Roar...

The Ironclad Leopard bellowed triumphantly, like a victorious general, opening its massive jaws to strike at the opponent's head!

The move was blindingly fast; Longkite had absolutely no chance to dodge, nor the strength left to attempt it!

"Ah..." Just then, as if unleashing some hidden potential, he roared, a faint, intense surge of Battle Aura emanating from his arm as he thrust it straight forward!

His arm met the leopard's teeth, blocking the attack, but the beast shook its head and bit down viciously on the limb. With a sickening crack, it severed just above the elbow! With another savage shake, it swallowed the severed half-arm!

The Ironclad Leopard, clearly savoring its prize, roared again, preparing to lunge once more!

"Explode!"

At that precise moment, Longkite uttered a low growl. A muffled booming sound suddenly erupted from within the charging Ironclad Leopard’s belly—the arm it had just swallowed detonated instantly!

Even with the leopard’s hide as hard as iron, the internal explosion tore its viscera apart. It collapsed instantly, lifeless.

It turned out that Quite [Longkite] had known this was a life-or-death moment. At the very start, he had used a unique method to suppress his Battle Aura until it was concentrated only in that single arm, sacrificing it to secure victory!

When an opponent is pinned in a corner and cannot resist, even an Ironclad Leopard grows complacent. Complacency breeds an opening! And that opening was what Longkite seized!

Its abdominal defenses were inherently weak; how could an internal explosion fail to kill it!

Chen Feng, witnessing this, couldn't help but admire the sheer audacity of the act. To speak of sacrificing a limb for victory was easy; but who could actually carry it out? Especially in such a critical, life-threatening instant—the quick thinking alone was remarkable.

.....................................................

Silence descended upon the entire courtyard. Everyone was stunned into momentary paralysis by the sudden turn of events, their minds momentarily blank.

After a long pause, the young attendant in green robes, who was presiding over the contest, finally reacted with a loud shout.

"The One-Armed Beast Fighter is victorious..."

Longchibate [Longkite] slumped against the iron cage, his face ashen, utterly unrecognizable. The battle against the Ironclad Leopard had taken a massive toll, and now, with a lost limb, his true strength was severely depleted. Even if he survived, he would be a cripple.

Despite the horrific injuries, there was an air of profound relief in his eyes, and a faint smile touched his beard-covered face.

"It's over!" he murmured softly, feeling an exhaustion and a sense of aimlessness greater than anything he had ever known. After every match like this, he was seized by the feeling that his continued existence in the world was superfluous.

"Everyone else is dead... why couldn't I die?" A silent wail erupted in his heart.

Seeing his expression, Chen Feng let out a sigh, his gaze sweeping forward—his heart suddenly lurched: "Not good!"

"Roar!"

At that very instant, the Ironclad Leopard lying on the ground, supposedly "dead," suddenly let out another tremendous roar and sprang up, slamming its foreclaw down toward Longkite's head.

Unexpectedly, the Ironclad Leopard had not fully succumbed; it had merely feigned death, hoping for one final, desperate blow!

Longkite was completely drained of strength, trapped in the corner with no possibility of evasion. He had only one recourse: close his eyes and wait for death.

"Farewell... this world, Father, Mother, Philia... I am coming to see you!" As death approached, Longchibate felt not panic, but a strange sense of release. In a daze, he seemed to see his deceased loved ones beckoning to him.

"Ah..." Some of the more timid spectators cried out simultaneously, unable to watch the One-Armed Beast Fighter being smashed into pulp by the claws, but when no scream followed, they cautiously peered forward. A single glance was enough to replace shock with utter disbelief. There, the Ironclad Leopard, which had launched an attack of terrifying power, lay like a pile of rotting mud, its skull pulverized, brains spilling out.

Directly in front of where the leopard fell, a fist, not particularly large, was held steady in the air, unwavering.

"Did that single fist shatter the Ironclad Leopard's skull? How is that possible? The Ironclad Leopard’s body was hard as iron; even a steel blade couldn't scratch it, let alone be smashed to pieces by a single fist without a sound?" No one dared to trust their own eyes. They looked at the owner of the fist and saw a youth standing there, motionless and utterly impassive—the very boy who made the female tyrant from the Iron Sword Merchant Guild tremble!

.....................................................

Just as Longkite believed his end was certain, a fist suddenly materialized before his eyes. This fist was significantly smaller than his own, worlds apart in size, and carried no trace of Battle Aura. It looked delicate, as if devoid of any power.

But...

Crack! With a crisp sound, the Ironclad Leopard, which had poured all its remaining potential into that final lunge, collapsed like a heap of sludge from the air before that elegant punch. Its entire skull was pulverized!

Longchibate hurriedly looked up at the fist's owner, and his eyes were instantly filled with confusion: "Why did you save me? I once mocked you, insulted you!"

"Come out," Chen Feng said lightly, not answering the question. With a casual tug, the incredibly sturdy iron cage tore open with a wide gap, as if it were mere paper in his hands.

"Such terrifying hand strength..." Longchibate looked at the casual display of power, his face turning the color of dead ash.

He had trained relentlessly for five years, constantly testing himself in life-or-death duels as a Beast Fighter, believing he had reached an impressive level. Yet, compared to this youth, he was utterly insignificant.

"I don't know why you chose to abandon yourself to despair... but I know there are still members of your family alive," Chen Feng told him, pulling him out of the cage with one hand.

"There are others alive? What nonsense are you speaking? My family was wiped out when I returned; how could anyone still be alive!" Longchibate shook his head.

"Chieftain Fengxi is alive, and he sent people looking for you," Chen Feng stated.

"What? My father is alive?" Though Longchibate found it hard to believe, a flicker of hope ignited within him, praying Chen Feng spoke the truth.

Chen Feng nodded: "When the Lefu family tried to force him to hand over your family's assets, they naturally wouldn't kill him easily. Furthermore, they used his life to threaten Philia into marrying Gubo Fu! And... I just returned from Dragon Mountain Town; he is currently working under the Caine'te family there. That's how I know he is alive!"

Chen Feng had learned of the news regarding Fengxi the Elder from Qigu in Dragon Mountain Town. The Elder's insistence on survival stemmed from his desire to find his son. Qigu had searched for years without success, never imagining his son had ended up here as a Beast Fighter!

"Not dead... Waaah..." Seeing the conviction in Chen Feng's eyes, Longchibate finally believed him. But the reaction wasn't excitement or joy; it was a burst of uncontrollable sobbing. Facing the formidable Ironclad Leopard, he felt no pain; yet now that Chen Feng had saved his life, he broke down crying for no apparent reason.

Everyone watched the tough, iron-willed Beast Fighter weep, but Chen Feng understood: it was tears of self-reproach—reproach for not knowing his father was alive! Reproach for not knowing his father had been constantly searching for him!

"Enough. Go back and find your father. Philia risked her life to save you; she didn't want you to sink into self-destruction and become this wreck," Chen Feng sighed.

"I... even if I wanted to stop this despair now, I am a cripple. What meaning is left in living?" Longchibate choked out through his tears.

A man who had lost both arms—how could he retain the will to go on?

"Arms can be completely restored by a Light Element Mage," Chen Feng offered.

"Only a Light Mage of Level Seven or above can cast the restoration magic I need for my Level Six injury," Longchibate’s pale face showed a brief expression of helpless self-mockery: "Do you think a Level Seven Light Mage is easy to find? Even if one were found, why would they waste their magic energy on a nobody like me?"

He paused, his eyes dimming: "If they were easy to find, my other arm would have been restored long ago!"

He had a point. Light Mages were rare enough; those who reached the rank of Level Seven Archmage were even fewer. Even if one existed, who would save him? This was the tragedy of the common man. It was like in Chen Feng's past life, where medical skills were advanced enough to save countless lives, yet so many died helplessly because they lacked the money or status to receive treatment.

Without wealth or status, a human life was reduced to grass.

"Xiaohu!" Chen Feng called out.

"Boss!" Xiaohu walked over.

"Use a Light Element spell to restore his arms for him."

Although Xiaohu was a Wind Element Mage, his cultivation had reached the Saint domain, making casting a Level Six Light spell quite simple.

"Understood!" Xiaohu made a gesture with one hand, needed no staff, muttered a few words, and a beam of pure white light shot from his fingertip. A powerful energy fluctuation, like waves, immediately enveloped Longchibate.

His wounds and severed limbs began to visibly mend and regrow instantly.

In less than three minutes, both arms were perfectly restored, and all his other injuries were healed.

"Thank you!" Longchibate suddenly dropped to his knees and spoke his first word of thanks.

It wasn't thanks for saving his life, but thanks for giving him a new life!

Chen Feng helped him up, tossed him several merchant cards, each valued at one million: "Go. Work hard. Perhaps your Bate family can still recover."

With that, he ignored the kneeling Longchibate. Chen Feng, Xiaohu, and Lingfeng walked out of the Beast Fighting arena. Just as they reached the exit of the small courtyard, a figure rushed forward and, with a loud thud, knelt directly before Chen Feng.

P.S.: Four chapters totaling twelve thousand words are finally complete. Lao Ya wrote this while battling a cold. I sincerely beg for recommendation votes and monthly passes for support. Thank you all! (To be continued. To find out what happens next, please log in to M for more chapters, supporting the author and genuine reading!)