Attention Drawn

The battle began soon after. Once it started, no more bets could be placed or withdrawn.

At first, the two beasts fought to a standstill, but gradually, the weaker-looking beast began to gain the upper hand.

Those who had bet on the sturdier beast winning began to grow nervous.

"What's going on? How could that weaker-looking beast possibly gain the upper hand?"

"Relax. At the beginning, the weaker beast has a speed advantage, so it's only managing to stay ahead of the sturdier one."

"Once the weaker beast runs out of stamina, the sturdier beast will definitely make a comeback," someone explained.

Clearly, many people thought the same way.

Yang Lingtian, standing nearby, merely smiled.

Amid the tense atmosphere, the two beasts fought fiercely for half an hour.

Suddenly, the weaker-looking beast leaped into the air and kicked the sturdier beast away at astonishing speed.

With a boom, the sturdier beast crashed to the ground and let out a miserable howl.

Sturdier Beast: "Fuck, could you go a little easier? That kick nearly killed me with pain."

Weaker Beast: "It's an act! We have to make it look convincing."

Of course, only Yang Lingtian could understand the beasts' conversation.

At that moment, the entire arena fell silent. Then, the whole crowd erupted.

Everyone stared at the scene in shock, many unable to believe their own eyes.

"That weaker-looking beast actually won!"

Now, everyone turned to look at Yang Lingtian, their eyes filled with deep envy.

They had never expected Yang Lingtian's judgment to be so sharp that he could tell the weaker-looking beast would win.

Of course, some believed that Yang Lingtian had merely been a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse—he had only won because he had gotten lucky.

After the match ended, Yang Lingtian successfully collected his Spirit Stones.

In less than an hour, he had earned ninety thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones.

Yang Lingtian was overjoyed. This place is practically a money-making paradise built just for me!

He then continued placing bets at various large and small beast arenas.

Of course, not every beast arena had a rigged match. If every one of them did, the Huang Family would also worry that others might discover it.

Still, roughly half of the matches were rigged.

To guarantee his wins, Yang Lingtian specifically chose arenas with rigged matches.

He only placed a bet after confirming through the beasts' conversation which one would win.

It was practically foolproof. By midday, he had earned a full million Low-grade Spirit Stones.

However, this also drew the attention of others. Some people noticed that Yang Lingtian won every single bet.

These people began betting alongside Yang Lingtian, causing the odds to plummet. The amount of Spirit Stones they could win consequently decreased.

He had even considered betting all his Spirit Stones at once.

But doing so would drive the odds even lower. In the end, he would not win much more, and it would instead attract even more attention.

Sure enough, Yang Lingtian's flawless winning streak caught the attention of the Huang Family.

On a high platform, a person dressed in an ornate robe was listening to a subordinate's report.

"Master, there's a young man who's very strange. We discovered that he wins every beast-fighting bet he places."

"What? Someone like that actually exists? Have you found out where he comes from?"

Huang Qi asked in surprise. His gaze was as deep as the sea, giving off a sense of oppression.

It was the aura formed from spending a long time in a position of power.

The subordinate replied, "According to our brief investigation, he's merely a Bronze-level mercenary. He doesn't seem to have any special background."

"This boy is interesting. Go call my son, Huang Hao, and have him sound the boy out. I still have a few old friends to entertain."

"Yes!"

As for Yang Lingtian, just as he was about to place another bet, a voice interrupted him.

"Wait. Are you Yang Xiangtian?"

A young man walked over with several subordinates.

This person was Huang Hao. After investigating, his subordinates had learned the false name Yang Lingtian was using.

Yang Lingtian turned toward Huang Hao and looked him over.

"That's right. What do you want with me?"

Huang Hao said with a beaming smile, "I've heard that Young Master Yang has an exceptionally sharp eye."

"They say you can accurately tell which beast will win, so I came to have a bet with you."

Yang Lingtian said expressionlessly, "If you want to bet, just place your wager. There's no need to tell me."

"But if you want to bet with me privately, I refuse. My time is precious. I don't have time to play with you."

"How can you speak like that? This is Huang Hao, the son of the Huang Family's master." The subordinate beside Huang Hao lost his temper first.

"How dare you speak to my young master in that tone?"

Still smiling with a dagger hidden behind it, he said, "Of course, I'll be placing a bet too."

"But the wagers in these pools are too small—only tens of thousands or a hundred-some thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones."

"How about we go to the Second-Order Beast arena and bet there?"

Hearing this, Yang Lingtian immediately knew that Huang Hao was plotting against him.

The Second-Order Beast arena had a Beast Tamer stationed there.

Wouldn't that Beast Tamer be able to use special methods to signal which Second-Order Beast was supposed to win or lose?

Wouldn't that mean he was bound to lose?

Seeing Yang Lingtian hesitate, Huang Hao provoked him, "What? You don't dare?"

"Aren't you very impressive? You can win every bet, but now you're too cowardly because you're afraid of losing?"

Just then, the system's voice suddenly rang out.

[The strong must constantly acquire cultivation resources. A limited-time mission has been issued: Bet against Huang Hao and win more than 2,000,000 Spirit Stones.]

Yang Lingtian was just about to refuse when, unexpectedly, the system issued a mission.

To complete the mission, Yang Lingtian had no choice but to accept.

"Fine. I'll bet with you!" Yang Lingtian replied.

"Hahaha, you really have courage. Then follow me." Huang Hao continued smiling.

But inwardly, he was already making his own calculations, looking utterly certain of victory.

Hmph. This time, I'll not only make you lose all the Spirit Stones you won, but every Spirit Stone you brought with you as well.

Soon, he was led to the Second-Order Beast arena district. Only the wealthier people came here.

Every arena here was built on a massive scale, with extremely thick iron fencing surrounding it.

The various walls were also exceptionally sturdy.

After all, Second-Order Beasts were comparable to Foundation Establishment experts.

Their battles possessed immense power, so the necessary structural defenses had to be properly prepared.

As expected of a Second-Order Beast betting arena, the total wagers in every match were at least a million Spirit Stones.

Anyone without some capital would not dare bet here.

"Young Master Yang, you can choose which arena to bet on, so you won't be able to accuse me of cheating," Huang Hao said hypocritically.

Yang Lingtian said nothing. Instead, he walked toward the nearest arena.

"This one." Yang Lingtian replied.

The match in this arena was between a beast called the Gale Wolf and one called the Whirlwind Tiger.

The Gale Wolf looked tall and sturdy, with well-developed muscles.

The pair of sharp fangs in its mouth made it look even more ferocious.

The Whirlwind Tiger's claws, meanwhile, looked exceptionally keen.

It seemed that with one casual swipe, they could tear through solid rock.

Both were Second-Order Initial Stage beasts. Before the fight began, it was difficult to tell which one was stronger.

Thus, the odds for both beasts were roughly one to one.

At that moment, Yang Lingtian heard the two beasts' conversation.

Gale Wolf: "Why hasn't this Beast Tamer given us instructions on who's supposed to lose yet?"

Whirlwind Tiger: "Could it be that there are no instructions, and we're supposed to decide the winner and loser ourselves?"

From the beasts' conversation, Yang Lingtian still could not tell which one would win.

As he pondered how he should place his bet, Huang Hao had already begun urging him.

"Young Master Yang, hurry up and place your bet. I'll give you first choice, but the wager cannot be less than 500,000 Spirit Stones."

The moment he said this, everyone nearby was astonished.

No less than five hundred thousand—that was a huge wager.

Although the wagers in the arena had already exceeded a million, that amount had been combined from dozens of people.

On average, each person had bet less than a hundred thousand. Five hundred thousand was indeed a reckless gamble.

Yang Lingtian did not reply. He continued observing the conversation between the beasts.

Someone nearby fanned the flames. "He's trying to back out at the last moment. He doesn't dare gamble such a huge amount."

"Exactly. He probably doesn't even have that many Spirit Stones to bet."

Seeing Yang Lingtian remain silent, Huang Hao also began to worry that he might not dare to gamble.

"Young Master Yang, what do you say? Hurry and decide. There are only a dozen minutes left to place bets."

Yang Lingtian had gained no useful information from the beasts' conversation, leaving him with no confidence at all.

He truly did not want to do anything without confidence!

Then, a thought struck him, and he said, "These two beasts look evenly matched. I'll have to get closer and examine them carefully to know which one is stronger."

"Young Master Huang, you don't mind wasting a few minutes, do you?"

Huang Hao's expression tightened. He had not expected Yang Lingtian to make such a request.

What use would getting closer to look do?

In the end, Yang Lingtian would still lose to him, so Huang Hao agreed to this seemingly pointless request.

"Fine. Go ahead and take a close look. Just don't forget to come back and place your bet."

Yang Lingtian slowly approached the arena, reached the railing, and moved closer to the two beasts.

He softly addressed the two beasts in their language: "Greetings, esteemed beast brothers!"

This genuinely startled the two beasts. They stared toward Yang Lingtian with astonished expressions.

Gale Wolf: "Are you the one who just spoke?"

Whirlwind Tiger: "It was definitely this kid. I didn't expect a human to know our beast language!"

Yang Lingtian smiled faintly and continued speaking softly in their language. "That was me. Esteemed beast brothers, I have a favor to ask of you!"

Gale Wolf: "Don't bother. You want us to throw the match, right?"

Whirlwind Tiger: "Forget it. We're not going to throw the match."

Yang Lingtian: "Brothers, I know you're waiting for the Beast Tamer's instructions, right?"

"I'm just curious. Why do you have to obey the Beast Tamer's instructions? Are you really willing to submit to the Huang Family?"

Gale Wolf: "Alas, there are only tears when we talk about it. What can we do even if we're unwilling? We can't escape, either."

Whirlwind Tiger: "Exactly. Back then, they used a special mist to make us lose consciousness."

"In the end, they brought us back and forced us to swallow Beast Control Pills, which allowed them to control us."

Only then did Yang Lingtian understand. The core of the Huang Family's Beast Taming technique was actually the use of drugs!

He continued speaking in their beast language. "Brothers, do you want to be free?"

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