A Bloody Battle of Skin Refining

The western city square seethed with voices. Twenty-five martial halls from the five wards had gathered here, and the Martial Hall Grand Competition officially began.

Spectator stands surrounded the broad bluestone arena, packed with stewards, martial artists, and commoners there to watch the excitement.

The competitors in this tournament were divided into just two tiers: Skin Refining and the Flesh Refining Realm.

The Skin Refining disciples competed first, not merely to determine winners and losers, but more importantly to display their foundations and potential.

Stewards from the major powers inside and outside the city sat in the stands, their eyes constantly sweeping over the young disciples in the arena as they quietly selected those worth nurturing. Once someone caught their eye, they would invest in and support them.

The bouts between Flesh Refining martial artists, however, were the focus of the entire tournament. Every victory and defeat directly affected the martial halls' standings and was central to deciding the final rankings.

As for Bone Forging martial artists, they were the highest-level fighting force of any power and rarely entered the arena to compete.

Chen Tie looked around, observing the situation.

Besides the martial halls, many large and small Lineages had also come to watch, though the Five Great Aristocratic Families of the inner city had merely sent a few stewards.

The masters of the various martial halls sat on the raised platform at the very front, serving as the tournament's judges.

At that moment, one of the elders rose to announce the rules.

He was the previous tournament's champion, Zhang Changfeng, master of the Wind-Chasing Martial Hall.

"The rules are the same as in previous years!"

"The disciples leading the twenty-five teams will all come up to draw lots. The bamboo lots are numbered one through twenty-five, and matches will be paired in numerical order."

"The two opposing martial halls may freely send disciples up in rotation, with no limit on the number of appearances or the order in which they compete."

"This round ends when the competing disciple on one side is defeated or concedes."

At one side of the arena, several judges held bamboo tubes as representatives of all the martial halls stepped forward in turn to draw lots.

The bamboo lots clattered against one another. Representing his martial hall, Shen Yan reached into a tube and drew one out. He looked down to find the character for "seven" carved into it.

"Lot number seven."

Before long, all twenty-five martial halls had finished drawing lots and registering their information.

"The competition now begins. Skin Refining martial artists will face off."

The judge drew two lots.

"Green Wood Martial Hall versus Wind-Splitting Martial Hall!"

The first two youths to enter the arena were both around sixteen, Skin Refining martial artists with taut skin and flesh, long, steady breathing, and firm foundations.

The two cupped their hands and introduced themselves.

"Wan Zhou, disciple of the Green Wood Martial Hall."

"Yuan Xiaohu, disciple of the Wind-Splitting Martial Hall."

"Begin!" the judge called loudly.

Yuan Xiaohu seized the initiative, driving forward with a punch. His five fingers curled into claws, his skin and flesh tightened, and his entire hand took on a firm sheen.

His fingertips tore through the air toward the vital points of Wan Zhou's shoulder and neck. The attack was vicious and cunning, an introductory killing move of the Fierce Claw Martial Hall.

Wan Zhou remained composed. He planted his stance firmly, straightened his waist and back, and crossed his arms to block.

The skin and flesh of his arms tightened like hardwood as he took the force of the claw head-on, then used it to turn sideways and keep his vital points out of reach.

Yuan Xiaohu unleashed three claw attacks in succession, each aimed at joints, meridians, or vulnerable ribs, his assault as dense as the wind.

Wan Zhou defended steadily throughout, neither impatient nor restless. His stance did not budge as he deflected every attack.

Before long, Yuan Xiaohu's breathing grew ragged. His relentless attacks exhausted his strength, and the excessive tension in his skin and flesh began to stiffen his movements.

Now!

Wan Zhou's gaze sharpened. Seizing the chance to counterattack, he lowered his shoulder slightly, turned sideways to close in, and drove his elbow out with the motion.

His elbow struck precisely at the opening in Qiu Xiaohu's chest.

Thud!

Yuan Xiaohu let out a muffled grunt, the blood in his chest and abdomen churning. He retreated three steps in succession, his legs weakened and stumbled, and he fell right at the edge of the arena.

Before he could recover, Wan Zhou closed in and sent him flying out.

The judge announced loudly, "Green Wood Martial Hall-Wan Zhou wins!"

In the stands, quite a few trading house stewards nodded slightly and discussed in low voices.

"This Wan Zhou has an extremely solid foundation in Skin Refining. He's neither rash nor impatient. He's worth molding."

"The Wind-Splitting Martial Hall disciple was clearly a notch stronger. If he can temper his disposition, I think he has a bright future too."

The various powers quietly searched for suitable candidates.

"Second match: Falling Star Martial Hall versus Thick Earth Martial Hall!"

A man and a woman soon entered the arena.

"Falling Star Martial Hall: Xu Xiaoxing."

"Thick Earth Martial Hall: Pang Shi."

The moment Pang Shi entered the arena, he sank his waist into a horse stance and guarded his chest with both arms. His skin and flesh bulged, hard and firm; clearly, he specialized in defensive hard-body arts.

"No one at the same realm can break our Thick Earth Martial Hall's Skin Refining defenses! Come at me all you like!"

Xu Xiaoxing remained calm, moving lightly around the arena.

Pang Shi attacked first, his fists pumping as he hammered out blows with brute force.

His punches carried a heavy wind that made the air hum, relying purely on overwhelming Skin Refining brute strength.

Xu Xiaoxing moved nimbly, repeatedly slipping sideways to evade the heavy punches. Both palms rose and fell rapidly, their wind swift and tightly woven.

The strikes targeted weak points alone, repeatedly slapping the vulnerable junctions of skin and flesh on Pang Shi's knuckles, wrists, shoulders, and neck.

Pang Shi weathered numerous palm strikes. On the surface, he seemed unharmed, but his arms' skin and flesh were actually going numb, his blood flow was obstructed, and openings gradually appeared in his heavy defense.

Xu Xiaoxing seized an opening as he raised his hand, slid sideways, and planted a palm precisely against the soft tendons beneath his armpit.

Smack!

Pang Shi's entire body stiffened. His arm lost its strength, his protective force collapsed, and his balance failed.

Thud, thud, thud.

His massive body toppled backward and fell out of the arena!

"Falling Star Martial Hall wins!"

Pang Houshan's expression darkened, and he snorted. "A mere trick. In actual Skin Refining combat, brute strength is ultimately the foundation!"

Those beside him shook their heads. "Finding an opening and overcoming strength with skill-that is martial talent."

Several more matches followed, all between male martial artists.

When the White Leaf Boxing Hall's turn came, a white-clad girl entered the arena.

Bai Lu was sixteen, with Skin Refining at major accomplishment, delicate features, and luminous white skin. Her white martial outfit accentuated her slender, upright figure, making her especially striking against the rough arena.

An uproar instantly rose from the stands.

"It's a female disciple from the White Leaf Martial Hall! I hear this Bai Lu is one of the ward's finest budding beauties!"

"Why would such a pretty girl come to the arena to get beaten?"

Lei Hu entered for the Rushing Thunder Martial Hall. His Skin Refining was at perfection, his skin and flesh dark and taut. He cupped his fists as soon as he stepped up.

"In an arena match, there are no men or women, only victory and defeat. Please make your move!"

Bai Lu attacked first. Her palm movements were gentle and flowing, relying on skillful force and using softness to deflect hardness. This was the White Leaf Boxing Hall's signature fist art.

Her moves were nimble, her advances and retreats graceful, drawing repeated cheers from many of the youths below.

"Beautiful! Not just her looks-her moves are beautiful too!"

"Go easy, you Rushing Thunder brat! Don't hurt her!"

But Lei Hu had no idea what it meant to cherish fragrant blossoms and tender jade.

He blasted out a fierce, overbearing punch, smashing straight through Bai Ling's soft palm force.

Thud!

Bai Lu shuddered, her fair arm going numb and her blood churning. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.

"I... I lost."

The instant she finished speaking, a wave of sighs swept through the crowd.

"Ouch! He really could bring himself to hit her!"

"Couldn't he give such a pretty young girl a move? He has no idea how to cherish fragrant blossoms and tender jade!"

"The Rushing Thunder Martial Hall is far too rough! Not a trace of grace!"

Facing everyone's condemnation, Lei Hu looked embarrassed and hurried out of the arena.

So much so that, in the next few matches featuring female martial artists, the male martial artists tried to show mercy and lost their bouts.

But the next two martial artists to enter the arena fought until their tempers truly flared.

Onstage, Lin Feng used his speed to stick close and harry his opponent, every punch aimed straight at joints and vulnerable ribs; Shi Mang relied on his hard-body arts to endure, every strike a desperate attack meant to take his opponent down with him.

In just over twenty exchanges, both men's breathing fell into complete disarray. Their chests heaved violently, and blood rushed into their faces, turning them burning red like glowing coals.

Their moves lost all order, their attacks and defenses all restraint, leaving only the most primitive slaughter.

Lin Feng's eyes gradually turned crimson, blinded by bloodlust. Abandoning his own defense, he wildly hammered out punches, snarling and roaring like a mad demon.

Shi Mang likewise lost control completely. Ignoring the wounds covering his body, he poured every ounce of his flesh's brute strength into each punch, wanting only to beat his opponent to the ground.

Before long, both were bleeding without cease.

"Enough! Stop!"

The judge onstage shouted sternly!

The two men onstage turned deaf ears to him and continued trading punches in their savage fight.

"This is bad! Those two brats have gone mad fighting!"

"They're vicious! Is this a match or a fight to the death?"

"Someone's going to die if they keep fighting!"

In the stands, Shi Xiong, master of the Boulder Martial Hall, and Ling Changfeng, master of the Wind-Chasing Boxing Hall, rose at the same time, leaped onto the arena, and each restrained one of the fighters.

Even forcibly separated, the two remained taut all over, their teeth grinding audibly, their savage fighting spirit refusing to fade.

Only after several breaths, when their surging blood slowly subsided, did their unfocused eyes regain a little clarity.

Chen Tie's gaze sharpened. He saw that the judges onstage all looked somewhat unnatural.

"Why would martial artists lose their reason and fight so easily?"

In several of the matches that followed, both martial artists likewise lost their reason and fought savagely.

The judges stepped in to stop them several times.

"These matches are great!"

The spectators merely thought both sides were taking things too seriously, and the fierce, bloody battles instead sent their excitement soaring.