Wager

"Hm? What are you trying to do, Gu Yi?" Zhao Wuji frowned, extending his right hand in front of Gu Yi to stop him from stepping forward.

But Gu Yi gave him a reassuring look, signaling for Zhao Wuji to trust him.

Zhao Wuji looked deeply at him. Seeing that he seemed completely confident, he nodded.

"Senior Snake Woman, my name is Gu Yi. I have an idea, and I wonder if you would be willing to hear it?" Gu Yi took several steps forward and looked at Snake Woman as he spoke.

"Go ahead." Snake Woman's expression softened as she nodded.

"You said that you and Dragon Duke discovered this soul beast first, and that it is very suitable for your granddaughter, correct?" Gu Yi asked with a smile.

"That's right. Is there a problem with that?" Snake Woman frowned and countered.

"Of course not. However, the current situation is that I killed this soul beast, and it is also suitable for my classmate."

"He is a Food-Type Soul Master who has only just reached level thirty. It would be difficult for him to encounter another soul beast this suitable."

"Both sides took part in this battle over the soul beast, so shouldn't we use a relatively fair method to decide who it belongs to?" Gu Yi explained calmly.

He understood that Dragon Duke was definitely not nearby. Otherwise, Snake Woman would not be this polite.

Trying to seize it by force would absolutely be the worst option, so Gu Yi was certain that she would be willing to hear his proposal.

However, Snake Woman did not immediately respond to Gu Yi's later words. Instead, she turned her gaze toward Oscar.

"You reached level thirty at such a young age, and you are even a Food-Type Soul Master. Young man, which great sect do you come from?" Snake Woman's eyes lit up as she looked at Oscar curiously.

In her eyes, her own granddaughter was already a genius, yet Oscar looked much younger than Meng Yiran.

Oscar scratched his head and said somewhat sheepishly, "I'm not from any great sect. It's only because my Martial Soul mutated."

The moment she heard this, Snake Woman grew even more interested. If she could bring Oscar into her family and have him support Meng Yiran in the future, wouldn't that be perfect?

But before Snake Woman could try to recruit Oscar, Gu Yi spoke again.

"How about we use our strength to determine who gets this Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent?"

"Hm?" Snake Woman frowned. "How would we decide that? Are you saying that, while my old man isn't here, you want to bully an old woman like me?"

As soon as she said that, Meng Yiran's expression instantly changed. The look she gave Gu Yi carried a fierce edge.

"No, no, you misunderstand. Teacher Zhao has had a long and tiring journey, so I mean that I'll fight the two of you." Gu Yi smiled broadly.

The moment those words came out, everyone present was stunned, their faces filled with disbelief.

Snake Woman even let out waves of cold laughter.

"Boy, are you making a fool of this old woman? How old are you, that you want to fight me?"

Zhao Wuji immediately grabbed Gu Yi, his expression darkening.

"Gu Yi, I know you're strong, but don't talk nonsense. Senior Snake Woman is a Soul Emperor-level powerhouse."

Zhu Zhuqing stepped forward anxiously and shook her head at Gu Yi.

Yet Gu Yi still wore a smile. He patted Zhao Wuji's hand, which was gripping him, and said, "Don't worry. I know what I'm doing."

At the same time, he gave Zhu Zhuqing a reassuring look, telling her that he would be fine.

Seeing him like this, Zhao Wuji could not figure out what Gu Yi was thinking. In his eyes, Gu Yi had always been extremely mysterious. Zhao Wuji still had no idea how many secrets he was hiding, and he hesitated.

But Gu Yi turned to Snake Woman once more and said, "Of course, this junior's strength is limited, so for the sake of fairness, I have a few conditions."

"If I fight Miss Meng, then everything proceeds normally. The winner takes the soul beast, while the loser withdraws."

"But if you intend to fight personally, that is fine as well. However, I hope we can decide the outcome in three moves. If you can defeat me within three moves, I guarantee that this soul beast will be yours."

"But if I am still unharmed after three moves, then please give it up. How about it?"

Upon hearing this, Snake Woman fell into thought. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at Gu Yi, her gaze filled with curiosity.

Yet she could not make out anything about him. She only felt that this boy seemed utterly confident, but... he looked even younger than Oscar. Could it be?

For a moment, a bold thought arose in Snake Woman's heart. She looked at Gu Yi probingly and asked, "Boy, what level are you now?"

At that, Gu Yi's Bone Dragon Martial Soul appeared behind him. Immediately afterward, one yellow and two purple Soul Rings slowly emerged before everyone's eyes.

"This junior is untalented. I only reached level forty the day before yesterday and have yet to obtain my Soul Ring," Gu Yi said with a smile.

The moment those words were spoken, Snake Woman and Meng Yiran were utterly stunned. Compared to Oscar, the "surprise" Gu Yi brought them was clearly far more outrageous.

"H-How is that possible? You should only be around twelve or thirteen years old. How could you have reached level forty already? And your second Soul Ring is actually a thousand-year one!"

The sight before her completely overturned Snake Woman's understanding of the world.

She felt as though an utter monster capable of overturning the world stood before her!

The others behind Gu Yi noticed this as well, and their hearts were filled with shock. Tang San in particular was completely numb.

This was completely different from what Yu Xiaogang had told him! Hadn't he said that the limit for a second Soul Ring was only around seven hundred years? What was this supposed to mean?

For a moment, the surroundings fell deathly silent. Everyone stared at Gu Yi, unable to speak.

Looking at Gu Yi standing before her, Zhu Zhuqing inexplicably felt a trace of pride rise within her.

"So, which of you two plans to step up?" Gu Yi asked with a light laugh.

Snake Woman and Meng Yiran exchanged a glance. Without any surprise, Snake Woman stepped forward. With a ten-level gap in Soul Power, there was no need to discuss the outcome. The only option now was naturally for this old woman to bully a junior.

"Young man, we'll follow the rules you proposed, but this old woman wishes to change one thing."

Snake Woman's smile returned, and her tone became much gentler as she spoke to Gu Yi.

"Go ahead," Gu Yi replied.

"It's simple. If you are still unharmed after three moves, we will give up this Soul Ring. But if you fail, this Soul Ring will still go to you. I only ask that you join our family."

Snake Woman spoke with a beaming smile.

But before Gu Yi could answer, Zhao Wuji rushed forward, while Zhu Zhuqing grabbed Gu Yi as well.

"You can't agree!"

"Gu Yi, you can't agree to her terms. Joining a family means your actions for the rest of your life will be bound, and you can never betray them!"

"It's only a soul beast, Gu Yi. Don't be impulsive!"

Zhao Wuji no longer cared what trump cards or backup plans Gu Yi had. If he ended up bound for life over a mere thousand-year soul beast, it would be far too great a loss!

"Hmph!" Snake Woman snorted coldly and looked at Zhao Wuji and the others with displeasure. "Don't make it sound as though joining my family would harm him. Boy, if you join my family, I can immediately help you find your Fourth Soul Ring, and I guarantee it will be over ten thousand years old."

"Furthermore, I can guarantee that under our protection, you will absolutely grow into a Titled Douluo!"

"Even better, if you are willing, I can marry Yiran to you. What do you say?"