136: First battle...

Inside the massive octagonal cage,

bright white lights illuminated every corner, leaving nowhere to hide.

The air seemed permeated with the scent of rust and tension.

Old Zhou stood on one side of the cage,

unhurriedly performing simple stretching exercises,

moving his neck and shoulder joints while calmly scanning his opponent,

like an experienced hunter evaluating his prey.

His movements were fluid and coordinated; though he lacked exaggerated, bulging muscles,

every line of his physique exuded a lean strength tempered through a thousand trials.

Opposite him,

the Thai fighter from Liaobu Town was of a completely different style.

He was like a restless beast,

constantly jumping, stomping, and throwing vicious punches at the air, creating audible whooshes of wind.

His fierce gaze was locked onto Old Zhou,

as he continuously muttered curses in Thai,

making highly provocative throat-slitting gestures, his entire body radiating an aura of violence and slaughter.

The two formed a stark contrast—one still, one active.

The voice from the loudspeaker rang out again, sounding provocative:

“Challenger—Liaobu Town, Ban Cai!”

“Whoa! It looks like we have a Muay Thai expert here!”

“Alright bosses, five minutes for betting. Once the bets are placed, hands off!”

Liaobu Town was adjacent to the center of Dongguan City and held a strategic geographical position;

its underground forces had long been secretly controlled by Young Master Liu through threats and inducements.

Therefore,

it was perfectly reasonable for the fighters under his command to compete in the name of Liaobu Town.

This both concealed his direct involvement and effectively struck at Li Zhan.

Seeing this, AZu

immediately picked up two heavy black suitcases at his feet,

nodded to Li Zhan, and walked quickly toward the betting area.

In a booth on the other side,

when the loudspeaker announced 'Changan Town—!',

the cross-dressing Su Ziqing felt her heart stir slightly.

Changan Town?

When they first entered the gates, that young man with the unique presence her Maternal Uncle had pointed out,

seemed to be some kind of spokesperson for Changan?

Is the person stepping onto the stage his subordinate?

This thought instantly heightened her focus on this match to a new level.

She subconsciously sat up straight, her eyes unblinking behind her sunglasses,

staring intently at the composed man in the octagonal cage and the restless, beast-like Thai fighter opposite him.

She really wanted to see

if that man named Li Zhan

actually had any real skill among his subordinates.

She was firmly captivated by this primal confrontation of strength

and the power struggle it might represent,

even temporarily overcoming her slight discomfort with the bloody scene.

Meanwhile, on Young Master Liu's side,

he smugly swirled his wine glass

and lazily instructed his confidant beside him,

“Go, bet ten million on Ban Cai.

I want Li Zhan's man...

to be carried out in the very first round. I'll make him spit back everything he owes me with interest!”

The confidant left to follow the order.

The atmosphere in the venue was instantly ignited.

On one side was the representative of the mysterious new Changan power, and on the other was a notoriously fierce Muay Thai expert.

The odds rolled rapidly as shouts and betting calls rose and fell.

Inside the octagonal cage,

Old Zhou calmly watched Ban Cai, who was scanning him with fierce eyes while performing the Wai Khru Ram Muay dance.

His eyes were as still as an ancient well; he only slightly adjusted his stance,

becoming like an old wolf entering a hunting state—

seemingly relaxed, but in reality, every muscle was primed for an explosion.

Over the loudspeaker,

the host continued to provocatively introduce both sides, hyping up the atmosphere.

Below the stage, the betting frenzy reached its peak.

“Clang—!”

A crisp bell announced the official start of the match!

Almost the instant the bell rang,

Ban Cai lunged forward like a cannonball,

launching a low leg sweep with a terrifying whistle of wind, ruthlessly aiming for the outside of Old Zhou's supporting knee!

A classic Thai style, intended to cripple the opponent's mobility in one hit!

The battle erupted in a flash!

Ban Cai's heavy low sweep came at him with a scream that tore through the air!

If this landed solidly, an ordinary person's knee would likely shatter instantly.

However, Old Zhou seemed to have anticipated it.

He didn't choose to take the hit head-on, nor did he retreat;

at the moment the wind from the kick reached him, he subtly turned the knee of his supporting leg inward,

while simultaneously shifting his center of gravity slightly back, performing a power-dissipating move similar to 'Sitting on the Hips.'

With a muffled 'thud!'

Ban Cai's shin felt as if it had struck a tough yet slippery steel-wrapped rubber pillar.

Most of the vicious force was cleverly deflected, failing to cause the expected damage.

Old Zhou used the momentum of the impact

to drift back half a step like willow catkin, instantly creating some distance.

The entire process was lightning fast; to the average spectator,

it looked as though Old Zhou had taken a solid hit but was completely unfazed.

Failing to succeed with one strike only increased Ban Cai's ferocity.

With a roar, he poured out a storm of combinations—

sharp elbow strikes aimed at the temples, vicious knee strikes targeting the chest and abdomen, and continuous low sweeps to disrupt the lower body.

Old Zhou entered a complete defensive and maneuvering mode.

His footwork was exceptionally agile, always moving in tiny increments within a small space,

narrowly avoiding lethal attacks time and again.

His parrying movements were concise and efficient,

mostly using the outside of his forearms and palms to slap, hook, and block, rarely clashing head-on.

He constantly guided and neutralized the force in the direction of his opponent's strikes,

appearing composed, yet seemingly completely suppressed, with only enough strength to defend.

To the audience,

Old Zhou was entirely on the back foot, being chased and beaten by Ban Cai, his situation appearing precarious.

“Damn! Is this all Changan is capable of? He's about to be beaten to death!”

“Ban Cai! Tear him apart!”

Excited howls erupted from Young Master Liu's booth.

Only Li Zhan

had a faint, imperceptible smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

He could see that Old Zhou wasn't using his full strength at all;

he was testing the opponent's limits, draining his stamina,

and observing his technical habits and vulnerabilities in power delivery.

The cross-dressing Su Ziqing's palms were sweating as she watched.

Though she didn't understand fighting,

she felt that the man named Old Zhou could be knocked down at any moment.

She couldn't help but worry for him,

while also feeling a trace of resentment toward Li Zhan for sending him up—

wasn't this just sending someone to their death?

Unable to land a decisive blow after a long attack, Ban Cai grew increasingly irritable, and his breathing became heavy.

He decided to use a finishing move.

After another feinted low sweep,

his body suddenly spun, and a well-hidden spinning elbow strike, like a scorpion's tail,

smashed silently yet ruthlessly toward the side of Old Zhou's neck!

Just when everyone thought Old Zhou had no way to dodge!

Old Zhou, who had been on the defensive, moved!

Swift as a leaping rabbit...

His slightly retracted body, like a spring compressed to its limit,

suddenly surged forward.

Instead of retreating, he stepped in to close the distance...

Simultaneously, he tilted his head at a tiny, precise angle, letting that lethal elbow strike graze past his skin.

At the moment of contact,

Old Zhou's right hand shot out like a venomous snake, fingers pressed together into a point,

pecking lightning-fast at Ban Cai's Jiquan Point in the armpit, which had been exposed by the elbow strike!

“Ugh!”

Ban Cai felt his entire arm go numb instantly, his strength draining away like air from a punctured balloon!

Old Zhou did not let up!

He gave the opponent no chance to react or surrender!

His leg, cutting through the center line like an iron plow through soil,

suddenly blocked Ban Cai's supporting leg, while his other arm bent into an elbow,

delivering a heavy, short-range 'Heart-Piercing Elbow' strike directly to Ban Cai's solar plexus.

“Puff!”

Ban Cai spat out a mouthful of blood, his body falling backward uncontrollably.

But Old Zhou's lethal moves weren't finished...

As Ban Cai fell off balance, the hand that had just struck the pressure point slid down,

accurately grabbing the ankle of the leg Ban Cai had used for the sweep kick,

while his other hand supported the knee joint, and he twisted his body violently—

“Crack!”

A sickeningly crisp sound echoed clearly throughout the arena.

It was a joint lock...

He had snapped Ban Cai's knee joint by force.

“Aaaagh—!”

Ban Cai let out a shrill, agonizing scream and slammed heavily onto the stage,

rolling in pain while clutching his right leg, which was bent at a grotesque angle, completely losing his ability to fight.

The entire venue instantly fell into a dead silence!

Everyone was stunned by this sudden, ruthlessly efficient counter-kill!

The arena, which had been boisterous moments ago, was now filled only with Ban Cai's pained wails.

Old Zhou slowly stood up straight, his breathing not even particularly hurried,

his face still bearing that calm, expressionless look,

as if he had just done something insignificant.

He looked indifferently at his twitching opponent on the ground, his eyes devoid of any pity.

“Whoa—!”

After a moment of silence,

the venue erupted into an even more fanatical wave of sound! There were curses, gasps of amazement, and cries of fear!

“Damn! That was too brutal!”

“Holy crap! What a reversal! I won my bet!”

“This old guy is so freaking devious! He was faking it the whole time!”

The smile on Young Master Liu's face froze instantly, replaced by unbelievable shock and fury.

He slammed his wine glass onto the ground and roared,

“Useless trash!!”

Li Zhan smiled slightly and took a sip of his drink; everything was under control.

As for Su Ziqing, she was completely stunned, her mouth slightly agape,

her heart pounding as she watched the man on stage who had instantly transformed from 'passive target' to 'cold-blooded demon.'

She subconsciously looked toward Li Zhan again;

that man remained calm.

In this moment,

she deeply felt the cruelty of this underground world and its... fatal attraction.

In the subsequent matches,

Old Zhou accepted two more challenges.

He continued to use the strategy of defending first and attacking later, appearing passive,

yet he always managed to counter-attack in the most concise and ruthless manner at the critical moment.

And each time, he showed no mercy in crippling his opponent's fighting ability,

either by breaking joints or striking vital points to ensure they couldn't fight again anytime soon,

thoroughly establishing his terrifying image as a 'Smiling Yama.'

When he finally chose to step down from the stage with a significant accumulation of points,

everywhere he passed,

the audience subconsciously fell silent for a moment, filled with awe.

In the most direct way possible,

he announced to the entire Dongguan underground world that the Changan faction was not to be trifled with...