Chapter 59 - 58: Black Bear

Chapter 59: Chapter 58: Black Bear

Seeing how extravagantly Lu Jing’an was spending, the smile on the organizer’s face instantly widened.

The crow’s feet at the corners of his eyes deepened into furrows.

He cupped his fists, his voice dripping with practiced familiarity:

"You are a generous man, sir! In that case, I wish you a resounding victory and a chance to make a name for yourself in your very first fight!"

Though his smile was wide, he had already made up his mind.

’I’ll find a tough opponent for him later and teach this greenhorn young master a lesson.’

’Let him find out just how treacherous the Jianghu can be.’

’As for those one thousand silver coins, I’ll just consider it his tuition fee.’

Lu Jing’an had his reasons for throwing down one thousand silver coins right from the start.

He had just watched two matches from below the ring.

The people on stage... forget about Cultivators who had broken through the Blood Barrier.

There were barely any who could even manifest "Qi Blood Smoke."

Against opponents like these, no matter how clever their techniques were...

...he could overwhelm them all with pure strength. It was impossible to test his own limits.

Young Master Lu’s time was more precious than silver coins.

That was why he deliberately threw money around—to provoke the ring’s Steward into sending up a decent opponent.

After the current match on stage concluded and the loser was helped away,

Lu Jing’an heard the announcer on the stage drawl out a name:

"Next match—

The ’Jade Emperor,’ please enter the ring!"

The name was so arrogant it bordered on tyrannical, immediately piquing the interest of many spectators below.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, a young master with fair skin and slender fingers, dressed in a crisp, exquisite short-style fighting outfit, ascended the stage.

Standing on the dusty stone ring, Lu Jing’an was jarringly out of place.

"Hah, another young master who’s learned a few moves and now thinks he’s hot stuff."

"Look at that delicate skin. I bet he’s never even killed a chicken."

"Bet on him to lose! This round is free money!"

A buzz of sneers and chatter filled the air.

Lu Jing’an, however, seemed not to hear it, standing quietly on one side of the ring.

His gaze swept calmly over the mocking and greedy faces in the crowd below.

On the other side of the ring, the organizer

glanced at the still-composed Lu Jing’an, a subtle, cold sneer touching the corner of his mouth.

He turned sideways and gave quiet instructions to a tower-like man beside him:

"Black Bear, when you go up there, hold back a little.

The man paid good money. Let him have a taste of it first. Toy with him for a few moves."

He paused, his tone turning cold.

"When you’re done playing, throw him out of the ring."

As if feeling he had spoken too harshly, his expression softened, and he added:

"When you throw him, pull your punch. Don’t actually hurt him, and definitely don’t kill him.

A young master who can casually pull out one thousand silver coins

could have some powerful backer. We should try our best not to make an enemy of him."

The man called "Black Bear" was nearly two meters tall.

He was broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, his bronze-colored muscles stretching his coarse linen shirt taut.

He grunted and nodded, a low rumble of a reply rolling from his throat.

"Got it."

"Alright, get up there. They’re calling for you." The organizer clapped his rock-hard arm.

Black Bear strode toward the ring.

Every step he took on the bluestone ring produced a heavy THUD, THUD.

Stone dust puffed up, and he actually left behind footprints half an inch deep.

This was a sign of Horizontal Training mastered to a certain degree, where Qi and Blood sink and power flows through the entire body.

Seeing Black Bear get on stage, a wave of knowing hisses and sighs rose from the crowd.

"Great. Smiling Tiger is letting his guard dog out to eat all the profits again."

"Once Black Bear’s up there, the outcome is completely up to him. There’s no point in betting on this match."

A newcomer in the audience, confused, whispered to the person next to him, "If we all bet on the young master to lose, can’t we still win money?"

The man who had spoken earlier shot him a sidelong glance and lowered his voice. "You must be new here, brother.

That Black Bear is Smiling Tiger’s hired muscle. The win or loss depends entirely on his word.

If the bets on the young master to lose get too big,

he can immediately make Black Bear ’accidentally’ lose

and take everyone’s money.

So when Black Bear gets in the ring, it’s a clear sign the house is about to fleece a fat sheep, and no one else will even get a sip of the soup."

Lu Jing’an heard every single word of these discussions.

He possessed the ability of Cause and Effect Following Sound, and his hearing was far beyond that of an ordinary person.

What’s more, he had already broken through the Blood Barrier; his five senses were several times sharper than those of an ordinary Martial Artist.

Lu Jing’an looked up at the iron tower of a man opposite him. His aura was deep and his Qi and Blood were vigorous.

A pillar of smoke rising to the heavens—he was one of the best among those who could produce Qi Blood Smoke.

In this underground ring, he was considered a rare talent.

A scrawny, middle-aged referee stood in the center of the ring, reciting the rules in his usual monotone:

"In the ring, fists and feet have no eyes. Life and death are decided by the Celestial Mandate.

A fighter is defeated if they fall out of the ring, are knocked down for a count of ten breaths, or verbally concede.

Do you both understand?"

With that, he was about to turn and leave the stage.

"Hold on."

Lu Jing’an suddenly spoke, his clear voice cutting through the noisy crowd.

Smiling Tiger’s heart skipped a beat, but then he rejoiced inwardly:

’Could this young master be so intimidated by Black Bear’s size that he’s about to forfeit?’

That wasn’t it, however. Lu Jing’an raised his voice toward where Smiling Tiger was standing below the stage:

"What’s the ’winner’s purse’ for my match?

If the prize is too small, this young master isn’t interested in fighting.

I’ve placed a heavy bet on myself, you know."

Smiling Tiger hadn’t expected Lu Jing’an to be concerned about this at a time like this and was momentarily at a loss for words.

He had planned to take all the profits for himself on this match and hadn’t even opened it for public betting. Where would a "winner’s purse" come from?

But if he just said there wasn’t one, wouldn’t that be a dead giveaway?

If this young master decided to get serious about it, he might have to spit back out the silver coins he’d already taken.

His mind raced, and an even more enthusiastic smile spread across his face as he called back loudly:

"Sir, this is your first time on stage, so no one has bet on you to win.

The betting pool for you to lose contains a total of one thousand five hundred silver coins!"

Lu Jing’an raised an eyebrow and pointed at Black Bear.

"So you’re saying if I beat him, I get to take that one thousand five hundred silver coins?"

"Exactly, sir!" Smiling Tiger nodded.

"Not bad."

Lu Jing’an seemed satisfied. He flicked some non-existent dust from his sleeve cuff.

"Then let’s begin."

Seeing this, the people in the crowd shook their heads.

This young master was still dreaming of winning money at this point. He truly didn’t understand the dangers of the Jianghu.

They could already imagine

the pathetic sight of this delicate young master

being picked up by Black Bear like a chick

and then carelessly tossed from the ring.

The referee withdrew, leaving only the two of them on the stage.

Lu Jing’an was tall and slender, but standing in front of Black Bear, he still looked small.

He stood casually and made a "please, after you" gesture with his hand.

"You can go first."

Black Bear remembered Smiling Tiger’s instructions.

With a low roar, he stamped his foot and charged forward.

He deliberately slowed his movements, throwing a straight punch at Lu Jing’an’s chest.

Although the punch whistled through the air, he held back, leaving room for error.

He wanted to give the young master a chance to dodge or parry.

The next instant, however, Black Bear’s vision blurred.

Lu Jing’an didn’t dodge or evade. His left hand shot out like lightning.

His five fingers closed, gripping Black Bear’s thick wrist with unerring Precision.

Black Bear felt as if his wrist had been locked in an iron clamp.

A tremendous force shot through him,

and his forward momentum was brought to a dead stop.

Immediately after, Lu Jing’an shifted his footing.

His waist twisted, and his right hand landed on Black Bear’s arm.

It was a clean and efficient New Martial Arts technique—an over-the-shoulder throw!

"Up!"

Lu Jing’an shouted, exhaling sharply.

The Qi and Blood in his body surged, and a faint red glow seemed to flash for a moment beneath his fair skin.

Exerting strength with a single arm, he swung Black Bear, who weighed over three hundred pounds, completely off the ground!

"WHOA!"

The crowd below instantly exploded into an uproar.

Under countless horrified gazes,

Black Bear’s tower-like body

traced a breathtaking arc through the air.

His massive shadow covered nearly half the ring.

Time seemed to slow down in that instant.

The crowd could clearly see the expression on Black Bear’s face, frozen in stunned Solidification,

and could see his knotted muscles tensing helplessly in mid-air.

And then!

BOOM!!!

A huge, muffled thunderclap of a sound vibrated everyone’s eardrums until they went numb.

Black Bear slammed solidly onto the hard bluestone ring, sending stone chips flying and dust billowing.

Spiderweb-like cracks spread out crazily from the point of impact, actually forming a shallow crater.

Black Bear lay in the crater, his eyes wide, unable to catch his breath.

The entire underground fight club fell deathly silent.

Everyone stared, dumbfounded, at the moon-white figure on the stage.

Lu Jing’an had already relaxed his stance, standing with his hands behind his back, his breathing even.

It was as if that earth-shattering throw had been as casual as brushing dust from his clothes.

After a moment of dead silence, an uproar erupted.

"Qi and Blood Boiling! That’s definitely the Cultivation of a Qi Blood Second Transformation!"

"I totally misjudged him... This young master is the real deal!"

"What terrifying strength... To swing a man of Black Bear’s weight with just one arm..."

The smile on Smiling Tiger’s face had long since frozen, and a layer of cold sweat instantly broke out on his back.

That last throw... if Lu Jing’an’s hand had been off by even half a fraction,

and he’d thrown Black Bear directly out of the ring, those one thousand five hundred silver coins would have changed hands in an instant!

For him, that would have been like cutting off his own flesh and bleeding out.

The daily take from this ring, after subtracting all the necessary payoffs,

was only one or two hundred silver coins for him.

And with that one or two hundred, he still had to support his own men.

If he really had to pay out one thousand five hundred, he would have been working for nothing for the better part of a month.