It wasn’t that Zhao Rui was afraid of these punks, but he didn’t want any trouble. After all, the most famous line from his previous life was, "What are you lookin’ at?!"
It was the perfect excuse for punks to start a fight and try to look tough.
Following Brother Hong through the crowd, they passed through a series of long corridors and arrived in front of an old, antique-style mansion.
Two burly n in practical attire stood guard in front of the mansion. Their faces were grim and fleshy. Seeing the two approach, they imdiately stretched out their arms to block the way, their gazes sweeping warily over them.
"Hong Tai’s n!"
Brother Hong took out a phone, opened an app, and displayed a special QR code.
"Go on in."
With a terse nod from his stern, unsmiling face, Brother Hong led Zhao Rui inside.
The mansion had an antique-style exterior, but it wasn’t a wooden structure. It was cast from modern materials like concrete.
There were still guards at the inner door. After verifying their information, one of the guards led the two into the inner courtyard.
The interior of the inner courtyard was completely different from the antique exterior. It was a massive fighting arena.
A huge ring stood in the center, surrounded by tiered spectator seats, which were sparsely occupied at the mont.
Brother Hong glanced around, his gaze lingering for a mont on the southwest corner before he led Zhao Rui over.
"Lord Kui!"
Brother Hong had arrived before a heavyset, coarse-featured man, and he lowered his head slightly as he greeted him.
"Hmph. Are you confident about the match?"
"Don’t worry, Lord Kui!"
A respectful smile appeared on Hong Fei’s ugly, scarred face.
"Good. You’re still young, and you have a long fighting career ahead of you. Don’t be rash! I’m counting on you guys to make money for !"
After speaking, Lord Kui laughed heartily and turned to look at the other people beside him.
One by one, these n were just like Lord Kui, sitting on sofas with cigars in their mouths and their legs crossed. They were clearly all bosses from the underworld.
"We owe our livelihood to you, Lord Kui!"
Hong Fei offered the praise, then added to Lord Kui, "This is my younger cousin. He ca to see what it’s all about."
Lord Kui looked Zhao Rui up and down, his face devoid of expression. "A student, huh? What’s the damn point of school? Can’t earn any real money! Go on, scram."
Having said his piece, Lord Kui ignored Hong Fei and Zhao Rui, turning to chat with the boss next to him.
"Fuck, if I had listened to my old man and read so damn books, I’d probably be begging on the streets right now!"
"In this day and age, money is king."
As their brazen conversation reached his ears, Zhao Rui followed the scar-faced Hong Fei to an empty spot near the ring.
"You sit here. I’m going backstage to get ready. The fight starts at nine. I’m in the first match, so once it’s over, we can call it a night."
After giving his instructions, Hong Fei followed two n who had co to et him and headed backstage.
Zhao Rui scanned his surroundings, taking in the oppressive, dark atmosphere of the arena. He watched people who looked like gangsters—a sight rarely seen in his daily life—moving through the crowd.
The feeling of being out of place and ti made everything seem surreal to Zhao Rui.
He had asked to co watch Hong Fei fight this ti.
He and Hong Fei had gotten to know each other through fighting. After being his sparring partner for half a month, the two had beco quite familiar. When Zhao Rui expressed interest in seeing the real thing, Hong Fei hadn’t refused.
So, they had arranged to co and watch his match today.
Zhao Rui waited in his seat for about twenty minutes as people began to file in.
There were impeccably dressed white-collar workers from the city, crude street punks, and even major bosses surrounded by their enforcers.
The entire venue was a chaotic mix, filled with all sorts of riff-raff and shady characters.
After all, this was an arena. The custor was king, and the more people who ca, the more people there were to bet on the fights.
After a few more monts, lights suddenly swirled across the arena. The neon glowed brilliantly, and explosive, high-energy music began to blast.
Then, several young won in bikinis and high heels entered the arena, their slender waists swaying. They each began to strike seductive poses against the elastic ropes surrounding the ring.
Zhao Rui couldn’t help but let his eyes sweep over the won. They were indeed quite attractive, with graceful figures.
An uproar imdiately erupted from the crowd below the stage.
’Now *this* is what it’s all about.’
’What kind of place like this wouldn’t have won?’
A mont later, a bald man jumped into the ring. He announced the rules for the competition and started shouting to hype up the crowd.
Zhao Rui’s seat was in the section reserved for the fighters. Before long, Brother Hong arrived, accompanied by mbers of his own gang.
The two exchanged a glance without a word. Hong Fei sat down directly on a chair and began rubbing his arms and legs, his gaze deep and focused, as if everything around him was irrelevant.
"First match: Hong Tai’s Hong Fei versus Ninghai’s Yu Hongle!"
As the host made the announcent, Hong Fei cracked his neck, stood up, and with a single leap, soared high into the air, flipping over the ropes and into the ring.
From the other side, a lean, wiry man thodically climbed into the ring.
Although Zhao Rui had never seen an underground fight before, he had participated in official Martial Dao competitions.
The atmosphere was different, but the general procedure was much the sa, so he didn’t pay it too much mind.
It wasn’t until the match began and the two fighters clashed that Zhao Rui realized what an underground fight truly was.
The rule of this ring was that there were no rules. Life and death were not a concern; the fight only ended when one side surrendered or was rendered incapable of fighting.
As the two n fought on the stage, Force erupted with every exchange. Punches and kicks imbued with Inner Strength rained down on each other without restraint.
Both n used a hard, direct style of kung fu. In no ti, they were both covered in blood, their appearances wretched and battered.
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