The Wager

The most shocking part wasn't that a lower-grade student had taken the initiative to challenge a senior, but that a freshman was challenging a fourth-year student! Even in the ten thousand years since Shrek Academy was founded, this was the first time such a situation had occurred!

Once this news broke, it immediately attracted a large number of students to the Soul Fighting Zone to watch the match.

In the lounge.

"The fact that I challenged Xu Sanshi must have spread throughout the entire Martial Soul Department of the outer courtyard by now. Since Xu Sanshi has long enjoyed a great reputation in the Soul Fighting Zone, there will surely be many people coming to watch because of his name."

"Even though it's hailed as the number one academy on the continent, and Shrek Academy itself isn't exactly clean, there are bound to be some underground industries in the Soul Fighting Zone. Here is one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins; go find the bookies and place bets on me. Be careful not to bet too much in any one place."

Gu Yuena took the card Xia Linyuan handed her, sighed, and said, "I knew that a profit-driven guy like you would never do anything without a tangible benefit."

Xia Linyuan didn't even look up as he said, "This is the first task I've given you in all our years of cooperation. If you manage to mess up such a simple task, there will be no need for us to continue working together. Don't make me regret choosing to cooperate with you."

Gu Yuena curled her lip, "I only slept for tens of thousands of years, I didn't become stupid for tens of thousands of years."

"Yes, you slept for tens of thousands of years, which caused your brain to atrophy, not that you were stupid for tens of thousands of years."

Several black lines immediately crawled across Gu Yuena's fair forehead.

Arriving at the lounge where Xu Sanshi was located.

Seeing Xia Linyuan, Xu Sanshi stammered, "What are you doing here?"

Xia Linyuan sat directly in front of him and smiled, "Nothing much, I just felt that a soul fight without a little wager would be far too boring."

He couldn't be bothered to beat around the bush and went straight to the point, asking Xu Sanshi in a tactful tone if he dared to make a bet with him.

Add a wager? Xu Sanshi's gaze sharpened.

Although he appeared carefree on the surface, as if he were missing a screw, that was only how he acted in front of people he knew well.

He couldn't be called shrewd, but he wasn't stupid either.

"What do you want to bet with me?" Xu Sanshi asked in a deep voice.

Xia Linyuan held up five fingers, "The only things from the Xuanming Sect that interest me are the Mysterious Water Pill and its production method. Ten Mysterious Water Pills."

"Hiss~" Hearing Xia Linyuan demand ten Mysterious Water Pills right off the bat, even Xu Sanshi, as the young sect master of the Xuanming Sect, couldn't help but gasp, "You really have the nerve to ask for that. Ten Mysterious Water Pills—you've got quite an appetite."

"You flatter me."

"If I were to put up ten Mysterious Water Pills, what do you have that's worth betting against me?"

"Pfft!" Hearing Xu Sanshi ask what he had that was worth betting, Xia Linyuan couldn't help but chuckle.

"What are you laughing at?" Seeing Xia Linyuan's amused expression, Xu Sanshi felt a bit annoyed. It made him feel that Xia Linyuan hadn't come to negotiate, but to mock him.

Xia Linyuan's approachable smile slowly turned eerie. "I can give you everything you want."

His tone was incredibly strange; it was so calm, yet filled with such charm that it was heart-stirring.

For a split second, Xu Sanshi almost lost his composure and was on the verge of blurting out an agreement to Xia Linyuan's wager.

At this moment, Xia Linyuan was like the serpent in the Bible that tempted Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit.

Xu Sanshi bit the tip of his tongue, forcing himself to regain his senses. "Anyone can write a bad check. You won't convince me without some actual benefits."

Xia Linyuan shook his head, his expression filled with a hint of regret, as if he were lamenting that Xu Sanshi had passed up such a good opportunity.

He pulled out a red card and placed it on the table, saying, "This card contains twenty million Gold Soul Coins, with an overdraft limit of fifty million. Although the Mysterious Water Pill is worth ten thousand gold, that doesn't mean it's priceless."

Xu Sanshi frowned, "I'm not short on money. If you want to bet with money, I'm not interested."

"My stake is far more than just that."

Xu Sanshi paused, gesturing for Xia Linyuan to continue.

"If you win, I can make the call. If you need a Spirit Ring, I can use my power to assist you in obtaining the one you want, regardless of its age or the time it takes."

Regardless of age, regardless of time.

Xu Sanshi's eyelids twitched violently. "Even a hundred-thousand-year Spirit Ring?"

"Of course," Xia Linyuan said, spreading his hands. "As long as you can beat me."

Xu Sanshi was immediately tempted.

Setting aside whether it was true or false, if he won, he would have a free powerhouse to help him hunt a hundred-thousand-year Spirit Ring! This was a hundred-thousand-year Spirit Ring! Not those dime-a-dozen ten-year Spirit Rings found on the outskirts of the Spirit Beast forest!

Even if he bet the entire strength of the Xuanming Sect, it might not be enough to trade for a hundred-thousand-year Spirit Ring!

But reason allowed Xu Sanshi to sober up immediately, and he sneered, "Talk is cheap. Why should I believe what you're saying is true?"

Xia Linyuan smiled slightly, "Because my surname is Xia, because my name is Xia Linyuan, and because I am the son of the Duke of White Tiger—no, the son of the Duke of Molong. Can you believe me now, senior?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Sanshi's body jolted, and his pupils shrank. "You, you are..."

Xia Linyuan smiled slightly, "I am Xia Linyuan. I look forward to your guidance in the future, senior Xu Sanshi."

Xu Sanshi was feeling incredibly depressed now. It was only the first day of school, and he had already clashed with Beibei's junior brother Huo Yuhao, and now Xia Linyuan, the son of the Duke of Molong, Xia Yanqing. He feared he hadn't checked the almanac before leaving the house this morning.

The conflict with Beibei and the others was fine, as they were brothers who had grown up together, but Xia Linyuan was different.

Who was Xia Linyuan? He was the son of the Duke of Molong! The future Duke of Molong! He was even hailed by the current Xingluo Emperor, Xu Jiawei, as the Young War God who could one day replace the Duke of White Tiger as the commander-in-chief of the three armies!

If the Molong Duke Mansion were still the same as it was five years ago, Xu Sanshi wouldn't be afraid at all.

But Xia Linyuan had gone to the front lines at the age of seven, and in less than five years, he had achieved brilliant military exploits and had been summoned and rewarded by the Xingluo Emperor several times.

Basking in his glory, the once-declining Molong Xia Clan now held a status in the Star Luo Empire and even the entire Douluo Continent that was rising rapidly, even faintly suppressing the White Tiger Dai Clan, who had been loyal to the Star Luo Empire's royal family for thousands of years and thus commanded the three armies.

The influence of the Molong Xia Clan was not limited to the Star Luo Empire, but extended to the entire Douluo Continent; even the Sun Moon Empire had to show them respect. Therefore, even with his background in the Xuanming Sect and the Heaven Dou Empire's royal family, he had to back down when encountering Xia Linyuan.

"If you are still not satisfied with this wager, senior, then I will add one more condition: how about I help you pursue senior Jiang Nannan?"

Hearing this condition, Xu Sanshi was immediately stirred into action. "For real?"