Li Maeng-Ho closed the distance in an instant and delivered a lightning-fast front kick aimed at Vin Jin's chest. The kick was so fast it created a whistling sound through the air.
But Vin Jin twisted his body, avoiding the kick by millimeters. He immediately countered with a sharp left hook aimed at Li Maeng-Ho's jaw.
Li Maeng-Ho pulled his head back just in time, the punch grazing past his chin. He spun in mid-air, using the momentum to deliver a spinning hook kick aimed at Vin Jin's head.
Vin Jin ducked under it and stepped in close, delivering a knee strike to Li Maeng-Ho's midsection.
"Ugh!" Li Maeng-Ho grunted as the knee drove into his ribs.
He immediately fired back with an elbow strike, catching Vin Jin on the cheek and forcing him to step back.
Both of them separated, landing several feet apart.
"Good. Daniel didn't lie when he said that there are some strong guys here," Vin Jin muttered, rolling his shoulders.
"Are you getting distracted, kid?" Li Maeng-Ho replied as he launched another attack. He delivered a low roundhouse kick aimed at Vin Jin's supporting leg. The kick connected hard, and Vin Jin's leg buckled slightly.
Before Vin Jin could recover, Li Maeng-Ho followed up with a middle roundhouse kick to the ribs.
Vin Jin tried to block with his elbow, but the kick broke through his guard and slammed into his ribs.
"Gah!" Vin Jin grimaced from the impact.
Li Maeng-Ho pressed forward immediately, delivering a push kick that caught Vin Jin square in the chest, sending him stumbling backward.
Vin Jin's feet scraped against the floor as he tried to regain balance. He rushed forward, attempting a combination—jab, cross—but Li Maeng-Ho weaved under the jab and delivered a counter front kick that stopped Vin Jin's advance completely.
Li Maeng-Ho followed up with a jumping front kick aimed at Vin Jin's face. Vin Jin raised his arms to block, but the force of the kick sent him stumbling backward again.
"Those kicks are fast!" Vin Jin thought.
Li Maeng-Ho didn't let up. He rushed forward and delivered a spinning back kick to Vin Jin's midsection. The kick connected perfectly, and Vin Jin doubled over, gasping for air.
Li Maeng-Ho landed and immediately spun again, delivering a spinning heel kick. Vin Jin barely managed to duck under it.
He tried to close distance and grab Li Maeng-Ho's shirt for a throw, but Li Maeng-Ho twisted away and his shirt slipped through Vin Jin's fingers. Li Maeng-Ho countered with a low kick that slammed into Vin Jin's thigh.
Vin Jin winced.
The crowd erupted in cheers.
"FLAME TIGER! FLAME TIGER!"
Li Maeng-Ho followed up with a tornado kick, spinning through the air. Vin Jin raised his guard to block, but the kick crashed through and clipped him on the side of the head.
Vin Jin staggered, his vision blurring momentarily.
"Is that all?" Li Maeng-Ho asked calmly. "I expected more from someone with your attitude."
Vin Jin wiped blood from his lip and steadied himself. "The fight's just getting started."
---
Li Maeng-Ho rushed forward again, this time delivering a jumping spinning hook kick aimed at Vin Jin's head. The kick was powerful, fast, and perfectly executed.
Vin Jin managed to duck under it this time and attempted to grab Li Maeng-Ho around the waist.
But Li Maeng-Ho anticipated it. He delivered a sharp elbow strike to Vin Jin's face before the grip could be secured, then followed with a knee to Vin Jin's chest.
"Ugh!" Vin Jin grunted, forced to abandon the attempt.
Li Maeng-Ho landed and immediately delivered a combination—low kick, middle kick, high kick. Each kick was faster than the last.
Vin Jin blocked the low and middle kicks with his shins and forearms, but the high kick caught him on the shoulder, making his arm go numb.
He tried to counter with a straight right punch, but Li Maeng-Ho slipped it and delivered a spinning back fist that caught Vin Jin on the temple.
Vin Jin's head snapped to the side, and he staggered.
Li Maeng-Ho pressed his advantage. He delivered a switch kick, changing legs mid-motion. The kick slammed into Vin Jin's other leg, making him stumble.
Then Li Maeng-Ho jumped and delivered a double roundhouse kick, his legs moving so fast they blurred. The first kick hit Vin Jin's guard. The second kick broke through and caught him in the ribs.
"Gah!" Vin Jin coughed, feeling his ribs protest.
Li Maeng-Ho landed gracefully and delivered a push kick that sent Vin Jin sliding backward across the floor.
"You're good at close range," Li Maeng-Ho said. "But you can't get close."
Vin Jin gritted his teeth. Li Maeng-Ho was right. Every time he tried to close the distance for grappling, those lightning-fast kicks kept him at bay.
Li Maeng-Ho rushed forward, delivering a flying side kick. The kick was aimed directly at Vin Jin's chest with devastating power.
Vin Jin tried to sidestep, but the kick clipped his shoulder, spinning him around from the impact.
Before he could recover, Li Maeng-Ho was already behind him, delivering a back kick that caught Vin Jin in the lower back.
"Argh!" Vin Jin's back seized up momentarily.
He spun around and threw a desperate hook, but Li Maeng-Ho ducked under it and delivered an uppercut-style knee strike that caught Vin Jin under the chin.
Vin Jin's head snapped back, blood spraying from his mouth.
He crashed backward into the wall, creating small cracks in the concrete.
The crowd roared.
"FLAME TIGER! FLAME TIGER!"
Li Maeng-Ho rushed forward, delivering a jumping knee strike aimed at Vin Jin while he was against the wall.
Vin Jin managed to roll to the side at the last moment. The knee struck the wall, creating a small crater.
Vin Jin immediately countered with a hook to Li Maeng-Ho's body while he was still recovering from the missed knee.
"Ugh!" Li Maeng-Ho grunted—it was the first clean hit Vin Jin had landed.
But Li Maeng-Ho spun immediately, delivering a spinning elbow that caught Vin Jin on the cheek, opening a cut.
Blood poured down Vin Jin's face.
Both fighters separated, breathing heavily.
"Not bad," Li Maeng-Ho acknowledged, touching his ribs where the punch had landed. "But one hit won't change anything."
Vin Jin wiped blood from his cheek. "We'll see about that."
---
Li Maeng-Ho rushed forward, delivering a combination of low, middle, and high roundhouse kicks. Each kick was precise and powerful.
Vin Jin blocked the first two but took the high kick to his guard, his arms absorbing most of the impact. He tried to counter with a straight right, but Li Maeng-Ho was already out of range.
Li Maeng-Ho came in again with a jumping switch kick. The kick caught Vin Jin on the jaw.
Blood sprayed from Vin Jin's mouth, and he staggered backward.
Li Maeng-Ho landed and immediately delivered a 540 kick, spinning one and a half times in the air before his heel connected with Vin Jin's head.
Vin Jin's body spun from the impact, more blood flying.
He hit the ground hard.
The crowd exploded.
"FLAME TIGER! FLAME TIGER! FLAME TIGER!"
Li Maeng-Ho stood there, breathing calmly. "Stay down. You're outmatched."
But Vin Jin's hand moved. He pushed himself up slowly, blood dripping from his face onto the floor.
"What are you talking about, fucker?" Vin Jin muttered.
Li Maeng-Ho's eyes narrowed slightly.
Vin Jin stood up. He rushed forward again, but this time he mixed his approach—he threw a jab, then a low kick.
Li Maeng-Ho blocked the jab but had to check the low kick. The brief exchange gave Vin Jin a split second.
He stepped in and delivered a knee strike that Li Maeng-Ho partially blocked, but the force still pushed him back slightly.
Li Maeng-Ho countered with a front kick that caught Vin Jin in the chest, creating distance again.
But this time, Vin Jin didn't get pushed as far back. He planted his feet better, his balance training helping him absorb the impact.
"He's got better," Li Maeng-Ho thought.
Li Maeng-Ho delivered a spinning hook kick. Vin Jin ducked under it—his timing was getting better—and stepped in with a combination: hook to the body, uppercut.
Li Maeng-Ho blocked the uppercut but took the hook to his ribs.
"Ugh!" He grimaced.
He immediately countered with a spinning back fist that Vin Jin weaved under, then delivered a back kick that Vin Jin partially blocked with his forearms.
Both of them separated.
Li Maeng-Ho was breathing slightly heavier now. Those body shots were starting to add up, even if they weren't many.
Li Maeng-Ho rushed forward, delivering a jumping front kick. Vin Jin sidestepped this time—cleanly, his footwork much improved—and countered with a low kick that slammed into Li Maeng-Ho's thigh as he landed.
"Tch!" Li Maeng-Ho felt the sting.
He spun and delivered a spinning heel kick, but Vin Jin ducked and closed the distance, wrapping his arms around Li Maeng-Ho.
In the clinch, Vin Jin controlled Li Maeng-Ho's posture and delivered a knee to his midsection.
"Ugh!" Li Maeng-Ho grunted.
He tried to create space with elbows, landing one on Vin Jin's temple, but Vin Jin maintained his grip and delivered another knee, this one to the body.
Li Maeng-Ho's ribs protested.
He finally managed to push off and delivered a front kick that created separation.
---
Li Maeng-Ho delivered a low kick that Vin Jin checked. They exchanged—Li Maeng-Ho with a middle kick, Vin Jin with a counter punch that Li Maeng-Ho slipped.
Li Maeng-Ho delivered a jumping spinning hook kick that Vin Jin ducked, then countered with a powerful low kick to Li Maeng-Ho's lead leg.
The kick landed clean.
Li Maeng-Ho's stance wavered slightly—the first sign that his legs were taking damage.
"Those low kicks..." Li Maeng-Ho thought.
He delivered a tornado kick to reset the pace. Vin Jin blocked it with his arms, then immediately rushed forward with a combination—jab, cross, hook.
Li Maeng-Ho blocked the first two but the hook caught him on the jaw.
His head snapped to the side.
Vin Jin pressed forward, attempting to grab Li Maeng-Ho for a throw, but Li Maeng-Ho delivered a knee strike that Vin Jin partially blocked with his body, though the impact still drove him backward.
Li Maeng-Ho planted his feet and delivered a powerful side kick that caught Vin Jin in the chest, stopping his advance.
But when Li Maeng-Ho landed, Vin Jin immediately delivered another low kick—to the same leg as before, deliberately targeting the damaged area.
"Damn!" Li Maeng-Ho grimaced. His lead leg was starting to feel heavy.
He switched stances, putting his other leg forward.
"What now?," Vin Jin smirked. "Feeling weaker?"
Li Maeng-Ho rushed forward, delivering a combination—front kick, spinning back kick, spinning hook kick. The combination was fast.
Vin Jin blocked the front kick, sidestepped the spinning back kick, and ducked under the hook kick. His defensive timing was much better now, his ability to read body movements improving.
He countered with a straight right that caught Li Maeng-Ho on the nose.
Blood exploded.
Li Maeng-Ho's head snapped back, and for the first time, he staggered noticeably.
The crowd's chants were mixed now.
"FLAME TIGER! FLAME TIGER!"
"VIN JIN! VIN JIN!"
Vin Jin pressed forward, sensing the shift. He delivered a low kick, then another, then closed in with a hook to the body.
Li Maeng-Ho blocked the hooks but took both low kicks. His legs were accumulating damage.
He countered with an elbow strike that caught Vin Jin above the eye, opening another cut.
Blood poured down Vin Jin's face, but he didn't back off. He grabbed Li Maeng-Ho and delivered a knee to his midsection.
"Ugh!" Li Maeng-Ho grunted—his ribs were bruising badly now.
He pushed off and delivered a jumping back kick that caught Vin Jin in the shoulder, creating some distance.
"This guy... he's tougher than I thought," Li Maeng-Ho admitted internally. "But that doesn't matter. I have been training to defeat that monster once I get out." Li Maeng-Ho thought of a certain red haired guy.
---
Li Maeng-Ho rushed forward, delivering a jumping switch kick. Vin Jin blocked it with his forearm and immediately countered with a hook that caught Li Maeng-Ho on the jaw.
Li Maeng-Ho's head snapped to the side.
He countered with a spinning back fist, but Vin Jin ducked under it and delivered a brutal low kick to Li Maeng-Ho's already damaged lead leg—targeting the injury with precision.
"Argh!" Li Maeng-Ho's leg buckled slightly.
Vin Jin pressed forward, delivering a combination—hook, uppercut, knee. Li Maeng-Ho blocked the hook and uppercut but took the knee to his ribs.
"Gah!" His ribs were screaming now.
He created distance with a push kick, but Vin Jin rushed right back in, delivering another low kick.
Li Maeng-Ho checked it, but the impact still hurt.
He delivered a spinning heel kick that Vin Jin weaved under, then countered with a powerful straight right that caught Li Maeng-Ho clean on the jaw.
Li Maeng-Ho staggered backward, his vision blurring momentarily.
Vin Jin rushed in, wrapping his arms around Li Maeng-Ho. In the clinch, he delivered brutal knees to Li Maeng-Ho's body. One, two, three knees landed hard.
"Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!" Li Maeng-Ho grunted with each impact.
He delivered elbows to Vin Jin's head, trying to break free. One elbow opened a cut above Vin Jin's eye, blood pouring down.
But Vin Jin held on, delivering another knee strike, this one to Li Maeng-Ho's liver.
Li Maeng-Ho's body seized up momentarily—the liver shot hurt.
He finally managed to push off with a knee of his own to Vin Jin's face.
Blood exploded from Vin Jin's nose, forcing him to release.
"I need to finish this quickly," Li Maeng-Ho thought. "Those leg kicks and body shots... I can't take much more."
He rushed forward, delivering a desperate 720 kick, spinning twice in the air with all his remaining speed and power.
The kick was beautiful, and devastating.
It connected with Vin Jin's head with tremendous force.
Vin Jin's body lifted off the ground from the impact.
He crashed down hard, blood spraying across the floor.
The crowd held its breath.
Li Maeng-Ho landed, breathing heavily, his legs trembling. That kick had taken everything he had left.
"Stay down, kid." Li Maeng-Ho muttered. "You're not on my level yet. But I am impressed."
But then, slowly, Vin Jin's hand moved.
He pushed himself up on one arm. Blood dripped from his face onto the floor. His entire body was shaking.
But he was getting up.
"You talk too much, fucker!" Vin Jin muttered.
Li Maeng-Ho's eyes widened. "How...?"
Vin Jin stood up fully, swaying on his feet. Blood poured from multiple cuts on his face. His left eye was swollen nearly shut.
But his remaining eye burned with intensity.
"You're strong," Vin Jin admitted, spitting blood. "But fuck you! I haven't shown you everything yet."
Li Maeng-Ho tried to rush forward, but his damaged legs slowed him down—just slightly, but enough.
He delivered a jumping front kick, but this time, something was different.
Vin Jin caught the kick with both hands, but his grip was unusual—his fingers dug deep into the shin, past the muscle, and positioned themselves in a strange way. It felt like he was gripping something beneath the flesh itself.
Li Maeng-Ho's eyes widened in shock. "What the—?!"
It felt like Vin Jin's fingers were gripping the bones directly. His bones!
"What now, fucker?" Vin Jin said coldly.
He twisted his entire body, using the bone grip as leverage, and Li Maeng-Ho screamed in pain. The sensation was unlike anything he'd ever felt—Vin Jin had grabbed the bone itself through the flesh.
Using the grip, Vin Jin swung Li Maeng-Ho's entire body and threw him across the arena with terrifying force.
Li Maeng-Ho crashed into the ground hard, rolling several times before coming to a stop.
He pushed himself up, his leg trembling violently now. "What kind of technique is that?!"
His shin was in agony. The pain was deep, unnatural—it felt like something beneath the muscle had been damaged directly, and combined with the accumulated damage from the leg kicks, his mobility was severely compromised.
"I can't... my leg..." Li Maeng-Ho thought, panic creeping in.
He tried to rush forward again, delivering a spinning hook kick aimed at Vin Jin's head. The kick was still technical, but noticeably slower than before.
Vin Jin caught the leg mid-spin. His fingers dug in again, gripping deep into Li Maeng-Ho's calf, past the muscle tissue, positioning themselves around the bone itself.
Li Maeng-Ho screamed.
Vin Jin twisted and slammed Li Maeng-Ho down hard. The impact created a crater in the floor.
Li Maeng-Ho tried to fight back, delivering an upward kick with his free leg that caught Vin Jin in the face.
Blood exploded from Vin Jin's already broken nose, but his grip only tightened around the bone.
"Not enough," Vin Jin muttered.
He lifted Li Maeng-Ho by the bone grip alone and slammed him down again. Then again.
Each impact sent shockwaves through Li Maeng-Ho's already damaged body. His bruised ribs screamed with every landing.
Li Maeng-Ho delivered a desperate elbow strike to Vin Jin's face with all his remaining strength.
The elbow connected hard, opening a massive cut above Vin Jin's eye.
Vin Jin's vision went red with blood, but he didn't let go.
Instead, he delivered a brutal knee strike to Li Maeng-Ho's already bruised ribs while maintaining the bone grip.
"ARGH!" Li Maeng-Ho felt something crack—one of his ribs gave way.
Vin Jin then delivered an elbow strike to Li Maeng-Ho's face, then another knee to his damaged ribs.
Li Maeng-Ho's vision was going white from the pain. Everything hurt—his legs, his ribs, the bones where Vin Jin kept gripping.
He kicked upward with both legs, mustering everything he had left, catching Vin Jin in the chest and face simultaneously.
Vin Jin was finally forced to let go and staggered backward, blood pouring from his nose and the cut above his eye.
Li Maeng-Ho rolled away and tried to stand up, but his legs were barely responding now. The combination of the bone grips and accumulated leg damage had destroyed his mobility.
He managed to get to his feet, but he was swaying badly, barely able to maintain his stance.
"I can't... lose here..." Li Maeng-Ho muttered. "Not after having a chance to get free..."
He tried to deliver a side kick, but his leg barely lifted. The kick had no power behind it.
Vin Jin easily avoided it and rushed forward, delivering a combination—hook, uppercut, knee strike.
The hook caught Li Maeng-Ho on the jaw. The uppercut snapped his head back. The knee drove into his broken ribs.
"GAH!" Li Maeng-Ho coughed up blood.
He tried to counter with a spinning elbow, but his movements were too slow now. Vin Jin ducked under it and grabbed Li Maeng-Ho's arm.
His fingers immediately dug deep, past the muscle, finding the bone beneath the flesh of Li Maeng-Ho's forearm.
Li Maeng-Ho's eyes widened as he felt the bone grip on his forearm. The pain was excruciating—it felt like Vin Jin was holding his skeleton directly.
He tried to deliver a knee strike to Vin Jin's face, but he had no power left. The knee connected weakly.
Vin Jin barely registered it. He delivered his own knee strike to Li Maeng-Ho's midsection while maintaining the bone grip on the forearm.
"You're done, fucker!" Vin Jin said through bloody teeth.
He shifted his grip to Li Maeng-Ho's upper arm, fingers digging deep to find the bone there, and twisted while simultaneously delivering a brutal elbow strike to Li Maeng-Ho's temple with his free arm.
Li Maeng-Ho's vision went white from the combined pain and impact.
He tried to fight back with his free arm, but he had accumulated too much damage. He tried to deliver one final elbow, but Vin Jin tanked it and delivered a devastating knee to Li Maeng-Ho's liver while maintaining the bone grip on his shoulder.
Li Maeng-Ho's body seized up completely. The liver shot, combined with his broken rib and all the previous body damage, shut his body down.
His eyes rolled back slightly.
"This... ends... now, FUCKER!" Vin Jin growled.
He released the arm, wrapped both arms around Li Maeng-Ho's waist—his fingers finding and gripping Li Maeng-Ho's hip bones through the flesh—lifted him high overhead using what remained of his strength, and slammed him down with devastating force.
The impact created a massive crater. Dust and debris exploded outward.
Li Maeng-Ho's body went completely limp.