Chapter Seventy-Three: Downfall

  Chu Yang's long sleeves brushed gently, wiping away the sparkling tears from the corner of his eyes. "Alright, I won't laugh anymore. It's rare to be so happy. I've decided to agree to return half of the bet, Little One to Little Ten, help your fellow disciples withdraw their bets."

  "Alright!" A row of ten white-robed children stepped forward, immediately surrounded by the crowd. The children became anxious and shouted loudly: "Line up, one by one! If not, you will be disqualified from taking the exam!"

  Half an hour later, all the refunds were processed, and everyone praised Chu Yang for his generosity and kindness, saying he was a noble and virtuous gentleman.

  If someone familiar with him heard this, they'd probably spit in your face. If Chu Yang were careless with money, there wouldn't be any merchants left in the world!

  "Wait a minute—" Luo Yu called out to Chu Yang who was about to leave the scene. "Since someone has withdrawn their bid, can I increase my bid?"

  "As per the rules, betting on the participants should have stopped an hour before the match. However, since I agreed to let them withdraw their bets, it wouldn't be fair to be too strict with you. So... Chu Yang glanced at the audience below and replied slowly: "I permit only you to place a bet, and you can only stake your wager on yourself, not on your opponent."

  "Cutting it off like this and still daring to add notes, really dying for face but living in suffering!"

  The audience below erupted into a chorus of whispers and murmurs. Luo Yu ignored them, pulling out a storage bag. "The spirit stones are all inside, but you have to tell me first how to place the bets?"

  "Naturally, your current betting ratio is one to ten, but you'd better think carefully, otherwise all these spirit stones will be wasted." Chu Yang reminded kindly.

  "Don't bother, Uncle Chu. This is a top-grade spirit stone worth 100 pieces. I bet myself that I'll make it into the top ten." Luo Yu tossed the storage bag to the white-robed boy, and these spirit stones were naturally not hers, but rather...

  "Hmm, is this a scam?" The disciples below the stage were discussing and regretted that they had withdrawn their bets too early.

  "Hmph, are you questioning my credibility?" Chu Yang let out a cold snort, which echoed in the ears of all the onlookers below.

  "I said, Huang Niang had practiced her skills and wouldn't necessarily lose the contest. But since you insisted on withdrawing your bets, I compromised by returning half of them in front of those two jesters. What's this? Are you regretting it now? Do you suspect me of cheating you?"

  "No, no!" The disciples in the audience begged for mercy. At this moment, they remembered that the person in front of them was an inner sect uncle and couldn't be easily offended, especially since they were in the wrong first.

  However, there are still some who, hiding in the crowd, whisper to each other, "If you didn't cheat us, then can you also let me place a bet?"

  Chu Yang let out a burst of laughter, "Fickle and unpredictable, with such a temperament, how did you all manage to pass the Heavenly Ladder back then? Did you all just sneak in through the back door?"

  The disciples under the stage were scolded by Chu Yang with red faces and ears, stuttering and unable to speak.

  "Brother Chu, this is an unintentional mistake. Considering their young age, please forgive them this time. Besides, more than half a time has passed, why not start the competition now?" These disciples are really asking for death, offending anyone else would be better, but they have to offend Young Master Chu, don't they know he's always been vengeful? If it weren't for his own relatives in the audience, Guo wouldn't have bothered to plead on their behalf.

  "Hmph, no rush, I won't let these Qi-refining stage juniors tarnish my reputation." Chu Yang slapped open the golden fan. "If you want to place a bet, you can, as long as it's before the remaining half incense stick is burned out, I'll allow you all to place your bets. Remember, Huang Luoyu is 1:10 and Duan Qiming is 1:1.2, you decide for yourselves. Small one to small ten, set up the betting table and light the incense!"

  Guo Shidi's face was bitter, and he didn't dare to persuade him forward. Anyway, half an hour would be a delay, and one hour would also be a delay, so let him go. However, if he wanted him to make a bet, he wouldn't dare to do it. He had checked Luo Yu beforehand and found that she was like someone who had been restricted from using her spiritual power, and indeed couldn't use it. But Chu Yang had never done anything that would put him at a disadvantage, so could this girl really win the trial? And why did Chu Yang agree to let everyone make bets, wasn't that contradictory?

  Everyone under the stage, you look at me, I look at you, can't make up your mind.

  On the left side of the desk, it is written "Huang Luoyu", on the right side, it is written "Duan Qiming". At a glance, someone walks to the left and then steps towards the right, hesitating in making a decision.

  "Each person only has one chance to place a bet, hurry up, time is almost up!" Chu Yang was very impatient and lit another fire in the crowd.

  "Sister, I support you!" A voice rang out, causing everyone to stare in surprise.

  Zi Yun led Huang Zi Qiang, Wang Bin and others out of the crowd, saying firmly: "The female cultivator on stage is my sister Huang Zi Yun. I believe she can win this competition, and I ask everyone to believe in her too."

  "He's the chief disciple of Huoyun Peak, indeed extraordinary! The crowd buzzed with discussion. "However, since he's the elder brother of the female cultivator on stage, it's only natural that he supports his younger sister. As for whether she can win or not, that's hard to say!" In reality, they thought to themselves, that female cultivator definitely won't be able to win!

  Zi Yun's words instead stimulated the crowd to bet on the right stage, and he could only helplessly watch. He had seen his sister knock down a third-level demon beast with just her fists many times, so dealing with a cultivator at the peak of Qi Refining was naturally not a problem. In his eyes, if his sister went all out, she would definitely win first place in the Outer Sect competition.

  Early this morning, he and Huang Ziqiang were waiting here. If it weren't for Luo Yu repeatedly instructing them before going on stage: no matter what they heard or saw, don't panic or take rash action, she was well-prepared and wouldn't be at a disadvantage! Otherwise, they would have already lost their temper when the audience below the stage mocked Luo Yu.

  At this time, Sun Daniu had just won a game and rushed over to watch the battle. He happened to meet everyone betting and saw that they didn't think much of Luo Yu. He was annoyed in his heart: "Hmph, these are all people without vision, my wife is awesome, she must win!"

  The daughter-in-law's words came out, and everyone burst into laughter. However, they didn't dare to mock her openly, for they had seen Sun the Great Bull as fierce as a tiger or lion, and he was also skilled in martial arts. If anyone said something that displeased him, wouldn't he be beaten to the ground?

  "Wife, I support you, you must beat that little rascal until his mother doesn't recognize him!" Sun Dainiu took off the storage bag and poured out a hundred or so mid-grade spirit stones onto the left-hand weighing scale, "All of them, press on!"

  "Sun Dainiu, what nonsense are you talking about? I'm not your wife. Quickly take back the Ling Stone!" Luo Yu didn't blush when she was scolded by others, but instead made Sun Dainiu's face turn bright red.

  "Hehe, not now, but later!" Sun Daniu scratched his head.

  "There's still a minute left, those who haven't placed their bets yet, hurry up and do so! Those who have already placed their bets, clear the way!" Tongzi shouted loudly. At this moment, the area below the stage was packed with over a thousand people, including spectators from the neighboring battle stage who came to watch the commotion. Not only were there Qi Refining stage cultivators, but also Foundation Building stage cultivators. After understanding the actual strength of the participants, they all took out their money and placed their bets on the right betting platform, which had increased to nine platforms by now. The left side still only had one betting platform, with fewer than a dozen people placing bets, mostly friends and family of Luo Yu.

  "Let's begin!" Guo shouted loudly.

  Luo Yu's hand made a move, and a black rod appeared in her palm. With a "swoosh" sound, it stabbed onto the stage, using the force to propel herself upwards. She broke through Duan Qiming's grip, kicking his jaw with one foot. A cracking sound was heard as his jaw dislocated.

  Using magic to launch a long-range attack on the cultivator, this is a common tactic for Qi cultivators. Duan Qiming's strategy was not wrong, but he did not expect his opponent to be so fast, instantly closing in and disrupting his spellcasting.

  Without time to dislocate his jaw, Duan Qiming fell to the ground with a roll, avoiding the opponent's next black stick. A light flashed, and he opened his robe to defend himself. He jumped up, threw out his Xuan Tie ruler, and finally blocked the opponent's attack.

  Luo Yu smiled slightly and swung his rod to strike the Xuan Tie Ruler, exerting a force of 2,000 catties. This caused Duan Qiming, who had just managed to regain control of the Xuan Tie Ruler, to almost lose control again.

  Duan Qiming increased the spiritual power input to the Xuantie ruler with one hand, and threw out several golden blades with the other. However, he saw that his opponent didn't even dodge, but instead charged forward. For a moment, Duan was in a state of panic, yet he still didn't have time to switch tactics.

  Luo Yu grasped the Xuan Tie ruler and struck, shattering Duan Qiming's defense. With a flying kick, he hit his opponent's lower abdomen, causing him to crash to the edge of the battlefield with a loud "thud".

  Duan Qiming, who didn't struggle at all, got up. Luo Yu grasped the two ends of the Xuantie ruler with both hands, wanting to snap it in two, but she overestimated her own strength, and besides, there was still the other party's divine consciousness controlling it.

  Luo Yu was annoyed, her foot slipped, and she dodged the opponent's earth thorn. With a flick of her left hand, she threw the Xuan Tie Chi into the air, and with a swing of her right hand, she chased after it. The sound of "ding" echoed through the air, sharp and piercing to the ear. Sparks flew everywhere as the Xuan Tie Chi fell to the ground with a clang, leaving an indentation in its middle section.

  Duan Qiming's eyes snapped open, his mouth aching: "You ruined my Xuantie Ruler! Ah——"

  His heart was filled with raging flames, and the earth blocks, giant stones, yellow sand, golden blades, and golden whips of his Earth-type magic were unleashed without restraint, continuously pounding Luoyu. The yellow and white light burst forth, and the yellow sand enveloped the battlefield, obscuring the view of the people below.