Next Up Is Me!

Shen Qing was tossed into a pool of blood like a rag doll. At the sight, the recruits' anger finally boiled over.

The crowd began shoving. Several hotheaded recruits at the front were on the verge of lashing out, while the veterans grabbed their collapsible batons, refusing to back down.

What had begun as outrage over the match was about to become a riot involving hundreds of soldiers.

"Shut the hell up!"

At that critical moment, a low growl like muffled thunder came from the shadows on the Black Boxing Arena's second floor.

It was not especially loud, but it carried a Blood Fiend Aura so palpable that it instantly drowned out the uproar.

Everyone in the arena, from the arrogant veterans to the furious recruits, fell silent the moment they heard it. Like ducks seized by the neck, they swallowed the rest of their curses.

The speaker was the undisputed master of this underground Black Boxing Arena: the man known as Butcher.

On the steel viewing platform above, a man built like a mountain of flesh slowly rose, radiating the terrifying pressure of a Martial Artist.

He toyed with two bones from some unknown exotic beast as he looked down over the arena.

"In this underground ring, only the result determines the winner."

Butcher's voice was ice-cold. "Both sides signed off on the rules before the fight."

"And don't say I'm favoring the veterans just because I'm running the bets. That recruit agreed to the terms and signed the Life-Death Contract. Even if he'd died up there, he would've had to accept the outcome!"

The recruits ground their teeth, but they had no answer.

Butcher swept his hawklike gaze over the restless recruits below. Then his tone changed. "Still... if the veterans win like this, the other Floating Lands might laugh at my camp. They'll say my people needed outside help to bully a few fresh recruits."

"So I'll change the rules."

The bones in Butcher's hand cracked as he squeezed them. Then he offered a tantalizing compromise. "I'm cutting the veterans' final slot!"

"Shen Qing was taking on five opponents from the start. Now that he's out, four substitute slots remain! Any recruit here can step into the ring!"

"If one of you beats Scar head-on in the fights to come, the recruits win! You'll still take the veterans' 200-point opening stake and every appearance fee piled on that table!"

The arena erupted.

On the platform, Scar showed no fear. Instead, he grinned viciously.

He slammed his fists together. With his hulking, muscle-bound body, he looked like an invincible demon.

He glared down at the crowd like a butcher eyeing lambs and roared, "You hear that?! Anyone got a problem?! Get up here and fight me!"

His deafening roar echoed through the Black Boxing Arena.

But the recruits who had been seething with humiliation fell silent, as though someone had dumped a bucket of freezing water over them.

A 200-point stake was tempting, sure. But would they live to collect it?

Even Shen Qing, ranked among the top fifty recruits, had thrown everything he had at this monster and still had both arms broken by a single punch!

Which ordinary recruit below wouldn't be turned into pulp the moment he stepped up?

"Since Boss Butcher has spoken."

The referee on the platform caught on at once. With a cold smile, he raised the Countdown Timer on his wrist. "Ten minutes! If no one steps up to fight within ten minutes, the veterans win!"

A Holographic Projection flickered to life. Huge crimson numbers began counting down above the ring, hanging over every recruit's head like the sword of Damocles.

[09:59]

[09:58]

Seconds ticked by. The arena was so quiet that only heavy breathing could be heard.

Meanwhile, Shen Qing had been dragged from the ring by a Logistics Robot. After the rough-and-ready treatment of a spray to stop the bleeding and a few bandages, he barely managed to stand against the cold wire mesh.

Both arms hung at grotesque angles, yet his bloodshot eyes remained fixed on Scar. They were full of bitter frustration and despair.

Then a ghostlike figure slipped soundlessly through the packed crowd and came to his side.

"Wide, sweeping movements. An unsteady stance. Nothing but brute strength in an empty shell."

An eerily calm voice sounded beside Shen Qing's ear. "You saw Scar's weakness while you were up there, didn't you?"

Shen Qing jolted and turned sharply. Surprise flashed through his eyes when he saw who it was.

"You..."

Shen Qing recognized Jiang Yue.

He remembered this fellow recruit well. During sparring early in their training, Jiang Yue's fundamentals had been appallingly poor. Yet through sheer, frightening willpower, he had endured the beating Shen Qing gave him. Rather than break, he had used it to transform himself.

Shen Qing had also heard that Jiang Yue made the top thousand in the Gravity Exam a few days ago. His rate of improvement was terrifying.

"Yeah."

Shen Qing gave a bitter laugh. He made no attempt to hide it as he glared at Scar through gritted teeth.

"His Blood Energy is formidable, and his strength is a little higher than mine at my peak. But the axis of his strikes is terribly unstable! He's just throwing his weight around and relying on his muscles' momentum."

"If you catch him during an all-out attack, when he leaves his center open, an unexpected strike at that weakness could throw off his flow of energy in an instant and rob him of most of his fighting power! If only..."

Shen Qing lowered his head and looked at his ruined arms. Helplessness weighed on every word. "I can't even make a fist anymore."

Jiang Yue kept his eyes on the countdown. "What weakness? What kind of unexpected strike? That technique you used to beat Old Cripple?"

"Exactly! His core, just below the navel, where the Dantian Sea of Qi lies!"

Shen Qing seemed to have found the only person willing to listen, and he held nothing back as he explained the intricacies of Ancient Martial Arts. "Strike that point with Inch Power, and all his brute strength will come to nothing!"

"Inch Power?"

Jiang Yue's eyes shifted slightly. He had caught the key term. "Is that what your Ancient Martial Arts striking technique is called?"

"Yes."

Shen Qing nodded and hurried through its core principle. "Ordinary people throw punches with their arms."

"Inch Power is different! The force doesn't come from the arm, but from the spine and hips! You draw the Blood Energy and strength of your entire body up from the soles of your feet in an instant, drive it through the Spinal Dragon one segment at a time, then compress it into a single inch before unleashing it!"

"The more tightly you compress that force, the deeper it penetrates. It could pass straight through his thick armor of muscle and shatter his organs!"

[03:15]

[02:40]

The red countdown overhead raced on.

As he listened to Shen Qing, Jiang Yue slowly closed his eyes.

He had never studied Ancient Martial Arts, but Smooth Breath and Tough Skin had given him nearly perfect control over his body!

"Tell me more..."

[00:30]

[00:15]

The countdown was about to hit zero.

The recruits had bowed their heads in utter despair. None dared look at those glaring numbers.

Over with the veterans, Red Hair and Baldy were already heading for the bookie's table, faces alight with glee. They were ready to collect the 200-point opening stake and their hefty cut in advance.

"Ten, nine, eight..."

The veteran referee raised his right hand with a sneer and began the final count. "Since every last recruit is a spineless piece of trash, I declare—"

"Wait."

Just as the countdown reached its final three seconds, a low, calm voice rang out from the shadows below the platform. It was not loud, but it cut through everything.

Those words struck everyone like a hammer to the chest!

The once-noisy Black Boxing Arena fell deathly silent.

Xu Bo whipped his head around, eyes wide with shock as he stared at the person beside him.

Shen Qing's mouth fell open in disbelief.

At that moment, hundreds of gazes converged on the figure emerging from the back of the crowd.

Expressionless, Jiang Yue undid the button at his collar, shrugged off his black training jacket, and tossed it aside.

He walked to the edge of the ring, placed one hand on the cold alloy railing, and vaulted over. Like a weightless feather, he landed steadily on the bloodstained platform.

Jiang Yue slowly raised his head and met the gaze of the tower-like Scar. Then he said evenly:

"You have someone for the fifth fight."

"Next up is me."