The Cost of Beauty and Appetite

Fang Che smiled on the arena and clasped his hands sincerely. "Thank you for showing mercy, Brother Mo."

Then he calmly stepped off the arena.

His steps were steady, and his cool expression remained unchanged.

The Limitless True Scripture quietly circulated, repeatedly washing through the meridians in his legs as his injuries slowly recovered.

He took the cloak Fang Qingyun handed him, draped it over his shoulders, and stood at the front of the crowd, watching the arena.

Clearly, he intended to watch his opponents fight.

He stood straight and tall, steady as an abyss and immovable as a mountain. He seemed completely unconcerned about the leg that had just clashed more than seven hundred times, or perhaps it had not affected him at all.

At that, everyone immediately saw who had won and who had lost the battle.

It was plain at a glance.

Sure enough, Mo Ganyun had lost.

But although he had lost, no one dared underestimate him. Instead, everyone felt the same thing in their hearts: What a fine man.

In the battle from thirteen down to seven, aside from Jing Shuanggao receiving a bye, everyone else had indeed brought out their true strength.

Even Ding Ziran and the others could no longer win in a single move.

Every one of them became embroiled in a drawn-out battle.

In the end, the seven finalists were decided: Fang Che, Ding Ziran, Qiu Yunshang, Huo Churan, Xie Gongping, Jing Shuanggao, who had received a bye, and one person who had taken everyone by surprise.

Rain Song! This person, who had originally ranked eleventh, had grown stronger against stronger opponents and steadily caught up. Even now, he had not fallen behind.

Next came the battle from seven down to four.

Clearly, someone would receive another bye.

The championship, runner-up, and third-place matches were almost upon them.

Below, the betting area was in uproar, with people shouting and stumbling over one another.

After this battle, everyone had finally seen Fang Che's potential. He could be called a surefire favorite to win the championship.

Who would not want to take advantage of that? But now, the betting area had been closed.

No more bets!

According to the instructors: "If you place your bets now, you might as well wait until the champion is decided and bet then! That way, you're guaranteed to win."

Thus, the Great Training Field was filled with wails! Although suspense still remained, many people had already lost their chance to recoup their losses. They were doomed to lose.

The people they had bet on had already been eliminated.

A judge came over specifically to ask Fang Che, "How is it?"

Fang Che moved both legs a little and smiled. "It's nothing!"

"Don't force yourself."

"I'm not."

"Good, then."

The judge immediately announced, "The seven-to-four match will take place after lunch this afternoon."

Fang Che moved his legs slightly, feeling the Limitless True Scripture repairing them. He could not help looking toward Mo Ganyun across from him.

He felt as though he had been swinging his legs against a steel bar for half a day. It had truly hurt, but Fang Che had endured it.

In fact, even if the injury had been more severe and his leg bones had cracked, so long as they were not completely broken, Fang Che could continue swinging his legs without changing expression as long as the battle remained undecided.

The ruthlessness of an old hand: a broken leg was still better than losing one's life.

As Fang Che moved, he felt a little like laughing.

Mo Ganyun's legs really were hard. Unfortunately, his cultivation was not as orthodox as Fang Che's, and his cultivation level was also slightly weaker.

Third-stage Martial Master!

Fang Che had used his third-stage Martial Master cultivation to trade kicks with Mo Ganyun. Naturally, nothing would happen to him.

Still, one of his legs hurt terribly. Fortunately, it had almost recovered by now.

When Mo Ganyun caught his gaze, he burst out laughing. Then he strode over, both trouser legs still rolled up, revealing calves covered in shocking blue-purple swelling.

It gave people a rather strange feeling.

Mo Ganyun walked over as though no one else existed, casually draped an arm around Fang Che's shoulder, and asked, "You, doesn't it hurt?"

Fang Che's expression did not change. "Who told me to win? Even if it hurts, I have to pretend it doesn't."

"Hahahaha..."

Mo Ganyun laughed again.

Those familiar with him all glanced over in surprise. When did this big fellow become so fond of laughing?

"Later, hit them hard!"

Mo Ganyun pointed at Huo Churan and the others without the slightest hesitation. "Those fellows don't look like the type who are used to hard collisions. As long as you force them to crash head-on a few times, I guarantee they'll be baring their teeth and unable to move comfortably."

His words had truly struck the weak point of those people.

After all, there were only a few people on the entire continent who could fight as desperately as Fang Che and Mo Ganyun.

Ding Ziran stood alone to one side, his expression indifferent, seemingly not hearing them at all. He showed no reaction whatsoever.

This person stood in the middle of a sea of people, yet he gave others the feeling that he was standing alone in a vast desert.

No matter how many people surrounded him, he was still lonely.

Huo Churan and the others glared furiously at Mo Ganyun, but he did not care in the slightest. He glared back at each of them. "What? You're not convinced? Why don't you fight me first?!"

Huo Churan and the others all turned away and rolled their eyes.

The seven-to-four battle was that afternoon. Only fools would fight head-on with a Mo Ganyun who possessed championship-level strength right now! Even if they won, they would gain nothing and lose much.

They all turned their faces away.

Qiu Yunshang, however, looked at Mo Ganyun's face and said, "When this matter is over, find a chance to have a bout."

Mo Ganyun's eyes lit up. "Good!"

Then they began drawing lots.

Fang Che was still the first to draw.

As soon as he took the token in hand, someone across from him looked up, eyes full of battle intent.

Ding Ziran! In the seven-to-four battle, Fang Che had encountered his second mission target.

The others drew their lots in succession. Rain Song received a bye, which made him sigh in relief. The people ahead were all beasts; avoiding one battle meant saving quite a bit of strength.

He was truly afraid that one fight would leave him with a broken leg or arm. If that happened, he basically would not be able to fight again.

Fang Che smiled kindly at Ding Ziran and said with unusual warmth, "Brother Ding, I've long admired your reputation. Get a good rest at noon. This afternoon, the two of us brothers can have a good, intimate exchange."

Ding Ziran had not expected Fang Che to be so amiable. He froze for a moment, then stiffly said, "You too!"

With those three words, he turned away with a rigid face and left.

Fang Che was stunned.

He had always been known for being sparing with words, yet today he had encountered someone even more sparing with words? Then everyone dispersed.

Fang Che could not return home. Fang Qingyun caught him and took him to the Martial Academy dining hall.

Accompanying him were four girls with smiling faces, brimming with excitement, as well as eight boys whose faces were downcast, looking as though their parents had died.

Fang Qingyun asked sympathetically, "Lost again?"

"Lost..."

The eight of them nearly felt like dying. "We all bet on Mo Ganyun. Then you took him down."

Fang Che: "..."

But when he thought about it, this was only reasonable.

These fellows mixed around together every day. As long as one analysis expert concluded that Mo Ganyun had a great chance of winning, they would all definitely bet on Mo Ganyun.

After all, brothers advanced and retreated together—boys were basically like that.

That was what people called either a great victory or total annihilation.

As things stood, it had not been a great victory.

If it had been a group of girls who played together, their bets would definitely have been different. Perhaps the eight of them would claim to agree on the surface while secretly betting on all eight different targets.

"Cousin, you hid yourself too deeply... You could at least have given us some hint..."

The eight wailed miserably.

Fang Che looked helpless. "What kind of people were our opponents? To put it plainly, even if you had bet on me until now, you could still have lost! We're all freshmen. Who could be certain of victory?"

Everyone thought that made sense.

Just then, the dishes were served. The eight turned their grief into appetite and devoured the food like a whirlwind.

Each of them patted Fang Qingyun on the shoulder. "Brother! I'm following you for the next six months."

Fang Qingyun's eyes widened. "Looks like you even bet your meal money?"

The eight wore bitter expressions.

One of them turned out his pocket and hung it outside, his face ashen. "Not a single coin left!"

"Pfft!"

Several girls burst out laughing, their branches trembling.

Fang Che asked curiously, "Senior Sister Liu, what about you four?"

"We're different!"

Senior Sister Liu said proudly, "From the very beginning, before the first match had even started, we bet on you!"

Fang Che immediately admired them. "You really have good judgment. I hadn't shown anything at the time."

Senior Sister Liu gave an awkward laugh. "It wasn't that we hoped you would win the championship. We mainly wanted to keep looking at your face. After all, we'll still have plenty of chances to play and eat together in the future. If we didn't bet on you, how could we have the face to eat together afterward?"

The other girls nodded repeatedly. "Cousin's face makes food more appetizing. Looking at this face lets me eat half a bowl more."

"I can eat a whole bowl more."

Fang Che stared at them, dumbfounded. "It can work like that?" Another senior sister said, "Besides, we didn't bet much. We just treated it as a beauty-for-appetite fee. Whether we won or lost, we didn't really care."

Fang Che was speechless: ...

A beauty-for-appetite fee?

When had a phrase like that ever been applied to me? Could you all have gotten it wrong?

This meal was extremely sumptuous.

Fang Qingyun was treating them. There was Demon Beast meat, as well as porridge that replenished vital energy.

When the bill was calculated, Fang Che was shocked. "This meal only cost two points?"

"Of course."

Fang Qingyun said, "Do you think these points are easy to earn? If it weren't to help you recover, those two points would have been enough for me to feed all of them for seven days."

"..."

Fang Che wore a blank expression. "This currency is truly... incredibly sturdy!"

In the blink of an eye, afternoon arrived.

The opening match was Fang Che's! On the arena, Fang Che stood against the wind in his Black Dark Gold Dark Pattern Cloak, his hair and sleeves fluttering, its dark patterns rippling.

Unseen, it gave him a somewhat "delicate and sickly" air.

But Ding Ziran opposite him faced him as though confronting a great enemy! After witnessing Fang Che's thunder against fire battle that morning, Ding Ziran could no longer be fooled by Fang Che's "delicate" appearance.

The two stood facing each other, their gazes locked.

Fang Che spoke first. "Brother Ding, it hasn't been easy for you to make it this far. I feel the same way. Before we begin our match, I have something to say, and I hope Brother Ding will listen carefully."

A trace of surprise appeared on Ding Ziran's stiff face. "Go ahead."

"Brother Ding, you're an outstanding man among men. I, Fang Che, have no desire to become your enemy. Besides, this arena tournament is merely a teaching method of the academy; there should be no grudges arising from it. I wonder if Brother Ding agrees?"

Ding Ziran nodded. "Naturally."

"So, regardless of victory or defeat in this battle, I hope to make friends with Brother Ding through martial arts. Let us become friends. I hope that in the future, we can spur each other on and improve together. More than that, I hope that one day, whether on the battlefield or in a moment of crisis, Brother Ding and I can watch each other's backs, helping and shielding one another!"

Fang Che spoke these words with utmost seriousness and sincerity.

Ding Ziran also sensed his sincerity and nodded. "I feel the same."

His face had always held a rigid expression. He clearly was not someone who smiled or spoke carelessly. Even now, each word emerged one at a time.

His speech was also very slow.

He looked extremely unskilled at communicating.

At this moment, he smiled slightly, tugging at the stiff muscles in his face that had remained unmoved for so long, making the expression seem even more forced.

But this was already the friendliest expression he could make.