Chapter 178: Betting One's Life for Wealth and Rank

Three days after the tournament began.

In a private room of a restaurant inside Tiandou City.

Prince Xue Xing sat at the head of the table, with several nobles from the city seated on either side of him.

Before them stood a robust young man.

"Wang Teng, ancestral home Wang Family Village in Huaibei City, third-born in the family," one noble recited from the documents in his hand, his gaze shifting to the young man, "Am I correct?"

The young man named Wang Teng nodded tremblingly.

Today, he had originally been cultivating in his hotel when he was summoned by Prince Xue Xing's attendant.

He had assumed that his performance in the arena had earned him the other party's appreciation, so he had come to the appointment readily.

As a commoner Spirit Master, he knew the importance of opportunity.

But he had not expected there to be so many noble lords in the private room. For a moment, a bad premonition arose in his heart.

Another noble placed a purple Gold Soul Coin card on the tea table.

"We have investigated. Your father broke both his legs while chopping wood on the mountain in his early years and has not been able to get out of bed for the rest of his life; it is your mother who has managed the entire household."

"But unfortunately, due to excessive labor in her early years, your mother accumulated illnesses and, like your father, is bedridden."

"Your two older brothers have no talent as Spirit Masters and make a living farming at home. And the one hundred Gold Soul Coin subsidy you receive from the Spirit Hall each month is mostly used for your parents' treatment and your younger sister's schooling."

"Am I correct?"

For a commoner Spirit Master, the monthly subsidy provided by the Spirit Hall is life-saving money.

But for Wang Teng, it was still too little.

His mother's internal injuries were not so easily healed, and it was even more impossible for his father's legs to grow back.

Hiring a Healing Soul Master to take action would cost far more than one hundred Gold Soul Coins.

Wang Teng had dreamed of latching onto a great noble, but from today's scene, he could roughly guess that this group of nobles wanted him to sell his "life"!

Seeing that the groundwork was sufficiently laid, one of the elderly men stood up and said, "I am Katlan, a hereditary Count of the Heaven Dou Empire."

Wang Teng said respectfully, "Greetings, Count."

Katlan waved his hand, "Open people don't speak in riddles; I don't like beating around the bush, so I will speak plainly."

"I have only two sons in my life and no daughters. If you handle this matter well for me, not only will your parents receive treatment, but your two older brothers will also be exceptionally admitted into the local Chengzhufu to serve as officials."

"As for your younger sister, I have heard her talent is quite good, and I intend to adopt her as my foster daughter."

Wang Teng's eyes lit up.

A noble of such status would not deign to toy with him.

With his sister adopted as a foster daughter, his entire family would have a backer in the future, and there might even be a chance for his father's legs to grow back.

As a commoner Spirit Master, he knew how difficult it was to obtain cultivation resources; becoming a Count's foster daughter would surely make his sister's future achievements limitless!

Thinking of this, he knelt on the ground to show his stance, "Thank you, Count, for your appreciation, and thank you all, my lords, for the invitation. I, Wang Teng, am willing to serve you all with my life."

Prince Xue Xing laughed heartily, "In that case, I must congratulate Count Katlan on having a house full of children in the future; wouldn't life be comfortable and pleasant!"

Changing the subject, he looked at Wang Teng, "Kid, your performance is quite good."

"Alas, if not for the suddenness of the matter, I would really like to make good use of you."

Hearing this, Wang Teng already knew his own ending.

"It is a pity, a real pity, that someone insists on going against the Heaven Dou Imperial Family, and I cannot retaliate yet. Therefore, I can only have you sacrifice yourself so that I may have a handle to retaliate against the other party, while your family's wealth and glory will be within easy reach."

"My people have already gone to Huaibei City. As long as you agree to handle this matter for me, I can fulfill my promise immediately."

Wang Teng asked with a firm expression, "I ask that Your Highness the Prince clarify!"

Prince Xue Xing stopped beating around the bush, "In the tournament, deliberately die at the hands of the Shrek Team. Using your one life to save your family a hundred years of hardship—is this trade worth it?"

With things having reached this point, Wang Teng had no possibility of regret.

He already knew Prince Xue Xing's plan; if he refused, to prevent the plan from being leaked, he would certainly be executed on the spot, and even his family would suffer.

As for why they were targeting Shrek Academy, the events of the opening ceremony were the reason.

Wang Teng knelt on the ground and said solemnly, "This lowly one will certainly not fail the trust of Your Highness the Prince and all the noble lords."

The group nodded with satisfaction.

After a word of warning, Prince Xue Xing added, "You may go home for a few days to see for yourself and watch your family enjoy their wealth and glory."

"Here are fifty thousand Gold Soul Coins; take them and spend them. Enjoy yourself well before you leave."

……

In the recent days of the tournament, Shrek had suffered retribution; every opponent in every match had an attitude of fighting them to the death.

Moreover, every time the opponents gained an advantage, they would choose to forfeit just as they were about to launch a counterattack.

This happened for several days in a row, making the Shrek Seven Devils very annoyed, and Yu Xiaogang had to change his tactics.

Yet, today's opponent chose to forfeit directly, leaving them feeling like they had punched a ball of cotton.

With pent-up anger unable to be released, the members of Shrek were furious about this.

If not for the sake of the academy, given their temperaments, they might have really charged into the opponents' rest area for an offline fight.

The Seven Treasure Team's opponent today was the Canghui Academy Team.

Seeing this, Yu Xiaogang comforted everyone, "Stop being emotional. Canghui Academy's strength is not bad; perhaps they can force out the Seven Treasure Team's trump cards. Everyone, go to the venue first and watch the match properly."

The emotions in the hearts of the Shrek Seven Devils had been suppressed for too long; if they could figure out the soul skills of everyone on the Seven Treasure Team, they would surely be able to hold their heads high in the subsequent matches!

Inside the Seven Treasure Team's lounge.

Wu Qi, possessing a god's-eye view, knew about Canghui Academy's Martial Soul Fusion Skill.

And his hundred-thousand-year soul bone could easily neutralize it, so he had to participate in this match.

Just as he was arranging the personnel for the match, Sun Buyu walked into the room in a hurry, "Everyone, rest. Canghui Academy has already forfeited; we have won this match."

Feng Xiaotian, however, was not surprised by this, "It seems they still chose to avoid our edge."

Wu Qi stretched his back and took out the tournament schedule, "Tomorrow's opponent is the Xiangjia Team, everyone get some good rest."

Without a match, everyone could relax for the day.

Seven Treasure Academy had dispatched quite a few teachers to watch the matches of other teams in the spectator stands, make records, and send them back to the academy for the think tank to analyze.

In short, Wu Qi and the others were not that tired and did not need to waste too much energy during their free time.

……

"Giving up again, those trash from Canghui Academy!" Yu Xiaogang cursed bitterly.

As of now, the opponents the Seven Treasure Team had faced in the first few matches were all relatively weak teams, failing to force out their Third Soul Skill or any higher-level soul skills.

They had finally found a strong team like Canghui Academy, yet they had actually avoided the fight!

"Could they have colluded?" Combining the situation of the recent matches, Dai Mubai said indignantly.

Being targeted in turns by various teams, the Shrek Seven Devils were in an extremely foul mood, but they were helpless to do anything about it.

(End of this chapter)