Ma Tengfei broke out in a cold sweat, realizing he had fallen for Liu Tiezhu's trick.
That kind of excruciating pain could only be achieved by breaking through his Iron Shirt defense.
This was the first time he had felt such intense pain since mastering his Iron Shirt technique.
What made it worse was that the pain was intensifying, making it hard for him to breathe.
"What's going on? Why is Ma Tengfei just standing there?"
"Is he planning to toy with that kid?"
"He must be toying with him. Didn't you see the kid hit Ma Tengfei's lower abdomen?"
The onlookers stared blankly at Liu Tiezhu and Ma Tengfei, buzzing with chatter.
"K...kid, you... you damn tricked me."
Ma Tengfei raised a trembling hand, pointing at Liu Tiezhu as he spoke with difficulty.
"Realizing it now? Too late."
Liu Tiezhu responded with a smile, then swung his right leg with a sharp gust of wind, slamming it viciously toward Ma Tengfei's temple.
Bang...
A dull, heavy thud rang out. Ma Tengfei's face twisted in agony, and his body flew backward from the immense force.
Whoosh...
All the spectators shot to their feet.
What happened? Ma Tengfei got kicked flying?
They stared wide-eyed, expressions of disbelief on their faces.
Zhang Zhiliang was shocked: "This kid really is playing the fool to hide his strength."
Jiang He laughed wildly: "I never thought this kid would be so clever, using a trick to fool Ma Tengfei."
"Now it's Ma Tengfei's turn to be in danger."
Judging by Ma Tengfei's face, he was clearly badly injured.
Since he was injured, it meant his Iron Shirt defense had been broken.
Without his Iron Shirt protecting him, Ma Tengfei's combat power would take a huge hit.
On the other side, Ming Zhenglong paused for a moment, then taunted Ming Tianfeng beside him: "Second Brother, this Blood Combat vice-captain of yours isn't much, is he?"
"Can't even beat a newcomer—how did he get promoted to vice-captain?"
He hadn't been optimistic about Liu Tiezhu either.
It wasn't until Ma Tengfei was knocked to the ground that he snapped out of it, realizing those first two punches from Liu Tiezhu were just tests.
Now that Ma Tengfei was down, it was his turn to take a jab at Ming Tianfeng.
Ming Tianfeng's face darkened as he replied: "Third Brother, what's the rush?"
"The real show's just starting. It's not decided yet who'll win."
He still refused to believe Ma Tengfei would lose to Liu Tiezhu.
After all, he had seen Ma Tengfei's strength firsthand—even a thirty-pound rock hitting him didn't faze him.
In his view, Liu Tiezhu kicking Ma Tengfei down was pure luck.
Back on the arena, Ma Tengfei rolled aside as soon as he hit the ground.
He knew Liu Tiezhu wouldn't give him a chance to catch his breath.
The moment he dodged, a dull thud echoed in his ears.
It was the force from Liu Tiezhu's kick.
Ma Tengfei was startled and braced his arms to counterattack.
But as soon as he exerted himself, a searing pain like knives slicing his guts shot through his lower abdomen.
"Kid, you're too despicable, hitting my pressure points."
Ma Tengfei's face contorted as he pointed at Liu Tiezhu and roared in fury.
"Realizing it now? Too late."
Liu Tiezhu shot back, then lunged forward like a cheetah.
Just before reaching Ma Tengfei, he spun his entire body 360 degrees, swung his right leg in a wide arc, and aimed it again at Ma Tengfei's temple.
The move was lightning-fast, completed in almost a single breath.
Ma Tengfei, crippled by the pain in his lower abdomen, couldn't dodge and had to grit his teeth and take it.
Bang...
The kick landed solidly on Ma Tengfei's right temple, turning his eyes bloodshot red.
Ma Tengfei felt the world spin, then his legs gave out, and he dropped to his knees with a thud.
Silence fell over the crowd. Everyone stared with wide eyes and open mouths, frozen like statues.
"Holy crap, that's brutal."
"Ma Tengfei got taken down?"
"This kid's amazing."
"..."
After a few dozen seconds of quiet, exclamations erupted from all sides.
Especially the Ming family higher-ups watching—they still hadn't snapped out of their stupor.
Based on their earlier assumptions, this fight was supposed to be a one-sided stomp.
Ma Tengfei's strength was obvious; there was no way a newcomer like Liu Tiezhu could shake him.
But now the outcome was the exact opposite.
The seemingly ferocious Ma Tengfei had been taken down by Liu Tiezhu in just a few moves.
Ma Tengfei hadn't expected this ending either.
He convulsed wildly, trying to force himself back up.
But the searing pain in his head drained every ounce of strength.
His eyes itched, and he raised a trembling hand to rub them, only to find his fingers covered in blood.
Besides his eyes, blood was also streaming from his ears and nose.
How much force did it take to kick Ma Tengfei into bleeding from seven orifices?
The sight turned the spectators' faces pale as they sucked in sharp breaths.
Thud...
After struggling for a moment, Ma Tengfei collapsed face-first, unwilling to the end.
Dead?
Everyone was stunned again, their gazes shifting as they looked at Liu Tiezhu.
Killing a Blood Combat vice-captain—that kind of skill could earn him a spot in the Ming family's upper ranks.
"This kid's got some real skills. Today wasn't a waste."
"Once he gets assigned a position, I'm buying him a drink."
Ming Tianhai laughed heartily, not caring about Ming Tianfeng's sour expression.
The others looked on with envy when they heard that.
Ming Tianhai buying a drink meant Liu Tiezhu could skip a few years of struggle from now on.
"Daring to kill a Blood Combat vice-captain—a heinous crime."
"You three, go down and kill him."
Ming Tianfeng paused for a moment, then directly issued the order.
At this point, Ming Tianfeng was consumed by rage and no longer cared about the rules.
Liu Tiezhu was just a nobody anyway—killing him required no explanation.
"Ming Tianfeng, you dare?"
Ming Zhenglong roared in anger, immediately blocking Ming Tianfeng's path.
Now that Liu Tiezhu had proven his worth, he had to protect him.
But the three men behind Ming Tianfeng paid no heed to Ming Zhenglong.
At the command, they charged down immediately.
"Damn it, they're going for a dirty move."
"We can't let Liu Tiezhu get taken out."
Zhang Zhiliang's face darkened as he prepared to rush down too.
Jiang He, quick-eyed, grabbed him and pulled him back.
"Hold on. Let's see this kid's real fighting skills first."
"If things go south, the three of us will step in together."
Hearing this, Zhang Zhiliang stopped.
On the arena, the three men formed a triangle, surrounding Liu Tiezhu in the center.
Without a word, the four of them launched into battle.
Liu Tiezhu knew he couldn't hold back any longer.
From the aura radiating off the three, they were definitely top-tier fighters.
So this fight, he had to go all out.
Bang...
A dull thud echoed in front of Liu Tiezhu.
Chen Gang, charging in front, struck first, his fist aimed straight at Liu Tiezhu's face.
Zhou Huaiyang on the left swept a kick toward Liu Tiezhu's waist.
Zhang Xiaoli on the right punched at Liu Tiezhu's back.
The three moved in perfect sync, sealing off Liu Tiezhu's upper, middle, and lower paths in one go.