A Poor Loser

In the waiting room!

"He's been in there so long, this brat couldn't have fallen asleep inside the Virtual Battle Pod, could he?"

Fan Yongfeng muttered in dissatisfaction.

The longer Ye Cang stayed inside, the more the ground beneath his feet felt hollow to him.

"Mental exhaustion is severe inside the Virtual Battle Pod, and coupled with the shock of facing ferocious beasts with terrifying combat prowess, falling asleep is genuinely possible. There have been precedents in the past."

Fan Zhuoqun spoke with a smile.

"Don't put it like that. Surely someone brought by Venerable Hong won't be that useless!"

Listening to the veiled sarcasm from both of them, Hong Chen still kept his head lowered, closing his eyes to rest and recover.

Yet his heart was already churning with tempestuous waves.

Kid Ye, even if your results aren't up to par, you can't just fall asleep! I certainly can't afford to lose face like that!

While the three of them waited with their own hidden thoughts, the iron door in front of them suddenly opened slowly.

Simultaneously, an electronic voice echoed throughout the entire waiting room.

"Ye Cang, 11.5 levels in the Virtual Battle Tower!"

The electronic voice vanished, leaving the three of them stunned in place!

"Ele, Eleventh point five levels!"

Hong Chen mulled over the broadcast of the electronic voice, failing to react for a moment as to whether he had ultimately won or lost the wager.

However, Fan Zhuoqun beside him gave him the answer.

"Impossible! That good-for-nothing can't possibly rank higher than me!"

He roared loudly out of poise, clearly unable to believe what he was hearing.

Beside him, Fan Yongfeng's expression gradually grew gloomy as he watched the Virtual Battle Pod chamber slowly open, a strange look flashing through his eyes.

Half an hour ago.

Ye Cang chose to continue testing.

His opponent was still that Earth Splitting Giant Ape.

With the experience from the first round, he handled it with ease this time.

Although he was still battered, he simultaneously honed his sword technique and Movement Technique.

Over the course of a single battle, his sword technique experience increased by 46 points, and his Movement Technique experience increased by 134 points.

Because he faced the Earth Splitting Giant Ape, he did not have much time to temper his sword technique; the majority of his efforts went into dodging and evading.

Ten minutes later!

The second round began!

In this round, with the increase in his Movement Technique experience, his Movement Technique grew even more nimble, allowing him to exchange blows and spar from time to time.

A single battle directly raised his sword technique experience by 68 points and his Movement Technique by 146 points.

Midway through, as his Movement Technique experience broke 1,000 points, Ye Cang saw that his Movement Technique had reached the entry-level of the Minute Level.

Achieving a minor breakthrough in his realm made his Movement Technique even more agile, and even his speed increased by more than twenty percent.

Dealing with the Earth Splitting Giant Ape became significantly easier.

The third round!

Relying on the entry-level Minute Level Movement Technique, Ye Cang engaged in direct head-on clashes from time to time, basically holding his own without falling behind.

As a result, a single battle increased his sword technique experience by 87 points and his Movement Technique experience by 151 points.

Moreover, his combat prowess evaluation actually rose by 0.1 levels.

Looking at the final score revealed at the end, Ye Cang felt quite satisfied.

At the very least, he kept Hong Chen from losing the wager.

[Battle Skill: Aurora Sword Wings (Second Stage 437/2000, Aurora Sword Intent - Lower Grade)...]

[Movement Technique: Minute Level (Entry 1232/)]

Looking at the system panel, after three re-tests, his battle skill and Movement Technique experience surged significantly.

Furthermore, Ye Cang seemed to discover that as his experience for the third stage of Aurora Sword Wings gradually accumulated, the bonus that the 'Aurora Sword Intent' granted to his strength was steadily rising.

If the strength bonus after comprehending the 'Aurora Sword Intent' was originally 2x, it had now reached approximately 2.2x.

Compared to before the evaluation, his explosive strength had increased by another dozen tons or so.

"Twelfth-floor trial failed!"

"Combat prowess evaluation ended!"

"Comprehensive evaluation: Ye Cang, 11.5 levels in the Virtual Battle Tower!"

"As this is your first encounter with the Virtual Battle Tower, upon completion you may collect the Martial Arts Hall rewards for clearing floors one through eleven: three bottles of Spirit Dream Liquid, and 4.585 billion Huaxia Coins."

"Beep..."

"Contribution points detected as insufficient, unable to continue evaluation. Exiting the Virtual Battle Pod!"

As the electronic voice rang out, Ye Cang felt his consciousness blur for a moment.

Hiss...

Amidst the sound of steam, Ye Cang slowly regained consciousness.

Opening his eyes, he saw that the Virtual Battle Pod had opened.

Ye Cang got up and walked out of the pod. Looking at the open iron door with a smile on his face, he stepped outside.

In the waiting room, Fan Zhuoqun's resentful roar was deafening.

"Ye Cang! You did brilliantly!"

Seeing Ye Cang appear, Hong Chen immediately strode forward and heavily clapped him on the shoulder.

"It went all right. I didn't let down Venerable Hong's hopes!"

"Ah! What are you still calling me Venerable Hong for? If you're willing, just call me Big Brother Hong from now on. Given your aptitude anyway, it won't be long before you ascend to the realm of a War Venerable."

Hong Chen spoke with great excitement.

"Since that's the case, I'll have to ask for Big Brother Hong's continued guidance in the future."

Ye Cang smiled and nodded.

"Haha! Brother Ye, it's nothing at all!"

Off to the side, watching Hong Chen and Ye Cang acting like sworn brothers, Fan Yongfeng's face turned as dark as the bottom of a wok.

Several breaths later, a smile appeared on Fan Yongfeng's face.

"Congratulations, congratulations. I never expected Venerable Hong to bring such fine talent to our Divine Firmament Martial Arts Hall. This is truly a joyous occasion."

Hearing this, Hong Chen let out a cold snort.

"Fan Yongfeng, what kind of trouble are you trying to stir up again?"

He spoke with dissatisfaction; given the conflict between the two of them, Fan Yongfeng did not look like someone capable of hatching any decent schemes.

"Hehe! Why must Venerable Hong hold such prejudice against me? Little Brother Ye was able to achieve such stellar results—as a Venerable of the Martial Arts Hall, shouldn't I be happy?"

As he spoke, he looked over at Ye Cang with a beaming smile.

"It's just that I wonder, since Little Brother Ye possesses such cultivation, why did you spend so much time inside the Virtual Battle Pod chamber? Could it be that you used some other methods to interfere with the Virtual Battle Tower, thereby generating such results?"

Hearing these words, Hong Chen instantly flew into a rage.

"Cut the crap. This is a pinnacle technological product from the Ancient Civilization Ruins. Let alone Ye Cang who is merely at the General level, even a War King wouldn't necessarily be able to influence it. What on earth do you mean by saying this?"

"Hehe! Brother Hong Chen, no need to get hot-headed. I was just throwing it out there."

Fan Yongfeng waved his hand, then continued:

"Me losing the Earth Vein Flame Stone is a small matter, but if we harbor an impostor and fraud in our Martial Arts Hall to enjoy resources that countless people fail to obtain in a lifetime, it would be rather unfair to everyone else!"

With that, he stared fixedly at Ye Cang.

"Am I right, Ye Cang?"

At those words, Ye Cang frowned.

It seemed that the War Venerable before him was a poor loser!

He intended to play dirty.

Pondering for a moment, Ye Cang cupped his fists and said:

"I wonder what guidance Venerable Fan has in mind?"

"Hehe! Guidance is more than I dare claim..."

Fan Yongfeng was about to continue when he was abruptly interrupted by Fan Zhuoqun, who had been jumping with fury all this time.

"Do you dare to fight me! If you win, I'll admit your score is legitimate!"

Fan Zhuoqun glared menacingly at Ye Cang, his eyes filled with lingering resentment and rage.

He simply refused to admit that despite being nurtured by his lineage with resources for so long, he was inferior to a rustic bumpkin from a small city.

"Hmph! Your admission isn't worth a damn! Fan Yongfeng, didn't your Fan lineage see through the fact that nurturing this kid into a money-thrower is pointless?"

Hong Chen let out a cold snort and looked mockingly at Fan Yongfeng.

"Hehe! A match within the Martial Arts Hall? They all carry stakes to a greater or lesser degree. Since they both cleared the eleventh level, and both underwent their initial assessment, why don't we wager their entire rewards?"

Having said that, his gaze flickered toward Ye Cang.

"What do you say?"