A hulking shadow strode forward, **his bared arms bearing scars that seemed etched onto his very being like carvings. His beard, untrimmed for an age, paired with muscles that exploded from his frame, rendering him a monstrous, humanoid figure.

“One-Arm! One-Arm…”

The crowd in the small courtyard chanted in a rhythmic cadence, their voices cresting in waves that denoted boundless enthusiasm, matching the fervor of fans encountering their idol in a bygone era.

“One-Arm! So tall… I should have known it was him!” Chen Feng murmured to himself, gazing at the man before him. “Longchibadun, how did you become this way?”

Longchibadun was the fourth person Chen Feng had met since arriving in this world (the first three being Filia, Uncle Wen, and Gubo). He had seen him once five years ago, when Longchibadun, though down on his luck, had still possessed spirit. Now, with his family annihilated, how had he ended up like this?

“He’s a First-Rank Fighter. I bet on… the Beast Fight!” Xiaohu made his decision in an instant, shouting towards the young attendant in the green robe, “Hey, you! Come over here, we need to place a wager!”

The attendant was on the other side of the circular corridor. Xiaohu had to shout loudly to be heard, and his voice momentarily drowned out the crowd’s cheers.

Hearing the outburst, everyone turned in unison to look at Xiaohu, seeing him waving his business card, ready to place a bet.

“It’s just placing a bet, do you have to make a spectacle of it for the whole world to know?” the onlookers grumbled simultaneously. In truth, simply waving a hand would have sufficed to call the attendant over; shouting like that seemed like a deliberate attempt to steal the spotlight.

Xiao Ye muttered to himself, thinking that someone preoccupied with agonizing over which side to bet on couldn't be wagering much anyway. Wouldn't a true big player be splashing money around?

“Xiaohu, bet on the man! He has no chance of winning!” Chen Feng sighed, speaking to Xiaohu.

“Huh?” Xiaohu was startled. However, he always trusted his boss implicitly and didn't hesitate, immediately changing his decision.

“One-Arm pays three-to-one; the Beast pays one-to-three. The house takes ten percent. Sir, which one do you choose?” Although the attendant found the group rather attention-seeking, he remained polite while awaiting the wager.

Despite the crowd’s wild chanting, they actually held little hope for the One-Arm fighter. Sending a single man against such a ferocious fighting beast seemed almost impossible.

(Lao Ya doesn't really understand these odds. He just knows that higher odds mean less favored, and lower odds mean what most people believe is correct. He doesn't grasp concepts like balanced markets or how the house profits. Please forgive any inaccuracies. If anyone understands this, please message me in the group. Lao Ya thanks you!)

“What are the odds? I don’t care! I bet on One-Arm!” Xiaohu declared straightforwardly.

“Very well, sir, how much are you wagering on One-Arm?” the attendant continued.

“I don’t know. Here, take this!” Xiaohu casually tossed Chen Feng’s business card over.

The attendant shot Xiaohu another look of disdain—a man who didn't even know how much he was betting. He could either be dirt poor or obscenely rich. Seeing nothing wealthy about the three of them, he concluded they must be the former.

Reluctantly taking the card, he brushed it against the Scrying Stone on his wrist; one could use battle energy to display the amount, but the stone tested it more accurately and precisely.

“A pauper, and I don’t even know how many gold coins he has,” the attendant muttered, then his eyes snapped wide open, staring at the displayed number with disbelief: “One… no, ten thousand?”

His voice suddenly sharpened with shock, and the hand holding the card trembled slightly.

A ten-thousand bet on the long shot! Such a thing had never occurred since the inception of the [Beast Fights]! And today, it was happening right before his eyes, placed by the very young man he had been looking down upon… How was this possible?

Following his sharp exclamation, the crowd also caught the news. They turned their heads, looking at the attendant, wondering if what he had shouted was true.

“Ten thousand on One-Arm…” The crowd erupted. No wonder the group had been so ostentatious—they actually had money! But… even with money, why place a bet like that?

“Ahem… I didn’t realize you three were hiding such depth!” The young man who had spoken to them earlier coughed rapidly from surprise, thinking to himself, No wonder the Iron Sword Merchant Guild seeks to curry favor. Placing a million-coin bet without knowing the situation… this must be the young master of some hidden family!

This realization only intensified his desire to flatter them.

“Alright, when does it start?” Xiaohu ignored the astonishment of the crowd. It wasn't that he didn't care about money; it was just that… he had absolutely no concept of how much that sum actually was!

“Immediately! Immediately!” The green-robed attendant snapped out of his shock and quickly nodded, then called out to the spectators in the small courtyard, “This… young master has wagered ten thousand on One-Arm to win. Does anyone else wish to add to the wagers?”

“I’ll add! I’ll add another hundred thousand, betting on the Beast!”

“Me too, a hundred thousand on the Beast!”

The crowd’s betting enthusiasm reignited. Someone was betting ten thousand hoping to lose it all; only a fool wouldn't pile on! In their eyes, the One-Arm Fighter, while formidable, was surely no match for this savage beast; defeat was inevitable.

In fact, some of the people present had paid a significant price to have the Armored Leopard captured, specifically aiming to shatter the undefeated myth of the One-Arm Strongman.

Hearing that someone had bet a hundred thousand on him, the One-Arm Fighter glanced over, and when his eyes locked onto Chen Feng, his pupils contracted violently. His massive frame shook with excitement.

“It’s him… but I am not who I was,” he murmured, his body gradually stabilizing. He ceased looking over, instead focusing on the Armored Leopard caged before him.

“Did he recognize me? Why would he do this?” Chen Feng pondered briefly but dismissed the thought.

“How do you have so much money?” Ling Feng suddenly asked from the side. “I remember the Clan Chief Qigu offered you money when we left, but you didn't take it?”

Xiaohu didn’t care about the amount, but Ling Feng did. Women were naturally more attuned to matters of finance than men.

“I looted it off a Ninth-Rank Magister I killed years ago!” Chen Feng replied.

After taking revenge on the Leff family back then, he had been hunted by Douglas. After killing Douglas, he found thirty business cards, each valued at one million, in his spatial ring. The one Xiaohu tossed over just now was one of them.

Ling nodded, asking no more, as the match on the platform was about to begin!

The One-Arm Fighter strode forward, pulled open a small door on the side of the iron cage, and stepped inside. This opening was just large enough for one person, ensuring that even if the door remained open, the Armored Leopard couldn't escape.

Roar…

Seeing someone enter, the Armored Leopard unleashed the fury it had suppressed for so long. A single roar, like the clash of gold and bronze, soared above the clouds, exuding an earth-shattering aura. However, it didn't charge immediately, choosing first to observe the movements of the man before it.

The One-Arm Fighter’s eyes glowed with feral light. He emitted a low growl, and the bones in his entire body cracked like popping beans.

Bang! The Armored Leopard could endure the provocation no longer. It dug its four powerful steel claws into the steel rods on the ground and lunged viciously toward its opponent!

Seeing the charge, the One-Arm Fighter, with his enormous frame, did not meet it head-on but flashed sideways, executing a clumsy roll to evade the direct attack. Nevertheless, his back was gashed deeply by the beast’s swipe, and blood immediately began to spurt out.

Seeing the blood, the Armored Leopard seemed injected with adrenaline, roaring continuously as it pressed the attack.

The One-Arm Fighter could only dodge; he had no means to counterattack.

After watching for a while, the crowd felt the outcome was sealed; the One-Arm Fighter was destined to lose. They believed that when paths cross, the brave win, and a fighter who could only evade and flee was bound to be defeated.

Xiaohu watched for a moment, unable to contain himself, and asked Chen Feng, “Boss, it looks like this man is about to lose. Why did you tell me to bet on him?”

“Lose?” Chen Feng shook his head. “Just watch. His cultivation is low, but he absolutely will not lose! Because he must win; he has no retreat left!”

Xiaohu didn’t fully grasp his words but looked back at the match in the arena.

Chen Feng looked at the One-Arm Fighter in the arena, feeling an ineffable emotion. “I don’t know why you would participate in a contest so close to self-mutilation, but I know you definitely want to gain strength, to rapidly elevate your power! Pushing oneself to the brink of death before finding life—it is indeed a good method. I hope to see you be reborn!”

He harbored no hatred toward Longchibadun. Even if there had been friction five years ago, having beaten him to the ground then had thoroughly settled it. Moreover, Filia had died for his sake; even in her final moments, she had been so helpless. Thinking of it now still filled him with a sense of guilt.

When a woman's loved ones are threatened, what can you expect her to do? Fight against evil as a savior? Since she couldn't, she could only endure, bear it! Therefore… even though Filia had once hurt him, everything vanished with her death.

Now, seeing the brother Filia had protected to her death reduced to this state evoked a touch of melancholy in him.

“His entire family wiped out overnight, all his relatives dead… Perhaps… besides venting his rage, abandoning himself, and treating himself as less than human, this self-destructive path is the best way to forget,” Chen Feng suddenly understood, feeling he could grasp the reason for the man’s actions.

By joining the Beast Fight, he made himself a beast, the only way to drown out his sorrow, to live as a mere walking corpse!

He sighed. At that very moment, he heard the surrounding crowd roar in unison, a sound laced with pity, as the scene inside the cage took a sudden, bizarre turn.

“This is bad!” Chen Feng’s pupils contracted sharply as he looked into the cage, where the beast’s eyes had changed their focus.

PS: I finally churned out another chapter. I’ll keep writing to see what else comes out!! Still asking for monthly tickets!! (To be continued. For future developments, please visit www**m for more chapters, support the author, and support genuine reading!)

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