Li Ye was still utterly dazed as he took the Gold Card from Flender.
Wasn't Flender supposed to be an iron rooster who wouldn't part with a single feather, always eager to pinch a penny? Why had he handed over so much money the moment Li Ye said he was short on cash?
Flender: I may be stingy, but it depends on the person, all right? This kid Li Ye is bound to become a Titled Douluo. This is called investing early, understand?
"Uncle, I've still got money. You don't need to give me so much at once." Despite his words, Li Ye never stopped putting the Gold Card into his Soul Tool.
The corner of Flender's mouth twitched at the sight. If he hadn't watched Li Ye grow up and known his character, he would have given him a kick right then.
"All right, just take it. I'm your martial uncle. I can't watch you go without spending money. What if you went hungry?"
"Hehe, you're still the best, Uncle. Teacher is stingy as hell. He won't even spare me a hundred Gold Soul Coins."
"Ah, you know your teacher's situation. He's so proud that he won't accept anyone's help, and he won't even collect the allowance from Spirit Hall. The money he has now is still what he saved in his earlier years. All he's done these past few years is give the occasional lecture to earn a little money, and he's spent it all on you, buying the medicinal herbs for your medicinal baths. Where would he get any extra money?"
"Oh, so that's how it is. Looks like Teacher treats me pretty well after all. When I'm short on money from now on, I won't ask him. I'll just come to you, Uncle."
"Hey, hey, hey, that won't do! Your uncle doesn't have much money either! Spend it sparingly. If it really comes to it, register at the Great Soul Arena and fight a few more soul fighting matches to earn yourself some pocket money. With your strength, no one at your level could possibly beat you."
"So I can do that too? Then I'll give it a try today."
Seeing how impatient Li Ye looked, Flender immediately breathed a sigh of relief and led him to the Soto Great Soul Arena without another word.
"I'd like to register for soul fighting matches."
"Age, name, Martial Soul, Soul Power Level."
"Eighteen, Feng Yeli, Demonic Flame Spear, Soul Power Level 44."
"Level 44 at eighteen? You're not joking, are you?"
Hearing Li Ye's words, the pretty young woman at the reception desk immediately stood up in shock, her voice filled with disbelief.
Li Ye replied helplessly, "No. What's so surprising about being level 44 at eighteen? It's not as if I'm level 64."
Only after hearing his answer did the receptionist come to her senses. That was right. To them, someone who reached level 44 at eighteen was already an unparalleled genius, but across the entire continent, there were quite a few geniuses like that. There really wasn't anything to be surprised about.
It was fortunate that Li Ye hadn't told her his real age. Otherwise, this pretty young woman might have bagged him on the spot to secure a better-quality life.
Still, although she was quite pretty and had a good figure, Li Ye wasn't interested. A beauty of her caliber still fell a little short for him.
After registering his identity, Li Ye returned to Flender with his Iron Soul Fighter badge.
"What's wrong? You look worried. Did you get an opponent whose Soul Power is several levels higher than yours?"
"Of course not. Forget someone several levels above me-even you might not be able to take me down without using your Martial Soul Avatar, Uncle. I just think this Iron Soul Fighter badge is too ugly. I don't really like it."
"Haha, you brat. You still love showing off, just like before. Once you win ten matches in a row, you'll get a Bronze Soul Fighter badge."
"Oh, then couldn't I get one in a day?"
"Of course not..."
Before Flender could finish, a mocking voice rang out nearby. "Finish them all in a day? A brat like you who doesn't know how high the heavens are or how deep the earth is probably has no idea how tough the Soul Fighting Arena is. Hurry home and ask your mommy for some milk to calm yourself down! Hahaha!"
Once the man finished, everyone around them burst out laughing.
"Well, well, where did this bug crawl out from, making so much noise? Did you just get cuckolded? Your wife let someone else drink her milk, so you came here to bark like a dog?"
At Li Ye's words, the burly man looked as though a sore spot had been struck, and his gaze filled with murderous intent.
"With a mouth that foul, why haven't you gone home to wash it out? No wonder your wife can't stand you and lets someone else drink her milk."
"You little brat, you've got a venomous tongue. I wonder if you've got the guts to face me in a wager match and let me see whether your strength is as tough as your mouth!"
"Why wouldn't I? Beating you would be as easy as crushing an ant."
The fury in the burly man's eyes burned even hotter at those words, because his Martial Soul was a Qian Jun Ant, which was also a kind of ant.
When words found no common ground, even half a sentence was too much. Neither could stand the other, and both wanted to vent their anger on the other, so naturally there was nothing left to discuss.
What Li Ye hadn't expected, however, was that the burly man was actually a Soul King who had just broken through to level 50 and possessed five Soul Rings.
Soul Kings weren't exactly a common sight. For the Soto Great Soul Arena to have someone like that was honestly rather impressive.
Since it was a wager match and attracted a large audience, the Soto Great Soul Arena specifically assigned them a platform in the central Great Soul Arena. It also thoughtfully listed their Soul Power and Martial Souls and opened betting.
This was Li Ye's first soul fighting match, and his Soul Power was only level 44, while his opponent was a level 50 Soul King and a powerful Sapphire Soul Fighter to boot. Naturally, most people bet on Li Ye's opponent.
Less than half an hour after betting opened, the odds for Li Ye and the burly man reached 5.8 to 1.2.
In other words, if you bet 1,000 Gold Soul Coins on Li Ye and he won, you would receive 5,800 Gold Soul Coins. But if you placed the same amount on the burly man and he won, you would receive only 1,200 Gold Soul Coins.
But because there was such a vast disparity in their strength and a large gap in their combat experience, most people still chose to bet on the burly man. Even if backing him wouldn't earn much, it was better than losing everything.
Still, quite a few gambling addicts staked their entire fortunes on Li Ye, just to gamble on that tiny, impossible chance.
Among them was Flender. To bet on Li Ye, he even staked his coffin money, leaving himself no way out whatsoever.
He even took all the money Li Ye had on him and bet every last bit of it.
Flender had absolute confidence in Li Ye's strength, so naturally he dared to gamble this big.
Since the wager match wouldn't begin until evening, Flender even made a special trip back to Shrek Academy and seized all the coffin money of Zhao Wuji and the other teachers. He even took every bit of money Dai Mubai had.
"Boss, you have to pay us back!"
"Dean, at least leave me a little!"
"Don't worry. I'll pay you back. You won't be short a coin!"
With Flender staking several hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins in one go, the odds for Li Ye and the burly man immediately shifted to 2.5 to 1.8.
Seeing the change in the odds, quite a few people who had bet on the burly man beamed with delight, wondering to themselves which idiot had come running to hand them money.
The Soul Fighting Arena knew Flender was a Soul Saint, so naturally they didn't dare try anything with him and could only obediently wait for the wager match to begin.
Half an hour before the wager match began, the Soto Great Soul Arena closed betting, and the odds for Li Ye and his opponent were fixed at 2.78 to 1.56.
Before you continue