Rewards

The Black young man named Nigel Evans spoke fluent English. "I'd like to take the challenge, but I don't have enough money yet. If you can lend me some, I'll accept."

The few companions with him thought it over for a moment. Then a Black girl readily said, "I'll lend you some. With your strength, being in the top thirty, you definitely won't lose."

"I'll lend you some too."

"I've got a little spare money as well."

His companions all offered to lend him money. It was a risk-free deal, and no one wanted to pass it up.

But who would win or lose was anyone's guess.

In just two hours, Guan Ning had received nine challenge applications. He couldn't help marveling at how wealthy the Training Camp's students were. This was 45 billion Huaxia Currency!

He took a look. The lowest-ranked of the nine was an EU national named Finn Hudson, ranked 53rd. The highest-ranked was also an EU national, Adolf Hitler, ranked 23rd on the Black Dragon Ranking. Most of the others were in the thirties or forties. After all, those ranked lower didn't dare issue challenges, let alone stake 5 billion in a wager.

He accepted all nine challenges. Guan Ning wasn't going to get blindly overconfident; he would start with the lowest-ranked, Finn Hudson, and work his way up. However, he had scheduled Candice, who was ranked in the forties, for last. Guan Ning wanted him to experience the terror of descending step by step into the abyss.

After taking care of the challenges, he had already arrived in the trial tower room on the ninth floor of the Nine-Story Tower.

He put on the helmet with practiced ease and entered the virtual space. Guan Ning called out, "Test my power output level."

Whoosh!

A Punch Strength Tester appeared out of thin air beside Guan Ning on the silver ground.

"Student Guan Ning, please proceed with the punch strength output level test." The electronic voice echoed across the silver ground.

Guan Ning stood in front of the Punch Strength Tester and took a deep breath, his eyes narrowing slightly.

His right fist tore through the air. Thanks to the special nature of the Hidden Edge Sword Technique, it made very little noise as it slammed into the target.

"Thud!" The target gave a muffled thump and jolted violently.

The display showed the number "40,359 kg."

"Punch strength output level: 4.0. Congratulations, Student Guan Ning. Your Combat Power Amplitude is now 13.2." The electronic voice had no hint of emotion.

Hearing it, Guan Ning kept a neutral expression, though a trace of delight showed in his eyes.

He didn't even look at the trial tower standing on the ground. He simply logged out.

Now that he'd met the requirement, why waste his energy?

He immediately called the contact number listed on his contract.

"Beep—beep—" Guan Ning placed the call.

"Hello." A deep voice answered.

"Hello, I'm Guan Ning from the Elite Training Camp." Guan Ning gathered his thoughts. "I signed a contract with the Martial Hall earlier. It lists five reward clauses. If I meet any one of them, I can call this number and claim the corresponding reward from you, correct?"

"That's right," the deep voice replied.

"My Combat Power Amplitude has exceeded 12, so I meet the third clause," Guan Ning said.

"Please wait while I check."

Just a moment later, the voice sounded slightly surprised. "Ah, congratulations, Student Guan Ning. Your Combat Power Amplitude is now 13.2, and it's 10:56 p.m. on July 30, before August 1, so you qualify for the reward. You'll receive an SS-Grade Combat Suit and a full set of weapons, one complete manual of your choice, and a dose of Dragon Blood worth 80 billion."

"Student Guan Ning, tell me the details of the combat suit and weapons you need, as well as the name of the manual you want."

"I need an SS-Grade Combat Suit, sized according to..." Guan Ning quickly gave the specifications for his combat suit and Qingming Sword. He also mentioned a Communication Watch, binoculars, a backpack, and various other accessories.

"I'd also like the complete World Destroyer manual!"

"Lastly, there's the Dragon Blood." Guan Ning replied, "Oh, and I also need an SS-Grade Flying Dagger and an SS-Grade Coiling Dragon Sword. I can pay for those myself."

In the original story, Luo Feng's SS-Grade Flying Daggers were small and used little material, so the Limit Martial Hall could give them to him for free. But an SS-Grade Coiling Dragon Sword was arguably the highest-grade weapon that could be made on Earth, and it had to be custom-made. Guan Ning didn't expect the Limit Martial Hall to give him one for free.

"We can give you the SS-Grade dagger for free." The deep voice sounded somewhat surprised. Few martial artists used a flexible sword like the Coiling Dragon Sword, and those who used an SS-Grade one were rarer still. "An SS-Grade Coiling Dragon Sword? Student Guan Ning, because of its special material, the Coiling Dragon Sword has to be custom-made. Are you sure you want to buy one?"

"I'm sure. How much will it cost?" Guan Ning replied firmly.

"A standard SS-Grade weapon costs 30 billion at full price. Since the Coiling Dragon Sword has to be custom-made, it costs 40 billion at full price, or 20 billion at half price. But Student Guan Ning qualifies for an additional 20 percent discount, so it'll cost 16 billion." The deep voice trailed off.

"The Martial Hall really is impressive. They've emptied my pockets in one go." Guan Ning thought to himself, but quickly said, "I'll buy it now. Can I get it before August 1?"

"Oh!" The deep voice clearly hadn't expected Guan Ning to spend all his money on a Coiling Dragon Sword. It let out a surprised exclamation, then heard Guan Ning's request. "Don't worry. Hongning Base City has a dedicated swordsmith. It'll definitely be delivered to you before August 1."

"4563...12379. Transfer the money to this account," the deep voice said. "The Elite Training Camp is in the headquarters Base City, so the reward should arrive at the camp's main entrance within an hour. You can go there to collect it."

"Can you deliver it to Jiangnan Pavilion?" Guan Ning asked. He wasn't feeling especially excited anymore, so he'd rather have it delivered wherever was most convenient.

"Of course." The deep voice carried a hint of surprise.

"Lastly, congratulations on receiving this reward, Student Guan Ning. Keep working hard, and try to raise your Combat Power Amplitude to 16 soon so you can receive another reward." After the deep voice finished speaking, the call ended.

After hanging up, Guan Ning transferred the 16 billion. He had only 23 million Huaxia Currency left—he'd gone right back to square one overnight!

When he returned to Jiangnan Pavilion, Zhao Ruo, Shi Jiang, and Luo Feng were already waiting for him. Even Chu Qiang, who had held the top spot on the Black Dragon Ranking for four months, had shown up and was chatting with Luo Feng.

Well, the pressure from Li Yao had been too much for Luo Feng in the original story, so he'd broken through without issuing a challenge. Now it was Guan Ning's turn.

Guan Ning suddenly thought of that and couldn't help laughing wryly.

"Whew! That was exhausting!"

After finally dealing with Luo Feng and the others and seeing them off, Guan Ning let out a long breath. The others were all right, but Zhao Ruo had been a real handful. It had taken a lot of coaxing to calm her down.

"Ding!"

Before he could enjoy a moment's peace, the doorbell rang. Guan Ning got up to answer it. He'd already guessed who it was. Most of the students were training at this hour, and Luo Feng and the others had just left, so it wasn't hard to figure out who might be coming.

Sure enough!

When he opened the door and saw the familiar delivery truck, Guan Ning smiled.

After completing the verification process, Guan Ning returned to the study and opened the lockbox. This one was much larger than the last, since it contained a combat suit and weapons.

The lockbox had two levels. The upper one held a neatly folded combat suit, the Qingming Sword, a dagger, and a whole assortment of other items. Guan Ning took them all out and set them aside before checking the lower level.

There were only two wooden boxes on the bottom.

As before, one contained the World Destroyer manual, which might be the only manual on Earth related to a domain.

The other held the Dragon Blood. Under the light, its golden hue made his heart tremble.

Now he was all set for the wagers!

That's right, he hadn't mistaken it. This was the stake!

Without it, Guan Ning wouldn't even have qualified to sign the challenge contracts. The Challenge Room required the stake to be deposited into its designated account before a challenge could be confirmed.

Only then would Guan Ning and the others be allowed to fight in the Challenge Room!

The winner would have both sums transferred directly to his account.

In fact, although Guan Ning had accepted the nine challenge agreements, he hadn't formally signed them yet. As soon as he uploaded the Dragon Blood as his stake, the Training Camp immediately sent someone to take it away and place it in a safe. The camp then scheduled his wager matches for the next morning.

Once the wagers were confirmed, Candice, Nigel, Fede, Adolf, and the others received notifications too. When they learned that Guan Ning had staked Dragon Blood, they were dumbfounded.

They didn't believe Guan Ning was the kind of person to act out of blind arrogance. If he dared to wager Dragon Blood, he had to be confident he wouldn't lose—or at the very least, that he could keep it safe.

They panicked. Fede and Candice, who were near the bottom of the rankings, were especially rattled. They could scrape together 5 billion Huaxia Currency if they really had to, but the humiliation was another matter. They had spent the past few days slandering and insulting Guan Ning. If they really lost to him, they'd become infamous throughout the Training Camp.

Though it was already late at night, news of the Dragon Blood spread at once. After all, plenty of people were following the wager matches.

Whether it was the two sides' combined 45 billion Huaxia Currency or the Dragon Blood worth 80 billion, the news was explosive. Overnight, it reached not only the Training Camp but also the major forces outside. They were astonished by the size of the wager, and equally astonished by Guan Ning's boldness and confidence.

While rumors swirled outside, Guan Ning sat alone on the sofa, staring blankly at his watch. Ever since that night, he'd asked around through various channels about Jiang Fang. Thinking about how similar their experiences were, he'd felt a stir in his heart and begun gradually drawing closer to Jiang Fang.

Unfortunately, Jiang Fang seemed to have forgotten everything that had happened between them and always kept him at arm's length. But somehow, that only made her more attractive to Guan Ning...