"This guy probably wouldn’t fight a battle he wasn’t confident in."
With that thought, Long Shi suddenly felt reassured. He had some understanding of what the Iron Forest competition was like. In many cases, what determined victory, defeat, or even life and death wasn’t just strength—it was also strategy.
Someone who could achieve unprecedented glory there was definitely not some reckless brute who relied solely on martial arts—Long Shi could bet his life on that.
Meanwhile, Yan Bao had already stepped onto the擂台.
"Sir, may I ask your name?"
Wang Fei suppressed his nervousness, holding the list as he cautiously approached Yan Bao.
"Yan Bao."
Wang Fei quickly scanned the list and nodded after a few seconds.
"Then the match may begin."
Wang Fei hurriedly left the擂台. The moment his foot cleared the iron net, Yan Bao vanished from his original spot.
"This time, I won’t let you dodge again."
The instant he made his move, Yan Bao unleashed his full strength. The moment his figure disappeared, the pupils of both the South China Tiger and Long Shi on the high platform constricted sharply.
This aura—it was terrifyingly strong!
To be precise, both of them sensed that the aura Yan Bao revealed in that split second was stronger than theirs!
How could an expert like this stoop to being a mere bodyguard for some second-rate family’s young master?
The same thought flashed through both their minds, though Long Shi’s was soon overtaken by worry.
Though it seemed like a long process, everything happened in the blink of an eye. From the moment Yan Bao disappeared to the moment he finished speaking, only a few seconds had passed.
By the time his words fully registered, he was already standing behind Li Zhonglou.
Realizing this, Long Shi’s expression changed drastically.
Yet in the next moment, his face froze in shock.
**Boom!**
Yan Bao, his expression icy, was suddenly sent flying by a massive fist. His body slammed violently into the iron net—this time, the net couldn’t withstand the impact. Thumb-sized steel rivets burst loose, and Yan Bao’s body tore straight through the net, crashing into the crowd below.
"Holy shit!"
The spectators scattered in panic. Yan Bao’s body skidded across the ground before rolling several times and finally lying motionless.
Silence. Once again, the entire arena fell into silence.
At least with Li Li a few minutes ago, they had seen Li Zhonglou throw a punch. But this time? Nothing!
All they heard was a deafening impact, and then Yan Bao was sent flying.
What the hell just happened? I’m completely dumbfounded!
The crowd stared at Li Zhonglou with dazed expressions, desperate for some clue.
"How is he this strong?"
But even Li Zhonglou himself was stunned.
"This is the effect of the Stone Soul’s trait—a 100% amplification," Old An explained.
"Soul traits? What’s that?"
"Deal with the current situation first. I’ll explain later." Old An didn’t elaborate, instead withdrawing the Stone Soul’s power.
Feeling the surge of strength fade from his body, Li Zhonglou couldn’t help but sigh.
"Tch. Plans never survive contact with reality."
The reason for this situation traced back to a minute earlier.
When Li Zhonglou had chosen Yan Bao as his opponent, Old An suddenly spoke in his mind, asking if he wanted to experience the true effect of soul possession.
Being his first time trying something like this, Li Zhonglou was naturally curious and agreed without hesitation.
But he never expected that when the Stone Soul fully merged with his body and took control, the resulting power would be so terrifying!
That punch just now was twice as strong as his peak strength!
To outsiders, it might not have seemed like much—after all, the punch was too fast to follow. But as the one experiencing it, Li Zhonglou could clearly feel the air distorting as the fist tore through it.
It was absolutely unreal!
*Ahem!*
While the crowd was still in shock, Li Zhonglou suddenly coughed lightly, drawing everyone’s attention.
Then, under the gaze of the entire arena, he clutched his chest, dropped to one knee, and began coughing violently.
*Cough cough cough!*
The coughing was so intense it sounded almost *agonizing*, leaving the spectators stunned.
It was only then that Liu Qiang snapped back to reality.
"Shen Er!"
His face pale, Liu Qiang shoved through the crowd and rushed toward Yan Bao.
Though some were roughly pushed aside, no one blamed him. Instead, they watched his retreating figure with complex expressions of pity.
"Isn’t he from the Liu family? That bodyguard was at least gold-tier, if not higher. What a shame..."
"He just ran into someone even stronger..."
Though the crowd didn’t fully grasp what had happened, the result was clear.
Judging by the aura, Yan Bao was clearly stronger than Li Li—yet he’d still been sent flying by Li Zhonglou’s punch. So even if they didn’t know Li Zhonglou’s exact strength, they could easily rank the three matches:
Ma San couldn’t beat Li Li.
Li Li couldn’t beat Yan Bao.
Yan Bao couldn’t beat Li Zhonglou.
Simple as that.
Now, seeing Li Zhonglou coughing violently on the擂台, the crowd came to a realization: this guy must have used some kind of secret technique repeatedly to achieve this level of power!
"But even so, he’s undeniably a top-tier expert!"
"He doesn’t even look that old. Where did he learn these skills?"
"Your perspective is too narrow. At a time like this, you’re still trying to dig into his background? Me? I just want to apprentice under him! Senior Li, take me as your disciple!"
"Damn, you sneaky bastard! Senior Li, I want to be your disciple too!"
As the议论 grew louder, the crowd finally snapped out of their daze. Almost everyone was now shouting "Senior Li!"
Meanwhile, Yan Bao—who had just been revived by Liu Qiang after collapsing—heard the commotion and felt another surge of blood rush to his throat. With a final groan, he passed out again.
Whether it was from anger or sheer humiliation, only he knew.
The only person left in the entire venue who still held hostility toward Li Zhonglou was Shen Yi, Liu Qiang’s other bodyguard, who stood frozen in place.
As for Jiang Jiaxing and Li Li, they had long since left for the medical room.
"Xiao Li, your friend is *insanely* strong, isn’t he?"
Hua Yin, who had always held some inexplicable grudge against Li Zhonglou, now completely changed her opinion of him.
Yali Li, however, looked entirely unsurprised, letting out a relieved sigh.
"If it’s Brother Li, nothing is strange."
Hua Yin’s brow suddenly furrowed. She noticed the unmistakable look of *worship* in Yali Li’s eyes as she spoke.