423: Fight for face

The Tianyuan Continent is a world of Martial Dao; its technology tree is different from that on Blue Star, and there is no internet, so news spreads very slowly.

The nine prodigies of the central continent spend most of their time Cultivating and rarely show themselves. (Except for Lin Xu, that blockhead; to hone his Sword Dao, he repeatedly challenged and defeated the other eight prodigies.)

Everyone only knows about the nine prodigies of the central continent through hearsay, and even their portraits are rarely circulated.

Yet now, these two Venerables have recognized all three of them.

This is no simple matter.

The two Venerables exchanged a smile, and one of them softly said, "Because the portraits of you three are hanging on the wall; anyone who enters the Human Emperor Hall can see them."

Hearing this, Lu Xingchen was slightly taken aback.

"Huh? What portraits?"

That Venerable chuckled.

"Everyone, please follow me! Once you enter the Human Emperor Hall, you will see them."

"Alright!"

Lu Xingchen and the other three followed the two Venerables through the Human Emperor Hall's main gate, then walked down a long corridor, arriving at a Plaza.

Just a side note on the Human Emperor Hall's appearance: it was magnificent but not vulgar, intricately carved yet grand, giving people a sense of solemn dignity.

Upon arriving at the Plaza, Lu Xingchen was dumbfounded.

In the center of the Plaza was a giant array, which generated a light screen. On the light screen were headshots of hundreds of young men and women, with clarity comparable to 3D holographic projections from his previous life.

Next to the headshots were corresponding identity information and popularity values.

Based on the popularity values, there were also corresponding rankings.

The first-ranked was Luo Chen, a delicate and handsome young man. The feeling his portrait gave Lu Xingchen was uncomfortable, as if he was looking at a gay man.

His popularity value was also the highest, a staggering 2 billion.

Second-ranked Lin Aotian only had one billion.

Lu Xingchen immediately reacted.

"Damn it, the organizer, Human Emperor Hall, has publicly set up a betting pool and released all our contestant information. This list must be the championship contenders list, right? Luo Chen alone attracted 2 billion gold coins in bets!"

The two Venerables exchanged another smile.

"Young Friend Lu is indeed exceptionally intelligent; he understood so quickly. This was a direct order from the Hall Master. It not only enhances the spectators' engagement and boosts the Martial Arts Convention's popularity but also generates revenue for the Human Emperor Hall."

Zuoqiu Qingluo jumped up happily.

"Yay, I'm ranked fourth! I didn't expect my prestige to be so high!"

Lu Xingchen was a bit displeased: "Why am I only ranked ninth?"

Logically speaking, being ranked ninth among all the Prodigies in the Nine Provinces was already quite good, but there was a "but."

Nine of the top ten on the popularity list were occupied by the nine prodigies of the central continent; only the tenth spot belonged to a guy named Wan Hanwen.

Lu Xingchen had a slight impression of that name; he seemed to be a young Prodigy from the Liyun Kingdom in Western Qingzhou, whom he had heard a few extras mention before.

Now, he had actually made it to the Central Continent and could even compete with the nine prodigies of the central continent, which counted as achieving fame and success.

Although the ninth-place ranking was high, if calculated this way, he was at the very bottom of the nine prodigies of the central continent.

This was too disrespectful!

He had at least defeated Peng Yu, so why was she ranked eighth and he ninth?

Seeing Lu Xingchen's indignant expression, Zuoqiu Qingluo chuckled, then patted his shoulder.

"Relax, most people haven't even seen us, the nine prodigies of the central continent. Betting is entirely based on prestige. The eight of us have been famous for nearly ten years; you, someone who just entered the circle, are bound to be ninth!"

Lu Xingchen nodded lightly.

"That's true. Two Seniors, may I ask where the place to participate in the betting is?"

Hearing this, the two Venerables were both slightly taken aback.

"What, Young Friend Lu Dazhuang also wants to try his hand?"

Lu Xingchen nodded slightly: "Yes, two Seniors, please lead the way!"

Zuoqiu Qingluo rolled her eyes at him, already guessing his thoughts.

The betting counter was directly beneath the light screen, with hundreds of Human Emperor Hall Elders presiding over it.

As the four approached, they saw that besides betting on the championship winner, there were various other ways to play, such as the top eight list and the final ranking range for each contestant, but the championship winner project had the highest popularity.

As Zuoqiu Qingluo expected, Lu Xingchen, without a word, threw ten million gold coins on himself.

These ten million gold coins were all obtained by selling Medicinal Pills and Spirit Medicine; he hadn't taken a single penny from Jiang Taishen.

The staff didn't pay too much attention; for one of the nine prodigies of the central continent, who commanded the resources of a Ninth-Rank Sect, taking out ten million gold coins at once was not too surprising.

Luo Chen was even more confident, directly investing one hundred million gold coins on himself.

Zuoqiu Qingluo also threw ten million gold coins on Lu Xingchen, then grabbed Lu Xingchen's shoulder and sobbed, "Waaah, Big Strong One, your odds are one to fifty, it's just too tempting. I've bet all my worldly possessions on you; you absolutely must win the championship!"

Lu Xingchen pried Zuoqiu Qingluo's claws off one finger at a time.

"I'm just trying to make a statement. You're taking a risk on your own; even if you lose all your possessions, it has nothing to do with me."

Hearing this, Zuoqiu Qingluo pouted her small mouth and indignantly said, "I trust you so much, yet you show no gratitude and even make sarcastic remarks!"

Lin Xu also took out a gold coin card and threw it on the table.

"This time, I'm also betting on Junior Brother to win!"

He didn't have powerful backing, and had to acquire all his Cultivation resources himself, so he had less savings, only able to produce two million gold coins.

But even so, Lu Xingchen still remained in ninth place; his ranking didn't change.

After all, the popularity values of the top ten contestants on the popularity list were all in units of hundreds of millions.

After completing the process, Lu Xingchen said to the two Venerables, "Two Seniors, I apologize for delaying your important business. Are there any other procedures to follow?"

The leading Venerable waved his hand and chuckled, "Young Friend Lu, you're too polite; there's actually nothing much. Next, we would like to invite you to stay in the guest rooms of the main hall for three nights. The Martial Arts Convention will begin in three days. At that time, the Hall Master will personally appear to announce the competition rules and serve as the chief judge."

"During these three days, you can make preparations. Please forgive the four of you, but due to the large number of young powerhouses participating in the Martial Arts Convention, there are no independent Immortal Caves; each person only has a single room."

Lu Xingchen also waved his hand and chuckled, "I, Big Strong One, am not someone accustomed to luxury; a single room is sufficient. Two Seniors, please lead the way!"

Then, the four followed the two Venerables towards the guest rooms.

Around the Plaza were a dozen Teleportation Arrays, each containing independent spaces with various uses.

Lu Xingchen and the other three also entered a Teleportation Array.

From this, one could see how well the Human Emperor Hall was managed.

As long as one entered or exited the Human Emperor Hall, they would inevitably pass through this Plaza. How many people would then be able to resist "inserting coins"?