Exhibition Match

Situ Changtian brought Zhang Shuai and Huang Tianli into a private room to wait. A short while later, the bar's raucous music stopped, and the host's voice came through the microphone, announcing the official start of today's first match.

The first fighter to enter the ring was Joseph, a Black boxer from the Beautiful Country. The audience's repeated cheers made it clear that Joseph was popular. When the host announced Zhang Shuai's entrance from the Dragon Kingdom, the crowd's cheers were just as loud. It looked like Zhang Shuai had gained plenty of fans from his last match.

Joseph's skin was very dark. Black people had dark skin to begin with, but Joseph's was among the darkest, glossy and black as coal. His skin looked darker than that of the many other Black people in the bar. Perhaps his ancestry was purer.

Joseph was about 1.78 meters tall, just a little taller than Zhang Shuai. He had a buzz cut and was bare-chested, with muscles bulging all over his body and clearly defined abs. At a glance, he looked like a power fighter.

The steel door of the octagonal cage was locked. Joseph and Zhang Shuai stood in the ring, facing each other from three meters apart.

Looking at the pitch-black guy, Zhang Shuai thought he looked like a gorilla. He really was ugly.

Joseph's expression was grave. Zhang Shuai looked smaller than him in both height and build, but Joseph didn't dare underestimate him. Mikhail had been utterly defeated by Zhang Shuai yesterday, beaten so badly that his face was completely disfigured. He would probably have to spend months in the hospital before he could recover.

There was no such thing as luck in underground boxing. Victory was the truest measure of strength. Zhang Shuai had beaten Mikhail, so he must be exceptionally capable. Joseph had also heard that this young man from the Dragon Kingdom seemed to know martial arts. Dragon Kingdom martial arts were famous around the world, and Joseph had certainly watched martial arts movies from the Dragon Kingdom. These days, Blue Star had two superpowers: the Beautiful Country and the Dragon Kingdom in the East!

The Dragon Kingdom was now no weaker than the Beautiful Country in terms of its economy, technology, or military might. The Beautiful Country, once Blue Star's sole superpower, was gradually losing its position, while the Dragon Kingdom's influence on the world stage continued to grow. In recent years, the whole world had begun learning about and studying the civilization of the Eastern Dragon Kingdom.

In the eyes of the Western elite, the Dragon Kingdom was the only ancient civilization still in existence. Its unique writing was the most extraordinary and hardest to learn in the world, yet language experts across the West all acknowledged that Dragon Kingdom writing was the most advanced. It was more efficient and precise than any other language in the world, and it was also more artistic and evocative.

Joseph was studying the Dragon Kingdom's language. He was utterly fascinated by its culture. To him, the Eastern Dragon Kingdom was mysterious and breathtakingly beautiful. He fought in matches because he wanted to earn more money. Once he had enough, he hoped to travel through the Dragon Kingdom and see its magnificent landscapes and customs for himself.

So when Joseph saw Zhang Shuai standing in the ring, calm and composed, he took the initiative to greet him in a friendly manner.

"Hello! My friend from the Dragon Kingdom. I really like your culture. So if you think you can't beat me later, just tell me, and I'll go easy on you!"

Zhang Shuai had been looking rather unconcerned, but when Joseph suddenly spoke in Dragon language, his eyes widened in surprise.

A pitch-black Black man could speak Dragon language? Though his speech wasn't very clear and his accent was a little awkward, Zhang Shuai had understood him.

Hearing Dragon language spoken by a Black man in this foreign land made Zhang Shuai feel an unexpected warmth. Looking at Joseph again, he thought, well, maybe he wasn't that ugly after all!

Apart from his black skin, he still looked fairly human. He definitely wasn't a gorilla!

And the man had clearly been trying to be friendly. He'd even said he liked Dragon Kingdom culture. Zhang Shuai believed him. The fact that he'd learned Dragon language showed he was interested in the culture.

With that in mind, Zhang Shuai decided to hold back a little and try not to hurt him.

"Hello, my Black friend. I didn't expect you to speak Dragon language. Since you like Dragon Kingdom culture, I'll go easy on you later. I won't make your loss too ugly."

Joseph said indignantly, "Friend, don't boast. Dragon Kingdom martial arts may be impressive, but I'm impressive too. You—"

Before Joseph could finish, the host below blew the whistle to start the match.

As soon as the whistle blew, Joseph fell silent and immediately entered fighting mode. He circled Zhang Shuai, looking for an opening to attack.

Zhang Shuai was happy to stall. He turned along with Joseph's movements, unhurriedly waiting for him to make the first move.

They circled each other for nearly a minute. The spectators below grew impatient and filled the bar with boos. Quite a few even shouted angry insults. They had paid for tickets to watch a fierce, bloody fight, not two men going around in circles.

Joseph had clearly been affected by the crowd's mood. Seeing that Zhang Shuai wasn't attacking, he couldn't hold back any longer. He dug his toe into the ground and surged forward, charging at Zhang Shuai like a black panther.

Zhang Shuai didn't move, waiting for Joseph to come to him. He watched Joseph swing his right arm and punch toward his chest.

The punch came like the wind. Zhang Shuai's hearing was exceptionally sharp, and he could clearly hear the sound of the fist cutting through the air. Just from the force behind Joseph's punch, Zhang Shuai could tell that Joseph was a little stronger than Mikhail.

For the sake of making the match more entertaining, Zhang Shuai chose not to dodge this time. Just as Joseph's fist was about to land on his chest, Zhang Shuai took half a step back and threw a punch of his own.

Their fists collided in midair.

Joseph felt an overwhelming force hit him. He stumbled backward several steps and slammed into the wire fence, shaking it violently and nearly losing his balance.

Only after he had managed to steady himself did Joseph realize that his entire right hand had gone numb and weak. His knuckles throbbed with piercing pain, as though he'd punched a thick steel plate.

Joseph stared at Zhang Shuai in shock. The young man from the Dragon Kingdom didn't look strong. How could he have such terrifying explosive power? His fist was like iron. Was he even human?

After just one exchange, Joseph knew he was no match for Zhang Shuai. But the rules of underground boxing didn't allow anyone to surrender. The fight could only end once someone was down and unable to continue.

Joseph was somewhat relieved that Zhang Shuai had said he would go easy on him. If Zhang Shuai had fought with all his strength, Joseph figured he would have been seriously injured, if not killed.

What Joseph didn't know was that Zhang Shuai had used less than a tenth of his strength in that punch. If he'd truly gone all out, no ordinary human could have withstood a full-force punch from Zhang Shuai.