Chapter 63

On the way, Zhang Xu and Instructor Zhang Yu hurried over.

In private, Instructor Zhang Yu sent a message through the Jade Puppet: "Are you sure you haven’t practiced to the point of foolishness? You’re going to challenge someone at the Ninth Layer of the Qi Condensation Realm, two layers above you. Are you sure you can win?"

"Huh?" Hearing Instructor Zhang’s words, Chu He’s heart skipped a beat: Damn! That Zhang must have practiced some kind of breath concealment technique, fooling me but not escaping Instructor Zhang’s detection. This is bad! I thought he was at the Eighth Layer of the Qi Condensation Realm, but now it’s going to be tough. If he were at the Eighth Layer, I’d be confident, but with two layers of difference, I’m not so sure.

Chu He could only obediently reply: "I couldn’t tell at first, I thought he was at the Eighth Layer."

Instructor Zhang Yu: "Hmm, I’ve confirmed it. He’s not just at the Ninth Layer of the Qi Condensation Realm, but at the Great Perfection stage. You decide what to do. Also, he’s the personal disciple of the Great Elder, practicing an extremely powerful lightning technique. Be careful."

"..." Chu He scratched his head and finally found the information about his opponent in his limited memory.

Zhang Longao, a new disciple of the same batch as himself, possesses a high-grade lightning spirit body. He was recruited by the long-retired Great Elder Qing Lei and became his second personal disciple.

Chu He didn’t expect Luo Wu to find such a genius to pit against him. He felt he had underestimated the guy’s deviousness. No wonder they laughed so slyly when he said he would win.

However, since he had accepted the challenge, he wouldn’t have any other thoughts. He would win!

Then, Instructor Zhang Yu’s message came again: "No excuses for running away. If you lose, so be it. It’s not a big deal."

Chu He smiled slightly and immediately replied: "Don’t worry. As a student of Instructor Zhang, I have my principles. I will fight him properly. Besides, such an opponent is hard to find. Instructor, if you want to make some money, bet on me."

"Hmm, I admire your confidence. We’ll see when Luo Xuyu arrives. I’ve already sent him a message; I only like winning his spirit stones."

Just as they were talking, they saw a light boat gliding over, carried by a beam of light, moving very swiftly.

Luo Xuyu and two instructors stood on it. Seeing Zhang Yu and the others riding the flying cloud, he spat and accelerated, quickly overtaking them and disappearing into the distance.

"Hey, Instructor Luo, where are you flying to? You’ve gone past the entrance. It’s right here," Zhang Yu waved and shouted.

Chu He covered his mouth: These two are really like cats and dogs; they can’t be peaceful when they meet.

Spirit Cloud Peak is more graceful than Spirit Pavilion Peak. Above the halfway point, it is covered in auspicious clouds and mist.

According to Instructor Zhang Yu, these clouds may look harmless, but they conceal magical arrays. If one enters recklessly and triggers the array, even a Xiantian realm expert could be severely injured or even killed.

The Mien Chou Platform is on the west side of the peak. At the entrance to the array, two Xiantian realm disciples are guarding, and behind the entrance is a black stone staircase. After the black stone staircase, a square can be seen, with a square platform in the middle.

The arrangement around the square, besides the protective array, is very similar to the stands of a soccer stadium from his previous life, ensuring no one’s view is blocked from any position.

This... Is it for resolving grudges or for a stage? Chu He suddenly had a strange feeling.

However, what followed confirmed Chu He’s suspicion:

At the entrance to the square, someone was selling tickets. People who came to watch seemed to have received information from somewhere, and they kept coming, with all sorts of people.

Suddenly, the Jade Puppet received a message, and Chu He was stunned: It was the odds. The detailed information about the two of them was sent through the Jade Puppet, along with the odds.

Seeing the odds, Chu He immediately got angry. He was at 10 to 1, while his opponent was at 7 to 10. Anyone would be annoyed by such obvious lack of confidence. He thought for a moment, then handed 300 medium-grade spirit stones to Instructor Zhang Yu, asking him to bet on his win.

Either win big or lose big.

In addition to his private bet with Luo Xuyu, Instructor Zhang Yu, including Chu He’s bet, placed about seven to eight high-grade spirit stones, showing his generosity.

Luo Xuyu sneered: "Looks like you want to make a big win. Be careful, you might sink and have nowhere to cry."

Zhang Yu shrugged, ignoring him, and went to handle the additional bets for Zhang Longao and others.

Soon, the seats were filled with people, many of whom came to place bets, but more came to observe.

After all, the Great Elder in Qing Ling Mountain is a True Lord-level figure, second only to the founder of the sect. Disciples trained by a Yuan Ying True Lord are naturally different, high and mighty. For lower or same-level disciples, every detail of a personal disciple like Zhang Longao’s combat is almost like a living textbook. So, spending some money on tickets is completely worth it.

At the signal of the presiding instructor, Chu He and Zhang Longao went up to the platform.

The platform is made of green stone, specially refined and enhanced with earth-elemental arrays, making it difficult for even a Xiantian realm expert to cause significant damage. For someone at Chu He’s level, using all his strength on it would be fine.

Each of them also received a high-grade substitute charm.

The substitute charm, as its name suggests, acts as a substitute: When activated, it can immediately release the stored power, either as a beam of light or a clone to block the enemy’s attack.

At the high-grade level, the clone can withstand a full attack from a mid-Xiantian realm cultivator, and even an unintentional move from a high-Xiantian realm cultivator.

The substitute charm has two significant advantages:

First, the user’s cultivation level doesn’t need to be high; a Qi Condensation Realm cultivator can use it without any obstacles.

Second, the spell is quick to cast. The user only needs to leave a thread of consciousness in the charm, and activating it is just a thought. If the user is entangled with the enemy and can’t spare a moment, a thought will immediately create a beam of light or a clone to block the attack.

Giving such charms to Chu He and the others indicates that they don’t want any major incidents and hope to resolve the grudge perfectly.

Of course, these charms are not free; they need to be paid for.

Then came the official formalities before the battle, various instructions, and prohibited actions during the duel, such as using poison techniques. After about half an hour, they were finally ready to start.

Zhang Longao was originally energetic, but seeing Chu He yawning and dozing off, his anger couldn’t be contained. However, the presiding instructor was still talking, so the anger simmered in his heart, gradually growing.

Finally, at the presiding instructor’s signal, the battle between the inner and outer disciples began.

From the start, the audience outside burst into cheers, which, though reduced by the nearby array, were still clearly heard by Chu He: "Zhang Longao! Zhang Longao!"