Deriving the True Subduing Tiger Fist

The slaughter on the arena gradually subsided.

One figure after another was knocked down from the elevated platform.

When only fifty figures remained on the arena, the elder onstage announced loudly, "The preliminary round is over! These fifty advance to the semifinals!"

Earth-shaking cheers erupted.

Shen Yuan slowly opened his eyes and rose to his feet. The wounds on his body still throbbed faintly, but after regulating his breathing, more than half of his blood and vitality had recovered.

After jumping down from the arena, Wang Dong rushed over from the waiting area, his face filled with excitement and lingering fear.

"Shen Yuan! You were incredible! My heart was in my throat during that fight! Zhao Kun sent three people to surround and kill you, yet you knocked every one of them down!" Wang Dong looked over Shen Yuan's wounds, then hurriedly pulled out some bandages. "Quick, get them wrapped up. The semifinals will begin soon."

Shen Yuan let Wang Dong simply treat his superficial wounds.

Quite a few of the disciples who had advanced cast complicated looks his way. There was admiration, jealousy, and deep wariness.

"So that's Shen Yuan, a servant who defeated three Body Tempering Seventh Layer fighters." "He was clearly a cripple with shattered bone roots—how could he be this strong?"

Whispers rose without end.

Not far away, Liu Er stood at the edge of the crowd, his expression utterly unsightly. He had been certain Shen Yuan would be crippled and eliminated in the preliminary round, that he would win their wager without question. But now Shen Yuan had passed the preliminary round fair and square, with only one step left before clearing the assessment.

Unease filled Liu Er's heart. He quietly retreated to one side and sent someone to secretly deliver a message to Zhao Kun.

Shen Yuan saw it, but paid it no mind.

"The semifinals are one-on-one arena matches decided by drawing lots." Wang Dong held a notice in his hand. "I just asked around. The opponents vary greatly in strength, but there are quite a few Body Tempering Eighth Layer experts."

Shen Yuan nodded.

He now had 11 Martial Dao Points in hand.

Within his sea of consciousness, the Heavenly Stele displayed a prompt: [8 Martial Dao Points may be consumed to derive the advanced martial art of Subduing Tiger Fist—True Subduing Tiger Fist.]

Eight points. Shen Yuan weighed the matter inwardly.

After the derivation, only 3 points would remain. The cost was not small, but the True Subduing Tiger Fist was far more powerful than the ordinary Subduing Tiger Fist. It would be his greatest trump card in the semifinals and even the finals.

"Wang Dong, keep the others away for me. I need to regulate my breathing for a moment. Don't let anyone approach," Shen Yuan instructed in a low voice.

"Understood! Leave it to me!" Wang Dong immediately stood in front of Shen Yuan. His plump body blocked the way as his wary gaze swept over the surroundings, keeping idle onlookers from coming near.

Shen Yuan found a patch of shade beneath a large tree, sat down cross-legged, and sank his consciousness into the Martial Arts Simulation Space.

"Consume 8 Martial Dao Points to derive the True Subduing Tiger Fist."

Buzz—

Eight Martial Dao Points were deducted instantly. Remaining Martial Dao Points: 3.

Within the simulated void, countless phantoms emerged. They no longer merely repeated the moves of the Subduing Tiger Fist. Instead, upon the foundation of the original fist art, they amplified the explosive force of blood and vitality, recombined the meridians through which power was exerted, and evolved what had once been an external fist art into an advanced martial art cultivated both internally and externally.

Countless trials and errors, countless phantoms shattering apart.

Only the time of a single incense stick passed in the outside world, yet dozens of days and nights had already been spent honing it within the Martial Arts Simulation Space.

[Derivation complete. Advanced martial art acquired: True Subduing Tiger Fist. Fist technique power greatly increased. Blood and vitality burst strength increased by sixty percent. Can unleash impact exceeding one's own realm for a short time.]

A vast comprehension of fist techniques flooded Shen Yuan's soul like a raging torrent.

Shen Yuan abruptly opened his eyes and lightly clenched his fists. The blood and vitality of the Body Tempering Sixth Layer within him stirred restlessly, as if it had found an entirely new outlet.

The True Subduing Tiger Fist was his.

Just then, several outer sect disciples strode over and surrounded him, their expressions hostile.

"Shen Yuan, stop right there!" The brocade-clad disciple at their head spoke in a mocking tone. "You're nothing but a servant, yet you can use such an exquisite fist technique. Could it be a martial art you stole? That old case of you stealing cultivation manuals three years ago—could it have been true after all?"

This man was Zhao Kun's confidant. Seeing Shen Yuan shine brightly in the preliminary round, with no excuse to make a move on the arena, he seized upon the old case from three years ago, intending to pin the stigma of stealing cultivation manuals on him.

In an instant, a large crowd of disciples gathered around to watch the spectacle.

"Stole cultivation manuals?" "No wonder his fist technique is so formidable—it was stolen."

Rumors sprang up everywhere.

Wang Dong was so anxious that his face turned red. "You're talking nonsense! Shen Yuan never stole any cultivation manuals!"

The brocade-clad disciple sneered. "If he didn't steal it, then where did this fist technique, far surpassing the ordinary Subduing Tiger Fist, come from? The Servant Compound can only receive the Basic Tiger-Subduing Fist! If he can't explain it, then he stole it! This should be reported to the Law Enforcement Hall!"

Once such a massive accusation was placed upon him, if it were proven, then even if he passed the preliminary round, he would still be stripped of his qualifications and might even be thrown into the punishment chambers.

Liu Er stood far behind the crowd, a sinister smile curling at his lips as he waited to see Shen Yuan unable to defend himself.

Shen Yuan's expression remained calm as he stepped forward.

"My fist technique was derived from the Basic Tiger-Subduing Fist through relentless tempering. It was not stolen. Words alone prove nothing—I can demonstrate it for everyone."

His gaze swept toward a waist-high azure arena testing stone nearby.

Everyone turned to look at the huge stone.

"Hmph, honeyed words. What can a stone possibly prove?" the brocade-clad disciple scoffed.

Shen Yuan said no more. He sank his waist, planted his stance, and activated the True Subduing Tiger Fist.

All the blood and vitality of his Body Tempering Sixth Layer poured into his fist.

"Ha!"

He threw a punch with a thunderous roar!

Boom!!

A muffled explosion rang out!

His fist smashed viciously into the surface of the azure boulder.

Dense, spiderweb-like cracks instantly spread across the entire stone.

Crack!

The waist-high bluestone split apart from the middle, and shattered rocks clattered onto the ground.

The entire venue fell silent.

Everyone's eyes widened as they stared blankly at the rubble covering the ground.

A Body Tempering Sixth Layer fighter had shattered such a large testing stone with one punch. Even many at the Body Tempering Eighth Layer might not be able to accomplish that.

Shen Yuan withdrew his fist, his breathing rising and falling slightly as he looked at the brocade-clad disciple.

"This fist technique is a variation I comprehended by repeatedly honing the Basic Tiger-Subduing Fist. If you believe I stole it, then why don't you use the ordinary Subduing Tiger Fist to break a stone for everyone to see?"

The brocade-clad disciple's face turned green, then white. His lips trembled, but he could not say a single word.

He was at the Body Tempering Seventh Layer, yet even he could not shatter that boulder with one punch.

The surrounding disciples erupted in an uproar, and the tide of discussion instantly reversed.

"So he really did temper and derive it himself!" "To train a basic fist art to such a level—what terrifying comprehension!"

Under everyone's gaze, the brocade-clad disciple lost all face and slunk out of the crowd in disgrace.

The smile on Liu Er's face froze completely in the distance, and a sense of foreboding rose in his heart.

Shen Yuan looked toward the elevated platform. The semifinal drawing was about to begin. His stone-shattering punch had already drawn the attention of the entire venue. His opponents in the semifinals would certainly regard him as their greatest enemy.