Everyone's eyes were fixed on Mad Demon on the stretcher and on Su Zui.
That was Mad Demon!
Ever since he entered the Soul Fighting Arena, he had been its ace, creating the legend of ten consecutive victories.
Yet now, the arena's former ace lay like a dead dog on the medical staff's stretcher, surrounded by blood.
Even after he was lifted onto the stretcher, his limbs remained weak and twitched uncontrollably, while the Soul Power on the surface of his body leaked out beyond his control.
Where was the bearing that had once swept all before him? Like a dog whose spine had been snapped, he stared blankly at the ceiling.
Both ears had been cut off, his tongue severed, and the tendons in his hands sliced through.
Mad Demon knew that from now on, he would never again be the Soul Fighting Arena's ace. He was nothing but a discarded pawn.
If his old enemies came knocking during this time, what fate would await him?
No one paid that question any mind. Everyone's gaze had shifted from Mad Demon to Su Zui.
In an instant, the crowd's emotions erupted.
From the stands, which could hold ten thousand people, towering cries of shock, roars, and furious curses of regret filled every corner of the arena.
"Ah! No, this has to be fake! This has to be an illusion! I mortgaged my property, all because I wanted to defy the heavens and change my fate with this bet!"
"This guy's a madman, a devil! How could his methods be so cruel? Mad Demon had already fled out of the arena, but he still fell victim to his vicious hands."
Some spectators' hearts had gone completely dead and black.
The vast majority of those spectators had put everything they owned into this fight.
They had hoped to go all in this once and defy the heavens to change their fate.
But they had never expected this newcomer to be so terrifying, defeating Mad Demon in an almost crushing fashion.
Because of this single defeat, the rooftops were destined to be crowded tonight.
After all, some people had put their entire family fortunes into those enormous bets.
Some had even secretly diverted their factions' public funds, hoping to use that money as capital to turn a profit.
At the time, everyone had been utterly certain that Mad Demon would win.
But no one had expected the situation to turn around so completely, so outrageously.
"Sigh, the moonlight is so beautiful tonight! It's just a pity I might never see tomorrow's sun again."
A dark-skinned, middle-aged red lion sat slumped motionless in his seat, his face full of the will to die.
He had been a noble's steward, with all the family's funds in his hands.
Just a few days ago, he had secretly transferred some of the family's funds and wagered every last coin of the tens of thousands of Gold Soul Coins.
One moment, he had still been fantasizing about the hundreds or thousands of Gold Soul Coins he would earn in pure profit; the next, he was dragged straight into hell.
Others remembered the odds they had seen on Su Zui winning before the match and went mad on the spot.
One man threw back his head and laughed, stripped off his clothes in full view of everyone, and flung them wildly into the crowd.
As he threw them, he laughed crazily. "Hahaha, hahahahahahaha! Thirty-nine-to-one odds, thirty-nine-to-one odds! If only I'd bet on Wine Sword to win!"
But as the saying went, some rejoiced while others grieved.
In a seat near the front row, a young man wept tears of joy.
"She can be saved! My little sister can be saved! I finally bet right this time! A full thirty-nine times!"
The young man had been in despair. Everything he owned added up to only a little over a hundred Gold Soul Coins.
His younger sister was gravely injured, and only a healing-type Soul Saint could save her younger sister. Yet a healing-type Soul Saint charged at least a thousand Gold Soul Coins to act just once. Where was he supposed to get that much money?
With his sister's life hanging by a thread, the young man had simply thrown caution to the wind and put everything he owned on the highest odds of the night.
If he lost this match, he was prepared to die alongside his sister.
But he had never, ever expected Wine Sword, whom no one favored, to actually win.
He had also received more than three thousand Gold Soul Coins.
With this money, he could definitely find a healing-type Soul Saint and save his sister!
Tonight's match perfectly demonstrated what it meant to go bankrupt overnight or grow rich overnight.
At that very moment, however, a private room on the top floor was wrapped in a tranquility cut off from the world.
Thick, high-grade soundproof walls fit together without the slightest gap, completely shutting out the clamor below.
Inside the luxurious, elegant room, the light was warm and soft.
Even the air was filled with a faint, lingering fragrance, lending the room a comfortable, relaxed atmosphere.
Flender lay lazily on a huge leather sofa, his back resting securely against a cushioned pad.
His legs were propped directly on the mahogany sofa, and his eyes, usually full of calculation, had completely relaxed.
He carefully pinched a brand-new, gleaming Gold Soul Coin card between his fingertips, his eyes brimming with excitement he could scarcely contain.
And why was Flender so excited? Naturally, it was because his Gold Soul Coins had arrived.
After deducting all the fees, the Soul Fighting Arena's staff had placed the Gold Soul Coin card in Flender's hand.
And on that card were a full 3.51 million Gold Soul Coins!
Three million, five hundred and ten thousand! And they were Gold Soul Coins!
With that money, Flender could completely renovate the dilapidated Shrek Academy.
The cracked walls and leaking roofs would all be torn down and replaced with the highest-grade materials.
Flender also planned to build pavilions throughout the academy and spend heavily to create cultivation grounds of ether.
Most important of all, of course, were the improvements to the dining hall.
With this money, Flender could completely remodel it.
The dining hall would use only Soul Beast ingredients, providing the students with food rich in vitality and Soul Power at every meal.
Nor could he do without medicinal liquids for tempering the body.
Flender would thoroughly transform the once-ramshackle Shrek Academy into a true high-grade Soul Master Academy.
At that moment, Flender could no longer suppress the wild joy soaring to the heavens in his heart.
The corners of his mouth stretched all the way to his ears, and he couldn't close it.
"Hahaha! Good lad, what a Su Zui! You really are this old man's lucky star!"
"Little Zui, little Zui, you're truly a benefactor to me, Flender!"
Flender made an effort to rein in his voice, doing his best not to let it carry out of the private room.
After all, things outside had already exploded into chaos, and some people had even gone to line up on the rooftops.
If those people heard that he had made so much money, the crazed gamblers would surely swarm him and pound him to death, each striking with a hammer.
This time, he had truly reaped every benefit of his information advantage.
Armed with what he knew of Su Zui's strength, he had managed to turn himself into the Wolf of Suotuo City.
Without the slightest hesitation, Flender returned to the front desk and went all in with a full 3.5 million Gold Soul Coins on Su Zui's next match.
Flender had no doubts whatsoever about Su Zui's strength.
At the Soul Ancestor level, it was impossible for anyone to defeat Su Zui!