A Wager with an External Soul Bone

"What is it?"

Meng Shenji turned to look at Tang San, who had spoken.

His feelings about Tang San were complicated.

There was nothing to criticize about his talent, but he always felt that Tang San hid a demon within his heart, one that could not be easily glimpsed.

At such a young age, yet so deeply calculating—was that a good thing or a bad thing?

He did not know.

Now that Tang San had suddenly called for a stop, Meng Shenji had an uneasy feeling. Yet with everyone watching, he could not simply ignore him, so he waited to see what Tang San intended to say.

Li Yu showed little expression, merely staring coldly at Xiao Sanzi.

As for the Shrek Seven Devils, none of them seemed surprised by Tang San's sudden interruption, as though they had already discussed it beforehand.

"What is this guy trying to pull?"

Inside the resting room, Dugu Yan gathered with her six teammates.

She truly had no regard for Xue Beng.

"Yu-jie is actually this strong? She wants to take on six alone?"

Shi Mo and the others still could not believe what they were seeing was real.

After the tavern incident, they had all been curious about Li Yu. They wanted even more to know what Li Yu looked like, but they had never imagined that she possessed such formidable combat strength.

Yet everything happening before their eyes had overturned their understanding.

"The Shrek Seven Devils are very strong, Yu-jie. Can she really do this?"

Ye Lingling looked at Li Yu onstage, her eyes full of worry.

Yu Tianheng did not dare look too much. His eyes remained fixed on Dugu Yan, as though he were making his stance clear.

On the stage.

Tang San stared at Li Yu. "According to our previous agreement, if we defeated you, we could join Heaven Dou Royal Academy. But if it were not for your unreasonable obstruction, that would have been the predetermined outcome anyway!

"This battle should never have needed to happen!

"In other words, we are using something that should have belonged to us in the first place as a wager against you!

"That does not seem... fair!"

"Oh?"

Li Yu raised an eyebrow. He had not expected Xiao Sanzi to be so shameless.

If Tang San had not spoken up, after all those words from Prince Xue Xing, could Heaven Dou Royal Academy really have continued accepting Shrek Academy's people? Would they even have dared to?

Probably not.

And if Li Yu had not appeared, the one coming to stop them today would have been Dugu Bo!

Then just watch whether Xiao Sanzi would have dared let out a single peep.

Now, in front of everyone, he was starting to play the rogue and even wanted to squeeze some benefits out of Li Yu?

Heh. Did he really think he had this victory in the bag?

Inside another resting room.

Xue Beng frowned as well. "Why are all these Shrek people so shameless? If not for Miss Li Yu, they would not even have had the chance to step onto this Soul Arena!"

Prince Xue Xing's expression was dark as well, but matters had reached this point, and he did not want to interfere anymore.

If someone was going to lose face, Li Yu could lose it himself.

So Prince Xue Xing remained silent.

Meng Shenji, acting as referee, also frowned. He knew the course of events and naturally understood how ridiculous Tang San's words were.

Someone gave you an opportunity, and not only were you ungrateful, you even wanted to bite back?

Even an ungrateful wretch was not this ungrateful!

Meng Shenji's opinion of Tang San worsened further, but he did not speak. He wanted to see how Li Yu would respond.

Li Yu merely smiled, wanting to see what trick Xiao Sanzi intended to play. "What do you want?"

"I think we should add a new wager?"

Tang San stared at Li Yu, seemingly eager for him to accept.

"Let's hear it."

Li Yu was somewhat interested.

"If you lose, you must tell me the secret of how you were able to absorb Soul Rings beyond the limits of common sense!"

Tang San's eyes burned with eagerness, finally revealing his true goal.

Li Yu was not surprised that Tang San would say such a thing.

The moment Xiao Sanzi stuck out his ass, Li Yu already knew what kind of fart he was about to let loose.

So he merely said indifferently, "Oh? And if I win?"

"If you win, we will leave Heaven Dou Royal Academy and never mention joining again!"

Tang San flicked his right hand, as though he found himself exceptionally generous.

"..."

Li Yu stared speechlessly at Tang San, then laughed in anger.

He asked in disbelief, "You mean, if I lose, you not only get to join Heaven Dou Royal Academy, but you also get the secret of my Soul Rings.

"But if I win, you simply will not join Heaven Dou Royal Academy?"

"Very fair!"

Tang San's expression was resolute, his gaze unwavering.

"Heh."

It took Li Yu quite a while to calm down. Then he looked at Tang San mockingly and spoke with disdain. "You seem to have gotten one thing wrong."

Tang San's expression darkened slightly. "What?"

"Whether you fucking join Heaven Dou Royal Academy has fuck all to do with me!"

Li Yu's gaze was cold. "Let me put it plainly: I just don't like the look of you, and I want to beat you up. Understand?

"If you do not dare fight, then get the fuck out already. Do you really think you are that precious?"

The moment those words fell.

The entire venue fell silent.

At first, everyone had been quite interested when they heard Tang San mention "absorbing Soul Rings beyond the limits of common sense."

Exactly how far beyond common sense was it?

Then they heard the wager. At first glance, it did not seem like much, but after Li Yu laid it out, everyone felt Tang San's shamelessness.

The people in the stands had long since begun cursing.

And as Li Yu unleashed that torrent of words, everyone felt the contrast and secretly gave him a thumbs-up.

This woman had spirit!

Everyone in the resting room was dumbstruck as well.

"Yu-yu-jie is this fierce?"

"So cool!"

Shi Mo and the others gaped in shock.

Dugu Yan's eyes shone brightly.

Xue Beng and Prince Xue Xing were dumbstruck too.

Referee Meng Shenji was also stunned. At the same time, he finally agreed with Prince Xue Xing's earlier statement that the "character" of this group from Shrek needed serious consideration.

Tang San's face had darkened as well.

He naturally knew that his wager was unreasonable, but the secret of absorbing Soul Rings beyond common sense was worth being this shameless for!

He had only hoped that Li Yu's confidence would be overflowing, that even knowing he was taking a loss, he would still accept the bet.

Then, with the wager made in front of so many people, Li Yu would not be able to go back on his word.

At that point, Tang San's goal would naturally be achieved.

But judging from the current result, his opponent was not stupid and was not so easy to provoke.

After making a quick adjustment, Tang San took a deep breath, as though nothing had happened.

"Then tell me. What wager do you want?"

As soon as he said this, the venue fell quiet again, everyone waiting to see what condition Li Yu would propose.

Li Yu narrowed his eyes, then asked Meng Shenji, "Chief Meng Shenji, what price do you think my secret is worth?"

Meng Shenji had not expected the conversation to turn back to him, nor did he understand Li Yu's intent.

But after a brief consideration, he still replied, "Priceless!"

The secret behind such a Soul Ring configuration concerned the entire soul master world!

If it could be made public, it would surely drive every soul master mad!

Its value could no longer be measured by something as simple as a price.

"Then what is a Soul Bone worth?"

Li Yu asked again.

Tang San's brow twitched.

Meng Shenji answered, "It is likewise difficult to measure by price!"

After a pause, he added, "But it is certainly inferior to your secret."

"Then what is an External Soul Bone worth?"

Li Yu asked once more.

Tang San clenched his fists, veins bulging.

"An External Soul Bone... may be slightly comparable."

Meng Shenji's expression grew increasingly strange.

He knew that Tang San possessed an External Soul Bone.

When Prince Xue Xing had brought Li Yu and the others here, Meng Shenji had been testing Tang San's potential. Unable to withstand it, Tang San had released his External Soul Bone.

Unfortunately, the moment it appeared, before Meng Shenji could examine its potential, Prince Xue Xing's arrival had interrupted him.

Hearing Li Yu ask about it now, Meng Shenji immediately understood his meaning.

But Li Yu and the others should not have seen Tang San's External Soul Bone at the time. How did Li Yu know?

He had doubts, but he did not voice them.

Because another answer occurred to him: perhaps Li Yu did not know Tang San possessed an External Soul Bone. He was simply telling Tang San that if he wanted to make a wager, he needed to put up at least a treasure on the level of an External Soul Bone.

Just as that thought crossed his mind.

Li Yu's gaze fell upon Tang San. "Did you hear that? If you want to wager, then bring out at least a treasure on the level of an External Soul Bone."

"Third Brother, don't be rash!"

"Xiao San!"

The other members of the Shrek Seven Devils all changed expressions, their gazes toward Tang San filled with dissuasion.

Tang San's face was grim as he stared at Li Yu, seemingly lost in thought.

Li Yu's gaze, however, remained calm, as though he truly did not know Tang San possessed an External Soul Bone.

But—

Li Yu naturally understood the value of an External Soul Bone. He even possessed Devouring Fang, an External Soul Bone himself.

What Dugu Yan and the others might not have noticed was that after encountering Xue Beng and the others, Li Yu had deliberately, intentionally or otherwise, sped up the group's pace!

As a result, the event where Meng Shenji's pressure opened one of Tang San's meridians, allowing the Eight Spider Lances to completely fuse with him, never happened.

As for how Li Yu knew the bug that Tang San possessed an External Soul Bone—

Dugu Yan had described the battle at Soto Grand Soul Arena to him in detail. Was it strange that he knew?

"Xiaogang, what do we do now?"

Inside the resting room, Flender looked anxious.

"Fuck, this is blatant bullying! If they do not want to wager, then fine, do not wager! Why do they have to make such a big deal of this?"

Zhao Wuji was furious. Then his gaze fell on Yu Xiaogang, and he asked suspiciously, "Xiaogang, tell me honestly. Did you also instruct Xiao San to say those things?"

Flender and Qin Ming beside him both looked over at once.

They naturally knew about Yu Xiaogang's ten great theories. Naturally, they understood that upon seeing Li Yu's Soul Ring configuration, Yu Xiaogang must have suffered an enormous shock.

Therefore, there was a strong possibility that Yu Xiaogang had instructed Tang San to make this wager.

Yu Xiaogang felt a little flustered, but he did not show it. He said calmly, "Xiao San has his own considerations. We should trust them instead of turning on each other!"

Flender, Zhao Wuji, and Qin Ming awkwardly turned their heads away, seeming ashamed that they had misunderstood Yu Xiaogang.

But Yu Xiaogang's words had neither denied nor confirmed it.

And was that not an answer in itself?

However, the three trusted Yu Xiaogang too much, so they did not suspect him further.

At this moment.

On the Soul Arena.

Tang San, watched by everyone, finally moved.

He brushed a hand over his waist, and a strange-looking object appeared in his hand.

He began introducing it. "This is the Godly Zhuge Crossbow."

"Stop. I have no interest in your scrap metal."

Li Yu interrupted him.

This Xiao Sanzi actually wanted to compare his so-called Hidden Weapons to an External Soul Bone?

Could he not think about how ridiculous that was?

Tang San had always taken pride in the Tang Sect Hidden Weapons, and hearing them called "scrap metal" filled him with rage.

"What do you know? My—"

"Fine, fine, fine. Powerful, powerful, powerful. Amazing, amazing!"

Li Yu clapped, but his eyes were filled with indifference. "But I am not interested. Do you not understand?"

After a pause, she said, "So, are you betting or not? If not, I'm leaving. Don't waste my time!"

Tang San had no choice but to force down his anger, then put on a humiliated expression. "Fine. The External Soul Bone—I'll bet it with you!"

"Third Brother!"

"Tang San, how can you..."

The other members of the Shrek Seven Devils changed expression slightly, all believing that Tang San's decision was unwise.

The students in the stands erupted into an uproar.

"What? He really has an External Soul Bone!"

"Damn, what kind of background does he have? Having a Soul Bone is one thing, but it's actually an External Soul Bone!"

"He actually dared to bet that, and she was willing to accept it? Just how tempting is Miss Li Yu's Soul Ring secret?!"

"..."

Ignoring the crowd's clamor,

Li Yu curled her lips. "Good. Very good."

She had not originally planned to take Xiao Sanzi's External Soul Bone right now. After all, Tang Hao stood behind him.

But now, the prey had practically delivered itself to her mouth. It would be rude not to eat it.

Besides, with so many people here as witnesses, and with her current identity, did Tang San have the nerve to go back on his word? Would he dare?

Meng Shenji found it unbelievable that such a wager had actually been made.

Yet he was also deeply worried.

If Li Yu lost, she would have to reveal the secret of her Soul Rings. That secret was naturally valuable, but it would not endanger her life.

But if Tang San lost, his Soul Bone would have to be stripped away!

Although it was an External Soul Bone, and the impact would not be quite as severe, it could still easily result in death or a drop in Soul Power!

And if Tang San truly lost, who would carry out the stripping?

They would probably have to invite Dugu Yan's grandfather, Dugu Bo, to be certain of succeeding!

But Li Yu's chances of winning did not seem very high!

At that thought,

Meng Shenji's gaze unconsciously swept over Dugu Yan in the resting room, who showed no sign of concern, and a thought flickered through his mind.

From what he had seen this morning, Li Yu and Dugu Yan seemed as close as sisters.

Dugu Yan should not have been unconcerned about such a wager!

Could Li Yu's cultivation be higher than four rings?

Meng Shenji was puzzled, but the wager had already been made, and he had no reason to warn Tang San.

Thus, he took a deep breath and said calmly, "In principle, as a member of the academy's education committee, I do not encourage sparring between students to turn into wagers!"

After a pause, he continued, "However, today is different. What both sides have staked involves matters of considerable importance, so it is not my place to interfere!

Therefore, since the wager has been made, I hope both sides will honor it!

And I must still remind you: friendship first, sparring second!

Now, I announce—

The match begins!"