“Duan Ling Tian actually came?” The elders and Revered Elders from the Fair Mountain County smiled bitterly. “We thought Yang Jin would win second place in the Martial Competition of the 16 Counties, and we’ll get two Great Overarching Pills. However, that doesn’t seem possible now.”
“Since Duan Ling Tian has appeared, Yang Jin can only win third place in the Martial Competition of the 16 Counties.”
“This means instead of getting two Great Overarching Pills, we’ll only get one. This Duan Ling Tian really showed up at a bad time!”
The elders and Revered Elders of Fair Mountain County felt helpless. They knew there was nothing they could do.
“Why did Duan Ling Tian choose this time to appear?” Yang Jin said through gritted teeth as he sat at the side. He had slightly recovered from his earlier battle. Although it was his first time meeting Duan Ling Tian, his eyes were brimming with hostility as he looked at Duan Ling Tian. It was to be expected. After all, with Duan Ling Tian’s sudden appearance, he would be demoted to third place in the Martial Competition of the 16 Counties. Not only would Fair Mountain County receive one less pill from King Qin’s Mansion, but even his reward would be lessened as well. How could he not feel displeased?
The situation among the people from Soaring Wind County was about the same as Fair Mountain County. When the few elders and Revered Elder who came together with their County Governor, Chu Ting Xuan, saw the appearance of Duan Ling Tian, they could not help but sigh. “It seems like instead of three Great Overarching Pills, we’ll only get two since Duan Ling Tian has come.”
“Perhaps this is fate.” Chu Ting Xuan shook his head. “It’s not bad to have two Great Overarching Pills. We should be grateful.”
Chu Yu who was standing next to Chu Ting Xuan was dressed valiantly. She looked at Duan Ling Tian with a hint of admiration in her eyes. ‘So he’s Duan Ling Tian?’ Although she had an easy-going manner and acted like a boy most of the time, she was still a girl after all. In the past, the only person she admired was her brother, Chu Yan. She felt she only deserved someone stronger or as strong as her brother. When she heard about Duan Ling Tian’s feats in Nine Specters County, she finally realized there was someone who was stronger than her brother.
Although Yang Jin from Fair Mountain County was quite strong, he was about 20 years older than her brother. However, his innate talent was much lower than her brother so she was not interested in Yang Jin at all. On the other hand, although Duan Ling Tian was about the same age as Yang Jin, his innate talent was much better than her brother. Therefore, even before she had met Duan Ling Tian, she already had a crush on him.
This might sound ridiculous, but it was a fact. A woman like her who had been strong since she was a child had never developed any feelings for any man. In fact, she had thought she would end up alone all her life since she had not met any man whom she had special feelings for. However, when she learned about the existence of such a brilliant man in Nine Specters County, her heart had moved. Naturally, since she had never seen him before, regardless of his prowess, she knew there was a chance she might not be attracted to his appearance or personality. This was something similar to online dating in Duan Ling Tian’s past life. Two people could get along well chatting online, but when they finally met, they might not get along at all.
Nevertheless, when Chu Yu saw Duan Ling Tian, his handsome appearance and extraordinary bearing attracted her even more. Her heart was thumping so fast that it felt as though it was going to jump out of his chest.
‘I, Chu Yu, will only marry him!’ Chu Yu swore inwardly as she looked at Duan Ling Tian. Before she met him, she had had a crush on him. However, now, after seeing him, she had thoroughly fallen in love with him. Sometimes, emotions worked in mysterious ways indeed.
Meanwhile, Duan Ling Tian was unaware that he had unintentionally captured the heart of a beautiful maiden who happened to be Chu Yan’s younger sister. If he knew about it, he would definitely be rendered speechless and feel helpless. After all, he already had two wives and a partner. Now, he even had Murong Bing whom he had sex with and was adamant about taking responsibility for. This had already caused him a headache. How could he have thoughts to mess with another woman?
“Damn it! Why did he come?” Whether it was the County Governor of the Overarching Floating County or Xing Dong, its selected participant, both their expressions had darkened. If Duan Ling Tian did not show up, Xing Dong would still be in the tenth place. However, with Duan Ling Tian’s arrival, Xing Dong would be kicked out of the top ten. With that, the Overarching Floating County and Xing Dong would not receive any reward from the King Qin’s Mansion at all. Most importantly, they would have to pay a fine to King Qin’s Mansion.
Unlike the tense atmosphere that loomed over the people from Fair Mountain County, Soaring Wind County, and Overarching Floating County, the originally tense atmosphere that loomed over the Nine Specters County had vanished and was replaced with joy.
Tian Ji Yu, the County Governor of Nine Specters County, laughed heartily without caring about his image. His teeth were all exposed as he laughed loudly. “Duan Ling Tian has finally arrived!”
“I knew he’s not someone who would go back on his words,” Zheng Qiu, the inner-estate elder, said. He was delighted as well.
Pang Bing scoffed and only said coldly, “Well, at least he has a conscience.”
Needless to say, the others from the Nine Specters County were extremely happy as well.
Meanwhile, at the VIP seats, everyone was discussing among themselves as they looked at Zhou An as though he was an idiot. It was clear to them that Duan Ling Tian had been laying traps step by step for Zhou An to fall into.
“No wonder he agreed to the unfair bet with Zhou An. As it turns out, the primitive Celestial Alchemist is Duan Ling Tian himself!”
“Who knew Revered Elder Tian Ling from the Flying Dragon Sect is Duan Ling Tian, the selected participant of Nine Specters County. This time, Vice Sect Leader Zhou An is going to suffer a huge loss!”
“That’s 500,000 prominent Celestial Stones we’re talking about. I was so sure he would win. It seems like he went out for wool but came home shorn!”
“500,000 prominent Celestial Stone isn’t little. Even if the Poison King Sect has the Celestial Stones, I’m afraid it’ll seriously affect the sect.”
“This time, the Poison King Sect has truly suffered a great loss!”
At this moment, Huang Guang Ji, the Vice Sect Leader of Flying Dragon Sect, laughed loudly as he looked at Zhou An. “Zhou An, you lost 500,000 prominent Celestial Stones. Have you thought about how you are going to talk to your sect leader about this?”
The people from the Flying Dragon Sect looked at Zhou An with ridicule. They seemed to have forgotten they had doubted Duan Ling Tian’s sanity as well when he had first agreed to the bet.
“Earlier, Zhou An looked at Revered Elder Tian Ling as though he was an idiot. However, the real idiot is Zhou An!”
“He thought he’d definitely win. Who could’ve guessed that Revered Elder Tian Ling is actually Duan Ling Tian? Duan Ling Tian sure plays the role of a swindler well.”
“Zhou An probably feels worse than if he had eaten a fly.”
“Of course! He has lost 500,000 prominent Celestial Stones after all!”
Meanwhile, the others from the VIP seats looked at Zhou An sympathetically. As for the people from the Poison King Sect, they only looked at their vice sect leader quietly. If he were not their vice sect leader, they would have cursed at him.
Meanwhile, Zhou An’s expression was extremely unsightly. He recalled when the primitive Celestial Alchemist accepted his bet, he could see the Celestial Stones he had lost during the first bet coming back to him. Who knew the primitive Celestial Alchemist was Duan Ling Tian? When he regained his senses and saw the pitying gazes from the crowd, he flew into a rage out of humiliation. He seemed insane as he shouted, “No! This bet is nulled! It can’t be counted. After all, he’s Duan Ling Tian! He’s cheating! He’s cheating!”
It was 500,000 prominent Celestial Stones after all. If the Poison King Sect were to lose 500,000 prominent Celestial Stones because of him, even if he was the sect leader’s younger brother, he would still be severely punished even if they would not kill him. Those elders, Revered Elders, and two Supreme Elders who were as strong as his brother would definitely not let him go so easily!
The Third Prince who had yet to return to behind the curtain scoffed.
Upon hearing this, Zhou An was so frightened he almost fainted.