As night approached, the noise of voices from outside grew louder and deeper into the warehouse where Li was. Occasionally, shouts of joy or anger echoed through the hall, likely as more bettors lost their money while others scored big in the opening fights.
KNOCK KNOCK
Two strong knocks came from the direction of the door.
"Kid, you in there? Come on, it's almost time for your fight," Gordon's voice snapped Jihan's mind out of deeper thoughts.
He was sitting on his bed, staring at the floor, mentally preparing.
"What is this feeling?" he thought. "Stage fright? ... No."
Li was never one to shy away from a challenge, even when things got rough, his hands always sorted everything out.
"Let it be... it's just another fight... isn't it?" Rising, he went to the door and opened it. The light blinded his eyes, and when he finally adjusted to the brightness, he was surprised by the number of people milling around.
"The old man really did a fantastic job this time, don't you agree?" the man next to Li said.
Thousands of people walked through the halls, waiting for the main event.
"He sure did," Li agreed. "So, Gordon, do you think I have good chances today?"
With his nearly two meters, the security guard made Jihan look small, even though he was over 1.80 meters.
"That's a good question," Gordon replied, rubbing his chin.
"How come... wait, what? I thought you had more confidence in me! What happened?"
Li was surprised; despite everything, when it came to fighting, Gordon, who had worked there for a long time, was basically one of his fans.
"I can't be sure, but I mean, Tai Lung must have plucked this other guy from the depths of hell," Gordon shrugged, not having much to say. "I've never seen him in my life."
"Hm... you're usually well-informed, are you losing your touch? Old age must be catching up with you, big guy!"
"Tsk."
"Don't speak as if I'm some kind of councilman, kid," the security guard said, clicking his tongue. "Anyway, I'd be very careful if I were you. From what little I know, this guy is pretty dangerous."
Jihan, still somewhat skeptical, thought Gordon was just trying to scare him for fun.
"What kind of dangerous are you talking about? You know, I've dealt with uglier guys than beating up their mothers..."
"Like the type who beat up the driver who brought him here for braking too abruptly," Gordon interrupted. "Li... you better take this more seriously this time, I'm not kidding."
Taking a deep breath, Jihan replied, "Interesting... I'll warm up; let's see what this guy is made of."
And then, he headed towards the punching bags in the corner of the hall.
"That kid... I might be crazy, but I swear he seems even more excited now..." Gordon, a little concerned, just watched him run.
As Li warmed up, time passed quickly. The hall, which was already full, gradually became packed. When the climax of the night arrived, a large man stepped onto the stage and grabbed a microphone.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!"
The audience slowly fell silent. All eyes in the crowd turned towards the stage.
"I hope you've all had fun until now! After a long wait... The great fight of the night is finally about to BEGIN!"
As Tai Lung finished the first sentence, the crowd suddenly went wild.
"On one side... the champion of the house... the untouchable... in a sequence of EIGHTEEN CON...SEC...UT...IVE victories! The Leopard! LI JIHAN!"
Cheers erupted again as a young man about 1.80 meters tall walked onto the stage. Displaying his speed and agility to the crowd; quick and lethal punches, a man who always aimed for the vital points of his targets. Jihan stepped into the arena.
"On the other side... the challenger! Unknown in the fighting world and debuting in competitive soil! THE BEAST! JI...AN HOOOOOOOOOONG!"
As Tai Lung shouted the newcomer's name, the crowd booed. However, a small malicious smile appeared on the corner of his face.
The booing continued until gradually, as the man stepped onto the stage, it quieted down. The reason for the slow silence that was created was the man himself. Standing seemingly over six feet tall, calling him a bear wouldn't be far off.
The attention his large muscles generated was second only to the maniacal look in his eyes. His eyes didn't seem like a man's but like a beast's.
Some spectators looked at the "little" Li with pity. Others did the same, but for the concern of having bet on the wrong guy. Both, however, were met with a wide smile, trembling with excitement.
"What a crazy guy," Gordon thought.
One person, however, saw things differently.
"He's on point, it's like he's about to burst with excitement... but..." Jhin looked at the kid's opponent. "You better not see this as a typical fight, Li... you have a huge obstacle... what are you going to do now?"
As the teacher made his analysis, the two approached each other in the middle of the arena.
"I'm going to wipe that smile off your face, kid," without expressing any emotion, the big man's words seemed more like a warning than a threat.
"I'm looking forward to it," Li just smiled.
"Jihan... don't forget what I told you" Whispering, Tai Lung made sure to remind him.
"You can be sure I haven't forgotten a single word, sir," he replied.
"Good boy..."
Returning to the microphone, he announced.
"FIGHTERS! In your positions! 3... 2... 1... FIGHT!"
Hong immediately charged towards the kid, trying to finish him off quickly with a single blow. Dodging downwards, Li delivered two jabs in succession to the giant's stomach.
"Hard?" The thought crossed Jihan's mind as he instinctively jumped back, creating some distance from the gorilla. The man just laughed, mocking.
"Kid, with that little force, you won't hurt me at all!"
The man leaped towards Li, trying to hit him with his right; responding to the attack, Li dodged to the left, delivering another jab, this time to Jian's chin.
"THERE WE GO!"
Hong, using his extended right arm, took advantage of Li's positioning, who had just moved away to hit him, delivering an elbow to his belly.
GASP
Unprepared for the blow, Jihan felt a twinge in his stomach, making him spit gastric juice. He immediately jumped back, again trying to create some distance to catch his breath.
"Is this guy a monster!? He doesn't seem to have felt anything!"
"What's wrong, kid!? Where's that smile you had just now gone?"
Not giving him a chance to breathe, the beast relentlessly went after Li, closing the distance every time it was created.
"Right, right... if I can't beat him with brute force, I just need to win on stamina... if I keep making him circle around the ar..."
"IT WON'T WORK!"
Using his entire arm as a hook to cover a larger area, Jian hit Li, who used both arms to defend himself.
"It may not hurt as much, but I know that sooner or later you'll slip up... and when it does... I won't let it slide, kid!"
As time passed, Li found himself in more and more trouble. The fight continued, round after round, the process repeating, and it seemed that the only one getting hurt was Jihan himself.
Despite appearances, Hong was fighting patiently, intending to exhaust his opponent.
Even while avoiding heavy blows, between straights, jabs, elbows, and various other blows, the constant physical and mental wear of not being directly hit sapped his strength slowly.
"This bastard..."
On the other hand, his opponent was only slightly injured but seemed to care little.
"Am I going to lose like this? I can't just let it end like this..." with the increasing pressure, thinking became increasingly difficult.
As the gong rang again, starting the next round, Li received a blow directly to his face.
And he hit the ground.
The lights blurred, the sounds seemed to reverberate in his head, which spun heavily.
Hong walked over and stopped in front of him, the big man whispered words that pierced Jihan's dizziness.
"Pathetic... I guess I overestimated you... you lack will..."
"Will... in me? Wasn't I fighting with the will to win?"
For the first time in the fight, Li felt a growing hatred.
"What does this worm know about me!?"
But it wasn't for his opponent, but for himself. Deep down, he knew that Hong wasn't wrong.
In the corner of his fading vision, a man was smiling. In suit and tie, Tai Lung stared at him lying on the ground.
"Damn it... I would never win fighting with half the intention of winning..."
Li closed his eyes.
"Maybe my place is just rotting here."
And he settled.
"I should just acce..."
Silence took over his ears.
...
...
...
"GET UP!"
A female voice echoed in Jihan's mind, and he immediately reopened his eyes.
"That voice..."
"DON'T YOU DARE LOSE AGAIN, LI JIHAN!"
Raising his head as much as he could, he searched for the source of the voice.
"I... I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU IF YOU LOSE AGAIN!"
And suddenly, the feelings he felt in the casino revisited him... but this time, the pain didn't affect him, his senses, too stunned to feel a 'headache', remained unaffected.
Li stood up.
"Do you still have energy?" Hong, who was facing away, ready to step down from the stage, taunted, turning around. "Let's continue this fight, then."
"Continue?" spitting the blood in his mouth, Li replied, "I don't have time to waste here, let's finish this quickly! I'll end this with two blows!"
"HAHAHA, TWO PUNCHES? Blood must have rushed to your head, KID!" Jian Hong mocked, charging at Li with all his speed.
As the giant approached, Jihan remained calm. His eyes were focused like never before. His ears didn't catch any sound coming from outside the stage. He knew exactly what to do.
"I never said they would be punches."
Taking advantage of the man's movement, Li spun his entire body to deliver a kick to Hong's moving knee.
Caught off guard by the sudden change in attitude, the giant lost his balance.
Using the speed of the large falling body, clenching his fist tightly and flexing all the muscles in his back...
"AAAAAAAAAAA"
...He struck in the opposite direction of the fall, with all his might, a hook to Hong's jaw.
The beast instantly blacked out before even hitting the ground.
For a minute, silence dominated the space.
Only his breathing was heard.
HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
The crowd went wild, a turnaround, practically a miracle, had just happened before the audience's eyes.
Only one person was about to explode with anger.