It was as if he heard the funniest joke in the world, the burly man clutching his belly and bursting into laughter, vigorously slapping his thigh: "My goodness, I thought I was dealing with the young one, came the old one, but turns out I dealt with the young one, and here's an even younger!"
"Hahaha... with just you, you want to beat me, you want me to apologize?"
The Divine Sense of a Qi Cultivation Stage cultivator isn't strong enough to accurately judge the opponent's cultivation. But the burly man already felt that Lu Qian's cultivation was much weaker than his own.
Having laughed enough, he reached out and grabbed the exaggerated giant sword again: "I'll teach you a lesson, in a while you kneel and beg grandpa for forgiveness, I promise not to break your limbs, how about that?"
The crowd began to buzz, Jiang Qingfeng heard the mortal servant shouting loudly among them: "Bettings open! Bettings open! The ringmaster at odds of 1.1 to 1, challenger at 10 to 1! Bets start at ten Spirit Stones, maximum no more than one hundred!"
A cultivator sneered: "Setting a cap this time, betting on the ringmaster, at most you win ten Spirit Stones, really stingy."
The companion beside him shouted: "Giving you Spirit Stones, and you complain it's not enough? Be glad you got any, c'mon, c'mon, I bet one hundred on the ringmaster to win!"
Jiang Qingfeng's anger surged, wishing to strike them with a sword. Jiang Baitao couldn't quite understand, only knowing Lu Qian was about to fight, urgently shouting: "My senior brother will win! My senior brother will definitely win!"
But her tender voice was drowned out by the betting clamor, not even causing a ripple.
Tan Hong, having taken an elixir, looked at the suddenly appearing Lu Qian with astonishment. Zhang Lemei clenched her hands, but her mouth was relentless: "With such a low cultivation, even Old Tan can't do it, what's the point in acting a hero? Better to admit defeat quickly."
Lu Qian stood in the field, the belittling voices around him were like a breeze brushing past a hill, leaving not a trace on his heart. When he stepped onto the ring, his eyes saw only the opponent.
Lu Qian was not someone acting rashly. Though the insult from the burly man ignited his fury, he remained full of rationality.
He knew where he was, recklessly attracting attention from numerous cultivators posed great danger to their situation. He also evaluated the power gap between himself and the opponent, knowing this battle was fraught with risk, with merely a ten percent chance of victory.
If there weren't Jiang Qingfeng and Jiang Baitao, Tan Hong and Zhang Lemei, he would definitely choose to endure. It's just a few words, what harm could it be?
A real man can endure what the world cannot, hence can achieve what others cannot!
But now, he's accompanied by Qingfeng Baitao, along with the reunited Tan Hong and Zhang Lemei. Can they exhibit the same rationality as him?
Such insults infuriate everyone, uniting them against a common enemy, this is an opportunity to restore their morale. If he chooses to swallow his anger now, this team will again fall apart, the hard-earned confidence Qingfeng placed in him will wither, and by then, he will have no chance to recover it.
The only choice is to fight!
This ring is large for mortals, but small for cultivators, with a magical artifact instantly reaching the opponent.
Facing this adversary, to win, he has but one chance, he must maximize his advantage.
Lu Qian looked askance at the burly man, saying contemptuously: "Having fought several rounds, you seem quite exhausted, don't you? If I win this way, your apology lacks sincerity. So, I'll give you half an hour to rest before winning against you, how about it?"
The burly man thought his ears had deceived him, his face instantly fell, anyone could hear the fury in his voice: "Alright, alright, a little puppy dares confront me so stubbornly. To deal with you, I won't need even half a cup of tea time! Need rest? I changed my mind, I'll twist your limbs into knots!"
A Late-Stage Qi Cultivation practitioner acting as referee lazily shouted below the ring: "Ring fights cannot endanger lives. When one side admits defeat, no further attacks are allowed. Falling off the ring counts as a loss. Got that?"
Lu Qian remained indifferent, the burly man showed a cruel smile.
"Begin!"
The Starlight Needled flashed, Lu Qian went on the offensive!
A bright spot of silver light arrived in an instant, viciously aiming for the burly man's eyeball.
So fast! The burly man was taken aback too, he exhaled spiritual power, his elbow twisted, the giant sword, surprisingly agile despite its size, spun quickly, with a ding sound, knocking the silver needle away.
"Junior brother beware, that sword's peculiar!" Tan Hong suddenly shouted from below the ring.
Lu Qian nodded. Earlier he had watched the burly man duel Tan Hong, understanding the giant sword was both forceful and formidable. When the Starlight Needle collided with the sword, he felt its massive power.
But this burly man was only at Qi Cultivation Stage Seven, how could he wield it so nimbly? Surely the sword is a refined High-Tier Magical Artifact, light as a feather in the owner's hand, heavy as a thousand pounds when smashing towards an enemy.
He waved his hand, the silver needle flashed, approaching from a different angle, aiming at the burly man's back. The burly man snorted coldly, his sword swung again warding off the needle. Seizing this chance, the burly man reversed his defense to attack, letting the giant sword fly out, cleaving towards Lu Qian.
In an instant, Lu Qian felt his Niwan Palace throbbing, Divine Sense surged forth like a web, casting towards the airborne sword. Under the influence of Divine Sense, everything around him seemed unnaturally slow, the trajectory of the giant sword vividly appearing in his mind.
With split-second timing, Lu Qian sidestepped, amidst the gasps of the spectators, the giant sword nearly slashed past the tip of his nose. Without a glance, he performed a spell, the Starlight Needle flashed, attacking the burly man's throat.
"Good!" Jiang Qingfeng cheered.
Yet the burly man sneered coldly, changing the spell in his hand, disconnecting his control over the sword! The next moment, his defensive spiritual artifact from his waist trembled, a Defensive Light Shield rose before him, deflecting the needle.
And as the needle bounced away, the burly man dissolved the shield, changed his spell again, regaining control over the giant sword. The sword flipped horizontally, drawing an arc, coming for Lu Qian once more.
The field erupted in astonishment!
In the blink of an eye, Divine Sense broke control of the sword, connected to the defensive artifact, then disconnected from the artifact, reconnected the sword. The burly man's manipulation of Divine Sense almost transcended the Mid-Stage Qi Cultivation barriers, nearly achieving the simultaneous wielding of two magical artifacts.
Tan Hong gritted his teeth, it was this move again. Initially, he and the burly man were evenly matched, but after this move, the rhythm was entirely controlled by the burly man, leading to his defeat.
Jiang Qingfeng shouted loudly: "Junior brother!"
The burly man laughed with smugness, at this moment the silver needle was flicked high, with Lu Qian having no defense in front, he could only take the sword head-on. So far, which Mid-Stage Qi Cultivation practitioner can counter this move?
Apology? A mere joke, just let it end.
The sneering gaze of the burly man turned to Lu Qian, expecting to see him in panic. Yet he only saw a pair of calm, unfathomable eyes.
His heart involuntarily skipped a beat.
In the next moment, spiritual light flickered in front of Lu Qian, with an enormous clang, a shield blocked the giant sword!