Chapter 437: Defending the Ring

The lights around the hall gradually dimmed, leaving only the central stage illuminated. A voluptuous young woman walked out, her face wreathed in smiles as she looked out at the crowd. After a slight bow, she said:

“Esteemed guests, in addition to the three Boxers from our Huang Family, the other seven were brought here tonight by our guests. Now, let’s see who our contestants are…”

The woman paused for dramatic effect before turning on the large screen, which displayed the list of fighters from each family.

The names Feng Qingwan and Chen Haonan were among them.

“Well, well, that little wench from the Feng Family actually found someone for the tournament? How rare!”

“How is Bai Hong just sitting there?”

Seeing the names on the screen, the crowd instantly erupted.

Bai Hong was also stunned for a moment. He looked toward Feng Qingwan, his eyes full of astonishment.

‘Chen Haonan? That meddlesome bastard from earlier? Hmph…’

Bai Hong sneered, took out his phone, and started making a call.

Chen Erbao studied the list of contestants on the screen. After a moment’s thought, he asked Feng Qingwan:

“Are the matches random one-on-one duels?”

“Yes, but there’s also the option to defend the ring. It’s rare, though. Usually, only the most powerful fighters dare to try it. The odds are extremely high, but if you can successfully defend the ring for three or more matches, you’ll basically make a killing.”

Chen Erbao nodded and said to her:

“Sign me up. I want to go up first and defend the ring.”

“Um… what?”

Feng Qingwan turned to stare at Chen Erbao, dumbfounded, as if to confirm she hadn’t just misheard him.

“I want to defend the ring. Sign me up.”

Chen Erbao repeated himself.

Feng Qingwan grew frantic. “Are you insane? This isn’t some street brawl with a bunch of punks! These are all masters. Plenty of fighters get killed in these matches! You…”

“Enough talking. Just do it.”

Chen Erbao didn’t want to waste time explaining.

Feng Qingwan still thought this was completely insane.

“If you go up there and lose immediately, I’ll be utterly humiliated…”

“Don’t you want to win back everything you’ve lost?”

Chen Erbao’s words made Feng Qingwan hesitate.

“But…”

Feng Qingwan was deeply conflicted.

In the end, at Chen Erbao’s insistence, she chose to trust him and signed him up to defend the ring.

Onstage, the hostess was still striking seductive poses when she suddenly received a message from backstage. Her smile froze for an instant before blooming into a brilliant grin as she addressed the audience:

“Everyone, I’ve just received news! We have someone defending the ring tonight!”

When the rich kids of Binhai heard this, they all grew excited.

“Holy shit! I’ve been coming here for ages, and I finally get to see someone defend the ring!”

“Who is it?”

“…”

The crowd below was in an uproar, their excitement ignited.

She glanced at the information in her hand, then her gaze fell upon Feng Qingwan in the audience.

WHOOSH!

Every eye in the house instantly turned to Feng Qingwan, full of excitement and confusion.

“No way. That little wench is going to have her fighter defend the ring on her first night? Did she actually find some peerless master?”

“Bullshit. Where would she find a master like that? He’s probably just some reckless greenhorn who doesn’t know his own limits.”

The crowd’s reactions were mixed.

The hostess didn’t care about any of that. Since Feng Qingwan had already registered, she would simply do her job.

“Miss Feng and Mr. Chen Haonan will be defending the ring! The stage now belongs to Mr. Chen. Let’s hope he can be the last one standing…”

With ten contestants in total, Chen Erbao defending the ring meant he would have to fight the other nine in succession.

Bai Hongle shot to his feet, his face flushed with excitement. “I was going to pull some strings to get a match with that guy, Chen. I can’t believe she’s having him defend the ring. This is perfect!”

He still couldn’t get over the humiliation from earlier. Now that Feng Qingwan was practically serving up her own face for him to slap, he was more than happy to oblige.

Chen Erbao stood, patted Feng Qingwan’s shoulder reassuringly, and then strode down the aisle toward the stage.

Once he was standing on the stage, the audience immediately fell silent.

The gazes sizing him up were a mix of disdain and scrutiny, but mostly, they were filled with confusion and doubt.

After all, Chen Erbao just looked like a slightly well-built, ordinary man. He didn’t look anything like a master.

But whether he was the real deal or not would depend on his skills. You couldn’t tell just by looking.

Chen Erbao scanned the area and noticed several elderly men in Daoist robes in the distance. Their auras were contained, and it was clear they were no ordinary men.

‘They must be the ones who keep order at this fighting ring. If anyone causes trouble, they’ll be the ones to step in…’

Chen Erbao could tell with a single glance that none of them were Grandmasters, but their skills were still impressive.

Even though they weren’t Grandmasters, Chen Erbao recognized the immense power of the Huang Family.

Masters of this caliber would be on par with members of a special operations team at the Security Bureau, yet for the Huang Family, they were merely serving as guards for a fighting ring.

A great family with a hundred-year history was truly not to be underestimated.

The order of the challengers was being decided by a lottery backstage.

Soon, the first challenger appeared. He was a fighter brought by a young master from the Bin Hai Fang Family.

“Let’s welcome our first challenger!”

After a round of enthusiastic applause, a burly man nearly six-foot-three in height emerged from the side with a powerful, confident stride. He took a single leap and landed squarely on the ring, the impact making the entire platform tremble for an instant.

Chen Erbao, at five-foot-eleven, was a full head shorter than his opponent. Their physiques were on completely different levels; it looked like a total mismatch.

“Damn, look at that size difference. How many moves do you guys think that ‘Haonan’ wannabe can last?”

“Three moves, maybe. If he’s not dead after three, he’ll have something to be proud of.”

“Young Master Fang, where did you find this behemoth? He looks like a monster…”

“Heh heh…”

While the crowd was in an uproar, the two men on the stage remained perfectly calm.

The brawny man’s name was Wang Gang. With his bulging muscles, he looked just like the Terminator from the movies.

“Wang Gang, of a branch of the Luoyang Wang Family. I await your instruction!”

Wang Gang’s voice was resonant as he took the initiative and cupped his fist in a salute.

He couldn’t read Chen Erbao, and his opponent’s calm demeanor put him on guard.

The man wasn’t an idiot. If he dared to defend the ring, he definitely had some real skill. If Wang Gang underestimated him, he’d likely suffer an unexpected defeat.

Chen Erbao, of course, had never heard of the Luoyang Wang Family. But since the man was being so polite, he couldn’t just act arrogant. He returned the salute and said:

“Chen Haonan. Just a nobody. Please, let’s begin.”

With the greetings exchanged, the match officially began.

Wang Gang shifted his feet cautiously, his muscles tensed, and slowly closed the distance while staring at Chen Erbao.

Chen Erbao, however, remained perfectly still. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched the robed old men who were observing him. ‘How much of my strength should I show here?’ he wondered.

‘If I’m too ridiculously powerful, Huang Sanlang might not trust me. But if I don’t show enough strength, he won’t see me as a potential partner. Finding the right balance is crucial.’

‘I need to display my power, but not so much that it makes Huang Sanlang wary.’

As Chen Erbao was lost in thought, Wang Gang closed in. He didn’t attack recklessly, instead throwing a probing straight punch.