War Bear

War Bear

Fang Mo stepped into the iron cage, and it felt as though he had become a trapped beast—stifled and suffocated. Chasing Wind's blood still remained on the ground.

War Bear entered the iron cage as well and stood opposite him. He was well over 1.9 meters tall, a full twenty centimeters taller than Fang Mo, giving off an overwhelming sense of pressure.

"Kid, just admit defeat! Fighting me would be bullying you!"

War Bear cracked his knuckles, his bones popping as he looked at Fang Mo with disdain.

"Let's try first before we say that!"

Fang Mo said with a faint smile.

"Thirty seconds of betting begins!"

The host shouted in an emotion-stirring voice, and the tablets around the stands immediately lit up.

"I'm betting on War Bear. Isn't this an obvious sure win?"

"Only an idiot would bet on that kid. He's only trained martial arts for half a year—what the hell could he have learned?"

The spectators shouted one after another, their opinions completely one-sided.

The numbers on the big screen changed rapidly. Before long, War Bear's bets had already reached three million, while Fang Mo's were only a little over a hundred thousand. Yet his odds kept rising, reaching 1:1.5.

Inside a luxurious private room stood four young men, all in their twenties and dressed extravagantly. One look was enough to tell they all came from immensely wealthy families.

"Young Master Chen, you're giving us money! I'm betting one million!"

The young man in a blue-green suit held a wineglass as he smiled and tapped his tablet to place the wager.

The hundred thousand he mentioned sounded as casual as pocket change.

"Young Master Chen must have something good going on. He's handing out benefits—how could we possibly stand on ceremony? I'll put down one million too!"

Another short-haired young man in casual clothes said with a smile.

"You two are being far too small-minded!"

At that moment, a young man in a white suit with long, artistic-looking hair smiled and placed his bet. "Young Master Chen is giving out benefits, and you're only betting one million? Are you looking down on Young Master Chen? I'm betting ten million!"

Everyone turned to look at him.

The young man in the blue suit frowned slightly.

"Qin Yuanping, isn't ten million a bit too much? We're just having some fun. Are you really planning to make Young Master Chen bleed?"

Qin Yuanping raised an eyebrow and said mildly, "You're underestimating Young Master Chen. Would Ironstone be afraid of bets? Young Master Chen, am I right?" He chuckled. "Of course, if Young Master Chen thinks it's too much, I'll withdraw it!"

Young Master Chen smiled faintly.

"Young Master Qin must be joking. Ironstone can still take ten million!"

Qin Yuanping spread his hands.

"See? I told you, what does this little bit of money amount to for Young Master Chen?"

Young Master Chen said with a smile, "Could it not be that Young Master Qin is giving me money instead?"

Qin Yuanping immediately laughed heartily at those words.

"Haha! So long as Young Master Chen has the skill, I'll accept my loss willingly!"

"I do like the unexpected!"

The young man in the blue-green suit raised his brows slightly at Qin Yuanping. "I'll put one million on Iron Mask. Three-to-one odds—those odds are worth betting on!"

"My god, it's fifteen million already, and the odds have reached 1:3!"

"The gym is going to pay through the nose this time!"

"Some big shot has stepped in. Ironstone has never had a ten-million-level wager before!"

"It's over. I bet ten thousand on Iron Mask—I'm going to lose now!"

"Can I withdraw it? I clicked wrong just now and put fifty thousand on Iron Mask!"

The stands became even more chaotic, with some people thrilled and others crestfallen.

Fang Mo watched the numbers, and his expression shifted slightly. No one had actually bet on him. Even now, he had only reached 1.2 million, while War Bear was already at fifteen million.

"Kid, look at those numbers. You still want to fight?"

War Bear looked at the figures, his face flushed red as he stared excitedly at Fang Mo.

"You want to admit defeat?"

Fang Mo looked calmly at him and spoke.

"You're courting death!"

War Bear flew into a rage and took a step forward. The host immediately blocked him and said coldly, "Making the first move will be treated as a defeat!"

War Bear hurriedly stopped, but his gaze at Fang Mo remained furious. His chest heaved, his blood and qi boiling.

"Betting is closed!"

At that moment, the host raised a hand and shouted, and all betting immediately ceased.

The host walked up to Fang Mo. "Are you ready?"

Fang Mo nodded.

The host pressed a hand onto Fang Mo's shoulder and said in a low voice:

"Iron Mask, you may only win this match—you cannot lose. If you lose, the consequences are not something you can bear!"

Fang Mo's eyes darkened slightly at those words. The host gave him another warning look before turning and leaving the iron cage.

Though fury burned in his heart, he understood that this was reality.

Don't even think about human rights in this underground boxing arena.

"Close the cage!"

With the host's shout, the iron cage slammed shut.

"Kid, I'm going to tear you apart!"

Suddenly, War Bear let out a savage roar and charged at Fang Mo. He had long since run out of patience, his eyes brimming with brutality.

One step carried him three meters forward. When his foot came down, the ground boomed like thunder. Like a giant bear, he brought down his palm—broad as a cattail fan—toward Fang Mo. The fierce wind beneath it howled, and before the palm even arrived, its crushing force was already bearing down on him.

Just as the palm was about to fall—

Fang Mo moved. Like a sparrow hawk diving into the woods, he lunged into War Bear's embrace and fired a cannon punch at his chest.

His fist struck War Bear's chest, which felt like tough cowhide, and a powerful rebounding force surged back.

War Bear's massive body swayed, but he only took a single step back.

So hard!

Fang Mo was shocked. This man's body was actually this tough—he had taken Fang Mo's punch without a problem.

"Courting death!"

War Bear felt some pain as well. Roaring in anger, he lashed out with a kick. Fang Mo spun in a fierce tiger turn, evading the kick.

"Where do you think you're running?!"

War Bear bellowed, his left hand sweeping toward Fang Mo like a cattail fan.

It was too late for Fang Mo to dodge. He abruptly turned, planted his feet in a tiger stance, and crossed his arms before his chest to block the incoming palm.

Fang Mo felt a terrifying force crash into both arms. He sank into the Tiger Subduing Stance to bleed away its power. The tendons throughout his body tightened, and even his bones crackled explosively.

"He actually blocked it!"

"This kid's stance work is incredible!"

Cries of surprise rang out from the stands. With their completely disproportionate builds and strength, Fang Mo had actually blocked War Bear's palm.

A strange glint flashed through Xu Manli's eyes as she muttered:

"He actually blocked War Bear?"

"This kid's Tiger Subduing Stance is pretty good, isn't it? Maybe he can defeat War Bear!"

In the private room, the young man in the blue suit swirled the wineglass in his hand and said with a smile.

"That's impossible. The gap between him and War Bear is far too great!"

Qin Yuanping said with a smile as well.

"Break!"

Sure enough, in the next instant, War Bear suddenly bellowed. He stomped the ground hard, and his palm erupted with even greater force as it pressed down.

Veins bulged across Fang Mo's forehead. His legs tensed as he unleashed all his strength to hold the blow back, but the difference in power was simply too vast. A force like mountains toppling and seas overturning crashed upon him, striking his chest and forcing his body to stagger backward.

"Hehe, where do you think you're going? Black Bear Crashes Mountain!"

War Bear let out an excited howl, striding after him. His body turned sideways as he rammed forward like a gigantic bear.

Faced with such a berserk charge, how could Fang Mo dare take it head-on?

His feet shifted. Using Tai Chi Fist's technique of borrowing force to return force, at the instant he came into contact with War Bear's charge, he employed a Tai Chi method of deflecting force, drawing away the frontal impact and sending War Bear hurtling aside.

War Bear's body slammed heavily into the iron cage, bending even the steel bars. The collision drew an enraged roar of pain from War Bear.

"What kind of move was that?"

"That move is interesting—it actually uses force to deflect force!"

"That technique is rather profound. Looks like this Iron Mask has some skill!"

In the private room, several young people were rather surprised by Fang Mo's movement just now.

There was no such thing as Tai Chi Fist in this world, so Fang Mo's move had seemed rather strange.

"I'm going to tear you to pieces!"

War Bear was enraged. Roaring, he charged at Fang Mo, both hands reaching out to grab him.

Fang Mo used his agile Movement Technique to dodge War Bear's hands, circling to his side and driving a punch at the soft ribs by his waist.

If he couldn't strike a hard spot, then he would strike a weakness.

But War Bear was no slouch either. He spun around and slapped a palm toward Fang Mo's head.

If Fang Mo landed that blow on his waist, his own head would surely be smashed apart by that palm.

Fang Mo had no choice but to give up. He sharply turned behind War Bear, intending to attack his lower back, but War Bear spun and lashed out with a kick, sweeping straight at Fang Mo. The wind from his leg howled, its power terrifying. Fang Mo could only retreat in haste to evade the kick, but the distance between them was pulled open once more.

"Coward! Stop running and come die!"

Having his attacks dodged again and again by Fang Mo, War Bear roared in fury and lunged at him with both hands.