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Even if Ye Xuan were to kill him on the stage, no one would intervene, and at most, some symbolic punishment would be given afterward.
"This isn't fair, this isn't fair!"
Zhao Linglong clutched the railing, her pretty face turning beet red.
Dugu Qingxiao sighed quietly to himself.
He thought, fairness has never existed in this world. If you are born with Heavenly Spirit Bones, you are destined to be superior from birth. If you are merely a person with Mortal Bones, then you are doomed to be nothing more than a speck of dust in this world.
"Sister, I need to step away for a moment."
After a few moments of silence, Qingxiao patted Zhao Linglong on the shoulder.
"Second Senior Brother?"
"Brother Qingxiao!"
Zhao Linglong and Zi Yan both stood up in a hurry.
Both guessed what Dugu Qingxiao intended to do.
"If I don't do this, my Dao heart will not be at peace."
Qingxiao glanced at them, then resolutely walked down from his seat.
Clearly, he was prepared to step in and stop this duel.
Seeing this, Jin Hezhi's lips curled into a smile, as if everything was under his control.
***
On the stage.
"Xu Taiping, are you willing to admit defeat?"
In the midst of a silence that felt like death, the grey-clothed Elder suddenly furrowed his brow and reminded Xu Taiping.
He understood that Xu Taiping had been made into a whetstone for Ye Xuan, but having watched Xu Taiping's entire match up close, he couldn't bear to see this young man with such great perseverance die like this.
Xu Taiping, who was slowly peeling off his charred clothes, felt a warmth in his heart upon hearing this.
Sharp-minded as he was, he had already realized that he had been abandoned by the Qingxuan Sect.
So it was rare for this Elder to still consider his well-being.
"Elder, you…"
"Old man!"
Xu Taiping was about to respond when he was abruptly interrupted by Ye Xuan, who was red-eyed with anger on the opposite side.
"Shut your mouth!"
Ye Xuan glared fiercely at the grey-clothed Elder.
"I am the proctor, it is my duty."
The grey-clothed Elder coldly met Ye Xuan's gaze.
"Elder Qi, the duel is not yet over; please step back."
At that moment, a voice that was old yet filled with authority came from the highest pavilion, accompanied by a pressure as heavy as a mountain.
"Uh…"
After the pressure descended, the grey-clothed Elder's face turned deathly pale.
Clearly, the pressure was directed at him.
"Yes, Sect Leader!"
The grey-clothed Elder bowed to the highest pavilion and then turned to walk down from the stage.
"So the Sect Leader himself is exerting pressure."
Xu Taiping felt a chill in his heart.
But that was all; the word 'fairness' had always been a luxury to him.
He was used to it.
"Elder Qi."
Just as the Elder was about to walk off the stage, Xu Taiping suddenly called out to him.
"What is it?"
The grey-clothed Elder looked at Xu Taiping with a complex expression.
"Elder，what is your name?"
Xu Taiping asked with a smile.
"I am Qi Haoran."
The grey-clothed Elder looked deeply at Xu Taiping and then replied.
"Thank you, Mr. Qi, for speaking up for justice today."
Xu Taiping sincerely thanked Mr. Qi.
"It is my shame."
Mr. Qi gave a wry smile, then bowed to Xu Taiping and said:
"Take care."
Xu Taiping nodded with a smile.
"Are you ready to die?"
At this moment, Ye Xuan, standing across the stage, asked impatiently.
The upcoming match had nothing to do with the duel; he just wanted to defeat Xu Taiping thoroughly to calm his raging Dao heart.
"Just a moment, I'll be ready soon."
Xu Taiping didn't look up, continuing to tear off the clothes that had burned and stuck to his skin.
He wasn't worried about Ye Xuan launching a sneak attack, as such a victory was clearly not what Ye Xuan desired.
"Rip…"
After cleaning off the charred clothes stuck to his skin, Xu Taiping tore open the hemp shirt he was wearing, revealing the scars on his back and the indigo-gleaming metal bars tied around his waist.
"Is that… could that be ballast iron?!"
Someone immediately recognized the metal bars bound around Xu Taiping's sturdy abdomen.
"Ballast iron? Isn't that the secret iron used by merchants to weigh down their ships to prevent empty vessels from being overturned by the waves?"
Zhao Linglong also recognized the metal bars tied to Xu Taiping.
Ballast iron was a type of secret iron, each small piece weighing a hundred pounds. Because it didn't take up much space, many merchants used it to weigh down their ships, hence the name.
"Thirteen, fourteen… at least fourteen pieces of ballast iron, that's not less than 1,400 pounds? Xu Taiping was actually, actually dueling Ye Xuan with 1,400 pounds of ballast iron tied to him!"
Zi Yan exclaimed in disbelief after roughly counting the pieces of ballast iron tied to Xu Taiping.
Indeed, martial cultivators used ballast iron to train their strength, but to bind fourteen pieces to oneself like Xu Taiping was sheer madness.
Not to mention that Xu Taiping had just dueled Ye Xuan with those fourteen pieces of ballast iron.
Zhao Linglong didn't know what to say.
The previously silent pavilion was now abuzz.
But most people were still skeptical, doubting whether the metal tied to Xu Taiping was really ballast iron.
As the doubts grew louder, Xu Taiping untied the metal bars from his body and threw them down from the stage.
"Boom!!!"
The loud sound of the heavy object hitting the ground silenced all doubts.
And it wasn't over yet.
He then rolled up his trouser legs and untied two shackles from his ankles, throwing them down from the stage as well.
"Bang!"
Another sound of a heavy object hitting the ground echoed.
This sound, too, struck deep into the hearts of all the cultivators present.
"At least… two thousand pounds! He had at least two thousand pounds of ballast iron tied to him."
Xu Ziyan's face was full of shock.
In that moment, everyone realized that there wasn't just one cultivation genius like Ye Xuan on the stage, but also a martial arts madman.
"I am but a man with Mortal Bones; naturally, I must try harder."
In the face of those shocked gazes, Xu Taiping remained calm.
He knew he wasn't mad; he was simply doing what he could manage.
With that thought, he placed one hand on the hilt of the long knife at his waist and assumed the stance of the Green Bull Fist with the other, then looked firmly at Ye Xuan, who had a complex expression, and declared, "Green Bamboo Residence's Xu Taiping，challenges First Peak's Ye Xuan."