Bone-Piercing Inch Force

Boom!

Scar planted both hands on the railing and vaulted onto the ring. Over two meters tall and weighing several hundred pounds, his massive body moved like a heavily armored bear.

The instant his feet landed, the high-strength alloy floor let out a dull, overburdened boom!

The crowd around the ring erupted.

"Why is Scar going up there?!"

Angry protests and curses burst from the recruits. "This is bullshit! They said this was about settling a grudge between those five. How can they bring in outside help at the last second?!"

"That's shameless bullying! It's rigged! The ref's crooked!"

The veterans below the ring answered the recruits' fury with unrestrained laughter and merciless jeers. "Hahahaha! Do you rookies even know the rules of underground boxing? Butcher's rules never said the wronged party had to fight in person!"

"If they can afford the Points to hire someone to risk his life for them, that's their business! If you've got the guts, get up there and fight for that lunatic yourselves!"

As recruits and veterans traded furious insults, someone in the crowd recognized Scar and drew a sharp breath.

"This is bad... Scar never became a true Martial Artist because of his aptitude and genetic optimization level, but he's spent five or six years hardening his body!"

"Exactly! That monster was born with a huge frame. His raw physical strength must be up to a terrifying seven or eight hundred kilograms! One punch from him would shatter an ordinary Quasi-Martial Artist's bones!"

At the mention of "seven or eight hundred kilograms," the betting market shifted violently.

Faced with outside help who outclassed Shen Qing so completely in size and strength, even those who had backed Shen Qing lost all hope.

The bookie smelled an opportunity. Waving his magnetic card wildly, he shouted, "Last-minute bets are open! Place them now!"

What had been a contest with some suspense became a lopsided rout at the betting table.

Every veteran piled money on Scar, driving the odds to an absurd extreme.

As far as everyone was concerned, the outcome was settled. Shen Qing was as good as dead!

Many recruits clenched their teeth, their eyes red with anger, but could do nothing. The veterans were blatantly exploiting a loophole in the rules to force a man to his death!

Yet Shen Qing stood in the ring with remarkable calm.

He did not shout at the referee over the veterans' shameless conduct. Deep down, he knew better than anyone that in this man-eating military camp, a weak man's protest meant less than nothing.

Shen Qing used the brief delay for the substitution to gulp down mouthfuls of blood-scented air.

The Ancient Martial Arts energy within him worked like a juicer, wringing the last traces of Blood Energy from every meridian.

He raised his head slightly. His bloodshot eyes fixed on Scar, who loomed over him like an iron tower and cast a broad shadow across his body. Shen Qing's mind raced as he coolly assessed the man's center of gravity and the openings at his joints.

If he's alive, he has a weakness!

Meanwhile, behind the wildly clamoring crowd below the ring...

Jiang Yue stood like a ghost hidden in the shadows, watching the mountain of flesh called Scar with cold eyes.

"Seven or eight hundred kilograms of force under normal conditions..."

"On paper, they're about evenly matched, but Shen Qing is nearly exhausted."

"This will be difficult."

A shrill metallic blast from the veteran referee's whistle tore through the air. The fourth fight to the death had begun!

The instant the whistle sounded, Shen Qing moved.

He knew his body could not endure a drawn-out fight. Every extra second he stood there, his depleted Blood Energy made his legs tremble.

His only chance was to end it quickly and squeeze out the last of his body's potential!

"Die!"

A roar like a cornered beast burst from Shen Qing's throat. He shot forward like a blood-red arrow, charging straight at Scar instead of retreating.

In two strides, Shen Qing pressed two fingers together like a blade and unleashed a vicious Ancient Martial Arts killing move with nothing held back: Bone-Piercing Inch Force!

His blood-soaked fingers whistled through the air, striking with deadly precision at Scar's vulnerable throat and the vital point beneath his ribs.

If the blow landed cleanly, it could dent armor plating. It was enough to paralyze or even kill his opponent instantly!

But Scar's fleshy face twisted into a cruel sneer at the lethal strike.

He made no attempt to dodge. He simply drew a deep breath, and the muscles across his chest and abdomen swelled like inflated steel tires!

Thud! Thud!

Two dull impacts, like blows against thick, tough hide, rang across the ring.

Shen Qing's Bone-Piercing Inch Force, the move that could have killed Old Cripple in an instant, struck Scar's throat and ribs.

But no bones shattered. No tendons snapped. Shen Qing felt as though his fingers had jabbed into a solid wall. The force rebounding through them made his finger bones groan under the strain.

"That all you've got? Trying to tickle me?!"

Scar gave a savage grin. After five or six years of tempering his thick flesh under 1.5 times normal gravity, he had built himself a natural suit of muscle armor.

At full strength, Shen Qing might have pierced that defense with Inch Power. But with his Blood Energy depleted, this strike could not even break through Scar's Skin Membrane!

It was like a mayfly trying to shake a tree.

"Now it's my turn!"

Scar knew no sophisticated martial techniques. He relied on the overwhelming advantage of his size and strength!

Like a berserk giant bear, he drove power up from his legs and hips and swung his right fist, as big as a cooking pot, down at Shen Qing's head. The blow came with the crushing force of a falling mountain!

Boom!

The wind from the punch cut to the bone. Shen Qing's pupils contracted, and he instinctively crossed his arms, trying to use Ancient Martial Arts Force Unloading to divert the force aside.

But against such absolute physical power, even the finest technique became a cruel joke.

Nearly eight hundred kilograms of explosive force crashed down like a heavy iron hammer, pouring into Shen Qing's fragile guard without restraint!

With a sickening crack of bone, his prized Force Unloading was torn apart in an instant. The blow twisted his crossed arms out of shape.

He flew backward like a kite with its string cut and slammed into the high-strength alloy railing at the edge of the ring. Then he slid down like a heap of mud.

"Pfft!"

Shen Qing spat out a great mouthful of blood mixed with fragments of his organs, staining the metal floor before him a horrifying red.

His crimson eyes remained fixed on Scar, and a resentful rattle came from his throat.

He still tried to rise. His numb arms could not support him, so he sank his bloodied teeth into the alloy railing and desperately tried to haul his broken body back up.

But at that moment, his body, pushed far beyond its limits, finally gave out.

Thud.

Shen Qing collapsed into the pool of blood. His eyes stayed wide and bloodshot, but he could no longer move.

The last stand of an exhausted fighter ended abruptly before overwhelming violence.

"Fourth fight! Scar wins!"

Before the referee had even finished the count, the fleshy-faced veteran rushed into the ring.

He seized Scar's thick arm, raised it high, and loudly declared the result.

Then the referee glanced coldly at Shen Qing in the pool of blood, pulled a loudspeaker from his waist, and addressed the entire Black Boxing Arena:

"As the recruit side has completely lost its ability to fight, and no one is available to take its place in the fifth bout!"

"On behalf of Butcher, I hereby declare the veteran side the early winner of this five-bout wager! The veterans take the entire two-hundred-Point stake and the betting commission!"

Boom!

At that vicious ruling, the veterans who had been desperate to recoup their losses burst into celebration.

Red Hair and Baldy were especially excited. Their faces flushed as they waved their arms, nearly jumping for joy, and urged the bookie to settle the enormous payout that would let them splurge for months.

But on the other side, the recruits exploded!

Fury and humiliation burned in every recruit's chest. Countless fingers pointed at Scar and the referee as the recruits cursed them:

"Shameless! You put a fresh, heavily built veteran against a man who'd fought three bouts in a row and was nearly dead! Do you veterans have no shame?!"

"What gives you the right to call it early?! We agreed on five bouts. The fifth hasn't happened, so how can you declare that you take everything?!"

"It's rigged! These are the veterans' rules? You're utterly shameless!"

Faced with a tidal wave of fury from the recruits, Scar showed not the slightest shame. Instead, he swaggered to the railing and spat bloody saliva down at them.

"Pah!"

Scar looked down on the furious recruits, his rough voice full of contempt and mockery. "Rules are rules! Don't like it? Can't accept it?!"

"Then get up here, you worthless bastards, and fight the fifth bout for that half-dead piece of trash!"

Scar clenched his fists until his knuckles cracked and roared like an invincible demon. "If none of you dare come up here to die, then shut your filthy mouths and swallow your anger!"

His arrogant challenge hit the recruits like a bucket of icy water, dousing much of their fury in an instant.

For a moment, the once-noisy recruit side fell silent before that brutal reality.

They looked at Scar, a mountain of flesh radiating the oppressive threat of nearly eight hundred kilograms of force, then at Shen Qing on the floor, his arms broken and his fate unknown. Even the rowdiest recruits could only clench their fists. Not one dared step forward and take the risk.

Who would volunteer to die?