Before the match began, Lang Lei was indeed the one everyone favored the least.
Even the manager who had supported him taking the stage held very little confidence in him deep down. Because of this, Lang Lei's odds had been so absurd, reaching a staggering 2 to 100! This meant that if someone placed a bet on Lang Lei winning, once he truly won, they could reap a return as high as 100 times!
Yet, facing such odds, Lang Lei unhesitatingly wagered a full twenty thousand Gold Soul Coins of his own.
Nothing else, purely self-confidence.
You must know that this was no small sum. If not for the worry that betting too much would stir up some unnecessary trouble, Lang Lei likely would have produced even more money to place the wager.
The person in charge of betting for this match had also seen too many soul masters like Lang Lei who possessed blind self-confidence and frantically bet on themselves. Among these people, there certainly were a small fraction whose strength was quite decent, but they were a tiny minority after all. As for a situation like Lang Lei's, the Great Soul Arena had actually long since mentally prepared itself for the possibility that this match might result in a "heavy bleeding." After all, if they could use this opportunity to befriend Lang Lei, then the price paid was definitely worth it.
Just look at the people currently betting on the Seven Beasts Team side; that line was already snaking out endlessly! If not for the match having already started and the betting having consequently stopped, that line probably could have continued to grow!
"Alright, you step down and let me speak with this little brother."
Lang Lei did not care who this suddenly appearing person was; his attention was entirely focused on the Gold Soul Coins about to arrive in his hands. To him, as long as he could obtain what he was owed, nothing else mattered.
"Give me the money," Lang Lei said concisely, a hint of unquestionable certainty leaking from his tone.
"We naturally wouldn't dare embezzle the little brother's money. Once our staff finishes counting the Gold Soul Coins, they will naturally present all of it," the other person hastily explained, a trace of a fawning smile appearing on his face.
Lang Lei nodded in agreement. He knew that in a place like this, although the other party would not dare to blatantly dock his money, waiting a bit longer was inevitable. Still, he was not in a hurry; time was not all that pressing for him anyway.
"Fine, sorry for the trouble then," Lang Lei said casually, then turned and prepared to stroll around outside for a bit. He had long since seen that Elysia was full of curiosity about Heaven Dou City, but because he had been busy cultivating all along, she had felt too embarrassed to voice any request to go look around. With free time right now, Lang Lei decided to take her out for a walk, which could also be considered a way to clear her mind.
However, just as Lang Lei turned to leave, the other person called out to him once more.
"Little brother, please wait a moment." The other party's voice seemed to carry some hesitation and doubt.
Lang Lei stopped in his tracks and asked somewhat impatiently, "What is it?"
"Little brother, please don't misunderstand; I definitely don't mean that." The manager of the Heaven Dou Grand Arena hurriedly waved his hands in explanation, "I just want to have a detailed chat with you about matters related to you continuing to soul duel in our Great Soul Arena. This is extremely important for you."
Watching the other party's fawning appearance, Lang Lei could not help but let out a cold laugh inwardly. He naturally knew what the words spoken by the other party meant—nothing more than trying to use the matter of continuing to soul duel in the Great Soul Arena to coerce him into going to his office. Yet Lang Lei did not fall for this trick; he would certainly not compromise over this kind of matter.
"Hmph, you don't need to use this to threaten me," Lang Lei said with a look of indifference. "I duel in the Great Soul Arena because I like to, not because I have to duel here. If you guys at the Great Soul Arena feel I'm unsuited, you can directly chase me away, and I won't hold the slightest bit of grievance."
Lang Lei's voice was calm and firm, seeming to have anticipated this outcome long ago. He quietly looked at the manager of the soul arena, his eyes lacking the slightest ripple, holding only a faint, aloof indifference.
The manager of the soul arena was made somewhat creeped out by Lang Lei's gaze, and he could not help but feel secretly astonished: this child was clearly only a Soul Grandmaster, so why could he make a Soul Saint like himself feel a trace of danger? This feeling made him somewhat uneasy, and he began to re-evaluate the young man before him.
Still, despite having some doubts in his heart, the manager of the soul arena decided to steady Lang Lei first; after all, the other party's identity was indeed extraordinary.
"Of course not, how could this humble person dare," he hastily said, his tone carrying a sliver of panic. "It's just that we are also running a business, not some official organization, and our financial resources are truly limited. Moreover, your strength is simply too far beyond the average level of this stage, so..."
His words were somewhat halting, as if he were struggling to find a suitable phrasing to explain. Lang Lei still silently looked at him, waiting for him to continue speaking.
Right at this moment, Lang Lei received a message sent by Elysia and froze for a moment.
"Alright, lead the way." While agreeing, Lang Lei apologized to Elysia, and quickly received a reply from her saying it was fine.
True enough, she was always so understanding.
What the manager of the soul arena said was not without reason; strictly speaking, the other party was also merely a merchant, and naturally possessed the right to refuse to trade with him. If he were to rely on the formidable strength of the Snow Empress and the Ice Empress to forcibly compel the other party to do business with him, wouldn't that be identical to those people from the Trailblaze Extension Department of the Interstellar Peace Company?
Lang Lei was unwilling to follow in their footsteps and become the second person to have their Nameless status stripped away by Paimon.
Fairly speaking, Lang Lei's usual actions in daily life were actually difficult to fully align with the code of conduct of the Nameless; he was much more like a thorough Sea Ranger. However, Paimon displayed considerable tolerance—as long as actions were not extremely vile or heinous, individuals were typically not expelled from the train.
Just like Mikhail, Tiernan, Azalina, and himself, they had all voluntarily stepped off the train to "uphold justice," yet Paimon still retained their train tickets for them.
Under the guidance of the manager of the soul arena, the two of them turned this way and that all the way, finally arriving at an extremely luxuriously decorated room.
"You really know how to enjoy yourself normally; this level of luxury almost catches up to a teacher's office at the Heaven Dou Royal Academy."
"The little brother flatters me. It still depends on what rank of teacher we're talking about. Please sit."
Lang Lei sat down without standing on ceremony, and then watched the other party pour him a cup of fruit juice.
To tell the truth, Lang Lei actually preferred drinking tea. However, in order to make some of his physiological behaviors better match a child of this age group, Lang Lei still refrained from speaking up to swap it for tea.
Before you continue