The Arena

Yu Feng picked up a schedule for the Thunder Dragon Bar from the table. He frowned slightly as he looked at the day marked with an asterisk.

"It isn't time for Zhang Yao to get his contract yet, is it?"

Scarface, lounging in his chair, rolled his eyes.

"Can't be helped. His sister is in my ear chirping away about it every single day; it's damn annoying! But she's good at what she does, and she's supple, too. It really gets to me."

He reached into his crotch to fiddle around, pulled his hand out to sniff his fingers, and then flicked them toward Yu Feng.

"Anyway, Zhang Yao has been training long enough. Let's build some hype for him, arrange a Contracted Fighter who's ready to retire, and then let him use the money to buy Earth Dragon Meat. That should be enough for him to break through."

Yu Feng remained expressionless as he looked at Zhang Yao's opponent again.

"Gao Lei? He's injured; he's definitely past his prime. Are we talking a death match or what?"

"Kill who? Gao Lei might be washed up, but that's only compared to other Contracted Fighters. He's still more than capable of handling that brat Zhang Yao. I told him to make the loss look good. I'll give him a sum of money and send him back to the city."

Yu Feng raised an eyebrow.

"Really?"

Scarface burst into loud, mocking laughter.

"Old Yu, have you lost your mind? How could that be true? What was that song The Big Boss likes to listen to? Something like, 'You can pay the bill whenever you want, but don't ever think about slipping away'? Eh, that doesn't sound right. How did it go again?"

Yu Feng watched with a blank face as Scarface scratched his head behind the desk—watching Zhou Hu, the Second Boss of The Park.

His hair was a white-dyed buzz cut that stood up like steel needles. His hard-lined face was weighed down by heavy dark circles, and a hideous scar ran from beneath his left eyelid down to his chin. The scar cut across the corner of his mouth, pulling it downward and giving him the appearance of a permanent sneer.

Even in the dead of winter, Zhou Hu wore nothing but an open sleeveless leather jacket, revealing a spiked necklace, a tiger-head tattoo on his chest, and two muscular arms covered in exaggerated tattoos.

His black leather pants were tucked into matching heavy boots, and his large feet shook arrogantly on the desk as he looked at Yu Feng with a mocking expression.

"What, do you feel bad because Gao Lei was trained by you? Planning to tip him off early?"

Yu Feng said flatly, "He isn't my student."

"Oh, what a cold-blooded Coach Yu. Fine. You've been drilling a few warm-up fighters lately, right? Are they ready to be used?"

Yu Feng's brows twitched.

"Not yet. Isn't the gimmick supposed to be Zhang Yao overcoming a Contracted Fighter? Why would we need warm-up acts?"

"Not yet? I think you're the one who's becoming less and less capable, Old Yu."

Zhou Hu said with dissatisfaction, "I'm worried the brat won't put on a good show, or that Gao Lei won't put in the effort. Let's have a few warm-up fights to stir up the atmosphere first."

"Those few... most of them are only average."

Zhou Hu frowned slightly.

"That's boring."

He thought for a moment, then slapped the table.

"Just put them on anyway; it'll be good enough. I'll tell Zhang Yao to keep it clean—no need for any brutal slaughter."

Yu Feng's expression softened slightly, and he nodded.

Zhou Hu eyed him and suddenly asked, "Old Yu, you aren't feeling sorry for your student, are you?"

Yu Feng looked at him and said coldly, "I'll say it again: there are no students of mine here."

"My students died a long time ago."

Feeling the sudden chill in Yu Feng's gaze, Zhou Hu smiled and waved a hand, signaling for him to leave.

A commercial van slowly drove from The Park toward the large iron gate.

A guard walked to the driver's side, scanned the entry permit handed over by the driver, and counted the people inside before waving them through.

The large iron gate creaked open, and the armed sentries watched with cold eyes as the van drove off into the distance along the potholed road.

Inside the vehicle, Chen Chong leaned against the window, watching the gray-black shanties and low-rise buildings recede on both sides. The sky on this winter evening had already turned dark. The streetlights stood like silent, guarding shadows, and only faint flickers of light passed through the buildings. The orange halogen lamps were the only source of light on the street, moving slowly through the silence.

The van took a few turns, and the outside world gradually grew noisy. Cautious pedestrians appeared on the streets, and shops along the road opened their doors intermittently, their dim lights hiding whatever they were selling inside. On the long street ahead, other vehicles were moving forward; the van merged into the flow, and the second and third floors of the buildings along the road lit up with colorful lights.

It grew even noisier outside; they were approaching the liveliest part of the small town.

Chen Chong felt Li Xiaoguang move beside him. He turned his head and saw him looking at him with deep, unreadable eyes.

He shook his head slightly, and Li Xiaoguang slowly nodded in return.

They had known for days that they would be stepping into the ring today.

The ring was at the Thunder Dragon Bar, and the bar was on the town's commercial street—which meant it was outside The Park. Thunder Dragon was not the only master of this small town.

Therefore, they had a chance to get out.

Li Xiaoguang had quietly expressed his desire to look for an opportunity, but Chen Chong was not optimistic; at the very least, they had yet to solve the problem of the Earth Dragon Soup.

Although he was already immune to it, he could not help the others.

Moreover, now was not a good time to escape.

The people in the back row and the driver were all from the Thunder Dragon Bar, and their waists were bulging, clearly carrying firearms.

They did not know if these security guards had reached a realm or not, but the things at their waists alone were of a higher level than the four of them.

More importantly, Yu Feng was sitting in the passenger seat.

Even if Yu Feng were not there, hijacking the car was unrealistic. They had heard that cars used for such missions did not carry much fuel and certainly could not drive out of the small town—evidently, there were precedents for this.

Once they got out of the car, they could look for an opportunity, but Chen Chong did not hold out much hope.

They would be under someone's watch the entire time they entered and exited the bar, and at least one of either Yu Feng or Zhou Hu would be stationed at the bar most of the time.

These were fighters at the second realm or higher, and at times, they were more intimidating than firearms.

In short, this trip was just to scout the path; the ring match later was what really needed worrying about.

Chen Chong closed his eyes slightly and began to calculate.

His Breathing Method was practiced well, but unfortunately, he had not yet successfully used it in actual combat, though his Combat Drill was already very proficient.

Although it was only sparring training, forced by the pressure of survival and backed by his realm, his growth rate in actual combat surprised not only his three companions but even Yu Feng, who had not offered any sharp criticism over the past two days.

The few of them had already figured out part of Yu Feng's temper; he would not praise people, but as long as he did not scold, it meant there was no major problem.

The progress of his Bone Tempering had also increased rapidly these past few days. Chen Chong estimated that if he exerted his full strength, his punching power was already over 300 kilograms, and perhaps after practicing for a while longer, he could approach the 500-kilogram mark.

Anything over 500 kilograms fell into the category of a "realm," and the exact amount depended on each person's training method and physical talent. Chen Chong could not ask Yu Feng to check him clearly, but he felt that at his current stage, he should be less than halfway to the Beam Setting.

Then there was the other progress.

19%.

Chen Chong pondered slightly.

Ten days had passed since he opened the First Form, and this progress was much slower than he had imagined.

He had anticipated that the progress of the Second Form would certainly slow down, but he had not expected it to be this slow.

This did not mean his realm or strength—his strength was improving quickly—it was just that the evolution of his talent had slowed down. His various abilities were improving slowly, but not by much.

It looked like he had improved quite a bit in ten days, but the problem was that it would get slower and slower; two months was definitely not enough for another breakthrough at this rate.

It seemed that eating only Nutrient Paste and a bowl of Earth Dragon Soup every other day could not satisfy his appetite—or perhaps his palate?

The leap in strength after opening the First Form was something Chen Chong could not forget. In this environment fraught with crises, besides practicing boxing, the improvement of his talent was also of paramount importance, even the more important foundation and basis.

"I need better food, at least something better than Nutrient Paste."

Up ahead, he could already see the rainbow sign of the Thunder Dragon Bar, shining blindingly in the night of this settlement. The bar occupied nearly half a street; it was huge, and people were streaming in and out of the entrance. Even though few people could be seen elsewhere, it was as if everyone in the entire settlement had come here.

The business van suddenly turned, veering into a dim alley next to the bar, and then stopped at the back door.

The van door slowly opened, and Chen Chong jumped out, his old leather boots hitting the sewage with a thud. Thunder Dragon had issued a few sets of clothes; today he was wearing a gray, worn leather jacket with a black thermal shirt underneath, and a pair of pilling beige sweatpants—which were originally supposed to be white.

The four of them got out one after another and followed Yu Feng through the back door. They passed through a dim corridor and arrived directly at a foul-smelling waiting room.

In the room, there were benches, dumbbells, and several unlocked lockers. Above them were old ceiling fans and fluorescent lights, and to the side was a row of vents near the ceiling. Looking out, one could look up at a large ring.

It seemed that both the ring and the spectator stands were elevated; the spectator stands should be right above their heads, and at this moment, the sound of the commotion was constantly drifting down.

Yu Feng picked up four Number Jerseys and handed them to the four one by one. Wang Li was number one, and Chen Chong was number four.

"Your opponent today is Zhang Yao."

Yu Feng said indifferently.

Warm-up Fighters had no treatment to speak of, which could be seen from the waiting room; they only found out who their opponent was at this very moment.

"Zhang Yao?! I—I'm going first?"

Wang Li raised his voice, his legs seemingly trembling slightly.

Yu Feng said calmly:

"You don't need to worry too much. Today is mainly to pave the way for his signing; the main event is his match against a Contracted Fighter at the end.

"So you won't be participating in the performance, and you might not even all have to go on stage. However, in the limited time you are on stage, you can show your level. Both I and The Big Boss will be watching from above."

After saying these few sentences, Yu Feng told them to wait, and then he actually walked away directly.

Only the four of them were left in the room.

Li Xiaoguang's eyes suddenly became lively, but after thinking about it, he said dejectedly:

"There was only one road when we just came in, they are still there at the back door, and the front door... it's time to go on stage."

Wang Li grunted:

"Otherwise, do you think they are fools? And even if, what then? What about your Earth Dragon Soup? I heard that it's The Big Boss's exclusive formula. Once you drink a mouthful, you can never escape his palm! No one can, no one in the whole town can."

Li Xiaoguang took a deep breath, quickly returned to calm, and said with firm eyes:

"Then let's fight."

He didn't specify what he meant by "fight," sounding as if he were referring to the match at hand, yet implying something more.

Wang Li smacked his lips:

"We're lucky, at least we don't have to spill our own blood to warm up the crowd this time. Zhang Yao is looking to level up... I get it now, no wonder he's been messing with us lately! He knew all along we'd cross paths with him today."

Wang Li seemed to have figured it all out, clapping his hands together:

"Damn it, not only did he snatch up our meal portions, but every time we ran into him in the cafeteria, he'd throw snide remarks our way, as if us eating Nutrient Paste was an eyesore to him! Turns out he was genuinely afraid that if we ate our fill and built up our strength, we'd get in his way today."

The group looked at each other, realizing that Zhang Yao's relentless mockery every time he saw them eating Nutrient Paste all these days actually had this hidden motive.

"That guy, he's already got a guaranteed spot, what a coward."

Li Xiaoguang spat:

"If we weren't here, I'd give him a real fight."

"Don't you dare be impulsive!"

Wang Li was startled.

"I know, I'm just saying."

Li Xiaoguang lowered his eyes.

Having been in The Park for over ten days, he had long since reined in his student-like temperament. He knew this was actually a good thing for them; they just needed to go through the motions, and Zhang Yao certainly wouldn't want to waste too much energy either.

Wang Li pursed his lips, and the waiting room fell into silence.

The wait was agonizing; he seemed restless, eventually rushing off to the room's private restroom.

Liu Hetao also looked perpetually distracted and fearful. This was their first time experiencing such a scene. Even if it was just going through the motions, the underground fighting ring was a place where blood was often spilled. The platform had been soaked in the blood of countless predecessors, and even this waiting room felt the same; they could almost smell the scent of rust.

Li Xiaoguang let out a breath and whispered:

"I never thought my first time on a real fighting ring would be in a place like this."

Chen Chong looked at him:

"Haven't you been on a ring before?"

"That was just at the gym. I mean a real, ticketed fighting match with an audience."

"Oh? You have dreams of being a fighting star?"

"Not exactly. It's just that my girlfriend wants me to be a fighting star; she says it's cooler that way."

Chen Chong was stunned:

"You have a girlfriend? You never mentioned it."

Li Xiaoguang scratched his head:

"Sort of. I've agreed, but she hasn't yet. She said if I can place in the District Level Fighting Tournament, she'll consider it."

"..."

Chen Chong was silent for a moment, then said:

"I think you'd be better off finding a senior student."

"The senior students aren't as pretty as my girlfriend, I'll leave them to you. I still prefer my girlfriend."

"I appreciate that."

Li Xiaoguang laughed:

"When we all get into Wu Yuan, the four of us can spar and train together."

"That sounds a bit weird..."

"Number 1, get on stage!"

The door suddenly swung open, and a staff member shouted.

The three of them looked toward the restroom, from which Wang Li's anxious voice emerged:

"I—I've got diarrhea!"

"Brother Li, you really know how to pick your timing!"

Li Xiaoguang rolled his eyes, stripped off his "2" jersey, and tossed his jacket onto the coat rack:

"I'll go in his place."

"Good luck."

Chen Chong and Li Xiaoguang bumped fists:

"Don't kill Zhang Yao."

Li Xiaoguang chuckled:

"Fine, for your sake, I'll spare his life. But... you're still the one I want to beat the most."

He stared intently into Chen Chong's eyes as he spoke, then walked out of the waiting room and closed the door behind him.

Chen Chong and Liu Hetao looked up through the row of vents and saw Li Xiaoguang walk up the stairs, pull back the ropes, and slip into the boxing ring.

Opposite him, Zhang Yao also stepped onto the stage, grinning as he looked at him:

"The Rice Bucket Quartet has arrived. Are you ready to get beaten up?"

Li Xiaoguang's expression darkened as he replied:

"If we weren't here, I'd beat the crap out of you."

Zhang Yao narrowed his eyes:

"I don't like the way you talk. It's rude."

"Fine!"

With a boom, the nearby spectators erupted into an uproar, sensing the tension already escalating during the trash-talk phase.

The referee stepped aside and waved his hand, signaling the start of the match.

Through the vent, Chen Chong saw Zhang Yao launch an aggressive attack right from the start.

He truly lived up to his reputation as the top dog of the Practice Building; although his background played a part, his cultivation level was not low, and his boxing technique had its merits, clearly surpassing those of them who had only just begun to train.

Li Xiaoguang defended with great difficulty, taking two heavy blows that left him wincing in pain. He could have held on longer and even had opportunities to counterattack, but thinking that the loss was already predetermined, he decided to save his energy. After enduring a few more rounds and being forced into a corner, he leaned against the ropes and raised his hand to signal his surrender.

However, even though he had raised his hand and the referee had acknowledged it, Zhang Yao suddenly landed a hook to his jaw, sending him spinning and collapsing to the floor.

The referee froze for a moment, glanced back at the private box, and then stepped aside.

"Bravo!!"

The audience went wild. Zhang Yao climbed onto the corner post of the ring, waving his hands upward to soak in the cheers of the crowd.

Chen Chong saw Zhang Yao cup his hand to his ear as if listening, then jump down from the post and walk over to Li Xiaoguang. Li Xiaoguang weakly raised his hand, but Zhang Yao simply grinned and then violently raised his leg to stomp down.

Chen Chong could no longer see.

The vent had been plastered over with a mass of crimson.