Chapter 60 Elegance Never Goes Out of Style

Night fell.

The highly anticipated weapons combat tournament slowly opened its curtain on the top floor of the Fusheng Building.

The hype surrounding this round of weapons combat was exceptionally high. In the past, wealthy magnates of moderate influence might have still managed to secure a private VIP room, but now those people could only resignedly squeeze into the regular audience seats. Tickets for the top-floor arena at Fusheng Building this night were virtually impossible to come by.

Everyone who managed to appear in the VIP rooms consisted of the absolute top-tier tycoons entrenched across the entire expanse of Hong Kong.

Because of this, the stakes and bets for this round of weapons combat were astronomical, bordering on the absurd. Before the tournament even began, the betting pool had already surpassed eight figures and was still steadily climbing. At this rate, the astronomical sum might even break the nine-figure mark.

Song Ren also developed a bit of interest and, through Cai Shuangyu's connections, placed a one-million-dollar bet on himself.

...

A total of ten fighters had signed up for this unprecedented weapons combat tournament.

Aside from King Sheng, who sat aloof and awaited challengers in the role of the final boss, the other nine fighters included the tournament favorites Song Ren, Du Youbang, and Park Jeong-sin.

There was also the Tyrannosaurus He Ping, who had once lost to Song Ren but subsequently secured a continuous string of victories in later bouts. He, too, participated in this round of weapons combat.

In addition to them, there were five other fighters. One of them was someone Song Ren had crossed paths with before—the Black fighter Valerio, who, like Du Youbang, was under Tong Peipei’s roster and had a penchant for shouting loudly at people. The remaining four were, without exception, regular veterans of the weapons combat circuit.

Each of these individuals possessed vast experience across multiple domains, which was why they dared to step onto the ring this night.

...

During the waiting period for the fighters, He Ping took the initiative to walk over and greet Song Ren. "Hey! We meet again."

Song Ren nodded back at him.

He Ping smiled and asked, "How is it? Do you have confidence this time?"

"Not bad." Song Ren glanced at him and ultimately offered a word of warning: "He Ping, tonight's weapons combat tournament has been heavily overhyped by the Fusheng Building management. Since you've chosen to participate, I suggest you be careful in this bout and not hold back against anyone."

Over the past few days, Song Ren had paid attention to He Ping on a few occasions. Despite his nickname, the Tyrannosaurus, his actual strength was quite impressive.

However, contrary to his moniker, He Ping merely had a fiery temper and a deep devotion to martial arts. Yet when it came to actual combat, he still could not shake off the conservative style typical of lower-to-middle-tier rings, often showing restraint against his opponents. He mostly relied on subduing them or knocking them down. This was the primary reason why, despite his formidable strength in the top-tier arena, his popularity had always lagged behind what it had been during his middle-tier days.

The audience seats and VIP rooms on the top floor adored bloody and violent carnage. To put it mildly, the tycoons here were all more or less mentally unhinged.

Tonight's weapons combat event had been heavily promoted and hyped by the Fusheng Building at all costs. This tournament was destined to be far more perilous than usual, and the corresponding rewards would be correspondingly more generous.

Out of a shred of appreciation for He Ping, Song Ren offered him this warning.

After expressing his thanks, He Ping quickly added, "Hey, I'm not going to lose to you this time. After losing last couple of times ago, I felt miserable for days."

At this point, he suddenly teased, "Besides, this is weapons combat. You've never participated in this kind of tournament before. Are you perhaps no good at this?" He chuckled and said, "Heh, do you want me to teach you a few moves?"

Song Ren replied, "Spare me. You'd better look after yourself."

He Ping leaned in closer and lowered his voice. "I don't know if you've noticed, but many of the fighters here have been eyeing you. I always get the feeling these guys harbor malicious intentions. You told me to be careful, but I think you should watch your own back instead."

He continued with a proud little click of his tongue, "My Bajiquan belongs to close-quarters combat, but that doesn't mean I don't use weapons. I might as well tell you—my spearmanship is peerless."

Song Ren remarked, "What a coincidence, so is mine."

He Ping's face darkened. "Damn! Are you kidding me? How could I run into you even in this?"

Leaning in closer again, he asked with lingering reluctance, "Hey, seriously? If your spearmanship is really peerless too, then I might as well just forfeit." His hand-to-hand combat skills had already been utterly defeated; if they were in the exact same league for weapons combat as well, he would truly suffer a miserable fate.

Song Ren smiled. "To be precise, whether it's sabers, spears, swords, halberds, axes, battle-axes, hooks, or forks—my mastery in all of them is peerless."

Upon hearing this, He Ping immediately raised his middle finger in utter contempt. "Damn, so you were joking. You scared me for a second."

Song Ren wanted to tell him that he wasn't joking at all, and that his repertoire of weapons went even further beyond that.

However, He Ping had no time to listen anymore. A wealthy tycoon over there—likely his financial backer—seemed to be calling for him. He Ping hastily exchanged parting words with Song Ren and hurried over.

Once He Ping left, Song Ren couldn't be bothered to pay attention to anyone else. He could clearly sense that the rest of the fighters harbored intense hostility toward him.

And for good reason: right after He Ping departed, Li Yuyao came over.

She diligently served him tea and water by his side, showering him with solicitous inquiries and attentive care. This spectacle had already drawn the jealous glances of most of the fighters, whose eyes practically burned with rage.

They were all fighters as well; why on earth should this guy receive such absurd treatment?

Song Ren felt quite helpless. "The way you're acting is really generating a massive amount of hatred toward me."

Li Yuyao giggled. "What, are you scared?"

Song Ren shook his head. "Not really, but it's completely unnecessary."

Li Yuyao declared, "I am your manager in the fighting arena now!"

Song Ren retorted, "But isn't a manager a human being?"

Li Yuyao replied, "You can just choose not to regard me as human."

Song Ren: "..." I admit defeat. When it comes to being unhinged, your gameplay is truly on another level.

Li Yuyao thoroughly enjoyed seeing him at a loss for words, and at that, she burst into a peal of giggles.

It wasn't until the tournament was about to begin that Li Yuyao was forced to retreat from the fighters' lounge. As she walked away, the sway of her slender waist and her long legs in black silk once again drew a vast expanse of envious, red-eyed gazes.

By this moment, however, Song Ren had already closed his eyes to rest and preserve his energy.

The process of tonight's weapons combat would be intensely fierce. Only by securing three consecutive victories in weapons combat would one be qualified to challenge the defending King Sheng.

Of course, in terms of rewards, the Fusheng Building was extremely generous; money, political influence, wealth, and even women had all been pulled out to the absolute limit.

The arena had been prepared, and the atmosphere at the venue was whipped up into an increasingly feverish pitch by the bunny-girl host.

On the hanging big screen, the avatars of the two fighters entering the arena for the first round began to flash rapidly. After settling and freezing in place after a few seconds, nearly everyone's gaze locked onto the screen.

The first weapons combat match:

Park Jeong-sin versus Xu Hu.

Western Fencing versus Ghost-Head Broadsword.

Park Jeong-sin gently flicked the stray locks of hair from his forehead, looking back with absolute confidence: "Elegance never goes out of style."

Song Ren: "..."