Chapter 55: Exchange Match
Chapter 55: Exchange Match
I smiled and shook my head. “I suggest you bet on Tianshou Academy. If Tianshou wins, your profit will be bigger.”
The man said disdainfully, “Tianshou has no hope at all. At best, they can fight it out with Songzhi Academy, the one that bottoms out every time. As for the other academies, I don’t think they even need to send more than three people to clean up that bunch of green rookies.”
I didn’t continue arguing with him and asked, “Can you tell me when and where the match starts?”
“You don’t even know that? It starts tomorrow, on Xi Lun Academy’s main square. I figure a lot of people will go claim spots tonight, or they won’t be able to squeeze in tomorrow. Xi Lun City hasn’t been this lively in a long time.”
“Thanks.”
I had no real interest in betting, but I was confident I could make Tianshou win this match. If Tianshou won, Zi Yan and the others would be in a better mood, and maybe I would have a chance.
“Brother, listen to me—bet on Feng Tong. The odds aren’t high, but it’s guaranteed money.”
I shook my head and squeezed into the crowd. Even though there were many people, with my cultivation it was easy to press through. I lowered my bamboo hat and asked the bookmaker, “Do you accept physical goods?”
The bookmaker was collecting wagers from the people around him and answered absentmindedly, “Only gemstones.”
I took out a piece of chicken-blood stone from my clothes and said in a low voice, “I’m betting one million gold coins on Tianshou Academy to win.”
The noisy crowd abruptly went silent. Everyone stared at me. The bookmaker looked up in shock, eyes wide as he stared at the chicken-blood stone in my hand.
“What? Is it not worth that much?”
The bookmaker steadied himself, spoke briefly with the assistant beside him, then said to me, “I’m not skilled with gemstones. Please come with me.”
As he spoke, he turned and walked into the shop behind him. The crowd automatically opened a path for us. Everyone looked at me like I was an idiot. In their eyes, there was no way my bet on such a long shot could win.
After I followed the bookmaker inside, he politely gestured for me to sit to the side. “Please wait here. I’ll find someone to appraise your gemstone.”
I nodded. This was my last piece of chicken-blood stone. If I wasn’t sure, I wouldn’t have used it to bet. Zi Yan had said before that these gemstones were conservatively worth one million gold coins, so it should be true.
I waited a full half hour before the bookmaker brought two people in. One was very old, with snow-white hair and beard, yet his back was straight and he looked robust. The other was very young, probably around my age. He wore a white scholar’s robe, with handsome features and an upright, square-mouthed look. A decorative sword inlaid with gemstones hung at his waist—clearly the son of a wealthy family.
The bookmaker stood to the side and introduced them. “Sir, this is Master Sun Ze, Xi Lun City’s largest jeweler. And this is the gentleman who wants to wager with a gemstone.”
I stood and nodded to the elder.
Sun Ze said, “Sir, may I take a look at your gemstone?”
I handed the chicken-blood stone over. Sun Ze and the young man with him both had an unusual gleam burst from their eyes. I could clearly feel Sun Ze’s hand trembling. He took out a magnifying lens and held the chicken-blood stone toward the best light, examining it carefully. The young man leaned in beside him, his eyes turning dazed.
After a long while, Sun Ze exchanged a look with the bookmaker. The bookmaker gave him a questioning look. Sun Ze shook his head and turned to me.
“Sir, even though you are not from here, I absolutely cannot deceive you. As a jeweler, I have my own professional principles. I’ll tell you plainly: your flawless top-grade chicken-blood stone is worth over five million gold coins. If you only wager one million, you’re taking a loss.”
When the bookmaker heard that, his eyes almost fell out. “What? This little red stone is worth five million gold coins?”
Sun Ze gave him a somewhat disdainful look. “That’s only my conservative estimate. If it were auctioned publicly, it could be far more than that. This is a top-grade chicken-blood stone. Wearing it long-term has the effect of prolonging life and refreshing the mind. If an elderly person wears it, they can maintain abundant vigor and memory. It is absolutely a rare treasure, and there are no producing areas left anymore.”
He paused, then said, “I’ll take the liberty of calling you little brother. I advise you not to gamble with it. Sell it to me. I’ll pay the number I just said.”
Before I could answer, the young man beside him said, “Old Sun, let me have that gemstone. I’ll pay six million gold coins.”
I was secretly shocked. What kind of people were these, casually throwing out millions of gold coins for a gemstone?
Sun Ze turned to the young man with a bitter smile. “Are you trying to smash me to death with money? Sigh. It isn’t especially useful to you, but if I have it, I might be able to live ten more years.”
I sneered inwardly. Whether you lived ten more years had nothing to do with me.
I took the chicken-blood stone back from Sun Ze’s hands and said calmly, “Sorry. This gemstone is not for sale. It’s only for wagering.”
Then I looked at the bookmaker. “Are you accepting it or not? Since it’s worth five million gold coins, I’ll wager five million. Still on Tianshou Academy to win.”
The bookmaker’s forehead broke into sweat. He knew the chance of Tianshou winning was extremely small, but he had never taken a bet this large. For a moment, he didn’t know what to do.
The young man frowned and sized me up through my bamboo hat. He said to the bookmaker, “Since this brother insists, accept it.”
With the young man saying that, the bookmaker immediately relaxed. He respectfully took the chicken-blood stone from my hand. This young man’s status was clearly not ordinary.
I said coldly, “I don’t know whether Xi Lun City can afford to pay out eighty million gold coins, but I can tell you this: I am one of Tianshou Academy’s competitors. That doesn’t violate the wager, does it?”
A cold light flashed through the young man’s eyes. He said in surprise, “You’re a Tianshou competitor? I’ve never seen you before. But this isn’t against the rules. Feng Tong Academy also has people betting on their own academy—only their wagers are much smaller than yours.”
“Since you’re so confident, I’m happy to accommodate you. You think Tianshou can beat Feng Tong? Since you’re willing to donate for nothing, I’m happy to take it.”
I took the betting token from the bookmaker and said in a deep voice, “Tell your Xi Lun City Lord to prepare eighty million gold coins. If there’s no cash, items can be used instead.”
After that, I turned and left.
In truth, I didn’t need money that badly. This time, I simply thought it was fun. Since the Xi Lun City Lord wanted to use this chance to earn money, I would play along with him. Money was always better in excess.
…………
At dawn, I carried Mo Ming on my back and arrived at Xi Lun Academy’s gate. The sight startled me. Xi Lun Academy’s scale did not fall short compared to Tianshou. What shocked me was the sea of people in front of me—the main gate was completely blocked. The crowd was forcing itself inward like mad. Inside, there probably wasn’t room to stick a needle. If it weren’t for large numbers of soldiers maintaining order, there would have been chaos already.
I had just reached the gate when a loud, booming voice shouted, “Everyone, stop squeezing in! There is no open space left inside the academy! Please wait out here. We will announce the match situation at the first moment!”
This man’s voice was powerful and steady. Just hearing it, I knew his cultivation was deep. His words immediately caused an uproar among the crowd. Most people retreated in regret, but some still shoved inward stubbornly, holding onto hope.
I was about to see Zi Yan and Zi Xue. At a time like this, how could I retreat? I wrapped my body in Berserk Battle Energy. A faint yellow glow spread over me. The people in front were forced apart by the energy I released. Those to the side only felt their bodies get shoved hard for an instant before everything returned to normal, but I seized that opening and slipped into the crowd.
With Berserk Battle Energy clearing the way, I finally squeezed inside.
The first thing I saw after entering Xi Lun Academy was a massive raised platform—it should be the arena. I pushed to a spot about ten meters from the platform and stopped. With battle energy protecting me, the surrounding people couldn’t press into my body.
The match time was still early, but all the spectators were already excited, chattering nonstop. From their talk, I learned that today’s first match was Xi Lun Academy versus Tianshou Academy, and the second match was Songzhi Academy versus Feng Tong Academy. This schedule was fairly reasonable. I had assumed that as the host, Xi Lun Academy would try to arrange a match against Songzhi. Now it seemed this exchange was fairly impartial.
A man in a yellow robe walked onto the platform and bowed to the crowd. “Thank you all for coming to watch today. I am Xi Lun Academy’s Director of Foreign Affairs. First, please welcome our Xi Lun Academy Headmaster to say a few words.”
He invited an elder up from the VIP seating. The elder looked like a martial practitioner. He strode up the platform with the bearing of a dragon and tiger.
Someone beside me whispered to a companion, “That’s Xi Lun Academy’s Headmaster. I heard he has the strength of a mid-rank Sword Saint. He’s very famous among the continent’s martial artists, and he’s also an honorary vice chairman of the Dragon God Martial Arts Association.”
Sword Saint? That title interested me. After transforming, I didn’t know what realm I would count as. No matter what, I should be able to reach a high-rank Light Knight. With my high-rank Great Magister-level magic ability added on… heh, this old man might not be my match, since he didn’t have a divine dragon assisting him.
“Hello, everyone. First, on behalf of Xi Lun Academy, I welcome the other three academies to Xi Lun as our guests, and I welcome all of you to watch. This exchange match is held in the spirit of meeting friends through martial arts, sparring and sharing…”
This old man could really ramble. His speech lasted as long as eating a meal.
“…Finally, during the matches, please do not shout or make noise. Give the competitors a quiet environment. Thank you.”
Finally done. If he kept going, someone would probably throw eggs at him—if anyone had brought them.
The Director of Foreign Affairs stepped up again and shouted, “The Four Great Academies exchange match begins now! First match: Tianshou Academy versus Xi Lun Academy! Competitors, enter!”
With that line, I immediately tensed.
From the southern passage beside the arena, two teams came out at the same time, each with more than ten people. The front six were competitors. Behind them were the mages responsible for healing, substitute competitors, and the instructors leading the team.
I didn’t look at Xi Lun Academy at all. I stared fixedly at Tianshou Academy’s entrants. At the very front was Feng Wen, whom I hadn’t seen for many days. As a second-year student, he could actually participate in this tournament—clearly Tianshou’s teachers were focusing on training him. Feng Wen’s aura was much more steady and heavy than before, and there was a trace of weathered hardship on his face.
I looked past him—and my entire body shook.
Behind him was Zi Yan, the person I longed for day and night. Zi Yan wore a white mage robe today. Her cloak covered her head, but her unique holy aura let me recognize her at a glance. I stared at her. Other than her holy aura being even more concentrated, she hadn’t changed at all. She kept her head slightly lowered, so I could only see her chin. My body began trembling. Less than a year had passed, and I finally saw her here again.
I looked farther back, skipping over several higher-year competitors as I searched for Zi Xue’s figure.
The first person I spotted was Teacher Zhuang Jing. She was also one of the instructors leading the team, speaking with the Vice Principal about something. There was a little heaviness on her face, clearly not optimistic about today’s match. After the two instructors walked by, I finally saw Zi Xue.
Zi Xue wore a blue mage robe. Her cloak did not cover her head. Her small face was pale, and she was much thinner than when I left Tianshou. Seeing her like this, a fierce twisting pain tore through my heart. I understood—she had to be like this because of me. Zi Xue… I wasn’t worth it. I was sorry. My eyes were already damp.
After both sides bowed to the spectators and the judges, they returned to their respective resting seats. My gaze never left Zi Xue and Zi Yan. Zi Xue looked silent. From the moment she entered until now, she hadn’t said a single word to anyone. Zi Yan was a little better, speaking with the Vice Principal, but it was too noisy here. Even with my hearing, I couldn’t make out what they were saying.
After Xi Lun’s Director of Foreign Affairs announced the match began, Feng Wen was the first to represent Tianshou Academy. Xi Lun’s side sent out a sickly-looking boy. He was small and thin, wearing plain commoner clothes, holding a mage staff. From the surface, he looked like a gust of wind could blow him over. Four older mages took their positions at the four corners of the platform.
After the two saluted each other, the first bout began.
I ignored the intense shouting around me and only stared at the Zi sisters in the resting seat. I wanted so badly to rush over, hold them, and tell them how much I missed them, but now was not the right time.
Suddenly, a strong magic fluctuation surged in front of me. I turned and saw that Feng Wen’s bout with the sickly boy had already begun. The magic fluctuation came from the four older mages at the corners—the arena was separated from the surrounding spectators by their powerful defensive barrier.
Feng Wen did not relax his guard just because his opponent looked weak. He cautiously cast wind-element magic on himself. He shouted, “Be careful!”
His longsword swept diagonally, releasing a Vacuum Slash. A pale green energy shot like lightning at his opponent.
From that alone, I could tell Feng Wen’s cultivation had improved greatly. His control over Vacuum Slash was very good, and the attack area was wide, forcing the opponent to clash head-on. He was trying to probe his opponent’s strength first, then decide what method to use.
The thin boy raised his wooden mage staff in front of him and chanted quietly. A pale blue magic barrier appeared before him—a water-element defensive spell. It was similar in principle to the spell I used back then to block Lian Lu, only higher in level. This was a third-tier spell.
Vacuum Slash failed to break the defense and vanished amid the ripples on the barrier.
This thin boy’s magic was impressive. Without fuss, he blocked Feng Wen’s probe. He didn’t wait for Feng Wen to continue attacking and instead chanted, “Gentle water, gather into ice, transform into arrows, scatter upon the world—Ice Arrow Technique.”
It was a water-element variant spell.
White points of light gradually appeared across the field, gathering nonstop. Feng Wen wasn’t stupid. He knew this spell would be hard to withstand, so he moved swiftly and lunged straight at his opponent, his longsword carrying a streak of green light as it cleaved down.
The thin boy’s eyes suddenly lit up. He no longer looked frail. He shouted, and a layer of purple light burst from his body. I knew that wasn’t magic—it was a peculiar kind of battle energy. The boy spun sharply, and the purple-red battle energy met Feng Wen head-on.
With a boom, Feng Wen was forced back to his original spot. Their battle energy strength wasn’t far apart, but at that moment, the Ice Arrow Technique had already taken shape. Hundreds of ice spikes, each a full chi long, appeared in the air. Under the boy’s control, they accelerated violently and volleyed toward Feng Wen.
Feng Wen hurriedly swung his longsword, forming a green curtain of light before him as he struggled to block the spell. He looked somewhat battered.
Most spectators thought Feng Wen was done for, but I didn’t think so. From what I knew of Feng Wen, his greatest strengths were the fusion of battle energy and magic, and his speed. He was in the disadvantage mainly because he didn’t understand his opponent and got caught by the boy’s combined magic and battle energy attack. I believed Feng Wen still had a chance to turn it around.
The thin boy kept controlling the ice spikes with full effort while quietly chanting another spell. From his magic power and usage, he already had the cultivation of a low-rank Great Magister and could control magic below fifth tier. Judging by his style, he specialized in water-element magic. By focusing on one element, his casting was astonishing.
A smug smile appeared on the boy’s face. His second spell was clearly complete. Feng Wen had already stabilized his footing, and wind elements churned violently around him. The ice spikes were gradually losing their ability to threaten him.
The thin boy shouted, “Ice-Seal Extreme Freeze Wave!”
He gripped the mage staff with both hands and rapidly traced a blue six-pointed star before his chest. A blue beam nearly one meter in diameter shot straight out, covering Feng Wen.
My heart jolted. I knew this was a fifth-tier water-element spell that could rapidly freeze living beings. Feng Wen was still holding off the ice spikes and clearly had no room to dodge this killing blow. The thin boy’s face already carried a victorious smile. His Ice-Seal Extreme Freeze Wave hit Feng Wen cleanly, and a beautiful ice sculpture appeared on the field.
Just as everyone thought the thin boy had won, a green shadow suddenly flashed from behind the ice sculpture and shot like lightning to the boy’s front. The boy’s vision blurred—and a longsword was already at his throat. The swordsman was Feng Wen, who should have been frozen.
The thin boy’s hand slackened, and his mage staff clanged to the ground. His eyes widened in disbelief. “Th-this… how is this possible? You were clearly sealed by me!”
Feng Wen smiled faintly. “I admit your magic is strong, but what you sealed was only the afterimage I created with battle energy. I also won by a narrow margin. I used all my strength to have that afterimage absorb the magic you fired. I think there’s no need to continue, right?”
The thin boy sighed. “I was too careless. This time, you win.” With that, he turned and walked off the platform.
The spectators erupted in enthusiastic applause. They didn’t slight Feng Wen just because he wasn’t from Xi Lun Academy. The Vice Principal gave Feng Wen a thumbs-up. A proud smile appeared on Teacher Zhuang Jing’s face.
Feng Wen’s battle energy had advanced a lot—he could actually use an afterimage to block a fifth-tier offensive spell. Even if that relied partly on calculating distance, it still showed he had the ability to take risks. No wonder the Vice Principal brought him to compete this time.
Xi Lun’s Director of Foreign Affairs walked onto the platform and asked Feng Wen, “Can you continue competing?”
He showed no expression at all despite his academy’s competitor losing.
Feng Wen nodded, indicating he would continue.
Xi Lun Academy’s second competitor was a girl. She wore a green mage robe, clearly a wind-element mage. She looked very pretty, with a mischievous smile on her face.
Feng Wen stared at her in a daze. Don’t tell me this fool was going to fall for his opponent in the middle of a match.
The girl mage nodded to Feng Wen. “Hello. My name is Kai Lin. Please advise me.”
Feng Wen’s face reddened. He nodded back. “Ah… h-hello. My name is Feng Wen.” Before they even fought, he had already lost a bit. The power of a beauty was indeed great.
Kai Lin smiled sweetly. “Then I’ll begin. Free wind, heed my call—shatter space, tear it apart!”
As she chanted, the air currents on the platform instantly turned violent. Countless tiny wind blades surged toward Feng Wen.
In the moment Feng Wen hesitated, several parts of his clothing were silently sliced open by wind blades. He was startled and hurriedly raised his battle energy, a faint green glow appearing around him. Only then did he manage to block the wind blades.
Kai Lin giggled. “You look so silly. Gale turns into a dragon—a dragon spinning like a tornado. Awaken, Tornado Storm!”
My heart jumped. This girl mage’s spell application was far too strong. Her first spell was only meant to stir up the wind elements in the air. The second chant was the real killing move. Her magic was nothing like her gentle smile—Tornado Storm was an extremely fierce move among fifth-tier wind spells. She opened with a major spell, clearly intending to finish Feng Wen quickly.
A small tornado appeared in front of her. She brought her hands together, then suddenly spread them apart. The tornado immediately surged toward Feng Wen.
Only now did Feng Wen fully come to his senses, but time no longer allowed him to use a powerful magic technique. Besides, his earlier bout had already drained a lot of stamina. Facing the onrushing tornado, Feng Wen began spinning at high speed, using his body as the axis in a drill-like posture as he charged straight into it.
That posture reminded me of our first clash—back then, it was precisely this drill-like attack that heavily injured me.
If Feng Wen were in peak condition and not distracted, I believed he could have resisted this spell. But his current state…
He really was going to lose.
Sure enough, the moment Feng Wen rushed into the tornado, he was caught by the violent wind elements and his body lost control. At the instant he was about to be flung, the Feng Wen inside the tornado suddenly burst with intense green light in his hand. A green streak shot out of the tornado, flying straight at Kai Lin.
Its speed could only be described as lightning.
Kai Lin went pale with fright. She was a pure mage and knew no martial skills. Against an attack of that level, she had no way to respond.
Just as the spectators thought Kai Lin was about to die, the green streak suddenly veered off and grazed past her cheek. With a clang, it struck the arena’s defensive barrier. Ripples spread across the barrier, and the four old mages maintaining it all tensed. Feng Wen’s full-force strike was indeed no small thing.
Feng Wen, after launching that final attack, was swept up by the tornado and slammed heavily into the barrier on the other side, then fell back onto the platform, ending up filthy and miserable.
After a long while, Feng Wen barely climbed back up. A thread of blood hung at the corner of his mouth. He smiled bitterly. “Miss Kai Lin, you win.”
An unusual glint flashed in Kai Lin’s eyes. She said softly, “You’re a good person.”
Feng Wen’s face reddened again. He looked at her deeply, then turned and walked off the platform.
Xi Lun’s Director of Foreign Affairs came up again and asked Kai Lin whether she would continue. Kai Lin bowed to the spectators and said loudly, “Everyone saw it just now. His last strike could have killed me, but he held back. I am very grateful to Senior Feng Wen. I think this bout should be judged a draw, so I have decided not to participate in the remaining matches.”
The spectators applauded fiercely—both for Feng Wen’s mercy toward a beauty and for Kai Lin’s elegant bearing. I laughed inwardly. Feng Wen, you brat—looks like you’re about to run into some romantic luck.
The matches that followed were still exciting. Both academies sent out their capable students, with wins and losses on both sides. The final bout was especially dramatic—it was almost a repeat of Kai Lin and Feng Wen, except Kai Lin was replaced by Zi Yan.
Zi Yan’s opponent was Xi Lun Academy’s ace and also their final competitor. Zi Yan’s peerless beauty shocked him even more than Kai Lin had shocked Feng Wen. He never brought out his true strength—more accurately, he didn’t resist at all. He was blasted off the platform by Zi Yan’s light-element magic.
I believed that after returning, both academies would strengthen their students’ psychological training, especially their resistance to beautiful women.
If you only looked at raw strength, Xi Lun was indeed stronger than Tianshou. They simply didn’t expect Feng Wen, this dark horse, to take down two of their strong fighters, and then Zi Yan—beauty and strength combined—coldly upset and eliminated them.
Tianshou’s competitors returned to their resting seat. Soon, the other two academies began their match.
After Songzhi and Feng Tong started fighting, I noticed that a new person had appeared in Tianshou Academy’s resting seat. It was the handsome young man I had met when placing my wager. Judging by his manner, he was clearly approaching Zi Yan. Sourness surged in my chest. I raised my battle energy, pushed through the crowd, and squeezed over. I only stopped when I was about twenty meters away. I focused my hearing and listened closely.
The handsome young man was speaking with the Vice Principal. His tone was very polite.
“Congratulations. Tianshou Academy has secured a place in the finals.”
The Vice Principal chuckled. “Just good luck. You’re too polite.”
The young man smiled. “Miss Zi Yan’s charm is truly great. She barely had to exert herself to win that crucial final bout. I truly admire her.”
Zi Yan said coldly, “You flatter me. My master already said it—we only had good luck. Xi Lun Academy’s strength is not weaker than ours.”
The young man did not retreat because of Zi Yan’s indifferent attitude. “Miss Zi Yan, yesterday a brother wagered that your Tianshou Academy would win, and I found it strange. But after seeing your outstanding performance today, I think he truly has a discerning eye. With Miss Zi Yan, it is not difficult for Tianshou to defeat Feng Tong.”
Zi Yan frowned, anger flickering. “Are you saying I won by relying on my looks?”
“I wouldn’t dare. If I said anything wrong, please don’t be angry. I only meant that the holy aura you emit is something we ordinary mortals would not dare offend. I had no other meaning. I wonder, after all matches end later, do you have time to let me fulfill my duty as host and invite you to a meal?”
Zi Yan looked at him coldly. “If you want to invite someone to a meal, why don’t you invite my master instead? Don’t waste your schemes. I’ve never been interested in pretty men.”
Hearing that, I was secretly delighted. After leaving me, Zi Yan’s proud, lofty feel had returned. She was still the same person who revered strength.
The young man’s expression shifted slightly. A powerful aura surged from his body as he said, “Miss Zi Yan, I am not a pretty man. When I have the chance, I will prove it to you. Since you are unwilling to accept the invitation, I will take my leave first. Looks like I really need to prepare—otherwise, if you win tomorrow, we will suffer a massive loss.”
From his aura alone, his cultivation was not weak. So he had been hiding his strength all along. He gave me an unfathomable feeling.
Zi Yan asked strangely, “Why would we winning make you lose?”