Battle for the Top of the Hidden Dragon Ranking

"It's him, Brandon Feng!" someone shouted.

"So it was him!" An elderly martial artist smiled knowingly.

"Brandon Feng—whenever he gambles, he loses! What a funny name!"

Chen Xiang chuckled softly. After that, the Vermin Squad members all placed their bets—every one on Victor Ward to win, with the total reaching over eight million taels of gold.

"Just for his name alone, I think we should root for him!" Jackson Wenren laughed.

"Exactly! Exactly!" Jason Zhuge nodded in firm agreement.

The rest of the Vermin Squad all looked interested, so Ian Song led the group over.

"Is there a limit to how much we can bet?"

Jason Zhuge asked.

"Since I dare to run a betting table here, I've got plenty of backing!" Brandon Feng laughed proudly. "Bet as much as you want, I'll cover it all!"

"I bet ten thousand taels of gold on Ethan Tian to win!"

"I bet five thousand taels of gold on Victor Ward!"

"I bet five thousand on Ethan Tian, five thousand on Victor Ward!"

...

Whether it was Brandon Feng's bold talk or something else, in just half a quarter-hour, he'd collected over a million taels of gold in wagers.

"You've all been standing here for ages—don't you want to place a bet too?"

After handing betting slips to those who'd wagered, Brandon Feng turned to Ian Song and his group.

"I bet one hundred thousand taels of gold on Victor Ward to win!"

Jason Zhuge slapped a stack of one hundred thousand gold taels onto the table.

"Nice, brother, that's some real swagger!" Brandon Feng praised with a smile, his eyes nearly squinting shut.

"I'm betting on Victor Ward too—one hundred thousand taels!"

Next, Jackson Wenren placed his bet as well.

Brandon Feng's smile grew even brighter.

After that, the Vermin Squad members all placed their bets—every one on Victor Ward to win, with the total reaching over eight million taels of gold.

Once the betting slips were written up, Brandon Feng looked at Ian Song. "You seem to be the leader—aren't you going to place a bet?"

"I'm worried you can't afford to pay out, so I'll pass."

Ian Song smiled and shook his head. Money was nearly useless to him now; besides, higher-grade techniques and resources couldn't be bought with gold anymore.

Brandon Feng wasn't offended by Ian Song's skepticism—in fact, he was secretly delighted. He knew the young man in front of him was a big fat sheep, so he laughed and said, "Go ahead and bet! If you win, I'll pay up even if I have to sell everything I own!"

"Still, I'll pass."

Ian Song shook his head again.

"What, you don't trust me, Brandon Feng?"

He pretended to be offended.

Ian Song was speechless—he hadn't planned to take the guy's money, but since Brandon Feng insisted, he didn't bother to be polite. He raised a finger: "Can you cover this amount?"

"Isn't it just ten million taels of gold? I thought you'd bet more!" Brandon Feng scoffed.

Ian Song smiled. "Not ten million—ten billion!"

"What? Ten billion? You're not joking, are you?"

Brandon Feng's face turned serious.

"Do I look like I'm joking?" Ian Song said calmly.

Brandon Feng hesitated for a moment, then finally said, "Alright, I'll take it!"

"You dare to take the bet, but I don't believe you can pay up—if you lose, you'll owe me thirty billion. Do you have that much gold?"

Brandon Feng froze for a moment, then gritted his teeth and pulled three items from his Storage Ring, placing them on the table: a technique manual, a broken sword, and a divine medicine sealed in a jade box.

"An Imperial-Grade Technique, a damaged Immortal weapon, and a god-tier medicine that can bring the dead back to life—is that enough?"

Instantly, all eyes locked onto the three items on the table. More than a few people looked on with burning greed.

But no one dared make a move—after all, Brandon Feng was a Law-Phase powerhouse.

"Now it's your turn to show some sincerity, isn't it?"

Brandon Feng looked at Ian Song, a hint of smugness in his eyes.

Ian Song casually waved his hand, and ten thousand lower-grade spirit crystals flew out, piling up on the table like a small mountain. "Ten thousand spirit crystals—will that do?"

"That's plenty! More than enough!"

Brandon Feng said quickly, secretly thrilled at his windfall.

Brandon Feng quickly wrote up the wager, handed it to Ian Song, and stowed away the spirit crystals and three treasures.

Time passed, and noon drew near.

More and more people arrived—there were at least a hundred thousand now, packed together like a sea of humanity.

With half a quarter-hour left before noon, a blur of motion appeared in the center of the plain—a young man in blue, none other than Ethan Tian, the top-ranked genius on the Hidden Dragon Ranking.

Ethan Tian wasn't tall—in fact, he was a bit short and looked completely ordinary, the kind of guy you'd lose in a crowd. But his eyes were mesmerizing; just one glance could draw you in and never let go.

When he arrived, he only glanced around once, and instantly plenty of female cultivators fell into a daze—and even some of the guys looked entranced. Ian Song felt a chill and thought, 'Don't tell me Ethan Tian swings both ways!'

Luckily, Ethan Tian just scanned the crowd once, then closed his eyes and stood there to rest.

Soon after, Victor Ward appeared, materializing a hundred meters opposite Ethan Tian.

"You're here."

Ethan Tian opened his eyes and smiled.

"I'm here—to defeat you." Victor Ward said in a deep voice.

"Honestly, there's no need for us to fight—within a year, I'll be stepping down from the Hidden Dragon Ranking anyway!"

"When I want something, I take it myself!"

Victor Ward replied with pride, full of confidence.

"But you'll have to pay the price for that." Ethan Tian's smile vanished, replaced by a cold expression.

Victor Ward didn't want to waste words with Ethan Tian. "Let's get started!"

"Looks like you can't wait any longer!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Ethan Tian struck out with his palm—a thunderous boom echoed through the air.

"Break!"

Victor Ward casually threw a punch, shattering Ethan Tian's Thunder Palm. He mocked, "Show me your best move—otherwise you might not get another chance!"

"Is that so?"

Ethan Tian sneered, his figure blurred—and suddenly, one hundred and eight identical Ethans appeared around him. Each one launched a martial technique at Victor Ward.

All one hundred and eight Ethans looked completely lifelike—no one could tell which was real. Their attacks were solid, too, and in an instant, Victor Ward was swallowed up by a torrent of energy from all sides.

"Incredible! No wonder Ethan Tian's been number one for so many years!"

Most of the cultivators watching were stunned—one hundred and eight early Saint Sea experts attacking at once? Even an early Saint Sea would be dead!

Just when everyone thought Victor Ward was about to lose...

A beam of light suddenly appeared at the center of the torrent. At first it was only the size of a fist, but it radiated outward at incredible speed, instantly swallowing the energy flood in return.

Then, a figure strode out from the light and unleashed one hundred and eight punches in quick succession.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Each Ethan Tian was blasted away, until only one escaped, landing hundreds of meters away.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Victor Ward chased down the last Ethan Tian, his right fist blazing like the sun as he struck.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

With a string of heavy blows, Ethan Tian was sent flying, coughing up blood.