'Damn… it. It hurts more than I'd thought.'
Jin was in pain. As a matter of fact, he was in excruciating pain. He had somehow gotten his breathing back, but now he was seeing two of Allen.
He would rather not admit it, but Allen had gotten him good. He had misjudged him to be a patient man. But Allen was hell-bent on ending the fight. Jin was certain that he was not going to stop hitting his ribs until they were ground to dust.
Thankfully, he had at least been able to counter his assault. But he was starting to doubt if the counter he had taken a grave hit for even mattered anymore.
'That bastard…'
At the very last second, Jin had twisted Allen's ankle with surgical accuracy. It wasn't completely dislocated, but it was enough to slow him down, enough for Jin to turn the tide on him.
But Allen was tanking the pain like it was nothing. The bruise on his ankle was becoming clearer, yet his eyes burned with a different passion. His body was pulsing with a strange intensity, like a bull that prepared itself before charging again.
He was not going to let Jin off the hook.
Jin decided to take the first step this time. He wasn't as fast as Allen, but his stance made it such that he wouldn't be able to predict his attack at all.
His hands moved like a dragon's, his claw aimed at Allen's vital points.
Just before his strikes could land, Allen moved. It was as if his speed had doubled since before.
He landed a few steps away.
Jin was barely keeping up with him before, so this new explosive attack got him off guard.
But he wasn't an inexperienced newbie.
Right before Allen's attack could land, he buckled his legs and jumped back. Still, his attack had landed, even if barely. Jin's forearms were barely holding on. Even decreasing the strength of his attacks had done nothing.
Just as Jin lifted his head, Allen was upon him. Allen used the bruised leg to deliver a clean kick. The kick scratched against his forehead as he lowered himself further to dodge.
One after another, he used all his limbs to annihilate Jin. Every attack carried killing intent, enough to make even Jin shudder. Even the concrete was left in ruins in his wake.
All Jin could do was dodge or deflect his attacks by an inch. He didn't have the liberty to test Lian's body anymore. If he wanted to survive, he had to give this fight his all.
The crowd that had quieted down started to fill the arena with their shouts again. Their voices rang in his ears, making his head spin with every second.
Somewhere in the back, he could hear John screaming at him. He was unsure whether John was cheering him on or begging him to give up. Not that he had the time to think about it anymore.
'My stamina… Curses.'
As much as Jin wanted to counter his attacks, Allen didn't even give him the chance to do so. The fight had finally turned into a one-sided beating. The only thing still going in his favor was that none of those deadly attacks had landed on him yet.
It went without saying that he would already be dead if they had hit him.
Even if he dodged one attack, another one would enter his range almost immediately. His instincts were screaming at him to simply run away. But he couldn't do that either. He knew that Allen wouldn't leave such a wide opening and let it go easily.
But he hadn't given up yet.
'Moving so fast… for so long… it must be taking a toll on him too.'
Allen was almost twice his size. The energy and strength he needed to mobilize that body consumed just as much stamina. And without being able to circulate qi, a lower-ranked challenger's stamina wasn't any better than a mundane person's.
It was only a matter of time until he went out of breath. That was exactly what Jin was waiting for.
'But… why is it taking so long?'
Instead of slowing down, the intensity of Allen's attacks simply kept increasing. He had left his boxing stance and was now simply aiming at Jin with the intent to kill him. It wasn't just fast anymore; it was frightening, even to Jin.
Even dodging now was useless. Minor cuts began to appear on his body as Allen continued his flurry of attacks.
Jin dodged another kick and entered his range of attacks again. He had to disrupt Allen's rhythm somehow, even if it meant taking the brunt force of his punch.
It happened as he had thought. The kick was actually faint. The real attack was a strike aimed at his kidneys. Lowering his guard, he clenched his teeth as he anticipated the attack.
Suddenly, time stopped.
The crowd fell silent, as countless people froze. John had closed his eyes, as if Jin were about to die any moment now.
He soon realized that time hadn't stopped.
His instincts were telling him something. Not Lian's timid instincts that had been ingrained in his body. They were Jin's instincts that he had cultivated through his boundless knowledge of martial arts.
Every part of his consciousness was alarming him to avoid the next attack.
There wasn't much time. Allen was still moving, his strike just about to land.
Jin had to make a choice immediately. Otherwise, he was about to die… again. And this time, he wasn't going to stay dead.
'Curse it all to hell.'
He lowered his center of gravity, grounding his supporting leg against the concrete. All the knuckles of his right hand were sticking out to form a beak-like, one-knuckle fist. Turning his hip, he angled his abdomen to take Allen's attack.
Time was slipping away.
The demonic energy in his lower dantian surged. It didn't flow through his meridians like a calm stream; instead, it entered them like lightning. Rather than letting it circulate wildly, Jin pulled it straight to his fist.
He knew that if he wanted to survive, he had to give this last strike his all.
Time resumed again.
"Ugh."
Jin let out a rough grunt as he was thrown away. His defenseless body rolled around until coming to a stop near the end of the ring. Almost immediately, he lifted his head and threw up to his side.
The gruesome sight made John wince. Even someone as inexperienced at fighting as he was knew that Lian had taken a lethal attack head-on. There was no way he could get back up. It would be a miracle if Lian lived to see another day, even.
To everyone watching, the match was already over.
The crowd went wild. The people who had been rooting for Allen screamed, as if they were the ones who had landed the last strike themselves. The ones who had bet on Jin threw their belongings at him, cursing him out.
The air inside the VIP lounge was tense. At some point, Rhea had stood up. Her hand was resting on the translucent glass. A faint vein danced on her wrist as her fingers twitched.
The host approached the two immediately, his expression contorted into a frown.
Before he could speak, though, Allen turned away.
Picking up his tracksuit, which he had thrown near the wall previously, he spoke in a subdued voice.
"I forfeit."
The host was stumped. He was unsure if he was supposed to stop him or let him leave.
Being both a host and the only referee in this arena, he was also a challenger. He had immediately sensed qi in Allen's last attack. He had jumped inside the ring precisely to stop the fight and announce his defeat for breaking the rules.
To his surprise, Allen backed away from the fight instead of making things even worse.
The crowd was confused. The host hadn't announced anything yet, but Allen had already left the stage.
Sensing their shock, the host went over and helped Jin stand up. Pulling his hand above, he shouted from the bottom of his lungs.
"Due to Allen's use of essence inside this sacred ring, he has been disqualified. The winner is Lian!"
Jin straightened his legs, gasping harshly. He could barely look at the crowd as he felt the torn muscles in his abdomen.
'Why… why can't I have a normal fight for once?'
The crowd simply fell silent.
***
Entering his personal waiting room, Allen slumped on the bench.
'That… damn scoundrel.'
His breathing was uneven, his eyelids drooping heavily from the exhaustion. There was a depression in his chest, right near his heart.
During his attacks, Allen got impatient. None of his attacks ever truly landed on Jin. The ones that did land were simply a part of his calculation. The longer the fight went, the more frustrated he became. Even that felt like Jin's intention from the very start.
Before he could realize it, qi started circulating through his body. His entire being wanted Jin gone.
In the midst of those attacks, he accidentally activated his core ability. He wanted to think it was intentional, but that only worried him even further. Because he was experienced enough to be able to suppress his core ability.
If it had emerged by itself, that meant Allen actually intended to kill Jin.
Despite that, Jin had somehow repositioned himself in between those attacks.
Allen brought his trembling hand to his chest. A piercing pain in his chest made him grimace. His artery… No, Jin had targeted his aorta with surgical precision.
"That kid… what the hell even is he?"
Whatever Jin was planning to do, Allen didn't want to know what would have happened if he hadn't pulled himself back at the very last moment.
Someone whom he couldn't completely comprehend was always scarier than someone far stronger than him. And even after the fight had ended, he was unsure that he had even scratched the surface of who Lian was.
He grunted deeply and closed his eyes. Despite the pain, there was a smug grin on his lips.
"Lian, huh. I wonder how far he can go."
Meanwhile, the maids in the VIP lounge were trembling with fear.