After Mei Yingxue left, Chen Qing closed his eyes again and sat cross-legged in meditation.
Whenever great matters arose, one needed a calm mind.
On this final day, he no longer cultivated. Instead, he sank his mind into its deepest reaches, like an ancient well without a ripple, reflecting every aspect of his current state.
At the same time, Mei Yingxue delivered that enormous wager to the Shi Family's betting counter at the Star Gazing Tower.
The news traveled like the wind and reached Shi Jinsong's ears in an instant.
The Great Elder of the Shi Family was brewing tea. Upon receiving the news, even his hands paused, and a few drops of tea splashed over the rim of the cup.
"A wager from Tiger Hall?" he asked.
Two hundred True Essence Pills was no small sum. If Chen Qing truly won, it would not be as simple as merely doubling the payout.
"Yes, Mei Yingxue delivered it personally," his confidant said quietly.
Shi Jinsong fell silent for a moment, then waved a hand. "Understood. Register it as usual."
Time flowed on. The day of the Dragon Tiger Tournament arrived.
Before dawn had broken, Lingxiao Giant City was already a roaring sea of voices.
The streets leading to the Dragon Tiger Platform had long since been packed so tightly by the surging crowds that not even water could pass through.
Wanderers of the martial world, merchants, ordinary citizens, and even experts who had journeyed from cities throughout the Eight Paths Region all surged in the same direction.
The Dragon Tiger Platform stood at the very center of Lingxiao Giant City. It was a stone platform built from massive blocks of Blue Granite, roughly thirty feet long and wide, and more than ten feet high.
Eight stone pillars coiled with dragons