Why are you so stubborn? You know what, let's not fight. How about we make a bet?
In a short while, some smart business-minded disciples began to make bets on the duel outcome.
"Hey, buddies! We'll make a bet. Who wants to join us? Come here and have a look! If you bet on
Austin's win, the odds will be 1:5."
Seeing someone had taken the lead in bet, some other disciples followed suit. And in a short moment,
four or five gambling stalls had already been set up, each offering a different price for a bet.
One of these stalls even provided odds of 1:10. It was the highest one yet.
Most disciples didn't think Austin would win.
"I bet on Austin's' win! My stake is a thousand vital energy crystals."
Suddenly, a woman's voice rang out in front of the gambling stall which was providing odds of 1:10.
Hearing what she was saying, the nearby disciples came closer to watch.
A young woman with a slim frame and beautiful looks laid out a thousand vital energy crystals on the
gambling stall.
As soon as she had showed up, numerous disciples had glued their eyes on her slim body and
swallowed hard.
"Denali!"
a new disciple immediately recognized her and cried out.
A man standing not far away looked very unhappy when he saw what was happening. This man was
nobody else, but Matias.
"I bet on Austin's win too. My stake is eight hundred vital energy crystals."
With that, another young woman laid out eight hundred vital energy crystals on the same gambling
stall. She had a curvy frame and a well-developed bosom.
Some outer disciples recognized Mindy immediately when she was laying out the eight hundred
crystals.
'Two pretty girls betting on Austin's win. What a lucky bastard he is!'
A lot of disciples were jealous to see that.
Just then, there was a sudden commotion in the crowd. The bystanders consciously parted to the
sides, leaving a passage in the middle.
Then Billy, garbed in a royal shade of green, came over into the arena, surrounded by a group of
youngsters.
With only his style of approach, it was easy to tip the odds in his favour. The outer and senior disciples
were praising him secretly.
He carried a long spear on his back, and there was something about him that resembled a spear too —
straight, rigid, concise, sharp and aggressive.
"Wow, Billy is really talented! Even only from his sharp eyes, you get the feeling that he has
comprehended some spear intents. It takes an insane amount of cultivation to integrate oneself with a
spear skill."
"Looks like Billy is qualified enough to easily challenge the top ten outer disciples. There's no doubt that
he will be the dark horse in the Top Ten Outer Disciple Challenge that will be held in the near future!"
Some insightful senior outer disciples immediately stood up and started discussing.
Billy came near the battle ring and looked around. With a neither humble nor arrogant look, he
obviously had the demeanour of a martial art master and looked confident in his approach.
Being noticed by so many people, he felt very proud.
'If Austin didn't provoke my man as he had just been promoted to outer disciple, I wouldn't have had
the opportunity to show off my skills in front of so many disciples.' Billy rejoiced secretly.
However, an hour elapsed and Austin still didn't show up.
"What's wrong? Why hasn't Austin arrived yet?"
"Maybe he is scared and is hiding somewhere, too afraid to fight."
The crowd was growing restless.
"Where's Austin? Why hasn't he come yet?"
Billy asked a young man beside him impatiently.
"The guy who was sent to monitor Austin said that he hasn't come out from his room since this
morning. And he hasn't left his room the past three days as well. Maybe he is too frightened to duel
with you, and is hiding somewhere!" the young man answered.
'Hiding from the fight?'
Billy was surprised. Then a skeptical look appeared on his face. 'Has the once best outer disciple fallen
down to such a low degree?' he wondered.
"Austin is coming!"
Someone suddenly shouted from the outermost layer of the crowd.
Not far away, Austin and Evan were coming the way of the arena.
Austin garbed a white robe, and he looked very calm, scary calm. He was acting as if he was not
coming for a duel, but for a dinner party.
Compared to Billy, he looked as calm and leisurely as a hermit, who was totally untroubled by strife.
'Eh?'
The disciples were puzzled and couldn't help but think about his demeanor.
'It's strange! Why is Austin so calm? Doesn't he care about the duel with Billy at all?
He is two levels below Billy in vital energy cultivation realm. How could he be so confident that he is
going to win the battle?'
"Austin, you finally come!"
Billy cast his eyes on Austin when the latter walked toward him slowly.
Austin looked at Billy lightly too.
Billy breathed calmly and evenly. His eyes were filled with a frightening coldness and killing intent.
The long spear on his back was reflecting the sunshine like a snake that was ready to devour its prey
at any time.
After gazing at him for a short moment, Billy walked into the battle ring proudly with the long spear on
his back. Austin followed suit with a calm step.
Inside the ring, the two rivals stood about ten meters apart and looked into each other's eyes.
Outside, several people were standing in the open ground which was left by the disciples around them,
looking very struck from the impending fight.
In the middle of them was a tall and straight young man in white with a casual and elegant aura around
him. He was shaking a fan whose frame was made of white jade, and had already aroused the
attentions of several female disciples.
Someone recognized him suddenly.
"Look! Marvin is here too! He ranks five among the outer disciples."
The young man fanning himself was actually Marvin and behind him, stood a hot girl with an arrogant
look on her face. It was none other than Lara.
She looked at Austin with a resentful stare.
"How dare this stupid jerk challenge Billy to a duel? He is dicing with death, I tell you! Marvin, I really
hope you will teach this stupid jerk a lesson for me!" she said
Marvin looked at Austin emotionlessly.
"Lara, calm down. Austin is going to pay with his blood for offending me sooner or later."
Just then, they heard someone shouting," Don't stand here you fool! Get out of my way!"
A dozens outer disciples were knocked to the ground and rolled aside, and the space they had left
formed a passage.
Through the passage, a sturdy man arrived near the arena.
He was Andrew, who ranked fourth among the outer disciples.
An outer disciple cried his name out in surprise.
It seemed that the 'once best outer disciple' was still attractive to people. Even outer disciples as
powerful as Andrew had arrived to watch the battle.
Andrew was a strong man, still young in age. With big eyes, thick whiskers and already passing two
meters in height, he was a mighty figure to behold!
He was wearing a short casual suit and carried a broad knife on his shoulder. From his look, one could
sense a hint of murderous will.
"Andrew!"
Some disciples who had always been following Andrew walked over to him and stood beside him
proudly.
Marvin was surprised too. He looked at Andrew and muttered," What is he doing here?"
There were quite a few people standing under a row of big trees relatively far away from the battle ring.
Some outer disciples with sharp eyes had figured out that they were inner disciples.
Inside the battle ring, like a spear fresh out of its sheath and thirsty for battle, Billy stared at Austin with
powerful intent.
"Austin, let's start!"
He patted the spear rod on his back, and like it already knew what its master wanted, the spear jumped
out.
Billy reached out and grabbed the spear in his right hand. He raised it horizontally, and pointed it
straight at Austin.
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda