Genius Battle, Wager

After Shangguan Ye captured the remaining three Dark Guild members, he had them locked in the family dungeon.

"You three, start talking. Was it the Demon Lord who wanted to kill me, or did Shen Hong hire you?" Shangguan Ye asked coldly from outside the cell door.

Before the three could speak, they suddenly collapsed dead.

"Patriarch, they were likely planted with a Forbidden Curse in their mouths." Shangguan Xun stepped forward and examined the bodies.

"It's fine. I already have my answer." Shangguan Ye had actually known who the mastermind was all along; he had merely wanted to confirm it. If it had been the Demon Lord, he would have tried to recruit him first. But now it seemed that it was that old bastard Shen Hong.

"Patriarch, Glory City's Genius Battle will begin in the next couple of days. I heard that the geniuses from every family will be participating this time. Will you...?" Shangguan Xun asked.

"Uncle Xun, after what happened with me, a Gold Five Stars, fighting four Black Gold Demon Spirit Masters, who in Glory City doesn't know about me now? Do you think they'd let me participate?" Shangguan Ye lounged in his chair, cracking sunflower seeds.

"So that means you won't be going?"

"No, no. Rather than waste my time on that, I'd be better off cultivating." Shangguan Ye replied impatiently.

"Oh, what a pity. I heard you were going at first. Miss Ning'er is participating too." Shangguan Xun shook his head.

"Hey, hey, don't say that. Who said I wasn't going? I'm going. I have to cheer for my Wife." The moment Shangguan Ye heard that Xiao Ning'er was going too, he immediately perked up.

A few days later, the Genius Battle officially began. Though it was a fairly large competition, it was not important enough for the Patriarchs of every family to attend personally. They had only sent Elders, while the Alchemist Association had sent Yang Xin.

Once the various leaders had taken their seats, they began chatting casually.

"Patriarch Shangguan, you seem to be in quite a leisurely mood," Yang Xin greeted him as she sat beside Shangguan Ye.

"I had nothing better to do, so I came to take a look." Shangguan Ye casually brushed her off, his attention entirely focused on Xiao Ning'er. When the Winged Dragon Family Elder beside them noticed Shangguan Ye looking this way, his thoughts immediately began racing. He turned to Xiao Ning'er and said,

"Ning'er, Patriarch Shangguan is here too. Hurry and go talk to him."

Xiao Ning'er followed his gaze, and her little face immediately flushed red. She trotted over.

Shangguan Ye had thoughtfully saved a seat for Xiao Ning'er.

"Shangguan, are you competing?" Xiao Ning'er asked.

"Me? I'm not participating. Wouldn't that just be bullying honest people?" Shangguan Ye said with a wry smile. Being too strong was a burden too.

"Don't worry, I'll cheer for you. Besides, with your current strength, you can completely crush them." Shangguan Ye affectionately rubbed Xiao Ning'er's head.

"Hehe, what a Talented Man and Beautiful Woman." Yang Xin watched them flaunt their affection right beside her. Who could understand the feelings of an Older Single Woman like her?

Nie Li and Sacred Family Elder Shen Ming had also made a bet: Five Thousand Liang, with Nie Li fighting Shen Fei.

Nie Li won with ease, but Shen Ming did not lose his head this time and stopped betting with Nie Li. The next match happened to be Xiao Ning'er against Shen Ning.

"Elder Shen Ming, interested in making a wager?" Shangguan Ye turned and asked.

"Oh? How much does Patriarch Shangguan wish to bet?"

"How about Two Hundred Million?" Shangguan Ye raised two fingers.

Shen Ning was a Silver Five Stars Spirit Master, and Xiao Ning'er was also Five Stars. However, Shen Ming believed that female Spirit Masters were generally weaker than male Spirit Masters of the same rank, so he agreed.

"Miss Ning'er, be careful. Fists and feet have no eyes." Shen Ning immediately fused with his demon spirit, the Holy Flame Demon Bear. Intense flames erupted from his body, while Xiao Ning'er fused with her Wind Thunder Sky Sparrow.

To test her strength, Shen Fei chose to engage in close combat first. After all, female Spirit Masters were generally weaker in terms of strength. Shen Ning threw a punch.

Xiao Ning'er did not indulge him either. Ever since receiving Shangguan Ye's cells, she had discovered that her own strength had become immense. She also threw a punch to meet his, but Xiao Ning'er was clever—she had coated her fist in Lightning Power.

Bang!

Their fists collided. Shen Fei could not believe it—he had actually been sent flying, and his body had gone numb, leaving him unable to move.

Seizing the opportunity, Xiao Ning'er flew forward again to finish Shen Ning off. Lightning blazed across her body as a powerful current rushed straight at Shen Fei.

Hundred Thousand Volts! (doge)

Crackle, crackle, crackle!

The fierce electric current scorched Shen Ning until he was covered in wounds. Black smoke rose from his entire body as he fell stiffly to the ground.

"How... how is this possible?" Shen Ming stared at the fallen Shen Ning in disbelief. He had considered the possibility that Shen Ning might lose, but he had never expected such a complete defeat.

"Two Hundred Million... If the Patriarch finds out, I won't escape death..." Shen Ming sank into self-doubt.

Shangguan Ye did not care what became of Shen Ming. He walked straight over to the returning Xiao Ning'er, picked up a towel, and wiped the Fragrant Sweat from her forehead.

"Very good. Your Combat Skills were excellent too."

"Shangguan, shall we have a match?" Nie Li walked up to Shangguan Ye and asked, his eyes filled with curiosity toward Shangguan Ye and a thirst for battle.

"Sure." Shangguan Ye smiled faintly and had the organizers add another match for him.

"Whoa, Nie Li is bold for someone so skilled. He actually dared to challenge Shangguan Ye. Who in Glory City doesn't know Shangguan Ye's strength now?"

"Maybe he's a hidden expert too."

The spectators in the stands chattered noisily.

The two stepped onto the arena. Nie Li did not dare lower his guard. Fusing with his Fanged Panda, he gripped his Soul Weapon and charged at Shangguan Ye. Shangguan Ye, meanwhile, calmly took out Flying Thunder God Daggers and threw them out.

Nie Li's attack was interrupted by the sudden hidden weapons, forcing him to retreat first. Looking at the daggers scattered across the ground, Nie Li froze for a moment.

"In a battle between experts, using hidden weapons is undoubtedly superfluous. But my opponent is Shangguan Ye, and these daggers are covered in symbols. They look like Space-like inscriptions. I need to be careful..." Nie Li had barely reminded himself to be cautious when Shangguan Ye suddenly appeared in front of him and launched a Spinning Kick. Nie Li blocked with both hands and threw a punch, but Shangguan Ye abruptly appeared elsewhere.

"So that's how it is. He can appear at the locations of those daggers, and it's Teleportation. Looks like I need to stay away from them." Nie Li had analyzed Shangguan Ye's Flying Thunder God characteristics after just one move.

"Nie Li has extremely rich Combat Skills. These little tricks won't threaten him. It looks like I'll have to defeat him head-on."

Shangguan Ye directly created four clones and formed hand seals at the same time.

Five Escapes: Great Barrage

The five of them unleashed attacks of five different attributes simultaneously. Nie Li relied on agile footwork to dodge them. Just as he steadied himself, Shangguan Ye appeared behind him once more, but the corners of Nie Li's lips curled upward.

"Got you!" Nie Li swiftly turned around. The Light-Dark Yuan Qi Blast in his mouth had already been prepared. He spat out the Yuan Qi Blast, but just as it was about to touch Shangguan Ye, Shangguan Ye appeared behind Nie Li again and rose into the air.

Heavenly Guardian Kick

Shangguan Ye raised his leg high, wrapped his foot in Soul Power, and brought it crashing down.

!!!

Gravity Field

Nie Li reacted swiftly. As he dodged to the side, he activated his Battle Skill.

The gravity around Nie Li immediately increased tenfold. Shangguan Ye's body rapidly dropped, while Nie Li's fist, clad in a Soul Weapon, came crashing toward him.

Almighty Push

Shangguan Ye immediately counterattacked as well. Nie Li was blasted away by the sudden repulsive force, and Shangguan Ye escaped the range of Nie Li's gravity.

"Huff... huff..." Nie Li panted heavily. His Soul Power was running low, yet Shangguan Ye had still not fused with a demon spirit.

Nie Li seemed to have made up his mind. He directly gathered all of his remaining Soul Power.

Five Times Light Dark Yuan Qi Blast

The Yuan Qi Blast arrived before Shangguan Ye with lightning speed.

But a ring of light appeared around Shangguan Ye's body. The Yuan Qi Blast struck him and was directly absorbed.

"You bastard... Sigh, I concede!" Nie Li helplessly raised his hand.