Start with acting, and you'll achieve immortality!

When Li Ping arrived at the Blood Arena, he finally understood what Old Cat meant by "it doesn't concern anyone".

The largest iron cage was completely removed and replaced with an octagonal fence—it's the Iron Fist Gang's rule that they don't imprison people in their Gold-level or higher-level enclosures, because they can't hold them.

No fewer than eight hundred people were crammed outside the fence, blocking even the aisles. The stench of sweat mixed with the smell of cheap tobacco made one's eyes dry.

Qian Duo, clutching a whole bag of loose silver, squeezed through the crowd, his face pale: "Sir! This is all the wealth we've accumulated in Jiangning! My hands are shaking! How about... we ask for the silver back and cancel the beating?"

Iron-Armed Zhang was already standing in the center of the fence.

He was shirtless, with three dark red old scars across his chest, rising and falling slightly with his breathing.

His arms were bare, veins bulging, thicker than an average person's thighs—the aura of a peak Qi Refining cultivator pressed down, heavy as a piece of raw iron against his chest.

He stood there, his skin gleaming with a dark, metallic sheen.

He exhaled a deep breath, his right arm muscles bulged, his five fingers clenched into a fist the size of a millstone, and with a muffled whoosh, he slammed it heavily onto his feet.

thud

With a crack, a finger-width gap appeared in the bluestone slab, and fragments of stone flew onto the railing, making a crisp, crackling sound.

A sudden silence fell outside the fence.

The gamblers in the front row, who had been craning their necks, gasped and retreated three steps as if their feet were greased, causing those behind them to curse and the previously noisy atmosphere to instantly subside.

"Li Ping from Jiangning!"

Iron Arm opened his mouth, his voice like sand grinding against an iron plate, "Jiangning's little pond is too small to hold you. You come to the capital to wade into muddy waters. With your bones, how many punches can I land on you?"

Li Ping stepped out of the crowd and slowly flexed his wrists: "Not bad strength. I should be able to make a living by breaking large rocks on my chest under the overpass."

He bent down, untied the rough hemp rope, and stepped into the fence.

The cloth shoes were rubbed hard on the dry yellow earth, the coarse sand rubbing against the soles, and a thick, warm earth elemental energy flowed up the soles of the feet, causing a slight warmth.

There's no bell on the sidelines; that's always been the rule in the Gold Division. Players are responsible for their own lives, and there's no need for that superfluous bell to signal a stop.

Without a word, Iron-Armed Zhang swung his arms like two battering rams, bringing them crashing down with a fierce wind.

Li Ping slid three feet backward, his toes barely touching the ground. The Earth Qi Guiding Technique circulated rapidly within his body, drawing in the earth's energy. A muffled thud echoed from beneath the bluestone slab, instantly forming a foot-thick earthen wall.

Iron-Armed Zhang smashed the earthen wall with one punch, sending shards of stone flying. His second punch followed immediately, aimed at Li Ping's face.

Li Ping blocked with his arms crossed.

boom

He was thrown back seven steps, his back slamming into the railing, which cracked open with a "crack".

After delivering his punch, Iron Arm Zhang unconsciously stepped back to his original position—two shallow footprints had already appeared where the punch had landed at the start of the fight.

"this one?"

Iron-Armed Zhang withdrew his fist, cracked his knuckles, and said, "You got the seal of the prefect of Jiangning by tickling someone?"

Li Ping slowly straightened up, his chest feeling as if it were filled with a ball of scorching coals, each breath carrying the stench of blood.

He wiped his mouth hard with the back of his hand, leaving a glaring bloodstain. His dark pupils narrowed slightly, his shoulders slumped, and his fingers slowly clenched.

"Again"

The bombardment began

The first ten moves were all delivered with brutal, real punches.

Iron-Armed Zhang's fists were as heavy as cast iron weights, each blow causing Li Ping's bones to creak and groan. Li Ping circulated the Earth Element Qi Guiding Technique, his earth-yellow spiritual energy flowing beneath his skin, attempting to channel the force into the ground, but he was still shaken so badly that his blood and qi flowed in reverse.

After thirty moves, Li Ping suffered internal injuries, and Iron-Armed Zhang's fist was also bleeding—his own flesh had been torn open by the recoil.

"That's interesting."

Iron-Armed Zhang grinned maliciously, "Again!"

After sixty moves, the roar outside the fence was almost enough to lift the roof off.

Qian Duo squatted on the ground, covering his ears with his hands, but couldn't help peeking through a crack in his fingers.

Su Wan stood at the edge of the seating area, her left hand resting on the hilt of her sword, her knuckles turning bluish-white from the force.

Li Ping's breathing was erratic.

Strangely, the spiritual energy in his dantian didn't run out—on the contrary, it grew hotter and hotter with each punch from Iron Arm Zhang.

Like a rough iron anvil, repeatedly forged by a thousand heavy hammer blows, impurities are removed, leaving only a mass of scorching liquid.

The earthy-yellow spiritual energy surged wildly through his meridians, crashing into the door that had always been impossible to open—and the crack in the door began to loosen.

After sixty moves, the gamblers outside the fence changed their chants again—first shouting "Iron-Armed Zhang!"

Then they shouted, "Jiangning, hold on!"

By the time they reached the seventieth move, someone started cursing the Iron Fist Gang's manager: "Did you send people or anvils?"

Iron-Armed Zhang's breathing also became heavy.

As Li Ping took the beating, he actually noticed something – Iron Arm Zhang's punches were becoming increasingly powerful, but after each punch, he would pause for a moment and stare at him.

He retreated when retreating, and endured when enduring, his eyes never wavering from beginning to end—but Iron Arm Zhang himself seemed to have lost his composure first.

"You bastard? Fight back!"

Iron-Armed Zhang threw another punch.

"Your fists are strong, but unfortunately, after each punch you pause for a moment, your hand trembles."

Iron-Armed Zhang thought for a moment, then his expression darkened further.

Eighty moves

Both of them had tears in their eyes.

Iron-Armed Zhang's arm trembled slightly from exhaustion, while Li Ping's blue robe was torn into strips and hung on his body. The two men stared intently at each other, three steps apart, their heavy breathing echoing through the enclosure like two wild beasts wrestling in a mud pit.

"The ninety-seventh move!"

Iron Arm Zhang spat, "Lie down!"

He clenched his right fist, veins bulging on the knuckles, and unleashed a powerful upward thrust, aiming straight for Li Ping's chest.

Li Ping tried to dodge, but couldn't—his body had reached its limit.

He could only lower his arms and take the hit.

boom!!

The punch landed squarely on his arms, the violent force penetrating his defenses and slamming into his chest.

Li Ping was sent flying backward like a sandbag thrown by a catapult, crashing into the wooden railing behind him and breaking it at the base before falling heavily into a pile of rubble.

He felt a sweet taste in his throat, and a mouthful of blood spurted onto the wood splinters, staining the area crimson.

"grown ups!"

Qian Duo's voice came through the crowd.

As he crashed into the pile of rubble, his vision blurred for a moment, and only one thought flashed through Li Ping's mind—he hadn't even established himself in the capital yet, and he couldn't possibly die on this shabby arena.

Before the words "Jiangning" were even uttered, the bottleneck deep within his Qi Sea finally loosened.

Iron-Armed Zhang withdrew his fist and sneered, "You, at the ninth level of Qi Refining, dare to come to the Gold level to compete for fame and fortune? In this capital city, you're not the only one who's drowned."

Li Ping coughed up blood from the pile of wood shards.

The droplet of blood fell onto the scorching hot bluestone slab, making an extremely faint hissing sound, and was instantly evaporated, leaving a dark red mark.

Strangely, he could no longer feel the pain.

The Qi Pass was completely shattered by that punch, and spiritual energy surged out like a burst dam, unstoppable.

boom

The sea of ​​qi roared

Earthy yellow spiritual energy surged around him, transforming into a violent yellow vortex that swept up all the broken wood, dust, and fractured wooden fences on the ground, like a sandstorm beast awakening, violently sweeping outwards.

The entire room fell silent.

Li Ping stood up from the splintered wood.

He casually moved his neck, and his joints cracked.

The earthy yellow vortex surrounding him slowly receded, condensing on his body like a thin layer of armor.

Great Perfection of Qi Refining

He looked up and saw Iron Arm Zhang.

The cold smile on Iron Arm Zhang's face froze.

He stared at the vortex, his pupils shrinking—Jiang Ning, a Qi Refining Level 9 cultivator, had broken through to the next level with his final punch?

"you……"

For the first time, Iron-Armed Zhang's voice was unsteady, "You've broken through?"

"Thanks for your fist."

Li Ping flexed his wrist, and the earth spirit between his knuckles emitted a dark glow. "The furnace is at the perfect temperature; the iron is ready."

He took a step forward.

"Now, it's my turn."

In the VIP box upstairs, a figure who had never shown himself behind the curtain slowly sat up straight.

He stared through the curtain at the earthen-yellow vortex within the fence for a long time before finally whispering:

"interesting"

Inside the fence, Iron-Armed Zhang had clenched his fists again.

He stared at Li Ping, his fighting spirit even stronger than before—even tinged with excitement.

"Great Perfection of Qi Refining"

He said slowly, "Well done! Let's see if your bones are harder, or my fists!"

Iron Arm laughed wildly, his arms whistling as he slammed down on her head.

Instead of retreating, Li Ping advanced, facing the barrage of fist shadows, a glimmer of earthy yellow light appearing at his fingertips.