As for the Thunderbolt Martial Hall.
A flicker of surprise crossed Lin Xiong's face.
He hadn't expected the one stepping forward to be anyone but Wang Dao.
Instead, it was the little-known Li Beichen.
He turned to Mo Changkun beside him and asked, "Isn't Li Beichen the one who killed Wu Ming before?"
"Yes, eldest senior brother."
Mo Changkun looked puzzled too, but quickly found an explanation.
"I suppose Wang Dao knew he couldn't beat us, so he didn't want to fight and sent Li Beichen up to embarrass himself instead."
He cupped his hands and congratulated Lin Xiong.
"Best two out of three. This time, eldest senior brother can win the one hundred thousand taels without even having to fight. Master will surely be delighted."
But Lin Xiong's expression grew more and more serious.
Ignoring Mo Changkun, he called over Jiang Xiuying, who was fighting for the Thunderbolt Martial Hall.
"Third junior brother, be careful. Li Beichen must have already broken through to Eighth Rank. If the Like-Elephant Martial Hall sent him out, he might even be stronger than Wang Dao."
Jiang Xiuying clasped his hands in a salute.
"Don't worry, eldest senior brother. Forget Wang Dao—even if it were Yuan Dazong, I'm confident I could beat him. Even if Li Beichen is stronger than Wang Dao, could he really be stronger than Yuan Dazong?"
"Leave it to me!"
With that, Jiang Xiuying strode toward the Martial Arena, brimming with confidence.
The judge for this Eighth Rank bout was Zhang Bailang, the master of the Black Wolf Martial Hall.
Li Beichen flourished his brush and signed the Life-Death Contract Zhang Bailang handed him.
Then he bent his knees and sprang onto the arena first, skimming through the air like a swallow dipping over water.
His graceful figure drew a