Outburst

The referee exchanged a glance with Chen Chong, raised his eyebrows, and stepped back.

Zhang Yao, completely ignored by Chen Chong, felt his face stiffen as his expression instantly darkened.

First, he felt he was losing face; after all, he had always enjoyed being fawned over and loved being the center of the ring.

Second, he sensed that Chen Chong was somehow different from Li Xiaoguang.

He couldn't quite put his finger on whether it was his demeanor or his aura, but a faint sense of danger inexplicably rose in his heart, and he decided to strike first. His mind was sharper than his appearance suggested; tonight was his critical moment, and he would not allow any accidents to occur.

"Who the hell do you think you're acting for! I want to see if your head is harder than the last guy's!"

Before the referee had even fully retreated to the edge of the ring, Zhang Yao spat, lunged forward in two long strides, and pulled his massive fist back, slamming it forward like a battering ram!

The audience nearby held their breath.

Zhang Yao's attitude and the strength he displayed were clearly different from before. Those in the front row even grew nervous, subconsciously leaning back as if that punch could strike them from across the air.

Beside the high-level private box.

Yu Feng, built like a black iron tower, watched the warm-up fighter in the ring, his brows furrowed tightly.

Hadn't he given instructions? Why was he on the stage?

In this situation, how could he possibly beat Zhang Yao?

Yu Feng's heart grew heavy.

In his eyes, Zhang Yao's level and talent were not worth mentioning.

If Chen Chong had been given a few more months of training, this fighter who relied on his sister selling her body to throw his weight around wouldn't even be fit to tie his shoelaces.

But it was too late; Chen Chong had trained for too short a time, and his foundation simply couldn't compare to his opponent's.

Especially after the recent accident, both sides were blinded by rage and wouldn't hold back. Chen Chong would likely struggle to walk away alive; being crippled and carried out would be a stroke of luck.

He was clearly blinded by fury.

Yu Feng felt a deep sense of regret.

But even a fighter with great talent, if he couldn't control his emotions, would eventually learn such a lesson. His lesson had just come a bit earlier than most... Perhaps if they weren't here, he would have had a chance to correct him, but unfortunately, there were no "perhaps."

Yu Feng was already lost in thought, having judged the outcome of the match the moment he saw Zhang Yao's seriousness. For once, he didn't want to watch what would happen next.

However, after a dull thud, the entire bar went quiet.

Yu Feng looked up and froze.

Inside the box.

Zhou Hu was roaring, while the woman had gone limp on the windowsill, soaked in sweat, her eyes hazy.

Truth be told, her ability to withstand a combatant of Zhou Hu's caliber was truly a rare gift; no normal man would ever be her match.

Yet, at the critical moment, Zhou Hu suddenly stopped.

The woman was dazed and subconsciously lifted her head, her blurred vision catching her brother fighting in the ring again, his fist already striking his enemy.

It looked like another satisfying victory. The woman puffed out her chest, a proud smile appearing on her face.

Zhang Yao unleashed his full-force cannon punch. He didn't know why Chen Chong didn't dodge or move, but he wouldn't hesitate; he slammed his fist toward Chen Chong's chest with all his might.

Bang!

A dull thud drowned out the noise of the entire bar.

The cannon punch collided with a palm and stopped.

It was Chen Chong's left hand.

He had simply raised his left hand to block Zhang Yao's heavy blow.

He didn't even sway, as if he had casually caught a baseball tossed by a child.

Zhang Yao's eyes widened like copper bells.

He clearly felt his power pouring into his opponent's palm, yet Chen Chong showed no reaction at all!

Being blocked wasn't the scary part; since Chen Chong had made him wary, he hadn't expected to knock him out with one punch.

But for his full-force punch, carried by his momentum, Chen Chong hadn't even retreated a step, nor had his body even wavered.

This defied all logic.

After a moment of shock, Zhang Yao's hair stood on end. He immediately kicked off the ground and retreated rapidly, terrified that his fist would be locked by Chen Chong.

The thought process took only an instant, and his reaction was swift; he pulled his fist back almost as soon as he made contact.

Seeing the distance opened, Zhang Yao's gaze turned vicious, and he twisted his waist with a speed that defied his build.

Whoosh!

A standard high whip kick brought with it a piercing sonic boom, reaching Chen Chong's ear in an instant!

He hadn't relied solely on his sister to get this far; this move was his finishing blow, one that had ended many strong opponents in the past. Today, he had intended to save it for the very end, specifically to deal with Gao Lei.

Watching the whip kick streak forward like a phantom, it should have shattered Chen Chong's head the very next instant.

But suddenly, his entire body came to an abrupt halt, as if someone had pressed a pause button.

Transitioning from extreme motion to absolute stillness, Zhang Yao didn't even have time to react; it felt as though he had kicked an iron plate that shouldn't have been there, meeting zero resistance—

Yet with the force behind that kick, even an iron plate would have been shattered, and even kicking a mountain should have produced some recoil.

However, there was no reaction at all, as if the power in his leg had been confiscated, and this sudden stillness left him completely disoriented.

He focused his eyes, only to realize that Chen Chong had raised his hand and caught his lower leg directly.

Still, not a single tremor.

Zhang Yao's pupils shrank to the size of needle points.

It was one thing for his cannon punch to be easily neutralized, but this was a whip kick, a side-striking blow—how could Chen Chong remain completely unmoved?

Before he could process the thought, Chen Chong finally moved.

But not in the way he had hoped.

Chen Chong's palm tightened suddenly, locking onto Zhang Yao's leg like an iron shackle, and then he jerked upward!

Zhang Yao instantly lost his center of gravity, flung high into the air, and once he reached the apex, he was accelerated downward—

Then slammed into the ground with full force!

BOOM!

A deafening roar echoed out, and the entire ring shook.

Zhang Yao was instantly dazed, the strength he had just gathered to retaliate completely dissipated.

But this was only the beginning.

Chen Chong lifted Zhang Yao's leg with one hand again, swinging the two-to-three-hundred-pound human bear like a ragdoll into the air, before slamming him into the ground once more!

CRASH!

His hand did not stop; he lifted Zhang Yao for a third time, then a fourth, a fifth... One of his hands hung at his side, while the other rose and fell, rose and fell, like an emotionless executioner.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM—

The sound of flesh slamming against the floor was deafening, standing in stark contrast to the deathly silence of the entire bar.

From the moment Chen Chong caught the first punch, which had surprised the audience, to this moment where he tossed Zhang Yao around like a toy despite their comparable size, everything had happened in just a few breaths.

The spectators had expected a quick finish, they had expected blood and gore, but they had never imagined the roles would be reversed, nor that it would be done with such violence and impact!

Even the most seasoned onlookers had never seen one fighter treat another like a ragdoll; they had seen bloodier scenes, but never violence of this nature.

Everyone held their breath, staring in stunned silence at the scene on the ring, watching blood gradually spread across the floor, watching flesh and bone fragments splatter onto the faces of the dazed audience in the front row.

This was a sight they would likely never forget for the rest of their lives.

The referee finally snapped out of his stupor after a long moment and hurriedly blew his whistle!

Tweet—

"Stop! Stop! It's over!"

He shouted while making hand gestures, but Chen Chong slammed the bloodied Zhang Yao onto the ground with a thud two more times before finally letting go, right in front of the referee.

The referee, who had intended to say more, was so startled he dared not utter another word; he had a sinking feeling that if he said one more syllable, he would be the next one sent flying.

Chen Chong slowly regulated his rhythmic breathing and walked step by step toward Zhang Yao.

It had to be said that those nearing the threshold of a new realm possessed truly tenacious vitality; he still had a breath left in him.

He turned his head slightly, and even though his blurred vision couldn't make out the face opposite him, he knew it was Chen Chong approaching.

"Why... why?"

Zhang Yao's sluggish consciousness held only confusion.

How had his prized killing move turned into his own death trap?

The lifting motion of a whip kick looked like a vulnerability, but in reality, because of its immense power, the best choice for an opponent at the same level was to dodge. Even if forced to take it head-on, most would stumble or at least go through a process of dissipating the force; it was impossible to counterattack instantly.

Therefore, as long as the whip kick was mastered, it was impossible to counter easily unless the gap in strength was insurmountable.

Yet Chen Chong had caught his leg with such nonchalant ease.

Could the gap in their realms really be that vast?

But he could clearly sense that Chen Chong had not yet reached that realm.

Chen Chong did not answer; he simply raised his leg.

Before the referee could realize what was happening, his leather boot came down heavily.

Crunch.

An unsettling, shattering sound echoed through the quiet bar, heard by every single spectator.

The audience was jolted back to reality, their breathing growing ragged.

Whoosh!

People outside the Thunder Dragon Bar turned their heads in unison, looking with astonishment at the cheers that had nearly blown the roof off the building, before turning back around just as quickly.

Most likely, another bloody boxing match had just ended.

They didn't think much of it, nor could they have imagined what this day would mean for this small town.

In their eyes, this was just another ordinary commotion on the bar street.

On the ring, Chen Chong looked at the referee, whose face was a complex mix of emotions, and said calmly:

"It's over now."

He turned, bypassed the corner, pulled back the ropes to step off the ring, and walked into the corridor, leaving a trail of blood-red footprints behind him.

He walked into the waiting room and saw Wang Li, Liu Hetao, and several staff members in orderly uniforms standing inside, all staring at him with the same dazed expressions.

Swept by Chen Chong's deep, dark gaze, the orderlies hurriedly lowered their heads and placed Li Xiaoguang onto a stretcher to carry him away; they were there to dispose of the corpse.

The orderlies carried the stretcher out, walked into the passageway, and pushed open the back door.

The light from a streetlamp leaked into the dim corridor, and Li Xiaoguang finally left this place through that exit.

Chen Chong watched that direction in silence, whispering to himself:

"Farewell, classmate."