Zhen Liang's expression tighten, and he pulled a nearby martial monk to spar, moving slowly as if they were sparring for eternity.

The other martial monks close to Zhen Liang also found partners to spar, not giving Meng Qi a chance to "challenge."

"How do I feel like a bully..." Meng Qi said after a moment of silence, chuckling, "This feeling isn't bad!"

Zhen Yong was quite cooperative this time, chuckling, "Evil monk Zhen Ding!"

For the next month, Meng Qi spent his days challenging and being challenged by Zhen Miao, losing more often than winning. In the evenings, he practiced in the martial hall. By the second half of the month, he felt that the martial monks here were no longer a challenge, so he entered the martial hall, getting beaten up but enjoying it, as his internal skills, fist techniques, and sword techniques improved significantly!

"Tonight, you will guard the back mountain pass." One noon, Xuan Chi announced a task.

Zhen Miao, seeing the puzzled expressions, explained, "The back mountain houses the demons and monsters that our Shaolin Temple has subdued over the years. It needs to be guarded at all times. Don't worry, the uncles and aunts from the Dharma Hall and Bodhi Hall will be inside. You will only patrol the outer perimeter and provide basic security."

Demons and monsters? Meng Qi took a deep breath.