Dragon-Tiger Fight

On the boxing ring, Li Fei's opponent was thin, with very pale skin, long arms, and equally long fingers. His gaze was somewhat sinister.

This man was Ghost Shadow Hand, one of the hottest fighters on the Yellow Rank Boxing Stage over the past two months.

"Begin!"

The referee at ringside shouted loudly.

The moment his voice fell, Ghost Shadow Hand strode toward Li Fei.

Just as Liu San'er had said, his opponent excelled at launching the first attack, fond of seizing the initiative the moment a match began.

Ghost Shadow Hand raised his left hand and jabbed two fingers toward Li Fei's eyes.

This was an absolutely forbidden move in a formal Arena Tournament, but it was extremely common in this Fist Fortress.

Ghost Shadow Hand's speed was indeed very fast, but Li Fei had Liu San'er's warning and was prepared in advance. He twisted aside to dodge the strike, simultaneously lowering his left arm to shield his left ribs and block the opponent's incoming fist.

Covering the eyes with the left hand and sneak-attacking the ribs with the right was also the pattern Liu San'er had summed up for Ghost Shadow Hand's fighting style.

After blocking the opponent's second strike, Li Fei took advantage of the momentum to step forward and viciously drove out his right shoulder.

At the same time as he drove out his right shoulder, he activated Blood Rage.

After using Blood Rage several times, he had discovered a small trick—the surge of power was strongest during the first second after activating Blood Rage. If he attacked the enemy at that moment, he could inflict the greatest damage.

Thus, Li Fei activated Blood Rage as he twisted and rammed forward. This time, he did not expend two drops of Blood Soul, but only one. Ghost Shadow Hand was not a strength-type opponent, so one drop was enough for Li Fei to overwhelm him with sheer force.

Ghost Shadow Hand reacted quickly, retreating in time to dodge Li Fei's shoulder charge and preventing him from landing it solidly.

Then he attacked with both hands, his fists whipping out at Li Fei with the speed of thunderbolts. A field of afterimages sprang into being! This was why he was called Ghost Shadow Hand.

Seeing Ghost Shadow Hand unleash his signature technique, the entire venue immediately erupted in cheers.

"Good! Hit him!"

"Beat him to death!"

"."

Li Fei did not care in the slightest about the fists coming at him. He simply swung a heavy punch straight toward Ghost Shadow Hand.

The two exchanged blows in an instant.

Ghost Shadow Hand struck Li Fei three times: once at the Tan Zhong Acupoint in his chest, once beneath his right armpit, and once against his left ribs. His attacks were fast and precise enough to make up for his lack of strength.

Li Fei landed only one punch, hitting the opponent's right shoulder.

Yet the final result was that Ghost Shadow Hand was staggered by a single heavy punch, his entire body nearly lifted off the ground. Li Fei, meanwhile, continued stepping forward and throwing punches without the slightest effect.

Because Ghost Shadow Hand had lost his balance, he could not dodge and could only raise both arms to block. As a result, Li Fei's second punch sent him reeling backward again, his body tilting as he teetered on the verge of falling.

Li Fei suddenly leaped forward, raised his knee, and brutally drove a flying knee into Ghost Shadow Hand's lower abdomen, actually launching him into the air before he could hit the ground!

Ghost Shadow Hand slammed into the wire mesh surrounding the boxing ring, rebounded, and crashed to the floor, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

Then, his face twisted in pain as he curled into a ball, clutching his lower abdomen and moaning.

He had already been beaten into losing his combat ability.

"Blue-Faced Ghost wins!"

The referee quickly announced the result.

From start to finish, the entire process had taken less than five seconds.

"Blue-Faced Ghost!"

"Blue-Faced Ghost!"

"Blue-Faced Ghost!"

Wave after wave of cheers rang out as the spectators loudly shouted Li Fei's name.

At this point, Li Fei had successfully risen through the ranks and could fight on the Black Character Ring from then on.

The prize money on the Black Character Ring started at a minimum of twenty yuan and went as high as forty. The income was far greater than on the Yellow Rank Boxing Stage.

"Congratulations."

When Li Fei climbed down from the ring and found Liu San'er, Sister Hua was the first to speak to him.

"Mm."

Li Fei nodded and looked toward Liu San'er.

Liu San'er skillfully took out a stack of banknotes and handed it to him. "Your odds for this match were 1.3. With a hundred yuan stake, you earned thirty. Count it."

After Li Fei had won two matches in a row by an overwhelming margin, his match odds had fallen accordingly.

Li Fei took the banknotes and counted them once. After confirming there was no problem, he put them in his pocket and prepared to collect the prize money for this match.

"Do you want to make a big score?"

Sister Hua suddenly spoke.

Li Fei stopped and turned to look at her. "What do you mean?"

"Do you know how to use weapons?"

Sister Hua asked.

Li Fei did not answer immediately, instead asking, "You want me to fight in a weapon match?"

Liu San'er had already introduced him to the three common types of matches at Qingyuan Fist Fortress: bare-handed fights, weapon fights, and death fights.

The prize money for the latter two was far higher than for the first.

"In half a month, the Heaven Grade Boxing Ring will hold a Dragon-Tiger Fight. The Dragon General is a formal martial artist, and the match will specifically require weapons. Three Tiger Generals will fight him. If you're interested, I can recommend you to be one of the Tiger Generals."

Sister Hua glanced at Liu San'er. "Don't worry, you're still the fighter manager. Big Sister isn't going to take your business."

Dragon-Tiger Fight? Dragon General? Tiger General? Li Fei did not understand these terms, so he immediately turned his head toward Liu San'er.

Liu San'er pondered for a moment, then said to Sister Hua, "Thank you for the offer, Sister Hua. We need to consider it first."

"That's fine, but you must give me an answer within two days. I can hold this spot for two days at most."

Sister Hua said this, then turned and left.

After she had gone, Liu San'er immediately explained to Li Fei, "Qingyuan Fist Fortress holds special boxing matches from time to time. The Dragon-Tiger Fight she just mentioned is one of them. A Dragon-Tiger Fight has a Dragon General and Tiger Generals. The Dragon General is a powerful fighter, all of them from the Heaven Grade Boxing Ring, while the Tiger Generals are lower-grade fighters. The format is one dragon fighting multiple tigers—in other words, one against many.

"The Dragon-Tiger Fight half a month from now will be one dragon against three tigers, and the other side has specifically required weapons. Sister Hua wants to recommend you as one of the Tiger Generals."

"What are the benefits of winning?"

Li Fei asked very directly.

Liu San'er said, "First, there's the prize money. The prize money for a Dragon-Tiger Fight is very high. If a Tiger General wins, the prize money starts at a minimum of one hundred yuan. Second, there are the betting odds. Tiger Generals have very high odds, usually starting at three to one. Sometimes they reach five to one, or even ten to one! I think Sister Hua is willing to do us this favor and recommend you because she wants to make a killing off the high odds. But I have to warn you: Dragon-Tiger Fights are dangerous, and weapon fights are even more dangerous. Although no one requires the match to be to the death, once weapons are used, blood will certainly be shed. Even if you don't die, it's very easy to end up crippled!"

Li Fei pondered for a moment, then asked, "Can we get detailed information on the Dragon General in that Dragon-Tiger Fight half a month from now?"

He normally fought one match at a time, making it difficult for his odds to ever become very high. The Dragon-Tiger Fight was a rare opportunity for him. If he could seize it, perhaps he could earn enough in a single match to cover the money he needed for a year of cultivation!

So he did not want to miss it lightly.

Liu San'er nodded. "Sister Hua should have some information. I can ask her for it, and I can gather some myself."

"Mm. Find out everything you can about the Dragon General first and tell me tomorrow. Then I'll decide whether to participate."

Li Fei said this.

He had studied Conflict Mitigation Department for three years at Xingcheng Secondary Vocational School, so he had naturally trained with weapons. Although he could not claim to be highly proficient, he could at least use them normally.

With the Myriad Blood Bead and Blood Rage on top of that, he might not be without a chance to fight.

More importantly, in half a month, he should have already broken through to the Body Breaking Stage and become a formal martial artist.

The next day, after arriving at the Military Academy and meeting Hao Yi, Li Fei suddenly asked:

"Teacher, if I want to train with weapons, are there any suitable martial skills I can practice?"