Chapter 12: Dragon Fighting and Tiger Struggling

There were over forty participants in the ring, and eight was his own number.

As for number thirty-two, Lu Yuan scanned with his gaze and discovered it was precisely a contestant from the Money Gang side.

What was interesting was that although that contestant was tall and sturdy, his expression was timid and shrinking, clearly also his first time stepping onto the stage to fight in the ring.

Judging by his temperament, this person was clearly also recruited by the Money Gang from among the disaster victims outside the city some time ago.

Naturally, there was nothing to worry about with such an opponent, and Lu Yuan felt slightly relieved.

Xu Dahu and Xu Erhu also saw his opponent and chuckled, saying:

"That kid from the Money Gang is a bit unlucky, having to run into Junior Brother."

"Junior Brother, do your best. I've looked around and there are few here who can pose a threat to you. You might just win first place in the ring tonight and bring honor to Master!"

Li Junxian also nodded and said:

"Although A Yuan's techniques are not yet refined, by relying on strength comparable to the Force-Refining stage, he does indeed have the qualifications to compete for first place."

Lu Yuan was not blindly confident, but modestly said:

"Thank you, Master and two Senior Brothers, for your encouragement. This disciple will certainly do his best."

Compared to the ease on his side.

After the other disaster-victim companions nearby drew their numbers and found their opponents, most were nervous, and some were even pale as death upon discovering their opponents were formidable.

It was a pity that at this stage, no one could retreat. In a moment, several clear, resonant gong sounds rang out in succession, representing that the bets were closed and the ring matches had officially begun.

Subsequently, the contestants began to take the stage according to their numbers.

The first to take the stage was a youth from the Tieyi Martial Arts Hall; he was sturdy in build and had a resolute face, looking quite imposing.

His opponent was a disciple from another place called the White Feather Martial Arts Hall.

These two were clearly acquainted, and after the start, there was no life-or-death intensity. After only a few rounds of probing, the youth from the Tieyi Martial Arts Hall easily seized a flaw, and after a few chain throws, he completely subdued his opponent to win.

While the ring matches were called wrestling, in reality, except for not being allowed to strike with fists and feet or attack the groin, everything else was unrestricted.

However, such a match was clearly not what the audience loved to watch; there were jeers from the spectators in the stands, who seemed quite dissatisfied.

The youth from the Tieyi Martial Arts Hall was clearly not participating in a match for the first time; he didn't care at all, cupped his hands, and jumped off the stage.

The next two contestants to take the stage were a Mongolian bondservant from the Feng'en General Mansion and a short, sturdy man from the Sand River Gang.

The General Feng'en belonged to the Upper Three Banners nobility conferred by the Jin Dynasty; he had a title but no power, and because it was a low-ranking peerage, it could not be inherited by descendants.

However, because of his status as a noble of the Upper Three Banners, even the Prefect of Fengyang had to treat him with courtesy, so the entire General's Mansion was arrogant and domineering, and could be said to be running rampant and notorious in this Fengyang Prefecture.

The Mongolian man who took the stage was a bondservant raised by the young masters and misses of the General's Mansion, specifically used for fighting in the ring for amusement.

At this moment on the stage, the Mongolian man who had come up was like an iron tower, covered in tattoos, wearing an ugly money-tail braid, with a beast-like smile on his face;

Opposite him, the short, sturdy man from the Sand River Gang was clearly somewhat nervous and fearful, adopting a defensive stance as soon as he came up.

However, as the match officially began, the Mongolian man charged forward like a beast, making the entire ring rustle and shake.

The short, sturdy man dodged in panic, but after only a few rounds, he was left struggling on the stage, forced to collide and grapple with the other party.

However, the disparity in strength between the two sides was clearly not small; after only three or five rounds of grappling, the short, sturdy man was careless and had his waist seized by the Mongolian man, who then slammed him to the ground.

This throw was of immense force, and the short, sturdy man immediately bled from his nose and mouth, clearly having suffered heavy injuries;

Yet the Mongolian man had no intention of stopping, laughing wildly as he suddenly knelt and pressed down with both knees.

Crack!

With his thick knees pressing heavily on the chest, a crisp sound of breaking bones rang out. The short, sturdy man suddenly let out a sharp, shrill scream, his eyes bulging, his body trembling violently, and then his head hung limply, motionless.

Lu Yuan's eyes turned cold. Looking closely, he saw blood flowing from the man's seven orifices; clearly, his sternum and even his internal organs had been crushed, and he was dead beyond any doubt!

Only in the second match, someone had been beaten to death on the stage.

Yet it was precisely this bloody cruelty that instead caused the majority of the spectators in the stands to shout and cheer excitedly, the atmosphere suddenly becoming exceptionally heated.

"Victory, victory!"

On the ring, the Mongolian man pounded his chest and roared, then made a throat-slitting gesture toward all the contestants off the stage in an arrogant manner.

Xu Dahu had a fiery temper and was naturally extremely dissatisfied with this, cursing: "Arrogant dog thing! If it weren't for the fact that I can't participate in this level of the ring, I would have twisted this bastard's head off!"

Xu Erhu, however, said with slight gravity:

"This Baturu won first place in the Low-Level Ring last month. Junior Brother is very likely to encounter him later; you must be careful."

Li Junxian also frowned and instructed:

"A Yuan has been practicing martial arts for too short a time after all. Even if your physique and strength are extraordinary, you may not necessarily be this person's match. If you encounter him and feel you cannot win, you must jump off the ring at the first opportunity; do not try to be brave for the sake of face!"

Lu Yuan would naturally not joke with his own life, and immediately said solemnly:

"Yes, this disciple has noted it."

While they were speaking, the Mongolian man named Baturu had already left the stage. The people from the Sand River Gang collected the corpse in anger but did not go to cause trouble for the other party.

On one hand, the Feng'en General Mansion was not to be trifled with; on the other hand, the rules of the ring were such that no faction was allowed to cause trouble in the venue, and one could only settle scores on the ring.

Next, the matches continued, and the contestants from all sides took the stage one after another, with two matches running simultaneously, speeding up the pace.

And as if Baturu had set a precedent, the subsequent matches all became intense, especially when contestants from factions with old grudges met on the stage and showed no mercy. If it happened to be two veterans competing, the outcome would end with one party being thrown until their tendons were snapped and bones broken, vomiting blood.

Of course, among the matches, there were one or two that belonged to "chickens pecking at each other," where they were all newcomers cultivated by various factions, and the process of pulling and probing had no entertainment value at all, drawing constant jeers from the spectators.

Two newcomers from the Qinglong Gang side went up; one was lucky and did not encounter a veteran, and after a period of entanglement, actually achieved victory;

While the other was slightly unlucky, and after several entanglements, was fiercely thrown off the stage by his opponent, spitting out a large pool of blood.

Seeing this scene, the newcomers were even more terrified, while veterans like Xu Dahu did not show much agitation.

The ring at Boxiyuan was inherently a cruel arena—survival of the fittest, the weak are prey to the strong. Everyone, including themselves, had experienced too much and had long since grown accustomed to it.

Lu Yuan had long been mentally prepared for this day. At this moment, he had no other thoughts in his heart, only silently watching the contestants taking the stage one after another, observing their techniques and flaws, preparing with all his might.

Then, it was his turn to take the stage.

After calmly stepping onto the stage, number thirty-two from the Money Gang also stepped onto the stage trembling with fear.

Regarding this kind of opponent, Lu Yuan naturally had nothing to say. After stepping forward to probe slightly, he grabbed the other party, relied on strength far exceeding that of an ordinary person to easily crush the other party's resistance, and then repeatedly threw the other party until they were bruised and swollen, rolling off the stage.

Number 32 was clearly a simple farmer by origin; he and his opponent had no grudges, so there was naturally no need to use lethal force.

Because this opponent was too weak and had nothing worth mentioning, Li Junxian and his disciples said nothing after coming down, with only the other companions waiting to go on stage feeling a little encouraged, fantasizing that they too could defeat their enemies as easily as Lu Yuan.

Following this, match after match flew by; some went on stage and some were injured and left, and in just over an hour, all twenty-plus preliminary matches were finished.

The Qinglong Gang had sent out only newcomers this time, and as a result, including Lu Yuan, only four people made it through the first round; two of those who were defeated and left the stage were seriously injured, and the rest were all bruised and battered to varying degrees.

The three newcomers who entered the second round with Lu Yuan had also reached their limit, and Li Junxian likewise instructed them that if they were outmatched, they could jump off the stage in time and would not be held accountable.

Aside from the remainder, the rest were contestants from forces like the Money Gang, the Sand River Gang, the Tieyi Martial Arts Hall, and so on.

The Feng'en General Mansion had only three Mongolian house slaves participating, and all of them fought their way into the second round.

And from the second round on, the thousands of spectators in the stands already had a basic judgment of the contestants' strength, and the betting became even more intense.

And in this round of drawing lots, Lu Yuan's luck was still quite good; the opponent he drew was a veteran from the Sand River Gang.

Although that person's technique and strength were not bad and his experience was considered rich, he was still a notch inferior when facing Lu Yuan, who was already comparable to a Strength Refiner, and after only a few rounds, he was thrown off the stage by Lu Yuan's superior force.

Lu Yuan thus successfully fought his way into the third round.

However, the other three companions were not so lucky; the first two encountered formidable opponents from the Money Gang and the Tieyi Martial Arts Hall respectively in this round, and as soon as they started, they were beaten until they had no power to fight back; fortunately, they jumped off the stage and conceded in time, avoiding the fate of serious injury.

And the third one, named Niu Li, had even worse luck, actually drawing that Mongolian brute Baturu as an opponent.

Knowing full well he was absolutely no match for the opponent, as soon as the bell rang after getting on stage, Niu Li raised both hands high and shouted his concession.

Yet that Baturu acted as if he hadn't heard, grinning hideously as he lunged forward, grabbed Niu Li by the throat, and then lifted him high and slammed him down fiercely.

Although the referee quickly went on stage to stop it, Niu Li was still vomited blood from the opponent's throw, his left arm broken, looking tragic beyond compare.

And this scene made Xu Dahu and the others waiting on the sidelines extremely furious; if not for Li Junxian holding them back, they would likely have rushed onto the stage to tear the opponent apart with their bare hands.

"This is outrageous, this is outrageous!"

The unconscious Niu Li was carried to the back area for treatment, and Baturu walked off the stage with his head held high to greet the cheers and applause of the spectators; Xu Dahu in the waiting area was already furious beyond control:

"Junior Brother, if you run into him later, do you have the confidence to teach this scum a lesson?"

Niu Li had previously lived under the same roof as him and often followed behind him running errands; Lu Yuan felt a hidden anger in his heart, but still said calmly:

"If I run into him, I will try."

In terms of physique and strength, he boasted that he would never be weaker than that Baturu.

It was just that in terms of wrestling technique and experience, he had only learned for half a month and it was his first time competing, so naturally there was a gap between him and the opponent; he did not dare to easily claim victory when truly on stage.

Li Junxian, however, frowned and said:

"Nonsense, that Baturu has a powerful physique and very rich wrestling experience; you are, after all, a newcomer, and there is no need to risk your life. If you encounter him, it is best to forfeit; there will be plenty of opportunities in the future anyway."

A disciple who possessed the great strength of a Heaven god and grew extremely fast was worth more than gold; having finally encountered such a talented disciple, he was naturally unwilling to take any risks.

Lu Yuan pondered for a moment:

"Running away without a fight would be too shameful for Master; if I really encounter him, I will definitely be careful and cautious, and I will get off the stage in time; I will not force it."

Lu Yuan's comprehensive strength was now not inferior to a formal Wrestler, so Li Junxian pondered slightly and nodded.

Soon, the third round continued.

By this round, only eleven people remained, consisting of two each from the Tieyi Martial Arts Hall and the White Feather Martial Arts Hall, two from the Money Gang, one from the Qinglong Gang, one from the Sand River Gang, and three from the Feng'en General Mansion.

Once this round was finished, it would enter the semi-finals and the finals.

And to Lu Yuan's surprise, the result of this round's draw was that he had a bye in the competition, directly advancing to the semi-finals!

Clearly, the Boxiyuan was the home turf of the Qinglong Gang; although there were people from various forces supervising the draw, they could still arrange some small tricks.

Like this bye, he could rest and observe from the side, while the others had to go on stage to fight fiercely and consume their stamina, which would invisibly accumulate a not-insignificant advantage.

And under Lu Yuan's observation.

Ten contestants with impressive strength went on stage one after another, and each pair decided the winner within less than half an incense stick's time, the speed being extremely fast.

Among these five matches, the most eye-catching Baturu went on stage third, and his opponent was a Gatekeeper from the Tieyi Martial Arts Hall.

That person's physique and strength were extremely strong, not at all inferior to Baturu's; from the start, both sides unfolded a dragon-and-tiger struggle on the stage, with all kinds of collisions, wrestling, and pulling, shaking the ring continuously as if two wild beasts were fighting on stage.

And after the two sides tangled for a long time, the final result was that Baturu was a notch more skilled.

When both sides had exhausted their strength, he used his rich wrestling experience to seize a flaw in the Tieyi Martial Arts Hall Gatekeeper, and finally used an Iron Mountain Lean to knock the opponent off the ring in one go, achieving victory.

"You Han people, what kind of bullshit Martial Arts do you learn? You are all trash!"

"Hahahaha."

The victorious Baturu laughed wildly in broken Han language, doing his utmost to be contemptuous.

After that Tieyi Martial Arts Hall disciple fell off the stage, he vomited blood, clearly extremely unwilling, but there was nothing he could do; he could only grit his teeth and leave amidst the deafening cheers and applause of the entire venue.

Subsequently, Baturu walked off the stage triumphantly.

The following two matches were also quite intense, and the winners were decided quickly.

Finally, the third round ended, and the five people who could enter the semi-finals besides Lu Yuan were one from the Money Gang, one from the Sand River Gang, one from the White Feather Martial Arts Hall, Baturu, and another Mongolian brute from the General's Mansion.

And after only a short rest, Lu Yuan and these five people once again drew lots.

This time, under everyone's eyes, the people from the Qinglong Gang had no opportunity to help cheat.

The final result was that he drew the first turn to go on stage.

And his opponent was, shockingly, Baturu, who was brutal in every match and currently had the highest acclaim for taking first place!

(End of chapter)