216: This fight was -1

Stepping out of the bar's main entrance, the night breeze blew, and the clamor from moments ago seemed to be left behind.

The two groups were nowhere to be seen outside; clearly, the battle had rapidly progressed through the stages of "shouting at the door" to "finding a secluded spot" and finally to "actually throwing hands."

Tian Lijuan quickly took out her phone to make a call. After confirming their location, she pulled Jiang Ye and Lin Wanxing into a dim, quiet alleyway not far from the bar.

Deep in the alley, the atmosphere was even more tense than it had been inside the bar.

The four Girls, A-Jie, and his friend were currently facing off against the three men.

Both sides stood a few paces apart, pointing and cursing at each other, as the war of words teetered on the edge of turning into a physical altercation.

Jiang Ye cursed inwardly, "To be young and bold," then left Lin Wanxing at the mouth of the alley.

"Wanxing, you and Xiao Tian wait here. Don't come in! Wait until I call for you before you come over."

He then gave Tian Lijuan a particularly stern, warning glare: "Especially you! No causing trouble! Do you hear me?"

Tian Lijuan nodded with rare obedience. Lin Wanxing mumbled a low "Be careful," then pulled out her phone, her finger hovering over the emergency call button.

Jiang Ye took a deep breath and walked into the alley alone.

As he approached, he heard A-Jie roar, "Fuck! If I don't waste you today, I'll take your last name!" before lunging at the Blondie opposite him.

This first move was like flipping a switch; the other two men immediately rushed forward, and a 3v2 brawl instantly erupted.

Although A-Jie and his friend had plenty of momentum, the three opponents were clearly more experienced fighters. They struck ruthlessly and gained the upper hand in just a few moves.

A-Jie took a punch to the face, and his nose immediately started bleeding.

"Damn! You dare hit A-Jie!"

Little Pink screamed, and the Girls swarmed forward, making full use of the classic female fighting style—pulling hair, tugging ears, and scratching with fingernails.

For a moment, the alley was filled with an endless barrage of "Fuck!", "Let go, you bitch!", and "Ah, my hair!" The scene was utter chaos.

"..."

Jiang Ye rubbed the bridge of his nose and briefly stretched his limbs.

He had thought it was just a shouting match that he could settle with his silver tongue. He hadn't expected these youngsters to be so reckless as to start swinging immediately.

This was great. Originally, they were in the right because Little Pink had been groped. But once it turned into a mutual brawl, who struck first and who was injured more became the key factors; that initial "grope" was no longer important.

He stepped closer, took a deep breath, and bellowed, "Everyone fucking stop!"

Recognizing him, the Girls acted as if they'd seen a savior and hurriedly shouted, "Uncle! Quick, help us!"

When the three men heard "Uncle" and saw a new face, they assumed he was a helper called in by the other side.

The Crew Cut Man closest to him narrowed his eyes maliciously and swung a fist toward Jiang Ye's chest. "Where the fuck did this 'Uncle' come from? You're asking for a beating!"

Jiang Ye raised an eyebrow and instinctively prepared to sidestep and deliver a heavy counter-blow.

To his surprise, the man's fist stopped halfway through the swing. The man then let out a roar:

"Kid, get lost if you know what's good for you! If this punch lands, you'll be face-down on the ground calling me daddy!"

A question mark popped up over Jiang Ye's head. Since when did street fights come with mid-action commentary?

However, his body's counter-attack couldn't be stopped. A swift straight punch landed first, thudding hard against the Crew Cut Man's chest.

"Ugh!"

The Crew Cut Man cried out in pain, stumbled back several steps, and began coughing while clutching his chest.

He clearly hadn't expected that Jiang Ye wouldn't be intimidated and would actually dare to fight back. His embarrassment turned into rage: "Fuck! I gave you a chance and you blew it!"

He raised his leg as if to kick.

Jiang Ye was about to dodge, but he saw that while the man's leg was raised, he just held a high-kick pose without actually following through. Instead, he went back into trash-talk mode:

"Don't you fucking force me to get serious! I've been trained!"

???

Jiang Ye looked at the group over there still tangled together, pulling hair and choking each other, then looked at the fellow in front of him who was all bark and no bite, posing and talking the whole time. After a two-second daze, a thought suddenly struck him.

Holy crap!

Has my passive skill, 'Deterrence Aura,' kicked in?

Conqueror's Haki (Youth Mini Edition)?

A wave of pleasant surprise washed over him. If this skill was this overpowered, wouldn't he be able to walk all over anyone in the future? Maybe he could even... go into professional boxing?

But there was no time to overthink it now. Jiang Ye didn't bother with this "Trash-Talker King" anymore; he planned to bypass him and break up the more violent fight over there.

"Fuck!"

Seeing Jiang Ye ignore him so completely as to just casually "walk by," the Crew Cut Man was infuriated. He threw another punch toward Jiang Ye's back.

"Heh, interesting."

The corners of Jiang Ye's mouth curled up slightly. Looking at this mortal who dared to strike a god, his gaze was full of disdain.

With just the likes of you, are you even worthy of gazing upon a god's glory?

Today, I shall let you witness what true power is.

Conqueror's Haki!

Deterrence Aura!!

Activate!!!

The next second—

Thud!

“Ow, motherfucker!”

The punch landed squarely on Jiang Ye's back with considerable force, making him stumble forward and nearly fall flat on his face.

"Jiang Ye!"

"Uncle!"

At the mouth of the alley, Lin Wanxing and Tian Lijuan cried out in alarm when they saw Jiang Ye get hit, instinctively moving to run toward him.

"Don't come over! I'm fine!"

Jiang Ye grimaced in pain and quickly stopped them. At the same time, he shot a quick glance at the system description—"Reduces the probability of them taking extreme actions"... Fuck! I'm doomed! It's goddamn probability! What a scam!

Seeing his punch land, the Crew Cut Man shook his fist triumphantly.

"Damn, you chose the hard way. I told you not to force me to get serious!"

"..."

Jiang Ye's temper flared, and he turned around to glare back irritably.

Seeing that he still dared to glare, the Crew Cut Man sneered and swung his fist again.

This time Jiang Ye focused his mind. Just as he was about to dodge, the Crew Cut Man's fist once again made that weird pause, and his mouth opened to spout more threats.

But Jiang Ye's fist didn't stop. He slammed a right hook into the man's abdomen with much more force than before.

"Kid, you... *blegh*!"

The Crew Cut Man's words were forced back into his stomach. He collapsed into a crouch, clutching his gut, his face turning deathly pale as he could do nothing but gasp for air.