Chapter 45: Continuing the Challenge

“Mr. Lin, will you continue the challenge?” This time, not only the young man with the braided hair but even Master Pei stepped into the lounge to ask Chu Tianfeng.

“Hmm.” Chu Tianfeng pondered for a moment and asked, “What level is the Thai master?”

“Their grading system is different from ours,” Master Pei replied candidly, “but some say he’s roughly equivalent to the early stage of Internal Force.”

“Oh?” Although Chu Tianfeng hadn’t expected to encounter an early-stage Internal Force expert in a mere boxing club, he remained unconcerned. Early Internal Force was nothing; with his current strength, he could take the opponent down even without any mystical techniques.

“Mr. Lin, what do you think—” Master Pei looked at Chu Tianfeng with eager anticipation.

“Alright.” Chu Tianfeng nodded.

Moments later, the loudspeakers in the hall blared exciting music once again. A seductive voice echoed around the arena: “Ladies and gentlemen, the moment to witness a hero has arrived! Tonight’s hero—Lin Feng! He will continue to challenge the number one champion, the Thai boxer Torsapong!”

The audience erupted once more; the gamblers, whose eyes were bloodshot from their losses, cheered wildly!

They all knew Torsapong’s prowess. There had been two fighters who, after exhausting themselves to defeat Tarawan, were easily dispatched by Torsapong with just a few blows.

Lin Feng, you clown, let’s see how you act your way out of this!

Hua Wu didn’t know who Torsapong was, and Lin Qian was equally bewildered.

After asking the nearby spectators, they learned that Torsapong was actually Tarawan’s master.

Their expressions grew grave yet again. Hua Wu’s brows furrowed, her palms slick with nervous sweat.

Chu Tianfeng climbed onto the ring amidst another wave of jeers from the crowd.

This time, he directly weighed the seventy-seven thousand yuan in cash in his hand.

The referee knew what he was about to do and quickly called over a staff member.

“All in on yourself?” the staffer asked.

“That’s right!” Chu Tianfeng replied.

The big screen showed odds of ten to one for Chu Tianfeng; there was no way he wouldn’t bet it all.

“Understood!” The staffer collected the money and retreated.

“Now, let’s welcome our number one champion, Torsapong, to the stage.”

Unlike the jeers for Chu Tianfeng’s entrance, the audience gave Torsapong a thunderous round of applause.

Some even shouted “Boxing King!”

One shouted, then a hundred echoed; soon the arena was filled with chants of “Boxing King, Boxing King.”

Torsapong smiled and waved to all sides of the arena.

He, too, was shirtless but wore a black and red cape, which he shrugged off with a flex of his shoulders upon reaching the center.

He caught the cape with his right hand, quickly rolled it up, and threw it with force towards the audience.

A shrill cry rose from the stands as spectators scrambled to snatch the “Boxing King” Torsapong’s battle robe.

Chu Tianfeng watched the Thai man coldly.

Torsapong appeared to be around forty, of average build, with a square face and dark skin. His body was muscular, much like Tarawan’s—tight and solid.

Clearly, he was another practitioner of hard-style martial arts.

Chu Tianfeng’s spiritual sense quietly scanned his body, and his expression grew serious.

Torsapong’s cultivation was at least mid-stage Internal Force!

Clearly, the horse-faced middle-aged man had deceived him.

In terms of cultivation, the gap between them wasn’t large; Chu Tianfeng was at late-stage Internal Force, while Torsapong was at mid-stage.

However, the physical strength of this man likely far exceeded Chu Tianfeng’s. Practitioners of hard-style martial arts often had much stronger bodies than others of the same realm—Chu Tianfeng had already experienced this with Tarawan.

Additionally, the opponent’s combat experience was certainly far greater than Chu Tianfeng’s.

Nevertheless, Chu Tianfeng was not afraid.

His advantage, besides having slightly higher cultivation, was his spiritual sense.

In close combat, the distance would always be within the range of his spiritual sense.

Chu Tianfeng was confident that with this “cheat,” he could anticipate his opponent’s moves and take him down within a short time.

As for things like energy shields, he hadn’t even considered them. Against opponents of similar strength, such shields were nearly useless.

Chu Tianfeng stared intently at Torsapong, who looked back at him with disdain.

Torsapong had already watched Chu Tianfeng’s previous matches and didn’t think much of his cultivation.

He merely thought Chu Tianfeng’s boxing and agility were somewhat similar to Muay Thai, skilled at seizing opportunities and launching surprise attacks.

Especially the move where Chu Tianfeng ambushed Tarawan’s groin—it was even more ruthless and cunning than Muay Thai!

Still, he didn’t take Chu Tianfeng seriously. He believed his opponent’s cultivation was only marginally above his apprentice’s, but compared to Torsapong himself, it was still far inferior.

He intended to avenge Tarawan; when he knocked Chu Tianfeng out, he would crush his eggs and destroy his dignity!

The referee recited the rules once again and asked both sides for their opinions.

Unexpectedly, Chu Tianfeng showed no hesitation this time, shaking his head at the same time as Torsapong to indicate there were no issues.

The referee glanced at Chu Tianfeng in surprise, then raised his right hand high—

“Tonight’s eighth match: Lin Feng challenges the number one champion, Thai boxer Torsapong—begin!”

Torsapong approached Chu Tianfeng in his usual unhurried manner, casually throwing a punch.

Chu Tianfeng dodged easily and returned a punch.

Torsapong also tilted his head to avoid it.

Their first probing exchange was over.

The entire audience expected Torsapong to probe again; even the referee and Chu Tianfeng thought so.

But unexpectedly, Torsapong suddenly accelerated, lunging forward with the ferocity of a tiger, right fist smashing directly toward Chu Tianfeng’s head.

Caught off guard by the sudden change, Chu Tianfeng hurriedly raised his left hand to shield his head, blocking Torsapong’s right fist, while his right fist crossed his chest, ready for any follow-up attack.

Bang!

Torsapong’s right fist slammed into Chu Tianfeng’s left arm, driving it up to his forehead.

Chu Tianfeng’s head rang with a buzzing sound.

Torsapong’s left fist quickly followed, whistling toward Chu Tianfeng’s face.

Chu Tianfeng could only raise his right fist to block.

Bang!

The two fists collided!

Chu Tianfeng staggered backward, his right fist aching, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

The crowd erupted in cheers.

With his sneak attack successful, Torsapong wore a smug smile.

Chu Tianfeng quickly adjusted his internal energy, channeling true essence through the injured Yang Linking Vessel and Triple Burner Meridian for a full cycle.

Since advancing to the middle stage of Qi Refinement, Chu Tianfeng had begun to use true essence for a complete circulation.

The great cycle meant true essence ran through the eight extraordinary meridians—Conception, Governing, Penetrating, Belt, Yang Linking, Yin Linking, Yin Heel, Yang Heel—and then through the twelve main meridians.

After the collision with Torsapong, Chu Tianfeng’s head and left arm were injured and numb, so he circulated true essence through the Yang Linking Vessel and Triple Burner Meridian, and soon his head and left arm were back to normal.

Torsapong pressed forward again, throwing another probing left punch.

Chu Tianfeng snorted coldly and casually extended his left fist to block.

After their fists collided, Torsapong exploded yet again, his right fist shooting toward Chu Tianfeng’s chest.

Chu Tianfeng was prepared, his spiritual sense fully alert, tracking every movement.

Seeing Torsapong’s right fist coming, Chu Tianfeng quickly lowered his left fist to block, while his right fist lashed out at Torsapong.

Unexpectedly, Torsapong’s attack to his chest was a feint; as Chu Tianfeng’s left fist moved to his chest, Torsapong swiftly shifted to his left side and smashed his right fist at Chu Tianfeng’s head.

Chu Tianfeng’s right punch missed, but thanks to his spiritual sense locking onto Torsapong, he avoided disaster.

He retreated hastily, raising his right fist just in time to block Torsapong’s blow.

Bang!

Another clash of fists!

Chu Tianfeng retreated again.

Blood seeped from the corner of his mouth, slowly dripping onto his T-shirt.

Chu Tianfeng once more circulated his true essence, quickly healing the damaged meridians.

The crowd cheered again.

Hua Wu bit her lip, tears in her eyes.

She wanted to rush onto the stage and drag Chu Tianfeng down, to tell him not to fight anymore, that it hurt her heart.

But she knew she couldn’t do that, and Chu Tianfeng wouldn’t want her to.

She could only endure the pain in her heart, staring at Chu Tianfeng on the stage without blinking.

Torsapong saw Chu Tianfeng silent and assumed his opponent was seriously injured; he pressed forward to expand his advantage.

But by now, Chu Tianfeng had a general understanding of Torsapong.

This man’s speed was tremendous, his punches quick and sharp—truly a formidable opponent.

However, these advantages meant little against Chu Tianfeng.

Because Chu Tianfeng had spiritual sense—a cheat.

He could lock onto Torsapong’s every move; no matter how fast or tricky the attacks, Chu Tianfeng always caught them in time.

Thus, Torsapong’s two surprise attacks were no more effective than Tarawan’s—without much result.

Having figured out his opponent’s routine, Chu Tianfeng decided to stop holding back.

He didn’t want to drag this out, nor could he afford to.

He had to face Torsapong and also keep an eye on the horse-faced man and others. The forces behind this boxing club were unknown, friend or foe, and he did not want to entrust his fate to others.

He still hadn’t eaten dinner, and had fought two matches in a row.

Dragging this out would only bring harm, not benefit.

He had to settle this quickly!

With that in mind, Chu Tianfeng’s figure blurred as he rushed forward, his right fist aimed straight at Torsapong’s face.

Torsapong hadn’t expected Chu Tianfeng to launch an attack. He thought Chu Tianfeng was angry after being hit twice and had abandoned defense for a direct confrontation.

This was exactly what he wanted!

A smug smile flickered across his lips. With a low growl, he threw his right fist to meet Chu Tianfeng’s.

But just as Chu Tianfeng’s right fist neared, it suddenly halted.

Torsapong sensed danger.

Bang!

Sure enough, Chu Tianfeng’s left fist appeared seemingly out of nowhere, smashing fiercely into Torsapong’s right armpit!

Torsapong grunted, staggering backward.

Bang!

Chu Tianfeng’s previously halted right fist followed, landing squarely on Torsapong’s forehead.

Spurt!

Blood sprayed from Torsapong’s mouth.

Chu Tianfeng’s offensive continued. His right foot kicked at an incredible angle.

Bang!

Torsapong’s chest was struck, sending him flying high.

Chu Tianfeng flashed forward, leaping up, and slammed down on the airborne Torsapong like a tiger descending from the mountain.

Bang!

Blood sprayed again from Torsapong’s mouth as he crashed onto the ring.

Chu Tianfeng wasn’t satisfied. As Torsapong was about to land, Chu Tianfeng followed and launched a flying right kick!

Bang!

Torsapong flew to the edge of the ring, shooting through a gap in the railings and down to the floor below.

Bang!

Torsapong tumbled several times after landing, finally stopping at the feet of the front-row spectators.

This series of attacks flowed like water, exhilarating and unrestrained.

Even the referee hadn’t had time to react.

The entire audience was dumbfounded.

What in the world was that?

Tweet—tweet—

The referee’s whistle sounded.

Chu Tianfeng wiped the blood from his mouth with his glove and smiled.

When it came to surprise attacks, if Chu Tianfeng claimed second place, no one would dare claim first.

He was the ancestor of sneak attacks!

The audience was left stunned, staring blankly at Chu Tianfeng on the ring.

Hua Wu, once again, smiled through her tears.

She gazed at that unfamiliar face, sometimes doubting if it was really Chu Tianfeng.