Taking on 12 champions at once

The fighting world had been buzzing ever since Zhang Hongxing burst onto the scene. He had held spots among the top ten trending searches for several days running, even drawing attention from outside the sport.

But however popular he became, his audience was still limited.

In this peaceful era, there really weren't many people who enjoyed all that fighting and violence.

Aside from that, the hottest topic worldwide was actually the border conflict between the Xia and Buddha Nations, especially after the Xia Kingdom released pixelated footage of Zhang Hongxing in combat.

Interest instantly reached a fever pitch.

Within just a few days, almost everyone abroad was discussing whether Xia Kingdom kung fu was real.

What drew even more attention from senior foreign officials was the unusual change in weather over the Xia Kingdom's base in Biler Red Valley. Almost everyone wanted to know whether this was an extraordinary natural phenomenon or some secret Xia Kingdom technology.

The Xia Kingdom's government remained silent on the matter.

Barring any surprises, it might well remain silent indefinitely.

But some countries and some people refused to accept that, so they joined forces to pressure the Xia Kingdom into providing a reasonable explanation.

America even deployed two aircraft carrier battle groups near the Xia Kingdom.

Several other countries followed behind, cheering it on.

Some foreign news outlets took an aggressive stance, publishing article after article maligning the Xia Kingdom and urging vigilance against it.

Romance Nation's World News: The Xia Kingdom possesses a superweapon capable of controlling the weather, potentially manipulating storms, earthquakes, and tsunamis.

Queen Nation's Liberty News: The Xia Kingdom is a hegemonic nation with immense ambitions, deluding itself that it can unify the entire world.

America's Union News: The people of the Xia Kingdom all live like slaves, enduring exploitation and persecution at the hands of their government.

Faced with pressure like this from other countries, the Xia Kingdom could no longer remain silent.

On April 3, Xia Kingdom Officials issued a notice inviting government representatives from various countries to Xia Kingdom's Magic City on April 6 for a three-day symposium. The discussions would cover the recent Xia-Buddha conflict and the possible existence of a weapon capable of controlling the weather.

The moment the Xia Kingdom released its response, the foreign media erupted in celebration.

It was as though they had already defeated the Xia Kingdom's government.

As this incident continued to escalate, the buzz surrounding Zhang Hongxing's challenge to fight every UFC competitor with one hand was instantly eclipsed.

To draw attention, the UFC shamelessly announced that a total of twelve reigning champions would challenge Zhang Hongxing. It also arbitrarily claimed that he was the elite Xia Kingdom soldier who had fought a hundred men single-handedly during the Xia-Buddha conflict.

When they first saw the announcement, everyone who knew the truth, including Xia Kingdom Officials and Zhang Hongxing himself, got a shock. They thought the UFC's sources had reached a level even they could no longer control.

Fortunately, it was all just a perfect coincidence.

After investigating, several of Xia Kingdom Officials' top leaders exchanged smiles.

On April 4, the UFC released profiles of the twelve champions who would challenge Zhang Hongxing and scheduled the event for three in the afternoon on April 5. It would be a no-rules gauntlet, with only three minutes of rest between bouts.

Those rules were undoubtedly very unfavorable to Zhang Hongxing.

But remembering that he had issued the boast himself, internet users found it hard to speak up on his behalf.

The villa in Xilin Park.

Zhang Hongxing had been staying here for some time. Aside from occasionally calling home to let everyone know he was safe, he had barely done anything. Even his meals were brought over by Chu Yunxuan.

"Come on, Zhang, what exactly have you been doing these past few days? You've burned through fifty thousand kilowatt-hours in just a few days. I'm really curious how you managed that."

This was the first time Chu Yunxuan had visited outside mealtime. Before seeing Zhang Hongxing, he had inspected every part of the villa except the room Zhang Hongxing was in.

The only explanation he could think of for consuming ten thousand kilowatt-hours a day was a broken electricity meter.

"I used the electricity. Just tell me how much it cost, and I'll transfer the money."

"Is this about money? Do you think I need that little bit of cash from you? I just want to know how you did it."

"No comment."

"You..."

Chu Yunxuan was immediately at a loss for words. There was no way he could beat the man in front of him in a fight.

"Believe it or not, I might stop bringing you food."

"Suit yourself."

Zhang Hongxing glanced indifferently at Chu Yunxuan, then simply closed his eyes. After consuming over fifty thousand kilowatt-hours, his strength had once again reached the peak of the golden core realm.

He was only one step away from entering the nascent soul realm. Once he reached it, he could be considered half an "immortal."

That was because he would then be able to fly for short periods.

"Fine. I didn't come over just to ask about that anyway. How confident are you about tomorrow's match? Plenty of people in the media are waiting for word from me before they act."

"Don't worry. Even if they all come at me together, I'll win."

"Good. That's all I needed to hear."

Chu Yunfei hurried away. Since Zhang Hongxing was completely confident, he naturally had to go fan the flames. Anything that could boost the national confidence of the Xia Kingdom's people was something he was eager to do.

Early the next morning, the front-page headlines of nearly every major Xia Kingdom media outlet were about Zhang Hongxing.

At this point, he had practically become the Xia Kingdom's number-one fighter.

He had also become the most famous ordinary person in the Xia Kingdom.

Influencers everywhere rode the wave of his popularity. Some previously obscure kung fu bloggers also gained huge numbers of followers over those few days.

This match, too, was once again scheduled to take place at Hive Stadium.

Countless people from the Xia Kingdom offered high prices for tickets, hoping to witness the battle in person, yet still could not get one.

At 2:55 p.m., Zhang Hongxing began his entrance.

"Serve the Country with Utmost Loyalty" had been specially chosen as his entrance music. Just as the line about the mighty Xia Kingdom drawing acclaim from all corners rang out, Zhang Hongxing stepped into the ring.

"The Xia Kingdom will win! Zhang Hongxing will win!"

"Xia Kingdom kung fu is the best in the world! Zhang Hongxing is unstoppable!"

"Red Star! Red Star! Forever number one!"

The crowd's enthusiasm had been ignited right from the start.

Next, the twelve champions from various countries began their entrances. Their background music was just as stirring, and the audience was just as "enthusiastic," but the cheers were not for them.

It was also their first time experiencing a live match with a hundred thousand spectators.

The deafening cheers battered their nerves without pause.

Anyone who had reached their level undoubtedly had strong mental resilience. Several of them were even known for thriving in competition.

The bigger the event and the larger the crowd, the better they performed.

"To everyone here in the stands and everyone watching the livestreams, I'm currently at The Hive in the Xia Kingdom. Coming up next is the match you've all been waiting for: the Xia Kingdom's Zhang Hongxing, known as the human helicopter, against a full twelve world champions.

"Please note, this is a match with absolutely no rules.

"I repeat, this is a match with absolutely no rules.

"Just a few minutes ago, Zhang Hongxing even declared that he would take on all twelve champions at once.

"You heard that right. At once. Not a series of one-on-one bouts, but a one-against-twelve free-for-all.

"And there are no rules whatsoever.

"Unless Zhang Hongxing goes down and concedes, or all twelve champions are knocked out, this match will keep going.

"This truly is an insane challenge.