Ring Ascension

On July 18, Li Fei obtained the Implant and successfully absorbed the Second Grade Upper Class Steel Armor. Today was July 27, meaning exactly ten days had passed.

Ten days had been enough for the Steel Armor Implant to begin replacing his skin tissue. Hao Yi had never expected such progress.

In at most fifteen days—or ten at the earliest—Li Fei would officially enter the Body Breaking Stage.

This meant that Li Fei would take no more than twenty-five days to advance from the Embryo Nurturing Stage to the Body Breaking Stage, a full three days faster than the fastest record in Wu'an University Zhi Ge Department! Hao Yi even wondered whether Li Fei's drug test had been wrong in the first place.

This was no Grade B- aptitude. It was clearly the best of Grade A! "It'll still take more than ten days? Then there's definitely no way I'll make it before the monthly exam."

Li Fei was actually a little disappointed.

If he could enter the Body Breaking Stage before the monthly exam, his chances of placing would be even greater.

Hao Yi saw what Li Fei was thinking and said:

"Although all Rank A Students have Implants, not all of them are official martial artists. Most Rank A Students are still in the Embryo Nurturing Stage. There aren't many Rank A Students in the Body Breaking Stage who truly possess formidable strength. If you perform well, you have a chance of making the top ten in this monthly exam."

An Implant in the Embryo Nurturing Stage did not increase a person's combat power. Sometimes, it even affected it. Only official martial artists who had entered the Body Breaking Stage could unleash strength far beyond that of ordinary people.

Only seven or eight Rank A Students at Xing City Military Academy had entered the Body Breaking Stage. If Li Fei did not happen to encounter those few, he had a chance of making the top ten.

As long as he entered the top ten in the monthly exam, he would receive a reward and gain extra points in the final university admission assessment.

Li Fei nodded. "I understand."

Training continued as usual. After training ended that afternoon, Li Fei went to the Materials Building and bought another set of Embryo Nurturing Stage medicine, spending 95 yuan.

He then bought a bottle of Withering Fire Pills for 58 yuan.

The money he had just earned from Qingyuan Fist Fortress was nearly gone in the blink of an eye.

A bottle of Withering Fire Pills contained ten pills. If Li Fei could break through to the Body Breaking Stage within the next ten days, they would be just enough.

After buying the medicine, he ran home. He ate, then began his Embryo Nurturing training.

At nine that evening, he appeared at the entrance of Qingyuan Fist Fortress on time, disguised.

Liu San'er, who had been waiting there for some time, immediately greeted him excitedly and led him into the fortress.

"Your opponent today is a strong fighter from the Yellow Rank Boxing Stage. His record is five wins and one loss. If he beats you tonight, he should be able to fight in a Ring Ascension Battle next."

Liu San'er introduced him to Li Fei.

The two then entered their respective tents. Li Fei took out 100 yuan and had Liu San'er place a bet for him.

Li Fei naturally had more than 100 yuan on him, but out of caution, he still bet only 100 yuan.

If something unexpected happened, he would at least have enough money to make a comeback.

Once the match began, Li Fei decisively activated Blood Rage, consuming two Blood Soul, then used his overwhelming strength advantage to drive his opponent back step by step. In the end, he knocked him out with a vicious knee strike. The entire fight lasted less than ten seconds!

His odds for this match were 1:1.5. Betting 100 yuan earned him 50 yuan, and including the 8-yuan bonus, his total earnings for the night were 58 yuan—nearly half a month of Li Lei's wages.

"Do you want to rest for a few days?"

After the match, Liu San'er asked Li Fei.

A fighter's match might seem to last only a few minutes, but the actual expenditure was greater than that of a long-distance run. Injuries were also unavoidable, so nobody could fight every day.

After glancing at the Myriad Blood Bead's data, he saw that it needed only the final 8% of energy to level up. Li Fei said to Liu San'er:

"Tomorrow again."

The following afternoon, before training had even ended, Li Fei's Myriad Blood Bead successfully leveled up:

Level: 5
1% Blood Soul: 30

Blood Soul Skill: Blood Rage

After leveling up, his Blood Soul increased by eight, bringing the total to thirty. He could recover three every twenty-four hours.

Ordinary people had ten Blood Soul. Li Fei's Health Bar was now three times as thick as an ordinary person's! Having successfully raised the Myriad Blood Bead to level five before the monthly exam, Li Fei was in high spirits. After training ended, he returned to Qingyuan Fist Fortress at nine that evening.

The moment they met, Liu San'er also told him some good news:

"You can fight in a Ring Ascension Battle tonight!"

Last night's opponent had originally been a strong fighter from the Yellow Rank Boxing Stage and had been very close to ascending. Since Li Fei had easily knocked him out in ten seconds, the fortress naturally believed that Li Fei possessed the strength to ascend.

"This is only your third match, and you're already fighting in a Ring Ascension Battle. You're the fastest fighter to ascend at Qingyuan Fist Fortress in the past few years!"

Liu San'er said this excitedly to Li Fei.

He felt that his path to becoming the strongest fighter manager had begun the moment he encountered Li Fei!

"Good. Tell me about my opponent tonight."

Li Fei asked calmly.

"Your opponent tonight is called Ghost Shadow Hand. He attacks very quickly and excels at seizing the initiative. His specialty is using his left hand as a feint to disrupt his opponent's vision, then launching a sneak attack with his right. His current record is seven wins and two losses. Whoever wins tonight will advance to the Black Character Ring."

Liu San'er introduced him to Li Fei.

While waiting for the match to begin, he took out a small notebook and told Li Fei every detail he had recorded about Ghost Shadow Hand's past fights.

Li Fei looked at the notebook in his hand and asked curiously:

"Are all the notes in there information on the various fighters?"

Liu San'er nodded. "Yes. Every night, I go watch the matches of famous fighters and record the details of their battles."

Then he looked seriously at Li Fei. "I don't know why you ultimately chose me instead of Sister Hua, but I said I wanted to become the best fighter manager, and I wasn't joking. I'll do everything I can to help you reach the Heaven Grade Boxing Ring!"

"Good."

Li Fei nodded and took 100 yuan from his pocket. "Remember to place a bet for me."

At 9:37 p.m., Li Fei walked onto the ring wearing a mask.

"Blue-Faced Ghost!"

"Blue-Faced Ghost!"

"Blue-Faced Ghost!"

The spectators in the surrounding stands began shouting wildly.

After easily knocking out his opponents for two nights in a row, Li Fei had already made a name for himself on the Yellow Rank Boxing Stage. Many of the spectators in the tent tonight recognized him.

"Looks like you're going to soar to the heavens with this Blue-Faced Ghost."

Below the ring, Sister Hua came to Liu San'er's side and spoke.

Liu San'er looked at her. "Sister Hua came to watch the match too?"

Sister Hua stared at Li Fei in the ring. "I heard he was ascending tonight, so I came to take a look. I also bet 200 yuan on him to win."

Liu San'er was startled. "You have that much confidence in him?"

Sister Hua looked at him and suddenly said, "Liu San'er, how about I give you five thousand yuan in exchange for him?"

Five thousand yuan was money an ordinary wage earner could not earn in ten years. It was enough to buy two houses in Qingyuan District! Liu San'er laughed. "Sister Hua, stop joking."

Sister Hua's gaze sharpened as she looked straight at Liu San'er. "I'm not joking!"

Liu San'er fell silent for a moment. Usually timid and obsequious before Sister Hua, he met her gaze firmly for the first time.

"Sorry, I won't make the exchange. Since he chose me, then no matter how much you offer, I won't trade him!"

Sister Hua held his gaze for a while, then suddenly smiled sweetly and covered her mouth. "You're not stupid after all."

The two stopped speaking after that, because the match in the ring had begun.