Chapter 137: Bai Feiyu, the Street Rat

Someone stood up and shouted that it was unfair. Seeing this, many others followed suit, demanding the bets be canceled. However, how could the Imperial City Arena allow such unruly behavior?

Moreover, this world was one where the strong were respected. If this were the ancient times of his past life, an emperor might have worried about the common people losing their livelihoods and forcibly halted the betting to stabilize the nation and his rule. But in a country governed by the law of the jungle, such a thing was impossible.

Soon, the referee announced Bai Feiyu as the winner and declared that the betting would proceed as normal, ordering the guards to keep a tight watch over the betting chests.

Hidden in the shadows, Qian Shuang was nearly ecstatic at the sight. Truly, this kind of profiteering was rare in the world. This time, she had once again harvested the majority of the wealth from the crowd. If they kept up this pace a few more times, their collection of spirit stones would rival that of the Guixu Sect. They could practically start their own sect.

However, that was just a fleeting thought. For the time being, they were pursuing the pinnacle of martial arts and would not concern themselves with such matters. Only when their cultivation stagnated would they consider establishing a sect to support themselves and consolidate their power.

As Bai Feiyu stepped down from the combat arena, many people pelted him with fruit peels, treating him like a rat crossing the street. Bai Feiyu felt quite helpless about this. Was he really that unpopular? It wasn't as if he had done anything other than make them lose some money. Besides, they could always borrow more; who knows, they might win the next round!

Once Bai Feiyu walked off, the disciples of the Guixu Sect surrounded him; he had become the star of the sect. This time, every disciple of the Guixu Sect had made a fortune. They had heard of Bai Feiyu’s combat strength, so they had bet their entire net worth on him. As a result, Bai Feiyu had doubled their earnings in one go.

Not far away, the Sect Master watched this scene with a beaming face. For him, the disciples would use their winnings for cultivation, which would elevate their strength to a new level. Perhaps, by the next time, the overall strength of the Guixu Sect would be significantly bolstered.

These disciples did not necessarily have to come to the Imperial City in the future; many would remain at the sect. In time, the strength of the Guixu Sect's elders would also improve, and even if they wanted to break away from the Zhao Kingdom and become independent later on, it would be a possibility. In truth, it was not impossible for the sect to secede from the Zhao Kingdom. After all, the area where the sect was located, as well as the many barren mountains and mountain ranges nearby, were effectively no-man's-land within the Zhao Kingdom's sphere of influence.

However, the supply of resources and the accumulation of cultivation techniques were the real issues. The Guixu Sect had enough foundation in techniques, but resources—especially the spirit stones used for cultivation—could only be obtained if one controlled spirit mines or if powerful individuals continuously gathered them for the sect. Only when there were enough powerful members could they become self-sufficient. If this batch of disciples grew up, the prospect of the sect becoming independent, no longer bowing to the Zhao imperial family and becoming their own lords, was an attractive option. The Sect Master was already indulging in dreams of an independent sect.

After Bai Feiyu stepped down, several fierce battles took place on the arena, though none were as spectacular as his. Soon, Bai Feiyu reached the second round. In this round, he repeated his old trick, winning by a narrow margin and causing many more people to lose their money.

For a time, many gritted their teeth in hatred toward Bai Feiyu. However, the Human Emperor was beaming with joy. As the ruler, he was happy to see such a prodigious talent emerge in his kingdom. He could mention it during exchanges with other nations to save face. It was not impossible to recruit him into the imperial family as a personal guard later on. Given the terrifying potential of this young man, the Human Emperor naturally wanted to cherish him.

After continuous battles, Bai Feiyu ultimately became the top-ranked competitor in the second level of the Shackles Realm, waiting for the third-level matches the next day. This made many of the second-level disciples look quite sullen. Honestly, for the first place in the second level of the Shackles Realm to be a disciple at the ninth level of the Haoqi Realm was simply an insult to them. But Bai Feiyu’s strength was undeniable, and they had no choice but to accept it.

The number of participants in the third level of the Shackles Realm was even smaller, as each sect had a limited number of people. Tomorrow would feature the battles for the third and fourth levels, and by the end of the day, the results of the Grand Sect Tournament would be determined. There was a reason why they were breaking for the day after only a few matches: on one hand, it allowed people to go back and prepare more money to bet the next day, as the constant bleeding had left many penniless. On the other hand, battles between disciples of this caliber consumed a massive amount of spiritual energy, so they needed time to recover.

Bai Feiyu and his group returned to their inn. Unlike the inns occupied by other sects, this one was filled with a festive atmosphere, as if they were celebrating the New Year. Many disciples were even playing mahjong. They were simply happy; such a scene of constant winning was rarely seen. Most of them spent their days busy with cultivation and had little time for entertainment. Since they had won so much money, it was only natural to enjoy themselves. Taking a day off didn't hurt, especially since the next day's matches didn't involve them.

The ones playing mahjong included not just disciples, but also elders, and everyone was in high spirits. Of course, the disciples only took a small portion of their spirit stones to have fun; they would never gamble away everything. After all, they still needed to cultivate in the future, and if they lost the money they had worked so hard to win, everyone would go mad.

Bai Feiyu quietly walked up to Qian Shuang and whispered, "Bet on me again tomorrow. It’s not like I have no chance at all. Also, when you place the bets, just use a large amount of capital—maybe... one-twentieth of what we have? That’s still a lot of money. Besides, I suspect you’ll be the only one betting on me tomorrow, so we’ll be able to make another fortune."

"I guarantee, I will definitely win at least one match tomorrow!"