142: Chapter 142: Gambling is fine, but we need to increase the stakes.

Sun Yue was so angry his eyes were bloodshot, his fists tightly clenched, and his teeth grinding noisily.

He never expected that the kid he thought was weak, easily bullied, and at his mercy would actually be so damn sharp.

Not only did he see through their plans, but he even turned the tables and used the very same trick against them.

What infuriated them even more was that the humiliation this guy inflicted on them made theirs look insignificant by comparison!

At this moment, he could barely contain his urge to strike.

But he knew that if he attacked first, even if he crippled Xiao Yuan, he... wouldn't be able to leave Dan Peak alive!

Don't forget, this was Dan Peak! Yun Qingwan was still here!

With reason on his side, he wouldn't be afraid, but without reason... hehe... with a formidable figure like Yun Qingwan present, even his grandfather wouldn't be able to protect him!

Seeing this, the coldness in Xiao Yuan's eyes deepened slightly; he was just waiting for Chen Yin and Sun Yue to make a move.

However, to his surprise, although Sun Yue's face was livid and his knuckles cracked loudly as he clenched his fists,

he quickly took a deep breath, suppressed his anger, and a look of ruthless malice flashed in his eyes.

"Xiao Yuan, good... good... good! You are very good!"

He repeated "good" three times, his gaze becoming extremely sinister at that moment, while a playful, cruel smile appeared on his face.

He gave Xiao Yuan a mocking smile and said, "When it comes to glib talk, I, Sun, admit I cannot match you. How about... we play for bigger stakes..."

Saying this, without waiting for Xiao Yuan to reply, he pointed at Chen Yin. "Junior Brother Chen is a Rank-One Peak Alchemist preparing to take the Rank-Two exam. Aren't you here to learn Alchemy? Do you dare to make a bet with him?"

Hearing this, Chen Yin's eyes darted; clearly, he understood the meaning behind Sun Yue's words, and a cold glimmer appeared in his eyes as well.

"Senior Brother Sun is right! How about we bet on who can pass the Rank-Two Alchemist assessment? Whoever loses will sever one of his own arms!"

As soon as these words were uttered, the entire crowd erupted in an uproar!

"Holy shit! Isn't that way too ruthless?!"

"Sever an arm? Won't his path of cultivation be ruined?!"

"Xiao Yuan just got here to learn Alchemy and isn't even an apprentice, yet he's supposed to compete with Chen Yin in a Rank-Two assessment?!"

The surrounding Disciples were all stunned, and the way they looked at Chen Yin and Sun Yue changed.

Wasn't this blatantly fucking bullying someone?

Xiao Yuan comes from the Outer Sect and has never even touched Alchemy, yet you're asking him to compete in a Rank-Two assessment against a Rank-One Peak Alchemist?

And even bet an arm on it?

This is way too shameless!

Someone muttered softly, "How is this a bet? They just want to push Xiao Yuan to his death..."

"Tell me about it, so treacherous."

"If Xiao Yuan agrees, he's courting death. If he doesn't agree, they'll definitely call him a coward..."

Although these people envied Xiao Yuan in their hearts, few were as shameless and harboring such deep malice toward Xiao Yuan as Chen Yin and Sun Yue.

Even they felt at this moment that Sun Yue and Chen Yin were a bit too shameless and despicable!

Hearing these discussions, Sun Yue's expression remained unchanged as he just stared coldly at Xiao Yuan.

"What? Don't dare?" He sneered. "Weren't you quite the talker just now? Scared now?"

Chen Yin chimed in from the side, "Xiao Yuan, if you don't dare, that's fine too. Kneel down, kowtow three times to us, call us Grandfather, and we'll let this matter drop."

At this moment, a trace of smugness flashed across their faces.

Just moments ago, they were almost driven crazy by Xiao Yuan's retorts. Now, by throwing away all self-respect, they seemed to have reclaimed the upper hand.

Now, it was up to Xiao Yuan to choose: either obediently let himself be humiliated, or get driven to desperation and strike at them!

Although everyone looked down on the duo's behavior, they turned their eyes toward Xiao Yuan, concern involuntarily surfacing on their faces.

If Xiao Yuan really agreed, he would be walking straight into their trap. Even if his Master was Yun Qingwan, his fate would likely be tragic!

Xiao Yuan, however, stood there, looking at Chen Yin and then at Sun Yue with a faint smile, before speaking unhurriedly:

"Bet?"

Looking at Chen Yin and Sun Yue mockingly, he shrugged and said, "Sure, I'll bet."

The moment his words fell, the whole audience went wild!

"Is he crazy?!"

"He's really betting?!"

"Isn't this courting death?!"

Everyone thought they had misheard, and even more so believed Xiao Yuan had gone mad. This was blatantly a guaranteed losing bet, yet he actually dared to agree—wasn't he just courting death?!

The crowd couldn't help but look at Xiao Yuan with pity, shaking their heads.

Chen Yin and Sun Yue were also stunned; they never expected Xiao Yuan would actually dare to agree.

But immediately afterward, wild joy flashed in their eyes.

"Good! You agreed to this yourself!" Chen Yin shouted impatiently, terrified that Xiao Yuan might go back on his word.

Naturally, he wouldn't miss such a golden opportunity. Even if he couldn't kill Xiao Yuan, destroying Xiao Yuan's cultivation path would still relieve the deep hatred in his heart.

However, just as he spoke, Xiao Yuan raised a hand, gesturing for him not to rush.

"Hold on, I haven't finished speaking yet."

Chen Yin froze. "What? Want to back out?"

Xiao Yuan shook his head, a playful smile on his face. "Back out? No, I just think... your stakes are too small."

"What?!"

Everyone around was dumbfounded.

The stakes are too small? Severing an arm isn't ruthless enough?

Xiao Yuan looked at Chen Yin and said unhurriedly, "Senior Brother Chen, as a Rank-One Peak Alchemist, betting on a Rank-Two assessment against someone like me who isn't even an apprentice—to be honest, it's pretty shameless."

Although he agreed to the bet, he still had to crush Chen Yin's dignity beneath his feet and stomp on it a few times.

Chen Yin's expression froze, turning green and red by turns. Xiao Yuan was pointing at his nose and calling him shameless right to his face!

He opened his mouth to refute, but found he didn't know how to fire back, leaving his face burning hot with embarrassment.

Seeing him like this, the mockery on Xiao Yuan's face deepened as he continued, "However, I'm a generous person, so I won't argue with you. But as for these stakes—"

He paused, his smile widening. "We need to raise them."

Chen Yin and Sun Yue exchanged a glance, both somewhat bewildered. They thought Xiao Yuan was saying so much because he wanted to back down, but who knew this guy wouldn't stop until he shocked everyone to death!

"Raise them?" Chen Yin frowned. "How do you want to raise them?"

Sometimes he couldn't understand what Xiao Yuan was trying to do. Someone courting death and complaining he wasn't dying thoroughly enough—how ridiculous!

Xiao Yuan held up one finger. "First, in our bet on the Rank-Two assessment, whoever loses will sever both of his arms."

"Hiss—" The crowd gasped in shock.

Both arms?! That's way too ruthless!

Chen Yin's face changed as he looked at Xiao Yuan in astonishment, his mind momentarily unable to process it.

He thought he was ruthless enough, but he didn't expect this kid to be even more ruthless to himself. And this was only the first condition—damn it, this was a massive raise!

Thinking that he would soon be able to take revenge, he smiled coldly. "Both arms then! You think I'm afraid of you?"

Since Xiao Yuan wanted to court death, why shouldn't he oblige him!

The corners of Xiao Yuan's lips curled up slightly as he nodded. One had taken the bait, so onto the second. He then turned his gaze toward Sun Yue.

"Second..."

Staring at Sun Yue, he said word by word, "After the bet ends, I want to fight a match in the Life-and-Death Arena against Senior Brother Sun. The kind where life and death are left to fate..."

Dead silence fell over the entire scene!

Everyone's eyes widened in disbelief as they stared at Xiao Yuan.

He wants to fight Sun Yue in the Life-and-Death Arena?!