Someone immediately chimed in, "Exactly! A new student just arrived and already wants to show off, without knowing how to keep a low profile. Song Yan has no idea how he'll end up dying!"
Too bad he picked the wrong target to show off against—he's destined to become the laughingstock of Sanctum Martial Academy!
Today, almost everyone watching the match had placed bets—at least ninety percent were backing Hugh Xu to win. So when it came to making fun of Song Yan, nobody held back. At first, people only whispered, but as the number of mockers grew, their courage swelled, and soon everyone was loudly ridiculing Song Yan without a hint of restraint.
Still, in the crowd, there were a few people who just watched with cold smiles and said nothing.
If you looked closely, you'd notice that all these quiet ones were new students.
The older students might not have heard of Leon Huang's reputation, but these newcomers sure had—they knew he fought the Poison Emperor one-on-one and killed him.
That kind of strength is no joke.
So when they saw Leon Huang's odds at three-to-one, they banded together and quietly bet on him. They even made sure to hide the news about him killing the Poison Emperor, planning to get rich without anyone noticing.
Inside the betting courtyard—
Miles Wang, who was keeping the records, suddenly frowned. "Zheng Mu, you register first—I need to go see Felix Zhu!"
Soon, Miles Wang arrived inside the room, where a young man in a black brocade robe was calmly sipping tea with a smile.
"Miles, how much silver have we taken in?"
Just then, Henry Ji walked over to Song Yan.
Felix Zhu himself favored Hugh Xu, so he’d personally bet up to two hundred thousand taels on Hugh.
"Hello, Henry," Song Yan replied with a nod.
Miles Wang hesitated. "Felix, I think that's a bad idea—we should actually lower Leon Huang’s odds."
Felix Zhu frowned slightly. "Why?"
"Because I found something odd: most of the heavy bets on Leon Huang are from new students. Hugh Xu’s strength is easy to check, but we don’t know much about Leon Huang. Why would so many newcomers risk big money on him? There must be something we’re missing!"
Felix Zhu nodded thoughtfully. "Quick, send someone to dig up everything you can about Leon Huang!"
A short while later, Miles Wang rushed back. "Felix, bad news! I found out that this new student is a real monster—just over ten days ago, he killed Ethan Ye, the Poison Emperor, in Sea Emperor City!"
A duel between a newcomer and the academy's top two students actually drew both of them in—maybe this newcomer really is something special.
Time ticked by, and finally, noon was approaching.
Liam Liang and his followers finally appeared.
Compared to Henry Ji and Wenren Tianxiang, Liam Liang was much more imposing, striding in with a large crowd trailing behind him.
Wenren Tianxiang couldn't help but curl her lip and mutter, "Let's see if he's still so smug after he trips and falls in the gutter."
The star of this duel was supposed to be Hugh Xu, but Liam Liang stole the spotlight, greeting the crowd with arrogant nods before leading his entourage right up to Song Yan.
Liam Liang's eyes landed straight on Gu Xie Huayu, his gaze openly lecherous.
Song Yan stepped forward, blocking Liam Liang's gaze, and asked coldly, "Liam Liang, are you ready to kneel and apologize yet?"
Song Yan stepped forward, blocking Liam Liang's gaze and said coldly, "Liam Liang, are you ready to kneel and apologize yet?"
Liam Liang's eyes instantly turned cold. "Kid, enjoy being cocky for now—soon, you'll be the one crying!"
After a while, Song Yan and Hugh Xu both stepped onto the arena together.
Felix Zhu arrived with Miles Wang as well.
With Hugh Xu's odds raised, the amount of silver bet on him broke fifty million. As long as Leon Huang won, Felix Zhu would earn several million taels.
On the arena platform—
Hugh Xu drew a blood-red long sword, and instantly a powerful aura surged out, pressing down on the crowd around the platform, making it hard for them to breathe.
"That's the Asura Sword!"
Miles Wang exclaimed, but his eyes flashed with concern. The Asura Sword was a sixth-grade spiritual weapon. Although Leon Huang might be stronger than Hugh Xu in cultivation, with this sword, Hugh Xu was like a tiger with wings—his strength greatly increased, making the outcome of the duel even more suspenseful.
"Henry, can I treat you to dinner sometime?"
............
Seeing this, Ian Tian couldn’t help but look envious. "Who is that guy, and why are so many people trying to suck up to him?"
"That’s Henry Ji, the number one among low-level students. His strength is no weaker than Leon’s—he’s even beaten a Grandmaster before!" Yoon Zhengyang explained seriously.
"Impressive! Sanctum Martial Academy really is full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers!" Eric Zhou exclaimed.
Just then, Henry Ji walked over to Leon Huang.
"Hello, Leon. I’m Henry Ji," he greeted warmly.
"Hello, Henry," Leon replied with a nod.
Some of Henry Ji’s admirers scoffed, "Look at this freshman—so arrogant he makes Henry greet him first!"
"Yeah, talk about cocky!"
Henry Ji frowned slightly and glanced at them. "You two should stop running your mouths. Leon might just surprise you!"
With that, Henry Ji stepped aside to watch.
A moment later, the crowd buzzed again—because the second-ranked low-level student, Wenren Tianxiang, had arrived too.