Do you dare?

"Hong Bao, you grandson, do you dare to fight your grandfather Ye Zhen!"

In an instant, Ye Zhen's arrogant voice exploded across every corner of East Arrival Peak like a clap of spring thunder, echoing endlessly and instantly waking many disciples from their arduous training.

Hong Bao, who was in the middle of practicing martial arts, had his triangular eyes widen into perfect circles upon hearing Ye Zhen's voice. "Well, well, Ye Zhen, I wasn't going to look for you, but you actually dare to challenge me? You're courting death!"

With a whoosh, Hong Bao bolted from the woods and sprinted toward the Martial Arena.

Li Yuncong, ranked third on the Earth Ranking, was sitting in meditation in his quiet room when he heard Ye Zhen's voice echoing over East Arrival Peak. He rose and headed toward the Martial Arena. "Has this kid Ye Zhen gone mad? Regardless of the outcome, I must watch Hong Bao's performance closely. He is second on the Earth Ranking, and I am third."

At the summit of East Arrival Peak, Gu Duozhi, who had been practicing his swordplay in the wind with a rather feminine and delicate air, suddenly withdrew his long sword. "Interesting, truly interesting. A nobody dares to challenge Hong Bao, the second-ranked on the Earth Ranking. Perhaps the long-dormant Earth Ranking will finally become lively again.

As the first-ranked on the Earth Ranking, I simply must join in on the fun!"

Inside the training hall at the peak of East Arrival Peak, Instructor Liao Feibai, who had been sitting cross-legged with her eyes closed, was startled awake by the sound. Her long, willow-leaf eyebrows furrowed, and a trace of worry suddenly appeared on her heroic, beautiful face.

"He is actually challenging Hong Bao, the second-ranked on the Earth Ranking. Could his cultivation have broken through to the True Essence Realm? Even if he has reached the True Essence Realm, Hong Bao is not someone he can easily defeat."

Waves of light flickered in her beautiful eyes as Liao Feibai suddenly chuckled. "However, this courage and boldness are quite to my liking. I hope he won't be beaten too miserably..."

The entire East Arrival Peak gradually awakened because of Ye Zhen's roar. Outer Disciples who had been training hard in various places stopped their practice and headed toward the Martial Arena, especially those who held positions on the Earth Ranking.

"Someone is challenging Hong Bao, who has occupied the second spot on the Earth Ranking for a year. Such a spectacle must be seen. At the very least, we can gauge Hong Bao's true strength..."

Below the Martial Arena, Jin Yuanbao stared, dumbfounded, at the incredibly bold Ye Zhen standing on the stage.

He had considered many possibilities, but he never imagined that Ye Zhen would so openly challenge Hong Bao—a man whom even Gu Duozhi, the first-ranked on the Earth Ranking, was unwilling to provoke easily.

Even he, ranked ninth on the Earth Ranking, would only choose to walk the other way upon seeing Hong Bao. Yet Ye Zhen, who had only been an Outer Disciple for four months, dared to challenge him!

Ye Zhen's shout caused the Outer Disciples who had been leaving in low spirits after losing money to instantly gather back around the Martial Arena. After glancing at the confident Ye Zhen on the stage, only one thought flashed through everyone's mind: Ye Zhen was bound to lose!

The next moment, several hundred Outer Disciples swarmed toward Jin Yuanbao.

"Senior Disciple Brother Jin, open the betting!"

"Jin Yuanbao, hurry up and open the board! We want to place our bets!"

This was the first time Jin Yuanbao had broken into a cold sweat over opening a betting pool. If Ye Zhen's victory over Ma Hun had been an upset, it was because everyone had underestimated Ye Zhen's strength, allowing Jin Yuanbao to make a huge profit.

In fact, when he opened the betting for Ye Zhen versus Ma Hun, Jin Yuanbao had wondered if there might be an upset.

But now, even if he analyzed it a hundred or a thousand times, based on his observations of Ye Zhen's strength, Jin Yuanbao reached the same conclusion: Ye Zhen had almost no chance of winning.

If he had to give a probability, it would be... one in ten thousand!

In such a situation, if he opened the betting, he would lose for sure—and lose everything he had.

"This... isn't Senior Disciple Brother Hong here yet?" Jin Yuanbao replied miserably, his brain spinning rapidly as he searched for a way to escape.

"Ye Zhen, I'm here! You just wait for me!" A roar, unique to Hong Bao, echoed from a distant mountain peak, causing the corners of Jin Yuanbao's mouth to stiffen.

"Hahaha, Junior Disciple Brother Li, let's have a race of movement techniques and see who is faster!"

"I wouldn't dare refuse!"

In an instant, two figures began to move like lightning. One was as agile as a swimming dragon, the other as fast as a thunderbolt, both streaking toward the Martial Arena like two wisps of smoke.

"The Senior Disciple Brother and Senior Disciple Brother Li!" the crowd exclaimed.

The two figures were neck and neck at first, but Gu Duozhi's speed increased as he ran, while Li Yuncong maintained a steady pace. By the end, Gu Duozhi had pulled ahead by several dozen meters.

"Senior Disciple Brother is mighty!" Seeing Gu Duozhi win, the many Outer Disciples cheered in unison.

"Hahaha, Junior Disciple Brother Li, you are still the same, never liking to compete for dominance. You were still holding back some of your strength just now, weren't you?"

As Gu Duozhi walked into the crowd, the many Outer Disciples automatically cleared a path for him. Gu Duozhi's reputation as the first-ranked Senior Disciple Brother was incredibly prestigious.

"So you are the Ye Zhen who challenged Hong Bao?" Gu Duozhi squinted as he sized Ye Zhen up.

"Ye Zhen greets the Senior Disciple Brother!"

"Good, good! Regardless of whether you win or lose today, this courage alone is enough to earn my admiration!" After saying this, Gu Duozhi walked into the crowd, and the many Outer Disciples surrounded him like stars around the moon, with people stepping forward to greet him from time to time.

"Junior Disciple Brother Ye, why are you so impulsive? If you are no match for him later, admit defeat early to ensure your safety..." Li Yuncong sighed softly, gave Ye Zhen a word of advice, and then faded into the crowd without another word.

More and more Outer Disciples arrived from all directions, and the calls for Jin Yuanbao to open the betting grew louder.

"Jin Yuanbao, don't tell me you're trying to run away just because you won some silver?"

"Senior Disciple Brother Jin, open the board! I'm waiting to place my bet. I have to win back the five hundred taels of silver I lost earlier."

Under the pressure of the surging crowd, cold sweat poured down Jin Yuanbao's forehead. The crowd's momentum was as if they were coming to pick up free silver; then again, in the current situation, betting on Hong Bao to win was indeed like picking up silver.

Looking at the growing crowd of Outer Disciples, Jin Yuanbao was on the verge of tears. If he opened the betting, wouldn't he lose even his underwear?

Who wouldn't know how to pick up free silver?

Even if he lowered the odds to the minimum, he couldn't withstand the sheer volume of bets.

Jin Yuanbao knew very well that if he acted as the house today, the small fortune he had scraped together over the years would be completely wiped out.

"Forget it, better to ruin the reputation of the Iron Casino than to lose everything. At worst, I just won't open a betting pool again..." Gritting his teeth, Jin Yuanbao frowned and shouted, "Oh, my stomach hurts..."

With a flash, Jin Yuanbao prepared to use his "urination escape" technique to leave the scene.

But a single voice caused Jin Yuanbao's feet to freeze in place.

"Jin Yuanbao, one must be honest in their dealings. A bookie never runs away halfway through. Since you started this betting pool for Ye Zhen today, you must see it through to the end. If you dare to run today, you won't be doing a single bit of business on East Arrival Peak ever again!"

A cold snort from Senior Disciple Brother Gu Duozhi forced a smile onto Jin Yuanbao's face that looked even worse than crying. "Senior Disciple Brother, how could I possibly do that?" Jin Yuanbao feigned rubbing his stomach. "Huh, that's strange, my stomach doesn't hurt anymore!"

"To hell with your 'honest' act!"

Cursing under his breath, Jin Yuanbao helplessly began to shout, "Step right up, the betting is open! The Iron Casino is open for business! Hong Bao's odds are one to ten, Ye Zhen's odds are... ten to one!"

Gritting his teeth, Jin Yuanbao pushed Hong Bao's odds to the absolute minimum while raising Ye Zhen's odds to a terrifying level, hoping to attract some adventurous souls to bet on Ye Zhen and minimize his losses.

"Senior Disciple Brother is mighty!" With a cheer, the crowd of Outer Disciples swarmed forward to place their bets.

"I bet one thousand taels on Hong Bao!"

"I'm betting three hundred Sect Contribution Points on Senior Disciple Brother Hong!"

The crowd of Outer Disciples was going wild with their bets, but Jin Yuanbao was left dumbfounded. As the wagers piled up in his hands, his face grew paler and paler.

This round wouldn't just cost him his entire fortune; he was likely going to end up buried in debt!

"Five hundred taels, I'm betting on Ye Zhen." When Feng Haoran's voice rang out, it sounded like music to his ears.

"Feng Haoran, you're betting on Ye Zhen too? You're just asking to lose everything. I'll stick to earning a Blood Origin Pill or two. I bet eight hundred taels of silver and two hundred Sect Contribution Points on Hong Bao," Shi Tianjia said to Feng Haoran.

"You don't understand!" Feng Haoran left Shi Tianjia with nothing but the back of his head, his gaze fixed on the Martial Arena, burning with intensity.

BOOM!

Hong Bao, who had rushed over in a hurry, leaped high into the air and landed on the Martial Arena, slamming a fist into the ground and sending gravel flying.

"Ye Zhen, so you're the one challenging me, right?" Hong Bao licked his lips, his reddened eyes filled with raging battle intent.

"That's right!"

"You've got guts, but I like it!" Hong Bao bared his white teeth at Ye Zhen. "I've wanted to beat you up for a long time. This way, I can do it to my heart's content, and even if I beat you to death, no one will blame me!"

Suddenly dropping into a stance, Hong Bao shouted, "Come on! It's been a long time since anyone dared to challenge me on the Martial Arena. My fists are starting to itch, and I can't wait any longer!"

"Wait!" Ye Zhen suddenly spoke up to stop him.

"What, are you scared? If you're scared, come over and kowtow to me..."

"Hahahaha, scared? If I were scared, I wouldn't have used an Amplification Talisman to challenge you!" With a loud laugh, Ye Zhen suddenly pointed at Jin Yuanbao and said, "I intend to bet my entire fortune on my own victory. Do you dare to do the same?"

************

PS: Young man, do you dare to bet all your recommendation votes on this? Do you dare?