Magic City, underground.
This is the "Flesh and Blood Arena."
In the air, the stench of sweat, blood, and cheap alcohol mixed into a nauseating yet incredibly stimulating aroma… A massive ring was set up here.
Two fighters were engaged in a primal struggle.
No rules, no mercy.
The dull thud of fists on bone each time caused the crowd below to erupt in a frenzied roar, like a mountain collapsing and a tsunami raging.
It was in this den of iniquity that three figures quietly entered.
Ren Shitou was the first.
He made no attempt to conceal himself; the powerful aura, solid as iron, emanating from him instantly caused the surrounding clamor to pause.
Countless gazes, all at once, fell upon him.
Ren Shitou ignored these gazes.
His eyes were fixed directly on the exclusive VIP box, partitioned with thick steel plates, deep within the arena.
That was the "Butcher's" lair.
Meanwhile, at the highest point of the venue, in the shadows of intricate ventilation pipes and steel beams.
A figure hung there silently.
Jueying!
He was like a hawk perched on a cliff, calmly monitoring everything below with his emotionless eyes.
And in an even deeper, more inconspicuous corner.
In the most crowded and chaotic part of the throng, a Fat Man was struggling to squeeze through.
Chi Baobao.
He was disguised as an ordinary chef who had come to watch the excitement, wearing a low-brimmed baseball cap, trying hard to hide himself.
However, the eyes hidden in the shadow of his cap betrayed him.
In them, an uncontrollable glint of greed flickered.
His gaze was fixed on the bloody struggle in the arena.
His Adam's apple bobbed uncontrollably, like a beast that had been hungry for three days and three nights, waiting… for dinner.
Every cell in his body was screaming silently.
Hungry.
So hungry… Ren Shitou ignored all the thugs who tried to stop him.
Those usually ferocious enforcers, in the face of his almost tangible oppressive presence, didn't even have the courage to reach out.
He walked step by step to the door of the massive steel VIP box.
No unnecessary words.
He took a deep breath, and the muscles in his right arm instantly swelled, veins coiling like dragons and snakes.
A simple, unadorned straight punch, launched with full force!
"Dong—!"
A deafening roar!
That thick steel door, capable of withstanding bullets, was actually dented inwards and deformed by his punch, and spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the wall around the doorframe!
"Butcher!"
"Get out here and die!"
No sooner had he spoken.
"Boom!"
The deformed steel door was kicked open from inside with an even more violent force!
A terrifying figure, half a head taller than Ren Shitou, emerged from the dark doorway.
He was bald, his face and body covered with hideous, centipede-like scars… In his hand, he carried a huge, heavy boning knife, its blade still stained with dark red blood.
He was the "Butcher."
The holder of the [Gourmand System].
The Butcher's gaze fell on Ren Shitou.
He extended his crimson tongue, slowly licking his chapped lips, and in his murky eyes, a fanaticism erupted, as if he had seen the finest ingredient.
"A running dog of Tianming Pavilion?"
He grinned, revealing a set of teeth stained yellowish-brown from smoking.
"No… the scent on you is sweeter than those wastes…"
"It's been so long, so long since I've tasted such fresh food!"
The next second.
Both moved simultaneously!
No fancy techniques, no tentative maneuvering.
It was the most primal, most brutal, most violent clash of power!
"Bang!"
Ren Shitou's fist and the Butcher's boning knife slammed together with full force!
The deafening clang of metal, accompanied by a violent shockwave, swept outwards!
The arena floor beneath their feet instantly cracked into pieces, forming a huge crater!
Just the first exchange made everyone feel a suffocating pressure!
Ren Shitou's strength and resilience had reached a monstrous level.
Every punch he threw was heavy and powerful, whistling through the air as if to explode it!
The Butcher was equally formidable; his boning knife swung wide and open, every strike aimed at Ren Shitou's vital points, as fierce as a demon from hell!
The two fought from the center of the arena to the edge, and then back from the edge to the center; the entire massive arena groaned under their brutalization, as if it could collapse at any moment.
But very quickly, a strange change occurred in the battle.
The Butcher's Gourmand System began to show its power!
"Pfft!"
His boning knife sliced open a bloody wound on Ren Shitou's arm.
The Butcher didn't dodge, allowing Ren Shitou to land a punch on his chest, then he lunged forward, extended his tongue, and greedily bit into the wound!
Ren Shitou felt a wisp of his vital energy being drawn out by an invisible force!
In contrast, the Butcher's chest, which had been caved in by the punch, was recovering at a visible rate!
"Hehehehe… Delicious!"
The Butcher let out a joyful, strange laugh.
His fighting style became increasingly underhanded and bizarre.
Each attack allowed him to draw on Ren Shitou's vital energy to replenish himself.
Each injury, as long as he licked blood, whether his own or the opponent's, could heal rapidly!
With this ebb and flow, Ren Shitou gradually fell into a disadvantage.
High above, Jueying's brows furrowed tightly; he had already placed his hand on the short blade at his waist, ready to intervene at any moment.
And in the corner.
Chi Baobao watched the Butcher's strange ability to "devour flesh and blood," and his breathing became heavier and more rapid.
Every cell in his body was screaming madly, yearning hysterically!
That's it!
That's the feeling!
Eat!
Eat him!
Just as Ren Shitou was about to be completely suppressed and in dire straits.
He let out an unwilling roar of fury!
"Ah ah ah—!"
Blood Frenzy!
The system's alert sounded in his mind!
In an instant, his eyes turned crimson, and his aura surged several times over!
He abandoned all defense, choosing the most brutal fighting style—trading injuries!
"Die!"
Ren Shitou stubbornly endured a slash from the Butcher's knife aimed at his chest, letting the sharp boning knife cut open his chest, spilling a gush of hot blood!
At the same time, his punch, imbued with all his strength, landed squarely on the Butcher's arm!
"Crack!"
The crisp sound of bones shattering was clearly audible!
The Butcher's thick arm was shattered by his punch!
At this moment of flying blood… a drop of blood, containing the domineering aura of the King of Berserkers, traced a perfect arc through the air.
It landed, precisely, on Chi Baobao's face in the crowd!
The moment that drop of blood touched his skin.
Chi Baobao trembled violently!
The virus within him was completely activated by this drop of "flavor" from a "Heavenly Mandate" ingredient!
He almost instinctively, uncontrollably, lightly licked the drop of blood on his face!
Boom—!
This was ten thousand times more delicious than the prehistoric mammoth meat he had once tasted!
A hundred million times!
His system interface was frantically refreshing before his eyes!
[WARNING! DETECTED 'HEAVENLY MANDATE' LEVEL INGREDIENT!]
[PATCH ACTIVATED!]
[DEVOURING THIS TARGET'S FLESH AND BLOOD WILL PERMANENTLY ACQUIRE ITS TRAITS!]
Chi Baobao's eyes, hidden beneath the brim of his cap, instantly turned crimson!
He stared intently at the two "giants" battling fiercely in a bloody struggle in the arena.
In his eyes, they were no longer people.
But two… walking, fatally fragrant… top-tier dishes!
…In the study of Lu Family Manor.
The drone's live feed presented everything from the underground arena clearly before Lu Cheng.
The footage precisely captured the moment Chi Baobao's expression changed.
That transition from fear to greed, and then to the madness of being completely consumed by desire, was recorded with perfect clarity.
Lu Cheng picked up the coffee from the table, and facing the screen, revealed a smile of extreme satisfaction.
"The feast has begun."