Volume Two, Travels in the State of Qi - Chapter 151: Acquiring the Spirit Essence

That person looked shifty-eyed and wretched with a diminutive stature, yet he carried a massive saber on his shoulder, making him look exceptionally bizarre.

His arrival on the stage failed to cause much of a stir, for he was merely a minor cultivator at the first tier of the Return Void Realm, someone who was routinely bullied on ordinary days. Had it not been for the exceptionally low cultivation of that little beauty, it was unlikely this fellow would have ever gotten his turn.

Once he stepped onto the platform, an official of the martial arena announced in a loud voice:

"The next bout will feature Qing Mu, at the ninth tier of the Origin Pill Realm, against Lai Hama at the first tier of the Return Void Realm. The match will commence in a quarter of an hour. Everyone may now place your bets."

Odds for Qing Mu to win: 1 to 1.5; odds for Lai Hama to win: 1 to 0.5.

It was evident that the organizers of the martial arena believed Lai Hama had a slightly higher probability of winning. Although this young cultivator named Qing Mu, standing at the ninth tier of the Origin Pill Realm, was most likely a prodigy, Lai Hama had haunted the martial arenas for years and had accumulated a certain amount of combat experience. He was not someone these pampered youngsters, who only knew how to cultivate in closed-door seclusion, could easily handle.

Witnessing this, Zhang Heng said nothing. He simply retrieved twenty spiritual essences from his person and placed the entire wager on Mu Wanqing's side.

This action by Zhang Heng left everyone in the entire venue utterly dumbfounded.

First of all, they truly had not expected this person to possess such a vast fortune. One had to know that twenty pieces of spiritual essence constituted an astronomical sum. Though they were all formidable experts in their own right, not a single one of them could casually produce twenty pieces of spiritual essence.

Secondly, was this fellow perhaps an absolute fool? Waging twenty pieces of spiritual essence on a newcomer whose strength was merely at the ninth tier of the Origin Pill Realm—money simply wasn't meant to be squandered in such a manner.

They understood now: this man was simply a wealthy idiot.

Though they were shocked by Zhang Heng's move, they still chose to follow their instincts and bet on Lai Hama.

The Origin Pill Realm and the Return Void Realm were separated by a major cultivation boundary; it was not a chasm easily bridged.

Of course, there were also a few shrewd individuals who followed Zhang Heng's lead, hoping to take a perilous shortcut and win big with a small stake.

Qi Sisi also realized that an opportunity had arrived, and she accordingly wagered her entire fortune on Mu Wanqing.

Insane! Absolutely insane! The rest of the spectators declared that they simply could not comprehend the actions of these two.

Zhang Heng cared little for what others thought of him; as long as he could make a profit, that was all that mattered.

In truth, he harbored no absolute certainty in his heart. Although Mu Wanqing appeared exceedingly confident, in reality, having cultivated exclusively within the Spirit Feather Palace, she possessed very little practical combat experience.

Never mind, let's wait and see. If she lost, it was no matter. At worst, he would simply step up and fight a few more matches himself.

On the stage, Lai Hama smiled lewdly as he looked at Mu Wanqing. "Beauty, how would you like to place your wager?"

Mu Wanqing replied indifferently, "Let's wager a single piece of top-grade spiritual stone."

Upon hearing these words, the entire audience burst into uproarious laughter. A single piece of top-grade spiritual stone? That wouldn't even be enough to plug the gap between one's teeth!

This little beauty probably possessed truly negligible strength.

In truth, it was not that Mu Wanqing lacked spiritual stones. On the contrary, as the great hope of the Spirit Feather Palace, she had never suffered a shortage of commodities like spiritual essence. However, in her eyes, spiritual essence was merely a cultivation resource. Being a cultivation maniac, she invariably used up every scrap of spiritual essence allotted to her for training purposes, which explained why she carried very little on her person.

At that moment, Lai Hama chuckled. "Beauty, how about this? If you defeat me, I will give you five pieces of spiritual essence. If you lose, you need only accompany me for a small cup of wine. How about it? Quite a fair deal, isn't it?"

Mu Wanqing remained largely unmoved by Lai Hama's remarks. She simply stated indifferently, "Very well."

The person before her possessed strength at merely the first tier of the Return Void Realm. Furthermore, his footsteps were unsteady and his aura fluctuated wildly; he undoubtedly lacked any substantial combat capability. Mu Wanqing was confident in her ability to triumph over him.

Hahaha! The toad laughed triumphantly. The mere thought of drinking with the beauty moments later filled him with an irresistible eagerness to begin.

The surrounding spectators cursed Lai Hama aloud, calling him utterly shameless. Yet Lai Hama cared not in the least, choosing to view their curses as sheer envy.

At that moment, the quarter-hour expired. The arena administrator cried out loudly from below the stage: "Qing Mu versus Lai Hama, let the match begin!"

Upon hearing that the competition had commenced, Lai Hama did not immediately summon his spiritual energy. Because the little beauty before him was only at the ninth tier of the Origin Pill Realm, she could hardly stir up any great waves, and he intended to toy with her slowly.

Mu Wanqing uttered no superfluous words. She drew an ordinary sword from her spatial ring and fixed a cold gaze upon Lai Hama.

While she cared little for Lai Hama's words, his appearance was truly too hideous, deeply offending her aesthetic sensibilities and dampening her mood.

Lightly circulating her spiritual energy, Mu Wanqing launched her attack.

Seeing Mu Wanqing's assault, Lai Hama smiled; this beauty indeed possessed minimal strength, meaning his victory was sealed.

Thus, he adopted a sluggish and indolent posture, dodging Mu Wanqing's strike with ease. Once he had evaded it, he even attempted to take advantage of the opening to steal a cheap touch.

However, Mu Wanqing's footwork was exceptionally swift. The moment Lai Hama extended his hand, she had already retreated into the distance.

"Oh ho! The little beauty can run quite fast!" Lai Hama grew even more excited.

Mu Wanqing charged forward once more. Lai Hama smiled and covertly gathered a sliver of spiritual energy.

Suddenly, however, a sense of profound wrongness washed over him.

Just moments before, the spiritual energy emanating from Mu Wanqing had been scanty and sparse. In this single instant, however, he sensed a terrifying, bone-chilling cold. The little beauty known as Qing Mu had multiplied her spiritual energy more than tenfold in the blink of an eye.

Lai Hama hurriedly mobilized his spiritual energy to defend himself. Yet how much spiritual energy could one possibly marshal in a hasty panic? With a single sword strike, Mu Wanqing cleaved through his defenses and pierced straight into his left chest.

Before Lai Hama could even register what had happened, Mu Wanqing delivered a swift kick directly to his abdomen, launching him straight off the edge of the fighting platform.

Mu Wanqing retrieved her blade and stood coldly upon the stage, not sparing the defeated Lai Hama even a single glance.

Zhang Heng smiled. It appeared he had still slightly underestimated Mu Wanqing. The young lady even knew how to employ tactics.

Mu Wanqing had won, and her odds had been 1 to 1.5. Zhang Heng had wagered a full twenty pieces of spiritual essence, netting a clean profit of thirty pieces. It was a thoroughly exhilarating outcome.

Seeing that Qing Mu had genuinely emerged victorious, the rest of the spectators registered a flicker of surprise before recalling the young fellow who had nonchalantly dropped twenty spiritual essences on her earlier. Many cast looks of intense envy in Zhang Heng's direction.

Having suffered a crushing defeat and lost all shred of dignity, Lai Hama retrieved five pieces of spiritual essence from his spatial ring, tossed them toward Mu Wanqing, and fled in haste.

Observing Mu Wanqing's triumph, the crowd grew even more agitated.

"This little vixen has quite a fiery temper; I like it."

"What a pity my strength is far too high, otherwise I'd certainly step up there and have a good time with her," boasted a cultivator at the second tier of the Return Void Realm, attempting to project an air of superiority. However, upon catching the expression of the cultivator beside him, he hurriedly lowered his head. Private dueling was prohibited within the martial arena, but once outside its gates, no one would bother to police whatever befell him.

Therefore, lacking genuine strength, it was best not to put on airs.

The arena officials once again leaped onto the stage. "Congratulations to the newcomer Qing Mu on her victory. Which friend would like to step forward to issue a challenge next?"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than another cultivator soared onto the stage.

They had watched everything with crystal clarity from below. Lai Hama had only fallen to Qing Mu because of his carelessness and arrogance. Consequently, they believed that as long as they remained serious, defeat was impossible.

This upcoming match would pit Qing Mu against Yi Tuoshi.

Odds for Qing Mu to win: 1 to 0.8; odds for Yi Tuoshi to win: 1 to 1.2. Evidently, the arena officials recognized that Mu Wanqing had not yet unleashed her full strength, and thus judged her probability of winning to be somewhat higher.

Although the odds remained quite lucrative this time—meaning Zhang Heng could undoubtedly reap a handsome profit should he bet again—he chose not to continue after pocketing his thirty pieces of spiritual essence. It was not because he mistrusted Mu Wanqing.

Rather, it was due to the principle of leaving a margin for future encounters; pushing matters too far might well provoke the displeasure of the martial arena's management.

Before long, Mu Wanqing and Yi Tuoshi had already squared off against one another upon the platform.