The Day He Entered the Arena

The new district, Five Diamond Royal Hotel.

Its grandeur and luxury crowned the day of Xia Lin's release from prison.

The North Wind Consortium had booked the entire hotel, opening it solely for Xia Lin today.

Xia Lin had changed into a comfortable white silk training outfit. The words "North Wind" were embroidered on its chest.

On the back, a large, eye-catching character for "fierce" signified that Xia Lin had become a Fierce Martial Arts fighter for the North Wind Consortium.

Xia Lin sat at a long table. Just as he had said before, he was about to enjoy a feast Duan Jun couldn't even imagine.

Lamb, bear paws and all manner of other dishes covered the table, all for Xia Lin alone.

He was enjoying his meal, though the butler beside him was a little long-winded.

"Article fifteen of the agreement..."

The old butler was reading the Fierce Martial Arts agreement aloud to Xia Lin, who was growing impatient.

"All right, all right, stop going on. Give me a pen. I'll just sign it."

His readiness caught the butler off guard, but he obediently fell silent and handed him a pen.

He worked for the North Wind Consortium, so his loyalties lay with North Wind.

Since Xia Lin didn't want to scrutinize the agreement and wasn't afraid of any traps hidden in it, the butler couldn't be bothered to say more.

With a few strokes of the pen, Xia Lin signed his name on the last page. Muttering, "That should do it, right?" he turned his attention back to the food before him.

Only when he had eaten and drunk his fill did Xia Lin lean comfortably back in his chair. Enjoying the fruit a young maid held to his lips, he said at a leisurely pace:

"I don't have a place to live anymore."

The butler said, "The consortium has given you a house, not far from the Five Diamond Royal Hotel."

"How big?"

"888 square meters."

"Not bad. Oh, right, a butler, a chef, waiters, a masseur..."

"They've all been provided. If you're dissatisfied with any of them, you may replace them at any time, myself included. Your satisfaction is our highest priority in all things, sir."

Xia Lin nodded in satisfaction.

See? Even though he had only been guessing, he'd gotten most of what was going to happen right.

At that thought, Xia Lin sat up and smiled. "A professional training facility and a professional coach..."

"The North Wind Martial Arts School's inner training grounds will be reserved exclusively for you starting today."

The North Wind Consortium's affiliated martial arts school was the North Wind Martial Arts School.

Now that Xia Lin had become a Fierce Martial Arts fighter for North Wind, his standing at North Wind Martial Arts School was even higher than the headmaster's!

After all, the headmaster was old and couldn't fight anymore.

Naturally, he wasn't worth much anymore.

"How does North Wind handle the supply of drugs?"

The butler smiled. "Naturally, the supply is unlimited. Both general-purpose and restricted-grade drugs will be available. You may inject whichever you need."

"Of course, I should say this in advance: North Wind doesn't have some of Aoluosi Pharmaceuticals' top-tier drugs or the specialized drugs of other consortiums, and we most likely won't be able to provide them."

The North Wind Consortium belonged to the lowest tier among the hundreds of consortiums in Fierce Martial City.

Its technology was lacking, and its connections weren't strong either. It couldn't get its hands on the good stuff or develop it independently, so the pharmaceutical support it could offer Xia Lin naturally wasn't much to speak of.

But Xia Lin didn't care.

Drugs were fine to have, but he could do without them too. He didn't rely on them to raise his attributes.

Besides, advantages and disadvantages went hand in hand...

It was precisely because the North Wind Consortium was weak that it had taken an interest in a rookie like Xia Lin. A major consortium might not have considered him strong enough.

"Then there's only one last question."

"When can I enter the arena?"

The butler answered, "Originally, it would have been ten days from now, but that was only because North Wind hadn't found a suitable Fierce Martial Arts fighter. Now that we have you, the first Savage Martial Arena match will be in three days."

"A low-level Savage Martial Arena match. The opponent is the Ori Group."

The butler leaned closer and said softly, "The family hopes you'll give it your all. Use that move that brought down an entire building and crush Ori's arrogance!"

The North Wind Consortium already knew how destructive the Deadly Chain Missile Fist was.

But they had no desire to investigate further.

As long as a fighter passed the security check before entering the arena, no methods used in the ring were against the rules!

That included mechanical modifications and implanted firearms!

Xia Lin chuckled and nodded, but his mind had wandered to something else.

He remembered that he seemed to have a membership card for the Aori Martial Arts School.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

But in fact, promotion for the Savage Martial Arena match between North Wind and Ori had already begun two days earlier.

That was how things were in Fierce Martial City.

The Savage Martial Arena was the Ash Zone's premier sporting and entertainment event. Every match drew astronomical ratings!

Regardless of its level!

In the Three-Phase Martial Arts Hall in the old district.

Zhou Yan turned on the television at the usual time and settled down in front of it.

It was a habit the old man had picked up after retiring... he never missed a Savage Martial Arena match.

Even though only Top-Tier Savage Martial Arena matches were worth the slightest attention in the old man's eyes, the lower-level Savage Martial Arena matches were no different from children playing house...

But how should he put it? Now that he was retired, he had to enjoy his leisure and find some amusement to pass the time. Those Fierce Martial Arts fighters, full of openings and painful to watch, provided excellent amusement.

Bai Guang and Li Peipei had also finished their training for the day. Carrying stools, they came over and sat behind the old man.

Several days had passed, and Li Peipei had lost quite a bit of fat. She now weighed only around 1,800 jin.

She sat behind Zhou Yan, a small mountain beside Bai Guang. As she watched the pre-match warm-up dance on television, a cold light flashed in her eyes.

She had seen the advertisements.

She also knew who was entering the arena today.

Xia Lin.

Her old nemesis and the external cheat she had earmarked for herself!

She hadn't expected Xia Lin to follow Bai Guang into this Ash Zone.

But for her, this was undoubtedly excellent news.

Now that she knew where Xia Lin was, all she had to do was capture him before he left the Ash Zone and plant some interesting little tricks in him. Then he would be destined never to escape her grasp!

But there was no rush.

Xia Lin was only one of the conditions necessary for her to become powerful. The second was the Blood Fiend Breathing Technique.

At that thought, Li Peipei finally spoke.

"Master, when can I enter the Savage Martial Arena?"

Without turning around, Zhou Yan said, "In one week. You and Bai Guang will both enter the arena, fighting for Huaxin Technology."

Huaxin Technology was one of the three major consortiums.

Zhou Yan added:

"You'll start with Advanced Savage Martial Arena matches. Win all five, and you can advance to the Top-Tier Savage Martial Arena and qualify to compete for the title of sixth-generation Fierce Martial King."

Bai Guang and Li Peipei both let out a long breath.

An Advanced Savage Martial Arena match was already a considerable test for the two of them.

And the Top-Tier Savage Martial Arena...

While the two were lost in thought, lights flashed on the television.

Amid the dazzling burst of fireworks and lights, both competing fighters entered the arena.

At the police station in the old district.

For some inexplicable reason, Duan Jun turned on the television.

The host's frenzied roar rang out from the screen.

"First, please welcome a Fierce Martial Arts fighter with three low-level Savage Martial Arena matches under his belt, two wins and one loss..."

"From the Ori Group, Gale Leg, Taishan!"

"Roarrrr!"

"Taishan! Taishan!!"

A tsunami of cheers swept through the venue.

"Next up is a fresh-faced rookie from the North Wind Group, Explosive Bomb Fist, Xia Lin!"

The platform rose slowly, revealing Xia Lin's dark, sour face.

Looking at Xia Lin on the screen, Duan Jun found that, for some reason, he couldn't muster any disgust or hatred.

He merely watched Xia Lin and sighed softly.

He had no idea that Xia Lin was bursting with complaints he couldn't voice.

Who the hell gave me this stupid name, Explosive Bomb Fist!?

I told them, my nickname is Indeterminate Shadow! Indeterminate Shadow, damn it!

If nothing else, Fierce Martial God or East Wind Fist Demon would have been passable. What the hell is Explosive Bomb Fist supposed to be!!