Chapter 20: Crushing Others with Strength

Although he appeared hesitant and indecisive on the surface, Lu Yuan was actually overjoyed in his heart at this moment.

Because he had been promoted to the Strength Refining stage this month and could not compete in the ring, he had lost out on the 100 Silver Yuan prize money, and he had already been feeling a deep sense of regret.

He never expected that Kundu would take the initiative to deliver money to his door; how could he refuse such a gift?

Just like that, he put on a performance for a good while before gritting his teeth and saying:

"Fine, but I must first confirm whether there is really that much money in that money bag."

"What kind of person do you think this young master is? Would I fake such a small amount of money?"

Kundu sneered and, without a care, tossed the money bag over directly:

"This young master is in a good mood today, so I'll let you, this mud-legged fellow, count it carefully!"

Lu Yuan caught the small cowhide money bag and opened it, seeing that inside, besides a dozen or so Silver Yuan, there were indeed seven or eight heavy, exquisite gold coins reflecting a brilliant golden light.

With this much money, it was enough for two months of his medicinal herb consumption, so he nodded immediately:

"Fine, I will compete in this match, but this money bag will stay on our side first, lest I win and you refuse to pay up."

"Win?"

Kundu was stunned for a moment, then burst into loud laughter:

"Good, good, good! This is the first time this young master has seen someone dare to be so arrogant in front of me. Wukuhe, go up and get well-acquainted with him!"

"Arrogant Han person, I hope you can survive my hands."

Having long known that today's mission was to kill this Han person named Lu Yuan, the man called Wukuhe had eyes full of cold, murderous intent; after silently beckoning to Lu Yuan with his fingers, he stepped onto the ring.

Xu Dahu leaned close to Lu Yuan's ear and lowered his voice:

"Junior brother, be careful. This Wukuhe is likely an elite from the military that Kundu found. His methods are ruthless, and he is slightly stronger than that Baturu. Do not be careless."

"Don't worry, senior brother."

Lu Yuan nodded, handed the money bag in his hand to the other party, and walked onto the stage.

Regarding this situation, the people under the stage had different expressions; those on Kundu's side seemed quite confident in Wukuhe's strength, all waiting to watch a good show with smiles on their faces.

As for the people from the Qinglong Gang, except for Xu Dahu and Xu Erhu who knew that Lu Yuan had already stepped into the Strength Refining stage, they could not help but feel some worry, not knowing if Lu Yuan could withstand this formidable opponent who had just taken the top spot.

"Begin!"

Following the order.

On the stage, Wukuhe stepped forward first; his strides actually gave people the feeling of a heavy cavalry charge, shaking the ring with a booming sound.

He had no fancy tricks or probing moves; he simply flashed forward and grabbed, arriving in front of Lu Yuan in an instant, which could be described as swift and difficult to resist.

However, after a month and a half of strengthening through the Ingestion Technique and Martial Arts training, Lu Yuan's reactions were already extraordinary. He dodged sideways like lightning, used a Taiji stance to hook the opponent's wrist, and shoved with his shoulder.

Thud, thud, thud!

A surging, great strength struck, and Wukuhe felt as if he had been hit by a carriage in an instant; he let out a muffled groan and could not control his body as he retreated wildly again and again.

This scene made the Qinglong Gang members under the stage cheer loudly, while the confident Kundu's expression changed.

"Hah!"

Seemingly not expecting to suffer a loss as soon as he started, Wukuhe on the stage felt his ferocity surge. He let out a wild shout to stop his retreat and lunged at Lu Yuan again like a tiger descending a mountain.

Bang, bang, bang—

On the stage, the ring emitted a series of collision tremors.

Although Wukuhe's offensive was wild and fierce, Lu Yuan's reactions were faster, and his strength was even more formidable; whether it was grabbing, pulling, crashing, throwing, or locking, everything was easily resolved and repelled by him.

After only a few rounds, anyone could see that Wukuhe had fallen into a clear disadvantage in speed, strength, and reaction, and likely might not be Lu Yuan's match.

"Wukuhe, what are you doing!"

At this moment, Kundu suddenly let out a cold, sharp shout from under the stage:

"This is not a wrestling match! Give me your true skills!"

This sentence was like a reminder; Wukuhe suddenly roared, instantly abandoning the wrestling attack style and switching to Martial Arts combat techniques. His hands formed Yingzhua and struck out like lightning, heading straight for Lu Yuan's throat.

The opponent's Yingzhua technique struck in succession, and there was even a sharp whistling sound in the air; it was sinister and cruel. Lu Yuan did not dare to take it head-on with his physical body for a moment, so he could only change his footwork and dodge repeatedly.

The ordinary wrestling match suddenly turned into a Martial Arts fight. Xu Dahu immediately shouted angrily: "Kundu, what do you mean by this?"

Kundu sneered: "What do I mean? I never said the match on stage was a wrestling competition. Since he..."

Boom!

Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by a huge sound on the stage.

It was Lu Yuan, who, after a series of dangerous dodges, found an opportunity. He stepped forward heavily, his right arm whipping up a howling gale as he hammered a punch down toward the relentlessly pursuing Wukuhe!

When it came to Martial Arts techniques, the opponent was clearly superior; he would not use his own weaknesses to attack the enemy's strengths. If he wanted to play, he would naturally play with overwhelming strength!

The view in front of him seemed to darken in an instant, and one could even feel the wind carried by this punch. The relentlessly pursuing Wukuhe felt alarm bells ringing in his heart instantly; he sensed the danger intuitively and subconsciously crossed his arms to block the punch.

Bang!

The iron fist landed on Wukuhe's arms, and a dull, explosive sound rang out. He looked as if he had been hit head-on by a heavy hammer, his face twisted violently, and he retreated again, thud, thud, thud!

Under the impact of that punch, Wukuhe felt as if he had been hit by a carriage; his arms were in excruciating pain, and the bones in both his shoulders rattled as if they were about to fall apart.

Preposterous!

How could his strength be so great?

Feeling the state of his arms, Wukuhe was terrified.

Regardless of what he thought, Lu Yuan laughed and stepped forward, chasing with another punch, slamming it fiercely toward his face with pure, rigid strength.

"Die!"

With gusts of evil wind, facing Lu Yuan's relentless pursuit, Wukuhe's heart pounded wildly. He gritted his teeth to stop his retreat, gathered all his strength to explode suddenly, and also threw a punch to meet it, causing the wind around them to burst!

He had actually unleashed the crisp sound of force that only those in the Strength Refining stage could produce!

Boom!

The two fists collided, the wind exploded, and the iron plates of the ring under Lu Yuan and Wukuhe's feet twisted and deformed at the same time, while both their figures retreated simultaneously.

However, the only difference was that Lu Yuan only retreated one step, while Wukuhe retreated wildly for seven or eight steps.

Furthermore, as his feet retreated in succession, he let out an irrepressible howl of pain, and the wrist of the arm he had used to throw the punch was bent at a strange angle, as if it had been broken during the collision just now!

Lu Yuan was not a kind-hearted person who would stop while ahead; while his opponent was retreating wildly, he pressed his advantage, darted forward, and instantly arrived before the other, throwing out another simple and brutal bow-stance straight punch!

At this moment, Wukuhe, whose entire body's Qi and blood were in turmoil, was already powerless to resist further and could only watch helplessly as this punch grew larger in his field of vision.

Bang—!

The next instant, having taken this punch, Wukuhe let out a shrill howl of pain, and his entire body was sent flying violently backward, as if struck by an ancient siege battering ram.

While flying through the air, he spat out blood that scattered in mid-air, then crashed heavily outside the arena, falling to the ground completely unable to rise.

Watching this scene unfold with his own eyes, Kundu's complexion instantly turned livid.

(End of chapter)