Female Pugilist

The training room fell into a deep silence.

Pei Li looked at Chen Chong, a dazed expression on her face.

Why hadn't his arm snapped just now?

She had used almost her entire body weight to torque his left arm; with the leverage of her lock, even a solid steel pipe should have broken.

This completely defied everything she had learned since she began practicing combat.

Yet the facts were right before her eyes: for the first time, her ground game had failed to submit an opponent, and instead, she had been pinned down firmly—

If word of this got out, not a single fighter in Small Building would believe it.

Many people felt that even someone who had just entered the realm would be unable to escape once locked in by Pei Li.

But, the reality was what it was.

Closing her eyes in a moment of slight humiliation, Pei Li said with difficulty:

"I lost."

Chen Chong let out a breath.

He had won with great difficulty, and in the end, he had indeed had to rely on his talent.

But even with the ability to reduce damage, a weakness was still a weakness; his left elbow joint was throbbing with a dull ache.

Fortunately, it was nothing serious, and having fulfilled his wish to spar intensely with a master of ground fighting, he had gained a great deal. As he replayed the various entanglements and counter-attacks in his mind, he nodded slowly.

As long as he wasn't completely immobilized, he could rely on his talent to turn the tables, even if he fell into a stalemate on the ground with a grappling expert. After this battle, he had gained experience, and his methods for turning the tide would only increase.

That was enough.

Of course, the most important thing was to avoid fighting in someone else's comfort zone. Pei Li's inspired flying kick had given him food for thought; presumably, other ground-fighting experts would also have one or two finishing moves to drag their enemies to the floor...

"Why haven't you done it yet?"

A cold voice suddenly came from beneath him, interrupting Chen Chong's mental review.

Chen Chong was stunned for a moment. Looking at Pei Li's icy gaze, he released his grip:

"It was just a spar, no need for that."

Pei Li frowned as she watched Chen Chong move away from her body, a flicker of confusion crossing her face. However, she immediately recalled something, and her expression turned cold once more:

"Don't expect me to do it myself. If you want it, come and take it."

"Hm?"

Chen Chong looked stunned. He scanned Pei Li, who lay there like a dead fish yet remained completely tense, and couldn't help but pull a strange face:

"I think you've misunderstood something..."

"Hm?"

Now it was Pei Li's turn to look bewildered. She sat up and stared at Chen Chong:

"You won, aren't you supposed to take me?"

Chen Chong looked at Pei Li's sharp, angular face and her hair, which was cut even shorter than his own, and waved his hands repeatedly:

"When did I ever say that? No, absolutely not."

"Oh... so you really were just talking about fighting."

Pei Li's expression turned awkward for a moment, followed by a mix of relief, complexity, and other strange emotions.

She sized up Chen Chong's look of polite refusal; she was happy, but it didn't seem like she was that happy.

"Little brother, you aren't still a virgin, are you?"

Pei Li asked, looking thoughtful.

Chen Chong said flatly:

"I've killed people."

"Ha? Oh, um, I see. A little brother who has killed people."

Pei Li instantly wore an ambiguous expression, looking less resistant. Her gaze swept over Chen Chong in a way that made him feel rather uncomfortable.

"You must kill hundreds of millions of people every night, right? Have you ever thought about... hehe."

Seeing Chen Chong's expression grow increasingly cold, Pei Li tactfully ended the topic, only saying earnestly:

"You really are just as I thought—a pure fighter. It's just a pity you came to a place like this..."

Chen Chong shook his head, saying nothing as he watched Pei Li begin to tend to her own ankle.

With a sharp crack, Pei Li pushed her dislocated ankle back into place, then slowly rotated it, frowning.

She began to massage the area around her ankle with practiced movements to stimulate blood flow. Seeming focused on her healing, she suddenly spoke up:

"Female fighters have a much harder time here than the men. So do men who are good-looking."

Chen Chong nodded silently.

He knew that the few female fighters in the building were all attached to the big bosses. Li Jun had two lovers, and the others were all "spoken for" as well.

Only in this way could they avoid encountering all sorts of incidents during daily training, or having people sneak into their dorms at night.

However, this only provided limited security off the stage; there was nothing to be done about the stage itself.

Thunder Dragon held themed nights featuring female fighters, where the losers would be stripped bare in public, followed by events the audience loved to see, sometimes even inviting lucky audience members onto the stage.

Pei Li was likely the only female fighter who could hold her own, but when she first arrived, she had lost several times, both on and off the stage.

In this place overflowing with testosterone, even male fighters with halfway decent looks had to be careful, let alone these genuine, hot-bodied female fighters.

Chen Chong suddenly had a vague guess as to why Pei Li had never advanced.

As far as he knew, Pei Li had been in this Small Building for a very long time.

For people like her and Li Jun who could survive in this place for such a long time, being blocked by the threshold of entering a realm was a low-probability event.

Li Jun was afraid of retaliation, while Pei Li was likely afraid that once she entered a realm, she would be the weakest among the contracted fighters, and the situation awaiting her would surely be grim.

Finally finishing tending to her injuries and successfully standing up, Pei Li stared into Chen Chong's eyes:

"You're a decent person, but that's not a good thing."

"I think you've misunderstood; I'm just not interested in that sort of thing."

Chen Chong said indifferently.

Pei Li shook her head:

"No, that's not why. I can tell that you're different from the others, and you don't fit in with this place at all.

"But here, if you want to survive, you either blend in or keep growing stronger."

Chen Chong didn't quite understand why she said that. He could kill without mercy here and steal others' food without a burden; he was doing things he never dared to imagine before.

However, he had no interest in delving into what Pei Li was thinking, simply stating:

"I know."

Pei Li looked him over for a moment, then suddenly said:

"I also want to thank you. Stagnating like this, I'll lose again sooner or later. I've decided to advance soon; you should be about ready too, right?

"However, Earth Dragon Meat has been a bit scarce lately; I heard there's a problem over at the Hunting Grounds. Who knows how long the wait will be? After all, those with realms also like this kind of ration. Well, although we use it for advancement and they use it for a snack, they still get priority."

"Hunting Grounds?"

Chen Chong had never heard this term.

"It's an area outside the town where the park hunts for Earth Dragon. But Earth Dragon is such a good resource that Thunder Dragon doesn't have exclusive rights to it, so there are often frictions."

Pei Li explained briefly:

"If it's delayed for too long, by convention, the Security Department might organize a large team, and people like us are very likely to be chosen."

"Go outside the town?"

Chen Chong's heart stirred.

Pei Li didn't seem to notice, merely curling her lips into a cold arc:

"Yes. But why do you think the Security Department would take us bar fighters along? They've always looked down on us.

"It's just that these conflicts are very likely to escalate into wars with other companies. They need cannon fodder, and you and I are both just that."