"Third match, Wang Yunbiao versus Qi Feng!"
Qi Feng walked unhurriedly onto the fighting platform. His gaze swept over the Shen Lineage, a chilling smile on his lips.
"It's him-Mountain-Opening Palm Qi Feng!"
"I heard he's reached Flesh Refining Greater Mastery, and his Mountain-Opening Palm has reached the pinnacle of perfection. He's even killed martial artists at Flesh Refining Greater Mastery!"
"The Shen Lineage is in for it now!"
Shen Zhen's face was livid. The matchups had originally been decided in advance, but contestants could still be changed before the fight.
The Lin Family's original contestant for the third match had only been a reasonably capable martial artist. Thinking about it now, they had never intended to fight a third match, expecting to win the first two outright. Now, they had made a last-minute substitution to secure victory.
"Shen Lineage Head, I'm afraid I'm no match for this man."
Wang Yunbiao spoke with a bitter expression, then took out the thousand taels and returned them with both hands.
Shen Zhen nodded helplessly. Wang Yunbiao had not been his first choice, but the younger generation of Flesh Refining practitioners in his Lineage had failed to measure up. The other martial artists in the city had all refused to help upon hearing they would be fighting the Lin Family.
Shen Yan stepped forward. "Let me go. I'm at the Flesh Refining Realm too!"
Shen Zhen waved his hand. "You've only just broken through. You're no match for him. You'll only suffer serious injuries. It isn't worth it."
Shen Zhen's gaze flickered. As things stood, he feared he would have to hand over the rights to the docks.
"Second Senior Brother, let me go!"
Chen Tie stepped forward, rousing the blood and Qi within him without concealing his cultivation stage.
"You rascal! Junior Brother Chen, when did you break through to the Flesh Refining Realm?"
Shen Yan was stunned at first, then excitedly clapped Chen Tie on the shoulder.
"I got lucky and happened to make a breakthrough."
A gleam flashed through Shen Zhen's eyes. He placed both hands on Chen Tie's shoulders and felt a powerful surge of blood and Qi coursing through him.
This was already close to Flesh Refining Greater Mastery!
"Brother Chen, sorry for the trouble!"
Chen Tie leaped onto the fighting platform.
"Who's this? I don't recognize him."
"Perhaps he's their trump card. Anyone coming out for the final match must be an expert."
The spectators whispered among themselves.
Qi Feng raised his hand and thrust out a palm. The wind from his palm was thick and gentle, yet carried a fierce presence. His force spread outward, firmly sealing off the way ahead.
Chen Tie's gaze sharpened. His right hand unleashed a Fierce Tiger Straight Punch, its force firm and concentrated as it crashed into the palm wind.
Boom!
The instant fist and palm collided, invisible force rippled outward, and both men felt a jolt of alarm.
Qi Feng felt his opponent's fist force remain concentrated without dispersing, rounded and full. Every inch of exertion was just right, without the slightest awkwardness or opening-this was a sign of greater mastery in fist techniques.
Chen Tie thought to himself, Qi Feng's palm movements ebb and flow at will, hardness hidden within softness. His palm technique has long since reached the pinnacle of perfection. He's far beyond an ordinary expert.
"Greater mastery in both fist and palm techniques!"
The martial artists watching from outside the platform cried out.
Shen Yan was utterly stunned. Junior Brother Chen had already become this strong.
Among the spectators, Xiao Yue's face was filled with disbelief. This Junior Brother Chen, whose aptitude was utterly ordinary, had not only broken through to the Flesh Refining Realm but had also achieved greater mastery in his fist technique—a level even Zhang Long had yet to reach.
A faint trace of regret rose within her. Perhaps she should have spread her investments around back then. However, she quickly suppressed that feeling.
Since she had already invested everything in Junior Brother Zhang Long, she could no longer let her heart wander. Besides, given Chen Tie's aptitude, reaching his current stage was probably already his limit.
After their brief probing exchange, neither man held back any longer, and they fought with all their strength.
Chen Tie sank his waist and lowered his hips, lunging forward with both fists striking like tiger claws. This was Fierce Tiger Leaping Body from the Fierce Tiger Fist Art. Combining offense and defense, this move could tear or lock, targeting the opponent's arms, shoulders, and neck. It could both block and wrench apart the opponent's force.
Qi Feng did not dare take it head-on. With a slight pivot of his feet, he shifted sideways, avoiding a direct collision with the fists. At the same time, he turned both palms over. His left palm feinted a guiding motion, brushing along the outside of the tiger-fist practitioner's wrist before drawing it outward, using soft force to redirect his charge. His right palm concealed a heavy force as it sliced toward the elbow along the joints of his opponent's arm.
This was a bone-dislocating, force-guiding technique from Mountain-Opening Palm. Rather than meeting strength with strength, he intended to use Chen Tie's forward momentum to draw his center of gravity forward, then cut at his elbow to force him to withdraw his move.
Chen Tie's expression shifted slightly. The palm force clung to his wrist, causing his ferocious punch to miss its mark. He immediately sank his waist and drew back his arm, preventing his opponent's palm force from locking onto his elbow. Then he changed moves, smashing a fist downward with force as heavy as a mountain, meeting his opponent's palm head-on to shatter the force surrounding his body.
Bang.
Fist force crashed head-on into palm wind. The tremendous force drove downward, cracking the ground for several zhang. Qi Feng felt both arms go numb and could not help retreating a step.
Chen Tie pressed his advantage. Landing, he turned sideways and spun, sweeping his right fist across like a Fierce Tiger Tail Swing. The broad sweep targeted the waist and ribs, cutting off Qi Feng's room to dodge to either side.
Seeing this, Qi Feng sank half an inch, crossing and stacking his palms to meet the blow at an outward angle. The edges of his palms pressed against the outside of the punching arm, sliding along the sweep to shed its tremendous force. Using that momentum, his right palm lightly struck at the opening beside Chen Tie's waist.
Chen Tie had no choice but to withdraw his fist to defend. His arms curved inward, his fists drawing back to gather force before suddenly crashing forward together toward Qi Feng's chest and abdomen.
Qi Feng thrust both palms out at once. Rather than blocking the fists head-on, his palms pressed against either of the tiger-fist practitioner's upper arms. His palm force parted outward, redirecting his opponent's forward momentum to either side.
Chen Tie felt a supple force coil around both arms, trying to forcibly break apart their closing force. At the same time, Qi Feng secretly gathered force in the heels of his palms and pressed against his upper-arm joints, preventing him from bringing his arms together to exert strength.
He could only withdraw his force and retreat, putting distance between them again.
Chen Tie steadied his breathing. His fists carried fierce force, and the blood and Qi within him seethed in rolling waves, each higher than the last, as he attacked without pause.
But Qi Feng's force-redirection technique was far too exquisite. He always managed to divert the power before the fists struck his body. Despite attacking fiercely for twenty exchanges, Chen Tie still could not seriously injure him.
The two fighters fell into a prolonged battle. Chen Tie fought with ever-mounting ferocity, yet his sustained assault failed to bring victory. Xu Feng knew his Mountain-Opening Palm lacked the ferocity of Fierce Tiger Fist and held no advantage in a head-on clash, but he relied on his exquisite force-redirection skills as he kept searching for a suitable chance to counterattack.
Everyone watching from the sidelines held their breath, their eyes locked on the two combatants.
"Both of them have reached greater mastery in their martial techniques!"
"That fist technique is absolutely ferocious. How can it be so strong?"
"The palm technique is even more profound. It neutralizes that fierce fist force every time. It's unbelievable!"
As time passed, the two had already fought more than thirty exchanges.
Chen Tie knew his opponent refused to clash head-on, making it difficult to defeat him quickly. He did not want to reveal any more trump cards either, so he planned to wear his opponent down in a prolonged battle, then secure victory with a single strike.
Across from him, Qi Feng's expression was dark. Despite maintaining this offensive, his opponent showed no sign of flagging from his expenditure of blood, Qi, and force. Qi Feng could only swallow his bitterness.
Relying on his greater-mastery palm technique to continually redirect force made him look composed, but in truth, it consumed his blood and Qi extremely quickly. Redirecting force with softness taxed the mind most of all. The continuous blocking gradually made the blood and Qi within him sluggish, and his palm movements quietly slowed a fraction. Tiny gaps appeared in the dense web of palm shadows.
A gleam flashed in Chen Tie's eyes. He unleashed Fierce Tiger Leaping Body as a feint, his blood and Qi surging outward like a tiger's roar, baiting Qi Feng into raising his hands to redirect the fierce force of his fists.
Just as his fists were about to strike his opponent's palms, Chen Tie suddenly unleashed his killing move, Fierce Tiger Mountain-Splitting Seal-both fists abruptly opened into palms, blood and Qi gathering in them like red-hot irons as they struck out like a fierce tiger unleashing its gathered strength.
Qi Feng had not expected the sudden change in the attack. His deft redirection caught nothing, and he hurriedly raised his palms to protect himself. But those red-hot-iron palms broke through his soft palm wind, their fierce force blasting his arms apart before striking him square in the chest.
Qi Feng's body instantly flew out of the fighting area. The tremendous power shattered his breastbone, and fierce force invaded his body. He could not help coughing up a mouthful of blood before falling unconscious.
The spectators marveled. Many stared with wide eyes, still unable to come to their senses.
"Third match, victory to the Shen Lineage!"