Chapter 198

Four days later.

Dongcheng, Lei Chi Studio.

This ancient studio, which had been abandoned for a hundred years and covered dozens of acres, was built on a low hill in the city planted with pine and cypress. Although dilapidated, it had a wide view. It was bought by Lu Cangsheng for a huge sum after he arrived in Qiuzhouzhoucheng.

He filled the three-acre pond in the studio with water from the Thunder Sea.

Using the Lei Chi as the center, he set up a nine-story array tower as the foundation for the young martial cultivators of the Lei Xiao Sect in the Dongcheng.

All parties handed over all matters of the Qianlong Lantern Festival entirely to the younger generation leaders, not interfering in how to arrange alliances or with whom.

The Due Temple was looking for a Qianlong to support the world.

How could the older figures of all parties not want to see what kind of quality the young geniuses they had cultivated really were?

As a genius born once in a thousand years in the Lei Xiao Sect, Lu Cangsheng deeply understood one truth. In doing anything, one must first think of a retreat; before advancing, one must have the power to protect oneself, and only after having complete preparations can one plan the matter, so as to be in an invincible position.

The Lei Chi Studio was the place of self-protection he built to welcome the Qianlong Lantern Festival.

"Let me in, you dare to stop me..."

Lu Wensheng's cold and gloomy voice came from outside, having a dispute with the Lei Xiao Sect disciples guarding the Lei Chi.

Lu Cangsheng, who was meditating on the surface of the Lei Chi, felt restless, opened his eyes, and sighed deeply: "Let him in!"

Lu Wensheng came to the side of the Lei Chi, watching Lu Cangsheng stepping on the water toward the shore step by step. After organizing his emotions, he said as calmly as possible: "Cangsheng, lend me another two hundred thousand Gushing Spring coins; this time I can definitely win it all back!"

All of Lu Cangsheng's patience had been exhausted in these few days: "Still want to fight? You've already lost three matches, and you still haven't seen clearly that the other person's combat power is far above yours, and he has been toying with you all along."

"No! In three exchanges, no one knows his combat power level better than I do; he is indeed very strong, and I am no match for him, but I no longer hold the mindset of defeating him! I am very clear-headed, I have self-knowledge..." Lu Wensheng said.

Before he could finish, Lu Cangsheng scolded: "Brother, being in the mountains, you can't see the mountains. In these three matches, you lost your magic weapon armor, lost your Heavenly Thunder Blade, all your cultivation resources were mortgaged, and you also borrowed two hundred thousand Gushing Spring coins at Qianli Mountain, right? You cannot go to fight on the ring again; you can't win."

These few days, Lu Wensheng had become very sensitive, trembling with anger at Lu Cangsheng's words, and roared: "I never thought about winning! Five moves, I only need to withstand five moves from him to win back everything I lost before. I am a Nine Springs Pure Immortal Body, with the Eighteen Lightning Strike Array on me; I can't even withstand five moves from him in the same realm?"

"There are heavens beyond heavens, and people beyond people. You can't win!"

Lu Cangsheng said with a tone of certainty, and added: "I went to watch a few matches; although that Li Youyi's realm is still low, his martial arts attainments are far superior to yours, and he has been hiding his skills all along, not showing his true ability at all. In the same realm, I might not even be his match. I'll just consider the two hundred and sixty thousand Gushing Spring coins you borrowed from me as spent on your cultivation; no need to pay it back. I can also help you pay back what you borrowed at Qianli Mountain, but you must promise me you cannot go to fight on the ring again..."

"I don't need your pity!"

Lu Wensheng seemed to have been greatly stimulated: "I know, you don't look down on me at all, just like everyone else in the sect. You are a genius, and I am just a piece of trash! But I am also a genius; I'm just not as good as you. That's right, ten moves, I can't withstand, but five moves I can definitely withstand."

"Cangsheng... brother... Senior Brother, lend me the Gushing Spring coins, I beg you, let me fight one last time, I promise, it is absolutely the last time, I swear by the spirits of our parents in heaven."

"If I don't win back what I lost, I will die; how can I have the face to live in this world? Those people in the sect are all laughing at me behind my back; I must prove myself, otherwise... I can only go die!"

Speaking to the end, Lu Wensheng's body gradually lowered, about to kneel to Lu Cangsheng.

Lu Cangsheng could be ruthless to anyone, except for this brother, for whom he had the greatest tolerance. He took a deep breath, a chill flashed in his eyes, then quickly turned into a smile, and supported Lu Wensheng up with both hands: "The last time?"

Lu Wensheng laughed through his tears, moved: "Parents died early; we brothers relied on each other to survive. Cangsheng, I knew you wouldn't ignore whether I live or die! The last time, I will definitely win back five times the Gushing Spring coins."

Lu Cangsheng took out a rectangular medicine casket from his boundary bag and handed it over: "This 1,600-year-old Black Dragon Grass was picked by me from the bottom of the East Sea; it's worth about two hundred thousand Gushing Spring coins."

"Cangsheng, you are too good; don't worry, this time I will definitely win!"

Lu Wensheng left quickly, hugging the medicine casket and beaming with joy.

Qin Qian walked in from outside, watching Lu Wensheng leave, and then looked at Lu Cangsheng's gloomy expression and murderous intent by the Lei Chi.

She said: "Senior Brother Lu was never in such a manic and sensitive state before; he was an extremely calm and restrained person. It's all Li Youyi's fault. I'll go kill him!"

She was a Pure Immortal Body cultivating the Sixth Sea, so naturally she had the confidence to kill Li Youyi.

Lu Cangsheng stared at the Lei Chi: "Just a chess piece! What we should really be thinking about is, why did Zuoqiu Ting push this chess piece out?"

Qin Qian said: "There is news that Li Youyi is Cang Li's brother-in-law."

"Cang Li's brother-in-law? Isn't it said that he is the son-in-law of the Zuoqiu clan?" Lu Cangsheng frowned.

Qin Qian said: "There are even rumors that he possesses the strength to defeat Yang Zhiyong of the Sui Sect. All kinds of news are flying everywhere, true and false, with strong misleading qualities."

Lu Cangsheng thought for a moment: "The Zuoqiu clan and the Nine Li clan have avoided battle for ten years, biding their time, watching the heroes of the world and the imperial court fight in chaos, consuming each other, killing until rivers of blood flow. And they, with deep foundations, don't know how much food, resources, pills, magic weapons, battle arrays, and exotic beasts they have hoarded. Now, borrowing the momentum of the Due Temple and the Qianlong Lantern Festival, they want to officially enter the game, planning to reap the benefits of the fisherman."

"The imperial court will definitely regard them as the primary target for attack, giving the Due Temple and the Zuoqiu clan a head-on lesson."

"The clash of the younger generation at the Qianlong Lantern Festival will inevitably follow this pattern."

"Therefore, there is no need for the Lei Xiao Sect to take action at this time against a mere martial cultivator of the Fourth Realm of the Five Seas; let yourself be restrained from charging into battle."

"How about this, you go tell the Dragon Palace. If the Longmen can kill Li Youyi, the cooperation between our two families can continue."

"Is the Longmen willing to charge into battle?" Qin Qian said.

Lu Cangsheng said: "In the turmoil of Lizhou, the Longmen itself has already offended the Nine Li clan; there must be a contest at the Qianlong Lantern Festival. Moreover, the Longmen should have suffered quite a loss in this pitfall of a gambling match on the ring."

"How many extremely shrewd martial cultivators have been lured into the trap step by step, all turning into gamblers like lunatics."

"Fortunately, that Li Youyi only has the cultivation of the Fourth Realm of the Five Seas; if he were three realms higher, the Qianlong Lantern Festival would be ruined by him alone, and directly renamed the Qianlong Gambling Festival. This person cannot be left alive."

The challenge fee was five hundred Gushing Spring coins on the first day.

It rose to one thousand on the second day.

On the third day, the rules were changed directly; there was no upper limit for the challenge fee, and the payout was ten to one.

On the fourth day, the area around the ring was deserted, with many spectators but very few daring to go on stage.

But with the hanging of the second banner, "defeat all enemies in the world in five moves," the top martial cultivators of the Fourth Realm of the Five Seas, who had been scared by losing in the first four days, immediately regrouped and ran around everywhere, raising Gushing Spring coins.

The enthusiasm was ignited again, and everyone was confident they could withstand five moves.

"This time, it's not about paying a challenge fee; the rules say it's an opportunity for us to win back our losses, preparing to return all the money we lost."

"One to five, as long as we withstand five moves from him, no matter how many Gushing Spring coins we take out, he will pay five times."

"But he said, telling us to be restrained and act according to our ability, and absolutely not to take out too huge a sum of funds."

"Restrained? He's afraid he won't be able to pay if he loses."

"Defeating all martial cultivators of the same realm within five moves, it's impossible for anyone to be sure; he naturally has to be a bit cautious."

"I can't withstand ten moves! In the same realm, if I can't even withstand five moves, what is the meaning of this martial arts cultivation?"

At the top floor of the vermilion tower at the center of the Qiuzhou Attendant Hall, Jiang Ning wore a thousand-year-old governor's robe, sitting in the center of a circular array diagram, practicing the Long Xing Technique.

The Long Xing Technique is the only way to obtain the power of the dragon soul inside the official robe.

Of the three hundred governor's robes from a thousand years ago, half are stored in the imperial palace. The remaining half are lost among the people and in the Nether Realm.

Hearing the noise and heated discussion under the tower, she stopped practicing and asked Zhuang Yue: "What happened again?"

Zhuang Yue changed into a pair of scarlet demon eyes, her pupils like jade, and she, who was always cold-faced, had a bit of charm about her. Her expression was strange: "It's just Qin Changfeng, Lin Yi, the Fifth Young Master, and the others, preparing to go to the ring again, running around raising money, claiming they want to make a big haul."

Jiang Ning's eyes were covered with white dragon-patterned gauze, and three mist-like dragon souls were already swimming around her body, her tone clear and quiet: "Fifth Brother was also brought into it by them?"

"The Fifth Young Master has already lost three matches in a row, lost his magic weapons, and was also injured. That guy doesn't show any mercy at all," Zhuang Yue snorted coquettishly.

Jiang Ning said: "Having lost like this, they still want to fight?"

"Zuoqiu Ting wrote him another piece of calligraphy, writing 'defeat all enemies in the world in five moves.' It's just withstanding five moves; how could Qin Changfeng and the Fifth Young Master and the others not take the bait?"

Zhuang Yue added: "Zuoqiu Ting is clearly using him; if he keeps winning like this, it will inevitably provoke public anger and be very dangerous."

(End of chapter)