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 men in practical attire stood guard in front of the mansion. Their faces were grim and fleshy. Seeing the two approach, they immediately stretched out their arms to block the way, their gazes sweeping warily over them.
"Hong Tai's men!"
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 moment.
Brother Hong glanced around, his gaze lingering for a moment 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 me!"
After speaking, Lord Kui laughed heartily and turned to look at the other people beside him.
One by one, these men 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 came 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 some 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 men who had come to meet 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 time made everything seem surreal to Zhao Rui.
He had asked to come watch Hong Fei fight this time.
He and Hong Fei had gotten to know each other through fighting. After being his sparring partner for half a month, the two had become quite familiar. When Zhao Rui expressed interest in seeing the real thing, Hong Fei hadn't refused.
So, they had arranged to come 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 customer was king, and the more people who came, the more people there were to bet on the fights.
After a few more moments, lights suddenly swirled across the arena. The neon glowed brilliantly, and explosive, high-energy music began to blast.
Then, several young women 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 women. They were indeed quite attractive, with graceful figures.
An uproar immediately erupted from the crowd below the stage.
'Now *this* is what it's all about.'
'What kind of place like this wouldn't have women?'
A moment 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 members 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 announcement, 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 methodically 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 same, 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 men fought on the stage, Force erupted with every exchange. Punches and kicks imbued with Inner Strength rained down on each other without restraint.
Both men used a hard, direct style of kung fu. In no time, they were both covered in blood, their appearances wretched and battered.