In the VIP room on the second floor, the gathered big shots couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
"Scarface, did you hear that? Your fighter ran away—how are you gonna fight now? You might as well just surrender."
"Tsk tsk, Scarface, my friend, I hate to say it, but if you’re going to hire fighters, at least pick reliable ones. Bringing along a coward who flees at the first sign of trouble? That’s just embarrassing."
"My guess is he took one look at the experts from our side and got scared out of his wits!"
"Hahaha..."
Though Zhao Tianxing didn’t join in the loud jeering like the others, his tone was still dripping with mockery. "Scarface, seems like your men aren’t up to the task. Ambition in youth is a good thing, but if you don’t know your limits, you’re bound to suffer for it. Must be pretty humiliating for you as their leader, huh?"
Scarface refused to back down. "The emperor isn’t worried, but the eunuchs are. Maybe he just really had to pee—he’ll be back in the ring soon."
Meanwhile, Chu Yang called out for Ji Yu once, but there was no response. Puzzled, he tried again, but still nothing.
Left with no choice, he decided to step out of the cage to check on the situation.
But just as he was about to cross the threshold, someone blocked his path.
"Leaving means forfeiting!"
Chu Yang hesitated, then pulled back. Fine, he thought. If it came down to it, he’d fight alone.
It wouldn’t be ideal, but what else could he do?
Time ticked by, and the announcer was moments away from declaring the cage doors closed.
Down in an inconspicuous corner of the first-floor hall, a man in a pristine white suit—looking every bit the refined gentleman with a distinguished streak of white in his hair—leaned toward a handsome but rebellious-looking young man beside him.
"Seems like Young Master Lin’s bet on the Righteous Alliance is about to cost him dearly," he remarked.
The young man, however, showed no trace of concern. Instead, he smirked confidently. "I won’t lose."
"Oh? You must have great faith in this fighter, then."
The man in white, Zhao Weixiang, had appeared in Bright Pearl City just two years prior and quickly made a name for himself by opening a wildly popular nightclub downtown.
He had a knack for handling relationships, which meant his establishment never had to deal with troublemakers.
On the surface, he was the picture of modesty—rarely seen in public, always polite, the very image of a mild-mannered businessman.
But those who truly knew him understood that this was just a facade. In reality, his cunning and ruthlessness far surpassed even the most notorious underworld figures.
Lin Muyang didn’t answer Zhao Weixiang directly. Instead, his gaze instinctively drifted upward to the VIP section on the second floor, where a certain young woman sat in the central seat.
If you’re here, he thought, how could I not be confident?
Zhao Weixiang followed Lin Muyang’s line of sight and spotted the strikingly poised girl. A glint of calculation flickered deep in his eyes.
"The daughter of the Ten Thousand Dragons Society... She might be useful."
At the same time, in the VIP room upstairs, Liu Yutong suddenly felt the weight of someone’s stare from below.
She turned and quickly spotted Lin Muyang sitting inconspicuously in the corner of the crowd.
She hadn’t expected him to be so low-key—not only avoiding the second floor but even wearing a baseball cap. Had he really changed his ways?
However, when she noticed the middle-aged man in a pristine white suit standing beside Lin Muyang—a man who appeared refined and scholarly—she froze for a moment.
Though this was her first time seeing him, she quickly deduced his identity.
The owner of the Imperial Elite Club, Zhao Weixiang.
A man who truly kept his depths hidden, a figure who would later rise to become the underground kingpin of Bright Pearl City.
In her past life, Liu Yutong had read reports and news about him, so she knew a thing or two about his background.
If she were to compare him to the underworld bosses gathered in the VIP room,
Zhao Weixiang was on an entirely different level—a mastermind with cunning, ruthlessness, and intelligence.
As for the others? A single word sufficed: thugs.
This wasn’t meant to demean the men on the second floor, but Zhao Weixiang was simply in a league of his own.
Right now, these second-floor bosses might still dismiss Zhao Weixiang as just some insignificant small-time owner.
After all, those seated upstairs were all seasoned gang leaders with armies of underlings.
But soon enough, that "small-time owner" they looked down on would teach each of them a brutal lesson, using them as stepping stones to climb onto an even greater power’s coattails—propelling himself to absolute dominance over Bright Pearl City.
Liu Yutong had guessed Lin Muyang might show up, but she never expected him to arrive alongside Zhao Weixiang.
That man was anything but harmless.
Just as she was pondering their motives, her gaze caught a familiar figure sitting behind Zhao Weixiang.
Though the man wore a hat, doing his best to conceal his face, she recognized him instantly.
The former hall master of the Righteous Alliance, Wang Shi.
Liu Yutong hadn’t anticipated this guy being freed—given the severity of his charges, bail should’ve been near impossible.
The moment she spotted Wang Shi, he abruptly stood up and left, vanishing from her sight almost immediately—whether due to some sixth sense, a sudden urge, or other business, she couldn’t tell.
At the same time, an uneasy premonition crept into her heart.
Instinctively, she wanted to send her sister Gao Min to investigate, but after a brief hesitation, she decided on Yun Cheng instead. Feigning impatience, she said,
"Yun Cheng, go down and check whether the Righteous Alliance’s fighter is even showing up. I’m waiting for the show to start!"
Yun Cheng nodded. "Right away, Miss."
His departure didn’t raise any suspicion among the bosses upstairs.
As Yun Cheng reached the stairway, he received a text from Liu Yutong: "Have someone tail Wang Shi. Do not alert him."
Just then, the fight announcer began the countdown.
"Seems the Righteous Alliance’s second fighter still lacks the courage to face us! In that case, I declare the gates now—"
Before he could finish,
THUD.
A deep, resonant footstep cut through the air.
The sound was unnaturally heavy—not like a human step, but more akin to a massive beast slamming its weight onto the dock, the impact trembling faintly through the ground.
The jeering crowd fell dead silent.
Then—
THUD. THUD. THUD.
The footsteps grew louder, closer.
An indescribable pressure settled over the room, gripping every heart.
All eyes turned toward the entrance tunnel, unease flickering in their gazes.
And in the next instant, the light from the tunnel was swallowed whole by a towering, suffocating shadow.
When that figure fully emerged from the darkness and stepped into the blinding lights, everyone in the room gasped.
"Hiss—"
"Holy shit, is that even human?!"
".........."
His height was undoubtedly over a terrifying 7'2", and just standing there, he radiated an overwhelming, bone-chilling pressure!
When he reached the cage, he didn’t bother entering through the gate—it seemed too small for him, too restrictive.
He scratched his head, as if pondering for a moment.
Then, right in front of the entire audience, he reached out with his massive, shovel-like hands and gripped two of the cage’s iron bars, each as thick as a child’s wrist.
No roar, no buildup of strength.
He simply tightened his fingers slightly.
"SCREECH—!"
A spine-tingling sound of twisting metal erupted.
Those seemingly unbreakable iron bars were crushed inward, warping under his grip.
Then, as effortlessly as tearing a sheet of paper, he pulled them apart with a single motion!
Another metallic groan echoed through the arena.
The supposedly indestructible octagon cage was ripped open, leaving a gaping hole in its side.
Under the stunned, wide-eyed gazes of the spectators, he ducked slightly and squeezed his colossal, mountain-like frame through the breach.
Finally, when his ancient titan of a body stood fully inside the cage, shoulder-to-shoulder with the composed Chu Yang, the space within seemed to shrink, the air growing thick with tension.
Chu Yang glanced at the dozen or so gang enforcers—representatives of various syndicates—huddled together in terror on the opposite side and couldn’t help but smirk in boredom.
"Let’s get this over with, folks. The sooner you die, the sooner you’ll reincarnate!"
...................
Couldn’t post the full set of today’s renders, but what do you all think of this one?
