"Bang, bang, bang!"
The fierce sound of exploding fist energy reverberated.
Facing such a torrential onslaught of punches, Fan Qi had no chance to counter and could only raise his elbows to block continuously. Despite his sinewy strength, comparable to steel, his body couldn't withstand the ferocity of Xu Taiping's fists and was gradually forced back towards the edge of the platform.
"Bang!"
When Xu Taiping's Green Bull Fist struck for the hundred and seventh time, Fan Qi's eyes, previously filled with pride, suddenly revealed a hint of surprise.
He realized that his own punching force had been completely dismantled by Xu Taiping's latest strike.
"Boom!"
Without a moment's hesitation, Fan Qi summoned ninety percent of his strength and bellowed:
"Armor Breaker!"
As the words left his lips, he stomped his right foot to the side and swung his clenched arms open, releasing a surge of internal energy.
The explosive release of energy, like a wall, pushed Xu Taiping away from him.
In the instant Xu Taiping was repelled, Fan Qi clenched his right fist and, without hesitation, swung it towards Xu Taiping's incoming punch while roaring:
"Sinking Ship!"
The might of this punch was felt even by the oriole hundreds of feet away.
However, the oriole's attention was not on Fan Qi but entirely on Xu Taiping.
After being pushed back by the "Armor Breaker," Xu Taiping's punching force did not dissipate but instead continued to climb. With a slight sway of his body, his fist once again smashed towards Fan Qi.
Watching Xu Taiping's punch, the oriole's expression turned extremely grave, as he sensed the aura of the "ultimate realm" within it.
But before he could ponder further, Xu Taiping's fist collided with Fan Qi's.
Green Bull Fist's Charging Bull Formation against the Fan family's Sinking Ship.
"Bang!"
The collision of fists, accompanied by the piercing sound of impact and the blast of energy, made the spectators' scalps tingle, and they covered their ears.
Some cultivators, whose cultivation was not weak and who kept their gaze fixed on the platform, showed expressions of shock.
"Boom!"
After a brief stalemate, Fan Qi's towering figure was blasted off the platform like a cannonball by Xu Taiping's punch.
As he flew backward, he broke several flagpoles before finally being stopped by the sturdy courtyard wall, which instantly cracked.
This scene brought silence to the Angry Fist Manor.
Fan Qi had been punched out of the platform by a young man.
This was something the townspeople of Huangmei and the martial artists from the surrounding counties, who had come to watch, had never dreamed of.
Likewise, the oriole had never witnessed such a scene.
"No wonder Qingxiao values this junior brother so highly. His strength, his physical spirit, are not inferior to Fan Qi."
The oriole's eyes sparkled with admiration.
***
Up in the stands.
After witnessing this scene, the Sixth Princess stood in stunned silence for a long time before suddenly rising to her feet, hugging the little monkey Ping'an, and joyfully shouting "good" several times, tears streaming down her face.
The life-and-death battle today had been too much for her to bear. One familiar face after another had fallen before her, nearly driving her to the brink of collapse.
If not for Xu Taiping's punch just now, she would have started to doubt whether her perseverance all this way had any meaning at all.
Next to her, General Chu and Cao Qianhu, although trying their best to suppress their emotions, betrayed themselves with their trembling bodies.
For them, Fan Qi on the platform represented the last mountain of their journey. If they couldn't overcome this mountain, all their efforts would have been a joke.
***
Back to the platform.
Xu Taiping waved his fists a couple of times without expression, then returned to the side of the platform and stood quietly, as if waiting for something.
Sure enough, it wasn't long before the downed Fan Qi suddenly flipped up and landed back on the platform with a "bang."
"Thrilling, thrilling!"
Fan Qi stood on the platform and roared, then with a "rip," tore off the leather armor he was wearing, revealing bulging muscles and the iron weights bound to his body.
"I haven't had such an exhilarating fight in a long time!"
As he spoke, he removed the iron weights from his body and threw them to the ground.
"Bang!"
Feeling the tremor of the ground, many realized that the weights Fan Qi was wearing were not ordinary iron blocks but the legendary ship-pressing iron, causing a stir among the crowd.
"Kid, it's your turn!"
Fan Qi gestured towards Xu Taiping with his chin.
Clearly, he had also noticed that Xu Taiping was wearing ship-pressing iron.
For top martial artists, this was not an unusual practice.
Xu Taiping thought for a moment, then also took off his clothes and removed the ship-pressing iron from his body, tossing it off the platform.
"Boom!"
Just like before, the heavy ship-pressing iron caused the ground to tremble violently.
Seeing this, the crowd was once again astonished.
From the trembling of the ground, it was clear that the ship-pressing iron Xu Taiping had been wearing was not much lighter than Fan Qi's.
The oriole below the platform chuckled to himself.
"Hey, hey, hey, are you a martial artist or a cultivator, kid? To be so harsh on yourself at such a young age."
If Xu Taiping's previous punch had made him appreciate Xu Taiping's talent in the martial path, this scene now completely impressed him.
"I, the oriole, am not afraid of ruthless people, but those who are ruthless to themselves. Qingxiao, oh Qingxiao, your junior brother is just like you, a monster indeed."
He looked up at Xu Taiping on the platform, shaking his head in amazement.
After seeing Xu Taiping remove the ship-pressing iron, Fan Qi suddenly burst into wild laughter.
"I never thought I'd meet a cultivator who could temper their body to such an extent. With you as my stepping stone, killing you today will surely allow me to break through!"
After his laughter, Fan Qi's gaze towards Xu Taiping turned greedy, and the aura mixed with a thick murderous intent exploded outwards like a tide, repelling the fine rain falling from the sky away from the platform.
"Mutual feelings."
Xu Taiping said while once again assuming his fighting stance.
He too saw in Fan Qi the possibility of advancing further on the martial path.
After Xu Taiping assumed his stance, with a "boom," a violent surge of energy also spread from him.
Although he had to keep his True Qi below the Opening Realm, the tenacity and sharpness within that energy were like a blade, slicing through Fan Qi's murderous intent.
"This is it."
The oriole's eyes lit up again upon sensing this energy.
This was the aura he had previously detected in Xu Taiping!
Proofreader & Editor: Lotas