Mortal Bones

 "Bang!"

Although Qin Yuan was hit by Xu Taiping's punch, the unique qi of his cultivation helped him absorb much of the impact. Just before he was about to fly off the ring, he used a move called the "Thousand-Jin Drop" to force his body downward, pinning himself firmly to the ground.

"Boom!"

However, just as Qin Yuan's foot landed, Xu Taiping's fist followed.

At this moment, Xu Taiping's punch had grown even stronger than before.

The sound of bulls charging, triggered by his fist, made it seem as though he was leading a herd of bulls to break through the formation.

"Bang!"

Several punches were thrown in quick succession, and Qin Yuan's dodging became far less graceful than before, as he was grazed by a few of Xu Taiping's blows.

"Flowing Waters towards the Source!"

Just when everyone thought Xu Taiping's next punch would crush Qin Yuan completely, Qin Yuan suddenly roared, and his aura surged. Water-like true qi swirled around his body, forming a massive water sphere that enveloped him.

"Bang!"

Xu Taiping's fist landed on the water-like true qi.

Unlike before, this punch sank into the qi, and the force was almost entirely neutralized. It only managed to push the water-like true qi inward, not harming Qin Yuan at all.

"Old Qin still has a trump card!"

"Could this be the 'Flowing Water True Qi'? Old Qin cultivates the 'Flowing Water Art'!"

The crowd erupted into astonished murmurs as they saw the situation turn around.

"This was originally for the Seven Peaks Tournament, but you got lucky, brat!"

Qin Yuan sneered, and with his palms pressed together, he recited a mantra. The water-like true qi around him started to gather once again, forming a huge water sphere to protect him.

"Bang!"

At this point, Xu Taiping seemed to completely ignore the changes in Qin Yuan's stance, continuing to punch, and the force of his punches only kept rising.

"Bang, bang, bang!"

With each powerful and muffled impact, both Qin Yuan and the spectators fell into stunned silence.

They had initially thought that Xu Taiping's punch that broke through Qin Yuan's unyielding technique was his limit, but it seemed that this was just the beginning!

"Sixty-nine punches, seventy punches... Is he really going to throw all 108 punches?"

One cultivator who had been counting Xu Taiping's punches shouted in disbelief.

"Impossible! With this kind of power, the 'Green Bull Fist' can't possibly reach 108 punches!"

Others vehemently countered.

However, their objections gradually became feeble in the face of Xu Taiping's unstoppable punching.

"Bang!!!"

When Xu Taiping's herd of bulls reached the 100th punch, the water-like true qi surrounding Qin Yuan exploded with a loud "Boom!" and was knocked off of him.

To the spectators' surprise, Xu Taiping stood silently before Qin Yuan, no longer visibly punching.

"Martial arts are about speed, and I think I finally understand what Sister Lingyue meant," Xu Taiping thought, as he realized the true meaning behind Lingyue's words.

At this moment, the massive phantom of a blue bull appeared behind Xu Taiping.

"Boom!"

With an earth-shattering blast, the phantom blue bull charged toward Qin Yuan along with Xu Taiping's final punch.

"Bang!"

Another loud crash.

Qin Yuan's hard-earned water-like true qi was shattered by Xu Taiping's final punch, and a burst of blood mist erupted as he was sent flying off the ring.

"Old Qin lost?"

"His indestructible technique and Flowing Water True Qi were defeated by the Green Bull Fist?"

"Is this really still the Green Bull Fist?"

The entire arena was in an uproar as everyone turned their shocked gazes toward Xu Taiping on the stage.

Xu Taiping, however, remained focused on Qin Yuan, who had fallen to the ground.

At this moment, countless insights surged in his mind, including the question he had wondered about when first practicing the "Charging Bulls" technique: "Why does the 'Charging Bulls' have 108 punches?"

Now, he finally understood:

"The first 107 punches of the 'Charging Bulls' are merely setting up for the final punch. It's like the charge before a battle, and the last punch is when you break into the enemy's formation. To achieve this, you need to bring the speed and power of all 108 punches to their absolute limit."

"Congratulations, Little Taiping. Not only did you win this battle, but you've also grasped the true essence of the Green Bull Fist."

Lingyue's voice resonated in Xu Taiping's mind, filled with approval.

"Also, for the upcoming matches, you should try to keep your realm below the Full Open Door stage, just like you did in this match. Although you're at the Wishing Ghost stage, you don't yet have martial techniques or spells to match that level of cultivation. Relying solely on your cultivation won't get you far."

She added.

"Thank you, Sister Lingyue, for the reminder."

Xu Taiping silently thanked her.

As Lingyue had said, he could have easily won this battle by suppressing Qin Yuan with his Wishing Ghost cultivation, but that would have been a short-sighted approach. After all, there were many more matches ahead, and revealing all his cards would make him a target.

"According to the plan, all the battles before the Seven Peaks Tournament are just sharpening stones for my martial techniques. I must use these matches to hone my skills before facing the real masters."

Xu Taiping muttered to himself as he walked off the stage.

...

Meanwhile, down in the stands.

"This... He won?"

Zhou Gu was still in disbelief after hearing the examiner announce Xu Taiping's victory.

"I remember last year at the Dragon Gate Tournament, Qin Yuan lost because his opponent used cultivation to crush him. Why did he lose to a martial technique today?"

Zuo Ju was also having trouble accepting it.

"Brother, stop worrying about how he won and think about how we're going to deal with this brat."

Zhou Gu interrupted Zuo Ju, who was deep in thought.

"What else can we do? Qin Yuan was the strongest among these people!"

Zuo Ju gave Zhou Gu a frustrated look.