Chapter 690 - 684: Invitation from the Supervisor of the Underground Boxing Market

Watching Shen Haoran’s back, the crowd fell silent. After a moment, the referee finally came to his senses and announced in a booming voice, "The winner of this challenge is Leng Feng!"

"WOAH! LENG FENG! LENG FENG!" The moment the referee’s voice fell, a few scattered shouts rang out. But soon, the cries grew louder and louder, eventually becoming a tidal wave of sound, one wave after another, as the entire Underground Boxing Market roared Leng Feng’s name.

Hearing the deafening roars, a slight smile touched Shen Haoran’s lips. The blood in his veins began to boil; it was a strange and exhilarating feeling. He was also a little relieved. ’Good thing I used an alias when I registered. If I’d used my real name, my identity would probably be exposed. I have more than a few enemies, and if they found out and ruined my plans, the loss would far outweigh the gain.’

In the waiting room, Uncle Chang, whom Shen Haoran had stopped earlier, stared blankly at Shen Haoran’s figure on the stage. ’I thought everything he said before was just a joke to comfort me,’ he thought, stunned. ’But I can’t believe he actually killed the Beast King! This means I don’t have to die! I can still go home to my wife and kids! This is a stroke of incredible luck!’ At that thought, tears streamed down the old man’s face.

Back on the Martial Arts Arena, Shen Haoran wiped the blood from the Beast King’s Storage Ring. He then forcefully shattered the Seal on it with his Spiritual Thought and began to rummage through its contents. When his Spiritual Thought entered the Beast King’s Storage Ring, Shen Haoran couldn’t help but draw a sharp breath. The Beast King’s collection was incredibly vast. Forget the Elemental Stones—there were so many piles that Shen Haoran couldn’t even be bothered to count them. The sheer amount of Spirit Medicines and Cultivation and Martial Skills alone was overwhelming. ’Did this guy rob a Major Sect’s treasury? How else could he have so many good things?’

Shen Haoran’s gaze swept over the Spirit Medicine Scrolls, a satisfied smile on his face. This fight had been well worth it. ’From today on,’ he thought, ’all of this belongs to me!’

"Brother Leng, the manager of our Underground Boxing Market would like to meet you. I was wondering if you might have some time?" Just as Shen Haoran was reveling in his good fortune, the referee from the Martial Arts Arena approached him and extended a sincere invitation.

Shen Haoran put away the Beast King’s Storage Ring, then sized up the referee before him. After a moment’s thought, he said, "Fine. But I need to take care of some things first. I’ll be back tomorrow."

"We will be ready for you at any time!" The referee nodded and retreated backstage. His only purpose today had been to commentate the Beast King’s match. Now that the Beast King was dead, he had no reason to stay.

Shen Haoran watched the referee’s disappearing figure, his eyes narrowing slightly as he became lost in thought.

"Brother Shen, you’re a genius! We netted over six hundred thousand Elemental Stones from just this one match!" As Shen Haoran was lost in thought, Long Aotian joyfully approached with the two women. Although Long Aotian was the young master of the Cyan Dragon Race and could easily get his hands on any amount of Elemental Stones, he had never earned so many by himself.

"Brother Haoran, what’s wrong?" Ji Lingxuan, however, noticed the strange look in Shen Haoran’s eyes and asked at once.

"The people from the Underground Boxing Market want to see you?" Lady Ya had also seen the referee speaking to Shen Haoran and had keenly picked up on the situation.

"Yeah, but I put them off for now," Shen Haoran nodded. "Let’s find a place to rest and figure out what they’re after." He then led the group out of the Underground Boxing Market.

"Little Brother Shen, wait!" Just as Shen Haoran and the others were about to leave the Underground Boxing Market, a voice called out from behind. Shen Haoran turned to see Uncle Chang jogging toward them.

"Little Brother Shen, are you all leaving?" Uncle Chang asked as he approached the group of four.

"No, we’re just looking for a place to rest," Shen Haoran replied, shaking his head.

"Oh, that’s perfect! I have a few spare rooms at my place. Why don’t you come stay with us? My wife’s cooking is the most delicious in the world, and I must thank you properly for saving my life!" Uncle Chang boomed with a laugh as he invited Shen Haoran.

Hearing this, Shen Haoran happily agreed after a moment’s consideration. ’This is perfect,’ he thought. ’There are a few things I wanted to ask Uncle Chang about anyway. Someone who has spent years in the Underground Boxing Market like him must know more about this so-called manager.’

The group followed Uncle Chang back to his home in the Southwest District. His wife was standing at the door, anxiously waiting for him to return. It seemed this had become her daily habit.

Uncle Chang spotted his wife from a distance and quickened his pace. Though dressed in simple clothes, her fine features couldn’t be hidden. It seemed Uncle Chang was quite a lucky man.

Uncle Chang introduced Shen Haoran and his companions to his wife. When she heard that Shen Haoran was the one who had saved her husband’s life, she was full of gratitude and immediately went to prepare dinner for them. Watching the happy family, Shen Haoran felt a wave of emotion. ’To think that in a place as overrun with evil as the City of Sin, a scene this warm could exist.’

After shaking off his moment of reflection, Shen Haoran pulled Uncle Chang aside to ask him about the Underground Boxing Market.

"Uncle Chang, what can you tell me about the Underground Boxing Market?" Shen Haoran asked.

"The Underground Boxing Market... all I know is that it was founded by the very first people who came to the City of Sin," Uncle Chang said. "They were a bunch of real madmen. Their reason for starting it was obvious: to vent the violent urges they couldn’t release otherwise. But later on, as more and more people came to the City of Sin, the Underground Boxing Market slowly turned into a for-profit enterprise."

Shen Haoran nodded at his words and then asked, "Have you ever seen the manager of the Underground Boxing Market? What kind of person is he?"

Hearing Shen Haoran’s question, Uncle Chang gave a bitter laugh. "Little Brother Shen, you give me too much credit. Manager Luo isn’t someone people like us can meet. You need to be at least Gold Level to get an audience with him. You have to understand, in the entire City of Sin, only a mere one hundred people have Gold Level status. The rest of us are just risking our lives for a few Elemental Stones to make ends meet!"

"Manager Luo? Is he also from the Ten Thousand Snakes Cave?" Shen Haoran asked, scratching his head awkwardly.

"Oh, no. The Underground Boxing Market is an independent power; they aren’t aligned with the Ten Thousand Snakes Cave. In fact, there’s a bit of bad blood between them. Since they’re both in the same city, conflicts of interest are unavoidable, so there’s a fair amount of friction between the two powers. I heard that Manager Luo even had a major battle with the King from the Ten Thousand Snakes Cave once, though nobody knows who won," Uncle Chang said, telling him everything he knew.

After listening, Shen Haoran fell into deep thought. ’The manager of the Underground Boxing Market has a grudge against the King of the Ten Thousand Snakes Cave,’ he mused. ’It seems a meeting with this Manager Luo is necessary after all. The enemy of my enemy is my friend... there’s truth in that saying.’