Bloodrage? Explosion!!

"Muay Thai fighters liked low kicks aimed at the shins, feints followed by clinch knees, and hiding powerful elbows in their combinations. When retracting a roundhouse, they also liked to take a step and follow up with a left hook."

An hour later, Fang Qingyu sat below the ring, watching the reigning champion. He had already figured out roughly seventy to eighty percent of his opponent's attack patterns.

At the same time, the danger the Dragon Hibernation Breath state posed to him was not that great.

So, after his opponent KO'd another fighter,

Fang Qingyu raised his hand.

The audience was still cheering wildly over the victory, but the staff had already come over and led Fang Qingyu away.

"If you want to forfeit, all you have to do is shout it or raise your hand, and the referee will—"

In the waiting room, a staff member was explaining the rules.

Aside from forbidden low blows like attacks to the eyes,

everything else was allowed.

Attacks such as kicks to the groin would result in immediate disqualification and liability.

"You're up soon."

The staff member reminded him from the side.

Fang Qingyu rose from his chair and began warming up.

A few stance-training movements were enough to get his whole body moving.

When the announcement for contestant number eighty-seven, Fang Qing, came over the speakers, Fang Qingyu took a deep breath and headed toward the passage.

LED strips cast blood-red ripples across the damp walls.

As he rounded the corner, a wave of sound suddenly erupted ahead. Countless hands surged in the white light spilling from the end of the passage.

The moment he stepped out, the audience began shouting frantically.

"Odds are 1.07 to 9.6! The rookie's asking to die! Hahahaha!"

"Bets have already broken a million in five minutes! Fuck!"

"If this guy lasts through two of Shamasong's low kicks, I'll livestream myself eating shit!"

Fang Qingyu ignored them completely and walked straight toward the edge of the ring.

The instant the metal gate rose, the distinctive smell of leather and blood-rusted steel from the cage rushed over him.

Fang Qingyu walked up the steps beneath the blinding spotlights. He could even glimpse the private boxes on the second floor, where several tattooed men were making throat-slitting gestures at him.

So this is what it feels like to actually stand in the ring.

Fang Qingyu found it rather peculiar.

Everyone was betting against you.

But you were the one who refused to let them down!

"Once the bell rings, the match begins. Attacking before then means a loss. Crossing this line also counts as a loss!"

The referee walked over to Fang Qingyu and rapidly delivered the final rules.

"...To win, there are only two ways: either knock him down, or make him surrender!"

"Now!!!"

"Both fighters, get ready!!"

Fang Qingyu rolled his neck and looked at his opponent through his mask.

His stance was relaxed, yet he looked ready to pounce at any moment.

However,

Fang Qingyu sensed no danger.

The instant the bell rang, Shamasong planted his right foot and leaned his upper body downward roughly thirty degrees, lunging forward like a hunting leopard.

But Fang Qingyu was even faster!

There was not a trace of emotion behind his mask as he instantly entered the Dragon Hibernation Breath state.

His left hand reached up and to the left, gripping his opponent's right wrist, while his right foot stretched forward to serve as a brace.

Then his entire right arm suddenly coiled around his opponent's elbow like a constricting python.

Before the boos from the audience had even faded, his foot had already carved a semicircle across the floor. A backward step followed by a counterclockwise twist sent force from his waist and hips through his shoulders and back, building layer upon layer like a tsunami.

Shamasong's pupils shrank. Years of ring instincts made him bend his knees and lean back on reflex, only to realize that agonizing pain was shooting from his trapped wrist!

The next second,

"Thud!"

Shamasong's back slammed hard into the cage's steel mesh. The metallic vibration and the audience's startled cries blended into a piercing roar.

The commentator's information cards scattered across the floor. "What the hell! Shamasong was instantly killed by Fang Qing! You didn't see wrong! It was an instant kill!"

His entire body flew through the air, crashed heavily into the steel mesh, and then fell to the ground.

He really could not get back up.

The referee had already finished counting. He walked over to Fang Qingyu in astonishment and raised his right hand.

"The winner... Fang Qing!!!"

But instead of cheers, he was met with all kinds of vicious curses.

The referee was already used to it.

Several more gamblers would probably be meeting on the rooftop tonight.

"Are you going to defend the title?"

"Yes."

Fang Qingyu nodded.

He had not even tried the ancient techniques yet. How could he leave?

He had to find out exactly how strong he currently was!

"Fang Qing will become the new reigning champion!!!"

"Now!!"

"You losers who lost money, here's your chance for revenge!!!"

The referee walked to the edge of the ring and looked at the other fighters below. With a mocking expression, he provoked them and the audience with all his might.

Fang Qingyu ignored what happened next.

All he had to do now was wait for the next challenger.

He glanced at the Job Panel when he had a spare moment.

That Muay Thai fighter had just given him sixteen experience points.

That was pretty good.

A few more opponents like that would be enough to activate a new profession.

At the thought, Fang Qingyu could not help looking forward to what skills this profession would bring.

Amid the audience's furious roars, one fighter in the waiting area could not hold back any longer.

"I'm up!"

"Go, go, go! Beat him to death!!!"

"Beat him to death! I've already got a room waiting for you!!!"

Fang Qingyu glanced over from the ring.

A boxer.

He had a solid build and a stable base.

But Fang Qingyu still sensed no threat from him.

In the end, the Burly Man fell facedown after one straight punch from Fang Qingyu and never got back up.

Although he had not tested his punching power today,

that punch had to be at least 150 kilograms.

If it had struck Fang Qingyu's left ribs, even he probably would not have been able to withstand it.

However, after that boxer,

the challengers began coming more slowly.

Fang Qingyu glanced at the time beside the ring. It was half past two in the morning.

The venue would close in another hour and a half.

So, in order to activate his new profession as quickly as possible before closing time, Fang Qingyu walked straight to the edge of the ring, sat down against the steel mesh, and said to the people in the waiting area,

using a phrase he had learned in his previous life that easily attracted hatred,

"Is that all?"

This move completely enraged everyone.

Including some of the guests in the other private boxes.

Those who had originally not planned to participate were all sent down by their bosses.

But after three fights,

Fang Qingyu had already accumulated five consecutive victories!!

Still, nobody had been able to injure him or even land a punch.

"I'll give it a try."

Amid the increasingly frenzied atmosphere, someone slowly came down from the second floor.

He wore a purple training uniform in a different style.

Martial Arts Apprentice.

The profession label was clear as day, just like his own.

As Fang Qingyu watched him from the ring, he sensed danger from his opponent for the first time.

However, Qi Hao had said that this aura only indicated how dangerous someone was. It did not represent the outcome of an actual fight.

Even if the other man seemed dangerous to him,

he still had a chance of defeating him!

"Whew."

Fang Qingyu took a deep breath and relaxed his body.

"I finally have a chance to try the ancient techniques."

"And the Ander Martial Hall asks for your instruction!"

After stepping into the ring, the other man did not open with vulgarities like everyone else. Instead, he clasped his fists.

Oh, this...

Fang Qingyu had never learned that gesture, so he could only imitate him.

The two men said nothing more after that.

They simply waited for the bell to ring.

"Daaang—"

The instant the bell vibrated, the other man vanished from his spot.

Fang Qingyu had known from the start that he could not be careless in this fight, so he activated Dragon Hibernation Breath as well.

But just as the afterimage of his opponent's raised hand appeared in his pupils,

"Smack!"

The other man had already thrust two fingers together like a sword toward Fang Qingyu's chest. The instant Fang Qingyu raised his arm to block, a bizarre spiraling force suddenly surged through his forearm.

His entire arm went numb in an instant, as if scalding molten lead had been poured into it.

His opponent had learned martial techniques!!

This bizarre scene immediately made Fang Qingyu realize how serious the situation was.

So he stopped holding back.

"Bloodrage, activate!!!"

In the next instant, the roar of boiling magma filled his eardrums. The capillaries beneath his skin burst all at once, weaving web-like blood patterns across the surface of his skin.

Fang Qingyu's face twisted into a knot.

This isn't Bloodrage. This is fucking an explosion!

He felt power surging through every inch of his body. If he did not release it, he was going to explode!!!

Looking at the two fingers already thrust toward his chest,

he instinctively punched toward his opponent as well!!!

Boom—

The entire venue fell silent.