211: The curtain rises

The next morning.

Sitting on the high platform were the temporary Duke Zhenguo, the temporary Little Prince Kang, and the temporary event manager, Zhang Feng.

Zhou Yan was in an excellent mood at this moment.

This Zhao Da was truly a little lucky star; as soon as he appeared, he caused the three big shots to suffer losses. Just one report caused these three people to lose at least 30% of their national destiny.

Apart from Zhou Yan and Loyal and Virtuous, who were still smiling, the atmosphere among everyone else was quite oppressive.

Unlike the previous insignificant weakening, those factions were merely dissatisfied with Zhou Yan at the time, but this time, it was a decline in actual power.

This meant that the national destiny cake, which had already been almost completely divided, suddenly had a large chunk freed up.

All parties were calculating, not only to reclaim their original shares but also to get a bigger piece of the pie.

Everyone was secretly competing.

Zhou Yan also noticed that the atmosphere was off; the red dots on the map had significantly increased.

But he still pretended not to know and spoke first.

“Why is the atmosphere so oppressive? Everyone, smile. You’ve only lost some money, you haven’t truly lost anything, have you?”

“Or are you dissatisfied with my arrangements?”

“I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare. This old official never cares about false fame.”

“I wouldn’t dare either. I have always disliked false fame and am not greedy for wealth.”

As soon as Zhou Yan finished speaking, temporary Little Prince Kang and the temporary Duke Zhenguo simultaneously looked at Zhang Feng, their words barbed, their intentions clear.

In the document reported yesterday, someone, unknown to him, recorded all the video footage and revised content of his competition arrangements, putting him at the center of public opinion.

This kind of matter was not originally a big deal, but being exposed in such an important occasion, especially with foreign guests present, undoubtedly damaged the national image.

Helpless, he had no choice but to expose the previous eye contact incident, dragging the other two into the water to share the pressure.

Although making a big fuss would cause him more severe losses, it was better than bearing it alone.

Understanding that he had become the target of all, Zhang Feng directly stated his position.

“Your Majesty, how could I be emotional? I am simply not good with words to begin with.”

“Thunder and dew are all the Emperor’s grace. If Your Majesty bestows, it means I did well; if Your Majesty punishes, it means I made a mistake. Surely no one would be disheartened by this, right?”

“At least I and most civil officials are not good with words. It was like this yesterday, and it is still like this today.”

In terms of eloquence, temporary Little Prince Kang and the temporary Duke Zhenguo naturally couldn't compare to Zhang Feng. Seeing the problem thrown back at them, the two were speechless for a moment.

As Zhang Feng said, his people have always been quiet, yesterday and today. But their people were still laughing and talking yesterday, yet today they are silent. The difference is clear at a glance.

“By the way, Your Majesty, today is the eight-to-four competition, and the previous bet should be ending soon.” Duke Zhenguo was the first to change the subject.

Prince Kang immediately followed up.

“Yes, yes, it’s ending soon.”

“Prime Minister Zhang—ah no, Manager Zhang, is the funding still ample now? Don’t tell me you won’t even be able to pay out the money then.”

“You were ‘once’ a Prime Minister after all; that would be quite embarrassing.”

With the change of topic, coupled with the previous verbal sparring, everyone present, including Zhang Feng’s people, quickly caught on. The atmosphere became lively again, as if nothing had happened before.

Loyal and Virtuous saw the topic being sidetracked and wanted to pull it back, but Zhou Yan stopped him.

Zhou Yan understood that the two of them couldn’t outplay these three old foxes; they could only wait for the other side to expose their own flaws, otherwise, it would just be a waste of time.

“My dear minister, you didn’t truly come unprepared, did you? Actually, this money is just a prize; if you can’t produce it, I won’t blame you.”

Zhang Feng seemed to let out a sigh of relief, and a clear smile actually appeared on his usually impassive face.

“Your Majesty, I indeed do not have much family wealth…”

“If you don’t have much, then honestly be an event manager, don’t tell me you can’t even afford food, hahahaha!” Duke Zhenguo seized the opportunity to interrupt and mock.

“But!” Zhang Feng wasn’t angry about being interrupted; instead, his smile deepened, “I have records of Duke Zhenguo’s visits to brothels in recent years, and all his late-night conversations.”

“I’m valuing it at 500,000 Spirit Stones right now!”

With that, he

Duke Zhenguo instinctively wanted to snatch it, but seeing Zhou Yan staring at him, he reluctantly pulled back his hand. His tone was still firm, but he was clearly a bit intimidated.

“You say 500,000, and it’s 500,000?”

Then Duke Zhenguo changed his tone.

“I’ll give 800,000, quickly give me the item!”

In the end, Duke Zhenguo redeemed the item for 1.1 million. When he looked at Zhang Feng again, his eyes were practically murderous.

At the same time, Zhang Feng received a Sound Transmission. “You’d better not have a backup, otherwise I will never let you go!”

Zhang Feng merely maintained his smile, giving Duke Zhenguo a meaningful glance.

Seeing Duke Zhenguo suffer a setback, Prince Kang seized the opportunity to attack, vowing to tear a piece of flesh from Zhang Feng.

“I’m raising the stakes!” Prince Kang slammed the table and pointed directly at Zhang Feng, “Zhang Feng, I’ll bet 2 million Spirit Stones with you alone! Do you dare?”

Zhang Feng seemed to have been prepared. As soon as Prince Kang’s voice fell, he took out a token from his In my arms (huái zhōng - bosom/pocket). Judging by its appearance, it should also be a recording prop.

“Heh, my romantic escapades are known throughout the country, so this trick won’t work on me.” Prince Kang said with disdain.

Zhou Yan was a little disappointed at this sight. He was counting on them to find some fun in this boring competition.

“Inside here is your sixteenth birthday night…”

“Shut up!”

Prince Kang pounced on Zhang Feng like a “crow doing an airplane,” but the latter nimbly dodged.

Missing one move, he instinctively wanted to follow up with another, but was held down by Duke Zhenguo, who had flashed over.

“In front of Your Majesty, no fighting.”

He obviously forgot that he had initiated the physical contact just now; at this moment, he only wanted to see Prince Kang make a fool of himself to soothe his own wounded pride.

Although they were temporary allies, it didn’t prevent him from enjoying Prince Kang’s misfortune.

Prince Kang’s face was flushed red, trembling with anger. After a long while, he suppressed his emotions and pointed at the token in Zhang Feng’s hand.

“I don’t believe you have it! I want to examine the token!”

This time, Zhang Feng didn’t dodge, generously throwing the token over. Seeing this, everyone knew it was most likely a backup.

But Prince Kang couldn’t care less and quickly checked it with his Divine Sense. After checking, he forced a smile.

“The token is fine… um, Brother Zhang, I was just joking with you.”

“I concede, I’ll give you an extra million, and we’ll just let this matter go, alright?”

After the transaction was completed, Prince Kang still wanted to ask for the backup, and only then did Zhang Feng smile.

“The one in your hand is the only copy; there was no backup at all.”

What a devastating blow!

Zhou Yan was certain that Prince Kang at this moment definitely had the heart to kill Zhang Feng.

However, Zhang Feng didn’t care at all, taking all this money and betting it, showing complete indifference to wealth.

At this time, the competition below the stage had also ended.

Since the shady dealings were cleared, the Core Formation Stage contestants were more dispersed, resulting in all those who advanced, except for Zhao Da, being Core Formation Stage cultivators.

As everyone expected, Zhao Da should have stopped at the eight-to-four stage. Who knew that he would Breakthrough during the battle, rising from Foundation Establishment Mid-Stage to Foundation Establishment Late Stage, and defeat a Core Formation Stage contestant with his Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivation, shocking the entire audience.

Even more surprisingly, he openly challenged Zhou Yan in the center of the arena.

This action made the three factions quite embarrassed, because they were initially unwilling to meet Zhao Da’s previous conditions, so they specifically proposed the requirement of “winning one more round to choose an opponent.”

They originally thought that a Core Formation Stage contestant could teach this arrogant boy a lesson and vent some anger, but who knew he actually defeated a Core Formation Stage cultivator with Foundation Establishment.

Helpless, the Official of the Ministry of Rites could only venomously tell Zhao Da to wait, and went to negotiate with Zhou Yan himself.

Soon after, “Zhou Yan” ascended the arena.

He was about to cup his hands in greeting when he heard the other party say.

“Zhou Yan, there’s no need for pleasantries. I came today only to defeat you.”

“You certainly surprised me, but the surprise ends here. The current you is no longer my opponent.”

“You are the challenger!”

Song Yan was utterly confused.

Is this Mr.’s enemy?

Came specifically for revenge?

In this competition, he had seen many who came to obstruct him, but such obvious and pure hostility was a first.

Seeing the opponent had already taken a stance, Song Yan also had a plan in mind. Since he was Mr.’s enemy, then he might as well teach him a lesson… Zhao Da walked step by step into a small wooden house, lay down without a word, and stared at the ceiling.

An old man approached him and asked.

“Have you fought with Zhou Yan? What do you think of him?”

Zhao Da reached out to the ceiling, as if trying to grasp something, then smiled freely.

“Super—strong!”

“I even feel like he didn’t use his full strength.”

“To be honest, I feel a bit sorry for him; I couldn’t force him to go all out.”

…The scene returns, Zhao Da is already lying on a stretcher, covered in blood, being rushed to the emergency room.

Watching Zhao Da being carried away, Song Yan scratched his head.

He indeed held back, but he didn’t expect that the opponent, who had just broken through and defeated a Core Formation Stage cultivator, would be so fragile?

[Final countdown: One day]