132: Chapter 132 Second Master

Inside the top-floor room, Fei Shan's expression was gloomier than ever before.

Down on the first floor, Mad Dog had defeated another of his Ninth-Stage sit-in masters, and the injuries were so severe that the man had expired before he could even be taken to the hospital after being carried off the stage.

With this defeat, Mad Dog alone had won twelve million. Adding in the outside gamblers who followed the trend, the total losses had already exceeded thirty million.

And there was that Tie Pao, who in a short amount of time had won over twenty million more from the gambling den, leaving him with almost no time to react.

What he couldn't figure out most of all was how his secret room, which not a second person knew about, could suddenly be robbed without any warning?

Furthermore, it wasn't broken into with force; the switch had been found with precision.

All the Spirit Stones and the rare items he had accumulated over many years had been swept clean, yet over three hundred million in cash had barely been touched.

"Who exactly is it?"

"Is there a traitor by my side, or did some party send an expert?"

"Could it be Mr. Rong giving me a warning? Or… has that person been watching me all along? Has he already discovered it?"

An indescribable fear welled up in his heart. Fei Shan picked up the phone with some trembling, using his thick, clumsy fingers to carefully dial a number.

"Fei Shan? Calling me directly—what happened?"

Hearing the call connect, Fei Shan swallowed hard and hurriedly spoke.

"Second Master, I am truly sorry. Your subordinate has failed to handle matters well."

"Are you talking about the matter with Wei Lin?"

"So you already knew."

"The Third Master has already called me. He believes that you deliberately put my nephew on the spot. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Second Master, I'm just a small fry; how would I dare? The young master was in a very bad temper at the time and truly wouldn't allow me to refuse. I did my best to make amends afterward."

There was a pause on the phone before the voice continued: "You handled this matter too thoughtlessly. I can put in a word for you with the Third Master. However, let this be the only time. Do you understand?"

"I understand, I understand~~"

"That is all then."

Hearing the other party wanted to end the conversation, Fei Shan hurriedly called out: "Second Master, please wait a moment."

"What else is there?"

"It's like this. Because of that matter, Shang Yuqing came to cause trouble for me tonight. And… and Mad Dog is betting recklessly here, doubling down without leaving any room for maneuver. The losses are huge now, and I don't know what to do."

"To what extent are the losses?"

"On Mad Dog's end, both inside and outside the betting pool, it's over thirty million. On Shang Yuqing's end, it's over twenty million. And… and the… vault. It should have been… robbed while I was downstairs. An entire season's worth of profits and all the resources I had accumulated have been stolen."

"Everything? Including those three Sun Stones?"

"Y-yes. I suspect… they colluded and deliberately set me up."

The other end of the line fell silent for a moment.

"Fei Shan, your courage has truly been growing lately. Is it possible for those two to collude? You had best be clear about your position, and clear about what you are saying and doing."

"Second Master! I am just a dog helping you watch your money! I have never touched a single cent of your money! I have never even dared to have such thoughts! It is that Mad Dog; he is trying to force me to accept Golden Scorpion's challenge."

"Golden Scorpion? Jin Yue's son?"

"Yes. I heard… he suddenly broke through in Blood Refining; he might have mastered that technique."

"Hundred Refinements Manual… I advised my eldest brother back then that even if no one could master such a thing, it shouldn't be left out in the open, but he just couldn't harden his heart."

"Second Master, if he has truly mastered it, I have no guarantee of victory! If I lose…"

"At worst, you stop being the gang leader, and I will arrange other things for you. But you must accept the challenge to confirm his progress."

"I…"

"There is no room for negotiation on this matter. Also, is that Tang Long currently in your arena?"

"Uh, yes, he is with Shang Yuqing."

"Keep an eye on this person for me. For now, try to delay as much as possible, and do not let the situation deteriorate any further. I will send people over very soon."

The call ended, and Fei Shan's shirt front was already soaked through.

The so-called Second Master was the second son of the current generation of the Wei Family, the current Director of the Song City Financial Department, Wei Cheng. He controlled the finances of the entire Song City and was a truly core power figure in this city.

Deceiving such a person was not an amusing matter.

However, as Fei Shan looked toward the secret room, there was a faint hint of a smile in his eyes—a sense of relief, as if a burden had been lifted.

————

In the first-floor hall of the Hot-Blooded Arena, both inside and outside the octagon, the atmosphere had already reached a fever pitch.

Mad Dog's fighting style at this moment was even more "Mad Dog" than his nickname—crawling, rolling, pouncing, clawing, headbutting, kicking—he used it all. Just a moment ago, he had even taken advantage of his opponent's lack of preparation to take a bite out of the man's heel.

His opponent, nicknamed Stone Python, had always been known for a unique defensive Guidance Technique, and combined with his Spirit Astral trained to the third level, he could often exhaust his opponents to death with his astonishing defensive power.

Limited by his realm, Mad Dog would normally have found it difficult to break through his defense, but that bite just now had been truly vicious, nearly severing the tendon in his heel.

Thus, Stone Python was currently completely on the defensive, while Mad Dog stared fixedly at his vital areas like his eyes, throat, and groin. Even if he was struck for a moment, he would immediately pounce back like an unkillable mangy dog, not giving him the slightest chance to catch his breath.

In truth, Mad Dog's appearance was also wretched right now. Because he had fought several Ninth-Stage masters in a row and had been hit by Spirit Blade Battle Qi several times, his skin was torn open in many places, and the blood almost covered the entire ring.

Yet this extremely crazy fighting style of his was truly insane.

Not only were the spectators excited, but even Tang Long couldn't help but sigh; Brother Dog was truly extraordinary.

His fighting style looked savage, but it was actually very refined. Every part of his body could be used as a weapon, and his attack methods were unconstrained, using every possible means. It almost completely departed from inherent human thinking, having quite a sense of 'having no move is better than having a move.'

Coupled with his powerful vitality and recovery ability, even if he were in Stone Python's shoes, he would likely find it very troublesome.

However, after fighting consecutive fierce battles, Mad Dog's health was now below forty percent, and his condition was showing a downward trend.

After this fight, if he still couldn't force Fei Shan to submit, he might not have the certainty of winning the next one.

Of course, it couldn't be ruled out that this guy still had hidden cards; after all, there were quite a few question marks on his Detection panel.

If he didn't?

Should he go up?

He could bet the money in his hand in the next round, and adding what Mad Dog had won, it had rolled up to nearly fifty million; logically speaking, this price was very good.

But for him, a First-Stage, to directly beat up a Ninth-Stage, wouldn't that be too exaggerated?

He hoped Brother Dog could give a little more effort and not force him to stand out like that.

Just as he was pondering, the outcome on the ring had already been decided.

Mad Dog seized the opportunity to knock Stone Python to the ground and attacked his neck frantically. After Stone Python struggled to resist for nearly a minute, there was a clear fracture in his neck bone.

The Hot-Blooded Gang members immediately rushed in to separate the two and announced Mad Dog's victory.

The entire first floor of the arena went wild.

This was Mad Dog's eighth consecutive victory, and he had defeated five Ninth-Stage sit-in masters in a row; the thrilling nature of the process went without saying. More importantly, the doubling bet had rolled up to over twenty-four million.

Thanks to him, many gamblers had followed suit and bet, and they had all won big, so naturally, they were overjoyed.

However, for the Hot-Blooded Gang, who had lost money, the atmosphere was completely the opposite.

Bao Xiong took off his shirt under the stage without a word, revealing a body of muscles as sturdy as if cast from iron; he was clearly preparing to take the stage. Hundreds of Hot-Blooded Gang members appeared quietly, lining up around the hall.