Without a doubt, with Lei Long down and unable to get back up, Yu Tianheng had won the battle-and won decisively.
Yu Tianheng had pressed Lei Long hard almost from beginning to end, leaving him unable to fight back.
The result left all the Heaven Dou Royal Academy students and teachers watching in utter shock.
The Soul Fighting Arena erupted. The spectators could no longer contain their excitement and broke into deafening cheers.
"Yu Tianheng! Yu Tianheng!" The unified cries rolled in like surging waves, one after another, crashing into every corner of the Soul Fighting Arena. People leaped from their seats and waved their hands, as if they meant to overturn the entire arena.
Even the teachers in the VIP seats, usually so dignified and composed, stood up to applaud and cheer. Excited smiles lit their faces as they lavished praise on Yu Tianheng.
Meng Shenji, one of the Education Committee's three chief members, clapped vigorously and muttered, "Wonderful! What an absolutely wonderful battle! This Yu Tianheng's future is boundless!"
"Yes. To have such a high Soul Power Level at so young an age, and to be able to fight above his level, too-his future achievements will far surpass anything we can imagine!" Bai Baoshan agreed.
"I propose that we improve Yu Tianheng's treatment. Starting now, for as long as he remains at Heaven Dou Royal Academy, the academy should do its utmost to meet all his conditions!" Soul Douluo Zhi Lin proposed.
Bai Baoshan and Meng Shenji agreed to Zhi Lin's request without hesitation.
After the battle, Yu Tianheng left the Soul Fighting Arena.
But the moment he stepped outside, a crowd of students surrounded him.
They asked him all sorts of questions.
For instance, how he felt after defeating Lei Long.
Others asked why he cultivated so quickly.
Some even asked whether he had a girlfriend.
Yu Tianheng found it hard to get used to.
Song Guan pushed his way back and forth through the crowd, his hair disheveled and his forehead covered in beads of sweat, though he had no time to wipe them away. His eyes were wide and round as he searched eagerly for Yu Tianheng in the bustling crowd, like a starving wolf watching for its prey. His heartbeat raced, and the heart in his chest seemed ready to burst out and fly away.
"Yu Tianheng! Over here!" Song Guan shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice sharp and hoarse with excitement.
When Yu Tianheng saw Song Guan, he immediately remembered the bet. He hurriedly pushed through the crowd and followed Song Guan to a corner.
"How many Gold Soul Coins did we win?" Yu Tianheng asked eagerly. He cared more about this than defeating Lei Long.
"We made a fortune!!"
Song Guan grinned from ear to ear, the flesh on his face shaking. "Let me tell you, because Lei Long broke through to level forty and his Soul Power Level was far above yours, most of the people who took part in the bet put their money on him, hoping to make a fortune. There were plenty of great nobles and wealthy merchants from Heaven Dou City among them. But you know how it ended: Lei Long lost, and all the money those people bet on him went down the drain. Only a handful made a small profit. After deducting their winnings, we netted more than eight million Gold Soul Coins from this bet!"
"More than eight million! We're rich, hahaha!"
Song Guan was beside himself with excitement.
He certainly had reason to be excited. After all, it was a massive sum of more than eight million Gold Soul Coins. Even though Song Guan came from a noble family, was the son of an Earl of the Heaven Dou Empire, and was never short of money, he had never seen so many Gold Soul Coins in his life.
Yu Tianheng was thrilled to hear it as well, but he soon calmed down. Looking at Song Guan, he asked, "How do you want to divide the money?"
At the question, Song Guan's expression tightened, and he asked quietly, "Brother Tian Heng, how do you want to divide it?"
Yu Tianheng said, "Just as we agreed before. A thirty-seventy split: thirty percent for you and seventy for me."
Song Guan let out a long breath. He had been afraid that Yu Tianheng would want to keep all the money for himself or give him only a tiny share.
If that had happened, there would have been nothing he could do about Yu Tianheng. After all, the other man was far above him in status, family background, and personal strength.
He simply couldn't afford to offend him.
It seemed Yu Tianheng was a man of his word, someone worth getting to know better.
"In that case, once you've divided the money, remember to bring my share to me."
"I have something else to do, so we'll talk later!"
With that, Yu Tianheng turned to leave.
Curious, Song Guan hurried after him and asked, "Brother Tian Heng, what else do you have to do that's even more important than dividing the money?"
Yu Tianheng smiled. "Of course I'm going to find Lei Long and make him honor our bet. Don't forget, we agreed that whoever lost would have to kneel and kowtow. Now that he's lost, how could I let him off lightly?"
With that, Yu Tianheng headed toward Lei Long.
Hearing this, Song Guan followed, eager to watch the show. Dividing the money was important, but it could wait. The sight of the Heaven Dou Empire's marshal's son kneeling and kowtowing, on the other hand, was rare indeed. It would be a shame to miss it.
On the other side of the Soul Fighting Arena, Lei Long had recovered from most of his injuries after being treated by the academy's support-type Soul Masters. A few of his lackeys were helping him back to the dormitory.
Unfortunately, he had only taken a few steps when someone blocked his path.
The person blocking him was none other than Yu Tianheng.
Yu Tianheng walked steadily toward Lei Long, each step firm and forceful. There was no triumph in his eyes, only an unquestionable authority. "Lei Long, a bet is a bet. Kneel and kowtow!"
Yu Tianheng's voice was low and forceful, carrying clearly across the open space outside the Soul Fighting Arena.
The scene drew quite a few more people over to watch.
Lei Long's body stiffened, his face turning pale, then red. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, veins bulging on the backs of his hands. He was utterly unwilling. Kneeling and kowtowing would be a humiliation beyond compare. As the son of the mighty Heaven Dou Empire's marshal, how could he show his face at the academy if he really did it?
After a moment's thought, Lei Long said loudly, "Yu Tianheng, me kneeling and kowtowing won't do you any good. How about this? I'll pay you a hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins to buy my way out of the bet."
A hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins was no small sum to Lei Long either, but compared to his dignity, it was nothing.
An ordinary person would probably have agreed to those terms. Lei Long's father was the empire's marshal, after all, so they would have had to show him some respect. But Yu Tianheng dismissed the offer with disdain and sneered, "A hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins? Are you trying to fob off a beggar?"
"I might as well tell you: someone ran a betting pool on our match, and I put five hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins on myself to win. I made a fortune, probably four or five million Gold Soul Coins. Your hundred thousand isn't even pocket change. I don't give a damn about it!"
"If you know what's good for you, hurry up and kneel and kowtow. Otherwise, I'll do it myself, and if it comes to that, I'm afraid you'll lose even more of that so-called dignity of yours!"