Martial artists can never be ultimately insulted.

Thinking this, Yuan Chen felt his body growing increasingly hot.

Feeling Yuan Chen's gaze, Sagat, after a brief silence, exhaled a breath of stale air with some irritation, then cracked his knuckles and said:

“You’re all fighters, you should be able to feel the difference in strength… I have no interest in wasting time with weaklings. Get out now, I’ll give you a chance to leave.”

Hearing Sagat's words, Chun-Li clenched her teeth.

Chunli felt the excruciating pain in her hands and didn't know how to refute it for a moment.

Known as the Emperor of Muay Thai, Sagate's power is beyond doubt.

Even if Chun-Li can rival him in the future, that's still in the future—in the present, before all of his talents have been realized, Sagat is an almost invincible opponent for both Chun-Li and Yuan Chen.

Thinking about it, Chunli couldn't help but grit her teeth.

Should we back down?

"Eh...it's over..."

Hearing Sagat's words and realizing the vast difference between them, Wu Jialou, who had come to visit the senior assassin, gradually calmed down.

Meanwhile, Wu Fengshui complained helplessly, "It's normal for it to end, right? That Muay Thai fighter's energy is on a completely different level from the others. If they continued fighting, there would definitely be casualties."

Hearing his best friend's words, Wu Jialouluo nodded in understanding.

As an assassin, the most important thing is to have a pair of eyes that can judge the situation on the spot.

Otherwise, if someone rashly accepts a mission that is absolutely certain to result in certain death and dies on the way, even if the Wu family values ​​their family and would directly help seek justice if the employer conceals key information, they would not stand up for them.

Revered as the 'Heavenly Demon' by his clan members, Wu Jialouluo could see that even with one eye injured, he was still far more powerful than the tall young man and the female martial artist.

But just when everyone thought it was over, Yuan Chen, his body burning with fighting spirit but his eyes growing increasingly calm, looked at Sagat and said, "You want to... escape?"

"..."

After a brief silence, Sagat raised his head again, looking at Yuan Chen with a cold, murderous intent on his rough face.

"...Do you want to die?"

"Are you still hungry?" Yuan Chen asked.

"Huh?" Upon hearing this, Sagat was taken aback, not understanding what Yuan Chen was talking about.

“I’m a good cook.” Yuan Chen ignored Sagat’s reaction and simply said to himself:

"I have met many diners, and I know the difference between eating, being full, and eating well."

"..."

Upon hearing this, Sagat remained silent, simply gazing at Yuan Chen with an expressionless face.

Yuan Chen's voice seemed to possess a special magic. Despite not using any exciting techniques or vocabulary, he spoke calmly, yet he easily captured the attention of almost everyone.

Yuan Chen didn't seem to care, and continued, "I've seen diners come full of excitement and leave disappointed... just like you."

"……so what?"

Sagat spoke, a hint of boredom in his eyes: "You think you can feed me?"

Sagat... definitely didn't eat enough.

According to the thugs of Xiaduer, Huo Yinqiang was a reclusive powerhouse, unparalleled in the world, who easily defeated them all.

But what was the result? Just as Yuan Chen said, they came full of enthusiasm but left disappointed. Not only did they not get a full meal, but they were even ambushed and injured in one eye by this low-level martial artist when they were about to leave.

It was like forcing yourself to eat junk food that wasn't very tasty to begin with, only to find a shard of glass cutting your mouth, which made Sagat feel disgusted and annoyed.

Even though Yuan Chen revealed his true feelings, Sagat still didn't pay much attention.

Because...weak.

Perhaps among his peers, Yuan Chen is considered quite good... but weak.

Just then, Yuan Chen shook his head and said, "No, I don't want you to be full... I want you to finish eating with me."

"……What's the meaning?"

Sagat narrowed his eyes, sensing a hidden madness in Yuan Chen's voice.

"Five minutes and fourteen seconds." Yuan Chen stretched out his hand, spread his five fingers, and looked at Sagat, saying, "There are five minutes and fourteen seconds left from the Hong Kong headquarters of Interpol to here."

Upon hearing this, Sagat's eyes narrowed sharply, but then he regained his composure and looked at Yuan Chen, saying:

"So that's how it is. You wanted to stall me for the last five minutes and fourteen seconds..."

Upon hearing Sagat's words, Yuan Chen smiled.

"You're right, stalling you for five minutes and fourteen seconds is indeed a good idea."

As he spoke, a smile gradually spread across Yuan Chen's face. He was no longer as calm and composed as before, but instead filled with a wild heart burning like a flame.

"But that's a useless way of thinking."

Upon hearing this, everyone present was taken aback.

Yuan Chen paid no attention to this, only staring into Sagat's eyes.

He knew that once the real battle began, his chances of victory were slim to none.

Even worse, if one harbors murderous intent, their chances of survival are extremely slim. Relying on numbers, firearms, and the environment to delay the inevitable is the correct and prudent choice.

But for some reason, Yuan Chen could clearly feel an impulse surging within his body, pushing his soul and will toward extremes.

Yuan Chen stretched out his hand, spread his five fingers, and a twisted smile appeared on his handsome face, as if he were rushing into destruction.

"I will blast you apart in the five minutes and fourteen seconds that will force you to unleash your full power to finish me off!!"

Volume 1: Chapter 13 - The Gap

Hearing Yuan Chen's words, feeling Yuan Chen's gaze, and looking at that smile filled with self-destructive madness, Sagat felt his heart skip a beat for some reason.

After a moment of silence, Sagat didn't speak, but instead lowered his center of gravity slowly with a gloomy face.

That 2.26-meter-tall body was like a volcano awakening, with muscle fibers emitting subtle tremors beneath his bronze skin.

"Then let's do it," Sagat said to himself in a barely audible voice.

Then, he disappeared.

This isn't disappearing, it's just happening too fast.

His fighting spirit erupted, and his already powerful body, propelled by the fighting spirit, transformed into a blur in the darkness. It was so fast that Chun-Li's retina could only capture a blurry image, and even Yuan Chen himself couldn't truly see it clearly.

With a mid-section sweep kick, Sagat's right leg was like a battle axe, without any fancy techniques, only pure speed and power.

The battle-hardened shinbone, like a tempered steel pillar, hurtled straight toward Yuan Chen's ribs with a sharp whistling sound that seemed to tear through the air.

Yuan Chen did not dodge.

Or rather, there wasn't enough time to dodge.

He lowered his arms, his left arm blocking his ribs, and his right arm diagonally supporting his elbow. The moment the axe-like shinbone came crashing down, his muscles tensed instantly—his fighting spirit erupted!

"boom!!"

With a dull, loud thud, even though he had unleashed his battle aura, Yuan Chen was still forcefully pushed nearly two meters to the side by the kick. The sole of his shoe plowed two white marks into the cement ground beneath his feet, and the smell of burning rubber filled the air.

The sleeve of his left arm had been blown to shreds, and on the exposed arm, a purplish-black bruise was bulging at a visible speed, with subcutaneous capillaries bursting in patches, and the seeping blood beads gleaming dark red under the dim streetlights.

Despite having made all the correct countermeasures in the shortest amount of time, Yuan Chen still clearly felt the enormous gap in strength at the moment of their collision.

Before Yuan Chen could have any more time to relax, Sagat's second leg had already reached his face.

High sweep.

With a whooshing sound, his right leg slashed down towards Yuan Chen's head, the angle tricky and the force far greater and more intense than the first time.

Yuan Chen did not take the hit head-on. Instead, his body suddenly leaned back, bending at an incredible angle, with the shinbone almost grazing his nose.

A strong wind lashed at his face, severing several strands of Yuan Chen's bangs from his forehead, which then drifted into the night.

But Yuan Chen did not stop at dodging.

As his center of gravity shifted backward, his body seemed about to fall, but just before reaching the ground, Yuan Chen stretched out his arms to support himself, while simultaneously using his astonishing core explosive power to curl up his waist and abdomen.

Then, his fighting spirit erupted! Like a spring compressed to its limit, he instantly unleashed his power, pushing against the ground with his arms for support, his curled-up body suddenly straightening, his strong and long legs like a heavy cannon shot from below!

Upon noticing Yuan Chen's attack, Sagat's single eye also suddenly shrank.

They actually overcame the physical impact and launched a fierce counterattack?

Despite his surprise, Sagat's movements did not falter.

Relying on the absolute advantage brought by his physical size, Sagat buckled his knees inward, tensed his muscles, and at the moment his fighting spirit burst forth, he used his strong shinbones to collide head-on with Yuan Chen's feet that were flowing upward against the current.

"boom!"

With a dull thud, Yuan Chen felt as if his foot had struck a boulder. The shockwave traveled up his ankle, calf, and knee to his lumbar spine, sending him flying several meters away with the blow.

In comparison, although both were under heavy loads, Sagat only took a half step back.

But just as Sagat retreated, Yuan Chen reacted, and Chun-Li, accompanied by a surge of fighting spirit, charged towards Sagat.

His long, slender legs were infused with fighting spirit, his muscles bulging, and he slammed towards Sagat with brutal force, like a heavy log.

Sagat simply raised his right arm and tensed his muscles. The moment he was attacked, his left arm stretched back to gather power, and then his fist slammed towards Chun-Li's face like a cannonball. Fortunately, Chun-Li raised her arm in time to block, thus avoiding being hit directly in the face. Even so, her body was still blasted several meters away, landing on the ground and kicking up a lot of dust.

By shifting her weight and deflecting the force, Chun-Li managed to get up quickly from the ground, even though she looked extremely disheveled.

However, compared to Chun-Li, Sagat clearly cared more about the young man beside him.

Even as he got up from the ground, Yuan Chen's eyes remained fixed on Sagat.

gap.

The raw difference.

Faced with an absolute disparity in strength, physique, experience, and bone toughness, even a siege would seem futile.

Especially under Sagat's gaze, Yuan Chen could clearly sense that Sagat's heart was already bursting with murderous intent—clearly, Sagat did not want to drag this out until the members of Interpol Hong Kong arrived.

Sensing the cold glint in Sagat's eyes, Yuan Chen could also clearly feel every cell in his body trembling and shaking.

Is it fear? It must be fear, right? After all, this isn't a friendly spar with the elders; it's a real battle where death is a possibility.

Facing death, Yuan Chen's brain sensed a deadly threat, his adrenaline surged, causing his heart to beat faster, his blood pressure to rise, his pupils to dilate, and blood to flow from non-emergency systems to his limbs.

The release of dopamine, mixed with the threat of death, transformed the original pleasure neurotransmitter into a strong and satisfying feeling of "winning," making Yuan Chen feel that he had reached his peak both mentally and physically.

Endorphins were released at an accelerated pace, gradually calming Yuan Chen's nerves, alleviating the pain caused by fear, and preventing physical numbness caused by excessive tension...

Then, in Sagat's sight, Yuan Chen suddenly raised his right arm and delivered a powerful hand strike to the bruise on his left arm.

The sounds of flesh colliding left Sagat and the others bewildered, seemingly puzzled as to why Yu Yuanchen would injure himself like this.

But then, Sagat understood why Yuan Chen did this.

As life energy continued to pour in, his originally swollen arm rippled, and then, to Sagat's disbelief, it dissolved at an astonishing speed.

Although bruises from the heavy blows still remain, the large bumps that were originally there have disappeared, and the movement of the muscles and the flow of energy are no longer affected.

Spitting blood from his chapped lips onto the ground, Yuan Chen just stared blankly at Sagat.

Indifferent, calm, yet filled with undisguised passion.

"continue!"

On the rooftop not far away, a pair of cloudy white old eyes watched this scene from afar, and nodded thoughtfully.

Volume 1: Chapter 14 - The Burst of Killing Intent

Watching Yuan Chen smash away the bruises on her arm with a karate chop, seeing the swollen flesh flatten itself in a few breaths, hearing Yuan Chen's words, and feeling those calm yet burning eyes lock onto her again.

Those eyes.

Calm, focused, and filled with an almost frenzied fire.

A strange sense of familiarity caused Sagat's one eye to contract.

He had seen eyes like those before.

Just a few years ago, on the ring where he became the Muay Thai Emperor... even now, Sagat still remembers that young man in tattered gi looking at him in the same way.

Despite being at a complete disadvantage and being beaten badly, she never backed down and kept her eyes burning with fighting spirit as she stared at him.