On the north side of the Martial Practice Field, Zhao Ming lounged in a wicker chair, holding a purple grape in his hand.
He swallowed the grape and stared intently at Li Pingsheng's right arm.
Zhao Ming said to his attendant, "Iron Grinding Force is best suited to scraps who insist on toughing it out."
"After today, that Li fellow won't be able to hold a pair of chopsticks steadily for the rest of his life."
The attendant bent at the waist and said, "Young Master Zhao is right. Chen Tieshan's body has been tempered until it's as tough as iron. Even warriors at the same level can't hurt him, let alone a half-crippled man like Li Pingsheng."
On the arena, Chen Tieshan stood bare-chested, his skin a bluish gray from years of grinding it with iron sand and medicinal solutions.
Every step he took made the wooden arena shake.
Chen Tieshan said, "You're the one with superior bone structure, right?" He chuckled. "What a shame. No matter how good your bones are, a bow with a broken string is still junk."
Li Pingsheng said nothing. He planted his feet and raised his left hand first, taking the opening stance of Thunderbolt Fist.
His right arm simply hung at his side.
Chen Tieshan said, "Hmph, asking for death! I can tell at a glance that your right hand is injured!"
His two-hundred-pound body suddenly sped up.
Chen Tieshan charged straight at him, arms spread wide, aiming right for Li Pingsheng's injured shoulder.
He was deliberately targeting the wound.
When Li Pingsheng's footwork faltered, his injured arm dragged him off balance as he tried to dodge sideways.
Chen Tieshan's fist grazed his shoulder, and the force of the wind tore through Li Pingsheng's sleeve.
"Dodging? How long do you think you can keep it up?"
Once Chen Tieshan had the upper hand, he never let his opponent off.
He stomped twice, and a crack appeared in the bluestone slabs.
The disciples below shook their heads one after another.
"It's over. He can't use any of those techniques now. There's no way he can fight."
"Looks like Master Pei misjudged him this time. Li Pingsheng's meridians are even more badly damaged than the rumors said."
"Chen Tieshan's going to smash him to pieces right there on the arena."
Instructor Wu stood at the edge of the platform, a hint of a smile in his eyes.
Once Li Pingsheng was disqualified in this match, all the problems that came afterward would disappear too.
On the arena, Chen Tieshan's attacks grew more and more frenzied.
Every punch left a deep crater in the ground, sending shards of stone flying.
Li Pingsheng was in grave danger. Several times, he nearly slipped off the edge of the arena. One more shove, and he would have fallen.
Chen Tieshan leaned close to Li Pingsheng's ear and said, "Someone paid me a fortune to grind you to pieces, inch by inch, right here on the arena."
Li Pingsheng activated his Martial Wisdom talent.
The surging force became clear strands of vital energy in his eyes.
He could see the muscles beneath Chen Tieshan's skin twitching, as well as the stiffness in his joints from his pursuit of hardness.
Most importantly, Li Pingsheng saw that after every full-force burst, there was a pause of less than half a second at the Danzhong acupoint over Chen Tieshan's heart.
That was the fatal flaw where his body-tempering technique forced him to catch his breath.
"Just like in the earlier simulations. Hmph, had enough?"
Li Pingsheng suddenly spoke.
Chen Tieshan was furious. His vital energy surged, and a faint red flush showed through his bluish-gray skin.
It was the sign that he had pushed Iron Grinding Force to its limit: Iron Curtain Descent.
"Kneel!"
Chen Tieshan locked his arms together and plunged headfirst, smashing a hole in the arena and blocking every route of escape to Li Pingsheng's left and right.
There was no avoiding this blow.
But Li Pingsheng didn't dodge.
Tiger Bone activated.
His right arm was still restricted, but the vital energy throughout his body surged through the twists of his waist and hips, gathering in his left arm.
The chill of the Ice Marrow Fluid raced through his right arm, yet it also roused Li Pingsheng's will to survive.
First stance, Step Breaker!
Li Pingsheng took a small step forward.
Chen Tieshan shifted his center of gravity forward, putting his weight on that step.
All of Chen Tieshan's tremendous force suddenly went awry.
Second stance, Momentum Breaker!
Li Pingsheng lifted his left elbow and struck toward the Iron Curtain through the gap between Chen Tieshan's arms.
Chen Tieshan's face immediately darkened. He felt an invisible force redirect the power in his body, and his entire frame lost its balance.
"Impossible!"
Chen Tieshan shouted.
"Nothing's impossible."
Li Pingsheng replied.
One final punch.
Li Pingsheng stepped in, twisted his waist, and threw his punch.
The force of his whole body climbed his spine, then concentrated at the tips of his left fist.
He deliberately suppressed the lightning around his fist, but as it punched through the air, a sharp crack rang across the Martial Practice Field.
It was the sound of power compressed to its limit.
The punch struck Chen Tieshan's Danzhong acupoint with unerring accuracy.
The flesh Chen Tieshan had tempered did not stop it.
His eyes flew wide, blood vessels webbing his eyeballs. His body flew more than thirty feet before crashing into a stone pillar beside the arena.
The pillar was damaged.
Chen Tieshan didn't fall onto the arena. Instead, his legs gave way and he slumped to the ground, shattering the stones beneath his feet.
He spat out mouthfuls of bright red blood, mixed with fragments of his organs.
He tried to lift his head and look at Li Pingsheng, but his neck had no strength left.
The whole arena fell silent.
Three seconds later, cries of astonishment erupted.
"Holy shit! One punch? It only took one punch?"
Chen Tieshan was a veteran disciple in the Bone Refining Realm. How had he been beaten through by someone they called a "cripple"?
"No, look at Li Pingsheng's left hand. That's no ordinary Thunderbolt Fist. That's..."
On the raised platform, Pei Guang abruptly stood up.
He stared intently at Li Pingsheng and said, "Fist Intent Mastery!"
Those four words carried tremendous weight.
At a martial arts school, it wasn't hard to master the moves of a fist technique, nor was it hard to develop force. But to cultivate "intent," one needed extraordinary insight and countless brushes with death.
How long had Li Pingsheng been at the school?
The purple grape in Zhao Ming's hand burst. Juice ran between his fingers and dripped onto the ground.
He kept staring at the person on the arena, who remained there, looking perfectly calm.
"Trash! Chen Tieshan really is trash! Bah!"
Zhao Ming cursed.
Li Pingsheng paid no attention to the commotion below.
He lowered his left hand and tucked it into his sleeve.
His right arm was still trembling. The Ice Marrow Fluid's control had worn off, and he felt awful. But at that moment, he was the center of attention across the entire Martial Practice Field.
He turned and walked off the arena.
The disciples blocking his way instinctively parted to either side. Their mocking, pitying looks had all turned to awe.
As he passed Instructor Wu, Li Pingsheng stopped.
Instructor Wu's face was deathly pale. He instinctively took half a step back.
Li Pingsheng asked, "Instructor Wu, did I win this match?"
"Y-yes, you won. The first match goes to Li Pingsheng."
Instructor Wu involuntarily avoided Li Pingsheng's gaze, and his hand instinctively retreated into his sleeve.
At that, Li Pingsheng's Synesthesia talent picked up on it.
A cold, rotten, blood-tinged aura seeped from Instructor Wu's sleeve.
Li Pingsheng knew that scent well. He had sensed it around the Dragon Locking Well and on the demonic beasts in the Black Mist Forest.
What did the turbid energy in the earth's ley lines smell like? Or was it the aura of those Gu masters—something mysterious?
The Hall Master, wearing a Bronze Mask, had remained silent the entire time from his seat in the stands.
He glanced at the empty seat, then at Li Pingsheng's departing figure, tapping his fingers against the wooden armrest.
"Heh. This kid's got some promise."
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