The audience was laughing, the scene before them was ridiculous. A girl was punching a boy and beating him like a man, while the boy was clawing at the girl as if he were the girl. They could not help but laugh while holding their bellies.
Lian Lingzhu was not laughing. He was instead watching with care as the two youngsters managed to still wound one another despite their injuries. The girl seemed to have a laborer's strength, delivering a lot of strength from her small frame. The boy was also making sure that his back and shoulders were the parts of his body that were getting struck. Lain Lingzhu could tell that the boy would crumble like an eggshell if he was struck in his already cracked ribs.
While certainly devoid of Body Arts or elegance, it was not a thoughtless fight. Even the girl was pulling Tian Mingyun away from her face whenever he clawed so that there was not much damage from those odd black fingernails. Lian Lingzhu was not delusional however, he knew that these two did not have one tenth of the potential that Hou Yun had shown, but they certainly would make above average fighters with their tenacity.
Xie was also watching with a creepy smile. He did not care much for winning or losing, but watching the clashing emotions in these fights was delightful for him. He had not even been injured at all during his loss to Hou Yun, so his mood was perfectly fine.
However, the stalemate of this odd and primitive fight was broken when Tian Mingyun bit Qin Fen's arm and then grabbed her by the throat, his nails sharply pressing against her jugular was enough to make her surrender. Though, her face still looked upset as if she wanted to keep fighting.
"I give up!" She said while her face was like that of an angry dog.
Tian Mingyun collapsed to the floor after his victory was declared. He was in no condition to fight. His whole body was bruised and every heartbeat made the pain all the more clear, as if his body was complaining.
Tian Mingyun did not let this chance go to waste, he laid down and opened his arms, trying to appear as though he was fully exhausted. He used that pose to feel his circulation once more, hoping to break through into the realm of a Skin Refinement Realm Cultivator. He was only getting closer as he mentally kept mapping his own blood vessels and felt his circulation actively take place in his injured and painful body.
In the meantime, Lian Lingzhu was yelling out the names of the next duel's participants.
"Huoli Jingzi is to fight Huo Lan!"
Huo Lan was still distraught with regret. She did not have the words to express how she felt after she realized how many people she had maimed and killed. She also clearly remembered Huoli Jingzi's words of reprimand calling her a monster. Right now, Huoli Jingzi's eyes looked even more fierce as he tightly grasped the dismembered hand that he was using as a sword.
"You beast! You should be chained and burnt for all to see! Which mother births an animal like you?! What kind of father feeds a treacherous beast like you! What sibling tends to be a little demon like you?! Have you even kept count of how many you have killed!" His rage was palpable in his words, and his hairless face was filled with wrinkles of fury. He looked like a demon here to exact punishment.
Huo Lan had no words. She could only lower her head and cry. Her hands and feet were shaking. Her friends did not even speak up to defend her either, making her feel even more isolated until a voice finally rang out.
"Do you blame the rooster for being a killer when it is put there to cockfight?! The hands that forced it there are the ones to blame!" A slave boy from the sides had spoken up, yet nobody could even get a proper look at his face as they turned to him. By the time they saw him, he was already a red mist and the thunderous sound of a chain whip was ringing in the air.
Lian Lingzhu spoke with an annoyed tone as if he had not just killed that child.
"I said fight! Not talk! Does anyone else have any complaints?!" His thunderous voice filled the arena as he pulled back his long chain whip.
Huoli Jingzi paused no further, though he would have liked to kill Lian Lingzhu here, he did not have the power to do so. He instead swung the bone blade towards Huo Lan's neck. He would not hesitate to kill a 9 year old, not after seeing the carnage she had wrought minutes prior.
Huo Lan did not have the will to fight at first, and was even planning to declare her surrender at first chance. Yet, her instincts awakened once more once the sharp bone touched her skin. She leapt back in the middle of the strike, with a bleeding yet shallow wound on her slender neck.
She rebounded quickly reaching up from below to grab any part of Huoli Jingzi that she could. Her hands found no purchase, as Huoli Jingzi managed the distance perfectly.
He knew that his height, limb length, and weapon reach were all superior. So he simply stepped back and then slashed again with the bone blade. Huo Lan was like a wild beast and lacked true battle experience. She was stuck in the bloody dance of reach and distance.
She was dodged, evaded, stepped back from, and then cut many times. Over and again, the cycle repeated. However, Huo Lan's aggression did not cease. All of the cuts she had received were deep enough to make her bleed, but not deep enough to cut anything vital.
A bone's sharp edge easily pieced through flesh and muscle. This was why an arm or a leg bone could cut its way out of the body if the bone was broken too severely. Yet, it was no metal. The edge was inconsistent and it was sharp by chance and not design. As such, a consistent and deep cut while using bone that had not been chiseled and intentionally broken off by handiwork was difficult. Even then, with how prone to decompose and break off bone was, such bone tools were rarely made.
However, one use of bone was to simply pierce its entire length into the enemy's body. So long as a weapon had a point, it could be thrust into someone. Huoli Jingzi tried just that the next time Huo Lan attacked him, piercing him in the abdomen while avoiding her hand.
To Huoli Jingzi's surprise, Huo Lan simply allowed this to happen, not resisting as the bone was thrust deep into her lower abdomen. Huoli Jingzi smiled. He had avenged his dead friends and saved the world from a monster like her.
Yet, something was odd, Lian Lingzhu was not moving in to end the fight despite Appraiser Tong screaming at him to do so. By the time Huoli Jingzi noticed that oddity and heard the screams of his sister Huoli Yue, Huo Lan had forced her little left hand into Huoli Jingzi's abdomen.
Huo Lan had grabbed the bone blade with her right hand and held it in place after it had thrust a little bit into her body, and used her left hand to attack. Lian Lingzhu used his chain to separate the two opponents and declare the duel over. Huo Lan had won, while Huoli Jingzi was being tended to by her sister. Huoli Yue looked at Huo Lan with such resentment, that Hup Lan felt shivers down her spine. This was not a mere won fight, but the start of hostilities.
Yanku Zhimei tended to Huo Lan's wounds as well. She did not condemn Huoli Jingzi for his righteous anger, so she spoke no words as she tended to her Junior Sister. If anything, she was sad about the brave boy who had been killed by Lain Lingzhu for speaking the truth.
Huo Lan was glad to have lived, glad to have won, but even more glad that she was able to restrain herself from killing that bald boy. She inwardly swore to herself, that she would not kill if she had the time to spare others. She would also never turn into some bloodthirsty beast that her brother would be afraid of, she feared such a fate even more than death.
Appraiser Tong was delighted. She would become rich! All those young slaver thugs that had bet against him would lose their everything while he got to become outrageously rich! For the first time in his life, Appraiser Tong was experiencing the maddening joy of a gambler who was about to strike it big from the brink. Only Shupi Juren would need to win now, and his bet would be secure.
Shupi Juren was in an odd situation. He was free to pick his opponent as he pleased since the number of contestants in the tournament was an odd number. He did not wish to fight his friends, all of whom were already exhausted and injured. As such, he pointed at Hou Yun, to Hou Yun's delight.
Hou Yun did not make a fuss about having already noticed Ship Juren becoming a Cultivator. He was no genius or chosen of the heavens that could see the realm of others, but he knew well that someone so big and heavy would not draw such shallow yet efficient breaths. Everything about Shupi Juren simply seemed elevated and efficient, even his steps were quiet for his size, not to mention the flawless luster of his skin despite being kept in a cage for days.
Hou Yun was confident in being able to win against a rookie Cultivator, and as soon as Lian Lingzhun stomped on the podium Hou Yun launched like an arrow let loose. His speed was impressive and he was going with his body bent downwards and his arms open. This was the most basic wrestling move of the Lead Cloud Body Arts. Even a mountain could not fly, and peaks would topple to the ground if one could pull the foundation from under them.
Shupi Juren did not expect to lose his footing so suddenly, he was shocked that he could so easily be made to face the dirt. Yet, his reaction time and strength were greatly improved as a Cultivator, even in the lowest realm. He powerfully slammed the ground with one palm and pulled back the leg that was not being held by Hou Yun to prepare to kick his head.
Shupi Juren had expected Hou Yun to evade, yet Hou Yun instead rushed over to that pulled back leg and placed its ankle under his armpit, and started wrapping his arms around Shupi Juren, who was only holding himself up by one hand, like a snake. His left arm went under Shupi Juren's left armpit and reached behind his neck, while his right arm expertly did the same from Shupi Juren's right side. Hou Yun was shorter than Shupi Juren, so he could not go for a choke, but this position was still extremely troublesome for Shupi Juren.
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Shupi Juren had never wrestled before, the uncomfortable skin contact may not have been an issue due to him being in the Skin Refinement Realm, but the painful pressure on all his joints was certainly a problem. Shupi Juren felt like his arms and right leg could easily pop out of their sockets if he did not use his strength carefully. He was not being choked, so he had no shortage of time to think.
He finally figured it out after being stuck in that position for minutes with minor struggles as the crowd jeered. Shupi Juren stood up on his only unbound limb, his left leg, and allowed Hou Yun the chance to go for a choke by doing so.
Hou Yun was quick to transition into the Breathless Fog technique of his Lead Cloud Body Arts. He was going in for a choke from behind using both of his arms, his right arm acting as the noose while his right hand holding his left forearm would act as the knot. Yet, Shupi Juren was waiting for exactly that.
Shupi Juren did not know wrestling or grappling moves, but he knew that Hou Yun would try to finish things if given the chance. With his arms now free, Shupi Juren performed a move he had practiced since early childhood, splitting a log.
Shupi Juren, while being choked, reached back with both of his arms, grabbing Hou Yun by the hair. Hou Yun knew this would end badly when he saw firsthand how fierce the back muscles of Shupi Juren were. Shupi Juren effortlessly swung Hou Yun by the hair, forcing him to let go if he did not wish to lose his scalp. In the next moment, Hou Yun was lying down on the ground on his back, with his breath blown out of his lungs by the impact.
Shupi Juren always overdid the motion since he did not get tired easily. The optimal way to cut wood with minimal effort was to swing the axe down at the apex of its arc, yet Shupi Juren always swung from all the way behind, unintentionally developing his already gifted back muscles.
Lian Lingzhu declared the victor to be Shupi Juren and Appraiser Tong screamed from joy. He knew such climactic highs over gambling were ultimately a downfall to many rich men, and swore to himself not to gamble again. Lian Lingzhu was disappointed that Hou Yun had lost, but he could see that Shupi Juren was simply too physically overbearing for a youngster like Hou Yun to defeat.
Hou Yun stared up for a while, as his back was still on the ground, he then bounced up as if that loud slamming of his body down onto the floor was a lie. He coughed a few times and then adopted his creepy smile again. He walked up to Shupi Juren and lightly bowed while clasping his fist.
"I pray we fight again down the line, your strength shall nurture my Body Arts once I overcome it." His words seemed genuine as he looked dignified and his creepy smile was not present as he said them. His face looked cold, pretty, and captivating, yet honest.
Shupi Juren clumsily clasped his fist and bowed as well. Not having much to say since he thought it rather brutish to swing a person like an axe, and felt shy.
Lian Lingzhu did not declare the following matches. The other 3 were too injured and exhausted while Shupi Juren did not look tired in the least. Huo Lan and Yanku Zhimei surrendered without saying anything, being in no shape or intent to fight. However, Tian Mingyun stumbled his injured body onto the center of the arena.
Qin Fen, Xie, and Hou Yun were all watching with interest. Qin Fen was sure that she had battered that gray haired little boy hard enough to make him lie in bed for days, yet he still walked there as if he wanted to fight.
Tian Mingyun clasped his hands and bowed, intending to show that he did this not out of madness or animosity, but with the intent to improve himself. Hou Yun could appreciate such determination and his creepy smile grew larger and scarier.
Shupi Juren looked annoyed. He did not even bother to bow and would rather have Tian Mingyun just surrender. Shupi Juren was sure that Tian Mingyun would easily die from a slap with those injuries, even if Shupi Juren held back. After all, a Skin Refinement Realm Cultivator, even at the start of their Cultivation journey, could easily decapitate a non-Cultivator with brute force alone.
Tian Mingyun had not gone insane, his entire body was pulsing with pain, and oddly enough it helped him focus. He felt like he could completely understand his circulation and start Cultivation soon if he simply suffered a bit more.
Shupi Juren did not want to kill his friend, after all even if it had been only a few days since they just met, Tian Mingyun was the one who taught him how to cultivate. Yet, he also did not intend to hold back too much. Hence, Shupi Juren decided that he would slap Tian Mingyun upwards once and call it a day. After all, an axe would cut even a stump if swung down, yet who could swing an axe up into the air and cut a piece of wood that way? He hoped the same principle would mean that Tian Mingyun would not die.
Meanwhile, Tian Mingyun was hearing his heartbeat in his nape, that is how tired and beat up he was. Yet, he still felt that this was helping him. Bit by bit, he was mapping his blood vessels in his mind as the pain followed the flow of his blood. As such was his goal, it was lucky for him that as soon as the duel started he was struck in the abdomen by an open hand slap and sent flying upwards.
The pain of such a large and heavy hand hitting him with a force that was enough to make him go flying up at least 8 Chi was certainly not minuscule. It was a gut wrenching pain that him feel as if the skin of his belly was touching his spine. He understood what a mouse challenging a tiger meant at this moment, and unfortunately for him, he was the mouse.
Tian Mingyun landed like a doll when he fell, his powerless limbs flailing at first and then becoming completely motionless. Yanku Zhimei and Hip Lan feared that he was dead and were screaming. Yet, Tian Mingyun soon crawled up, coughing up blood, and his face covered in dirt and dust.
Shupi Juren was surprised that Tian Mingyun was not knocked out, but that strike was the reason why Tian Mingyun stood up at all.
Every single person had their own journey to realizing the path of their circulation, though there were general methods that worked for most, it was still a process in one's own mind. For Tian Mingyun, most of the mapping was completed while he was getting beat up, and he realized the junction place of all of his remaining vessels when he was suspended mid-air, at the peak of his forced flight. In the time it took for him to stop accelerating upwards and start accelerating downwards, his body was in a weightless state. That one weightless moment allowed him to have an awakening.
The audience waited with bated breath as Tian Mingyun attempted to stand up, hopeful that he may fight like a street cat and somehow win once more.
Though Tian Mingyun was the only one who knew, he was a Skin Refinement Realm Cultivator like Shupi Juren now. He sighed out and laid onto the floor right after standing up, stating his surrender since his goals had been achieved. The audience sighed in disappointment all at once, and Shupi Juren was finally declared the winner, though he openly rejected a slave concubine accompanying him in the tent.
Shupi Juren would have refused even a princess after that horrible night of bloodcurdling screams that filled the camp as all those girls were being raped. Forgot a few days, a few years would not suffice for him to ever see a girl in that light and enter a bed without guilt. He could only imagine how much worse it was for the girls who were actually the victims of that horrible night.
All the surviving slaves were returned to their cages, some given very basic medical treatment like rough stitches or bandages, but Appraiser Tong knew that scratched goods sold for less, and splurged on providing some Scab Nourishing Ointment for his slaves.
He had already become rich off the bets, he had no reason to avoid spending a goose to earn a horse. He was even in good enough of a mood to chat about it with the injured Tian Mingyun while sipping tea.
"This ointment is meant to make scabs form easier and prevent scars. Though it looks so thick, it is actually mountain spring water covering a thick glob of boar fat. Fat and water do not mix, so the water remains in the wound and keeps it fat while the boiled and purified boar fat seals the wound from outside. I memorized this from the Drug Merchant who sold it to me a few years ago. As fat does not spoil if kept sealed in a wooden box after covering it in wax, the medicine is still fresh after 8 years of storage."
Tian Mingyun was not fond of an evil man like Appraiser Tong, but the more this old fool rambled, the more Tian Mingyun could learn. Using wax to seal boxes, moist wounds healing better, he would note all of this in his mind. After all, if he wished to practice Venom Arts, it was paramount that he knew as much about making himself recover from injuries and ailments as possible. For Tian Mingyun, putting on a fake smile and praising an old fool was a small price for such great gain.
Meanwhile, Shupi Juren was in his small tent instead of a cage, though there were guards watching him from away, he could lie on his back and relax. He even ate meat and drank wine, though such cheap wine did not even give a Cultivator a buzz. Shupi Juren could not help but smile as he got to mediate and Cultivate without smelling the foul scent of a chamber pot right behind him.
Hou Yun was also in a cage on the other side of the camp, remembering the fights he had and trying to improve his techniques with mental practice.