The First Duel

Li Tingxuan was an expert brought in by Chen Xinyu's second brother. Chen Xinyu hadn't prepared any information on this man for Xiao Hen beforehand, which clearly showed she was well aware of his strength and didn't think he posed a threat.

And that was indeed the case. Li Tingxuan fought the two-time national Sanda champion brought by Chen Xinyu's elder brother and was defeated in under ten minutes.

Xiao Hen, however, watched from below with a thoughtful expression, his gaze fixed on Li Tingxuan with a glint of interest. The man was no spring chicken—a middle-aged man in his forties. Though he'd lost to Lei Yong, the national Sanda champion, he'd held out for nearly ten minutes. Watching their bout, Xiao Hen understood that Li Tingxuan had real skill in his hands, but his stamina simply couldn't match Lei Yong, a strapping young man in his twenties, which was why he'd fallen so quickly.

"Mr. Li, are you alright?" Chen Xinyu's second brother asked, hurrying over without much disappointment at the defeat, concerned about Li Tingxuan's condition.

"Thank you for your concern, Second Young Master. I'm fine, just a few scrapes!" Li Tingxuan waved a hand and smiled.

Lei Yong, already declared the victor by the referee, let out a snicker. "Old man, if you can't hack it, go home and retire early. What are you still doing here, trying to show off?"

"Young man, martial arts are mainly for strengthening the body. Keep training like this, and when you reach my age, you'll regret it." With that, Li Tingxuan stepped off the ring and went to watch from the sidelines with Chen Xinyu's second brother.

"Regret? Hahaha, a loser like you dares to spout that crap at me?" Lei Yong shook his head with a laugh. Losers always left some tough talk to save face—he'd seen plenty of their kind.

"Mr. Xiao, look at this Lei Yong. Can you beat him?" Chen Xinyu asked, glancing worriedly at Lei Yong during the break, then turning to Xiao Hen beside her.

"Don't worry. This Lei Yong is nothing to fear. Beating him won't be a problem at all."

Xiao Hen suddenly changed the subject. "By the way, I want to ask—how's your relationship with your second brother?"

Chen Xinyu was taken aback. "Why do you ask? It's alright, I guess."

"That Li Tingxuan's strength isn't much, but his hand techniques are decent. Can you set up a meeting for me? I want to learn some boxing from him." In combat, Xiao Hen relied entirely on his physical fitness and powerful battle instincts. He had no real boxing skills at all. Even though the Shuttle had rewarded him with a sharp longsword earlier, without any swordsmanship, he'd probably just end up swinging it with brute force.

Li Tingxuan's boxing was genuinely good, with its own unique merits. If possible, Xiao Hen wanted to learn that style to boost his survival odds in the other world.

"I'll... give it a try." Chen Xinyu nodded. She couldn't be sure her second brother and Li Tingxuan would agree. After all, they were still competitors right now. But if Xiao Hen could beat Lei Yong and secure her position as president of Chen's Group, she believed her newly weakened second brother wouldn't refuse.

"Next up is the final match of the day. Please welcome Mr. Xiao Hen and Mr. Lei Yong to the stage."

The referee's voice rang out. Chen Xinyu and her elder brother both snapped their heads up, eyes blazing as they locked onto each other. This match was crucial, tied to both their interests—neither wanted to lose.

"Be careful. This Xiao guy is no joke. He knocked out Zhuang Haotian with one kick—he's got real skill. Don't you lose to me!" Chen Xinyu's elder brother warned Lei Yong.

"Relax. I've got this handled. That Zhuang Haotian's just a waste. Thinks he's hot stuff because he competed internationally. Too bad—I'm the two-time national champion, and he's lost to me plenty of times. All he can do is go to international tournaments and hope for a good ranking. What a pity, what a pity—a waste is a waste!" Lei Yong snickered, clearly holding some grudge against Zhuang Haotian.

"Good, as long as you know." Chen Xinyu's elder brother nodded.

"Good luck!" On Chen Xinyu's side, she opened her mouth, wanting to say more, but only managed to spit out those two words.

Xiao Hen waved a hand, stood up, and walked to the ring, facing Lei Yong. Compared to Lei Yong's burly frame, Xiao Hen's lean build carried no intimidation at all. If not for the fact that he'd just taken down Zhuang Haotian with a single kick, probably no one watching—including Chen Xinyu—would have any faith in him.

"Ready?" The referee glanced at both of them and asked.

"Ready!"

"Ready!"

The referee made a gesture, swung his hand down, and barked, "Fight, begin!"

"Ha!"

The moment the referee finished, Lei Yong stomped the ground and charged forward. His massive frame barreled ahead like a tank, exuding an unstoppable momentum.

An ordinary person might have been intimidated by Lei Yong's shout and aura, but not Xiao Hen. As someone who'd braved a biochemical apocalypse, who'd fought in and out of vicious Taotie monster hordes, how could he be scared off by a Sanda fighter?

"Bam..."

Xiao Hen moved swiftly, blocking Lei Yong's fast punch with a palm strike.

"Not bad strength." Xiao Hen could feel the immense force behind Lei Yong's fist. His mind ran a quick calculation—Lei Yong's strength was impressive for an ordinary person, with a Combat Power of five. Even elite special forces soldiers might not be his match.

"But beating me? Not a chance." Xiao Hen pushed back, throwing a punch with blinding speed. Lei Yong couldn't react in time before the fist slammed into his shoulder.

Lei Yong felt his shoulder go numb, an overwhelming force he couldn't resist shoving him back.

Slap slap slap...

His feet pounded the ground in a rapid staccato. Lei Yong rubbed his shoulder, shook his arm vigorously to restore feeling. "This guy... his moves are so fast I can't even react."

He threw another punch, only to be knocked back by Xiao Hen again. After several exchanges, he realized he had no advantage on offense.

Lei Yong felt a twitch at the corner of his eye. Gritting his teeth, he dropped into a defensive stance, waiting for Xiao Hen to attack. He'd decided to look for an opening and counterattack.

"You want me to attack? Then you've got no chance." Xiao Hen smiled faintly, sprang off the ground, and shot forward. In an instant, he was right in front of Lei Yong, landing three rapid punches—bang, bang, bang—on the crossed arms Lei Yong had raised to guard his head.

Xiao Hen's punches were heavy and solid. Lei Yong's expression shifted as he stumbled back, a whistling sound filling his ears—the sound of fists tearing through air. He tried to change his stance, but it was too late.

Bam!

A fist packed with immense force struck Lei Yong's head. A wave of dizziness hit him, his eyes rolled back, and he crumpled to the ground.

Xiao Hen pulled back his fist, turned to the slightly stunned referee, and said, "Can you announce the result now?"

The referee gave the unconscious Lei Yong a quick check, then declared loudly, "The winner of this match is Mr. Xiao Hen of Jiangcheng Martial Arts Hall!"

"We won, we won! Auntie, Mr. Xiao won!" Chen Xinyu jumped up in joy.

"Mm, we won." The middle-aged woman smiled too, while Yu Li beside Chen Xinyu bounced up cheering.

"Not bad, not bad. For Jiangcheng Martial Arts Hall to have such a skilled instructor is truly rare." One of the Chen family elders praised.

"Since the match has a result, let's decide accordingly."

"Agreed."

Whatever the Chen family elders thought, Xiao Hen, having secured first place in the match, turned and walked off the stage. At that moment, a soft ding echoed in his mind, followed by the Shuttle's crisp mechanical voice.

"Congratulations to the host for completing the side quest: Martial Arts Tournament, achieving first place. Reward: Star Chasing Bow. It has been stored in the host's exclusive space. Please check and confirm."

Star Chasing Bow? Another cold weapon. Xiao Hen shook his head. What he really hoped for was a high-tech firearm—the destructive power of advanced weaponry had to be stronger than a bow.

"The next dimensional world mission begins in three days. Please prepare," the Shuttle reminded.

"Three days..."

Xiao Hen pondered for a moment, then walked toward Chen Xinyu. He had to find a way to learn some boxing techniques from Li Tingxuan within three days, along with the hundred thousand yuan Chen Xinyu had promised him. With that money, he could stock up on more supplies.

Next chapter, a new volume begins. Please throw me a recommendation ticket—thank you!