Chapter 58: Anomaly

"Won! He actually won!"

When the referee announced the victory of Green-Faced Ghost, Liu Saner was stunned for several seconds before reacting, then roared with excitement.

Beside him, Sister Hua looked at Li Fei on the boxing ring in surprise, her eyes shifting.

That she could fare so well in the Qingyuan Boxing Den was entirely due to her keen eye, having discovered many formidable fighters.

This Black Mountain, who had just been signed tonight, possessed excellent innate physical qualities; having worked in the mines for five years, he had not only honed his strength but also practiced martial arts.

Sister Hua knew that the black mines outside Xingcheng were not peaceful places; fighting, brawling, and even killing were common occurrences.

For the first two years, relying on his outstanding physical condition, Black Mountain had made a name for himself in the mines, and was later scouted by a martial artist, from whom he learned martial techniques for three years.

This time, Black Mountain came to the Qingyuan Boxing Den to fight, hoping to save enough money to buy an implant on the black market and become an official martial artist.

Sister Hua thought highly of this person, believing he would eventually be able to fight his way into the Heaven-tier boxing ring.

As it turned out, he was defeated by someone in his very first rookie match, not even lasting five seconds!

While she was pondering, Li Fei had already stepped down from the ring and walked up to her.

Before Li Fei could speak, a brilliant smile bloomed on Sister Hua's face:

"Oh, I really misjudged you; I never imagined you were so formidable."

As she spoke, she took a stack of bills from a leather wallet and handed them to Li Fei:

"Here, this is one hundred yuan. Consider the extra as an apology from your sister; please don't take what I said earlier to heart."

Li Fei was somewhat surprised by her reaction, but there was no need to turn away money, so he accepted the bills she offered.

Sister Hua's smile grew even wider, her eyes fixed intently on Li Fei:

"Little brother, since you are so formidable, why not consider letting me be your manager? I guarantee I can turn you into a famous fighter at the Qingyuan Boxing Den in the shortest possible time, gaining both fame and fortune!"

She was actually trying to sign Li Fei.

Such fawning after previous arrogance seemed somewhat ridiculous, but she did not care in the slightest.

As long as she could make money, what was face worth?

"Sister Hua..."

Liu Saner, standing to the side, was stunned; the joy brought by winning the bet vanished in an instant.

Sister Hua turned her head and gave him a sharp look, making him afraid to continue speaking.

Subsequently, Sister Hua looked at Li Fei, a smile blooming on her face once again:

"A fighter's manager is very important; I can help you arrange matches with the best odds and high attention, allowing you to earn money more easily. I can also introduce you to powerful patrons; as long as they are pleased, a casual tip from them will be more than what you earn from ten matches."

Having said this, she pointed at Liu Saner and said mercilessly:

"This little punk is the lowest-level fighter manager here; he has no resources at all, and you are destined to struggle if you follow him. But I am different; you only need to ask around to know my reputation here, and know that every fighter under me has made money."

Liu Saner was belittled while being pointed at by Sister Hua, yet he could not refute her; he opened his mouth, looking at Li Fei, unable to speak.

His expression was dejected.

Sister Hua could snatch the fighter he had found right in front of him, yet he was completely unable to resist, or even speak up to fight for himself.

This world was just like that.

Li Fei glanced at the head-bowed Liu Saner; the other man's expression was the same as his own in his previous life when he had finally waited for an opportunity, only to have it snatched away by a colleague with better connections.

Helpless, powerless.

He looked at the confident Sister Hua with a calm gaze and said:

"No need."

Liu Saner suddenly raised his head, and the smile on Sister Hua's face froze.

Li Fei then walked toward the registration area to collect his bonus for this match.

Because it was a rookie match between two newcomers, the bonus was only the minimum of 5 yuan.

After collecting the bonus, Li Fei walked over to Liu Saner, who was still in a daze:

"How much did I win from the bet?"

Liu Saner then awoke as if from a dream, saying to Li Fei with wild joy:

"Wait here, I'll go exchange it for you right away!"

Soon, he ran back with a pile of bills and handed all the money in his hands to Li Fei.

Li Fei took the money and counted it, finding there was a total of 104 yuan.

"So much?"

He was somewhat surprised.

Liu Saner explained: "The odds for you and Black Mountain were 1: . , and I also bet 20 yuan on you to win. This is the 80 yuan principal and the winnings; it's all yours."

"Alright."

Li Fei did not stand on ceremony with him.

Seeing him accept all the money, a smile appeared on Liu Saner's face, happier than if he had earned that much money himself:

"I will arrange your next match as soon as possible. You have already won one, and won it so beautifully; your next opponent will be more formidable, and the bonus will be higher."

Li Fei suddenly asked: "Are there official martial artists on the Heaven-tier boxing ring?"

Liu Saner: "Yes, in all of Xingcheng, only the Qingyuan Boxing Den sees official martial artists competing in the ring."

Li Fei nodded; martial cultivation was too expensive, so it was quite normal for those martial artists without background support to come here to fight for money.

"When can I fight on the Heaven-tier boxing ring?"

Li Fei asked.

Liu Saner said without hesitation: "To move up, you need to fight a promotion match, which requires an application to the boxing den. But if you demonstrate the strength to sweep away all opponents in your current tier, the boxing den will arrange a promotion match for you as soon as possible; otherwise, the matches lose their suspense, and all the spectators will bet on you to win."

"Hmm."

Li Fei nodded. When he fought Black Mountain tonight, he activated 'Blood Rage' at the very beginning, and it cost him 2 Blood Souls, all out of such considerations.

Besides that, his public identity was as a student of Hao Yi, primarily cultivating the Heaven-Sturdy Tyrant Body, focusing on defense. Privately, he came to the Qingyuan Boxing Den as Green-Faced Ghost; to better hide his identity, his fighting style should also change, so he decided not to use the Heaven-Sturdy Tyrant Body, focusing instead on offense and using 'Blood Rage' as his core method.

In this way, even if the identities of Li Fei or Green-Faced Ghost became increasingly famous in the future, it would be very difficult for others to link the two together.

Li Fei was cautious; these were things he had thought through before deciding to fight in underground boxing matches.

"How should we contact each other later?"

Liu Saner asked.

Li Fei: "I will come here to fight every night at 9 o'clock. You arrange it for me in advance, and we'll meet at the boxing den entrance then."

"Alright, no problem."

Liu Saner nodded in agreement.

"That's it for tonight."

Li Fei said this last, then turned and left.

He had gained a total of 144 yuan tonight, more than Li Lei's monthly salary!

And this was not his biggest gain tonight.

After activating 'Blood Rage' on the ring earlier, Li Fei felt the Steel Armor implant under his skin move again; the feeling that something was about to break out of his body was becoming increasingly intense!

Li Fei glanced at the Ten Thousand Blood Bead inside his body; the reduction in Blood Souls was more than 2, and the energy required for upgrading had also increased.

This indicated that the implant was causing damage to his body while simultaneously allowing the Ten Thousand Blood Bead to absorb energy.

"Could it be that the last anomaly wasn't caused by overly intense emotional fluctuations, but because I used 'Blood Rage'?"

Such a speculation arose in Li Fei's heart.

Hao Yi had said that the implant anomaly caused by intense emotional fluctuations was only effective the first time, and this was already the second time; moreover, his emotions tonight had been calm from start to finish.

The only thing the last time and this time had in common was that he had used 'Blood Rage'.

"Could using Blood Rage accelerate the stimulation of the implant's growth?"

Li Fei thought to himself.

Soon, he felt a strong sense of hunger.

This was the Steel Armor implant in his body needing to replenish nutrients.

(End of chapter)