The lights blazed intensely, the crowd erupted in cheers as bodies clashed, and the eyes of everyone in the arena gleamed like untamed beasts.
Long Shiyu sat in a dim corner.
The beggar who had brought him in grinned and said, “Only the victor of the duel gets to meet the boss. Are you certain about participating?”
“Yes,” replied Long Shiyu with a nod.
The scent here seemed to have diminished. It was as if it had been deliberately wiped clean by the opposing party after they had noticed it.
But Long Shiyu could still smell the scent of exotic creature blood lingering in the air.
Regardless of whether the boss was truly a vampire or not, the underground dealings here had to be connected to the church.
The people here were extremely cautious. They carefully searched for surveillance devices before bringing him in and even temporarily confiscated his communication terminal. If it wasn’t for the fact that he lacked any trace of spiritual power and appeared like an ordinary person, he wouldn’t have gained such easy access.
Boxing matches prohibited the use of spiritual energy, but there were no weight classes and no banned substances. Towering men built like mountains roared while the injured groaned in pain beneath the arena.
The beggar grinned widely, “You can step into the ring if you sign a waiver of liability contract. The first prize is 90 million star coins. The money is squeaky clean—no need for any laundering.”
He blew his nose and continued, “As a newcomer, you get to choose your opponent.”
“Can we change the rules?” asked Long Shiyu. “I’m not particularly skilled in pure boxing.”
The beggar displayed a hint of dissatisfaction. “Including spiritual power isn’t impossible, but what the audience is after is pure, primal violence.”
He lowered his voice to a whisper and continued, “You don’t even possess spiritual power, so why are you even thinking about it? Put up a good fight, and you’ll be tipped generously — those patrons are all big shots.”
Long Shiyu responded, “Spiritual power doesn’t matter. Can we change it to a no-holds-barred fight?”
“…No-holds-barred?” The beggar was dumbfounded. “You want to switch to no-holds-barred fighting?”
“Yeah.”
“No,” the beggar looked utterly confused. “Are you serious?”
He regarded the young man before him as if he were mad.
Where did he get the guts to engage this bunch here in the fighting arena in a no-holds-barred fight? Even fights that banned the usage of spiritual power often produced casualties — most of those being desperadoes who were silently discarded in the wild like feral dogs.
Here, they usually gave newcomers easier fights in the first few matches. Once they no longer exercised caution and willingly signed a waiver of liability for their deaths, they would determine the newcomer’s fate according to the audience’s mood.
Popular fighters would be kept until they became disabled or were beaten to death, while the fortunate ones could quietly retire unscathed. For those with low popularity, there might be no news of them after the initial few matches.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
During the old Earth era, no-holds-barred fighting had been the norm. However, in the present, there were individuals who entered frenzied states and secretly used spiritual power, not to mention those who resorted to stimulants or the blood of exotic creatures. The fights now were a completely different matter from the ones back then.
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Thus, the beggar once again advised, “Listen to me. Stick to boxing for your first few matches and get yourself familiar with it first.”
“I’ll pass,” Long Shiyu replied.
“I’m scared I’ll break the rules,” he elaborated calmly.
Beggar: “…”
He felt his temples throbbing. Eventually, he sighed deeply. “It’s your call. Stay here and wait for the referee to arrange your match. I need to take a breather.”
Fierce fights were still ongoing inside the ring.
While Long Shiyu patiently awaited his turn, he scrutinized each player. Some bore obvious traits of exotic creatures in their human bodies. Even their eyes were unnatural, carrying a flickering glint, their pupils narrowed in excitement. Someone noticed his gaze, and flipped him off.
Silently, Long Shiyu singled out a few opponents — they all bore animalistic characteristics, although he couldn’t discern their exact species.
If he couldn’t obtain a direct blood sample for analysis, this was the only way he could identify their bloodline.
After waiting for what seemed like three to five minutes, someone finally led him to the stage.
Engaging in some warm-up exercises beforehand, Long Shiyu let out a yawn.
Truth be told, he didn’t feel much like moving. He hadn’t eaten enough, yet here he was about to partake in a fight. He would certainly need a good nap upon returning.
The stage lights radiated an intense heat. As Long Shiyu stepped onto the stage, countless crazed eyes fixated on him from the darkness, reminiscent of a pack of wolves laying eyes on fresh meat. They had not bothered to hide their desire for violence in the slightest.
Long Shiyu pointed at a muscular man in the audience. “I’ll pick him.”
The crowd fell silent momentarily.
Then, high-pitched whistles and laughter erupted.
The referee exclaimed, “He has selected ‘Viper’ as his opponent! Can you believe it?! The newbie actually chose ‘Viper,’ the one who has no patience for provocation!!!”
The man stood up, his eyes blazing with ferocity. Turquoise snake scales adorned his left arm, and when he grinned, his crimson tongue forked, making a hissing sound.
He leaped onto the stage. Holographic barriers materialized around the ring, creating a transparent wall, preventing the contestants from escaping the arena. The words “Round 1” materialized like a blood splatter on a screen beside them in gruesome, blood-red letters.
Long Shiyu slightly lowered his gaze, lost in thought.
Viper taunted him from across the ring, “Newcomer, regretting it now? Kneel down, kiss my feet, and I’ll spare you.”
Long Shiyu continued pondering.
He vaguely recalled that without spiritual strength, a male’s punch could deliver a maximum impact of 150 kilograms. But… what were the other statistics again?
Long Shiyu was confused.
The whistle blew.
Viper lunged forward.
His movements did not resemble a human’s. Crouching low, his joints emitted a peculiar clicking sound. From a position that was almost flat on the ground, he pounced forward like a freshly fired cannonball… or a viper patiently hiding itself in foliage, awaiting an opportunity to strike.
He had been injecting himself with the blood of a blastscale serpent for an extended period. This vicious and treacherous snake reigned over the rainforest, boasting incredible swiftness and a bite force capable of crushing a human scapula with ease. When necessary, it could use its explosive scales to cause widespread destruction. Unsurprisingly, it had been a thorny nuisance for the local expedition team when they were trying to urbanize the area.
With this power, Viper instilled fear in opponents in this ring. And now, this ignorant fool had picked him as an opponent?
A blend of anger and excitement surged within Viper. His blood boiled and his entire body screamed, “Tear him apart, tear him apart! Shred this insolent newcomer to pieces!”
His opponent was feeble, his body was frail, and his bones were easily breakable. Blood would soon splatter.
Viper shot forward, the ground whizzing past beneath him. Long Shiyu’s face neared rapidly. Viper grinned hoarsely…
Only to meet nothingness.
…His pounce failed to reach?
His eyes widened, and he came to an awkward halt at the edge of the ring. As he turned around, his shoulder was seized.
A force he was defenseless against compelled him to bend over.
The young man, with a relaxed appearance, gently pressed his knee against Viper’s abdomen.
Then, Viper had the sensation that he was flying.
And indeed, he was soaring, the ring vanishing from his view. It took him a few seconds to comprehend what had occurred. He had just been struck by a knee and flung three to four meters away.
What the hell. He weighed at least ninety kilograms!
After that strong blow, Viper lost all strength and was rendered utterly incapable of adjusting his landing posture. Consequently, he crashed to the ground with a resounding thud in a disheveled posture. Upon landing, he started to dry heave. His throat stung, and a ghastly sound emanated from his mouth. Gastric acid and bile came gushing forth.
Thankfully, the potent exotic creature blood coursing through his veins prevented catastrophic damage. Otherwise, this blow would have led to a scene reminiscent of the aftermath of a horrific car accident, and he wouldn’t have a single internal organ left intact.
Silence enveloped the entire arena.
Long Shiyu: “…”
Looks like he used too much force.
Initially, he had wanted to rely on skill alone to secure victory as an ordinary human. However, his limited understanding of mutants led to an overestimation of Viper’s strength, and consequently, the usage of a bit too much power.
Since there was no way for him to hide his strength anymore, there was no need for further pretense.
Long Shiyu glanced towards the audience, singled out another person, and turned to the referee. “May I face him next?”
Bathed in bright light, the young man smiled at the spectators. It was a harmless and exceedingly beautiful smile. If the setting were different, anyone who saw it would likely have many scenarios come to mind.
The burly man who was picked out receded his neck, fear contorting his face. It was evident that he wished to disappear into the crowd.
Long Shiyu just needed to draw out their boss.
After pondering for a moment, Long Shiyu proposed, “Alternatively, all of you can fight me together.”
This time, murmurs of astonishment permeated the crowd. The hushed whispers continued until a voice sounded out from a corner, declaring, “I’ll go.”
…
The beggar sat in front of the garbage dump, propping himself against the railing as he took a breather in frustration.
He had seen ignorant newcomers, but never one as ignorant as this one. Considering the time that had elapsed, the young man had already spent quite a while in the ring.
The beggar wondered if the other had been beaten to death.
A pair of jet-black boots halted in front of him.
The beggar lifted his head and recited, “This is a private area. Entry…”
The handsome man landed a kick on his left shoulder, causing agonizing pain. It felt as if his bones were about to crack.
Supported by the railing, the beggar stammered, “Wh-What do you want?”
“I just wanted to ask you something,” Shen Zhaomu leaned forward, an evil smile gracing his lips, “Where’s my man now?”
AHAHAHA THIS IS SO FUNNY LOL IM DYING IMAGINING HIM IN THAT RING LMAOOO
Help- I’m losing oxygen due to this ahahahaha
Oooops…too much power, mustn’t kill on touch…lmao! Thanks for the update 🤣❤️🤣❤️🤣❤️
I’m sure all the mutants will appreciate Shen Zhaomu showing up and saving them from his wife.
I SNORTED
Ooooooh someone’s maaaad. So you’ve finally accepted he’s your man?? Lol
Lmao time to work on your acting Shiyu
My bet is that shiyu will pretend to be weak and feeble in the ring soon as he spotted hubby 😂
My man? As in 我的人 (men in comrade/subordinate/gang) or 我的男人 (men in boyfriend/lovers) q(^-^q)
Thanks for the chapter ~~~
my man as in 我的人i saw the chance and took it ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Thank you for the chapter