Chen Jiuyang sat below a fighting arena, watching the combat on the stage.
"Our Sacred Path lineage distinguishes between victory and defeat, and also between life and death. To marry the Saintess of the True Saint Sect, one must fight with their life!"
On the stage, unless one surrendered, life and death were disregarded.
A crowd below placed bets, roaring with flushed faces.
"Chop his neck! Yes, just like that, kill the bastard!"
"Can't you be a bit faster, kill him!"
"Can't you put more strength into it!"
Chen Jiuyang was somewhat speechless, these martial artists were shouting like thugs.
"Crack—"
As one person on the stage had their arm severed, they jumped off the stage to concede.
An old man in black and blue attire announced expressionlessly, "Number one thousand two hundred forty wins."
Immediately after, the old man held a tablet and said, "Number one thousand two hundred forty-one versus number one thousand two hundred forty-two."
It was Chen Jiuyang's turn to appear.
Chen Jiuyang had watched many matches and found that this outer sect competition was indeed necessary. It was a mixed bag, and only the top thirty-two cultivators in the Profound Realm would be selected.
These demonic cultivators were all ruthless, which gave Chen Jiuyang a lot of insight.
Poisoning, puppets, and soul attacks were all basic skills. There were also methods like raising gu worms and controlling snakes and insects that made one constantly on guard.
Number one thousand two hundred forty-one was Chen Jiuyang.
Chen Jiuyang leaped lightly onto the stage.
Awaiting his first opponent.
Before long, his opponent came onto the stage.
The opponent was a middle-aged man wearing luxurious clothing, with a handsome appearance, around thirty-five years old.
His aura was unrestrained, at the peak of the twelfth aperture of the Profound Realm.
In the outside world, he would be considered an elite genius.
The path of martial arts is difficult.
As soon as the middle-aged man stepped onto the stage, someone below immediately shouted, "Ban Yutang, I bet fifty million on you!"
"You better make it back for me, you hear?"
"You are the young master of the Ban family, don't disgrace us!"
"Ban Yutang's opponent is unfamiliar, there's no information about him."
"Heh, so what if he's unfamiliar? This kid is only in his early twenties, and we don't even know his Profound Realm cultivation level."
"Hey, it's just starting, the odds are one to one. We can make a bit of money by mixing in some guesses."
The old man holding the tablet said, "Number one thousand two hundred forty-one has bet two hundred million, number one thousand two hundred forty-two, you bet one hundred million, do you want to add to your bet?"
If you bet one hundred million, you can only win one hundred million. If you match the bet, you can win two hundred million if you win. If you lose, you bet one hundred million and have to pay two hundred million.
Whether winning or losing, matching the bet is the more common choice.
Ban Yutang's expression flickered. He hadn't expected this young man to bet two hundred million on himself, and he didn't know where he got his confidence from.
He said calmly, "Match the bet."
"Ban Yutang of the East Sea Ban Family!" Ban Yutang cupped his fists towards Chen Jiuyang. Even in the demonic path, in this society, the proper etiquette still had to be observed.
At the same time, he wanted to gauge the opponent's background.
Chen Jiuyang returned the salute, cupping his fists: "Chen Jiuyang of the Shu Mountain Chen Family."
As his voice fell, the expressions of everyone on and off the stage changed.
"Shu Mountain? People from Shu Mountain are also coming to compete for the Han family's Saintess? This is the first time in hundreds of years, quite interesting."
Ban Yutang frowned. Shu Mountain was in the far west, and his Ban family was in the far east. They had never interacted with people from Shu Mountain.
He didn't know what kind of martial arts techniques these Shu Mountain cultivators used.
"Shu Mountain has always been reclusive, staying in their own territory and never venturing out. The entire Shu Mountain is basically a bunch of cowards."
"Ban Yutang, don't be a wimp, kill him for me!"
Before Chen Jiuyang and Ban Yutang could make a move, the crowd below was already shouting with flushed faces.
Chen Jiuyang opened his spiritual sense, observing Ban Yutang. This person had a strong aura of malevolence, with his vital energy mostly concentrated in his arms. He held a sword, indicating he was a skilled swordsman.
Ban Yutang was also observing Chen Jiuyang. This person's hands were smooth, without calluses, and his physique was well-proportioned, suggesting he was not skilled in using weapons. He was in his early twenties, appearing to be a weakling.
"I'll let this weakling have a few moves later, so he doesn't surrender and continue the match," Ban Yutang mused, brewing killing intent in his heart.
Why did the demonic path people aim for a complete annihilation in the outer sect competitions? It was to prevent enemies from returning for revenge.
"After letting him have a few moves, I'll take his life with a single sword strike, leaving this weakling no chance to surrender."
The old man holding the tablet, after verifying the information of both individuals, walked to the edge of the stage and commanded expressionlessly, "Begin."
The moment his voice fell.
"Rumble!"
Chen Jiuyang held a silver needle and shot it towards Ban Yutang's forehead. The sound of breaking air rang out, and in an instant, it disappeared from Chen Jiuyang's hand.
"Thump—"
Ban Yutang, holding his long sword, stumbled backward. Ban Yutang's face retained its murderous intent, a silver needle pierced his forehead, blood flowed from his seven orifices, and he had no breath left.
After one move, Chen Jiuyang had erected his protective qi shield, awaiting the opponent's counterattack. After waiting for a moment, he found the opponent had fallen, his expression filled with astonishment.
This Ban Yutang was so easily defeated!
Had his casual move just now killed the opponent?
The crowd around the arena, who had been shouting with flushed faces moments ago, suddenly fell silent.
Everyone who had bet on Ban Yutang was stunned. With one move and one needle, the young master of the East Sea Ban family was instantly killed by Chen Jiuyang with a single silver needle?
Before the match began, they had all thought Ban Yutang would overpower this pretty boy from Shu Mountain, and then this pretty boy would suffer greatly before being forced to surrender, or be killed by Ban Yutang.
But no one had expected... Ban Yutang to lose, and to be instantly killed at that.
Even the expressionless competition administrator, holding his tablet, was momentarily stunned, a look of surprise appearing on his face. That needle was so fast, and Chen Jiuyang's true qi was so dense, his physique was also very strong.
It seemed this person had a chance to break into the Thirty-Six Heavenly Stars.
Chen Jiuyang slowly withdrew his hand and looked at the old man, "I won?"
The old man finally reacted, giving Chen Jiuyang a deep look, and said expressionlessly, "Number one thousand two hundred forty-one wins."
Only then did Chen Jiuyang slowly jump off the stage and return to his seat to rest.
However, the people gathered around the arena were discussing animatedly.
"Who is this Chen Jiuyang from Shu Mountain? His strength is so formidable, why did we not receive any prior information about him?"
"Damn it, this is a huge loss! Quickly go find out about Chen Jiuyang's information. The money I lost on him, I'll win back from him!"
"Damn it, he could kill Ban Yutang in one move. For the next match, I'm betting on him to win!"
Within a few minutes, this group of people had found Chen Jiuyang's information.
"Damn it, this kid is cunning! He's actually the young master of the Shu Mountain Chen Family, and also the champion of the Feng Province Martial Rankings competition. Damn it, a peerless genius!"
"Awesome, a dark horse!"