Chapter 87: An Accidental Early Victory
“All cultivators participating in the tournament, please step onto the stage!”
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
One after another, cultivators soared onto the platform, taking their positions. The arena, spanning over a dozen yards in every direction, was soon bustling with activity.
Those placing bets flitted up and down, but Su Yizhao and his companions stood apart on the other side, entirely undisturbed.
Han Anning descended from the stage, his expression sour.
Su Yizhao had just left, and Han had gone up to place his bet, deliberately choosing the female cultivator who had greeted Su Yizhao.
Gou Jiancheng, noticing Han's sour look, asked, “What’s wrong? Didn’t bring your spirit stones?”
Han Anning growled, “That kid tricked us!”
Gou Jiancheng’s gaze swept over Su Yizhao on the stage, and he asked in surprise, “He didn’t bet on himself?”
“He did—he wagered on himself to win the championship!”
Gou Jiancheng laughed, “That kid is really confident. How about we bet on him, too? Still, millions of high-grade spirit stones aren’t something to throw away lightly.”
Han Anning gave a bitter smile.
Millions? That was nothing.
He had bet a hundred million!
Han Anning recalled Su Yizhao raising a single finger earlier and cursed inwardly.
So it wasn’t ten thousand, nor a hundred thousand, but one hundred million.
Thinking of this, he realized it was his own fault for not clarifying earlier—how could he blame the kid for cheating him?
Han Anning said, “Who we bet on is up to you. How much, that’s my decision!”
Gou Jiancheng looked back at Su Yizhao on the stage.
Confident and composed, standing tall and straight. His bearing surpassed everyone else’s by a wide margin.
Gritting his teeth, Gou said, “Let’s take a chance, then. Bet on Su Yizhao to win it all!”
Han Anning clenched his jaw as well. “Fine! Fifty million!”
Gou Jiancheng was taken aback, turning to say, “Are you insane? High-grade spirit stones don’t grow on trees. Making a gesture is enough—it shows we have faith in him!”
Han Anning fell silent.
How much to bet truly was his call.
Gou Jiancheng grew anxious. “That’s too much. For us, the loss would be enormous!”
Han Anning couldn’t hold back and said in a low voice, “Do you know how much that kid bet?”
Seeing Han’s attitude, Gou Jiancheng ventured, “A hundred thousand? A million?”
“One hundred million!”
With that, Han Anning flew back onto the stage, leaving Gou Jiancheng dumbfounded.
In the center of the stage, the cultivators accepting wagers had begun to withdraw. Now, only forty-two competitors stood in a line.
Just then, by the projection in the sky, the void split open, and a cultivator stepped out, hovering steadily above.
Su Yizhao scanned him with his spiritual sense and was inwardly startled.
Completely like a mortal—no aura could be detected at all.
“I am the Xuantian Sect’s supervising cultivator stationed in Kaoshan City, and I will be organizing this tournament,” the middle-aged cultivator announced, his gaze sweeping the arena.
Su Yizhao hurriedly withdrew his spiritual sense. When his eyes met the man’s, he felt a chill, as though every secret within him had been laid bare.
“The first round: one-on-one matches. The loser is eliminated!”
Su Yizhao looked up, uncertain what was meant by “one-on-one matches.”
The middle-aged cultivator waved his right hand, and instantly, twenty-one rifts appeared in the air.
Next, he reached toward Su Yizhao and the others.
In a flash, Su Yizhao and the rest felt a dizzying sensation.
When he regained his senses, the stage had changed.
Of the forty-two cultivators, only twenty-one now stood upon it.
Su Yizhao was dumbfounded.
“Twenty-one spaces—you may choose for yourselves!”
Even those unfamiliar with tournaments must have heard of this. At these words, the competitors immediately took to the air, flying toward the rifts.
Su Yizhao quickly realized what was happening.
The middle-aged cultivator had randomly placed twenty-one of them into the rifts. Now, the others could choose freely.
Truly fair!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
In the blink of an eye, only he remained on the stage.
And in the air, just one rift was left.
“Young man, hurry up! There’s nothing left for you to choose!” the middle-aged cultivator urged.
Below the stage, Gou Jiancheng looked embarrassed.
Han Anning exclaimed in surprise, “He didn’t know the rules?”
“Did you place your bet?”
“I did!”
With a snap of his teeth, Gou Jiancheng asked, “How much?”
“Fifty-five million! Five million of it was my own!” Han Anning admitted, a little sheepish.
“You’re really willing!” Gou Jiancheng exclaimed.
On stage, Su Yizhao soared up and entered the rift.
The rift vanished, and the sky was once again void.
At this, the middle-aged cultivator waved at the projection beside him.
On the screen appeared twenty-one small squares, each showing two cultivators facing off.
Though sound could not be heard, the features and expressions of each combatant were clear.
Below, hundreds of thousands of cultivators quickly located their chosen bets. In an instant, Kaoshan City became even more raucous.
Opposite Su Yizhao stood a female cultivator.
A young woman with an air of pride.
She spoke, “Those who arrived here early are all top-ranked. Fellow cultivator, you’d best admit defeat now.”
Su Yizhao pondered briefly.
Indeed, this was to avoid strong contenders meeting early.
“Not conceding?” The woman swept her left hand over her storage ring and produced a golden talisman.
Su Yizhao looked closely. “A mystic talisman?”
She said nothing, activating it with a twist of her hand.
Instantly, countless golden beams shot toward him.
Su Yizhao’s figure flickered, filling the space with a dense array of afterimages.
The woman’s mind moved, and she unleashed two more talismans.
But just then, she felt a sharp pain at the back of her head and collapsed unconscious.
“Hm!” Outside, the middle-aged cultivator lightly pulled at the void, revealing a rift.
At that moment, Su Yizhao stepped through, holding the female cultivator by the hand, uncertain what to do with her.
Only then did some spectators realize what had happened. “It’s already over?”
Gou Jiancheng remarked, “He’s pretty good!”
Han Anning’s sweaty palms instantly dried.
Su Yizhao, embarrassed to remain aloft, landed on the stage and gently set the woman down.
Now, he noticed the projection had changed and looked more closely.
There were only twenty squares left.
In each, the pairs had already begun to fight.
Some battles were fierce; others ended swiftly.
The middle-aged cultivator watched the projection, opening a rift whenever someone fell.
In the fifth square, a cultivator lay on the ground, blood gushing from his throat.
In the eighth, one’s skull was shattered.
In the ninth, a man clutched his core and toppled.
In the seventeenth, a man was severed at the waist.
In the nineteenth, a cultivator, seeing defeat was certain, immediately conceded.
Almost simultaneously, five rifts appeared in the void, and five young cultivators strode out.
Four held corpses; one stood proud and unharmed.
Below, countless cultivators erupted in cheers!
The five above swept the arena with proud gazes, but when they noticed Su Yizhao on the stage, they froze in surprise.
Had he conceded without even fighting?
Impossible!
Su Yizhao met their eyes and smiled at them...