A bout between Flesh Refining martial artists

"Fierce Tiger Martial Hall versus White Crane Martial Arts Hall!"

Hearing this, Chen Tie looked toward the fighting platform.

The boy who took the stage for the Fierce Tiger Martial Hall was named Yun Nan. He was fifteen and had broken through to the Skin Refining Realm in just two months. Chen Tie remembered that when he broke through, Mo Hong had merely offered a few words of encouragement, without any sign of happiness on his face.

After barely a dozen exchanges, Yun Nan lost his reason. His moves fell into chaos as he smashed wildly at the platform, crazed howls pouring from his mouth. The female disciple from the White Crane Martial Arts Hall seized her chance and defeated him in one move.

The spectators below also vaguely sensed something was wrong.

"Again! Another one fighting himself out of control!"

"These Skin Refining disciples are pushing themselves so hard. This is downright sinister!"

"Nothing this strange ever happened in any previous Martial Hall Grand Competition!"

In the stands, the masters of the various martial halls wore grim expressions.

Watching the crazed, out-of-control Yun Nan on the platform, Chen Tie frowned slightly and turned toward Shen Yan.

Shen Yan leaned closer and lowered his voice.

"Another Skin Refining disciple losing control. I remember that Yun Nan broke through by taking New Qi and Blood Pills."

"This new kind of Qi and Blood Pill is circulating through every martial hall in the city's five wards. It's cheap and works extremely fast."

"I personally saw Junior Brother Yun Nan buy these pills at a medicine shop in the ward market. It looks like the martial artists who lost control earlier all took large amounts of them."

A meaningful glint flashed through Chen Tie's eyes.

"So that's it. Competing on the platform would at most make someone impatient and eager to win. It would never rob them of their reason like this. These pills have lingering side effects."

The twenty-five martial hall masters on the dais held an urgent discussion.

"Skin Refining disciples' Qi and blood running wild, driving them out of their minds-this is no coincidence!"

"If we let the Skin Refining disciples keep fighting, someone will definitely be seriously injured today. Someone might even die!"

After the discussion, Zhang Changfeng appeared in the center of the platform, his voice ringing like a great bell.

"After deliberation, we have decided to suspend all Skin Refining Realm bouts."

"We will proceed directly to bouts between Flesh Refining Realm martial artists. Their results will determine the martial halls' final rankings!"

Chen Tie pondered silently.

The largest market for these New Qi and Blood Pills was the lowest-ranking disciples, most of whom were in the Skin Refining Realm.

Flesh Refining martial artists had solid foundations, along with their own established sources of orthodox cultivation methods and pills. The likelihood of problems arising was far too low.

Following this line of thought further, a conjecture arose in Chen Tie's mind.

There was clearly something wrong with the New Qi and Blood Pills, yet from beginning to end, the higher-ups of the city's martial halls had never announced anything publicly, allowing the pills to circulate among their lowest-ranking disciples.

These deeply problematic New Qi and Blood Pills had extremely powerful backing. The forces involved were certainly beyond the ability of ordinary powers to shake.

At that moment, the clamor in the training grounds subsided slightly.

Zhang Changfeng spoke again.

"For the Flesh Refining martial artists' bouts, you may draw lots or issue challenges."

"There is no limit to how many times each martial hall may take the stage. The bouts will continue until one side concedes."

"First match: Rushing Thunder Martial Hall against White Leaf Martial Hall."

The instant the two figures stepped onto the platform, every spectator froze in unison.

With their imposing presence fully unleashed, the two Flesh Refining martial artists stretched out their muscles and bones. The muscles of their limbs were taut and smoothly defined, and a faint sense of pressure spread around them.

"Rushing Thunder Martial Hall, Lei Wen!"

"White Leaf Martial Hall, Ye Shu!"

Lei Wen struck first, charging fiercely toward his opponent. His fists clenched, the muscles of his arms bulged, and Qi and blood surged beneath his skin as his imposing presence soared.

He hurled a punch. Carrying his abundant Qi and blood, the force of his fist compressed the air, blasting out a visible ring of air that shot straight toward Ye Shu's face.

Ye Shu was no ordinary fighter either. She twisted at the waist, tightening the skin and flesh of her entire body. Her arms flew, palm shadows overlapping in layers as yielding force wrapped around hard strength to dissipate the attack layer by layer.

The wind from her palms was dense and heavy. Every palm strike carried tremendous, tangible bodily strength, and each collision erupted in booming reports!

Boom! Bang! Thud!

The two fought at close quarters. Dust kept bursting across the platform, and every collision made the entire bluestone slab tremble slightly.

Lei Wen's fierce punches could cleave mountains and split stone. Every blow forced Ye Shu to stagger, while her palm technique blended hardness with softness, turning his strength against him. Several times, she forcibly deflected heavy punches powerful enough to injure her muscles and bones.

The spectators were utterly mesmerized. The earlier grumbling vanished as everyone stared fixedly at the platform, unconsciously softening their breathing.

"Heavens! Now this is real martial arts!"

"It's on a completely different level from those Skin Refining kids messing around!"

"Look at that force! One punch could knock the shit out of an ordinary person!"

"No wonder Flesh Refining disciples are the foundation of a martial hall. There's simply no bridging this gap!"

Chen Tie straightened his back, his eyes narrowing slightly as he watched every movement on the platform.

The battle on the platform shifted from moment to moment.

After more than thirty exchanges at close quarters, Ye Shu's palm technique remained skillful, but her reserves of bodily strength, Qi, and blood were slightly inferior. Constantly dissipating his force took an enormous toll. Her arms gradually went numb, and her moves slowed.

Lei Wen seized the opening. His Qi and blood surged as he brought both fists together, pouring all the strength of his muscles and bones into a sudden finishing blow!

The tremendous force of his fists erupted head-on, blasting every palm shadow apart!

Ye Shu shuddered violently, her Qi and blood churning. As though struck by a heavy hammer, she stumbled several steps backward, her legs weakening. Gritting her teeth, she cupped her hands. "I lost."

"Lei Wen of the Rushing Thunder Martial Hall wins!"

Zhang Changfeng announced the result loudly.

The Rushing Thunder Martial Hall and the White Leaf Martial Hall then fought three more bouts. The White Leaf Martial Hall won only one and ultimately had no choice but to concede.

As the match concluded, earthshaking cheers erupted from the crowd.

Before everyone could settle down, the Flesh Refining martial artists for the second match had already taken the stage: Green Bamboo Martial Hall versus Crimson Spear Martial Hall.

Both martial halls used weapons.

The Crimson Spear Martial Hall's Flesh Refining martial artist wielded a short spear, pouring Qi and blood into its shaft. Every thrust carried a sharp whistle through the air, targeting vital points to break his opponent's muscles and bones.

The Green Bamboo Martial Hall's martial artist wielded a long staff, blocking and counterattacking with equal skill in offense and defense. His staff technique was watertight.

It was another high-caliber, bloody battle!

Spears hacked and struck, fists and feet clashed, and the thunderous collisions of Qi and blood rang out without pause. Waves of air surged across the platform with terrifying might.

Chen Tie still watched without blinking, every scene of the fierce fighting on the platform reflected in his pupils.

The two martial halls fought five bouts, with the Green Bamboo Martial Hall ultimately claiming victory.

After this match ended, round followed round. The Flesh Refining disciples of the various martial halls took turns entering the fray, displaying an endless succession of fist techniques, kicking arts, short blades, and grappling moves.

Some martial artists focused on swift, fierce surprise attacks, others excelled at weathering blows and attacking with force, while still others targeted openings at the joints. Their fighting styles all differed.

Chen Tie sat quietly, silently taking in every bout.

He did not merely watch who won or lost. He also distinguished the strengths and weaknesses of each martial hall's cultivation methods: which methods delivered heavy force but left their users vulnerable to being circled from behind; which had agile moves but lacked endurance; which habitually repeated the same moves, and where their openings lay.

"Still, an inch longer is an inch stronger. The Fierce Tiger Martial Hall only has fist techniques. I'll have to learn a weapon in the future."

After watching so many clashes between weapons and bare hands, a thought slowly took root in Chen Tie's mind.

When fighting barehanded, the reach of fists and feet was limited after all.

His gaze continued roaming among the assorted weapons beside the platform as he silently weighed which would best suit his strength and Martial Dao True Intent.

Chen Tie silently weighed his options.

A short spear offered tricky thrusts, stabbing at range and ramming up close, with a balance of offense and defense. It simply demanded extremely sharp eyes and precise footwork.

A dagger was small and easy to conceal, suited to close-range surprise attacks, but against a long weapon, it left its wielder on the back foot at every turn.

An iron staff was plain and unadorned, crushing opponents with hard force. Its moves were simple and easy to learn, but it lacked the might to cleave and slash through armor.

As his thoughts turned, his gaze fell on a martial artist wielding a long saber on the platform.

As that saber chopped down, Qi and blood poured along its blade. Its broad, sweeping movements were fierce and domineering, perfectly matching the path of his Fierce Tiger True Intent.

A sharp gleam flashed in Chen Tie's eyes.

That's the one!