After listening to Song Guan's analysis, Yu Tianheng remained calm.
Song Guan was surprised. "Brother Tian Heng, you don't seem worried at all?"
"What is there to worry about?"
"Aren't you afraid of losing the match and damaging your reputation?" Song Guan said quietly. "I heard you two agreed that whoever loses has to kowtow and admit defeat. If word gets out, you'll become a laughingstock and never be able to hold your head high again."
"The way I see it, Lei Long is doing this to spread the news far and wide, so he can slap you hard in the face after he wins the match."
Hearing this, Yu Tianheng smiled disdainfully. "Lei Long is only lifting a rock to drop it on his own foot. If he's the one who loses, everything he's done will be nothing but sewing a wedding dress for me."
"Brother Tian Heng, are you so confident that you're certain you can defeat Lei Long a year from now?" Song Guan asked curiously.
"It's not that I'm certain I have the strength. Lei Long is simply too useless to be worth any more thought," Yu Tianheng said mildly.
Song Guan curled his lip, thinking Yu Tianheng was putting on too much of an act.
"By the way, how are your connections at Heaven Dou Royal Academy?" Yu Tianheng suddenly asked Song Guan.
"Pretty good!" Song Guan replied.
"Good. I have a task for you." Excitement and cunning flashed in Yu Tianheng's eyes. He folded his arms and said in a low voice, "You have plenty of connections. I want you to set up a betting pool before my duel with Lei Long."
"People can bet on who will win our fight a year from now, me or Lei Long."
Song Guan was taken aback for a moment, then a glimmer of understanding and eagerness flashed in his eyes. "Brother Tian Heng, you want to take a gamble."
The corners of Yu Tianheng's mouth rose in a confident smile. "That's right. I want to play for high stakes. Since we're gambling, let's make it big. Try to get everyone at Heaven Dou Royal Academy involved, and make the odds as outrageous as possible."
Yu Tianheng knew that the noble scions at Heaven Dou Royal Academy were all dripping with wealth. If he didn't take the opportunity to rake in a fortune, he would be missing out.
Although he was the young master of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and came from a wealthy family, and his father, Yu Xiaolong, had given him a hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins before he came to the academy, that money was enough for his own use but far from sufficient if he wanted to do anything big.
"Brother Tian Heng, if we set up this betting pool, there's more to it than just making a few Gold Soul Coins. There are a lot of intricacies involved. But don't worry, I'm confident I can get it going. We'll have to think carefully about the odds, though. We can't make them too outrageous like you said; other people aren't fools, after all. Ideally, they should attract bets while ensuring we make a profit without losing," Song Guan said at length.
Yu Tianheng patted Song Guan on the shoulder, his eyes full of trust. "In that case, I'll leave this matter to you."
Song Guan nodded. "Setting it up is easy, but the key question is whether you're confident you can defeat Lei Long a year from now, Brother Tian Heng! You have to understand, this whole betting pool hinges on you. If you lose, it'll be like drawing water with a bamboo basket-all for nothing!"
Seeing Song Guan hesitate, Yu Tianheng immediately assured him, "Don't worry. Since I dared to propose this match, I'm naturally certain I can win. I'll also bet five hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins on myself. Once the betting pool opens, I'll give you the money."
"Now it's up to you. Do you dare take this gamble with me? Once it's done, we'll split the profits seventy-thirty: seventy for me, thirty for you."
Song Guan thought for a moment, then gritted his teeth and nodded. "All right. Since you've put it that way, Brother Tian Heng, I'll stake my life and gamble with you."
Once the matter was settled, Song Guan left to prepare the betting pool.
Yu Tianheng, meanwhile, began cultivating diligently.
His current Soul Power Level was 31, while Lei Long's was 39. A year from now, Lei Long would at least have broken through to level 40, becoming a Soul Ancestor and gaining a fourth Soul Skill.
And if Yu Tianheng bought a large quantity of cultivation resources from the System Shop and cultivated with all his might, he could reach the same level as Lei Long within a year and become a Four-Ring Soul Ancestor.
But breaking through nine levels in a single year would make his cultivation speed a little too fast. Even a fool could see that something was wrong, and it would easily arouse suspicion. If some top experts noticed something amiss, he would be in trouble.
That approach was therefore out of the question.
Yu Tianheng thought that breaking through five Soul Power levels to reach level 36 in a year would be about right.
Combined with a few other methods, that would be enough to defeat Lei Long.
Afterward, Yu Tianheng announced that he would see no one and entered seclusion to cultivate, preparing for the fight a year from now.
News of Yu Tianheng's seclusion caused a stir as soon as it spread.
In the eyes of the students at Heaven Dou Royal Academy, this talented scion of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan was surely immersed in cultivation, making every second count.
Each day, when they passed by the place where he was in seclusion, they could hear Soul Power fluctuations, sometimes low and subdued, sometimes fierce and surging, as if telling of one unseen battle after another.
Through the cracks around the tightly shut door, flickers of light could faintly be seen-the brilliant traces left by circulating Soul Power. They further strengthened everyone's impression of how hard he was cultivating.
The truth, however, was unexpected. Yu Tianheng cultivated for only four hours each day.
During those four hours, he circulated his Innate Skill, which had reached the perfected level, constantly accumulating Innate Qi. Once he had amassed a certain amount, he converted it into Soul Power to raise his Soul Power Level.
After he finished cultivating, he did not continue as everyone imagined. Instead, he spent his time studying the Heavenly Mandate System.
He examined the system's various functions or the various things in the System Shop.
But outsiders did not know what he was doing in his room and assumed he was cultivating every moment.
After hearing the news, Lei Long felt disdainful, but he too entered seclusion to cultivate diligently and challenge the bottleneck at level 40 for Soul Masters.
He strove to beat Yu Tianheng soundly and grind him underfoot in front of all the teachers and students at their fight a year later!
Time passed, and before long, more than half a year had gone by.
During that time, Yu Tianheng cultivated for four hours every day, and his Soul Power Level gradually rose. It had now reached level 36.
Yu Tianheng then ended his seclusion and began going out and about. His presence was restrained, but it could not conceal his sharp edge. Because of the Aura Concealment Technique, others could not discern his exact cultivation level. After learning that Yu Tianheng had ended his seclusion, Song Guan hurried over, looking somewhat grave.
"Brother Tian Heng, you've come out of seclusion!" Song Guan hurried forward and asked with concern.
Yu Tianheng nodded. "Yes."
"Did anything major happen outside during the more than half a year I was in seclusion?"
Song Guan's expression turned grim as he replied, "I was just about to tell you about that. While you were in seclusion, Lei Long didn't stop either. He also entered seclusion, and not long ago, he successfully broke through the level 40 bottleneck!"