Mortal Bones

"It should have been after knowing the matchups in advance that you found a way to ensure you and Elder Qin drew corresponding numbers. If you prepared in advance, it wouldn't be difficult to do."

Fairy Lingyue communicated with Xu Taiping through soul transmission.

Xu Taiping nodded silently upon hearing this.

"Young friend Taiping, please go ahead."

At this moment, the elderly Qin Yuan, with his white hair and beard, approached Xu Taiping and gestured for him to go up to the stage.

"I wouldn't dare, Elder Qin, please go first."

Xu Taiping politely declined.

"Alright, I'll go up first and wait for you, young friend Taiping."

Elder Qin immediately smiled and, with a light tap of his toes, his figure floated onto the stage as if carried by a feather.

This move immediately caused an uproar from the crowd below, who burst into applause. Then, they all turned their gazes toward Xu Taiping.

"Why doesn't anyone walk up the stairs?"

Xu Taiping was still confused.

"Taiping, this time, don't use the stairs. We can't lose momentum."

What surprised Xu Taiping was that Fairy Lingyue's competitive spirit had been triggered.

"Alright."

Xu Taiping withdrew the foot he had placed on the stairs.

He might not listen to others, but he would listen to Lingyue.

Then, the crowd saw Xu Taiping suddenly raise his sleeves, and with a "boom," his figure turned into a gust of wind and disappeared from the spot. When he reappeared, he was already on the stage.

This was the result of the second step of the Wind Shadow Step's mastery.

"Such profound true energy."

"At such a young age, to possess such deep true energy, could this boy have reached the minor success of the Opening Door realm?"

Some cultivators who had previously doubted Xu Taiping's strength, thinking that he had merely relied on luck to defeat Sun Hu, chose to remain silent at this moment.

"Young friend, at such a young age, you already have such profound true energy. Truly formidable, truly formidable."

On the stage, Elder Qin smiled at Xu Taiping and nodded.

However, Xu Taiping, being perceptive, noticed that despite Elder Qin's good disguise, there was still a trace of hostility in his eyes from time to time.

"Elder Qin overpraises me. It's just a trivial skill."

Xu Taiping responded to Elder Qin's compliment, remaining calm and unruffled.

"Anyone still competing for the position of formal disciple at such an age is bound to be a person of firm will and ruthlessness. Taiping, don't be deceived by his smiling face."

Fairy Lingyue reminded Xu Taiping.

"I won't be deceived, Lingyue."

Xu Taiping mentally responded.

Even against an opponent like Sun Hu, he had fought with all his might, so how could he underestimate Elder Qin?

"Both of you, are you ready?"

The referee on the stage asked the two of them, as usual.

"I am ready."

"I, the old man, am ready."

Neither of them delayed. As they responded, they each took their respective stances and ready poses.

The referee nodded, then struck the copper gong on the stage with a "clang."

"The match begins!"

The referee's voice echoed throughout the arena.

"Please, Elder Qin, guide me."

Xu Taiping politely looked at Elder Qin.

"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare!"

Elder Qin smiled broadly and shook his head repeatedly.

However, just as his words finished, his figure suddenly disappeared with a "boom," and like teleportation, he appeared right in front of Xu Taiping.

"Boom!"

His robes billowed as he swung a mighty palm toward Xu Taiping, creating a huge shadow of his palm.

No one expected that the immortal-looking Elder Qin would suddenly launch a sneak attack on a young boy.

Except for the boy himself.

From the start, Xu Taiping had noticed the hostility in Elder Qin's eyes, and with Fairy Lingyue's warning, he had been on guard.

"Swish!"

In the sound of the violent wind from the palm strike, Xu Taiping suddenly sidestepped, almost brushing against Elder Qin's palm wind as he avoided it.

"Boom!"

Then, as Elder Qin's eyes widened in surprise, Xu Taiping executed a fierce "Ox Horn Crushing Mountain" punch, striking toward Elder Qin.

"Boom!"

In a critical moment, Elder Qin unleashed his thick true energy, forming a dense protective energy shield around him, which took the full brunt of Xu Taiping's punch.

"Bang!"

Despite this, with a huge collision sound, Elder Qin was still forced to slide back about ten feet from the impact.

"Swish!"

Meanwhile, Xu Taiping, still steady, performed the Wind Shadow Step again and shot forward from his original position.

Before Elder Qin could stabilize himself, Xu Taiping launched another "Ox Horn Crushing Mountain" punch.

But just as Xu Taiping's fist was about to land, Elder Qin suddenly swerved to the side, narrowly avoiding the strike.

"Boom!"

Although he didn't hit Elder Qin, the explosive force from Xu Taiping's punch spread out, causing dust to fly and sending the crowd recoiling in fear.

At that moment, everyone finally understood why Xu Taiping had been able to defeat Sun Hu with a single punch in the previous round.

Looking at the stage again, although Xu Taiping had missed that last punch, he didn't stop. Instead, he withdrew his fist and drew his blade, slashing toward Elder Qin.

The length of the blade perfectly compensated for the range that his fists lacked.

"Swish!"

But to Xu Taiping's surprise, even with the single-legged Elder Qin, it seemed as if he were an unmovable statue. No matter how fast Xu Taiping's blade struck, Elder Qin could dodge every attack, remaining unyielding.

"It's the Unyielding Skill!"

"That's right, it's Elder Qin's Unyielding Skill!"

At this point, someone in the audience exclaimed in surprise.

"To force Elder Qin to use the Unyielding Skill, this young fellow indeed has some ability!"

"Indeed, but if he can't break Elder Qin's Unyielding Skill, it will all be in vain."

As the crowd discussed, Xu Taiping, with a neutral expression, swung several more slashes. However, just as before, Elder Qin avoided every single one.

And with Xu Taiping's final slash, the speed of his attack noticeably slowed.

"Whoosh!"

Suddenly, Elder Qin, who had been balancing on one leg, leaned forward with astonishing speed. A delicate hand, soft as if boneless, grabbed Xu Taiping's wrist, swiftly neutralizing his force, before his shoulder rammed into Xu Taiping's chest.

"Bang!"

With a loud crash, Xu Taiping was sent staggering backward several steps before stabilizing his footing.

"Young man, your sword is too slow, your punches too soft. You can't win against me like this!"

Elder Qin smiled mockingly, his lips curling upward in a challenge.