Hearing that all-too-familiar voice, Bei Bei turned around in astonishment, only to see Zhang Lexuan standing on the spectator platform. Her gaze swept over him briefly before settling entirely on Su Qing.
Bei Bei felt awkward for a moment. He had even been thinking of going over to greet her...
"Nice! You've got a good eye. But isn't a thousand Gold Soul Coins a bit much? Bei Bei, do you think that person has so much money they don't know what to do with it, and decided to gamble just for fun?"
Hearing someone bet on Su Qing, Tang Ya couldn't help praising their good taste. But the figure of a thousand Gold Soul Coins immediately made her think the bettor had to be some rich landowner's thrill-seeking idiot. What if Xiao Qing wasn't in good form today? Wouldn't those thousand Gold Soul Coins go straight down the drain?
"Uh, Xiaoya, it's not very nice to talk about someone when they're right in front of us..."
Bei Bei's expression grew even more awkward. He already felt he'd let Zhang Lexuan down, and now Tang Ya was talking about her to her face. If he were Zhang Lexuan, he'd have snapped back on the spot.
"What?! The person who placed the bet is standing near us?"
At that, Tang Ya hurriedly looked around. Her gaze finally landed on Zhang Lexuan, who was wearing a red dress. Seeing the gentle, watery warmth in Zhang Lexuan's eyes as she watched Su Qing, Tang Ya was almost certain she was the one who had placed the bet.
"Hey, Bei Bei, do you think she's taken a liking to Xiao Qing? Wouldn't that mean Xiao Qing could snag himself a rich woman? And what about how we said we'd introduce Xiao Qing to your older sister? Should we reconsider that?"
Tang Ya had lowered her voice as much as she could, but Zhang Lexuan still heard her. Her gaze shifted to the two of them chatting. At last, she understood who Su Qing had learned his way of speaking from...
But she wasn't annoyed. For some reason, it seemed that only when she was facing Su Qing did her emotions fluctuate so strongly.
As they talked, the match began. At the referee's signal, the two contestants took their places in the ring and activated their Martial Souls.
Both had yellow, yellow, purple Soul Rings. Zhang Lexuan was momentarily startled by the color of Su Qing's Soul Rings, but quickly realized he must have some way of concealing them. It seemed the little fellow was the discreet sort.
"Kid, the match hasn't started yet. If you beg for mercy, I can go easy on you later."
Maybe it was a habit he'd picked up from sparring with Bei Bei, but Xu Sanshi always liked to torment his opponents with words before a fight.
"I think you'd better check how many Mystic Water Pills you still have. You might not have enough to pay me later, and have to make up the difference in Gold Soul Coins at market price."
Su Qing paid no mind to his words. After tossing out that remark, he charged straight at Xu Sanshi.
"Too bad. Your attack is full of openings in my eyes."
Seeing Su Qing vault into the air after planting one foot on the ground, then attack by stabbing down at him from above, Xu Sanshi sneered. There was nothing to brace against in midair. As long as he blocked the attack, the kid would be knocked flying out of the ring.
But just as he raised his shield to block, he suddenly felt his body go weightless. The scene before him quickly retreated, and when he came to his senses, he had already landed outside the ring...
"What just happened?"
"Pfft—"
Seeing Su Qing fight so underhandedly again, Zhang Lexuan couldn't help laughing aloud. The sound of her laughter reached Bei Bei's ears, and he nearly thought he was hearing things. How could Sister Lexuan, who was usually as gentle and delicate as a paper doll, laugh out loud in public?
"Hahahaha! Xu Sanshi's such an idiot! He fights like he only cares about his front and not his backside. He didn't even notice a pair of wings mysteriously growing on his back! Hahahaha!"
Unlike Zhang Lexuan, Tang Ya laughed without a shred of decorum, slapping Bei Bei's thigh over and over. Bei Bei was in so much pain that he grimaced, yet could only force a helpless smile. Xiao Xiao, meanwhile, was worried Su Qing would see her laughing so ungracefully, so she covered her mouth and tried not to make a sound.
"Damn brat, so you're playing dirty, huh! I'll take the loss this round. Here are your three Mystic Water Pills. But I'm not satisfied. I want another match!"
Xu Sanshi was instantly furious. Su Qing's frontal attack had been so obvious that it had all been a feint. The real deciding move was his Soul Skill that forced his opponent to move. Xu Sanshi's attention had been completely drawn to him, and he hadn't noticed when a pair of "invisible wings" had appeared behind him.
"Sure. What are we betting this time?"
Seeing there was still more wool to shear, Su Qing was happy to oblige. His strength was naturally greater than Xu Sanshi's, and the only reason he hadn't gone head-to-head with him just now was that there was no need. In this kind of ring match, all he had to do to win was send his opponent out of bounds. With an opening this big, of course he was going to exploit it.
"If I lose, I'll give you a hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins. If I win, you give my Mystic Water Pills back."
Xu Sanshi agreed without even thinking. Losing three Mystic Water Pills at once was no joke. Even as the young master of the Mystic Underworld Sect, he'd get a beating from his father if he found out. Given any chance at all, Xu Sanshi would definitely want them back.
"Sure."
Su Qing agreed without a second thought. It wasn't as if he could lose. Only an idiot would turn down a hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins offered for free.
Once they had taken their places in the ring again, the referee announced the start of the match.
"Third Soul Skill, Mystic Underworld Power! Second Soul Skill, Mystic Underworld Shield Formation!"
This time, Xu Sanshi didn't underestimate his opponent. He immediately used his second and third Soul Skills in succession: first, enhancing himself and forming a water-element domain around him to raise his offense and defense, then splitting his shield into multiple pieces to create a shield formation, hoping to wear down Su Qing's Soul Power when he attacked.
"Third Soul Skill, Spiritual Detection."
The third Soul Ring beneath Su Qing's feet lit up. He immediately used the Spiritual Detection he had previously Imprinted from Huo Yuhao. If he wanted to defeat Xu Sanshi through sheer physical strength without revealing his many Self-Created Soul Skills, he would need this Soul Skill to find his opponent's weak points. Otherwise, it would take him some time to break through the shield formation.
"First Soul Skill, Wind-Gathering Wing-Weaving."
With Spiritual Detection, the flow of Soul Power through Xu Sanshi's body was laid bare within Su Qing's perception. He soon found a gap in the shield's defense. It wasn't really a blind spot, since it would simply take the shield quite a while to turn and cover that area. But that tiny window was more than enough time for Su Qing.
With Wind-Gathering Wing-Weaving, Su Qing's speed increased by several levels. In no time, he used a short, straight-line dash to appear almost instantly in front of Xu Sanshi. Gripping the butt of his spear, he swept it across, the shaft smashing into Xu Sanshi's stomach and sending him flying.
"Hiss! That kid... How is he so strong..."
Xu Sanshi landed outside the ring in a sprawling heap. The intense pain in his stomach left him unable to get back up for a while.
"Don't forget, I'm owed a hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins."
With that, Su Qing stepped down from the ring and returned to Tang Ya and the others. He gave the three Mystic Water Pills to Huo Yuhao, Xiao Xiao, and Tang Ya. As the three stared at him in surprise, he smiled faintly and said:
"I have Innate Full Soul Power, so I don't need this. Sister Xiaoya and Yuhao probably need it the most. Once you cleanse and refine your bodies, you'll be able to grow stronger faster. As for Xiao Xiao, you gave me a Storage Ring this afternoon, so I should give you something in return. That makes us even, right?"
As he spoke, he reached over and ruffled Xiao Xiao's hair.
"Thank you, Xiao Qing!"
Tang Ya's eyes filled with tears. She hadn't expected her little brother, who wasn't even related to her, to think of her all the time. Her heart was now completely overflowing with emotion.
As for Huo Yuhao, tears were already streaming down his face. Su Qing had stood up for him, then given him the Mystic Water Pill he'd won from the bet. After Brother Sky Dream explained what the pill did, Huo Yuhao had no idea how he could ever repay him.
"Big Brother Su, I'll definitely repay you!"
As he spoke, he sniffed back the snot that was nearly running out of his nose.
Xiao Xiao, meanwhile, held it in her hands and toyed with it as if it were some precious treasure. Though it was called a pill, it looked more like a crystal and was quite pretty. She had Innate Soul Power of level nine and a half, so the Mystic Water Pill would actually help her quite a bit. But considering this was the first gift Su Qing had given her, she couldn't bear to eat it...
"Keep the one Xiao Qing gave you as a keepsake. You can use this one."