The Myriad Beast Gathering

Yang Lingtian's expression shifted slightly, and his gaze turned sharp.

"Just the few of you?" he said in a low voice. "You're not qualified to monopolize my table!"

The middle-aged man's expression hardened at this, and he let out a cold laugh.

"Good kid, you've got quite the nerve. Since you don't know what's good for you, I'll teach you a proper lesson and make sure you remember it."

The moment he finished speaking, he raised his hand and slapped it toward Yang Lingtian.

Yang Lingtian's gaze turned cold. He neither retreated nor dodged.

Instead, he raised his hand and swung it toward the middle-aged man's palm.

With a sharp smack, their palms collided, instantly forcing the middle-aged man back several steps.

Since both of them had used their cultivation power, some of their auras inevitably spilled out.

Only then did everyone sense that Yang Lingtian was also a Foundation Establishment Early Stage expert.

"My heavens, he's actually a Foundation Establishment expert too? He looks so young."

"He's already a Foundation Establishment expert, yet he's still wearing a Bronze Badge. He must have only broken through recently and not had time to change it."

"But he's facing five Foundation Establishment experts. He's only at the Foundation Establishment Early Stage, so I doubt he can handle them."

The people in the restaurant began whispering among themselves.

The middle-aged man had only just steadied himself when Yang Lingtian directly used his Movement Technique.

Taking advantage of the momentum, he drew the longsword in his hand. With a flash, he appeared in front of the middle-aged man.

His sword was as fast as lightning, suddenly appearing before the middle-aged man's throat.

The tip of the sword had already pierced through the outermost layer of skin on his throat, and a drop of blood fell.

The middle-aged man felt a faint pain at his throat, and his face changed drastically in terror.

The scene had happened too quickly. No one had seen how Yang Lingtian's figure had appeared before the middle-aged man.

The originally noisy restaurant instantly sank into an eerie silence.

Everyone widened their eyes, their gazes fixed on the sword in Yang Lingtian's hand.

Deep shock filled their eyes as they looked at Yang Lingtian.

That speed was simply beyond what a Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivator could possess.

The middle-aged man stood rigidly in place, not daring to move recklessly.

He feared that the moment he moved, the sword would pierce through his throat.

His companions beside him recovered from their shock. They knew that the man before them was certainly far stronger than a Foundation Establishment Early Stage expert.

They also knew they had kicked an iron plate. They hurriedly said, "It's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding!"

"Brother, please show mercy!"

His tone was extremely gentle, and he wore an expression of sincerity.

"Yes, yes, it's a misunderstanding. We won't eat anymore. We disturbed you, and we're truly sorry."

The middle-aged man with the sword pressed to his throat hurriedly echoed him.

Yang Lingtian had no intention of letting them off so easily. He said sternly, "Hmph. You think you can leave so easily after angering me?"

The mercenaries seemed to understand what Yang Lingtian meant and hurriedly took out fifty thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones.

They handed them to Yang Lingtian and said, "These are all the Spirit Stones we have on us. Consider them our apology."

Yang Lingtian accepted the Spirit Stones, but his tone remained cold. "That's all?"

"There's more, there's more! This is a ticket to this year's Myriad Beast Gathering. We went through great difficulty to obtain it," another mercenary continued.

He held out something that looked like an invitation.

"What's the Myriad Beast Gathering?" Yang Lingtian asked doubtfully.

"It's like this. The Myriad Beast Gathering is a large-scale beast-fighting event hosted by the Huang Family, one of Liuyun City's Five Great Families."

"It's held only once a year, and each time, all the major lineages in the city are invited."

"Even the major lineages from several nearby cities send people here, so these tickets are extremely precious." The man hurriedly explained.

"Beast fights? What use are they to me? I'm not in the mood to watch some beast fight," Yang Lingtian said, uninterested.

Seeing that Yang Lingtian remained unmoved, the middle-aged man continued, "They're useful."

"Many people go there to bet on beasts. The odds are very high. If you guess correctly, it's possible to earn hundreds of thousands, or even tens of thousands, of Spirit Stones."

The moment he heard that winning a bet could earn many Spirit Stones, Yang Lingtian immediately grew interested.

On the path of becoming stronger, what he lacked most was cultivation resources. The more Spirit Stones he had, the better.

"Fine. I'll take all of this. Now get lost," Yang Lingtian said coldly as he sheathed his sword.

After being put through such a humiliating ordeal, the four men had no face left to eat there and hurriedly departed.

Yang Lingtian opened the so-called ticket. It had a time written on it, and the Myriad Beast Gathering would begin tomorrow.

After waiting for the food, eating his fill, and finding an inn to stay at, he made some inquiries about the beast-fighting arena before resting.

It turned out that the so-called Myriad Beast Gathering had only begun to flourish three hundred years ago.

Three thousand hundred years ago, the Huang Family's ancestor had obtained a beast-taming technique that could easily tame even Second-Order Beasts.

It was said that the Huang Family's ancestor had even tamed a Third-Order Beast, a powerful beast comparable to a Golden Core expert.

The Huang Family's ancestor had seen the business opportunity in this and begun establishing beast-fighting arenas in Liuyun City.

These beast-fighting arenas, large and small, could provide cultivators with opportunities to gain experience.

The descendants of various lineages who did not wish to venture into the Monster Beast Mountain Range would come to the arenas, choose some beasts, and fight them to increase their practical combat ability.

The fee they had to pay depended on the strength of the beast they chose.

If they killed the beast, they had to pay another fee.

Such beast-fighting arenas were indeed very popular, and the Huang Family rose to prominence because of them.

More than three hundred years passed, and although the Huang Family's ancestor had died,

the beast-taming technique had been passed down. Gradually, it allowed the Huang Family to become the fifth great lineage of Liuyun City.

To increase the popularity of the beast-fighting arenas, the Huang Family began holding a Myriad Beast Gathering every year.

Since there were too many people, aside from those who were invited, everyone else needed a ticket to participate in the Myriad Beast Gathering.

Soon, the next morning arrived, and Yang Lingtian headed to the Myriad Beast Gathering.

He smoothly entered after presenting his ticket.

The place was packed with people and incredibly lively.

The roars of various beasts and the cheers of the spectators rose and fell one after another, forming an incomparably bustling scene.

Yang Lingtian walked around for a while and saw many beasts he had never encountered before.

However, his goal was not to look at beasts. He had come to win Spirit Stones through betting.

After all, he knew beast language. Perhaps he could determine who would win and who would lose before the beast fight began.

After making some inquiries, he learned that this place not only held battles between beasts.

There were even fights between beasts and humans.

Aside from betting on beasts, spectators themselves could also participate in battles.

If they won, they would receive generous rewards.

At that moment, Yang Lingtian arrived at one of the arenas. Two First-Order Beasts were preparing to fight there.

One appeared rather thin and frail, while the other was much more robust.

Most people bet that the stronger beast would win, but a small number believed that the frail beast was more agile and could triumph through speed.

The odds had reached one to ten.

In the arena, the two First-Order Beasts roared at each other.

Yang Lingtian could also understand what the beasts were saying.

Frail Beast: "We'll make the fight look fierce later. In the end, you deliberately lose to me."

Robust Beast: "I know, I know. The beast tamer already signaled that I'm supposed to lose. If I don't, I'll probably be beaten when I get back."

Understanding the beasts' conversation, Yang Lingtian's brows knitted tightly.

"Good heavens, there's a hidden scheme behind these beast bets. The Huang Family must have made quite a fortune through such tricks!"

With only a few minutes left before the two beasts began fighting, Yang Lingtian hurriedly took out ninety thousand Spirit Stones and bet on the frail beast to win.

The odds on the field instantly changed from one to ten to one to one.

In other words, the total bets on the frail beast and the robust beast both became one hundred thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones.

If the frail beast won, Yang Lingtian would not only recover his original stake but also win another ninety thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones.

Yang Lingtian's sudden wager genuinely stunned everyone.

"Is that kid crazy? He actually dared to bet ninety thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones on that frail beast winning."

"Exactly. He's either insane or stupid. Those ninety thousand Spirit Stones are about to be thrown into the water."

"I wonder which lineage's wastrel he is. He came up and dared to wager a fortune of ninety thousand Spirit Stones."

"Hahaha, wonderful. Some big fool has come to deliver Spirit Stones to us."

Those who had bet on the robust beast were extremely pleased. Earlier, the odds for betting on the robust beast had been too low.

Even if they won, they could only earn one-tenth of their Spirit Stones. Now that the odds had become one to one,

they would win an equal amount of Spirit Stones. How could they not be happy?

Everyone present looked at Yang Lingtian as though he were some kind of alien.

His actions were impossible to understand. He actually dared to wager ninety thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones on a frail beast that seemed to have no chance of winning.

Those who dared to bet on the frail beast placed only small wagers. They were truly gambling.

If they lost, such a small amount of Spirit Stones would not matter, but if they won, they could make a little profit.

It was simply that the odds of winning were rather low.

Yang Lingtian could not be bothered with the crowd's mockery.

At that moment, an old man walked over, furrowing his brows as he asked doubtfully, "Are you certain you want to bet on that frail beast?"

"Do you know that this beast's strength is far inferior to that of the robust beast? Your wager is far too bold."

The old man tried to persuade Yang Lingtian to withdraw his bet. Before the match began, bets could be placed or withdrawn freely.

Yang Lingtian smiled and replied, "I'm certain. I believe that frail beast will give me a pleasant surprise."

The old man gave Yang Lingtian a deep look, shook his head, and walked away.

Yang Lingtian paid it no mind. He did not know that the old man was actually a member of the Huang Family.

The old man had known in advance that the frail beast would win, so he had bet five thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones on it.

At the previous odds of ten to one, he would have won fifty thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones.

Now that Yang Lingtian had interfered, he could only win five thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones.

"Refusing an old man's advice will make you suffer right before your eyes!" someone sighed after seeing this scene.

Yang Lingtian remained unmoved and instead looked forward to the beginning of the match.

He knew that before the beasts entered the arena, the beast tamers running the scheme would use certain methods backstage to make the beasts understand whether they were supposed to lose or win.

Once they entered the beast-fighting arena, they could no longer give the beasts any signals. The beasts could only act according to the instructions they had received earlier.

Therefore, he was not worried that anything would change during the match.