Chapter 52: Stone-to-Gold Transformation
Chapter 52: Chapter 52: Stone-to-Gold Transformation
"Feng Yuxiu—wins!!!"
The referee’s loud announcement brought a moment of absolute silence to the noisy arena, followed immediately by a tsunami of roars and cheers!
"He actually won!"
"Sea Dog’s undefeated streak is broken!"
"Fuck, I lost again betting on the safe favorite! From now on, I’m blindly betting on Feng Yuxiu."
"That punch... was something else."
The audience knew Sea Dog would lose someday, but witnessing the Geta Club’s "number one turtle shield" get shattered head-on was still incredibly exhilarating. Tips in the form of banknotes rained down into the iron cage like snowflakes from all directions. Most landed at Fang Chen’s feet, and the amount was noticeably larger than before.
Fang Chen’s expression remained calm. He cupped his fists in a salute to the surrounding audience before turning around and walking out of the cage.
Returning to the preparation area, he carefully recalled the battle. Sea Dog was undoubtedly a master within the True Martial Realm. Coupled with his cowardly fighting style and his sole focus on forcing a draw, very few could defeat him head-on.
Not long after, familiar footsteps echoed as the coordinator responsible for prize money settlement walked in.
"Mr. Feng, congratulations! What a fantastic match!" he said, handing over a thick envelope. "You successfully defeated Sea Dog, a fighter valued at fifty thousand.
"You earned triple points. You previously had six points, and with an additional nine, your total is now fifteen. According to club rules, starting from your next match, your official value will be adjusted to thirty thousand!
"This is your prize money for this match. The base victory bonus is twenty thousand, plus your share of the audience’s tips, which comes to four thousand three hundred and twenty. The grand total is twenty-four thousand three hundred and twenty yuan. Please count it to verify."
"Alright." Fang Chen took the envelope and carefully counted the bills one by one. "It’s correct."
He safely tucked the money away.
With his task complete, the coordinator politely took his leave.
Left alone in the room, Fang Chen finally began to carefully calculate his current funds.
"The Li Family Village crowdfunded two hundred thousand. Fourth Aunt gave me twenty thousand plus ten thousand, making thirty thousand. My three matches at the Gela Club brought in around sixty-seven thousand. Luo Wu paid thirty thousand in apprenticeship fees, Tianlang yielded fifteen thousand, and the Martial Arts Association rewarded me with fifty thousand. Then, minus the ten thousand yuan deposit...
"In total, it’s roughly three hundred and eighty thousand. I’m still short by one hundred and twenty thousand."
Fang Chen frowned slightly. There was only one week left until the Martial Arts Exam registration.
Here at the Geta Club, to ensure the fighters’ condition and the quality of the matches, they were strictly required to rest for at least three to four days after every bout. This meant that within this final week, he could fight at most two more matches.
If he won both matches, based on his new value of thirty thousand, the base prize money would be sixty thousand. Plus tips, he might be able to scrape together around seventy thousand. Calculating it this way, he would still face a funding gap of fifty to sixty thousand yuan in the end.
"At least there’s hope." Fang Chen’s mood lightened considerably.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.
A knock sounded at the door, and without waiting for Fang Chen’s response, it was pushed open. The visitor was Cai Long, who had also just finished his match today.
"Congratulations, Feng!" Cai Long wore a hearty smile and cupped his fists in congratulation.
Fang Chen looked up and swept his gaze over the man. Just as he was about to reply politely, his eyes narrowed slightly, landing on the inside of Cai Long’s wrist—a blue Spirit Seal!
A Tier-3 Superpower User!
Fang Chen kept his expression neutral and returned the salute. "Congratulations to you too, Cai. You fought beautifully today. The cheers from the audience were far more passionate than mine."
"Haha." Cai Long waved his hand dismissively and casually sat down on a nearby chair. "It was just a lively show. Mostly flashy moves; they might not be that practical."
He smoothly changed the subject, looking at Fang Chen with a hint of inquiry. "Honestly, if I were up against that Sea Dog, I don’t think I would’ve had it as easy as you did, Feng.
"Against his turtle shell, I’d lack effective means to break through his defense, so he’d most likely drag me into a draw. It seems... out of the four of us, you have the highest chance of being groomed by President Zhao."
Fang Chen sneered inwardly, "He’s showing weakness first, then putting me on a pedestal to make me a target? Nice try pulling this trick on me."
However, he squeezed out a helpless smile and deliberately flipped his wrist, revealing his green Spirit Seal. He mocked himself, "Haha, please don’t joke around with me, Cai."
Seeing Fang Chen’s green Spirit Seal, Cai Long immediately burst into laughter. "You mean this? Ugh, don’t even mention it! My blue seal might look nice, but the ability I awakened is utter trash. It’s completely useless in actual combat; it’s practically as if I don’t have one!"
Fang Chen obligingly mirrored a look of understanding and gave a bitter smile, but his internal vigilance skyrocketed.
"Keep acting. Let’s see how long you can keep this up."
Seeing the obvious disbelief in Fang Chen’s eyes, Cai Long’s smile faded slightly. He stood up, walked to the lounge wall, and extended his index finger. With a faint surge of True Qi, his fingertip pierced the wall as easily as poking through tofu, effortlessly digging out a small piece of rubble about the size of a pinky nail.
Holding the small stone, he returned to Fang Chen.
Fang Chen watched this baffling behavior, his confusion deepening.
Cai Long didn’t keep him in suspense any longer. He rested the small stone in his palm and presented it to Fang Chen, his expression turning unusually serious. "Brother, watch closely. This is my Superpower."
With that, his eyes focused sharply.
The next moment, under Fang Chen’s intense gaze, the ordinary stone’s color shifted at a visible rate from grayish-white to a brilliant, golden hue! Its texture transformed instantly, reflecting a yellowish gleam under the lights!
"This is...?"
"Stone-to-Gold Transformation?"
This was simply a divine skill countless people dreamed of! With this ability, vast wealth was readily available. Why would he ever need to risk his life fighting in the ring?
But that thought only flashed for a second before Fang Chen immediately calmed down. Wait, Cai Long was only rated at Tier-3? The side effects of this ability must be significant. Otherwise, why would he be fighting at the Geta Club?
Cai Long spoke helplessly, confirming Fang Chen’s suspicions.
"That’s right. As you can see, my Superpower is ’Stone-to-Gold Transformation’. However, its side effect is... it permanently depletes my maximum Qi and Blood Value."
He weighed the small piece of Gold in his hand, a bitter smile on his face.
"Just this tiny piece, weighing no more than a few grams, has permanently consumed one point of my maximum Qi and Blood Value. This isn’t consuming my current Qi and Blood; it means... my Qi and Blood capacity is forever reduced by a point, and there is absolutely no way to recover it."
Hearing this, Fang Chen understood why Cai Long had belittled himself so harshly!
Qi and Blood were the foundation of a Martial Artist, directly tied to their total amount of True Qi, physical strength, recovery speed, and even lifespan! Sacrificing one’s potential in the Martial Dao forever just for a little Gold? This was practically drinking poison to quench thirst!
For a Martial Artist with lofty ambitions, this price was too steep, genuinely rendering it a trash ability.
At the same time, alarm bells blared in Fang Chen’s mind. Why would Cai Long voluntarily share such a secretive, fundamental weakness with him?
He looked up, meeting Cai Long’s gaze. "Cai, is there something you need from me?"