Riverfront Tower, with its twenty-one floors, was utterly unremarkable among the many office buildings and industrial complexes in Luojin City.
However, in the world of underground boxing, Riverfront Tower is known across the globe.
On the surface, Riverfront Tower appears to be a fitness and entertainment center, but in reality, it houses a top-tier underground boxing arena. The renowned Peace Arena of China is located right here.
Underground boxing isn’t always held below ground, but Riverfront Tower’s matches truly take place underground.
The underground boxing arena beneath Riverfront Tower is not only vast, but also fully equipped with top-notch facilities. Here, you can witness the most thrilling bouts and enjoy the finest luxuries.
At this moment, on the boxing ring, a tall, muscular fighter was battling fiercely against a seemingly frail opponent.
Around the ring, at least two or three hundred people shouted and cheered wildly. As blood splattered from the fighters on stage, the crowd’s excitement only grew more frenzied.
In a private box above the ring, a man in a short-sleeved golden shirt watched the fierce battle below, his brows slightly furrowed. What others saw as a spectacular fight, he considered a drop in competition quality.
A long-haired young man walked to the box door and gently knocked. After receiving permission, he entered cautiously, bowed, and spoke in a low voice, "Boss Sheng, Shawn Hill has been missing for seven hours."
The man in the golden shirt, who had been frowning, turned to stare at the young man at the door and spoke in a low voice, "Did Shawn Hill go to retrieve something?"
"Yes. At the time, Sherry Shi was carrying the gravely injured Fei Qi away, and I instructed Shawn Hill to finish the job cleanly before six o'clock and bring back the item. But after six, we lost all contact with him. Since his disappearance, we've been searching for his whereabouts, but so far, there's been no news." The young man replied respectfully.
"Issue the Peace Arena warrant immediately—Shawn Hill is now wanted. Also, find out where Sherry Shi went, dead or alive. And I want to see the item Shawn Hill took, intact." The man set down his yellow wine and spoke calmly.
"Yes, Boss Sheng." The long-haired youth bowed and retreated quickly, knowing well that the calmer Boss Sheng sounded, the angrier he truly was.
Shawn Hill had always been Sir Sheng’s right-hand man, so it was no wonder he was furious that Shawn would run off for something Sherry Shi carried.
As for Shawn Hill being killed, that was simply impossible. Shawn was Boss Sheng's most capable enforcer; if Fei Qi hadn’t been wounded, maybe he could’ve handled Shawn. But with Fei Qi shot and badly hurt, the idea of Sherry Shi taking down Shawn was laughable.
......
"Brother Qi (Qi-ge), you're awake?" In the darkness, Sherry Shi heard movement nearby and exclaimed with delight.
"Where is this?" came a weak, slightly hoarse voice.
Sherry Shi quickly replied, "We're in a sewer in Luojin City. Boss Sheng's men are watching too closely—I don't dare leave Luojin."
"My gunshot wound..." The man instinctively touched the spot where he’d been shot.
Sherry Shi quickly said, "We were lucky. At Tan's Apricot Hall, we met a highly skilled surgeon who removed the bullet for you."
"Ah... no, this is bad..." The man suddenly remembered something and cried out.
"What's wrong, Brother Qi (Qi-ge)?" Sherry Shi quickly supported him.
"That doctor saved my life, but he was probably killed by Boss Sheng’s men." The man seemed to realize things were beyond saving, his tone calming but filled with guilt.
After saying this, the man frowned, puzzled. Why had they waited for Sherry Shi to find a place to treat him? Logically, she should have been intercepted and killed before she even got there.
Even if they were a step late and let Sherry Shi find help, they should have killed the doctor, then gone after her and me—how did we end up hiding in the sewers?
"No way. No one noticed me coming or going. Boss Sheng's people definitely don’t know." Sherry Shi quickly reassured him.
Even while unconscious, the man was clearer than Sherry Shi; as she carried him out of Riverfront Tower, someone was already watching them.
The man shook his head, then after a moment sighed, "You don’t understand Boss Sheng. What he wants is the Daxing Manual. Honestly, the moment I stepped onto the Peace Arena, I never expected to survive—I just dragged you into this. And I involved that doctor too. What puzzles me is, after killing the doctor, why didn’t they come after you, or take the Daxing Manual from me..."
He paused, then suddenly realized, "I get it now—someone wanted to keep the Daxing Manual for themselves, behind Boss Sheng’s back."
......
Once Felix Yu left, Joe Di took out the booklet, Secrets of the Martial King. It was written by Ethan Di, the only Martial King in Di Family history. Joe had originally planned to read it after mastering the Sixth Blade of the Di Family Seven Blades.
But after hearing Felix Yu’s words, he decided to open the booklet early.
On the very first page, it read: If you are not a direct descendant of the Di Family, put this book down. Di Family bloodline—open with a drop of blood.
Turning the page, Joe discovered that all the subsequent pages were stuck together, impossible to open.
Joe Di sliced his finger with a scalpel, letting a drop of blood fall onto the first page. For a moment, he thought his eyes were playing tricks—faint yellow light glowed from the page, and then he could easily turn to the next one.
"After mastering all seven blades, I believed this was one of the most powerful martial arts in the Yalen Continent, so I named it the Di Family Seven Blades. Only when I achieved the Seventh Blade and entered the Martial King realm at Great Nirvana Mountain, did I obtain a Dao cultivation manual and realize how narrow my view had been...
Joe Di was shocked—he knew Great Nirvana Mountain well, tens of thousands of miles from Jade Nation. It was the most perilous primeval mountain range in the Yalen Continent; even Martial Kings faced death there. Legend had it that Ethan Di, the Di Family ancestor, was gravely wounded there and vanished after returning, never to be seen again.
Now, seeing the record in Secrets of the Martial King, Joe finally understood the story was true—Ethan Di really had been gravely wounded at Great Nirvana Mountain.
"The strongest Dao cultivators can soar through the skies, traverse the earth, shatter the heavens with a gesture, and possess endless vitality..."
Joe Di drew a sharp breath—did this mean immortality, and the ability to fly without any aircraft? His heart burned with excitement. Before, he might have doubted it, but after experiencing the events with his past life's body, what else could he not believe?
"The Dao cultivation method I obtained is the Whirling Flame Formula, which requires a fire attribute foundation. Testing for a fire attribute is simple: those who master the First Blade of the Di Family Seven Blades, if their true energy enters through the Central Marsh Point (Zhongze, an acupuncture point on the wrist) and, after one cycle, exits via the Small Intestine Meridian (Hand Taiyang), have a fire attribute foundation. Otherwise, cultivation is pointless..."
Reading this, Joe Di let his true energy enter through the Central Marsh Point (Zhongze), but no matter how he circulated it, it couldn’t exit via the Small Intestine Meridian (Hand Taiyang).
His heart sank; he realized he didn’t have a fire attribute foundation. According to the Di Family ancestor Ethan Di, cultivating this technique was meaningless for him.
"The Di Family Seven Blades are immensely powerful. If you can cultivate the Whirling Flame Formula, use the Seven Blades as a supplementary blade art. After establishing my foundation with the Whirling Flame Formula, I left this manual and departed from the Di Family..."
The rest included diagrams of energy flow, but Joe Di wasn’t interested—he just wanted to know his own foundation. After learning that Dao cultivation could allow flight and even immortality, how could he contain his desire and ambition?
It seemed this Dao cultivation method was just what Felix Yu, the Fox, had called an immortal technique. Since Celestia had immortal arts, if he wanted to cultivate, he had to go to Celestia.