"The Manager wished to make you an acquaintance. Follow me." Said the cyborg man.
Ye Shen shrugged his shoulders. "After you then."
With that said Ye Shen was escorted to the second floor's loft. There, he found the manager, a big, overweight man who was accompanied by a bunch of young ladies around him while massaging his body. Sitting in a wide sofa with a spread of scrumptious meals on the table before him.
"Ah, welcome! Welcome! My name is Wai Kee-Shuen, the Manager of this competition." The big man grinning wide, showing his gold teeth grillz. "I've heard from the girl that you wished to join the Emperor Of The Street. Please, have a seat, let's talk about it."
Ye Shen, however, was unwilling to sit down. He already saw through this man's personality even from a glance. If he complied and sat down just as he instructed, he was already owned from the very start. Manipulating someone's thoughts and willingness through a facade of kindness and rewards was a common trick used in many businesses to ensure their employees followed the rules and regulations of the company.
Ye Shen, however, refused to be owned by anyone. He has the skills, strength, and capability to even overthrow the entire Six Hundred Swords Gang if he wanted to.
"My name is Ye Shen. I came here to fight, not to become your cash cow. Just arrange me a weekly bout with your best rosters. I couldn't care less about the betting game, your rosters would get wasted by my fists anyway."
"You arrogant brat!" Wai Kee-Shuen slammed the table, making the girls jump in surprise. "Who do you think you are, punk?! If you wish to enter the Emperor of The Street, then you must abide by the rules!"
"Calm down…" Ye Shen finally took the seat when Wai Kee-Shuen clearly didn't welcome him anymore. "What I'm trying to say is, I'm going to be the top dog in this tournament. With my strength and capability, there will be more powerful and popular fighters amongst the commoners who will join here before advancing to the UMT."
Wai Kee-Shuen huffed in annoyance. Ye Shen had the point. Without popular fighters, Emperor Of The Street would likely be abandoned by MMA Fans in Neo Hong Kong. He couldn't deny the fact that EOTS needs raw talent that would incite the curiosity of the masses and bring more talented fighters to the game.
"Hmph! Alright, you have one shot to prove yourself! You'll fight at this evening's prime time at nine o'clock. Make sure you're ready."
"I definitely will."
*****
While waiting for his match, Ye Shen used his free time for meditating. Calming his mind as well as cultivating his Pure Yang Qi. Since he had reached the Third Stage Body Transformation Realm, Ye Shen was confident that he could crush anyone easily.
Before long, one of the staff came into his room, notifying him that the match was about to start. Ye Shen nodded, he promptly took off his clothes and stored his personal belongings into the locker. He was only wearing his short boxer. His knuckles were bare, not even wrapped by linen cloth.
The crowd grew louder as Ye Shen emerged from his room. However, it wasn't a loud cheer or round applause. He was booed by every single mouth in the building.
He couldn't care less about them, only focused on his opponent.
Inside the cage, a fighter with prosthetic arms was already waiting for him. Though the fighter was a Systemless, Ye Shen acknowledged those arms were capable of injuring him if he's not careful.
As soon as he stepped into the cage, the system chimed in his head.
[Win the Street Fight and claim your reward!]
[You will get 30 Strands of Yang Qi upon winning]
Ye Shen was in high spirits. Though his opponent was just a Systemless, he didn't underestimate him. He deliberately channeled his Yang Qi into his limbs.
The announcer entered the cage, introducing the crowd's favourite fighter.
"It's Tiiime! For the main event of the evening!"
"Inteoducing first! From the blue corner with ten wins, two loses, and one draw! Coming all the way down from Xinjiang City! Jing Lian!"
"Wwooo!"
"Kill him Jing Lian! Show no mercy!"
"Jing Liang! Jing Liang! Jing Liang!"
The crowd chanted his name as if he was a fabled hero.
"In the other corner, coming from the Metro District! No records, no history. Just a commoner without any augmentation. Ye Shen!"
The crowd's reaction to Ye Shen's name was starkly different, like day and night.
"Booo!"
"Go home rich kid! This is not your place!"
"Boo! Go home and suck your nanny's tits!"
After the ceremonial introduction by the cage announcer, the referee stepped into the middle of the cage.
"Fighters, come forth!"
Ye Shen strode forward confidently, staring daggers at his opponent with a horrifying killing intent.
"There's no rules in this fight. The only stoppage that I would give is when either of you tapping out or died in the process. You dig?!"
"Yeah. Let's do this!" Jing Liang said. He was actually belittling Ye Shen with a mocking smirk. "I'll beat your white ass punk!"
"Fighters! Back to your corner!"
The referee turned to either alternately. "Are you ready?!"
Both fighters nodded firmly, arms lifted before their bodies.
"Fight!"
Jing Liang didn't waste time, he quickly charged at Ye Shen with a superman punch right onto his face which was easily dodged by him with a simple side step. Ye Shen answered that cheeky first move with a short hook, it perfectly landed on Jing Liang's floating ribs.
"Foolish. Come on, fight me seriously!"
Ye Shen taunted with his signature poised stance. He stretched his right hand out while resting his left behind his waist.
Jing Liang changed his approach after getting a feel of Ye Shen's agility. Fighting wildly like the usual would not work against someone who has speed. His movements were slower and methodological, trying to find an opening.
However, Jing Liang found it difficult to penetrate Ye Shen's guard albeit he only used one hand. Jing Liang tried to use his legs to kick Ye Shen's hamstring, it landed right on the shin bone, yet Ye Shen didn't flinch in the slightest.
"Pathetic." Ye Shen mocked. "Is that everything you got?! I can't even feel a tickle!"