34. Disturbance

"Won! He actually won!"

After the referee announced Blue-Faced Ghost the winner, Liu San'er stood there dazed for several seconds before finally coming to his senses and shouting excitedly.

Sister Hua looked at Li Fei on the boxing ring in astonishment, her expression shifting unpredictably.

His success in Qingyuan Fist Fortress was entirely thanks to his sharp eye. He had discovered many powerful fighters.

The Black Mountain he had just signed that evening had excellent innate physical qualities. He had worked at a mine for five years, and besides honing a body full of strength, he had also learned a formidable set of martial skills.

Sister Hua knew that the several black mines outside Xingcheng were far from peaceful places. Fights and brawls were commonplace, and even beating someone to death was nothing unusual.

For the first two years, Black Mountain had relied on his exceptional physique to make a name for himself at the mine. Later, a martial artist took an interest in him, and he studied martial techniques for three years.

Black Mountain had come to Qingyuan Fist Fortress to fight because he wanted to save enough money to buy an Implant on the Black Market and become a full-fledged martial artist.

Sister Hua thought highly of him, believing that he would eventually be able to fight his way onto the Heaven Grade Boxing Ring.

But he had been defeated in his very first Breaking Debut Battle, and had not even lasted five seconds!

While he was thinking, Li Fei had already climbed down from the ring and walked over to him.

Before Li Fei could speak, Sister Hua's face bloomed into a radiant smile. "Well, looks like I really did misjudge you. I never imagined you'd be this impressive."

As she spoke, she pulled a stack of bills from a leather wallet and handed them to Li Fei.

"Here, this is one hundred yuan. You can consider the extra my way of apologizing. Please don't take what I said earlier to heart."

Li Fei was somewhat surprised by her reaction, but there was no reason to reject money. He accepted the bills she handed him.

The smile on Sister Hua's face grew even wider as she stared intently at Li Fei.

"Young man, you're so capable. Why not consider letting me be your manager? I guarantee I can turn you into a famous fighter at Qingyuan Fist Fortress in the shortest possible time, bringing you both fame and fortune!"

She actually wanted to sign Li Fei.

Her sudden shift from arrogance to obsequiousness was somewhat laughable, but she did not care in the slightest.

As long as she could make money, what did her dignity matter? "Sister Hua."

Liu San'er stood stunned nearby. The joy he had felt from winning money on his bet vanished in an instant.

Sister Hua turned and shot him a sharp look, making him afraid to say anything more.

Then Sister Hua looked at Li Fei, her face once again blooming into a smile.

"A fighter's manager is extremely important. I can arrange matches with the best odds and the highest attention, making it easier for you to earn money. I can also introduce you to powerful sponsors. As long as they're pleased, a casual tip from them will earn you more than fighting ten matches."

At this point, she pointed at Liu San'er and said without mercy, "This little punk is the lowest-grade fighter manager here. He has no resources at all. If you follow him, you're destined to struggle to make a name for yourself. But I'm different. Ask around and you'll learn about my reputation here as Sister Hua. You'll also find out that every fighter under me has made money."

Liu San'er was demeaned with Sister Hua pointing right at his nose, yet he had no way to refute her. He opened his mouth and looked at Li Fei, but no words came out.

His expression fell.

Sister Hua could snatch away the fighter he had discovered right in front of him, yet he was completely powerless to resist. He could not even open his mouth to fight for himself.

That was simply how this world worked.

Li Fei glanced at Liu San'er, who had lowered his head. His expression was exactly like that of Li Fei in his previous life, when he had finally waited for an opportunity only to have it stolen by a colleague with better connections.

Helpless. Powerless.

He looked at the confident Sister Hua with a calm gaze and spoke.

"No need."

Liu San'er jerked his head up, while the smile on Sister Hua's face froze.

Li Fei, meanwhile, walked toward the place where he had registered earlier to collect the prize money for his match.

Because it had been a Breaking Debut Battle between two newcomers, the prize money was only the minimum five yuan.

After collecting it, Li Fei walked over to Liu San'er, who was still in a daze. "How much did I win on my bet?"

Only then did Liu San'er snap back to reality. He said to Li Fei in delighted excitement, "Wait a moment. I'll exchange it for you right away!"

Soon, he came running back with a pile of bills and handed all the money in his hands to Li Fei.

Li Fei took the money and counted it, discovering that there was a total of 104 yuan.

"That much?"

He was somewhat surprised.

Liu San'er explained, "The odds on you against Black Mountain were 1:1.3. I also bet twenty yuan on you to win. This is the eighty yuan stake and the winnings. I'm giving it all to you."

"Not bad."

Li Fei did not stand on ceremony with him.

Seeing Li Fei accept all the money, Liu San'er smiled. He looked even happier than if he had earned that much himself. "I'll arrange your next match as soon as possible. You've already won one match, and you won it so brilliantly that your next opponent will be somewhat stronger. The prize money will be higher too."

Li Fei suddenly asked, "Are there full-fledged martial artists on the Heaven Grade Boxing Ring?"

Liu San'er replied, "There are. In all of Xingcheng, Qingyuan Fist Fortress is the only place where full-fledged martial artists fight on the ring."

Li Fei nodded. Martial arts cultivation cost far too much money. It was perfectly normal for martial artists without powerful backing to come here and fight for money.

"When can I fight on the Heaven Grade Boxing Ring?"

Li Fei asked.

Liu San'er answered without hesitation, "To ascend the ring, you need to fight an Ascension Battle. You have to apply to the fortress for that. But if you show that you have the strength to sweep aside every opponent on your current-grade ring, the fortress will arrange an Ascension Battle for you as soon as possible. Otherwise, the matches will lose all suspense, and every spectator will bet on you to win."

"Mm."

Li Fei nodded. When he had fought Black Mountain that evening, he had activated Blood Rage right at the start and used up two Blood Souls in one go, precisely because of this consideration.

Besides that, his public identity was Hao Yi's student, specializing in the Heaven Star Overlord Body and focusing on defense. In secret, he came to Qingyuan Fist Fortress to fight under the identity of Blue-Faced Ghost. To conceal his identity better, he also needed to change his fighting style. Thus, he had decided not to use the Heaven Star Overlord Body, instead focusing on offense and making Blood Rage his core technique.

That way, even if Li Fei or Blue-Faced Ghost became increasingly famous in the future, it would be difficult for others to connect the two identities.

Li Fei was cautious by nature. He had thought all of this through before deciding to fight in the underground matches.

"How will we contact each other afterward?"

Liu San'er asked.

Li Fei replied, "From now on, I'll come here to fight at nine every night. Arrange things for me in advance, and we'll meet at the entrance of the fortress."

"All right, no problem."

Liu San'er nodded in reply.

"That's all for tonight."

Li Fei said this one last time before turning and leaving.

His trip that evening had earned him a total of 144 yuan, more than Li Lei's monthly salary!

And that was not even his greatest gain that night.

Earlier, after activating Blood Rage in the ring, Li Fei had once again sensed movement from the Steel Armor Implant beneath his skin. The feeling that something was about to burst out of his body had grown increasingly intense! Li Fei glanced at the Myriad Blood Bead inside him. The number of Blood Souls consumed was more than two, and the energy required for its upgrade had also increased somewhat.

This meant that the Implant was damaging his body while also allowing the Myriad Blood Bead to absorb energy.

"Could it be that the disturbance last time wasn't caused by excessively intense emotional fluctuations, but by my use of Blood Rage?"

This speculation arose in Li Fei's heart.

Hao Yi had said that an Implant disturbance caused by violent emotional fluctuations was only effective the first time. Yet this was already the second time, and his emotions had remained calm from beginning to end that evening.

The only thing the previous incident and this one had in common was that he had used Blood Rage both times.

"Could using Blood Rage accelerate the Implant's growth?"

That was what Li Fei thought.

Soon, he was overcome by an intense hunger.

The Steel Armor Implant inside his body needed nourishment.