Chapter 23: Winning the Top Spot Again

Kundu had lost a great deal of face last time; at a glance, he was the type of person who was narrow-minded and vengeful. Lu Yuan had been wondering if the other party would find someone else to ambush him, but after scanning the VIP seats, he did not discover any trace of him.

He Xiong laughed:

"I heard about what happened last time, too. That guy lost so much face under your hands, how could he have the face to come back? That second-generation heir is usually idle; he used to come here several times a month, but I haven't seen him even once this month. I reckon it will be hard to see him at the Boxiyuan in the future."

Xu Dahu, standing to the side, feared the world would not be in chaos:

"What a pity. It would be even better if that guy came; Junior Brother could give him another surprise."

This remark left He Xiong somewhat confused, and Lu Yuan did not explain. After the group exchanged pleasantries in the waiting area for a while, a clear, resonant gong sound echoed through the arena, signifying the official start of the matches.

The participating contestants went up to the stage in groups, and the gamblers in the stands who had placed bets were noisy, discussing the contestants they favored; the atmosphere was fervent.

Three rings in the arena were competing simultaneously. Because they were all martial arts experts who had achieved Refining Strength, the intensity of the fights was much higher than the Mid-Level Ring. One could see figures interweaving on the stage, Qi energy whistling, and even sounds of tendons and bones breaking, stimulating the spectators in the stands until their faces were red and their shouting was like a tide.

Lu Yuan was placed in the tenth group. During this time, he observed and evaluated every contestant who took the stage, and once the ninth group finished, he quickly stepped onto the stage.

His opponent was a rather lean, yellow-faced man who seemed to be a wild-style contestant who had come to sign up alone, with no background support.

There was no cliché drama of encountering a hidden master. Although the yellow-faced man showed decent strength and technique upon taking the stage, he was still sent into a daze by Lu Yuan's immense strength in just three rounds, and then thrown off the stage.

Off the stage, Xu Dahu and the other companions were not surprised at all and cheered one after another.

Then came the second match, and the third.

During this period, the other seven veteran contestants participating in the Boxiyuan were either eliminated or advanced, while Lu Yuan successively encountered experts from the Sand River Gang and the Shanyue Martial Arts Hall.

Both were experienced and not weak, yet upon encountering a monster like him who possessed immense strength, they still lasted less than ten rounds before being thrown off the stage in a sorry state, bruised and battered with nosebleeds flowing.

Such a momentum-filled, consecutive winning performance naturally soon attracted the attention of the spectators and gamblers present. Many recognized that Lu Yuan was the top winner of the Low-Level Ring from the month before last and began to discuss it in astonishment.

Some of those with a sharp eye immediately ran to the counter to place bets on Lu Yuan, wanting to take a gamble.

At the Boxiyuan, there were two types of bets gamblers could place: one was the number of matches a contestant won, and the other was the final ranking a contestant could achieve; the odds for different stakes varied.

The Qinglong Gang, as the house, mainly relied on taking a cut; regardless of whether their own contestants won or lost, they were guaranteed a profit, which was why there were rarely cases of match-fixing, and also why gamblers felt safe placing bets.

And in reality, it was not just them.

Including Lu Yuan himself, after observing the skill level of all the contestants in the first round, he directly took out 100 Silver Yuan and had Xu Dahu place a heavy bet for him, betting that he could win the top spot.

According to the initial odds set by the bookkeeper, if he could win the top spot in this tournament, he would receive a payout of 500 Silver Yuan!

Including Xu Dahu and Xu Erhu, both were now full of confidence in Lu Yuan, and they took out their own hidden savings and bet it all on this, wanting to earn a sum.

And as the matches progressed.

Soon, after three rounds, only 12 contestants remained on the field, and every one of them was extremely formidable. Of the eight contestants from the Boxiyuan side, three had also made it into the semi-finals.

By this time, the atmosphere in the arena was fervent to the extreme, the noise was deafening, and among the thousand-plus spectators, the majority had placed bets regardless of whether they were gamblers. Because of Lu Yuan's unstoppable performance, the subsequent betting odds dropped sharply, becoming 1:2.

The one with the lowest odds was a black-faced man named Hu Haichao, who came from the Money Gang; his odds were only 1:1.2.

These odds undoubtedly represented that the other party was a hot favorite to win the top spot. According to Xu Dahu, the other party had indeed won the top spot in the Mid-Level Ring the month before last. If there was anyone who posed the greatest threat to Lu Yuan in today's tournament, it was undoubtedly this person.

Although Lu Yuan had great confidence in taking the top spot, he was not an arrogant fool, so he immediately began to pay close attention to the other party.

Of course, he successfully won this round as well.

After this round ended, the tournament entered the semi-finals. Excluding those who had forfeited due to injury, only 4 contestants from each side remained, with the Qinglong Gang, including Lu Yuan, accounting for two of them.

In this semi-final round, although the opponent was slightly stronger, Lu Yuan still won smoothly and advanced to the finals.

Another companion, however, was unlucky enough to encounter Hu Haichao of the Money Gang. After struggling for over twenty rounds, he was still defeated because his stamina failed him; he was fiercely knocked off the stage by the opponent and suffered significant injuries.

With this, only Lu Yuan and Hu Haichao remained to compete for the top spot.

By this point, more spectators on the sidelines had recognized Lu Yuan as the top winner of the Low-Level Ring from the month before last, and they were exceptionally suspicious, even wondering if the Qinglong Gang had cheated the month before last.

However, the atmosphere at this very moment was incredibly fervent, and these voices of doubt were buried in the massive waves of sound.

Amidst the deafening shouts, both sides rested for the time it takes to burn an incense stick, and then, after a gong sounded, they stepped onto the stage to begin the final showdown.

And for this crucial match, for Lu Yuan, there was still not much suspense.

Although Hu Haichao had clearly stepped into the Refining Strength level for a long time, and his wrestling techniques were also superb, far surpassing his own.

But Lu Yuan's current strength was on par with martial artists at the Tendon Changing level like Xu Erhu; his strength was almost overwhelmingly superior to the opponent's.

Therefore, after the two wrestled for about twenty rounds, Hu Haichao was at a disadvantage from start to finish. In the end, Lu Yuan seized the opportunity to unleash his immense strength, using an Iron Mountain Lean to crash the opponent off the stage, winning decisively.

With this, Lu Yuan successfully won the top spot in this tournament!

The moment the referee announced it.

Lu Yuan stood on the stage as cheers, applause, and insults came crashing down like a tidal wave. With over a thousand gazes gathered upon him, the Heavenly Book in his mind suddenly rippled, and he felt in the dark that an invisible force seemed to be gathering toward him from the void.

After a brief communication, the Heavenly Book provided feedback:

【Master of the Heavenly Book】: Lu Yuan

【Mastered Arts】:

Earthly Fiend-Ingestion (Human: 14%): Can swallow all things, refining the essence of all things to strengthen oneself.

Earthly Fiend-Guidance (Human: 3%): The Inner Elixir Dao method of breathing and refining Qi; practicing it can prolong life, lead to longevity, and achieve the path of an Earth Immortal.

【Luck Power】: 28 units

Over this month, he had accumulated 10 units of Luck Power through his practice.

The extra 18 units of Luck Power were naturally obtained after winning the top spot just now!

Sure enough, just as he had thought, as long as he kept competing and winning to gain fame and expand his influence, he could continuously obtain Luck Power!

(End of chapter)