Chapter 194: Anyone Else?
Chapter 194: Anyone Else?
"Do you think the Cloudy Sky Gang is afraid of you spineless dogs?" Li Xiaofei sneered contemptuously. "Signing a life-and-death pact is fine, but let's make sure the stakes are clear."
"What kind of stakes are you suggesting?" Guan Shanyue asked calmly.
He was the strongest among them and always kept his cool.
Li Xiaofei replied, "It's simple. The winner takes all."
"And what exactly does 'take all' mean?" Guan Shanyue pressed.
Li Xiaofei explained, "If you win, the Cloudy Sky Gang will hand over all the slum territories and pay five million star coins in compensation. But if I win, then all the territories owned by the Flying Cloud Sword Gang, Iron Palm Ltd., and the Daxing Gang will belong to the Cloudy Sky Gang. And you will each have to pay five million star coins in compensation."
Guan Shanyue and the others' expressions briefly changed, but then they remembered that with the Little Martial God from the Ye family overseeing the battle, Li Xiaofei's death seemed inevitable. Their worries faded away.
"Fine, why not agree to your terms?" Guan Shanyue decided without hesitation.
Both sides quickly signed the electronic life-and-death pact. The terms were exactly as Li Xiaofei had proposed. This type of electronic life-and-death pact was validated by the light core system, making it legally binding.
Once the agreement was signed, the deathmatch began immediately. Both parties stepped down from the raised platform. Ning Wuwo pressed a button on a remote control.
Gears beneath the stage turned as the stage split in the middle. A platform made of pure titanium steel rose from below along with eight steel pillars that stood tall like a giant’s hands. A light-network of dim blue light flickered between the pillars.
It was the gang's fighting arena. Each side of the arena had a waiting area for the fighters. Gang battles typically followed a best-of-five format. Each side would select their five strongest fighters, and the first to win three matches would be declared the victor.
"Boss, give me a chance," Li Junjie, the top lieutenant, pleaded. "Let me experience the gang negotiation's arena battle."
"Boss, I'm willing to fight," Chu Yuntian also eagerly volunteered.
"Boss, let me warm up the stage first." Another hall master, Li Yang, chimed in.
Many members of the Cloudy Sky Gang were clamoring for the chance to fight.
"You're all too weak," Li Xiaofei bluntly retorted. "Watch your president put on a show and cheer me on from below."
With that, he walked alone to the waiting area beside the life-and-death arena. On the other side, Guan Shanyue, Zhen Santong, Fan Jun, and Fan Bing also took their seats in the waiting area.
But the fifth seat was not occupied by Fan Tong. Instead, it was taken by none other than the Little Martial God, Ye Liushuang. But it was a sight that many of the gang leaders had anticipated.
Li Xiaofei frowned slightly and asked, "Who is he?"
Guan Shanyue stood up with a sneer, first bowing respectfully to Ye Liushuang before turning to answer, "This is Ye Liushuang, the prodigy of the Ye family. He couldn't stand your ruthless ways, so he's here to meet you."
Li Xiaofei responded, "Today's life-and-death arena is part of the gang negotiation. He isn't part of any gang, so how can he participate?"
"Who says he isn't?" A voice called out from the side.
It was Bai Yi. He stepped out slowly from behind Ye family elder Ye Changlin, a smug smile on his face.
"Li Xiaofei, you remember me, don't you?" Bai Yi asked confidently.
"No, I don't," Li Xiaofei replied coolly.
"You..." Bai Yi was momentarily speechless with anger.
He took another step forward, his voice cold, "I am Bai Yi, the White Paper Fan of the Dragon Claw Gang. Yesterday, you used despicable methods to poison and murder our gang leader. I witnessed it with my own eyes... Heh, you never expected that someone would survive your poisonous hand, did you?"
"An insignificant nobody," Li Xiaofei retorted disdainfully. "You managed to escape with your life, and instead of cherishing it, you dare come here to bark at me?"
In truth, Li Xiaofei was somewhat surprised. He hadn’t expected anyone to survive the massacre in the Dragon Gathering Hall.
"I risked my life to appear here today to avenge my brothers in the Dragon Claw Gang," Bai Yi declared as he produced several items from his possession, displaying them one by one. He shouted, "As the sole survivor of the Dragon Claw Gang, I hereby recognize Ye Liushuang as the thirty-ninth gang leader of the Dragon Claw Gang. Here are the tokens, the scepter, and the gang leader's secret key. What do you have to say to that, Li Xiaofei?"
The crowd erupted. It was now clear that the Ye family had inserted themselves into this situation through such a method. The maneuver, at least procedurally, was entirely legitimate. No one could find fault with it.
"Li Xiaofei, no matter how much you schemed, you didn't see this coming, did you?" Bai Yi sneered loudly. "This is what they call divine justice and inevitable retribution."
Li Xiaofei couldn’t help but laugh. "You’re nothing more than a stray dog, yet you dare spew nonsense about divine justice? The Dragon Claw Gang got what they deserved for their evil deeds. I was their retribution. But on the life-and-death arena, there is no Ye family heir, only enemies. If anyone dares to die, I’ll be the one to bury them."
Whoosh!
Li Xiaofei leaped into the air and landed on the arena.
"Who’s coming up first to meet their death?" he shouted challengingly.
Guan Shanyue and the others all turned their gaze to Ye Liushuang.
They knew they couldn't fully guarantee a victory against Li Xiaofei, so none of them were eager to take the risk. For them, it was just a formality. According to the plan, the real task of killing Li Xiaofei was supposed to be handled by Ye Liushuang.
However, Ye Liushuang simply sat there, casually playing with his light core, occasionally smiling as if he were chatting with a lover. He completely ignored the anxious glances from Guan Shanyue and the others.
No. To be precise, he didn’t regard anyone around him as worth noticing. It was as if the nearly thousand ruthless gang members surrounding him were nothing more than blades of grass.
Ye Changlin cleared his throat and said calmly, "Master Guan, you should take the first few rounds."
What?
Guan Shanyue's face changed slightly, a chill running through his heart. This wasn’t part of the plan. If they were sent up first, it would be like being sent to their deaths.
"I'll go first!" Fan Bing shot arrogantly to his feet. "I refuse to believe that some teenage slum rat is as tough as they say. It’s just that those Dragon Claw Gang weaklings couldn’t handle him."
He shrugged off his leather jacket, revealing his muscular, well-toned torso. The Fan brothers of the Daxing Gang all practiced the ancient martial art known as the Golden Bell Shield. They had also undergone New Martial Arts surgery and received an implanted Inscribed Treasure Bone from a Mystic Armored Shield Turtle, which had pushed their physical strength to its peak.
It was said that Fan Bing had once taken ten full punches from a Limit Breaking Realm expert without flinching, while his opponent was killed by the rebound force of the Golden Bell Shield as their internal organs shattered.
Boom!
Fan Bing stepped into the life-and-death arena.
Clang!
The entrance to the arena closed behind him. The light-network flickered, sealing off the space within the octagonal cage.
"Kid, others might fear you, but I don’t," Fan Bing sneered as he activated his technique.
A layer of faint golden lines appeared on his skin, and starforce qi surged outward, forming the illusion of a giant bell around him.
He laughed loudly, "I’ll just stand here. You can take the first three shots..."
But before he could finish his sentence...
Boom!
Li Xiaofei’s fist landed on his chest and a cloud of blood erupted in the air. Bones audibly shattered as Fan Bing was reduced to nothing more than a bloody mist in an instant.
"Pathetic. Couldn't even withstand one punch, let alone three," Li Xiaofei muttered as he slowly withdrew his fist.
"Who’s next?" He asked calmly as his gaze swept over the opposing waiting area.