Chapter 1267: A Staggering Bet

A spacious room in the underground black market.

"Boss, something terrible has happened..."

An old man rushed over in a fluster.

"What's wrong?"

The middle-aged man sitting in the main seat, sipping tea, furrowed his brows.

He was the boss of this underground black market, a peak Soul-Expelling realm powerhouse!

The black market was a mixed bag, yet no one dared to covet so many treasures. As the boss, he naturally possessed strength beyond ordinary reach.

"It's like this: a challenger named Zhang Xuan just arrived, fought ten consecutive matches, and became a ten-time champion..."

The old man said hurriedly.

"So what? A ten-time champion is nothing unusual!"

Picking up the teapot, he poured another cup of hot water, blew on the floating tea leaves, and remained indifferent.

Although becoming a ten-time champion was difficult, the underground black market still produced seven or eight such champions every year. It was nothing special.

"It is normal, but after becoming a ten-time champion, when he wanted to continue challenging for the hundred-time champion... Hong Yang stepped up!"

The old man continued.

"Oh?" The middle-aged man smiled faintly. "Hong Yang's strength is unmatched by anyone of the same level. Whenever he makes a move, his opponent is almost always killed. Just prepare to deal with the corpse—you're well-versed in that. Why are you so flustered?"

"It's just... I also thought Hong Yang would have no problem going up, but who knew that after two exchanges, he had already been slapped twice, and the opponent... seemed completely unharmed..."

The old man recounted what he had just seen, still finding it hard to believe.

"Slapped? Could it be that Hong Yang is no match?" The middle-aged man was taken aback.

"Yes!" The old man nodded.

"Hong Yang is our cash cow, undefeated all this time. Though his reputation is great, it lacks a bit of spectacle... This is fine. A defeat will make him learn from shame and grow stronger. Just keep an eye on things and make sure no one dies..."

Setting down his teacup, the middle-aged man tapped his fingers on the table, pondered for a moment, and said.

Although Hong Yang was formidable, he was not invincible. As long as he wasn't killed in the ring, it was nothing.

"I know all that, but... this companion of Zhang Xuan, as soon as he arrived, started betting wildly! After ten consecutive wins, he had already turned his stake into eighteen hundred spirit stones. Just now, when Hong Yang stepped in, I thought he couldn't possibly win and wanted to recoup the losses, so I set the odds very high... Who knew that guy would bet all his spirit stones..."

The old man looked embarrassed.

"High? How high?"

The middle-aged man was startled.

"If Hong Yang really loses... even if we pay out all the profits of our market over the years, it won't be enough to cover it..."

"What?"

His body swayed, the teacup fell to the ground, and the middle-aged man's vision went dark, nearly collapsing.

How big were the odds?

"Take me to see what's going on..."

Unable to hold back any longer, he abruptly stood up and walked toward the arena.

On a life-and-death arena, one or two deaths were nothing, but if he lost everything, how would he live on?

This had to be stopped!

...

"I'll kill you..."

On the arena, after being slapped twice in a row, Hong Yang's eyes turned red.

Though he had guessed the other party was not weak, he hadn't expected him to be this strong!

Having fought in the underground black market for nearly ten years, he had never suffered such a loss!

The worst part was... this guy, having gained such an advantage, kept swaying as if about to fall any moment... What swaying! I should be the one swaying—I'm disfigured...

"Seal the primordial spirit!"

With a roar, he immediately sealed his primordial spirit and tightly closed all his acupoints.

The reason he had been slapped twice in a row was that the other party used the talent of a Jinghong Master; as long as he didn't look or think about it, he could resist and not be bewitched!

Boom!

After doing this, he charged again, this time not with fists or palms, but with close combat.

He was tall and powerful, and this was his forte in battle. Though furious enough to explode after being slapped twice, he knew that to kill his opponent and avenge the humiliation, this was the only way.

Whoosh!

Closing in, his elbows and knees attacked simultaneously like a storm, hard to defend against.

"Impressive!"

Still listless, Zhang Xuan slightly curled his body. It seemed he couldn't dodge, yet somehow, amid that curling, the storm of attacks instantly failed, not a single blow landing.

"He saw through my attack path?"

His pupils contracted, Hong Yang found it hard to believe.

That curling move, though seemingly desperate, actually calculated his attack route perfectly, evading all strikes. The movement was ugly, but the effect was remarkable.

Just as he was thinking how to counter, he saw the curled Zhang Xuan swayingly extend his hand again and slap him across the face once more.

"Again? I've already sealed my primordial spirit; it won't be so easy for a Jinghong Master to hurt me..."

On high alert, just as he thought the other party had no way, he heard a faint voice by his ear.

"Don't block; you can't block it..."

The voice was like a lover's whisper, making his entire body involuntarily go limp, his muscles relaxing in the blink of an eye.

"No, it's a bewitching sound..."

This state lasted less than a tenth of a second before he became alert, biting his tongue again. Just as he was about to resist, he saw the other's palm already before his eyes.

Slap!

The sound was crisp. Hong Yang's eye sockets reddened, he spun in place, and the other half of his face swelled up.

"Please believe me, my body really can't hold on anymore. I can't fight you... I can't beat you!"

The other's helpless voice sounded in his ears again.

"Ahhh..."

Not hearing it was fine, but upon hearing it, he became even more frantic. Hong Yang's eyes turned crimson. Just as he reached the front, he saw another slap coming.

Soon...

The other side of his face swelled up again, and the other's voice continued: "I'm so tired, I can't hold on anymore. Don't come again..."

He charged again.

Slap! Slap! Slap!

"I can't hold on..."

The other's palm seemed enchanted, each time accurately landing on his face. He tried more than a dozen different body techniques but couldn't dodge. The most crucial thing was that after each slap, the other looked as if he would faint at any moment, utterly disheveled...

If you can't hold on, then faint already...

Clearly looking like he might drop dead at any moment, yet as soon as he charged, a slap came...

How could he be so shameless?

Hong Yang was going crazy.

Not only was he like this, but everyone in the stands was also dumbfounded, their faces filled with exasperation.

They all knew Hong Yang's strength well—unbeatable at the same level, a true hundred-time champion...

They had thought that once he made a move, this arrogant newcomer would be torn into several pieces... How could they have expected such an outcome...

Every time Hong Yang charged, he was slapped back, and then the other seemed drained of strength, wobbling as if about to fall at any moment...

Then he charged again, got slapped back again, and again appeared weak...

And so it repeated.

Their invincible Hong Yang, after being slapped many times, had a face swollen beyond recognition.

The most crucial thing was that this guy who seemed about to faint at any moment hadn't taken a single hit, not even a scratch!

"Were we really fighting him just now?"

The scar-faced youth and the others turned pale, and Qian Xu shrank his head into his neck like a frightened quail.

That was Hong Yang... the most invincible existence in the entire underground market, being slapped back and forth like a little chick... How strong was he really?

Too exaggerated!

He had provoked such a person... Luckily, the guy hadn't bothered with him, otherwise... he would surely have been killed long ago.

"Stop fighting, I really am no match for you... Let's stop!"

On the stage, the crisp sound of slaps and helpless shouts continued.

Thud!

After who knows how long, Hong Yang could no longer hold on. He lay on the ground, darkness before his eyes, and fainted.

Until the moment he lost consciousness, he was filled with unwillingness.

In all his years of arena matches, this was the first time he had fought so stiflingly, so without dignity.

Before fainting, he looked at his opponent—this guy who had seemed about to collapse during his ten-champion match was still the same as before, with no apparent difference.

About to fall at any moment, but never falling...

"He won... Hong Yang?"

"Lost again?"

"That was my wife fund..."

Because Hong Yang had stepped in, many people had placed large bets. Now seeing him lying on the ground, completely unconscious, their faces turned ashen, on the verge of tears.

They had lost many times before, and had thought Hong Yang could help them win it back. Never in their dreams had they imagined such a mess, losing everything.

If they had known this would happen, they would have bet on this Zhang Xuan... Where did this nobody come from?

Easily defeating a hundred-time champion in one go?

"Challenge... Zhang Xuan wins!"

After waiting for a dozen breaths, Hong Yang didn't move. The previous voice sounded again, its tone seemingly full of disbelief.

"I'm rich, I'm really rich this time..."

Unlike the mournful expressions of the crowd, upon hearing the confirmed victory, Zhang Jiuxiao jumped up excitedly.

The odds for this match were one to ten. That meant, as long as Zhang Xuan won, the 1,800 spirit stones he had bet would instantly become 18,000. Adding the principal, it would be close to 20,000!

So many high-grade essence spirit stones—even as a family scion, he had never seen such a sum!

Before coming to the black market, he had not a single coin on him. In less than an hour, close to 20,000...

Teacher Zhang was simply a walking spirit mine, and one that didn't need mining, with people delivering directly.

"This much should satisfy Teacher Zhang's requirements, right..."

Knowing that he had earned enough, Zhang Jiuxiao didn't linger. He went to the place where he had placed the bet and handed over the voucher: "I'm here to collect my winnings! If I'm not mistaken, it should be a total of 19,800 high-grade essence spirit stones!"

"19,800?"

Before the person in charge of taking bets could speak, a cold snort sounded, and then a middle-aged man walked over: "You are suspected of cheating. This bet doesn't count!"