"Don’t worry." Lei Xuankong smiled faintly. "I’ve already reached seven of the ten people we talked about, and five have agreed. The other three shouldn’t be a problem."
"Excellent."
A sinister light gleamed in Han Juefeng’s eyes.
"Then this time, I’ll make Li Yun lose everything. The Genius Training Camp isn’t a place where someone from the Heavenly Core Realm gets to do whatever he pleases."
News of the coming battle spread rapidly, and that was no accident, because someone was deliberately making sure every member heard about it.
Most of Li Yun’s earlier challenges had been fairly quiet, and although he had fought many opponents, only a limited number of people had actually watched those battles.
This time was different. Before long, nearly everyone in the Genius Training Camp knew that Li Yun would be challenging Han Juefeng, and even many members ranked in the top fifty decided to attend.
Han Juefeng ranked fifty-first and stood only one step away from the top fifty, so a victory would effectively put Li Yun right at the gates of that elite group.
The difference between the top hundred and the top fifty was enormous, and if someone still in the Heavenly Core Realm truly broke into the top fifty of a training camp full of Spirit Manifestation Realm geniuses, a great many people would undoubtedly start feeling uneasy.
By the following day, hundreds of cultivators had gathered around the wager arena well before the agreed time, and several powerful top-fifty members were among them.
"Look over there. That’s Qin Fenglie, ranked fiftieth. He actually came."
"Of course he did. If Han Juefeng loses, Qin Fenglie will probably be Li Yun’s next target."
"Look farther back. Luo Changye, ranked forty-seventh, is here too, and so is Jiang Haoran from forty-third."
"Even Wei Cangming, ranked thirty-seventh, showed up."
"Bai Yuchen’s here as well."
"That makes sense, since Li Yun is his fellow disciple."
"Huang Tianze and Huang Tianlin came too."
Someone suddenly stopped talking, his face full of shock.
"Wait. That person..."
"It’s Mu Tianque. It’s actually Mu Tianque."
"The number one person in the Genius Training Camp came to watch this fight?"
The discussion around the arena instantly grew louder, because Mu Tianque’s arrival had surprised almost everyone.
"Brother Mu."
Even Huang Tianze and Bai Yuchen rose to greet him.
"Brother Huang. Brother Bai."
Mu Tianque smiled warmly as he returned the greeting. He looked to be around thirty years old, and a pale blue robe covered his tall frame.
He was not extraordinarily handsome, yet there was something naturally pleasant about his features, and his gentle temperament made it hard for anyone to feel hostile toward him.
Although he held the number one position in the entire Genius Training Camp, there was no arrogance in his manner at all.
Mu Tianque was something of a legend in the training camp. He did not come from any of the Five Supreme Factions, and he was not the successor of some powerful first-rate or second-rate organization either. He was a wandering cultivator who had never formally acknowledged a master during his entire cultivation journey.
He had only once met a mysterious old expert who casually offered him a few pieces of guidance, and from then on he had relied mostly on his own talent and comprehension. By the age of thirty, he had reached the perfection stage of the 3rd level of Spirit Manifestation Realm.
More terrifying still, his actual combat power matched that of someone at the perfection stage of the 4th level, so even if Huang Tianze and Bai Yuchen joined forces, victory against him would be far from certain.
"Brother Mu, what brings you here?" Huang Tianze asked, looking genuinely curious. "You hardly ever leave secluded cultivation, and a fight between Li Yun and Han Juefeng wouldn’t normally catch your attention."
Mu Tianque smiled.
"I’ve gained a few insights recently, and I’m planning to challenge the sixteenth floor of the Supreme Path Pagoda again." His gaze drifted toward the arena. "I happened to hear about this fight as I was coming out of seclusion, so I decided to watch."
Huang Tianze’s expression shifted slightly. Mu Tianque was not someone who spoke without confidence, so if he was preparing to take on the sixteenth floor again of his own accord, his strength had probably improved.
Before Huang Tianze could think about it further, voices suddenly erupted from the crowd.
"They’re here!"
"Li Yun and Han Juefeng have arrived!"
Two figures appeared at almost the same moment, and Li Yun and Han Juefeng stepped onto the arena. Han Juefeng’s gaze briefly swept across the spectators, and when he spotted Mu Tianque, surprise flickered in his eyes.
He calmed down quickly, though, since Mu Tianque’s presence should not interfere with the plan. If anything, having the number-one genius witness Li Yun’s humiliation might make the outcome even sweeter.
"Li Yun." Han Juefeng turned toward him with a sinister smile. "I suddenly feel like betting just ten thousand points is a little boring. It isn’t enough to make either of us truly desperate, so I have another proposal."
Li Yun’s expression stayed calm.
"What are you suggesting?"
"How about we wager our futures?" Han Juefeng laughed.
The arena fell noticeably quieter, and Han Juefeng went on, loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Whoever loses this fight has to cripple his own cultivation in front of everyone. On top of that, the loser has to swear on his martial heart that he’ll never cultivate again for the rest of his life." His grin widened. "Li Yun, do you dare?"
The crowd erupted. Ten thousand points had already been considered an enormous wager, and even in the Genius Training Camp, battles involving that many points were extremely rare.
Han Juefeng’s new condition, however, was on an entirely different level, because it was no longer a wager of resources but of a person’s entire future. Whoever lost would see decades of cultivation vanish in an instant, and for a genius, an outcome like that could be worse than death.
"What’s wrong, Li Yun?" Seeing him stay silent, Han Juefeng laughed even louder. "You don’t dare? Then forget it. I’ll count myself as the loser and even hand you the ten thousand points without a fight."
His expression turned openly mocking. "I just never expected the famous Mad Sword Li to be nothing more than someone who bullies weaker opponents and shrinks away from stronger ones."
The faces of Huang Tianlin, Huang Tianze, and Bai Yuchen darkened at once. Han Juefeng obviously had no real intention of conceding. He was retreating in order to advance, speaking in front of hundreds of witnesses so that Li Yun would be forced to accept.
Li Yun’s eyes turned cold, because he now understood Han Juefeng’s true goal.
The ten-thousand-point wager had never mattered, since from the very beginning Han Juefeng had wanted to push him into betting his entire cultivation future.
There was only one thing Li Yun did not understand. Why was Han Juefeng so confident, and what made him believe victory was guaranteed?
Whatever the answer, Li Yun had no intention of backing down.
"Fine," he said calmly. "I accept."

Comments

Loading...