In no time, Ye Feng caught his first spirit light. He frowned, then tossed it aside, clearly dissatisfied with the technique’s tier.
The half-hour passed quickly. He caught two more spirit lights, only to abandon them both. A proud man like him would never settle for a Lower or Middle Black-tier technique.
Ye Feng reached out to grab a golden spirit light, but it abruptly changed direction and brushed past his fingertips. Twisting mid-air, he caught it with his feet!
Li Guanqi pursed his lips. He’d felt Ye Feng would go for that one—it radiated a stronger aura than the others.
As expected, Ye Feng’s face lit up with joy when he inspected the technique within the spirit light.
And so, the allotted half-hour came to an end.
Ye Feng braced himself and leaped onto a platform several zhang tall. “Sigh, this was quite a challenge. The spirit lights were flying too quickly. I was barely able to catch this Upper Black-tier technique.”
Then, he shot Li Guanqi a taunting glare.
Li Guanqi read the technique’s name. Golden Sunset Heart Technique.
It was a technique that matched Ye Feng’s spirit root, making it an excellent choice.
Li Guanqi replied with feigned regret, “Sigh. Looks like I won’t be able to keep my spirit stones.”
Ye Feng laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. “Haha, it’s alright. I’m just a person who loves bets. I love betting on everything. If you lose, I’ll only take half. I, Ye Feng, am an honest gambler. I am a man of my word.”
Li Guanqi shrugged and slowly walked up the tall platform, entering the hall. He had long set his sights on a target—a purple light that flew exceptionally quickly.
The moment he stepped into the hall, his aura changed dramatically. Ye Feng watched in shock as Li Guanqi moved faster than himself, charging after a ray of purple spirit light.
However, the light was moving too fast. Within just a few breaths’ time, it had slipped through the gaps between Li Guanqi’s fingers several times.
Li Guanqi’s eyes widened slightly. Then, his gaze flicked to another purple spirit light.
He reached for the sword box on his back—and let it go.
The heavy sword box dropped straight down.
Ye Feng frowned and muttered, “Is he trying to shed some weight to increase his speed and agility? But it’s just a sword... Fuck!”
A dull thud echoed when the sword box crashed into the ground, smashing through the stone tiles. Li Guanqi landed on the box, bent his knees, and shot back into the air.
The powerful force caused the cracks on the stone tiles to spread at a speed visible to the naked eye. Some tiles even shattered instantly.
Li Guanqi became a blur as he shot toward the other purple spirit light. When the light sensed his presence, it sped up, trying to escape his grasp.
But Li Guanqi would never let it.
The storage bag tied around his waist flashed and three spirit stones appeared in his hand. With a flick of his wrist, he tossed all three. They collided with the spirit light, forcing it to change direction several times.
Finally, Li Guanqi successfully caught the spirit light in his hand.
However, his brow furrowed as he inspected it. This spirit light... it doesn’t feel powerful at all.
Landing smoothly, he picked up the sword box with one hand and slung it back onto his back.
Only then did he glance up at Ye Feng—who stood there, his jaw slack.
Li Guanqi leaped onto the tall platform as gracefully as a gust of wind.
Li Guanqi leaped onto the high platform, light as a breeze. He reached out, collected all the floating spirit stones, and smiled. “Thank you for your generosity, Brother Ye. I’m almost embarrassed.”
Ye Feng finally snapped out of his shock. He pointed at Li Guanqi and shouted, “You... You! You! You!”
Li Guanqi blinked innocently. “Me?”
Ye Feng took a few deep breaths and asked, “How heavy is the sword box on your back?”
Li Guanqi shrugged and said, “Five hundred jin.”
“Five... five! Five hundred jin?!”
Li Guanqi did not respond. If Ye Feng had been at Heavenly Water Peak’s main hall that day, he would have seen him lift a five-hundred-jin barbell with one hand.
Ye Feng’s eye twitched. “Wait... have you reached the Qi Refinement Realm?”
Li Guanqi shrugged with outstretched hands and said, “Yeah, Qi Refinement Level One. If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t be here looking for a technique. My dantian is practically bursting, but I don’t have a cultivation technique to convert the spirit qi I absorbed into vital qi.”
Ye Feng was shaking from head to toe. He pointed a trembling finger and cried out, “You didn’t tell me!”
“Fine! I won’t argue! But my technique is obviously stronger than yours! I didn’t lose, right?!”
Despite Ye Feng’s shock and indignation, Li Guanqi found himself liking the guy—he hadn’t once brought up the spirit stones, only the bet’s outcome.
Li Guanqi had no choice but to show him the technique in his hand. Several large characters were written on it:
Ninefold Spinning Lightning Sutra. Middle Earth-tier. Scripture incomplete. Upper half only. It lacks techniques beyond the Golden Core Realm and is therefore classified as Peak Black Tier.
Ye Feng’s shoulders slumped in disappointment. He sighed with regret. “Sigh, I lost again! How could I be so unlucky? I can’t believe I still lost in a bet !”
Li Guanqi smiled. He waved and prepared to leave. “You’re welcome to place another bet with me in the future.”
Ye Feng shrugged. Looking at the departing Li Guanqi, he said, “The first examination will be in three months. Shall we place a bet?”
Li Guanqi turned back and smiled. “What do you want to bet on?”
Ye Feng thought for a moment, but then scratched his head in frustration. “I can’t think of anything right now. We’ll see when the day comes. I have to win back what I lost today.”
Li Guanqi saw the hope shining in Ye Feng’s eyes and blurted, “Why don’t I leave you some spirit stones for your cultivation?”
To his surprise, Ye Feng did not care about spirit stones. Ye Feng merely waved him off. “It’s fine. I’ll just ask my family to send me some later.”
They descended the pavilion together.
The senior on the second floor was still torn about which technique to choose. When he saw Li Guanqi coming down, he pretended not to see him.
When they exited the Scripture Pavilion, Ling Daoyan suddenly stopped them. Looking at Li Guanqi, he said, “Pay up. Ten spirit stones!”
Li Guanqi immediately understood. Suppressing his impatience, he explained, “Old Ling, it wasn’t my fault. Ye Feng was the one who insisted on betting with me. I just... got a little too enthusiastic and damaged the floor a little. It’s fine—Brother Ye Feng said he’d help me pay.”
Ye Feng’s mouth fell open. He stared at Li Guanqi in disbelief.
When Ling Daoyan was about to speak, Li Guanqi darted off, leaving Ye Feng standing there in shock.
In the end, Ye Feng still helped Li Guanqi pay.
“Li Guanqi! You owe me ten spirit stones! Don’t you know that lending someone money before a bet is bad luck?!”