Chapter 119 - 118: Fight to the End

"If that’s how it is, then I have no choice but to see this through."

The expression on the male Beastman’s face went blank. He just stood there quietly, his thoughts impossible to guess.

From her spot on the high platform, Chu Liangyu saw everything clearly. "Jiaojiao, what are the names of those two Beastmen?"

Following her gesture, Xiong Jiaojiao looked over and quickly explained, "That’s Flower Branch. The male fighting her is Que Bai, her third Beast Husband."

While they were speaking, the fight had already begun.

Que Bai knew Flower Branch hadn’t successfully completed her Beastification, so he didn’t even bother revealing his beast form. His casual, dismissive attitude was obvious to anyone with eyes.

"Isn’t Que Bai being a little too arrogant? If he gets defeated by his own female, it’ll be a massive humiliation."

Similar murmurs could be heard in the crowd, but most people didn’t think much of it.

"Are you an idiot? If his female had completed her Beastification, then yeah, he’d need to be serious. But this one... isn’t it just a matter of knocking her down with a flick of a finger?"

"True enough."

As if they had already predicted the outcome, they suddenly lost interest in watching this duel and drifted over to another ring.

Flower Branch caught a glimpse of the scene below out of the corner of her eye. She felt a pang of disappointment, but only for a moment. She quickly readjusted her focus.

Her gentle stances seemed to hold no destructive power, not even a trace of killing intent. Her movements were like those of a child playing around.

Seeing this, Que Bai frowned. ’After all that time she spent studying, is this flashy but useless stuff all she knows?’

’She completely wasted the time she spent with them. She’d have been better off not learning at all.’

He knew that just talking to her wouldn’t have any effect. So this time... he was going to use his strength to make her face reality!

Before Flower Branch’s strike could even land, Que Bai’s fist shot out to meet it.

The scene he’d imagined, of Flower Branch being sent flying, didn’t happen. There was only the explosive CRACK of their fists colliding. With just that one exchange, both were thrown back two steps.

"You... How could you..."

They both blurted out the same words at the same time, an odd moment of synchronicity that only highlighted the astonishment in their voices.

Que Bai was stunned that he had underestimated Flower Branch’s strength, while Flower Branch was stunned that she had overestimated Que Bai’s.

’I thought my strike wouldn’t faze him in the slightest, but this...’

Her nervousness vanished completely. In response, her fist technique became even more light and graceful.

Learning from the last exchange, Que Bai no longer let his guard down. But no matter how he dodged, her fists would appear in the very next instant.

They were so silent that he often didn’t react until they were right upon him.

The longer the fight dragged on, the more unnerved he became. Cold sweat dripped from his brow as he was pushed closer and closer to the edge of the ring.

It was clear that Flower Branch was a master of using a small force to deflect a large one. If Que Bai didn’t use his beast form and kept fighting like this, his defeat was certain!

"What are you waiting for? Use your beast form and put her on the ground!"

"That’s right! If you lose to a female who doesn’t even have a beast form, you’ll be a complete disgrace."

Flower Branch knew that once he fought in his beast form, her advantage would be drastically reduced. Not wanting to give him a chance to catch his breath, her graceful moves instantly turned sharp and deadly.

However, in that very instant, the human figure before her vanished, replaced by a majestic, awe-inspiring golden lion.

Its long mane fluttered in the wind, a mixture of gold and yellow that shone like the finest silk—dazzling and magnificent.

He leaped over Flower Branch’s head, effortlessly dodging the strike into which she had poured all her strength.

Although he had dodged the attack, Que Bai was far from pleased. In fact, he felt it was somewhat shameful.

’As a male Beastman, I can’t even beat a female? And I was forced to reveal my beast form to do it. Even if I win, they’ll never let me hear the end of it.’

At that thought, Que Bai’s heart sank.

"Giving up and using your beast form already? Couldn’t you hold out a little longer?"

The surprise on Flower Branch’s face was wildly exaggerated, as if this were some monumental event.

Her words struck Que Bai like a sledgehammer, making his blood boil.

"Right? And here we thought you male Beastmen were so amazing. Turns out he was almost knocked clean out of the ring."

"Forget about him! Look over there, Cao’s about to win her fight!"

The crowd’s attention shifted at the sound of this voice. Cao was a Bear Clan Beastman. While she wasn’t as large as a male, her strength was by no means inferior to her opponent’s.

Right now, both had transformed into their beast forms, relying entirely on their combat experience. But Cao’s movement technique was more nimble; she would dodge away before her opponent could even hit her.

Because of this, her opponent was constantly at a disadvantage.

He did have one strength, though: if he weren’t so incredibly durable, Cao would have knocked him to the ground long ago.

All of Cao’s Beast Husbands were dead, so she was representing the single females in the tournament. The main event, however, wasn’t taking place here.

It was with the females who already had Beast Husbands. They needed to use this tournament to prove their strength, win their own rights, and earn a place for themselves within their families.

A victory for Cao would undoubtedly boost everyone’s morale, but Flower Branch’s victory was also critically important.

While everyone was mocking Que Bai for resorting to his beast form, his anger gave way to a cold calm.

As his opponent, Flower Branch was the first to sense this change.

"They’re right, I shouldn’t be such a bully. But have any of you ever stopped to think? If you run into Wandering Beasts outside the tribe, are they going to let you go just because you’re females who can’t use Beastification?"

"Besides, giving it my all is the only true way to show you respect. Wouldn’t you agree, Female Master?"

Flower Branch was stunned for a moment. She couldn’t deny it. What Que Bai said was, in fact, the truth.

’I was originally planning to taunt him into not using his beast form. That would have given me a much better chance of winning.’

’But if I won this time... what about the future? We would still be weak, still in need of our Beast Husbands’ protection.’

’In that case, we would still lack the ability to protect ourselves. Wouldn’t that make the whole point of this tournament meaningless?’

’I can’t refuse to fight just because I’m afraid to lose. My strength would never improve that way, and that’s not what I want.’

"You said giving it your all is how you show me respect? All right, then. I’d like to see what your full strength really looks like."

Her footwork became strange and unpredictable as she launched an attack toward his abdomen using the Taiyin Fist Technique. It was an extremely heavy punch, but he seemed to have anticipated it. A blast of hot air rose from his body, rippling outward in waves like a tide.

The oncoming heat wave staggered Flower Branch, destabilizing her breath and causing her to pause for an instant. Que Bai seized that exact moment to perfectly dodge the blow, twisting his head to bite at her wrist.