213: Chapter 213 I Must Vote for Myself

"First-tier Saber Intent... you're passable."

Nie Wen said as he looked at Xie Chen, whom he held by the throat.

Entering the Dao through killing intent and condensing a first-tier Saber Intent was barely acceptable.

However, to him, it was useless.

Xie Chen, on the other hand, looked at Nie Wen in disbelief; clearly, his strike should have connected.

Why did it miss?

He felt weak all over now; the moment Nie Wen grabbed him, the power in his body felt as if it had been sealed away.

"I... surren..."

His breath was cut short.

Or rather, Nie Wen simply snapped Xie Chen's neck, ending his life instantly.

Since he had challenged him, he had to pay the price.

Nie Wen tossed Xie Chen's corpse aside like trash.

Following that, his cold gaze swept over the crowd; most people didn't dare meet his eyes upon contact.

Nie Wen's gaze lingered on three people for a moment.

Lin Ming, Fu Xici, and Song Shu.

When these three met Nie Wen's eyes, they didn't shy away, simply staring back calmly.

"Hahahaha..."

Nie Wen laughed and walked off the stage.

As Nie Wen left the arena, someone quickly came up to carry Xie Chen's body away.

The first match had witnessed the death of a Lingtai Ninth Heaven cultivator.

"What a shame."

Sun Yiduo shook his head.

He had actually thought somewhat highly of this Xie Chen—to reach the Lingtai Ninth Heaven as a Loose Cultivator and comprehend first-tier Saber Intent was impressive, even if he was a bit old.

With a bit of hard work, there was still hope for him to reach the Spirit Treasury Realm.

He had intended to recruit Xie Chen, but he hadn't expected Nie Wen to kill him outright.

However, he only felt it was a slight pity; he had no other thoughts on the matter.

If he was dead, he was dead.

There were others to recruit; losing one Xie Chen didn't matter.

Not only Sun Yiduo thought this way, but the other three families felt the same.

Unlike Sun Yiduo, the other three families had only sent an Elder to attend today.

"I don't like this person very much," Yu Yaoqin said with a frown as she looked at Nie Wen.

"If you encounter him, Junior Sister, just surrender," Gong Hui said.

Given Yu Yaoqin's strength, she couldn't possibly be Nie Wen's match. Furthermore, considering the relationship between their two Sects, surrendering was the best option if she faced him.

"I understand," Yu Yaoqin nodded.

She also understood the gap between herself and Nie Wen. Currently, she was indeed no match for him; if they were in the same Realm, it would be hard to say who would win.

The second match was a fight between two Middle Stage Lingtai cultivators. After a fierce battle of dozens of rounds, one of them narrowly won by a single move.

Match after match, the passion of the crowd was ignited.

Cheers and discussions broke out continuously.

At the same time, one could place bets before a fight.

This was naturally established by the four great families. However, it was said that this betting wasn't originally started by them, but by a small merchant group that saw the opportunity.

After seeing the small merchant group make a massive profit, the four families jointly established their own Gambling House and forced the others out. This resulted in them monopolizing the gambling for the flame essence liquid competition at Yanyun Mountain.

"Senior Brother, your odds are the highest," Yu Yaoqin said.

Watching these matches had become a bit boring for Yu Yaoqin, so she studied the gambling table. The four families had specifically set up a bet for who would take first place.

Among them, Lin Ming's odds were the highest—referring specifically to the group of Lin Ming, Nie Wen, Fu Xici, and Song Shu.

Lin Ming had the highest odds among the four, likely due to his Realm. He was the only Middle Stage Lingtai cultivator among them, and although he had the strength to defeat a Lingtai Ninth Heaven cultivator...

The other three were no ordinary cultivators; they were all Prodigy Disciples from those three major Sects.

Therefore, they didn't think Lin Ming could take first place.

This was the consensus of most people.

"That's because they don't understand your Senior Brother's strength," Lin Ming laughed.

Perhaps he could make a fortune from this.

"Junior Sister, do you think Senior Brother can take first place?" Yu Yaoqin asked, looking at Su Lianxue.

"No problem," Su Lianxue nodded.

This so-called first place only depended on whether Lin Ming wanted to take it or not.

As long as Lin Ming wanted it, no one could stop him.

"See? Junior Sister still understands me best," Lin Ming nodded and said.

His own Junior Sister truly understood him.

"Let's go, this is getting a bit dull," Lin Ming said, standing up and stretching.

He wasn't scheduled to fight on the first day.

There was only one arena, meaning another match could only begin once one had ended.

There were over a hundred matches in the first round. Under the arrangement of the four families, this first round would take several days to complete.

Tickets for the Martial Arts Arena were sold daily, and one had to buy a new ticket for the second day.

Of course, one could choose to buy tickets for all the matches at once, but the price was somewhat expensive.

Even so, the Martial Arts Arena was packed every day.

It could only be said that the four families had turned this competition for flame essence liquid into quite a good business.

"Junior Brother isn't going to keep watching?" Xu Chuan asked, looking at Lin Ming.

"It's a bit tedious. I'll head back first," Lin Ming said.

Then, he left.

Gong Hui and Xu Chuan, however, did not leave.

"Let's go as well," Yu Yaoqin said to Su Lianxue.

She also found it a bit uninteresting. The fights between these people were far inferior to the matches between Spirit Platform Realm Disciples during the Sect Competition.

Besides, her match wasn't today either, so she might as well leave.

Su Lianxue shook her head slightly and left with her.

Gambling House.

Wooden plaques with these two words were hung outside several wooden huts outside the Martial Arts Arena. These huts were temporarily built by the four families to facilitate betting for other cultivators.

A pale-faced middle-aged man walked into the Gambling House alone.

"Dear guest, who would you like to bet on?"

The staff inside the Gambling House welcomed him warmly upon seeing someone enter.

"Yuanxu Mountain, Lin Ming," the middle-aged man said.

This middle-aged man was actually Lin Ming in disguise. The reason he didn't use his original appearance was for fear of raising suspicion, which would be detrimental to his future plans.

Therefore, he had changed his face.

"Does the guest want to bet on the first round of combat, or the probability of taking first place?" the person said quickly.

"First place. Twenty thousand Medium Grade essence stones."

Lin Ming directly threw out several Storage Pouches. These bags contained a total of twenty thousand Medium Grade essence stones.

"Twenty thousand Medium Grade essence stones?"