At those words, the martial arena instantly fell silent, and everyone's gaze swung toward Chu Yuan.
"Who's that?"
Someone who did not recognize Chu Yuan asked the person beside him in confusion.
"It's Chu Yuan, the sixth-generation patriarch's son."
"What's Chu Yuan doing here? I heard he broke through to Star Level recently too."
"Really? I remember Chu Yuan isn't even fifty yet, right?"
"Wrong. Chu Yuan is only in his thirties."
"Breaking through to Star Level in his thirties-Chu Yuan has pretty good talent. He has a sliver of hope of reaching Universe Level someday."
Quite a few people recognized Chu Yuan, and many looked at him with awe in their eyes.
To Chu Yuan himself, only breaking through to Star Level at thirty hardly qualified him as a genius.
But to the members of the Leinuo Family, it was already very impressive.
As long as he did not die, he would surely become one of the best at Star Level 9 someday, and might even break through to Universe Level.
Someone like that would inevitably become a senior figure in the Leinuo Family.
"He must have come looking for Teng Kai because of what happened recently."
"His older brother got beaten up. Of course the younger brother would come for revenge."
"Heh, we're in for a good show."
There was no shortage of people delighting in his misfortune. Everyone looked toward the eastern corner of the martial arena, where a man stood with his expression shifting uncertainly. It was none other than Teng Kai.
"You're Teng Kai?"
Chu Yuan walked up to him.
"Do you need something?"
Teng Kai could not conceal the apprehension in his voice.
Chu Yuan said coolly, "You beat up my third brother. I'm here to avenge him. Let's enter a private dueling arena. Name whatever stakes you like."
Teng Kai took two steps back and shook his head. "Why should I fight you?"
Before Chu Yuan could speak, Zhuo Jia sneered, "Don't tell me you're scared? Weren't you so arrogant before? Why are you pulling your head into your shell like a turtle now?"
Others nearby also whispered among themselves.
"Teng Kai is such a coward. He doesn't even dare accept this challenge."
"Exactly. It's not a fight in reality. He won't die, so what's he afraid of?"
"If it were me, I'd fight even if I knew I couldn't win. Forget the steamed buns-I'd fight for that breath of pride!"
Hearing their remarks and seeing the disdain in Chu Yuan's indifferent gaze, Teng Kai's face darkened further.
"Fine, you want to fight? But the stakes have to go up to a hundred billion Black Dragon Coins. Do you dare?"
Teng Kai raised his chin, his face full of provocation.
"A hundred billion Black Dragon Coins?!"
Everyone gasped at that.
Even though they were all direct-line members of the Leinuo Family, few could produce a hundred billion Black Dragon Coins. After all, not everyone had a father who spoiled them as much as Teng Kai's did.
"Chu, are you confident?"
Zhuo Jia was a little worried. A hundred billion Black Dragon Coins was enough to buy six Star Level 9 spirit reader slaves.
Losing that would be no laughing matter.
"That's it? And here I thought you were so extravagant."
Chu Yuan folded his arms and sneered. "If we're betting, let's make it bigger. One trillion Black Dragon Coins."
"One trillion Black Dragon Coins?!"
Everyone around them went wild, their expressions frozen in shock.
What did one trillion Black Dragon Coins mean? That was one billion Ganwu Coins. Many poor Universe Level experts only had that much in total assets.
"He's crazy! Where did Chu Yuan get that much money?"
"He only just broke through to Star Level. Even if the sixth-generation patriarch rewarded him, he couldn't possibly have given him that much money, could he?"
"A duel between Stellar Level One fighters with a trillion Black Dragon Coins at stake-this must be a first for our Leinuo Family, right?"
Teng Kai looked grim. He had originally intended to scare Chu Yuan off with the astronomical sum of a hundred billion Black Dragon Coins, only for Chu Yuan to raise the stakes straight to a trillion.
Now he was the one left with no way to back down gracefully.
"I don't have that much money."
Teng Kai clenched his fists, his voice low.
"Then how much do you have?"
"I only have three hundred billion Black Dragon Coins."
"Then we'll bet three hundred billion. I'll wait for you in the private dueling arena."
With that, Chu Yuan's body dissolved into motes of light, and he arrived at the Leinuo Family's exclusive private dueling arena.
The battlefield selected was a ruined city.
A few seconds later, Teng Kai appeared just over ten meters in front of Chu Yuan.
Their duel was broadcast live, and everyone in the martial arena watched without blinking.
"What does everyone think? Who will win?"
"Chu Yuan, of course. He dared to bet a trillion Black Dragon Coins against Teng Kai. How much confidence does that take? He must be certain of victory to dare make that bet."
"Exactly. Chu Yuan is sure to win."
"Not necessarily. Teng Kai has cultivated for over four hundred years, after all, while Chu Yuan has only cultivated for thirty-odd years. There's still a gap between them."
"Heh, Teng Kai has cultivated for over four hundred years and is still only Stellar Level One. That means he's trash. How could trash compare to a genius?"
"Exactly. Against a true genius, never mind four hundred extra years of cultivation-even four thousand extra years would still be useless."
As everyone discussed it, Chu Yuan made his move, unleashing the full oppressive aura of Star Level 9.
"Star Level 9?!!"
Not only was Teng Kai startled, but all the spectators were stunned as well, left gaping in disbelief.
"You're kidding, right? Didn't Chu Yuan only break through to Stellar Level One a year ago? How could he have reached Star Level 9 so quickly?"
"He must have used vast amounts of resources to raise his level directly, skipping the process of absorbing energy."
"How much money would that cost?"
"No idea. It must be far beyond anything we can imagine."
"Chu Yuan couldn't possibly produce that many resources himself. Not even the sixth-generation patriarch could."
"Chu Yuan must have struck it rich, or become some expert's disciple-at least a Domain Lord, possibly even a World Lord."
Now they looked at Chu Yuan with even greater awe.
They no longer revered only his status and strength, but also the backer behind him.
Whether Chu Yuan's master was a Domain Lord or a World Lord, it meant that Chu Yuan's status was now completely different.
From now on, Chu Yuan's standing in the Leinuo Family would be even higher than that of the Universe Level patriarch.
Chu Yuan turned into a ball of flame, charged up to Teng Kai, and slapped him across the face.
Teng Kai's left cheek caved in and deformed. His entire body shot away like a cannonball and slammed into a dilapidated building.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
He punched through wall after wall of the building and flew out the other side.
Before Teng Kai could hit the ground, Chu Yuan descended from the sky, seized his head, and slammed it deep into the ground.
The ground collapsed into a depression, and countless densely packed, spiderweb-like cracks spread through the surroundings.
Teng Kai's mind went blank, his consciousness hazy. He had not even registered what was happening.
Chu Yuan grabbed Teng Kai's right foot, swung him violently, and smashed him hard against the ground. Then he swung him up and smashed him down again, repeating the motion over and over.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The ground burst apart one patch after another, and the surrounding dilapidated buildings kept exploding as well.
Chu Yuan kept swinging Teng Kai around like a sledgehammer, wantonly demolishing the surrounding ground and buildings.
"Hiss!!! That's brutal!"
Everyone watching in the martial arena sucked in a cold breath, their scalps prickling.
Anyone with discerning eyes could tell that Chu Yuan's strength far surpassed Teng Kai's.
If he wanted to kill Teng Kai, one move would be enough.
Yet Chu Yuan deliberately refused to kill him, tormenting and humiliating him instead.
Fighting in the Virtual Universe would not damage one's real body, but it would deal a certain blow to the mind.
Chu Yuan's actions could truly be described as doing little damage, but inflicting utter humiliation.