Seeing the bulky man charging at him, Han Yu did what he could.
Han Yu tried to pivot to the side —
The man’s shoulder slammed into him, knocking the wind out of his lungs and sending him tumbling across the ground.
The crowd laughed and jeered.
Han Yu staggered to his feet, spitting blood.This wasn’t going well.
No pills. No tricks. What else did he have?
An idea sparked. A suicidal one.But it was better than standing still.
As Liao Feng charged again, Han Yu whipped off his outer robe and flung it into the man’s face.Then, while the man tore the cloth away in confusion, Han Yu sprinted forward and bit his hand.
"ARRRGH!" Liao Feng howled, flailing.
Han Yu clung like a particularly angry squirrel, punching and kicking at anything he could reach.He gouged at the man’s ribs, kneed him in the thigh, even stomped on his toes.
The crowd screamed with laughter and shock.
Liao Feng finally grabbed Han Yu and hurled him away — but now he was bleeding from his hand and limping slightly.
Han Yu, gasping for breath, stood up again.
This time, he smiled.A bloody, crazy, slightly deranged smile.
"You wanna know why I’m still alive?" he rasped. "Because I’m cheap... and desperate!"
He charged again, sliding between Liao Feng’s legs, grabbing the man’s ankle mid-slide, and yanking.
Liao Feng toppled like a felled tree.
Without hesitation, Han Yu scrambled on top of him, raining down punches. He wasn’t aiming for lethal spots — he was aiming for joints, pressure points, the squishy parts between bones.
Liao Feng tried to fight back, but his movements were sluggish now. Han Yu’s crazed flailing had messed up his internal balance, and without clear qi control, he couldn’t muster a clean counterattack.
After what felt like an eternity of chaotic, humiliating brawling, Liao Feng lay groaning on the ground, unable to rise.
The crowd exploded into cheers, hoots, and laughter.
The tall woman from before blew a sharp whistle."Winner: Han Yu!" she barked.
Han Yu stumbled off the stage, clutching his side and grinning like an idiot.
The woman tossed him a small bag."That’s your cut for tonight. Not bad, Squirrel Boy."
Han Yu caught it with trembling hands. He peeked inside: a bunch of gold coins and... was that three low-grade Spirit stones?
His stomach nearly did a somersault.
As he limped away from the ring, he heard the woman call after him.
"Rest up! You’re on the roster for the main event next week!"
Han Yu tripped over his own feet.
He hadn’t even wanted to come here tonight!
Why did his life keep getting worse when he won?!
While Han Yu was pleased by the spirit stone, he also knew that it wasn’t something he could use right away. He stilld had to reach the Qi refining realm to make use of it. As for selling it or buying something with it?
That would be far too risky. There was a high chance he might get reported, or even get his spirit stone confiscated since it was technically obtained through illegal means.
They wouldn’t care the hardship he had to go through to obtain it.
A few days later, after the chaos of the underground fight had somewhat healed into scabs and stiff bruises, Han Yu found himself once again dragged—half-willingly—into Li Mei’s pill-testing chamber.
This time, there was something different.
There was a gleam in her eyes. A dangerous, mad scientist discovering the atom bomb kind of gleam.
"Han Yu," she said with an excitement that made his stomach curdle, "I have a new pill!"
Han Yu, who was already regretting every life choice he had made that led to this moment, forced a smile.
"What does it do?" he croaked.
Li Mei grinned. "I call it the Heavenly Marrow Ignition Pill!"
While it sounded quite grand, it was also a few more things.
It sounded aggressive.It sounded ominous.It sounded like something that would make his marrow ignite.
"Side effects?" Han Yu asked weakly.
She waved him off. "Minor ones. Some mild bleeding, temporary paralysis, hallucinations, spontaneous combustion, maybe slight existential dread."
Han Yu blinked. "Combustion?! Existential dread?!"
She pressed the pill into his palm anyway. It was hot to the touch, pulsing faintly like a tiny heart.
Han Yu stared at it like it might bite him.
"I don’t know, Li Mei..." he hesitated.
"You want to get stronger, don’t you? You have another fight coming up," she teased.
Han Yu closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and swallowed the pill.
For a moment, there was nothing.
An explosion of searing heat erupted inside his body.Han Yu dropped to his knees, gasping, as something tore through his veins like wildfire.
His vision blurred. His ears rang.Then the bleeding started.
Nose first. Then his ears. Then his eyes. Even a trickle from the corners of his mouth.
Han Yu’s body convulsed, every muscle spasming violently.He tried to scream, but only a wet gurgle came out.
Li Mei crouched next to him, excitedly taking notes.
"Fascinating! The marrow ignition effect is even faster than I calculated! His bones are glowing!"
Han Yu, unable to form words, flipped her the angriest bird he could manage before collapsing face-first onto the floor.
His last thought before losing consciousness was, I’m definitely suing when I wake up.
Han Yu’s eyelids fluttered.
Everything hurt. Everything was dry. Everything smelled faintly, like burnt hair and medicinal soup.
He tried to move and immediately regretted it. His body felt like it had been tenderized with a giant hammer and then baked in the sun.
Li Mei, who had apparently been waiting by his bedside, perked up instantly."You’re alive!" she chirped, as if this was some shocking miracle and not her responsibility.
Han Yu tried to croak something resembling "Water" but it came out as more of a "Wahhgh."
Li Mei shoved a bowl of gruel at him instead.
"Eat first! You’re probably dangerously low on calories and blood. And possibly other fluids we can’t legally talk about."
’At least the gruel has water in it too.’ Han Yu thought.