Thinking of this, Pei Lang no longer hesitated, pushed through the crowd, and strode to the betting point next to the Qingyun Ranking.
The bookmaker in charge of placing bets was a Yunqi City steward with a goatee, who was happily collecting spirit stones pouring in from all directions, almost all of which were bets on Lin Qingyuan to win.
Although the odds of 1:1.05 are pitifully low, everyone sees it as nothing short of free money.
But Pei Lang, without saying a word, slammed Shen Zhaozhao's bag of spirit stones heavily onto the table in front of the dealer—
"Clang!"
The spirit stone bag slammed onto the wooden table with a dull thud.
Immediately afterwards, Pei Lang pulled out ten high-grade spirit stones, shimmering with light and radiating spiritual energy, from his flamboyant storage bag and piled them up next to the bag as if they were free.
"Look carefully."
Pei Lang raised his chin, as if afraid that those around him wouldn't hear, "Make sure everyone bets on Chen Zhaozhao to win, and write her name clearly: Chen, Zhao, Zhao!"
"..."
The entire betting area fell silent for a fleeting moment.
Everyone seemed to be frozen in place, turning their heads to look at Pei Lang with expressions of shock, as if wondering, "Did this silly young master of the Crimson Cloud Sect get his head squeezed by a door?"
The steward of Yunqi City pushed up his crystal glasses and looked Pei Lang up and down with the eyes of someone looking at a tragic victim: "Are you... are you sure you're betting everything on the one who's at the second level of Foundation Establishment?"
"Nonsense!" Pei Lang slammed his hand on the table impatiently. "I can hear you perfectly well! Just shut her up! Hurry up and register!"
The deacon's lips twitched violently as he looked at the ten high-grade spirit stones, attempting a final attempt to salvage the situation with an almost pitying tone.
"Young friend Pei, our City Lord of Yunqi is known for his honesty and integrity, so I must remind you that Shen Zhaozhao's odds against Lin Qingyuan are 1 to 10..."
"So what if it's 10 times?"
Pei Lang glared, "Ten times is more exciting! I'm going to bet on the underdog! I'm going to take a gamble! Even if I lose, I'll be happy. My happiness is priceless, what's it to you?! Hurry up! Write it!"
His shout completely jolted the stunned cultivators around him awake.
After a brief silence, an even stronger wave of discussion and barely suppressed laughter erupted.
"How much does the Crimson Cloud Sect spoil this young master? Can they really afford to let him squander so much money?"
"Ten high-grade spirit stones, just to spite someone?"
"Thanks for Young Master Pei's generosity! This is a sure thing! Brothers, let's raise the bet, and raise it again on Senior Brother Lin!"
"Yes, yes, yes! With Young Master Pei as our guise, the bookmaker's odds will definitely be more stable! Bet, bet, bet!"
The gamblers were as excited as if they had been injected with chicken blood. Those who were hesitant before had no more worries and took out more spirit stones, rushing to bet on Lin Qingyuan's name.
In no time, the area in front of the table was packed with people, the clinking of spirit stones filled the air, and the atmosphere was even more lively than during the Lunar New Year.
On the other side.
On the arena.
Lin Qingyuan narrowed his eyes, watching Shen Zhaozhao slowly draw her seemingly ordinary sword.
He scanned the sword several times, but couldn't discern anything that could cause any trouble, ultimately concluding that the other party was just daydreaming.
With a helpless smile, Lin Qingyuan's tone carried the condescending admonition characteristic of a Tianyan Sect disciple: "Shen Zhaozhao, I know that because of Senior Brother Gu's matter, you've been harboring a grudge and can't stand seeing Junior Sister Wan'er doing well."
"But what you did today was truly irrational. It's one thing for you to do it yourself, but you also dragged Pei Lang down with you into this mess. How can you live with yourself?"
"I'll [beep] you [beep beep]!"
Upon hearing this, Pei Lang, who had just squeezed his way back, instantly flew into a rage and reached for the talisman at his waist. "You're the one who's out of your mind! I'm doing what I want, what's it to you! If you've got the guts, come down here and I'll fight you one-on-one!"
The junior disciples of the Crimson Cloud Sect turned pale with fright. They rushed over, some hugging his waist, others pulling his arms, like a group of koalas clinging to the rampaging Pei Lang, while repeatedly advising, "Senior brother, calm down! There are rules for fighting in the arena, you can't fight off the stage!"
"Let me go! Today I will act on behalf of Heaven and strike this hypocrite with a single talisman!"
The audience erupted in chaos.
Shen Zhaozhao completely ignored Pei Lang's roar behind her and Lin Qingyuan's hypocritical face.
Her gaze swept lightly across the audience below—Yun Wan'er was surrounded by disciples of the Tianyan Sect, her small face trying to maintain a look of worry, but deep in her eyes gleamed a gleam of pleasure, waiting to see how Lin Qingyuan would humiliatingly defeat her.
Immediately, a utterly despicable smile curled at the corner of his mouth.
"Thump!"
The deep, resonant sound of the gong, symbolizing the start of the competition, exploded suddenly in the air above the bustling square, like a muffled thunderclap.
Before the gong's sound had even faded, a semi-transparent light screen, visible only to herself, suddenly unfolded deep within Shen Zhaozhao's almond-shaped eyes.
[Moral Integrity Points Balance: 5000 points.]
[Exchange Zone: Cultivation Enhancement (Foundation Establishment Stage)]
[Confirmed consumption of 5000 points of misconduct, to exchange for a 5-level minor realm advancement in Foundation Establishment?]
Change!
Replace everything!
[Cultivation in progress...]
[Infusion complete. Current realm: Foundation Establishment Level 7.]
"Buzz—!"
The sword trembled slightly, emitting a clear, melodious hum, as if it had broken free from some invisible shackles.
Shen Zhaozhao flicked her wrist casually, the movement seemingly light and airy, but where the sword passed, the air made a "hissing" sound as if it were being forcibly torn apart.
Lin Qingyuan's pupils suddenly contracted, and the composure on his face and that bit of hypocritical admonition instantly froze—this aura, something's not right!
However, Shen Zhaozhao didn't give him a chance to figure out what was "wrong".
Hurry up.
Very soon.
"call!"
A hazy, gray sword shadow, brimming with immense spiritual power, instantly tore through the meager distance between the two like a ghost.
Shen Zhaozhao's sword tip didn't touch him at all; it just precisely struck the weakest point of his protective aura—his front collar.
Immediately.
Lin Qingyuan was instantly lifted off the ground, his vision spinning, and before he could even utter a proper cry of surprise, he was transformed into a less-than-graceful parabola, crashing with perfect precision onto the bluestone slab outside the boundary line of the arena.
The dust didn't even have time to rise much.
Below the stage, Yun Wan'er's lips, which were just about to curve into a smile, froze on her face, her eyes filled with confusion—what had happened? Where was Senior Brother Lin? Where was Senior Brother Lin, who was at the sixth level of Foundation Establishment?!
The Yunqi City cultivator in charge of the referee was also stunned. His hand holding the flag froze in mid-air until his deputy nudged him, at which point he snapped back to reality, his voice cracking as he cried out, "The...the winner is Shen Zhaozhao!"
The sound echoed in the deathly silent square, sounding particularly jarring.
The area that was just moments ago bustling with activity was now so quiet you could hear the sound of a spirit stone bag falling to the ground.
Those cultivators who were just a moment ago mocking Pei Lang for being a sucker and betting wildly all had their smiles completely vanish. Their expressions went blank, their eyes glazed over, as if they would die on the spot at any moment.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
