Chapter 197

The moment the finger force beam flew out, a ripple of force appeared centered on Li Youyi's fingertip, spreading in all directions.

"Boom!"

Lu Wensheng finally released the Eighteen Lightning Strike Array, colliding with the incoming finger force. In an instant, energy fluctuations soared into the sky, and lightning even flew off the ring, spreading to the distant streets.

When everything calmed down.

It was seen that Li Youyi was kneeling on one knee on the ring, supporting himself with his palms, breathing heavily, his body charred black, looking extremely disheveled.

Looking at Lu Wensheng, his robes were like new, the Eighteen Lightning Strike Array having withstood that beam of light, still covering him in the center. Who was higher and who was lower was clear at a glance, but...

He was currently standing under the ring!

It was just now that he had been shaken off.

Li Youyi slowly stood up, staring at Lu Wensheng below, pretending to be relaxed and powerful: "Ten moves, you are the first person who could exchange ten moves with me, and also the first person to force me to use my strongest trump card. But you have lost!"

Qi Wangshu and Zuoqiu Baiyuan were finally able to breathe, gasping for air, and then shouted: "Lei Xiao Sect's Lu Wensheng, defeated in ten moves."

"Boom!"

The martial cultivators watching were all in an uproar, all feeling it was too unbelievable.

From beginning to end, Lu Wensheng had firmly held the upper hand, with a higher magic power realm, exquisite lightning techniques, and a stronger physique, yet he was defeated in ten moves.

No!

It wasn't a defeat, he was just knocked off the ring.

How could the Lei Xiao Sect disciples admit defeat? Someone said: "Senior Brother Lu didn't lose at all; everyone has eyes to see who is higher and who is lower."

"Rules are rules; is the Lei Xiao Sect unable to afford to lose?" Zuoqiu Baiyuan said.

Qi Xiao naturally wanted to take the opportunity to help the Zuoqiu clan suppress the Lei Xiao Sect, saying faintly: "After ten moves, Li Youyi is standing on the ring, and Lu Wensheng is under the ring; the outcome is clear at a glance. With everyone watching, can you still deny it?"

"Xiao Shu, count it up and see how many Gushing Spring coins Young Master Lu needs to lose to Li Youyi. If he can't take them out, or doesn't give them, the Lei Xiao Sect will have lost face all the way to the Southern Region!"

Li Youyi shouted: "Wipe the odd change for Brother Lu!"

"Then it's two hundred and sixty thousand Gushing Spring coins," Qi Wangshu said.

Ten jin of immortal soil worth one million Gushing Spring coins could not be decided directly even by Zuoqiu Ting's status; it required asking the clan head for instructions.

From this, one can see the weight of two hundred and sixty thousand Gushing Spring coins.

The faces of the Lei Xiao Sect disciples all changed.

One of the pretty little junior sisters, about sixteen or seventeen years old, looked at Lu Wensheng, whose face was cold and gloomy, and was very worried: "Senior Brother Lu, you didn't lose to him; he used the rules to win against you. He is just a petty person!"

Lu Wensheng's eyes were sharp as he raised his head again: "I want to fight another match!"

Zuoqiu Baiyuan sneered: "Lu Wensheng, you have no shame left. Look at Young Master Li's current state; can he still fight?"

The last move just now let Qi Xiao see that Li Youyi still had hidden skills, and the worry in his heart had already been put down: "As the referee, I must remind Young Master Lu. You must pay the Gushing Spring coins first before you can challenge again."

"That's right, pay the money first," Qi Wangshu said.

A Lei Xiao Sect disciple said: "You are purely robbing us, deliberately luring people into a trap, wanting to swindle huge wealth."

Zuoqiu Baiyuan said: "Young Master Li's character is noble, he cherishes his reputation, and only wants to meet friends through martial arts; he has never set up a gambling house. The five hundred Gushing Spring coins were just a challenge fee, and even if you lose, it won't hurt your foundation. It was Lu Wensheng who bullied people too much, insisting on using the opportunity to humiliate the Zuoqiu clan, and now that he has lost, he blames us instead."

A war of words between the two sides unfolded, accusing each other, arguing until their faces were red and their necks thick.

Lu Wensheng naturally could not come up with two hundred and sixty thousand Gushing Spring coins, feeling he had lost all face, and turned to leave in silence.

"Senior Brother Lu!"

The Lei Xiao Sect disciples chased after him one after another.

"A sect of ten million, a Nine Springs Pure Immortal Body, and this is it?" Zuoqiu Baiyuan was not afraid of offending the Lei Xiao Sect, mocking to the extreme, wanting to force Lu Wensheng to do something even more unseemly.

Unfortunately, he did not get his wish.

Li Youyi was very graceful and magnanimous: "Brother Baiyuan, don't say any more; forgive others where you can."

Lu Wensheng, who had walked to the distance, heard these words and took a deep breath, barely able to suppress the lightning about to erupt within his body.

Qi Wangshu said: "Are we not chasing him back? Are we really just letting him go like this?"

"No rush, who knows, he might come back tomorrow!" Qi Xiao said.

"Brother Youyi, shall we stop here for today?" Zuoqiu Baiyuan asked.

Li Youyi saw that there were still many martial cultivators under the ring eager to try, so he shook his head: "No! A promise is a promise; if I said I would fight for two hours, I will definitely fight for the full two hours. I... can hold on!"

Zuoqiu Baiyuan picked up the list of those who had paid the challenge fee: "The next one in line is Tianya Ridge, Red Fox Ji!"

A demon martial cultivator with a red fox head and tail flew like a phantom onto the ring. She had already transformed into a human body, wearing a woman's dress, her arms and hands shed of fox fur, white, tender, and slender.

After five moves.

Red Fox Ji let out a miserable cry, severely injured by Li Youyi's one finger.

Li Youyi stood with his hands behind his back, commenting: "Unbearable! During the battle, your breath was chaotic, the circulation of magic power in your body had no method, and your martial arts attainments are a mess. Who is the best fighter among the Fourth Realm of the Five Seas in Tianya Ridge?"

Red Fox Ji was scolded by Li Youyi until she had no temper left, feeling that what he said made great sense, and replied weakly: "Wood Ape Ling Qing."

Li Youyi said: "Bring it here tomorrow; if I want to fight, I want to fight the strongest. Give her fifty Gushing Spring coins, and if Wood Ape Ling Qing comes tomorrow, give her another fifty Gushing Spring coins."

Standing on the array floating island of the Immortal Forest, one could just see the congested crossroads below.

Next to the intersection, that newly built ring appeared extremely eye-catching.

Inside a white jade pavilion on the south side of the floating island.

Zuoqiu Ting, who had transformed into the appearance of Long Ting, sat in the main seat of the dim hall, with a map of the twenty-eight states of Lingxiao hanging on the jade wall behind him.

Part of the terrain of the Far West Ash Region and the Nether Realm of the Dead beyond the twenty-eight states was outlined.

Zuoqiu Ting's eyes were extremely bright in the darkness, stating the pros and cons: "This Qianlong Lantern Festival, the Far West Ash Region and the imperial court represented by the Young Venerable are the two strongest forces."

"Not to mention those Ash Spirits! The two major forces of the Dog Rong and Bird Rong in your Western Region will inevitably take orders from him. Now the Coffin Mountain, Night City, and Three Chen Palaces of the Southern Region are also colluding with him, and Tianya Ridge is waiting for a price."

"The Young Venerable's first target will inevitably be the Zhu clan. Zhu Huan is already dead, and the next one is you."

"The Zhu clan cannot win."

Zhu Yibai, sitting opposite, wore a suit of formal armor radiating blood energy, but his appearance was extremely handsome, without the ruggedness of someone who had fought on the battlefield for years; instead, he had red lips, white teeth, and skin as fair as jade.

He played with two black and white jade beads in his hand: "The power of the imperial court will not lose much to the Far West Ash Region; Ge Xiantong is not necessarily weaker than the Young Venerable. The imperial court's first target will inevitably be the Zuoqiu clan, and the Zuoqiu clan cannot win either."

"Therefore, our two families must form a secret alliance for the Qianlong Lantern Festival to have a way out," Zuoqiu Ting said.

Zhu Yibai raised the corners of his mouth: "The Zuoqiu clan is the host; I don't believe you don't have a sure way to win, daring to hold the Qianlong Lantern Festival. Zuoqiu Ting, if you want to cooperate, you must show sincerity; I want to know the trump card of your Zuoqiu clan."

Zuoqiu Ting looked at the map on the wall, pondering for a moment: "You must understand one thing! Your Zhu clan has no choice; there is no way out other than cooperating with the Zuoqiu clan."

Zhu Yibai's eyes tightened: "Alarmist talk."

Zuoqiu Ting said: "Facing an enemy of the Young Venerable's level, the only ones qualified to sit at the table are the Zuoqiu clan of the Southern Region, the Snow Sword Tang clan of the Northern Region, the Longmen and Lei Xiao Sect of the Eastern Region, and the imperial court that is hostile to all insurgent armies."

"Below the Young Venerable and the imperial court, the Snow Sword Tang clan occupying the five states of the Northern Region is undoubtedly the strongest. Next is the Zuoqiu clan supported by the Nine Li clan."

"The Zhu clan, Longmen, and Lei Xiao Sect, the three major forces are fighting for fifth place."

"The Zhu clan and Lei Xiao Sect joining forces can at most protect themselves. As for the Longmen... it's laughable to talk about them; the Zhu clan's great situation was all ruined by them."

"The Snow Sword Tang clan is indeed powerful, but they don't need the Zhu clan. If the Zhu clan takes the initiative to form an alliance, can they get an equal status? Can they live and die together? They will only be used."

"Them sitting on the mountain watching the tigers fight is the best choice."

Zhu Yibai fell into silence; in the hall, there was only the sound of the black and white jade beads turning in his hand.

After a long while, he said nothing, rose, and left.

The door opened.

Inside the hall, it became bright again.

The previous dimness was all because Zuoqiu Ting had sucked away all the light in the space.

Zuoqiu Lancheng, the second successor of the Zuoqiu clan, walked in quickly after sending Zhu Yibai away: "How did the talk go?"

"It wasn't Zhu Yibai, just a body double. But this body double is very strong, with cultivation strength close to a successor." Zuoqiu Ting stood by the wall, his gaze fixed on the map.

Zuoqiu Lancheng showed displeasure and snorted coldly: "Is Zhu Yibai too cautious, or too insincere?"

"Someone tempered on the battlefield must be extremely cautious, which is understandable. Facing a dangerous person like the Young Venerable, he should be under quite a bit of pressure," Zuoqiu Ting said.

Zuoqiu Lancheng said: "By the way, Lu Wensheng also lost, exactly in ten moves."

Zuoqiu Ting was not surprised at all, moved his gaze away from the map, walked outside, and laughed: "Lu Wensheng would never admit defeat; didn't he challenge a second match?"

"He wanted to."

Zuoqiu Lancheng then recounted the matter of the gambling match.

Zuoqiu Ting was dumbfounded; he originally thought Li Youyi would make big money later, but he didn't expect him to earn so much on the first day. He could already imagine what the scene would be like later.

Even Zuoqiu Lancheng was envious and very jealous: "For us, picking a thousand-year-old essence herb requires taking great risks. And he earned the money for two or three thousand-year-old essence herbs so easily... However, I'm afraid it won't be easy to collect the debt; Lu Wensheng can't come up with it."

Zuoqiu Ting stood by the railing with a smile in his eyes, looking down at the street under the clouds and mist: "Debts must be repaid; it's only right and proper. This money can't be defaulted on; it seems I can earn a big sum along with him..."

"Xue Kong Dong of Shuzhou in the Southern Region, defeated in four moves," Qi Wangshu shouted.

After Li Youyi gave a martial arts commentary on him, he asked: "Who is the best fighter among the Fourth Realm of the Five Seas in Shuzhou? Bring him here tomorrow, and you can get one hundred Gushing Spring coins."

"Xinzhou of the Northern Region, Zhu Qingyan, narrowly defeated in seven moves."

Li Youyi's voice followed closely: "Zhu Qingyan, bring all the strongest Fourth Realm of the Five Seas from the seven states of the Northern Region; I want to meet them through martial arts."

Zhu Qingyan saw that Li Youyi looked disheveled and weak, but was actually full of energy, his martial arts attainments unfathomable, and how could she not know he had been acting all along? She was resentful and hateful in her heart: "Young Master Li, you are indeed not an ordinary person; I, Zhu Qingyan, admit defeat, but the seven states of the Northern Region are full of experts, and naturally someone can defeat you."

"That's very good; I'm just afraid there's no one in the Northern Region."

Li Youyi was truly not acting anymore, his aura outstanding, like a martial arts saint, his sharp eyes scanning all the spectators: "Today ends here; it really wasn't satisfying enough, only Lu Wensheng was somewhat decent. Tomorrow! Everyone come back tomorrow; the dragons and phoenixes of the Fourth Realm of the twenty-eight states, I will weigh them all on one scale tomorrow."

Too wild, but his combat power was indeed formidable, with dozens of matches and no defeats, worthy of being called a legend of a realm.

"Young Master Li," "challenge fee," "defeat all enemies in the world in ten moves," "Lu Wensheng owes a huge gambling debt," "weigh all the dragons and phoenixes of the twenty-eight states on one scale"... and other topics quickly spread through the streets and alleys.

(End of chapter)