Earth Skin Drum

"Winner: Zhao Tiehe of Three Mountains City!"

The referee's announcement finally rang out. Almost at the same moment, Zhao Tiehe's figure, still throwing a punch with all his might, crashed to the ground.

His injuries were actually far worse than Lin Zhengli's, and his strength had long since reached its limit. In the end, he had thrown that punch through sheer force of will.

Now his body went limp, and he lay flat on his back.

Nearby, Lin Zhengli had practically been pounded into a crater by his fists. He had been unconscious for some time.

Shattered stones, broken vines, deep pits, splashes of water, and smears of blood... the arena was a scene of utter devastation.

Only then did applause rise from the spectators.

At first, it was sparse, since neither fighter hailed from their hometown. But soon it erupted like thunder.

The fight had been too thrilling, and it had shown everyone just how tenacious the cultivators of Three Mountains City were.

They admired Zhao Tiehe, and in turn, their view of the city he represented changed. Perhaps this was exactly what they had wanted to prove by fighting each other to the death.

They were born in a barren land, in mountains overrun by Ferocious Beasts, but they weren't savages. They had their own loves and hatreds, their own pursuits, their own... honor.

"That was so hard-won." Ling He clapped until his hands turned red. Perhaps he was the only person there who had never used the slur "Mountain Barbarian" for the cultivators of Three Mountains City.

Because he understood what it felt like to be looked down on, he never looked down on others.

Zhao Rucheng, however, was focused on something else. "They both got beaten up so badly that Third Brother's going to win without even fighting!"

Huang Azhan had already started doing the math beside him. "Ten Dao Merit for each win. Those two matches are won without a fight. The Three Cities Dao Discussion's first-year champion gets double Dao Merit. All together... fifty Dao Merit. Half a Vein-Opening Pill! We have to celebrate!"

If not for Jiang An'an being there, he might already have mentioned the Three-Part Fragrance Pavilion.

"What's Dao Merit? Is it worth a lot?" Jiang An'an asked curiously.

"It sure is." Zhao Rucheng already knew the story of Jiang An'an earning money to "pay back her debts," so he teased her. "One point of Dao Merit is worth more than that whole box of treasure you earned!"

Jiang An'an counted on her fingers for a while, very seriously. Then she spread her arms wide and drew a big circle. "That's really a lot!"

After the first round of matches, there was only a very short recovery period. It wasn't very fair to Zhao Tiehe, who had just fought a hard battle, but those were the rules.

After the referee asked him several times, Zhao Tiehe still shook himself unsteadily to his feet. He wanted to keep fighting.

Jiang Wang stood opposite him, one hand resting on his sword, his gaze steady.

"Come down," Sun Xiaoman said.

She looked like a little girl, and her voice sounded like a little girl's too, but Zhao Tiehe couldn't ignore her words.

He turned to look at Sun Xiaoman. "I still have one life left to wager."

His manner wasn't heated. Instead, he spoke calmly, because he was simply stating a fact.

Jiang Wang was no weakling. He had defeated Yang Xingyong head-on, and he was in peak condition now.

At this moment, Zhao Tiehe truly had nothing left to wager except his life.

"Your life matters. Three Mountains City needs you." Sun Xiaoman spoke with great seriousness. "Earlier, we let you risk your life because you still had a chance. We won't let you do it now, because that chance is gone. A lot of resources have been invested in you. Your life can't be thrown away for nothing."

Perhaps one of her words convinced him. Zhao Tiehe turned and trudged off the arena.

Maybe it was only an illusion, but at the instant he turned around, Jiang Wang thought he saw a fleeting glimmer of tears in his eyes.

Could a man like that really cry?

Jiang Wang couldn't understand how these cultivators of Three Mountains City cared so obsessively about winning and losing.

He had already done everything he could. Why was he grieving because he couldn't fight to the death?

With that question in mind, Jiang Wang entered the third match of the round. Lin Zhengli still hadn't woken up, so Lin Zhengren once again conceded on his behalf.

Just like that, Jiang Wang became this year's first-year champion of the Three Cities Dao Discussion. With both his opponents badly injured, it didn't seem very convincing, but...

"Who cares! Dao Merit in hand is the real deal," Zhao Rucheng said.

By then, Jiang Wang had left the arena and joined Ling He and the others in the audience.

The people of Maple Forest City were generous toward cultivators who brought honor to their city. They made room for Jiang Wang to sit and rest after his match.

Jiang An'an and that arrogant little girl were sitting together right at the front. Jiang Wang and the others sat behind them, chatting idly.

The one thing that surprised Jiang Wang was that the Cloud Blanket spread on the ground hadn't been brought by Zhao Rucheng. It belonged to the old man who had brought the little girl Qingzhi over.

The Cloud Blanket was feather-light and incredibly soft, a luxury beyond the reach of ordinary households. Yet Qingzhi's family had brought out such a huge one to lay on the ground.

Jiang Wang could only sigh. In the world of the rich, there was always a higher mountain beyond the mountain.

He'd been born into a family with fields and shops, and they'd never lacked food or drink. Ever since meeting Zhao Rucheng, he often felt like a beggar.

The hunchbacked old man looked Jiang Wang over a few times, then suddenly said, "I didn't expect you to return that box of treasure. Young Master Jiang has taught his younger sister well."

The old man's voice was kind, but paired with his lecherous face, it wasn't very convincing.

Jiang Wang wasn't one to judge people by their looks, so he replied without the slightest discourtesy. "It was only right. It was just children's banter. How could we take it seriously?"

"Confucius said, 'Wealth and rank gained through unrighteousness are to me like floating clouds.' Young Master Jiang's words have quite the Confucian spirit."

Discussing Confucian spirit with a Daoist Sect disciple in the Zhuang Kingdom... The hunchbacked old man must have studied so much that he'd lost his mind.

Jiang Wang gave a casual laugh, then said, "The matches are starting."

The Three Cities Dao Discussion had separate divisions for first-, third-, and fifth-year students, but the rules were generally the same.

Li Jianqiu and Wang Changxiang entered the arena at the same time, with all three matches taking place simultaneously.

Jiang Wang watched the whole competition intently.

Li Jianqiu's opponent came from Three Mountains City, and their match was just as thrilling. The two displayed exceptionally refined control over their Daoist Arts, trading moves and battling for a long time. In the end, Li Jianqiu defeated his opponent with a Fire Element Dao Art.

Wang Changxiang's match against the cultivator from Wangjiang City was much simpler. Once the fight began, he summoned mist with a Daoist Art to block his opponent's view. Then he calmly formed a seal and unleashed a Breath-Blowing Tornado, sending his opponent soaring into the sky.

An A-grade Daoist Art like Breath-Blowing Tornado was practically unbeatable at this level. Jiang Wang remembered that back in Small Forest Town, one Breath-Blowing Tornado had been enough to drain Wang Changxiang dry. He'd even wondered whether Wang Changxiang had given up on the rest of the matches.

But as soon as the match ended, Wang Changxiang immediately took out a Dao Essence Stone and began absorbing it...

It was clear that the Wang Family had spared no expense this time, determined to claim the third-year champion's position.

But the match drawing the most attention from the people of Maple Forest City was that of the mysterious black-clad fighter from Three Mountains City.

When the Black Robe came off to reveal a chubby little fellow with a comical face, the spectators from Maple Forest City let out a collective sigh of disappointment.

They'd imagined that under the Black Robe there would be a Great Devil King with a face full of scars. At the very least, he should have looked fierce. He shouldn't have been a pudgy softie who looked so easy to bully.

But he didn't disappoint them entirely. That little chubby fellow was strong!

As soon as the match began, perhaps because his teammates had suffered one defeat after another, the third-year cultivator from Wangjiang City unleashed his full strength.

He opened with five Water Awls, and sneakily concealed Wind Blades between them.

Then came Earth Spikes. Finally, he formed a seal and prepared to unleash Raging Waves.

He mixed Daoist Arts of the wind, water, and earth elements, linking one move to the next in a dazzling sequence.

The chubby fellow from Three Mountains City did only one thing from start to finish: charge.

He barreled forward without a thought, charging straight into the storm of Daoist Arts.

He charged right up to his opponent.

Then he raised his fist and slammed it down.

The battle was over.

The clothes on the chubby fellow's body had been torn to shreds, riddled with holes, but the flesh exposed beneath them was still fair and rosy.

His opponent, meanwhile, had fallen.

Everyone was stunned.

"His physical defense is incredible!" Ling He exclaimed.

"Is he a pure Martial Man?"

"No. That last punch was the Stone-Covered Fist. He used a Daoist Art."

"He didn't show any signs of using Stone Skin Technique, either. So why is his defense so strong?"

They were young, after all, and inexperienced. They discussed it for a long time without reaching any conclusion.

"It's the Earth Skin Drum, a permanently solidified Daoist Art," the hunchbacked old man beside them said in a low voice, having listened for quite some time.

But he refused to say anything more about the specifics of the Daoist Art.