After arriving at the Soul Fighting Arena, Beibei smiled directly at Huo Yuhao.
Then, using some special connections, he found the person in charge of the Soul Fighting Zone and began a private discussion.
Before long, word that Xu Sanshi was going to fight the new student Huo Yuhao spread throughout the Outer Academy.
People flocked over, eager to see the Outer Academy's top defender in action.
As for Huo Yuhao, they chose to ignore him.
Those who had fallen asleep were woken up by their close roommates, while most of those who were still awake headed over immediately.
Most of them, however, were women.
Some women who had been fooling around in the woods thought of Xu Sanshi's status and his playboy manner. Under their boyfriends' resentful gazes, they quickly wrapped things up and hurried over.
Before long, quite a few people had taken their seats in the stands at the Soul Fighting Arena, including plenty of beautiful women.
Some people had even prepared signs in advance.
The messages on them were simple, bright, and eye-catching.
Some were unabashed declarations of love: "Sanshi, I love you."
Others praised his strength: "Xuanwu Battle Soul, unmatched under heaven."
And then there were the crazier ones: "Sanshi, I want to have your babies..."
Fortunately, most people were normal.
At this point,
some quick-witted people began placing bets at a small betting booth near the entrance.
Huo Yuhao had brought out his Gold Soul Coins, adding them to the money Jiang Nannan had earned selling sanitary pads earlier. Altogether, he had thirty thousand Gold Soul Coins.
Actually, by rights, it should have been a little over thirty-one thousand.
After all, Zhou Yi had given Huo Yuhao fifty thousand. He had spent thirty thousand on the house, and the money from the sanitary pads had added another thousand.
But earlier, Bai Feng had taken the gold card outside at Huo Yuhao's request. She had bought some daily necessities, hired some workers to come over tomorrow, and purchased some lumber.
Meanwhile, the amount on the opposing side had reached eighty thousand Gold Soul Coins in just a short while.
The current odds were 3:8.
And they were still climbing.
Shrek had a large student body, and many students had entered through their families' connections and influence.
If each person contributed two or three hundred, fewer than three hundred people would be enough to pool together eighty thousand Gold Soul Coins. That was perfectly normal.
Besides, Shrek Academy had far more students than that.
Of course, some people saw Huo Yuhao as they placed their bets.
Their gazes were full of scrutiny and mockery.
But they didn't dare act recklessly. Huo Yuhao simply waved a hand, and Liu Erlong, standing beside him, revealed her Seven-Ring Soul Sage cultivation.
In an instant, those people fell deathly silent. All they could do was quietly raise their bets, hoping Huo Yuhao would lose miserably.
Just then, Tang Ya suddenly clasped her hands together. She had nearly emptied the Tang Sect's coffers to scrape together twenty Gold Soul Coins, and now she murmured, "Ancestors of the Tang Sect, please bless us. Ancestors of the Tang Sect, please bless us. We have to win this time—we have to!"
As she spoke, Tang Ya reached out and placed the money on the line for Huo Yuhao to win.
The odds climbed again.
They were about 3:10 now.
Huo Yuhao heard her and looked puzzled. With a smile, he asked, "Tang Ya, why do you have so much confidence in me?"
Tang Ya nodded solemnly. "Of course I have confidence in you, little brother Yuhao. Do your best!"
"Besides, I prayed to the Tang Sect's ancestor. He was a gambling expert, so he'll definitely protect you!"
When Huo Yuhao heard the words "Tang Sect's ancestor," he knew she meant the pure and noble Tang San.
Huo Yuhao froze for a moment. "A gambling expert?"
Then,
Huo Yuhao thought of a few things.
Tang San really had been a gambling expert...
Tang San really did like to gamble.
Whenever he was at a disadvantage and faced a powerful enemy he couldn't beat, he would cleverly call out, "Wait, let's make a bet."
For example, Tang San had made a bet with Zhao Wuji, with the time limit set at one incense stick.
He had also bet with Dugu Bo, successfully tamed the Green Snake, and gained access to the medicinal garden.
He had even bet with the Clear Sky Sect's Fifth Elder and won the chance to return to the sect and be acknowledged as family.
Besides that, he had made bets with his great-uncle Bai He and with the Sea Douluos of the Seven Sacred Pillars.
When he couldn't win, he made a bet. That was one of Tang San's "brilliant" qualities. Of course, even when he could win, he still made bets—for instance, with Huo Wu, Meng Yiran, and even Zi Zhenzhu.
But the most outrageous bet of all was the one he made with Qian Renxue.
If it had been an ordinary bet, there wouldn't have been much to criticize. After all, Tang San was used to betting.
But losing a bet and refusing to admit it was rather despicable.
When Tang San made a bet with Qian Renxue, they agreed to fight for the time it took an incense stick to burn.
If Qian Renxue could capture Tang San, he would submit to her.
If Qian Renxue lost, she would give Tang San three days to escape.
But in the end,
to preserve Tang San's image in the original story, Tang San used the Buddha Fury Tang Lotus and nearly killed Qian Renxue, who had already become a god.
In other words, Tang San won that bet.
But during the fight,
Tang San said something full of backbone: "Life is what I desire, and righteousness is what I desire too. When I cannot have both, I will give up my life for righteousness."
It was obvious that, for the sake of his great cause, he would never submit to Qian Renxue.
The implication was that even if he lost, he wouldn't admit it.
So why had he made the bet in the first place?
How to put it?
It perfectly demonstrated Tang San's unwavering will and noble character...
"Brother Yuhao, it's starting."
Beibei spoke to Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao nodded when he heard this, looked around, and asked, "Where's Xu Sanshi?"
Beibei smiled again and replied, "He'll be coming out shortly."
Huo Yuhao nodded. As if he had thought of something, he walked step by step toward the Soul Fighting Platform.
The moment Huo Yuhao appeared before the crowd, the referee at the Soul Fighting Arena—a Five-Ring Soul King—
was revealed.
The referee was a middle-aged man around forty or fifty, with a square face and an air of righteousness.
By rights, the referee here should have been a beautiful woman.
She had been very pretty, but for some reason, they had changed the referee.
Just then, the middle-aged man looked at the many students present and called out loudly.
"Everyone, the low-year student about to enter the arena is named Huo Yuhao. He's a new first-year student."
"This time, he'll spar with the Outer Academy's top defender."
"I hope everyone will be respectful and courteous. Please don't shout."
"As for the outcome, I'm sure you all already know what to expect."
"Still, I should explain the rules. This match is between Huo Yuhao and Xu Sanshi. Xu Sanshi will use only one Soul Ring."
"The reason is that this young man also has only one Soul Ring. This shows Xu Sanshi's fairness and goodwill."
"It also shows the fine traditions of Shrek Academy. We don't take advantage of the weak."
After speaking with an air of righteousness, the middle-aged referee flashed over to one side.
When Huo Yuhao heard the referee say this, the corners of his mouth lifted into a playful smile.
Xu Sanshi had said he would use only one Soul Ring himself.
But now it had become something Xu Sanshi had volunteered to do.
And they were calling it fair and impartial.
Even if Xu Sanshi used only one Soul Ring, his Soul Power was still over level thirty.
Huo Yuhao, on the other hand, was only level sixteen.
Anyone could see the flaw in that reasoning.
This so-called fairness and impartiality was rather amusing.
At the same time,
the spectators around them paid no attention to what the referee had said.
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