Haruhi Hideaki

Seeing Joseph's pained expression, Zhang Shuai realized he had used too much force in that last punch and needed to hold back.

After trading that one blow, the two remained in a stalemate. Joseph didn't dare attack; his right hand was still numb and aching with a piercing, throbbing pain, so he could only circle Zhang Shuai while waiting for the sensation to return.

They stood off for a while longer, and the audience below grew impatient, beginning to jeer. They had been watching for over two minutes, and aside from that single exchange, the two had done nothing but circle each other. How could the crowd be satisfied with that?

Seeing that Joseph wouldn't make a move, Zhang Shuai knew the man was intimidated. He had no choice; to make the audience's ticket money worth it, he had to get Joseph to cooperate and put on a performance.

Zhang Shuai lunged toward Joseph, who retreated instinctively, backing right up against the chain-link fence.

Zhang Shuai closed in, leaned close, and lowered his voice. "Cooperate with me. Let's make this fight exciting so the crowd is satisfied. Don't worry, I won't use much strength!"

Joseph understood Zhang Shuai's meaning instantly and gave a subtle nod.

However, Joseph's right hand was completely useless, so he threw a left hook toward Zhang Shuai's face. Zhang Shuai ducked, dodging the blow, and simultaneously swept his leg toward Joseph's base. Joseph reacted quickly, leaping to the left to evade the strike.

Before Joseph could steady himself, Zhang Shuai planted one hand on the ground and kicked out, catching Joseph in the chest and sending him slamming into the chain-link fence.

Joseph realized he wasn't actually hurt; it was clear that while Zhang Shuai's kick looked powerful, it had carried very little force.

Reassured, the two began their exhibition match. Trading punches and kicks, they put on a lively show.

The audience grew excited, cheering loudly as they watched the intense-looking exchange.

After a few more minutes, Zhang Shuai decided it was time to wrap it up. Seeing Joseph panting and exhausted, Zhang Shuai caught him off guard with a kick that sent him sprawling. He then lunged forward, pinning Joseph down with his knee. The weight of that knee pressed down on Joseph like a small mountain, leaving him gasping for air and completely unable to move.

Joseph was stunned. Wasn't this supposed to be an exhibition match? Why is this guy from the Dragon Kingdom suddenly playing for real? Are people from the Dragon Kingdom really this cunning?

Soon, Zhang Shuai's fists began raining down on Joseph's head and face with lightning speed. The audience screamed in excitement; the punches were so dense and rapid that they could only see a blur of motion.

Joseph quickly realized something was off. He knew how heavy Zhang Shuai's punches were, but while these looked fast and fierce, they were actually light and lacked any real impact. They only caused a dull ache, though Zhang Shuai intentionally drew blood from his nose so that, from the audience's perspective, Joseph looked like he was being brutally beaten.

After a while, Zhang Shuai noticed Joseph grinning at him from the ground, flashing a mouthful of white teeth against his dark skin. Zhang Shuai was speechless. Black people really are a bit slow on the uptake; he doesn't even know how to act. We've been at this for so long, and he's still smiling? Is he playing around?

Unable to help himself, Zhang Shuai whispered, "You idiot, why aren't you playing dead?"

Prompted by Zhang Shuai, Joseph had a sudden realization and knew it was time for the performance to end.

He rolled his eyes back and lay motionless on the floor.

Zhang Shuai lifted his knee and stood up.

The audience cheered and screamed in excitement. After waiting about half a minute and seeing Joseph lying there like a dead weight, completely unconscious, the host finally declared Zhang Shuai from the Eastern Dragon Kingdom the winner.

Medical staff soon arrived with a stretcher to carry Joseph away. As Zhang Shuai stepped out of the octagon and made his way out of the bar, he was once again surrounded by excited, frenzied women. After struggling to push through the crowd, he finally escaped the bar under the protection of Situ Changtian and Huang Tianli.

Back at the hotel, Situ Changtian went to collect the prize money, while Huang Tianli dragged Zhang Shuai off to eat. Zhang Shuai had no choice but to follow.

It would seem very strange if he didn't eat with Huang Tianli for long periods of time.

Huang Tianli took Zhang Shuai to a restaurant run by people from the Dragon Kingdom near the hotel, and after a quick meal, they returned.

Shortly after, Situ Changtian arrived and told Zhang Shuai that the prize money had been collected and, as before, would be kept in his custody. There was another match at 8:30 PM against an opponent from the Island Nation named Haruhi Hideaki.

Situ Changtian didn't offer much information about Haruhi Hideaki, as it wasn't necessary.

He no longer had any doubts about Zhang Shuai's strength; no matter who the opponent was, Zhang Shuai would surely win.

While waiting for the match to begin, Zhang Shuai focused his mind on studying paleography. It was quite a dry subject, and if not for his intense determination to cultivate immortality, he would have found it hard to keep at it.

As the evening match approached, Situ Changtian arrived to take Zhang Shuai to the underground arena.

They reached the basement level, and after being searched by security, the three of them entered the bar.

The match began shortly after.

The evening crowd was even larger than the afternoon's. With two consecutive wins and his status as a mysterious fighter from the Eastern Dragon Kingdom, Zhang Shuai had gained quite a few supporters in the underground arena.

His opponent was Haruhi Hideaki from the Island Nation. As they entered the arena, the cheers for Zhang Shuai were clearly louder than those for Haruhi Hideaki.

Standing in the ring, Haruhi Hideaki sized Zhang Shuai up, and Zhang Shuai did the same.

Zhang Shuai had no fondness for the Island Nation. This was not only due to the subtle influence of the blood-soaked history of the resistance recorded in the Dragon Kingdom's modern history books, but more so because of his grandfather's influence during his childhood.

His grandfather despised the people of the Island Nation because his own mother—Zhang Shuai's great-grandmother—had died at their hands. His grandfather had been only eight years old at the time. He had carried that hatred his entire life, which had indirectly shaped Zhang Shuai's own perceptions.

Haruhi Hideaki was about the same age and height as Zhang Shuai, though slightly bulkier. His appearance was very ordinary, the type of person who would be completely unremarkable in a crowd.