Chapter 539: Did You Not Eat? (2)

Youki Kaiichi's display as pinnacle quasi-Saint level had clearly been nothing more than a façade. He had long since broken through to the Saint Realm. The revelation was a thunderous surprise that left the crowd in awe.

In the VIP lounge, Uesugi Tameryū’s lips curled into a faint smile. Turning to Tsukiha Yaiba, he remarked casually, "This match is over."

Tsukiha Yaiba nodded lightly and replied, "Yes, it’s about to end."

Her calm demeanor gave Uesugi Tameryū pause. A subtle feeling of unease began to creep into his mind, inexplicably gnawing at his confidence. When he turned his gaze back to the arena, his pupils contracted sharply, and the confident smile on his face froze.

A flicker of shock gleamed in his eyes. On the stage, Shinzu Genshi was growing. The boy, who had always been considered tall among the people of Jiepeng, now stood at an imposing six meters.

His previously unassuming muscles bulged outward in ridges, each group of fibers swelling in perfect synchronicity. The interconnected muscles were both ferocious and harmonious, radiating raw, explosive power. The shadows cast by his towering form under the arena’s spotlights loomed over the platform like the despairing darkness of a divine mountain oppressing all beneath it.

Youki Kaiichi, who had appeared massive just moments ago, now seemed as diminutive as a child in the presence of a god. He was utterly engulfed by Shinzu Genshi’s immense shadow. The savage and maniacal expression on Youki Kaiichi’s face was now replaced by one of pure astonishment.

Youki Kaiichi tilted his head slightly upward. Under the countless lights suspended from the arena's dome, he could make out only the silhouette of Li Xiaofei’s face. The features shrouded in shadow seemed like an abyss of darkness, peering down into his very soul.

How could this be happening?

Youki Kaiichi’s eyelids twitched uncontrollably. He could clearly feel the energy radiating from the colossal figure before him. It wasn’t the aura of a Saint. Yet it was potent enough to set off alarms in every cell of his body.

The instincts he had honed through countless battles and years of experience were now hammering at his nerves, telling him that this six-meter-tall youth was a monstrously lethal threat.

"Aren’t you the one who talks a lot?" Li Xiaofei leaned down slightly, his voice a low rumble. "Why aren’t you saying anything now?"

Youki Kaiichi had never been struck speechless in the same way he was at this moment. His throat bobbed repeatedly, but not a single sound escaped. It was as if he had forgotten how to speak.

"Are you feeling fear now?" said Li Xiaofei as his massive frame moved forward, step by deliberate step. He loomed like a divine mountain, each movement carrying an oppressive force that defied description and weighed on one’s senses.

"The roles are reversed now. Do you feel your own cowardice and hesitation?"

"Bakayaro!" Youki Kaiichi finally snapped, his seething rage seemingly igniting his courage.

He roared as he launched his attack. Augmented by the power of a Saint, even the simplest straight punch carried an earth-shattering force.

The air was violently displaced, creating a momentary vacuum as a devastating punch thundered toward Li Xiaofei.

Li Xiaofei, however, merely raised his left hand slightly. He caught the punch effortlessly, as though grasping a weightless feather.

The power of a Saint... is this all?

A hint of surprise appeared on Li Xiaofei’s face. This wasn’t quite what he had expected. That slight expression of surprise, paired with his casual words, struck Youki Kaiichi like a slap in the face.

The unintentional mockery sent his blood pressure surging and his anger boiling over. He tried to pull his fist back to strike again. But his right hand felt as if it were welded to Li Xiaofei’s palm.

Crack!

Li Xiaofei’s fingers tightened. Youki Kaiichi’s right fist shattered instantly, the bones crumbling like rotted wood under pressure.

"Ahhhh!"

A cry of fear and pain ripped free of Youki Kaiichi’s throat as he swung his left fist in desperation, aiming for Li Xiaofei’s chest, right over his heart.

Bang!

The punch landed squarely, as intended. But Youki Kaiichi’s fleeting moment of triumph didn’t last even a fraction of a second before it transformed into sheer terror.

The imagined scene of shattering muscles, splintering bones, and an obliterated heart didn’t materialize. Li Xiaofei stood unflinching as he took the full force of the punch and was completely unscathed. He glanced down at his chest, then back at Youki Kaiichi, his expression one of mild surprise.

"Didn’t you eat?" His tone carried a genuine sense of puzzlement.

Why did this man emit the aura of a Saint Realm expert, yet only struck with such pitiful force?

Li Xiaofei frowned slightly. He realized that Youki Kaiichi’s transformation merely granted him a trace of Saintly aura. It wasn’t true Saint-level combat strength. He was an overhyped pretender; all show and no substance. At that moment, Youki Kaiichi’s fighting spirit utterly collapsed.

"I surrender," Youki Kaiichi said loudly.

His voice carried both desperation and finality. He had thrown his strongest punch, and it hadn’t even made Li Xiaofei’s chest muscles tremble. The gap between their strengths was as vast as a chasm.

The fight had lost all meaning. It was nothing more than a one-sided slaughter. If he continued, there was only one outcome waiting for him, death.

"Didn’t you say that stepping onto this arena, this symbol of honor, meant being prepared to face death?" Li Xiaofei said, shaking his head lightly. "You surrender? No, I refuse."

He clenched his right hand into a fist. The air around his fist exploded audibly. The gust of wind from the incoming blow carried with it a suffocating sense of impending death.

Fear pierced through Youki Kaiichi’s mental defenses like a dagger. For the first time, he felt the overwhelming terror of dying. Though he had seen countless battles, spilled rivers of blood, and delivered death to countless opponents, he now understood something he had never grasped before. His fearlessness hadn’t come from courage. It had come from the simple fact that it was never his life on the line.

"Don’t kill me, please, don’t..." Youki Kaiichi wailed, his massive frame trembling uncontrollably.

An acrid smell of urine filled the air. Li Xiaofei’s fist halted mid-strike. He then sent the utterly broken Youki Kaiichi flying ten meters away with a casual flick. Li Xiaofei wiped his hands in disgust, his expression one of contempt. The match was over. The Tsukiha Family had claimed yet another victory.

This fight, with its undeniable display of dominance, silenced those who had been furiously disparaging Li Xiaofei on the light-network.

Wasn’t Shinzu Genshi supposed to be a coward? A worthless pretty boy with no redeeming qualities?

So why did Youki Kaiichi, who had unleashed the power of a Saint, appear as helpless as a newborn chick in front of this so-called "coward"?

The narrative had been shattered. It forced everyone to question how much of what media outlets, led by The Jiepeng Daily, had been saying were outright lies. The match had been broadcast live, leaving no room for spin or distortion. Countless viewers, watching the final moments, were left utterly dumbfounded.

This included Uesugi Tameryū, seated in the VIP lounge. The moment Youki Kaiichi’s fear overwhelmed him, Uesugi Tameryū lost every ounce of composure and grace.

He shot to his feet, rushing to the lounge’s glass window. As he pressed his palms against the glass, his expression was one of disbelief, as though he were moments away from storming onto the arena himself.

They had been played! Shinzu Genshi was no coward or reluctant fighter. He was the Tsukiha Family’s long-hidden mysterious hidden Saint, the very martial powerhouse Tsukiha Yaiba had always relied on.

All those rumors, the constipated bodyguard, the toilet sentinel, the man who repeatedly retreated when provoked... every act of timidity, every unchallenged insult, every smear campaign from the media had all been a performance!

Uesugi Tameryū gritted his teeth as his face twisted in rage. In that moment, he pieced together the entire sequence of Tsukiha Yaiba’s carefully crafted plan.

But what use was this realization now? Losing this match meant that the Distillation Research Institute, one of the Red Shirt Group’s proudest assets, would become the property of the Tsukiha Family.

This was akin to losing an arm of the Red Shirt Group. But that was the nature of arena wagers. There was no room for regret or reversal. Who could have imagined that a true hidden Saint would stoop so low as to be willing to hide in a restroom for five or six hours just to perfect the act?

This humiliation, this absurdity, had been the decisive factor that misled every major family, allowing Tsukiha Yaiba’s plan to succeed.

Taking a deep breath, Uesugi Tameryū slowly turned around. His expression had already returned to a state of calm. A faint smile even appeared on his face.

𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

"Impressive," he muttered under his breath, his eyes glinting with a mixture of bitterness and reluctant admiration.

"Congratulations, niece Tsukiha, your victory was impressive," Uesugi Tameryū said with poised elegance, offering his opponent a courteous blessing.

Tsukiha Yaiba smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Uncle Dragon, for such a generous gift. I’m quite fond of the Distillation Research Institute. After all, it’s the empire’s most advanced cyborg transformation facility. It might be impossible to recreate another like it even with fifty years of effort."

Their polite exchange hid blades beneath silk.

Uesugi Tameryū chuckled. "Shinzu Genshi, with Saint-level combat ability at such a young age, is indeed a rare gem in the entire empire. I’m sure the royal family and all the great clans will find him most intriguing. Niece Tsukiha, you’d better hold on to him tightly, or you might find someone snatching him away."

"There’s no need for concern, Uncle Dragon," Tsukiha Yaiba replied coolly.

Uesugi Tameryū signed the last of the wager transfer documents with a final flourish and turned to leave the VIP lounge. The moment he stepped out, the smile on his face vanished. In its place was a glacial, ruthless expression.

"Have Youki Kaiichi brought back," he instructed his secretary coldly. “Send him to the death fortress and initiate the Nether God transformation plan."

A bodyguard with Saint-level combat ability was a priceless asset to any family. If Youki Kaiichi had only been defeated, no matter how disgracefully, Uesugi Tameryū might still have chosen to support and rehabilitate him in hopes of a comeback.

But it was clear that Youki Kaiichi’s martial will had been utterly shattered in this fight. He was now a broken man, nothing more than a husk. Even if he lived, he would be no better than a walking corpse.

And in Jiepeng Empire’s brutal meritocracy, where value defined existence, whether for a lowly freeman or an exalted Martial Saint, a person without value had no right to live. Thus, to Uesugi Tameryū, Youki Kaiichi’s dense, resilient body held greater worth as experimental material than as a disgraced survivor.

Yes, value. In Uesugi Tameryū’s eyes, the most valuable individual now was none other than Shinzu Genshi, the man who had just descended from the arena. Young like the rising sun, composed like an old hound, and venomous like a serpent— Such an expert was a must-have ally for any family.

So, rather than leaving the arena after the match, Uesugi Tameryū made his way directly to the platform, standing under the spotlight and the countless gazes of spectators and cameras alike.

There, the leader of the Red Shirt Group, one of the empire’s most powerful figures, extended his hand with a warm smile.

"Congratulations, Mr. Shinzu," he said enthusiastically. "You’ve won a spectacular match and silenced those who dared to slander you. Although your victory cost me dearly, there are no eternal enemies under the heavens. I hope we can become friends."

Li Xiaofei looked at the refined middle-aged man before him. He reached out and shook Uesugi Tameryū’s hand without a moment’s hesitation.

"I couldn’t agree more," Li Xiaofei said, a faint smile spreading across his face. "There are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests."

Uesugi Tameryū’s eyes sparkled as he saw hope.