Romance of Dragons and Snakes

Chapter 63: One battle to make oneself known (First)

Wang Chao’s splitting fist of the tiger stance might not have contained Hidden Jin, but the clear Jin had reinforced its strength. With that one movement, his movement had been like a giant axe. “Snake-head’s” skull would have been cracked, and a concussion would be more likely than not.

The two men that had brought Wang Chao to Lu Chengwen immediately stuffed the dead “Snake-head” into a giant canvas bag. Tying it up, they took the body out.

Their movements had been well practiced and efficient, most likely an indicator that this wasn’t the first or second time they did such a thing before.

The remaining fighters nearby had instantly saw Wang Chao in a new light. Some saw him in fear, some in jealousy, and mostly in shock.

But as for “Snake-heads” death, not a single one of them had a look of pity or had any idea of trying to avenge him. It was almost as if they had witnessed the death of a dog, saddening, but inconsequential.

There was a single unwritten law that was said amongst the fighting ring. “When one enters the ring, then prepare to kill without notice, or be killed without notice.”

Life was not worth a single penny and was only used to serve as amusement for another. There was no such thing as comradery, only mutual practice partners. But in the ring, they would be bitter enemies to the death.

Originally Wang Chao had been skeptical by Zhao Xinglong’s description of the underground fighting world. “Where is the shadiness?” He had thought back then. But when he saw the state of the public security of Guangzhou after stepping out of the train station, Wang Chao had no more doubts. He had understand that the coastal area was the land of sin; there was no such thing as an impossibility here.

There was no such thing as absolute evil, just even more evil or an evil one couldn’t possible imagine.

In a world of martial arts and violence, there was also the underworld. This was an undeniable truth to the world since the ancient path.

Wang Chao had killed before and had also obtained a license to “kill legally”. He had to be ready to kill at any moment despite his personal beliefs; in a sinister world like this, he would be charging into his own death if he wasn’t.

“Haha, good! You are strong enough!” Lu Chengwen’s triangular eyes had flashed brightly as if he was a snake looking at his prey.

“Brother Gao told me that in this place, one has to fight without reservation. It was best to kill one’s opponent or else risk being killed.” Wang Chao replied.

“That’s correct, absolutely correct. Gao Dalou’s words are true!” Lu Chengwen’s face grew warm as he began to smile. His eyes continued to gleam as he stared at Wang Chao as if he was a tree made of money. “That guy was strong in those years, but after half a year, he gave up. I heard he’s a cop now? How interesting.”

“You must be tired after traveling in the train for the entire night. Blacky, take him to get a meal and then a place to rest.” Lu Chengwen patted Wang Chao on the shoulder. “Good guy, you fought well. In five years, you’ll definitely earn millions without a problem.”

A factory worker from the side immediately went to lead Wang Chao to the dining halls.

Taking a large platter of food, Wang Chao sat down leisurely and began to eat without any of the other workers daring to come to bother him.

Apparently news of the death of “Snake-head” had traveled fast.

Not even bothering to chat with these people, Wang Chao ate his meal. Then, under “Blacky’s” guidance, Wang Chao had been given a room for his own personal use.

“This is your room.” Blacky spoke. “Rest up and don’t run about. If you want to go out, then inform me and I’ll get permission from brother Wen for you.”

Wang Chao nodded his head in understanding before Blacky snorted and left.

This room he was given was approximately 60 square meters big and was made of cement walls with stains all over it.

There was a black old fashioned table and stool along with a bed that creaked with every movement. There was also a little electric fan, but other than that, there was very little to see.

When Wang Chao observed the area, he immediately came to a sudden thought.

“If I didn’t meet sis Chen three years ago, would I be working or in such a state like this?”

Truly, if he did not meet Tang Zichen, then after graduating from high school, he would have been like the millions of other public workers in the sea of job employment. Living in a small house in a suburban area while working everyday, he would only receive a meager wage for selling his own sweat and blood.

“A person’s life is impossible to foretell, but a person’s luck is far too deep to understand. The world is ever changing and is filled with many different factors. Just who would be able to foretell their own future?”

In this bustling sin filled city of crime, Wang Chao thought about Tang Zichen in his little shabby room. Then he thought about being one of the many public workers who had no future or even any hope of seeing a better tomorrow. Their world was a world of despair, where would they gain the power to grow strong and survive in such a world?

WIth a long sigh, Wang Chao sat on the bed and began to calm himself.

Knowing that the earth was forever changing, his will and mind would forever continue to be tempered.

Without a bright spark of hope, then how would they be able to pull of a bright and powerful fist?

The world was a giant circle of Yin and Yang that encompassed everything within it.

A human life was a giant furnace where people would suffer being tempered and refined. Those who refined themselves beautifully would have a splendid light, but the rest would be destroyed under the cruel flames.

Wang Chao had sat freely on the bed without any thoughts of practicing martial arts. His pores continued to open and close as if breathing, but it was a comfortable and lazy feeling.

The night slowly went by, but in the early morning, Wang Chao was awakened by the sounds of light footsteps.

“That has to be Blacky.” Wang Chao thought. From the rhythm and weight of of the footsteps, he had been able to deduce just who it was that was walking towards his room.

Sure enough, the door had opened up to his room.

“Get up, brother Wen has arranged a fight for you last night. Come with me.” Blacky waved for Wang Chao to get up.

“That fast?” Wang Chao was shocked. According to the organization’s information, the average newcomer would need to wait a week before a match was prepared for them in the Fighting Altar.

The organizers of the Fighting Altar were very strict and carefully planned each fighting competition without the government knowing. The organizers were generally crime lords from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan; but naturally, the crime lords from Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Hainan, and Shandong were also involved.

Each competition had a specialized venue and clientele.

These crime lords had also attracted martial artists who thirsted after money who later pitted them against each other. Those bosses who wanted entertainment had always threw down money for their gambles.

The cruel and bloody fights had allowed those who were bored with karaoke, dancing, bar drinking, and casino clients to feel excited once more. It was just like the ancient gladiator fights in Rome.

Friction between gangs over territory or power could be resolved through a competition of fists as well.

Because this was the 21st Century, criminal gangs could not longer operate in the same was as the past. Without hundreds of people, they couldn’t grab axes or guns to start one giant war for power.

There was no country that would allow for such a thing to happen often.

Lu Chengwen was considered to be the CEO of public safety for the half white half black Daxing Corporation.

This corporation’s public safety section had focused on fighting specifically. Each year, they would organize a small fighting competition that earned in a decent sum of money.

Unlike other public security departments, this one only knew how to spend money.

The criminal world of today’s era was not built on just bodyguarding, robbing, beating, or stealing. The higher echelons of the criminal world were legal businesses too now.

“The organization has collected information for the past five or six years on this. In the past few years, the princelings helped give rise to the criminal gangs here. With that, their power has grown. But with the rapid development of the Fighting Altar, their rise shouldn’t be of any surprise.”

TL Note: Princelings are a categorization of the children of senior communist officials.

Entering the Fighting Altar was the first mission for Wang Chao so he could see the true extent of what their development was like. Asking Zhao Xinglong was one thing, experiencing it was another.

With the princelings entering the criminal world, they held so much power that even the organization couldn’t inquire about them openly.

Cao Yi had said before that he wanted Wang Chao to become a leader of the Wulin in the Southeastern Asian martial arts world. This was still a plan that was far from being achieved.

Wang Chao knew that he at the very least needed to make himself well known. If he could survive and become of worth, then becoming a leader of the Wulin wouldn’t be off the agenda just yet.

Otherwise if he died, then it was all for naught and empty promises.

Right now, Wang Chao was a chess piece for the organization to step into the criminal world. Whenever the chess piece became of use, then the organization would treat him more seriously. If the organization had other plans and discarded the chess piece, then he would have to resign himself to his fate.

He had known this from the very beginning and thus did not have much confidence in the organization. It was an unspoken truth that rang true since the ancient times. No matter what organization, they must submit to the mandate and order of the organization. For the sake of the cause, they must sacrifice their lives.

The army was like this, employment was like this, and the underworld was like this. Even a company was like this too.

If an organization had no core, then its collapse was imminent.

That was another reason why Wang Chao had wanted to find a way to distance himself away from the organization. He had no wish to being a chess piece for them to use so callously.

But Wang Chao had no chance of that for now.

“So we fight at night? Do I get to know anything about my opponent?” Wang Chao asked.

“Today’s dispute is between our group and the Skymail Moving Company. Originally, it was supposed to be Snake-head, but since you killed him, you’re up instead. We didn’t inquire about the enemy, so there isn’t any information. All you have to do is win however, if you can win, then you will immediately earn a shitload of money.” Blacky laughed.

“Dispute? What dispute?” Wang Chao asked as he walked with Blacky to the door.

“Our Daxing Corporation has a moving company that is rivals with the Skymail Moving Company. So far, four men have died as a result of our fights. The Boss Wu told us to be more discreet with our dispute and had decided to settle the fight with a bet.”

“Boss Wu…” Wang Chao had known this person. The “Boss Wu” Blacky was talking about was named Wu Yingda. His maternal uncle was a high ranking official of the Fujian army and his father was a high ranking official within the Guangdong government. With such a family, he was quite important.

Wu Yingda, Zhao Jun, and Wang Xiaolei; these three were the leaders of the Ike Corporation and held the coastal areas within their hands. Guangdong and Fujian’s criminal world had even been controlled to some degree by these three.

And in those two provinces, no matter how big or small, the Ike Corporation had sanctioned the competitions. The bigger competitions had even been organized by them personally.

A small minibus made a stop outside for Wang Chao to get on. Moving once more, the vehicle began to travel down the road.

After two hours, they had arrived at a small village where a giant building could be seen.

There were many vehicles parked outside with several patrolmen waving their flashlights all around.

“We are from Daxing! Where is brother Wen?” Blacky spoke out as an agent of Lu Chengwen.

“He’s here, please follow us.” A security guard spoke before taking out a walkie-talkie. Speaking a few words, he had someone take them inside.

The building looked to be a theatre built in the countryside. After walking for a long aisle, there was finally a wide clearing about a thousand square meters wide with spectators all around. In the middle there was a cement platform with a piece of rope tied around it.

Looking around, Wang Chao noticed that not a single empty spot remained. There were men, women, bosses and their girlfriends, and even several white collared workers. Wang Chao could even see several SWAT members, they were clearly all lovers of a good fight.

But while the entire place was filled up, there was a single arrangement of smokes, fruits, alcohol, and other snacks that seemed to have no one sitting next to.

“That has to be where the most important people sit, who could it be?” Wang Chao thought before activating the micro satellite transmitter on him.

“Serpentine Dragon, Serpentine Dragon, we’ve confirmed your position.” Boulder’s voice spoke out. “When you left, we were following behind you. Right about now we are about two kilometers from your current position, but half a kilometer ago, we’ve noticed possible firepower. If you come across any danger, notify us immediately and we’ll be there in ten minutes with our guns ready to fire.”

“That’s fine, I’ll be here as per normal. Don’t alert the enemy just yet. When I come out later we’ll draft up some information and give it to the organization.”

“Understood.”

By the time Wang Chao came out of the toilet, Lu Chengwen’s face had looked uneasy.

“This isn’t good. This time, the Skymail company has brought the apprentice of Xu Zhen, Qin Maojiao. This time will be very hard to win.”

Xu Zhen was one of the Three Tigers of Guangdong. He was older than Zhang Wei by 10 years, making him around his 40s.

Xu Zhen’s style of Tongbei had been considered extinct and was once called the “Little Arm Saint”. Both of his arms had been strong like steel, but soft like rattan at the same time.

Why was he called the “Little Arm Saint”?

That was because in the past, the Tongbei sect had a “Arm Saint” Zhang Ce. In the era of the Republic of China, he had been the leader of the Fengtian Guoshu Institute. His martial arts had reached such a high level of perfection that Xu Zhen didn’t dare to used the nickname of his predecessor.

Xu Zhen was a board member of the Tianle Corporation with his assets going into the millions. His first appearance had caused him to gain many connections and even more disciples. But amongst the most outstanding, he had only personally taught a dozen of them.

Even those disciples had made themselves well known.

Qin Maojiao was one of those few.

“What do we do, just what do we do?” Lu chengwen began to panic, indicating his lack of faith in Wang Chao.

Just at that moment, a group of people came walking in, attracting Wang Chao’s attention. One of the males was 26 years old around and stood at 1.8 meters tall. His muscles and joints were clear to see, indicating just how well he had trained.

But what attracted him even more was the sportswear wearing woman next to him.

Although she was young, Wang Chao knew that she was at least older than he was. Wang Chao was currently 20 years old, making the girl at least 23 or 24 years old.

“Just who is that girl?” Wang Chao asked.

“That’s the younger sister of Taichi master Chen Aiyang, Chen Bin. The Chenshi Corporation and Xu Zhen’s Tianle Corporation are working together…forget it, why am I telling you this?” Lu Chengwen looked at Wang Chao as if he was a dead man walking.

“Boss Wen, has your fighter come yet? This time with the Chenshi Corporation, the payout will be in the millions.”

One of the organizers spoke to Lu Chengwen.

“Go on up.” Lu Chengwen pointed at Wang Chao.

“Your fighter is him? What a cute face.” The organizer had a lecherous look before speaking, “Come with me.”

Following the organizer up the platform, Wang Chao began to look around before smelling a blood like scent.

Only Wang Chao was alone on the platform.

There was no other choice, only the more well known person entered the ring last.

Wang Chao was known well known.

In the golden seats down below, the youngsters all sat down. Chen Aiyang’s sister Chen Bin had even started to give Wang Chao a look over.

“You’re not short on money, so why are you betting?” Chen Bin sipped a Wanglaoji brand Chinese herb tea.

“I didn’t have a choice, the Skymail company offered me a million RMB to come. Besides, without actual combat, how would I improve?” Qin Maojiao spoke with a smile.

“What combat is there to be seen here? Take a look, where are the experts? Why not challenge Zhang Wei then? I heard he has come out of his isolation recently.” Chen Bin spoke matter of factly.

“In the future I want to challenge your brother, master Chen, not Zhang Wei.” Qin Maojiao looked a little insulted at her words.

The conversation of the two had been heard by Wang Chao, however.

“Challenge my brother? You don’t even know if you’ll win against that combatant up there.” Chen Bin looked to Wang Chao before going deep into thought.

“Che!” Qin Jaomiao sneered.

At the same time, the ringing of a bell could be heard.

It was the warning sound that the fight was about to begin.

The audience around the ring began to look even more excited to the point where Wang Chao could see them breathing heavily.

Qin Jaomiao walked up to the platform and faced Wang Chao on top of it.