Start with acting, and you'll achieve immortality!

The newly hung bronze number plate transformed into a bright light illuminating the bronze-level area the following night.

The Iron Fist Gang's display of force indeed confirmed Li Ping's prediction that they would "go out sideways."

The bronze section is three times larger than the iron section. The stands are surrounded on all four sides, with iron railings on three sides and a stone wall on the other. A dozen torches are stuck at the base of the wall, illuminating the area in a bright red glow.

There were twice as many gamblers as yesterday, and the front tables were piled high with strings of copper coins and scattered silver ingots.

Qian Duo squatted in the audience, a small bag of loose silver in front of him, his eyes sparkling as he waited for the match to begin.

The same flat-nosed lackey signed up, but this time he was much more polite, bowing and scraping: "Master Li, according to the bronze-level rules, you need to win three consecutive matches in one night to advance to the silver level."

"The signatures are on, let's get straight to the people, no need for further discussion."

"The first match—" the henchman swallowed hard, "waist wrestler 'Half-Mountain Ox'."

The mountain bull entered the arena shirtless; the hair on his chest was thick enough to braid. With every step he took, his flesh trembled.

As soon as the bronze bell rang, he didn't hesitate at all, and rushed forward to embrace her.

Li Ping crouched down and swept his leg across the man's ankle—the man, who resembled Niu Xiaoshan, swayed twice. Li Ping then stood up and struck him on the back of the neck with his elbow.

The cow on the hillside lay on the ground and let out a muffled groan.

Ten breaths, then still.

A chorus of groans erupted from the audience—many had bet on the "Half-Mountain Bull" (a nickname for a bull).

"continue"

Li Ping asked

The henchman's face paled even more: "...It's his junior brother, 'Half-Mountain Leopard'."

Half-Mountain Leopard was a size thinner than his senior, and had a sharp eye.

He learned his lesson and stopped lunging. Instead, he circled around Li Ping, waiting for an opening before suddenly leaping up to lock him down by the waist.

Li Ping stepped forward to lock him up—just as Half-Mountain Leopard's hands gripped his waist, Li Ping grabbed his right wrist, shifted his body, and used the momentum of the other's forward thrust to forcefully twist him.

Click!

The cracking sound of dislocated joints was particularly clear in the noisy arena.

Half-Mountain Leopard's right arm went limp and hung down. He let out a miserable howl, his knees buckled, and he knelt heavily on the stone slab. Cold sweat instantly beaded on his forehead.

Twenty breaths

"Good—" Qian Duo shouted, raising his arms, then quickly lowered his voice, "Sir! You better be careful, I've bet everything on you, if we lose we'll starve tomorrow!"

After the two matches, a commotion broke out in a corner of the Iron Fist Gang's stands.

The foreman, with a gloomy face, whispered a few words to the underlings.

In the third scene, a man wielding two swords emerges from the shadows.

Tall and thin, with narrow blades, one long and one short, the blades gleaming coldly.

Unlike the previous two, he didn't shout or yell; he just stared at Li Ping and walked step by step into the cage.

The bronze bell did not ring.

He made the first move.

With twin swords, one in front and one behind, slashing, chopping, parrying, and thrusting, giving Li Ping no chance to breathe—the rule of a war of attrition: the third round is to finish you off when your stamina is depleted.

Li Pinglian withdrew

Retreating to the stone wall, with nowhere left to go—a smug glint flashed in the dual-wielder's eyes as he drew both swords, aiming straight for the center.

Just as the blade was about to touch his clothes, Li Ping twisted his body to the side and slammed his toes against the rough stone wall.

Pebbles rained down, and he used the momentum to leap two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters) up the wall, twisting and flipping in mid-air, passing over the head of the double-swordsman.

The moment he landed, he lowered his shoulder and elbow, delivering a solid palm strike to the other's back.

The swordsman lunged forward, landing face-first under the torchlight. His swords slipped from his grasp and rolled a considerable distance with a clang.

The entire stadium was deathly silent, then erupted in cheers that nearly lifted the ceiling.

"Three games! Three wins out of three!"

"Who is this deity in the blue robe?"

The dual-wielder, lying on the ground, coughed twice and struggled to raise his head: "You...you just backed up against the wall, were you faking it?"

"If you won't back down, why would you offer your back to me?"

Li Ping took a breath and said honestly, "Did you really think I came here to train with you?"

The dual-wielder almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

The referee finally managed to squeeze out from behind the crowd, raising his hand and shouting, "Jiangning Li Ping, three consecutive wins, promoted to the silver league!"

Li Ping stood in the center of the field, his chest heaving.

The audience only saw his impressive victory, but only he knew that his calves were trembling after that wall kick in the third round—the "gauntlet battle" wasn't just for show; his spiritual energy had been burning through his meridians for three rounds, and his dantian felt as sour as if it had been filled with vinegar.

But he knew that after the third match, the barrier in his dantian that had been stuck for two days had been worn away by the series of tough battles—the spiritual energy condensed on his fist was a notch hotter than yesterday.

He took a deep breath and didn't rush to leave.

Lift your foot and gently stomp it on the ground.

A ridge of earth rose silently from the ground, not high, just enough to block half of the cage door.

Someone in the audience exclaimed, "Did the cage door block itself?"

"What? It blocked itself? It's a mechanism—can the Iron Fist Gang's cage even transform?"

Nobody thought about it as a form of spiritual practice; they just treated it as something new and exciting.

Li Ping stepped over the earthen ridge and glanced back.

The magic has solidified, but my lower back aches like it's been plowed by an ox.

He silently mocked himself, thinking he should go ask Old Cat for a drink.

As he left the field, he saw the scarred man again.

He stood in the shadows of the stands, neither leaving nor moving forward, but simply nodded to Li Ping.

Li Ping didn't stop walking—but he remembered that nod.

On the way back to the guild hall, Li Ping's expression was unreadable, but his steps were a beat slower than when he came.

"Sir, your face is as black as the bottom of a pot. Aren't you happy about winning?"

Qian Duowen

"We won."

Li Ping said, "This body of yours is about to fall apart from all that gambling money you've spent."

"Then you rest! I'll buy you some medicinal wine tomorrow!"

"What are you going to buy?"

Old Cat had somehow appeared at the entrance of the guild hall, holding a rough earthenware bottle and tapping his pipe. "If you're hoping this kid will buy it, you'll be walking around the Silver-level area tomorrow. This old man may not have much else, but he'll have plenty of this medicinal wine—three consecutive matches, his meridians should be burning up by now, right?"

Li Ping took the ceramic bottle, uncorked it, and smelled it; the aroma of wine mingled with the scent of medicine. "Thanks."

"Don't thank me yet."

Old Cat said, "You have to massage it while it's still warm. You can't loosen up your shoulders by yourself—let Da Niu do it; he has enough strength."

Alright.

Big Bull responded

Old Cat watched Li Ping's retreating figure as he entered the room and slowly added, "Sir, after three consecutive matches, your cage door is sealed tighter than an iron gate—the Iron Fist Gang probably won't be able to sleep tonight."

Li Ping dispersed the earth spirit from his fingertips, pushed open the door and entered the room: "It's good that you can't sleep. Tomorrow night I'll go and establish some rules for the Silver-level area."