Outside the imperial capital, in front of the Life and Death Arena, many people had already gathered. Aside from the people who often watched the commotion, there were also quite a lot of noble heirs from the imperial capital.
Today was the day of the life-and-death duel between Long Chen and Li Hao. Although fights often occurred here on ordinary days, life-and-death duels did not happen often.
Moreover, this was a life-and-death duel between two noble heirs. Even though the cultivation levels of both were not earth-shattering, it still attracted many people to come and watch.
And in the most famous gambling house in the entire imperial capital, the Youlan Gambling House, they had even opened bets for gamblers to choose:
Li Hao wins, 1 to 2.
Long Chen wins, 1 to 10.
Because this was a life-and-death duel, there would be absolutely no possibility of forgery. Especially since both were noble heirs with high status, betting money on the life and death of two noble heirs was extremely thrilling.
Instantly, even people who were not gamblers began placing bets. It was just that, basically, all of them bet on Li Hao’s victory.
Even though Long Chen had defeated Li Hao previously, at that time Li Hao was completely unprepared and Long Chen managed to exploit the opening. Miracles would not happen twice in a row.
However, there was also a small fraction of people who liked challenges, taking risks to get massive profits with small capital. They placed bets on Long Chen’s victory. But this group was very small.
The bet registration place was not far from the arena. The crowd betting on Li Hao’s victory was very bustling, but the place for people betting on Long Chen’s victory was deserted instead.
“A bet of three hundred thousand gold coins, I bet Long Chen wins!”
Suddenly, a tall, large man appeared in front of the registration staff and threw down a crystal card.
“What?”
The staff was extremely shocked. Half a day had almost passed, and he had only received about ten thousand gold coins. He almost thought he misheard.
That tall, large man was none other than Shi Feng. At Long Chen’s request, he bet all the gold coins on Long Chen.
Long Chen had predicted that because of their status, the Youlan Gambling House would definitely open bets for his life-and-death duel with Li Hao.
The Youlan Gambling House had to open bets for this kind of life-and-death duel, even if they knew they would lose money. Otherwise, they would lose a lot of popularity.
The place that generated the most money was inside their own gambling house. But they also had to participate in this kind of outside betting, because otherwise it would trigger dissatisfaction among the gamblers.
However, the Youlan Gambling House was rich and influential. Even if they lost money to attract attention, they could afford to do it. Therefore, Long Chen targeted this point.
The original wager had been turned into outside bets this time. One was one to one, and the other was one to ten. As long as Long Chen wasn’t stupid, he knew what he had to do.
Yesterday, with the help of Fatty Yu and his friends, he managed to gather over two hundred thousand gold coins. After handing those coins over to Shi Feng, Shi Feng, seeing Long Chen so confident, gritted his teeth and rounded up the coins to three hundred thousand gold coins.
Shi Feng’s family was not rich. Because members of the Shi family had honest and hot-tempered traits, and were not good at business, they were actually not as wealthy as Fatty Yu and his friends.
To gather the money, he pawned his weapons and armor. Gathering this much money just to join the bet with Long Chen.
After receiving the receipt given by the staff, Shi Feng’s heart pounded fast. Brother, you must fight well. I have bet my entire fortune.
Around noon, Li Hao arrived. He leaped onto the approximately 3-meter-high arena with a light movement. His action immediately triggered cheers of praise.
However, the cheers were not to praise his posture, but because the show they had been waiting for was finally about to begin.
Today Li Hao wore tight black clothes that looked clean and neat, making his appearance very pleasing to the eye. He smiled proudly in his heart: Long Chen, I will repay tenfold the humiliation you gave me.
But after Li Hao got onto the ring, he waited for quite a while yet Long Chen still didn’t show up. People began to wonder, could it be Long Chen didn’t dare to come?
While the audience was wondering, the old man guarding the arena said coldly, “The schedule for your duel is three-quarters past noon (around 11:45 AM). You arrived too early by half a shichen (1 hour). You can choose to wait on the ring, or step down and wait.”
Upon hearing that, everyone instantly booed Li Hao. Li Hao, who initially felt proud on the arena, instantly felt stupid. Damn it, how could I forget to check the time?
“It’s fine, I will wait for him on the arena. Besides, he is a person who will soon die, his time is more precious than mine.”
Li Hao smiled faintly and sat cross-legged on the stage, like a great warrior. However, that warrior-like style only lasted a short while, and then something started to feel wrong.
Because it was already noon, the sun was shining very fiercely. The arena was made of black stone slabs that were extremely hot, hot enough to fry an egg.
But Li Hao had already sat down; he couldn’t stand up again. For the sake of maintaining his warrior style, he continuously endured the agonizing heat.
Some sharp-eyed people had noticed that the bottom of Li Hao’s buttocks had started to emit a little smoke. Instantly, everyone wore a strange expression.
“This guy is truly stupid. Willing to suffer to save his pride. In a moment, before the fight even begins, his buttocks will be fully cooked.”
A crisp laugh was heard from a woman’s mouth. In the distance, two veiled women stared towards the arena calmly.
“In short, he is a hypocrite,” the other woman shook her head.
“Sister Mengqi, we’ve been here for a few days, when do you plan to cancel the engagement with him?” asked the woman.
The woman called Mengqi frowned, looking a bit troubled, “Right now he is in difficulty, it would be too cruel to him if I suddenly asked for the cancellation of the engagement now. I’m also confused about what to do.”
“But Sister, letting this drag on is also not a solution. Master has urged us several times. If we don’t return to the mountain soon, we might be punished.”
“Furthermore, with the talent Sister possesses, in the future Sister will definitely enter the Xiantian Realm, and touch the Heavenly Dao. Sister and he are destined to be in two different worlds, nothing will come of it at all,” sighed the woman.
“But, I always feel very guilty if I do this… Sigh, we’ll see later.” Mengqi shook her beautiful head slowly, a trace of suffering radiating in her beautiful eyes.
Seeing Mengqi still hesitating, the woman was about to speak again when she suddenly noticed a commotion in the distance, and she immediately turned her head that way.
A young man in a black robe was seen slowly walking closer amidst the crowd. He had sword-sharp eyebrows, sparkling eyes, and a mesmerizing appearance, carrying a unique aura that gave a very profound impression.
He was like a well. On the surface, he looked ordinary, but no one could see to the bottom, no one knew how deep his strength was, as if he were a mystery.
Even that woman and Mengqi, upon seeing Long Chen appear with such a figure, couldn’t help but feel their hearts tremble slightly. It had to be admitted, the current Long Chen was very different from when they saw him a few days ago. Right now, he radiated confidence.
Seeing Long Chen’s arrival, Li Hao instantly leaped to his feet, feeling a piercing pain in his buttocks. His heart was filled with anger.
“Long Chen, come forward and prepare to die!” barked Li Hao.
Long Chen didn’t look at Li Hao at all. He cast his gaze toward the crowd, and when he saw Shi Feng nod at him, he felt relieved.
Not only did he see Shi Feng, but he also saw Fatty Yu and the others. Clearly, they came to support him.
Long Chen gave them a faint smile, turned around, and walked toward the arena. Li Hao had leaped onto the arena earlier, while Long Chen walked up the stairs.
Instantly, the hearts of the people who bet on Long Chen’s victory dropped. They felt it was highly likely their wagered money would not return.
“Long Chen!”
Seeing Long Chen finally arrive on the stage, Li Hao gritted his teeth and said his name.
“You idiot, your buttocks are already scorched, aren’t they?” Long Chen looked at Li Hao and sneered coldly.
Actually, he had arrived a while ago, but he kept hiding in the distance in the shade and no one noticed him. However, he saw everything that happened here very clearly.
“Three-quarters past noon has arrived. Please sign this Life and Death Contract.”
Right then, the old man guarding the arena took out a document. Long Chen smiled faintly and signed his name on the document.
This time was different from the last; there was no longer the option to surrender. The winning party had full rights over their opponent’s life and death.
After Li Hao signed the contract, he glared at Long Chen fiercely, “You bastard, today I will repay the humiliation you gave me a hundredfold.”
Now, after the Life and Death Contract was signed, this arena had become a death match ground for them. There was no need for a referee anymore.
“Wounds on the skin can heal quickly, but wounds caused by evil words will never fade. It seems you don’t understand; because you continuously provoked me, you have truly forced my hand.”
Long Chen took a deep breath, and a dense trace of murderous intent appeared in his eyes. Ever since Zhou Yaoyang said he wasn’t Long Tianxiao’s son last time, some people had started calling him by that derogatory term.
“Die, you bastard!”
Li Hao sneered coldly. With a loud shout, he circulated the Spiritual Qi throughout his body, and a visible wave of Qi flowed around him.
The people below the arena looked at each other and smiled. Last time, Li Hao swallowed a bitter pill because he didn’t circulate his true essence as a shield, which allowed Long Chen’s surprise attack to succeed. This time, he had prepared his defense beforehand.
Even though they were only at the Qi Gathering realm and Spiritual Qi could not be released outside the body, by circulating the energy as a shield inside the body, ordinary people would find it hard to injure them.
After finishing building his defense, Li Hao lunged toward Long Chen with a savage grin. His hands formed claws, aiming straight for Long Chen’s shoulders.
Both claws were coated in spiritual energy, no different from iron hooks. If an ordinary human was caught in his grip, their shoulder bones would definitely be crushed instantly.
“Good job, Li Hao! Destroy that bastard!”
A loud shout was heard from below the arena. That person was none other than Wang Mang, whose face had just been slapped by Long Chen until half his teeth fell out inside the Literature Hall.
At his young age, Wang Mang had already lost half his teeth. On the other hand, his family couldn’t afford to buy pills that could stimulate bone growth. Currently, he held an extremely deep grudge against Long Chen. The moment he saw Long Chen was about to be caught, he cheered happily involuntarily.
Hearing his exclamation, the expressions of Shi Feng, Fatty Yu, and the others changed. From start to finish, Long Chen showed absolutely no signs of cultivation. That made them feel like their hearts were about to drop.
Seeing Li Hao lunge, Long Chen smiled coldly. He stepped forward, and his entire body met Li Hao like a shadow.
“Thud!”
