Chapter 695 - 689: Beating the Dogs

The next day, warm sunlight streamed through the window, falling on Shen Haoran’s face. His tightly shut eyes slowly opened, and two tangible streams of purple-black flame flared out before dissipating. A formidable aura flashed from his body and vanished in an instant. He looked utterly invigorated.

"Huu..." Shen Haoran exhaled a breath of stale air. He slowly stood up and stretched, a series of crisp cracks echoing from his bones. A night of Cultivation hadn’t left him with the slightest trace of fatigue; in fact, he seemed even more energized.

As he stepped out of his room, he heard waves of commotion from outside the courtyard. The Martial Artists of the City of Sin were all beginning to converge on the Underground Boxing Market. Someone was challenging Gold Level Martial Artists—a piece of bombshell news in the City of Sin. What’s more, they were challenging eight of them! This was a first in the history of the Underground Boxing Market. It would be a huge shame to miss such a spectacle.

The vast City of Sin seemed to empty out in an instant. Only a handful of people remained on the streets, and they too were headed for the Underground Boxing Market.

Shen Haoran, Long Aotian, and the others soon arrived at the Underground Boxing Market. Gazing at the dense sea of heads, Shen Haoran couldn’t help but click his tongue. ’Looks like the Underground Boxing Market has considerable influence in the City of Sin. It’s truly worthy of being an old power capable of standing up to the Ten Thousand Snakes Cave.’

Shen Haoran was soon escorted inside by a person in charge of the Underground Boxing Market. Upon seeing Shen Haoran, Luo Yu immediately came forward to greet him with a smile. This left the surrounding Martial Artists in disbelief, and they all grew curious about Shen Haoran’s identity. There weren’t many people in the City of Sin who could warrant such a smiling welcome from a manager of the Underground Boxing Market.

"Little Brother Leng, come with me. I’ll explain the rules of the challenge match to you!" Luo Yu said, leading Shen Haoran deeper into the market. The match was scheduled for noon, so there was still some time, and Luo Yu wanted to brief Shen Haoran on a few matters.

Upon entering the same small courtyard from yesterday, they saw over a dozen Martial Artists in golden robes sitting together. When Shen Haoran appeared, all eyes turned to him. However, as they took him in, their brows visibly furrowed, and their faces soured with displeasure.

"Brother Leng, these are the Golden Martial Artists of our Underground Boxing Market. They are my most trusted men," Luo Yu introduced, deliberately ignoring the displeasure on their faces.

"Manager, is this the help you brought in? Are you sure he can help us deal with the Ten Thousand Snakes Cave?"

"Manager, don’t be fooled by some silver-tongued charlatan. He’s just at the Spirit Aspect realm. We have Martial Artists like him by the dozen here in the Underground Boxing Market. Are you really going to put him on a pedestal?"

"Manager, I think your judgment is getting worse and worse!" the Golden Martial Artists said with utter disdain, sizing Shen Haoran up and down.

Hearing this, Shen Haoran’s eyes narrowed. His gaze swept over the Golden Martial Artists, then glanced at Luo Yu, and he instantly understood the situation. He took a step forward and announced, "Manager Luo, are these your dogs? Why are they barking incessantly and disturbing my peace?" After speaking, he even made a show of cleaning out his ear, a gesture that made the two women behind him cover their mouths to stifle their laughter.

Manager Luo’s expression flickered at Shen Haoran’s words. Staring at the young man’s back, he was momentarily at a loss for what to say. These men were his trusted subordinates. However, with the recent pressure from the Ten Thousand Snakes Cave, the entire security of the Underground Boxing Market had fallen on them. This had bred arrogance, and they had begun to subtly disobey orders. That was why Luo Yu wanted Shen Haoran to humble them, but he never expected him to be so blunt and immediately make enemies of them.

However, Ji Lingxuan, Long Aotian, and Lady Ya, who were familiar with Shen Haoran, were not the least bit concerned. He hadn’t made a move yet, probably out of respect for Luo Yu. Otherwise, these dozen or so men wouldn’t still have the chance to be standing here, glaring at him. Everyone who had ever looked down on Shen Haoran had ended up bedridden for ten to fifteen days.

"Brat, what did you say? How dare you insult us!"

"Hmph! Don’t think we won’t touch you just because Manager Luo brought you here. Apologize to us, now! Otherwise, even with Manager Luo protecting you, we’ll still break your legs!" The dozen or so Golden Martial Artists all stood up, unleashing their auras as they spoke with aggressive intent.

"Apologize? Hmph. To the likes of you?" Shen Haoran scoffed. He was already being generous by not attacking them, and they still wanted him to apologize? ’Are their brains filled with water?’

"Not apologizing? Hmph. Then don’t blame us for getting rough!"

"Manager Luo, watch closely! This is the stinking brat you brought back—a piece of trash who thinks he can deal with the Ten Thousand Snakes Cave!" Spiritual Power surged from the bodies of the Golden Martial Artists. They were the core strength of the Underground Boxing Market, high and mighty Golden Martial Artists, yet now they were being insulted by some punk. If they didn’t reclaim their honor today, they would be unworthy of their Gold Level status.

Watching the dozen or so Spirit Emperor Powerhouses prepare to attack, Shen Haoran simply clasped his hands behind his head and said casually, "Ling Xuan, Lady Ya, someone just called me a piece of trash. You know what to do."

The moment Shen Haoran’s voice fell, the two women behind him flickered and reappeared in front of him. Their black robes slipped away, revealing two stunningly curvaceous figures. Their faces were so beautiful they could topple kingdoms, enough to make the heavens and the earth pale in comparison.

"Kill them?" The icy question came from both women, causing Long Aotian and Luo Yu to shudder, goosebumps breaking out all over their skin. Neither of them doubted for a second that Ji Lingxuan and Lady Ya would slaughter the dozen-plus Spirit Emperor Powerhouses in front of them. Shen Haoran’s status in their hearts was beyond anyone’s imagination. They had wanted to attack the instant the men had insulted Shen Haoran; if he hadn’t implicitly held them back, they would have crippled this entire group already. To now dare to call him trash—this was their ultimate taboo, their Reversed Scale. To touch it was to court death!

"Just teach them a lesson. We’ll give Manager Luo some face," Shen Haoran said lightly.

The next instant, Ji Lingxuan and Lady Ya vanished. A series of agonized cries immediately followed, and in a flash, all dozen-plus Spirit Emperor Powerhouses were on the ground, trickles of blood at the corners of their mouths. They hadn’t even seen the two women attack—the difference in their power was simply too immense.

"GULP..." Standing to the side, Luo Yu couldn’t help but swallow hard. More than a dozen Spirit Emperor Powerhouses, the very core of the Underground Boxing Market’s might, had been utterly powerless to retaliate against the two women. Their strength was terrifyingly immense. In that moment, he was finally convinced: Shen Haoran truly had the power to deal with the Ten Thousand Snakes Cave for him.

"The most foolish thing in this world is to judge others by their appearance. Consider this a lesson. You should all be thanking Manager Luo, because otherwise, you’d be nothing but corpses right now." Shen Haoran walked over to the fallen Martial Artists and looked down at them, his voice light but his words cold. The icy tone made the men flinch, their eyes filled with pure terror...