Chapter 44: Liu Yilong

The underground boxing arena was a scene of deafening uproar, with countless spectators sitting in the stands, cheering and shouting obscenities at the top of their lungs!

Cao Yang and Tie Xiong were also among the crowd, as Cao Yang's match was scheduled for the next slot.

This fellow, Tie Xiong, had made a deal for Cao Yang to fight ten matches to pay off the five hundred thousand yuan he had spent to bail out Li Yan.

Cao Yang had agreed, on the condition that Tie Xiong got Li Yan out first.

Tie Xiong had replied that they would do one match at a time.

Inside the octagon cage, two men were engaged in brutal, bare-knuckle combat. They were evenly matched; after fighting for more than ten minutes, both were battered and bleeding, yet victory remained undecided.

The excited audience watched with bated breath, individual voices roaring, "Kill him! F***ing kill him!"

After another five minutes, one of the men finally exhausted his strength and collapsed to the floor, unable to rise.

A sexy, sultry female referee stepped into the ring, raised one of the man's arms, and declared him the victor.

Down in the audience, some cheered while others cursed—in short, those who won their bets grinned from ear to ear, while the losers spewed endless profanities!

Tie Xiong patted Cao Yang on the shoulder.

Cao Yang got up and headed backstage.

Having gone through it once already, he was quite familiar with the routine this time.

After changing into his fighting gear, he stepped into the ring and looked at his opponent.

His opponent was a bald man, roughly the same height and build as Cao Yang, but with extremely well-developed muscles. From his physical appearance, he looked even more formidable than Cao Yang.

Cao Yang knew his opponent's name was Liu Yilong, hailing from Henan province, and rumored to be a lay disciple of the Shaolin Temple.

Tie Xiong had warned him that this man was the younger brother of the Henan gang's boss, possessed immense strength, and was even tougher than Liang Feng, urging Cao Yang to exercise utmost caution.

"Yilong!"

"Yilong!!"

Voices rose from the crowd as people placed their bets on Liu Yilong.

However, quite a few people were still betting on Cao Yang; his victory over Liang Feng in his previous match had left a deep impression on them.

At first, they had thought it was a rigged fight—how could an unknown rookie possibly defeat Liang Feng? It must have been a setup orchestrated by the organizers to swindle money.

Yet, after some people inquired about Liang Feng's injuries, they concluded the chances of it being a fake match were slim, because Liang Feng had been hurt so severely that he was still lying in a hospital bed.

"Cao Yang!"

"Cao Yang!!"

Some spectators in the stands who had wagered on Cao Yang shouted out, pumping their fists to cheer him on.

Jim of the Sichuan gang walked into the stands at some point and sat down beside Tie Xiong.

"You're not playing fair! You secretly brought Cao Yang here to fight without bringing your brother along?"

Tie Xiong shot him an annoyed glance. "Cao Yang is my brother. Do I need to report to you every time I bring him somewhere?"

Jim chuckled. "Don't think I don't know what kind of shady stunt you pulled. I was just a step behind; otherwise, I would have helped him bail his sister out."

"Jim, stay out of my Hunan gang's business!" Tie Xiong said angrily, taken aback that this bastard Jim was also eyeing Cao Yang.

If Jim had been willing to help, he really could have gotten Li Yan out, winning Cao Yang's profound gratitude, and quite possibly stealing away this cash cow.

Just the thought of himself digging the pit and planting the tree, only for Jim to come along, water it, and pluck the fruit—with Cao Yang thanking Jim while resenting him—made Tie Xiong furious. He would end up despised by everyone, a fool who served up benefits on a silver platter to this guy.

Such a thing absolutely could not be allowed to happen. His stance toward Jim hardened instantly; if Jim really dared to pull that stunt, it would mean an outright declaration of war.

"Don't get so worked up. I was just speaking off the cuff; I haven't taken any action yet," Jim said, patting his shoulder.

"Who's worked up?"

Stretching his neck defensively, Tie Xiong snapped, "I'm just telling you not to stick your nose into everything."

"Hahaha... Let's drop that then. How much did you wager on Cao Yang? I'll match your bet."

...

"You're the Cao Yang who defeated Liang Feng?" Inside the octagon, Liu Yilong was sizing Cao Yang up as well.

The old Cao Yang might have exchanged a few words with him to discuss martial arts, but the present Cao Yang had other things on his mind. He completely ignored Liu Yilong's question, wearing an icy expression of total indifference.

"Hey punk, I'm talking to you!"

Cao Yang didn't even lift an eyelid, quietly waiting for the host to give the signal.

"Pretty arrogant!" Liu Yilong glared coldly at him, waiting for the host's signal as well.

The vast majority of underground fighters did so for money, but Liu Yilong was different. With an elder brother who was the boss of the Henan gang, he possessed more money than he could ever spend.

He had practiced martial arts since childhood, was utterly obsessed with combat, and naturally enjoyed challenging experts of all kinds.

In his eyes, Liang Feng could be considered a true fighter. Upon learning that Liang Feng had been defeated, he developed a strong interest in the person who beat him. However, Cao Yang hadn't returned afterward, so upon hearing that Cao Yang was coming this time, he had specifically requested to be matched against him.

The bell rang, betting closed, and the crowd in the auditorium quieted down.

A sexy, sultry female host stepped into the ring, pressed her hands against the chests of both fighters, and then flashed her assets as usual.

The moment she flashed them, Liu Yilong made his move, hurling a fist the size of a sandbag straight toward Cao Yang's face.

This punch was immensely powerful and ferocious; taking a direct hit would undoubtedly result in severe injury.

Any normal person facing this punch would dodge to avoid its razor-sharp edge rather than meeting it head-on. But today, Cao Yang was far from normal. He neither ducked nor evaded, throwing his own fist forward to take the blow straight on.

Bang!

The two fists collided with a violent, explosive crack, as if the air itself had shattered.

Thud, thud, thud...

Liu Yilong staggered back three steps, his arm trembling as he stared in disbelief at the unmoving Cao Yang.

"You're no match for me. Just concede," Cao Yang said indifferently. A single exchange had revealed his opponent's strength: his physical power was slightly greater than Liang Feng's, but his technique and speed fell far short.

He hadn't even used his full strength against Liang Feng last time, treating it more as a learning experience. Today, however, he had no mood for pleasantries and simply wanted a swift victory.

"I admit you have some skills, but there's no need to be so arrogant!"

Feeling deeply insulted, Liu Yilong sprang into the air, unleashing a flying kick straight at Cao Yang's temple.

Being a martial arts fanatic, he would not easily give up upon encountering an expert like Cao Yang. Even if he couldn't win, he had to fight with everything he had; only through all-out combat could he draw experience and gain new insights.

"Courting death!"

Cao Yang suddenly turned ferocious. With a flash, he dodged the attack and immediately lashed out with a kick to Liu Yilong's abdomen.

Liu Yilong was sent flying backward, slamming heavily against the chain-link fence of the octagon. He clutched his stomach as a streak of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

The spectators in the stands cheered wildly. Those who had bet on Cao Yang applauded enthusiastically, while those who had backed Yilong cursed incessantly.

"Hehehehe..." Wiping the blood from his mouth, the injured Yilong actually let out a strange chuckle.

"It's over. That Cao Yang is a dead man," someone in the crowd sighed with pity.

"Why? From what I can see, Yilong is no match for Cao Yang?" his friend asked, puzzled.

"You don't understand. This Yilong is a martial arts zealot who constantly challenges top fighters. The ones he defeats get off lightly, but those who manage to beat him never survive."

"Why is that?"

"Because anyone who injures him gets shot by his older brother!"

Unaware of these complicated background details, Cao Yang simply glared coldly at Yilong and issued a final warning: "Surrender, or you die!"