Mortal Bones

Before the Longmen Hall.

"Senior Lingyue, do you see those lights in the sky? I feel like they're constantly watching me."

Xu Taiping looked up at the two points in the sky while silently asking Fairy Lingyue in his heart.

At this moment, he had already drawn his lot and obtained his lot tag.

"It should be some kind of artifact, like a mirage, capable of transmitting the situation here to a thousand miles away, similar to the Xuan Mirror in your hand," Fairy Lingyue speculated.

"This competition must be watched by the monks on the mountain."

She added.

Xu Taiping nodded secretly, then withdrew his gaze.

"I wonder if Linglong and Brother Qingxiao can see this. Oh well, maybe they've already forgotten about me."

He thought absently while walking toward the arena marked with the character "Di" (Earth).

"Who's Di-11?"

Before Xu Taiping reached the arena, a somewhat impatient shout came from below the platform.

"Di-11?"

Xu Taiping felt the name was familiar, so he glanced at his lot tag.

It was indeed Di-11.

"It's me."

Xu Taiping answered calmly, then quickened his pace toward the arena.

"Where did this little kid come from? So fussy, do you still want to compete?"

A short and stocky man in green cursed as he pushed through the crowd and looked at Xu Taiping.

"Is the time up?"

Xu Taiping didn't look at the man but turned to the exam supervisor next to him.

"Not yet."

The supervisor replied in a neutral tone and continued with his tasks.

"You and I are the first, and since the time hasn't come, why can't you arrive earlier? Slacking around like a woman."

The stocky man glared at Xu Taiping.

Xu Taiping ignored him, placing his bag on a seat and taking out a long white cloth strip, beginning to wrap it around his hands carefully.

This cloth strip was made of silver silk, which could even resist sword and knife attacks.

Once wrapped, it provided some protection to the fists while ensuring their flexibility, making it perfect for someone who fights with their fists. Xu Taiping had found it by chance in the West Wind Pavilion's storeroom.

"Huh? Is this the kid who beat Qin Yuan and Sun Hu a few days ago?"

At this moment, a cultivator next to the arena suddenly recognized Xu Taiping.

Qin Yuan's name wasn't small among the outer sect cultivators, so his defeat quickly spread among the outer disciples.

Some had even obtained a portrait of Xu Taiping.

"Yes, that's him, Xu Taiping from Qingzhu Residence!"

"Yes, that's him, that's him."

After confirming that it was Xu Taiping, the crowd slowly began to gather around him.

"Kid, I heard you used a set of Qingniu Fist to break Qin's immovable technique?"

After hearing that Xu Taiping was the one who defeated Qin Yuan, the stocky man in green had stopped looking down on him, but his tone still carried a provocative edge.

"I was lucky enough to win a move against Old Qin."

After wrapping his fists, Xu Taiping raised his head and calmly made eye contact with the stocky man.

"You're not completely unaware of your limits."

The stocky man sneered, then gave a thumbs up and pointed to his chest, saying,

"Since you know Old Qin, I'm sure you've heard of my name, Ghost Shadow Foot, Tian Qi?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the crowd around them erupted in murmurs.

It was clear that many present had heard of Tian Qi.

"Tian Qi? Isn't he the one who killed a man with a single kick in the last Seven Peaks selection?"

"I remember him, although he stopped at Longmen Hui last time, every opponent he defeated either died or was severely injured."

"During that Seven Peaks selection, he killed four people."

From the whispered discussions around him, Xu Taiping finally got a rough idea of who the man in front of him was.

But the problem was, he had never heard of this person before.

"Sorry, I haven't been in the mountain for long and don't know much about these matters. This is the first time I've heard of Mr. Tian Qi's name."

Though he had heard the murmurs around him, Xu Taiping thought for a moment and decided to be honest.

Upon hearing this, Tian Qi's face darkened. A murderous aura, already present on his rough butcher-like face, suddenly filled the air.

As soon as the killing intent appeared, the surrounding cultivators quickly scattered, trembling in silence.

Why is this person exuding such a heavy killing intent?

Xu Taiping frowned, his fists clenched, muttering to himself in confusion.

However, any cultivator familiar with Tian Qi's personality would not be surprised by the murderous intent he was showing.

This was because Tian Qi was known to be jealous, quick-tempered, petty, and extremely proud.

He loved to belittle and mock others, but he could not tolerate even the slightest disrespect toward himself.

Such a twisted personality led to his extreme bloodlust. Over the years, he had killed many cultivators for just a few words of argument.

But Xu Taiping didn't show any fear. He kept staring directly at him.

Even if Tian Qi's killing intent was intense, could it compare to the Demon Tiger of Qingfeng Gorge or the Fire-patterned Python of Zhuxi Valley?

"Qingzhu Residence Xu Taiping, Liu Ye Village Tian Qi, the time has come, you two quickly take the stage."

Just as the atmosphere between Xu Taiping and Tian Qi became more intense, the supervisor's voice suddenly rang out, breaking the tense standoff.

"Taiping, this person's killing intent carries a wild beast's madness. He should have practiced some sort of evil cultivation technique, using killing to nourish his energy. Be careful."

As Xu Taiping was about to take the stage, Fairy Lingyue transmitted her thoughts to him.

Xu Taiping nodded slightly.

He had already sensed something unusual from Tian Qi earlier, and now that Fairy Lingyue confirmed his suspicion, he knew his intuition was correct.

Seventh Peak.

Backyard Bamboo Forest of Youxuan Residence.

"What's going on with these people? Why are they surrounding little Taiping? Are they bullying him because he's young?"

"Also, that little fat man in green, why does he have so much hostility toward Taiping? What did Taiping do to them?"

"These guys must think Taiping is alone, with no one to back him up."

Watching Xu Taiping's lonely figure surrounded by the crowd in the copper mirror, Zhao Linglong immediately became indignant, wishing she could fly to Longmen Hall to stand up for him.