“Look, Yan Li is here!”

“For real?”

The crowd got excited at Yan Li's arrival.

Yet someone was quick to huff out a snort, “How absurd! A Lianqi realm disciple trying to take on a Yuan realm disciple? He will just get himself killed!”

“This is going to be interesting,”said Lin Pou with a vague smile.

Other indoor disciples present were also sizing Yan Li up amusedly.

An icy coldness flashed through Ye Tianyu's eyes and then quickly disappeared, as he called out from the Stage, “You got some serious nerves, Yan Li, which I appreciate. But I'm going to give you one more chance to end this thing peacefully if you would go down on your knees to apologize and admit being defeated in front of everybody here today. How do you like that?”

“Haha, that's right, Yan Li!” Ye Yun chimed in, “Get down on your knees and apologize! You should be grateful that my big brother is merciful enough to offer you one last chance!”

Yan Li still sported his signature polite smile without being affected at all by the two brothers' insults; Xue Zhan and the others, on the other hand, were riled up by them, all shooting daggers at Ye Tianyu and Ye Yun.

“What a p.r.i.c.k! Since you are so eager to embrace your own death, I will be happy to oblige. Now get up here!”

Ye Tianyu was set ablaze by Yan Li's indifferent manner, eyes burning with a murdering glare.

Instead of hopping on the Stage, Yan Li walked towards Zuo Han, “I heard that s.h.i.+xiong Zuo made a bet on my fight with s.h.i.+xiong Ye today, and I was wondering if I could have some fun with it as well?”

Everybody was caught off guard by this, but then all came to the conclusion that Yan Li was just trying to sponge some money from betting on Ye Tianyu since he himself was destined to lose. What a jerk!

“Of course! Every disciple in Dahuang Palace is welcomed to partic.i.p.ate in it!” Zuo Han responded with a smile, “So, how much are you betting, s.h.i.+di Yan?”

“If you say so, then I will bet 10,000 Liang silver on myself!” Yan Li stashed a pile of bank notes on the table.

As the son of the emperor-to-be, Yan Li, the exalted little prince was sure to have a ton of money to squander, not to mention that he had had millions of bank notes with him for this trip to Dahuang Palace only.

If Zuo Han was a little surprised, the other disciples were completely dumbfounded, especially those who had secretly scorned him just now, thinking, “What is he doing? Betting money on himself? Does he really think he could stand a chance to win this thing? Or is he just flat-out crazy?”

“1,000 Liang silver says s.h.i.+xiong Yan will get away with a win!”

“Exactly! I'll give you 1,000 Liang, too!”

“Same here!”

Xue Zhan and the other four put their money on the table in succession, each betting 1,000 Liang silver on Yan Li.

“Great! Jot them all down, s.h.i.+di w.a.n.g!” Zuo Han took up the bank notes while asking w.a.n.g Ziming to have their names logged.

“What is taking you so long, Yan Li?” Frowning, Ye Tianye said with visible annoyance, “Get your sorry a.s.s up here now!”

“Coming! As you wish, s.h.i.+xiong Yan.”

With a light tap of feet on the ground, Yan Li hopped onto the one-Zhang (1 Zhang = 10.9 feet) high Stage in an elegant manner, looking as though he were a feather.

Engulfed in burning hatred, Ye Tianyu wish he could just end Yan Li's life with a swing of his sword right there and then; yet somehow he still managed to put on a condescending look, eyes cold while he sneered, “I will let you strike first, or else it would be unfair to you!”

“Really, s.h.i.+xiong Yan? Do you really want me to strike first?” Yan Li asked with slight disbelief.

“Cut the c.r.a.p and just do it!”

“Okay, okay, as you wish, s.h.i.+xiong Ye!” Yan Li said as he pulled out his steely sword and pointed it towards Ye Tianyu's chest, “I am going to make my move now, s.h.i.+xiong Yan, so be careful!”

Arching his eyebrows, Ye Tianyu let slip a weak trace of annoyance, thinking Yan Li was too much of a talker. He stood high with his hands holing behind his back, showcasing the poise and posture of a Yuan realm martial artist.

Yan Li smirked at the sight of this; twisting the handle of his sword, he speared it at Ye Tianyu in a straight line.

The seemingly mediocre move had the latter's mouth twitching in disdain as Ye Tianyu thought to himself, “Bold of you to challenge me with some garbage skills like this!”

However, just before he had the time to finish his thought, Ye Tianyu's expression changed abruptly as that seemingly mediocre move suddenly picked up astonis.h.i.+ng speed and came at him as fast as lightning. In a split second, the sword appeared at Ye Tianyu's throat, sharp tip touching his skin dangerously.

“What the…”

Everyone looked in disbelief as Ye Tianyu was clearly defeated by Yan Li with one single move.

Dumbfounded, Ye Tianye just could not in the world believe that this was real even when the chill of the blade on his throat was serving as a dutiful reminder as to what had happened.

“You lose, s.h.i.+xiong Ye,” said Yan Li gently, p.r.o.nouncing each word clearly, which was like striking a hammer at Ye Tianyu's heart, making him pale all over his face.

Suddenly, he let out a ringing cry, “Yan Li, you cheater! How despicable you are!”

Yan Li's expression altered as he jeered, “How am I a cheater, s.h.i.+xiong Ye? Because I do have reminded you before I made my move, right?”

“You…” Ye Tianyu was rendered speechless by Yan Li's retort but could do nothing about it except embarra.s.sing himself even more without a clever comeback, which burned his anger a few notches higher.

“Loser!” Lin Pou shot him a dirty look from the crowd, while Zuo Han was grinning ear to ear for that almost everyone had bet their money on Ye Tianyu with only a few exceptions choosing to believe in Yan Li, so even if he had to pay ten times the wager to those who bet on Yan Li, he would still be making some serious money. At least for now, Zuo Han thought, Yan Li would be the apple of his eyes.

Yet, the unthinkable took place again as Yan Li moved his sword away from Ye Tianyu's throat and suggested, “I don't like subduing people either, s.h.i.+xiong Ye. Since you insist that I played dirty, then why don't we have another round?”

“Wait, what?” Ye Tianyu could not believe what he had just heard. He wanted a rematch?

“Come on, s.h.i.+xiong Ye! Pull out your sword and let's have a real fight!”

Yan Li stepped off a few meters away from Ye Tianyu, staring him down from across the Stage.

“Great! You ask for it yourself, Yan Li! So don't you expect me to go easy on you this time!” Ye Tianyu cracked a predatory smile as he yanked his sword out and drove it towards Yan Li's chest at full speed.

He did not add too much flourish to this move, but the velocity and force he applied here had far surpa.s.sed those of whoever was at the completion stage of the Lianqi realm

Ye Tianyu was certain that Yan Li would not go head-to-head with him one this one. However, Yan Li had him stunned yet again.

“Ding!”

Yan Li's casual swing magically blocked the tip of Ye Tianyu's sword.

Sparks were flying as the two metals clashed.

In the meantime, Ye Tianyu felt a strong counterforce marching down to the handle of his sword, which almost made him lose his grip on it, and he had to step back a little in an attempt to steady himself.

Everyone was staring wide-eyed at the scene on the stage.

If Yan Li got his first win with a surprise attack, now he was actually winning it, for Ye Tianye took a step back the moment their swords clashed while he held his place firmly.

Ye Tianyu felt like he was going to explode now. Letting out a raging roar, he deftly drew three circles with his sword before jerking forward and thrusting it at Yan Li, who was then completely engulfed in the blinding glow emitted by Ye Tianyu's sword.

Xue Zhan and the other four in the crowd all took in a sharp breath at the sight of this.