214: Chapter 214 It's my turn to perform.

The man stood up and looked Lin Ming up and down.

Twenty thousand Medium Grade essence stones was indeed a large sum, not something just anyone could produce.

"What? Can you not afford to take these twenty thousand Medium Grade essence stones?"

Lin Ming chuckled.

"You must be joking, guest. No matter how many there are, we can handle it."

The man said hurriedly.

They could certainly handle twenty thousand Medium Grade essence stones; besides, Lin Ming wasn't the first person to place a large bet.

For instance, Nie Wen of the Shangji Sect had come to them two days ago to place a bet, directly wagering twenty-five thousand Medium Grade essence stones on himself to take the top spot.

Fu Xici of the Yongzhen Sect and Song Shu of the Canghai Sword Pavilion had also placed bets of over ten thousand Medium Grade essence stones, both wagering on their own victories to make a profit.

However, only Lin Ming of Yuanxu Mountain had never placed a bet on himself.

Perhaps it was a lack of self-confidence that kept him from betting on himself.

They also believed that among these four, Lin Ming had the lowest probability of taking the top spot, and therefore, his odds were the highest.

Now, instead of waiting for Lin Ming to come and bet on himself, they had someone else betting twenty thousand Medium Grade essence stones on him.

This was indeed somewhat unexpected.

But unexpected or not, if someone wanted to give them money, they had no reason not to accept it.

"Lin Ming of Yuanxu Mountain, to take the top spot, a bet of twenty thousand Medium Grade essence stones. Is that correct, guest?"

After counting the essence stones and confirming the amount, the man asked once more.

"Correct."

Lin Ming said in a deep voice.

The man then produced two vouchers and signed them; Lin Ming also signed and sealed them, leaving behind a pseudonym.

Lin Ming kept one voucher for himself, and the man also gave him a token from the gambling house.

These two items were the proof of the bet; if either was lost, the gambling house would not honor it, so they had to be kept safely.

After finishing all this, Lin Ming left immediately.

Shortly after Lin Ming left, Su Lianxue and Yu Yaoqin appeared there; their purpose was also to place bets.

The two of them casually entered a room.

They were greeted by an elderly man.

"Guests, what kind of service do you require?"

The old man said with a smile upon seeing them.

"A bet of ten thousand Medium Grade essence stones on Lin Ming of Yuanxu Mountain to take the top spot."

Su Lianxue directly threw out ten thousand Medium Grade essence stones to bet on Lin Ming's victory.

"Ten thousand Medium Grade essence stones? Is that necessary?"

Yu Yaoqin was shocked to see Su Lianxue throw out ten thousand Medium Grade essence stones.

On one hand, she was surprised Su Lianxue even had ten thousand Medium Grade essence stones; she herself didn't have that many.

She guessed these ten thousand Medium Grade essence stones must have been bestowed by Master Yun Hua.

Little did she know, these ten thousand stones had nothing to do with Nirvana Ancestor Yun Hua; while Master Yun Hua had indeed given Su Lianxue some stones, it wasn't ten thousand Medium Grade ones.

These ten thousand Medium Grade essence stones were what she had insisted on taking from the compensation Lin Ming received back then; after getting them, she hadn't really used them and had kept them stored away.

Until now, when the opportunity to make money with money arrived, she naturally wouldn't miss it.

"I believe in Senior Brother."

Su Lianxue said with a look of firm determination.

"This..."

For a moment, Yu Yaoqin didn't know what to say.

Lin Ming's strength was indeed great; that much was certain, and she had witnessed it with her own eyes.

But Su Lianxue's confidence in Lin Ming was perhaps a bit too much.

"I'll bet too—five hundred Medium Grade essence stones on Lin Ming."

Yu Yaoqin gritted her teeth and pulled out five hundred Medium Grade essence stones.

These five hundred stones were essentially all her savings; she hoped her Senior Brother could take first place, as she didn't want her stones to go down the drain.

"Please wait a moment, guests."

After the old man counted and accepted the essence stones, he produced four vouchers and two tokens.

Once the business was handled, Su Lianxue and Yu Yaoqin turned and left.

A short while later, another person walked into the gambling house.

This person was clad in a black robe and wore a monkey mask.

The people in the gambling house were not surprised by this.

They had seen many people like this who were unwilling to reveal their identities.

As long as they could produce the money to bet, the gambling house didn't care.

"Twenty thousand Medium Grade essence stones on Li Yunfan to take the top spot."

...

The next day.

The first match was Lin Ming's.

Many cultivators were quite curious about Lin Ming, as he had defeated several Spirit Platform Ninth Heaven cultivators with only Middle Stage Spirit Platform strength.

They wanted to see if this Yuanxu Mountain Prodigy's strength was truly as great as the rumors suggested.

"Su Jitong of the Lieshan Alliance. Please advise."

Su Jitong said with a solemn expression.

"Su Jitong of the Lieshan Alliance—it's him."

"If I remember correctly, he should be at the Lingtai Eighth Layer Realm."

The Lieshan Alliance was also a power in this region, with a True Monarch of the Other Shore level expert overseeing it.

The Lieshan Alliance had once tried to extend its reach into Yanyun Mountain, but they were pushed back by the four families working together; after all, four True Monarchs against one was a clear outcome.

But the Lieshan Alliance never gave up on the idea of entering Yanyun Mountain, especially now that the Fang Family's True Monarch was nearing the end of his lifespan; their ambitions had become active again.

However, the news of two powers being exterminated by the Fang Family a while ago had caused the Lieshan Alliance to fall silent briefly.

After all, no one wanted to provoke a dying True Monarch; if he decided to take someone down with him, it would be a massive loss.

Lingtai Eighth Layer.

Lin Ming saw through his strength at a glance; it was indeed as Gong Hui had said, the Lingtai Eighth Layer, and he hadn't used any means to hide his cultivation.

"Lin Ming of Yuanxu Mountain. Please advise."

Lin Ming also spoke.

A few seconds later, Su Jitong was the first to move.

Seeing that Lin Ming had not yet acted, he took the initiative, performing several hand seals.

Dozens of fireballs appeared above, rushing toward Lin Ming all at once.

"Burst!"

Before they even reached Lin Ming, the dozens of fireballs exploded, the intense blast covering Lin Ming's position.

It wasn't over yet.

Su Jitong didn't think his Flame Burst Technique could defeat Lin Ming; he was facing a Prodigy of Yuanxu Mountain, a Disciple of the Nirvana Ancestor.

Earthen spikes rose from the ground one after another, stabbing into the area where Lin Ming was.

As the explosion cleared, the earthen spikes stood tall on the Martial Arts Arena, while Lin Ming stood atop one spike, balanced on a single foot.

Lin Ming reached out and tapped upward.

Dozens of fireballs appeared and rushed toward Su Jitong.

"Wait."

Su Jitong initially thought they were just ordinary fireballs until they got close, and he realized they weren't fireballs—they were the Flame Burst Technique.

Lin Ming was using the very technique he had used against him.