193: Chapter 193 The debt of gratitude repaid! The key to the Dragon Tomb!

Lin Qi ignored the pile of sludge in the deep pit behind him and walked straight toward the Event Management Center of Cloud Top Palace.

There, the chairman of the Tournament Organizing Committee, the representative of Tianji Pavilion, and Li Qingcang, the head of the Kyoto Li Family, all wore expressions more unsightly than the last.

"Contestant Lin Qi, do you... do you have some business? The award ceremony is about to restart."

The chairman of the organizing committee squeezed out a smile that looked worse than a crying face as he stepped forward to greet him.

Lin Qi did not stop his pace.

He walked directly in front of the group, his calm gaze sweeping over everyone before finally landing on Li Qingcang's ashen face.

"You're welching on your debt."

He wasn't questioning them; he was simply stating a fact.

The corner of Li Qingcang's eye twitched violently as he forced words through his teeth: "Lin Qi, don't go making baseless accusations! The match results just came out; clearing the bets takes time!"

"Is that so?"

Lin Qi raised his hand, and a light screen expanded out of thin air.

On the light screen was the very freezing order extracted from Li Pojun's communicator, stamped with Li Qingcang's electronic seal.

[Authorization Order: Per the application of the Kyoto Li Family, freeze all betting funds of user 'Lin Qi' in Tianji Pavilion platform account number 7777777. Reason: Suspicion of illegal match manipulation. Authorizer: Li Qingcang.]

The evidence was irrefutable.

The atmosphere in the entire management center instantly dropped to the freezing point.

Cold sweat broke out on the forehead of the Tianji Pavilion representative. He hurriedly took a step forward and bowed to Lin Qi.

"A misunderstanding! This is absolutely a misunderstanding! Patriarch Li only applied; we at Tianji Pavilion are still reviewing it and definitely haven't actually frozen your funds!"

"Oh? Then can I withdraw them now?"

Lin Qi looked at him, his tone indifferent.

"Of course! Of course you can! I will handle the unfreezing and settlement for you immediately!"

The Tianji Pavilion representative bowed and scraped, taking out his terminal and operating it with trembling hands.

He didn't dare not to.

The youth before him had just used his fists to knock an S-rank powerhouse out of the sky.

Physically crushing Tianji Pavilion's encrypted equipment was like crushing a walnut to him.

Who would dare say the word 'no' in front of him?

Li Qingcang's face had turned from ashen to a deep purple.

He stared fixedly at Lin Qi, the killing intent in his eyes almost solidifying.

But there was nothing he could do.

Making a move here would be making an enemy of the entire Federation.

He could only watch helplessly as the Tianji Pavilion representative transferred a massive sum of betting money—enough to cripple the Li Family's finances—into Lin Qi's designated account.

"Beep!"

In a corner of the spectator stands, Zhang Wei's personal terminal let out a crisp notification sound.

He subconsciously opened it and took a look.

Then, his breathing stopped.

[Your account ending in 6688 has received a transfer: 688,000,000,000 Federation Credits.]

One, two, three, four...

Zhang Wei used his fingers to count that long string of zeros.

Six hundred and eighty-eight billion!

"Gulp..."

A strange sound came from the fat man's throat, his eyes rolled back, and his body went limp.

With a "thud."

He slid straight off his chair and fainted on the spot.

Old Mo was startled and quickly knelt down to pinch his philtrum.

"Hey! Fatty! Wake up! It's just a few hundred million, isn't it? Is this really necessary!"

Inside the management center, Lin Qi was deaf to the commotion outside.

The money had arrived.

Next was the champion's reward.

The committee chairman no longer dared to be negligent, personally carrying a box made of spatial metal and respectfully handing it to Lin Qi.

"Champion Lin Qi, these are all your rewards for this tournament. Please inspect them."

Lin Qi opened the box.

Inside were various shimmering potions, equipment, and rare Materials.

But he only took two things.

One was an herb that was pure white all over, its leaves seemingly flowing with starlight, emitting a dense aura of life.

[nine-turn soul resuscitation herb].

Legend had it that as long as a person still had a single breath left, this sacred healing medicine could pull them back from the gates of hell.

The other item was a bronze key with an ancient design.

Carved onto the key was a lifelike coiled dragon pattern, and a sense of ancient vicissitudes washed over him.

[Dragon Tomb Key].

According to legend, it was the burial ground of the ancient Dragon Clan and the only token to open that mobile sub-dimension.

Having obtained what he wanted, Lin Qi closed the box without sparing a glance at the remaining rewards.

"Donate the rest to the families of the soldiers who died on the Abyss Battlefield."

He dropped those words and turned to leave.

He left the committee chairman and a group of staff members stunned in place, staring at each other in bewilderment.

Fame and fortune seemed to be worthless to him.

Lin Qi did not linger in anyone's sight.

He quickly found Instructor Su Qing and Old Mo, who were taking care of Zhang Wei.

"Seven Bro! You're so damn awesome! We're rich! I feel like I just died, but then I didn't..."

Zhang Wei, who had just been pinched awake by Old Mo, lunged forward incoherently upon seeing Lin Qi.

Lin Qi ignored him directly.

He walked up to Instructor Su Qing.

Under Instructor Su Qing's cold yet slightly confused gaze, Lin Qi handed the [nine-turn soul resuscitation herb] to her.

"For you."

As Instructor Su Qing looked at the sacred medicine in her hand, her eternally frozen, beautiful face showed a clear look of astonishment for the first time.

She naturally recognized what this was.

This was a sacred medicine that was priceless and sought after by countless powerhouses, with a value exceeding ten billion.

This herb was perhaps the only hope for curing the 'Law Curse' on her body.

"Why?"

She looked up at Lin Qi, her voice somewhat dry.

Lin Qi's expression was very calm, as if he had only given away something insignificant.

"Back at the school, you helped me a few times. The resources of the Special Training Class, the protection against Ying Wan. This medicine counts as me repaying that favor."

He had always remembered.

When he was still a 'Blank Slate' with all attributes at 5, at his weakest and most helpless, it was this woman who gave him basic protection and resources.

He, Lin Qi, did not owe favors.

Instructor Su Qing tightened her grip on the sacred medicine; the moist herb carried a hint of coolness, but something in the depths of her heart was melting.

She looked at the youth before her with an incredibly complex gaze.

She wanted to say something but didn't know where to start.

A thousand words finally converged into a single sentence.

"Thank you."

Lin Qi nodded, accepting the thanks frankly.

Then, he took out the [Dragon Tomb Key].

He looked down at the ferocious dragon pattern on the key, able to feel a vague calling from the unknown.

After the Prototype Golden Body comes the true Indestructible Golden Body.

And the Opportunity for advancement lay in the place this key pointed toward.

Lin Qi looked up, his gaze passing Instructor Su Qing to look at the distant horizon.

It was as if he were speaking to Instructor Su Qing, yet also as if he were declaring it to himself.

"What I owed you is repaid."

"Next, I'm going to take what truly belongs to me."