This King Was Still Unregistered

"All right, since neither of you needs to prepare, come over and register!"

Under the eyes of the disciples watching the show, Chun Xiaobai and Lu Mang stepped onto the Genius Arena, beneath the enormous stone stele of the Heavenly Prodigy Ranking.

Lu Mang took out his Identity Token and handed it straight to Elder Fu.

Elder Fu casually cast a spell, touching it against the Bronze Token in his hand. A light flashed, completing the registration.

At the sight, Chun Xiaobai's heart gave a sudden jolt.

I'm screwed! This Great King is still unregistered!

What am I supposed to do now?

Seeing him standing there in a daze, Elder Fu immediately glared. "What are you gawking at? Hurry up and register!"

Chun Xiaobai scratched his head and came up with an all-purpose excuse.

"Um... Elder Fu, my Identity Token... I forgot to bring it."

Standing behind the crowd, Bai Jin'er felt her heart leap into her throat at those words, her little hands clenching into tight fists.

She had forgotten about that too!

Now they were in trouble. What if... what if Elder Fu checked his identity carefully? Then there would be no hiding the fact that an Odd-Job Disciple had sneaked into the Outer Sect!

However, Elder Fu was currently so intent on watching this arrogant brat get a lesson that nothing else crossed his mind.

After all, it wasn't unheard of for disciples who had just joined the sect to be forgetful.

"What's your name?"

"Chun Xiaobai," Chun Xiaobai answered directly.

Elder Fu looked up at him again. "You don't look all that pure to me!"

After that inward mutter, he withdrew his gaze, raised a finger, and cast a spell. Then he traced the name "Chun Xiaobai" in the air above the Bronze Token and sent it into the token.

"Phew..." Only then did Chun Xiaobai let out a long sigh of relief.

Damn it, I finally bluffed my way past the last hurdle.

Bai Jin'er breathed a sigh of relief too.

The fright had drained all color from her little face, and her palms were slick with cold sweat.

Elder Fu put away the Command Token and continued his announcement expressionlessly. "In Heavenly Prodigy Arena matches, no pills may be taken. Only your own strength counts. You may not use Magical Treasures, Talismans, or single-use Formation Discs of tier two or above."

Those rules were reasonable enough.

After all, both the Inner Sect and the Outer Sect had their share of rich heirs whose families practically owned mines.

If someone's parents loaded him up with tier-two and tier-three defensive Magical Treasures, and nobody could hurt him even while he stood still, what the hell was the point of competing?

How would that make him a genius?

Elder Fu continued, "Stop short of going too far. You must not take your opponent's life. If you cannot win, you may surrender directly."

"Knocking your opponent to the ground in defeat or knocking them out of the arena counts as victory."

Chun Xiaobai glanced at the arena on the left. It was about five hundred square meters, the size of four soccer fields. That made things easy.

Finally, Elder Fu asked, "Do either of you have any questions?"

Lu Mang shook his head. "No questions."

Then he cast a provocative look at Chun Xiaobai.

Chun Xiaobai suddenly raised his hand. "Elder, I have another question. Um... are sneak attacks restricted?"

"Huh?!"

The disciples watching nearby froze at those words.

Damn it, after all that, you're planning to win with a sneak attack?

Have you no shame at all?

The corner of Elder Fu's mouth twitched slightly, but rules were rules, so he still answered.

"As long as you rely on your own strength, whether you launch a sneak attack or fight dirty, it all counts as part of your ability."

"Then I can rest easy!"

Chun Xiaobai nodded in satisfaction.

Elder Fu was just about to raise his hand and announce the start when Chun Xiaobai raised his hand again.

"Elder, um... what do I get if I win?"

"What do you get?"

Elder Fu forcibly swallowed the word "Begin" just as it reached his lips.

Before he could answer, the surrounding disciples, who had long since had enough, shouted for him.

"You still want benefits? Getting onto the Heavenly Prodigy Ranking is already the greatest honor an Outer Sect disciple can earn!"

"With that distinction, you can represent the sect in all kinds of trials and tournaments. You'll collect so many rewards your hands will go limp!"

Chun Xiaobai curled his lips in disdain.

"So after all that, getting onto the Heavenly Prodigy Ranking just means I have to slave away like an ox or a horse for the sect before I get any rewards?"

He scratched his head, looking utterly pained.

Then he turned to Elder Fu and asked tentatively, "Um... Elder, can I cancel the challenge?"

"What?!"

The surrounding crowd froze. After all that, had this brat come here to make monkeys of them?

Elder Fu's expression darkened completely, and the veins at his temples throbbed.

You've spent all this time running your mouth, had your opponent summoned, registered your name, and even stepped onto the stage, and now you tell me you don't want to fight?

He wanted to go up there himself and give Chun Xiaobai a sound thrashing.

Yet Chun Xiaobai still spoke as though he had every right. "I'm not saying I'm scared of him! It's just that getting onto the Heavenly Prodigy Ranking doesn't bring any immediate benefits. Wasting all that effort isn't worth it."

Watching him act so greedy, lazy, and slippery, Lu Mang's face turned as black as the bottom of a cooking pot. Furious enough to laugh, he said,

"Just tell me what you want!"

Those were precisely the words Chun Xiaobai had been waiting for. Instantly perking up, he said, "How about we add a little wager?"

Lu Mang only wanted to beat him up immediately. As long as he could openly pin him to the ground and grind him into the dirt, anything was negotiable.

He raised the Tiger-Head Great Saber in his hand.

"Fine! I'll stake this top-grade yellow tier saber. If you win, it's yours!"

"That lousy saber? It's not even as hard as this Great King's fists." Chun Xiaobai shook his head disdainfully.

"How about this? Let's keep it simple and wager everything we own. Whoever wins gets the other's Storage Bags!"

As he spoke, he casually reached in and pulled out three shriveled Storage Bags, bouncing them in his palm.

"Here, this is everything I own. Beat me, and it's all yours."

That earth-shattering move left everyone around them stunned.

Lu Mang was stunned too.

Wagering everything they owned right from the outset?

Wasn't this... taking things a little too far?

After all, disciples on the Heavenly Prodigy Ranking possessed considerable wealth.

Losing to an opponent would mean handing over every resource they had painstakingly accumulated over the years.

That would have a devastating impact on their future cultivation.

Wait...

Something suddenly occurred to him. He looked Chun Xiaobai over again, taking in his utterly unconcerned expression, as though he had decided to smash an already cracked pot. A cold laugh rose in his heart.

Damn it, I almost fell for this brat's scheme!

Clearly, this fellow was afraid of me from the start. Now he's deliberately wagering everything he owns to make me back down in the face of difficulty, all to preserve what little face he has left.

So he just wants to put me on the spot in front of all these people.

A cold smirk that said he had seen through everything curled his lips, and he immediately declared,

"Fine! We'll wager everything we own!"