The entire crowd was stunned

Chen Tie stepped forward, ready to take the stage.

"Chen Tie, don't go!"

A hand caught his arm. It was Shen Yan, whose injuries had yet to heal.

Shen Yan's breathing was still erratic, his eyes filled with urgency and worry.

"I know you're strong, but he's a flesh refining greater mastery martial artist, and his combat strength far surpasses others at the same level!"

"If the martial hall loses, then it loses. It's only a ranking in a tournament, a few resources put up as stakes!"

"If you're severely injured and your foundation is damaged, the loss won't be worth the gain. Your safety matters more than anything!"

Zhou Hu, Li Shan, and Yu Shi, who had just been defeated, hurried over as well, all trying to dissuade him.

"Junior Brother, don't push yourself! His late burst is vicious and follows no rules. It can easily injure you!"

"We all gave it everything we had. There's no shame in being outmatched!"

"If you end up badly injured and it delays your lifelong martial prospects, it won't be worth it!"

The three urged him one after another. None of his fellow disciples present thought he could win. Only Xu Da, who had been watching silently all along, spoke up.

"Let him go."

Everyone froze, turning toward Xu Da.

Xu Da's gaze settled on the composed Chen Tie.

"Even if Junior Brother Chen is outmatched, this will be martial experience no amount of gold could buy. If he can't win, he can just concede before it's too late."

Chen Tie gently pushed Shen Yan's hand away and bowed slightly to his fellow disciples.

"Rest assured, brothers. I know my limits. Our martial hall cannot lose any more face."

Chen Tie leaped up and landed on the bluestone platform.

Zhou Han looked Chen Tie up and down, his face full of sneering mockery.

"What? Has the Fierce Tiger Martial Hall run out of people, so they sent up anyone to make up the numbers? You look like you're only at flesh refining entry, yet you dare challenge someone at flesh refining greater mastery?"

Zhang Changfeng frowned, intending to stop him.

But since Mo Hong dared let him take the stage, he presumably had some ability.

"Begin!"

Zhou Han wasted no words. He lunged forward!

"Blazing Mountain Mountain-Crushing Fist!"

His fists were fierce and domineering, his blood Qi surging, even more violently than that of the previous disciples. His fists sent the air trembling fiercely as they blasted straight toward Chen Tie's face!

Zhou Han followed the Blazing Mountain Martial Hall's usual approach: steadily engage and drain his opponent early on, then wait until the final moment when blood Qi was heavily depleted to unleash the pill's medicinal power and defeat his opponent in one move.

Chen Tie remained unhurried, moving sideways and pacing his advances and retreats. Facing the storm-like onslaught, he evaded whenever he could and met it head-on whenever he could not.

After dozens of exchanges, Zhou Han grew increasingly alarmed.

The man before him actually possessed the strength of flesh refining greater mastery too.

His punches were heavy and powerful, every strike fierce, yet he could not shake Chen Tie in the slightest.

This man's footwork, evasions, and grasp of timing far surpassed those of flesh refining martial artists. He was frighteningly steady.

Still, both men's blood Qi was rapidly dwindling in tandem. Following his usual routine, Zhou Han deliberately held some strength in reserve, waiting for the decisive moment.

The spectators held their breath and watched. Everyone was certain the outcome was already decided. It was the exact same script again: at the last moment, the Blazing Mountain disciple would suddenly erupt and win an overwhelming victory.

In the VIP seats, the various hall masters and trading house managers watched coldly, waiting for the Fierce Tiger Martial Hall's final crushing defeat.

A cold smile of assured victory hung on Yue Zhengshan's lips as he quietly watched the show.

At last, the prolonged exchange neared its end.

Zhou Han's gaze turned vicious, and the medicinal power hidden within his body erupted!

Boom!!

His skin and flesh turned scarlet, and his blood Qi surged by several tenths, far beyond ordinary flesh refining greater mastery. His fist force tore through the air, crashing down with the might to crush everything!

"Collapse Peaks and Shatter Mountains and Rivers!"

The entire crowd erupted!

"Here it comes! That sudden burst again!"

"This Fierce Tiger Martial Hall disciple is bound to lose!"

Just as everyone believed the outcome was settled, something unexpected happened.

Pure blood Qi far surpassing the flesh refining realm surged from Chen Tie!

His sinews and bones trembled, his skin and flesh flexed, and the pressure of an entirely new realm spread outward!

The bone forging realm!

The true cultivation he had never publicly revealed was exposed at this moment!

Zhou Han's pupils abruptly contracted. He was utterly horrified!

The gulf between flesh refining and bone forging was too vast. In Duchang City, someone in the bone forging realm had already joined the ranks of true martial powerhouses. It was a threshold countless flesh refining martial artists could never touch in their lifetimes!

Before the violent fist force could reach him, Chen Tie layered the strength of his sinews and bones and met it head-on with a simple, domineering punch!

Bang!!

The two forces collided with a crash!

After the thunderous impact, Zhou Han's violent blood Qi instantly collapsed!

Zhou Han's entire body shook violently, his blood Qi flowing backward and his meridians stabbing with pain. Disbelief covered his face.

The next instant, Chen Tie followed through, closing in and releasing another burst of force.

His palm struck Zhou Han's chest!

Crack. A faint sound of fracturing bone rang out.

Like a kite with its string cut, Zhou Han flew backward off the platform and slammed heavily into the ground, blood spraying from his mouth as his entire body convulsed.

The entire martial training ground fell deathly silent!

The spectators below stood tongue-tied and wide-eyed, not a sound to be heard!

No one had expected this seemingly unremarkable Fierce Tiger Martial Hall disciple to have already broken through to the bone forging realm!

After that brief, deathly silence, earthshaking cheers and uproarious discussion instantly exploded throughout the grounds.

"Bone forging! He's actually in the bone forging realm!"

"Bone forging at such a young age! What kind of monstrous talent is this?!"

"No wonder he dared take the stage. He wasn't fighting a stronger opponent at all. He was crushing him with his realm!"

On the raised dais, the masters of several martial halls turned and cupped their hands toward the composed Mo Hong in congratulations.

"Mo Laohu, what a fine disciple! A peerless genius!"

"A bone forging disciple-his future is limitless! Congratulations!"

Countless envious gazes fell upon Chen Tie on the platform.

Only Yue Zhengshan looked livid, staring fixedly at Chen Tie as hatred churned in his eyes.

"A bone forging disciple. Mo Laohu hid him far too well!"

He had never imagined the Fierce Tiger Martial Hall was hiding such a trump card!

But so what if he's just entered bone forging?

My Blazing Mountain Martial Hall still has one final disciple in reserve!

A vicious gleam flashed through Yue Zhengshan's eyes, and he barked coldly.

"Send him onto the stage!"

Among the Blazing Mountain Martial Hall's ranks, a martial artist whose entire body was condensed like iron slowly rose and stepped onto the platform.

Yue Feng was tall and powerfully built, his skin and flesh tempered to their peak, his blood Qi as deep and dense as the sea. He was only a hair's breadth from breaking through his shackles and entering the bone forging realm!

Flesh refining perfection peak! Half-step bone forging!

He had already trained his fist technique to greater mastery, and the force throughout his body was perfectly integrated without any leakage. He was the Blazing Mountain Martial Hall's true genius, having never taken pills, his foundation pure and substantial.

Yue Feng's gaze was icy, his voice carrying throughout the grounds.

"You've only just entered bone forging. Your foundation is unstable, and your realm is hollow."

"Perfect. I'll use you, a newly advanced bone forging martial artist, as my whetstone. Today, I'll step over you, break through my shackles, and enter bone forging!"

The entire crowd erupted!

"Good heavens, he's trying to challenge a bone forging expert at flesh refining perfection!"

"How does he dare? Can that even work?!"

The hall masters all understood Yue Zhengshan's intentions.

Yue Feng had been stuck at flesh refining perfection for years. All he lacked was a bloody battle, the pressure of life and death to break through. Chen Tie, who had only just advanced into bone forging, was the perfect opportunity for that breakthrough!

Chen Tie narrowed his eyes slightly, seeing through his opponent's intentions.

"You want to use me as a whetstone? I'm afraid your blade isn't hard enough."

Looking at the two men's stances, Zhang Changfeng could only speak.

"Begin!"

Before his voice had faded, Yue Feng moved.

There was no probing. He opened directly with a killing move!

"Blazing Peak Thousandfold Collapse!"

His shoulders and hips moved as one, his waist twisting as all the perfected blood Qi in his body poured through his arms. His fist force layered upon itself, each layer heavier than the last.

Unlike the other disciples' single straight punches, his punches came extremely fast: three consecutive blows, one striking high toward the face, one at the chest, and one low at the dantian. All three points pressed in together, sealing every angle of evasion Chen Tie had.

His fists tore through the air with a piercing whistle. The immense physical strength of flesh refining perfection unfolded in full, and the force beneath his feet shook loose fine sand from the platform's bluestone, sending it rolling.

The spectators below instantly held their breath.

"So fast! That's the rhythm of a fist technique at greater mastery!"

"Those earlier disciples can't compare to Yue Feng at all. This is a true heaven's chosen!"

Chen Tie's gaze sharpened as he assessed the level of his opponent's force.

Genuine flesh refining perfection peak, with substantial force and no openings in his moves.