After Xiao Yi had won nine consecutive battles.
The Mysterious Character Pavilion temporarily halted the next fight.
As everyone was puzzled, Xue Wuhen, clad in a blood robe, approached Xiao Yi with a gentle smile on his face and said, "My name is Xue Wuhen, I am the Pavilion Master of the Combat Pavilion, may I inquire as to your esteemed name?"
Xiao Yi glanced at him and replied indifferently, "Does my name really matter?"
"Indeed, it does not!"
Xue Wuhen smiled, sat down next to Xiao Yi, and spoke softly, "You've won quite a bit, why not quit while you're ahead?"
Xiao Yi looked at him amusingly, "What? Can the mighty Combat Pavilion not afford to lose?"
"The strength of our Combat Pavilion is far beyond what you can imagine, how could we not afford to lose? However, greed is an insatiable snake that swallows elephants, and those who are overly greedy tend to meet bad ends. I'm merely considering your well-being. Take the money you've won and leave; you can still enjoy it greatly once you return. If you continue, it's very likely you'll lose everything..." The smile never left Xue Wuhen's face, but the chill in his eyes grew ever more piercing.
Not only was Xue Wuhen the Pavilion Master of the Combat Pavilion, he was also the lord of Xue Yilou.
His cultivation had reached the Nine-fold Layer of Tao Tribulation Realm.
An air of icy coldness emanated from him, prompting the surrounding crowd to scatter and avoid getting too close.
Xiao Yi sized up Xue Wuhen, noting an aura similar to that of Xue Mantian—clearly, both had cultivated the techniques of Xue Yilou.
Such an aura was exactly the kind Xiao Yi detested the most.
If not for Xue Mantian, would he and Fang Qingzhu have been separated?
Xiao Yi spoke calmly, "Wealth is but an external possession; loss is simply loss."
"Are you determined to oppose my Combat Pavilion to the bitter end?" Xue Wuhen squinted and asked.
Xiao Yi shrugged his shoulders.
Xue Wuhen chuckled, stood up, and straightened his clothes, saying, "Very well, then I wish you continued good luck!"
Before his voice had faded.
He stroked his sleeve and strode away.
Ye Heng looked at Xiao Yi with worry, "Master..."
Xiao Yi waved his hand, revealing a serene smile, "I want to see what tricks he has up his sleeve!"
The tenth battle commenced, this time a Blind Swordsman would face a bald young man of the same realm.
"The Blind Swordsman is the one who slew Liu Meng of the Third Layer of the Divine Passage Realm with a single sword strike; isn't this bald kid of the First Layer of the Divine Passage Realm seeking death?"
"I'm betting on the Blind Swordsman this round!"
As they watched the Blind Swordsman in the arena, the crowd had fresh memories of his swift swordsmanship and commented one after another.
Ye Heng asked, "Master, should we put all our silver on the Blind Swordsman?"
Xiao Yi shook his head, and watching the crowd place heavy bets on the Blind Swordsman, he said in a serious tone, "Place everything on the bald kid!"
Several people around were startled, "On the bald kid?"
"Young master, the Blind Swordsman is definitely stronger than the bald kid..."
Xiao Yi said calmly, "I haven't forced you to believe me!"
While the people hesitated, someone spoke up, "Gentlemen, in my opinion, he's been bluffed by the Pavilion Master of the Combat Pavilion. He's thinking of intentionally losing the money back to them. We shouldn't trust him!"
"Exactly, anyone can see that the Blind Swordsman will win. Yet he insists we bet on the bald kid, for sure he's chickened out!"
"Don't listen to him!"
The crowd placed their bets on the Blind Swordsman.
Ye Heng looked at Xiao Yi worriedly, "Master, this..."
Xiao Yi laughed, "It's their own money!"
The battle commenced.
Just as Xiao Yi had said, the blind swordsman indeed lost, losing in a somewhat inexplicable manner.
Xiao Yi's 1.2 billion turned into 1.5 billion.
The others, however, suffered a crushing defeat.
Less than a tenth had followed Xiao Yi's bet.
The crowd looked at Xiao Yi as if he were an enemy, "It's all your fault, you yourself bet on the bald kid, yet you made us bet on the blind swordsman…"
"I really hate you, how could you harm us ?"
"I bet all my fortune on this, and now you've ruined me…"
"You must have colluded with the Combat Pavilion to swindle our money…"
Faced with the crowd's accusations and provocation, someone even charged towards Xiao Yi, "Give us back our hard-earned money!"
A chill flashed through Xiao Yi's eyes, and with a casual wave of his hand, a torrent of vital energy surged out.
One strong fighter after another was sent flying, sprawling across the ground in all directions.
Xiao Yi's face remained expressionless.
Ye Heng burst into a furious rage, "Have you no conscience? My master never asked you to follow his bets. When you make money, you forget his goodwill, but when you lose, you come to blame him? Besides, my master already said he would bet on the bald kid. It was you who thought you knew better and bet on the blind swordsman. Now that you've lost everything, it's your own fault. Anyone who talks nonsense again, be careful lest I tear your mouth apart!"
Looking at the few people wailing on the ground, everyone exchanged glances, not daring to utter another word.
The eleventh pair of fighters made their appearance on the dueling stage.
This time, Ye Heng returned, smiling bitterly, "Master, Xue Wuhen at the betting station, he won't accept our chips."
Xiao Yi raised an eyebrow and stood up, making his way to the betting station.
Xue Wuhen, with his legs crossed and an air of nonchalance, looked amused, "Oh, what brought you here?"
Xiao Yi spoke indifferently, "My disciple says you won't take my chips?"
Xue Wuhen spoke defiantly, "Even if you calculate it accurately, I still won't accept your chips. You also don't need to think about predicting the outcome and letting others bet. I can change the outcome at any time." He slowly raised his right hand and clenched it lightly, "No matter how powerful you are, you will never be able to escape from the palm of my hand!"
Xue Wuhen looked at Xiao Yi, smugly.
He didn't care about losing ten or so billion.
The latest round with the blind swordsman had allowed him to recoup a hundred billion.
But Xiao Yi had previously disrespected him, which irritated Xue Wuhen, prompting him to deliberately make things difficult for Xiao Yi.
Xiao Yi narrowed his eyes, "You mean to say, today it's impossible for me to bet at the Combat Pavilion?"
"Not just today, tomorrow, the day after… for the rest of your life, don't even think about placing a bet at my Combat Pavilion again, don't even think about earning a single silver tael from my Combat Pavilion. Of course…"
Xue Wuhen leaned forward slightly, a radiant smile on his face as he spoke ominously, "If you have the courage, you can directly participate in the duels. If you win, you will get a share of the bets. Moreover, the more consecutive victories at my Combat Pavilion, the higher the share. Ten consecutive victories entitle you to a tenth of the share, twenty consecutive victories a fifth… If you can win a hundred consecutive matches, then congratulations, all the earnings are yours! However, if you participate in the duels, you could very well lose your life in the process!"
Xiao Yi stared intently at Xue Wuhen with narrowed eyes, "Are you threatening me?"
Xue Wuhen shrugged his shoulders confidently, "I am threatening you. What can you do about it?"
Xiao Yi let out a long breath and said, "I only wanted to make some money quietly and leave, but since you insist on pushing me, so be it!"