Mortal Bones

"Brother Hu, this little kid's thighs aren't even as thick as my arms. Isn't he just asking for death?"

"Could it be that he's brought by some adult?"

"Little kid, this isn't the place for you. Go find your mother."

A group of burly men surrounding the bearded man started teasing Xu Taiping.

Although some of these men weren't very tall, each one was sturdy, their muscles taut, clearly practitioners of martial arts and physical cultivation.

In contrast, Xu Taiping wasn't short, but his frame appeared much slimmer, and paired with his slightly delicate face, he looked even more juvenile.

"Brothers, make way."

Xu Taiping ignored their mockery and simply gestured for them to clear the way.

"You really came to participate in the competition, huh?"

The man at the center of the group, Brother Hu, rubbed his shiny bald head and curiously looked at the slip of paper in Xu Taiping's hand.

"Yes."

Xu Taiping nodded, then simply bypassed him and quickly walked towards the bulletin board.

"Interesting, interesting. I'm curious to see who this little kid will face in the next round."

Brother Hu chuckled and followed Xu Taiping towards the bulletin board.

"I'll come take a look too. I want to see which lucky guy gets to face this little kid."

The rest of the group followed suit.

"The opponent for No. 27, looks like..."

Before Xu Taiping could look for it himself, they started searching for his opponent's number.

"It's the Xuanzhi stage, No. 23!"

Finally, someone found Xu Taiping's opponent's number on the notice.

"No. 23? Isn't that Brother Hu?"

The crowd erupted in excitement.

Upon hearing this, Xu Taiping turned his gaze curiously towards the burly man with a bald head and thick beard.

"Damn it, it really is me!"

Brother Hu looked at the number on his slip and, upon realizing it was No. 23, immediately laughed heartily, rubbing his bald head.

Xu Taiping didn't react much to this.

He had come to the bulletin board just to confirm which platform he would compete on next and his opponent's number. He didn't really care about who the opponent was, since he had been preparing for this competition for three years.

"Little kid, are you scared?"

Seeing that Xu Taiping didn't speak, the group began teasing him again.

"Little kid, with those skinny arms and legs, I bet you won't even survive a single punch from me. You'd better surrender early, it's not shameful."

Brother Hu smiled at Xu Taiping, clearly more relaxed after realizing that his first opponent was Xu Taiping.

"We'll meet on the stage."

Xu Taiping said seriously, looking directly at Brother Hu.

Brother Hu was momentarily stunned, then burst into another round of hearty laughter. "Did you hear that? This little kid says we'll meet on the stage!"

"Let's go, let's go. We're also at the Xuanzhi stage. Let's watch together."

"Brother Hu, don't go easy on him. If you do, we won't have any fun!"

The others burst into laughter at the comment.

Most of them were martial artists, and although they weren't bad at heart, they had long developed a habit of bullying the weak and fearing the strong in this mountain area. They wouldn't let an easy target go so quickly.

Thus, a group of men started gathering around Brother Hu and walked toward the Xuanzhi stage together.

At the Xuanzhi stage side.

"Xu Taiping from Qingzhu Residence, and Sun Hu from Chiyan Village, please stand by. You two will compete next."

The examiner from Xifeng Pavilion took the slips from Xu Taiping and Sun Hu, marked them in his book, and told them to wait.

There were many competitors, but most were unknown cultivators, so there weren't many people watching the matches. Most of the audience consisted of cultivators waiting for their turn to compete.

"Little kid, remember, punches and kicks don't have eyes. If you don't surrender now and get injured, don't blame me."

Brother Hu smiled at Xu Taiping.

Xu Taiping ignored him and kept his gaze fixed seriously on the stage.

On the stage, an elderly man with white hair and a middle-aged man holding a sabre were in the midst of a match.

"It's Old Qin and Master Zhao."

"These two are both competing for the Dragon Gate qualification. What a shame they're facing each other in the first round."

Sun Hu and a few of his companions, who had been planning to tease Xu Taiping, now turned their attention to the match on stage.

"Clang!"

At that moment, after a few probing strikes, Master Zhao gripped the handle of his sabre with both hands and slashed powerfully at Old Qin.

Facing Zhao's fierce strike, Old Qin didn't panic at all. He lightly tapped the ground with his toes and nimbly stepped back.

"Bang!"

Zhao's long sabre struck the granite ground with a loud crash, sending sparks flying.

"Whoosh!"

Not discouraged by the failed strike, Zhao swiftly turned the blade and slashed again, this time faster than before, forcing Old Qin into a much more difficult position to dodge.

"Slap!"

But to everyone's surprise, just as Zhao's sabre was about to cut through Old Qin's waist, the old man's body suddenly floated upward like a feather. His toes just barely touched the blade of Zhao's sabre.

However, in that instant, it was as if the old man's body had suddenly gained the weight of a thousand pounds, and he pressed down on Zhao's sabre with a loud "Bang!"

Master Zhao's sabre was pinned to the ground. Not giving up, he discarded the blade and threw a punch, roaring like a fierce tiger, sending a vicious strike to Old Qin's face.

What surprised Xu Taiping was that, instead of dodging, Old Qin stepped forward and used his forearm to deflect Zhao's striking arm, then grabbed Zhao's arm, pulling him off-balance. With the force of Zhao's punch, Old Qin's body tightened, and he used his shoulder to slam heavily into Zhao's chest.

"Boom!"

With a loud crash, Zhao was sent flying backward like a cannonball and landed outside the ring.

"Nice!"

Seeing this, Sun Hu and the others couldn't help but cheer in unison.

"It looks like Old Qin will definitely make it into the Dragon Gate competition."

"As long as he doesn't encounter someone from the Wangujing or someone skilled in magic, he might even make it to the Seven Peaks competition!"

"The last two rounds were all outer sect disciples. There aren't that many Wangujing or magic users."

The crowd began to discuss animatedly.

"Such a unique martial skill! It looks light, but when it's used to exert force, it's as heavy as a mountain. It can send someone flying that far."

Xu Taiping murmured in surprise.

"Little kid, that's called Hua Jin. Old Qin has been practicing it for at least fifty years, and now it's practically perfect. Whoever faces him is in for a tough time!"

Sun Hu chuckled.

"He's only learned a bit of the basics."

Suddenly, the voice of Lingyue Fairy, who had been sleeping in the gourd, lazily spoke up.

"Fairy Lingyue, you know Hua Jin?"

Xu Taiping asked curiously through soul transmission.

"This is a martial skill that uses a technique to transform light force into heavy force, a way to redirect and release power. But this old man has only learned the basics. If he were facing someone using a sabre, he wouldn't be having so much trouble."

Lingyue yawned.

"If you ever meet him, just remember what I told you—speed is the key to defeating any martial skill."

She added cryptically.

"Speed is the key..."

Xu Taiping pondered these words.

"Xu Taiping from Qingzhu Residence, and Sun Hu from Chiyan Village, please proceed to the stage for your match!"

At that moment, the examiner at the side of the stage called out their names.