258: Chapter 258 Come out and fight one-on-one!

This was a problem.

Since they had already come, who would be willing to be eliminated before the game even started?

No one was willing.

Even if they reluctantly agreed now, they would definitely cause trouble once the treasure was revealed.

This was human nature.

Especially these Jianghu people, who valued profit over life and death. Those who dared to come here, even if not desperate outlaws, were at least incredibly bold. How could they possibly obediently follow these temporarily established rules of the game?

Don't even think about it.

Some dark-hearted people might even harbor the thought of "If I can't have it, neither can you" and deliberately sabotage things.

In other words, these temporarily established game rules were actually meaningless. Even if they could be enforced in the beginning, they would face various problems later on, not to mention that such massive interests were involved.

This was Huang Jianyong's treasure, after all.

Who would be willing to be restricted by such hastily made rules?

If they were really that law-abiding, they shouldn't have entered the Jianghu in the first place.

These people wandering the Jianghu were, frankly speaking, a group of madmen unconstrained by the law.

"Heroes use martial arts to defy prohibitions"—this saying wasn't just for show; it was the most realistic description of the Jianghu.

However, Han Jingyang still had to say it.

The world of adults was just like that; there were some things one had to do even while knowing they shouldn't be done.

As the treasure owner, he had to stand tall and upright, giving these Jianghu people no excuse to attack him.

In other words, he had to have a legitimate reason for his actions.

Even if he had to fight, it had to be reasonable and justified.

It was troublesome, but it had to be done.

Han Jingyang thought about it very clearly.

Because the situation he faced was very complex. If he wanted to protect the Big Elm Tree while also securing Huang Jianyong's treasure, conventional methods simply wouldn't work.

To have it all, he had to divert the attention of these Jianghu people away from the Big Elm Tree, completely erase their focus and suspicion regarding the tree, secure the Big Elm Tree first, and then compete with these people for Huang Jianyong's treasure.

Therefore, facing the interrogation from that pair of young women, Han Jingyang smiled slightly and said, "That is why I am discussing with you, to find a solution that satisfies everyone."

At this point, he looked around at the crowd: "I, Han Jingyang, am young and lack prestige. My only advantage is my identity as the treasure owner. Therefore, I won't give you any orders, only suggestions to discuss. If you are truly unwilling to negotiate, then there is nothing more to say. Either we fight it out, life or death, or we put this aside for now and everyone goes home."

The group of Jianghu people looked at each other, no one speaking. Clearly, none of them wanted to be the first to stick their neck out.

Finally, the pair of women spoke up: "Han Jingyang, you talk a good game, but what if you go back on your word in the end? Everyone present is a veteran of the Jianghu. Getting them to trust your words one hundred percent is impossible, at least for now."

Han Jingyang spread his hands and sighed: "I know you don't trust me, but haven't I given you the opportunity to speak your minds? Yet, besides you two sisters, no one else has opened their mouths. I'm in a difficult spot too. How about we just fight?"

Having said this, he suddenly became interested: "What are your names? Where are you from?"

"We are from Western Guangdong. My name is Lin Yuelan, and this is my younger sister, Lin Yuegui."

"It's not easy to travel such a long way. You traveled a thousand miles just for wealth. How about this: do you want to work with me? Let me tell you, I might lack many things, but I certainly don't lack various dharma instruments."

"This..."

"Don't be in such a hurry to refuse. A temporary team-up is also fine. Anyway, looking at these people's posturing, a fight is inevitable. If we team up, we'll be stronger, and our chances of getting the treasure will be higher. When the time comes, I'll take two-thirds, and the remaining one-third will go to you two sisters. How about it?"

Lin Yuelan and Lin Yuegui looked at each other, their eyes shifting; they were clearly tempted.

Han Jingyang's strength was the hardest to gauge. He was a local, the nominal owner of the treasure, and had several experts by his side, giving him a huge advantage.

If they could team up with Han Jingyang, his advantage would be even greater, and the probability of obtaining the treasure would be higher. As long as Han Jingyang kept his word and gave them one-third of the treasure, the profit would already exceed their expectations.

It was doable.

But just then, an old man with a white beard walked out from the crowd, cupping his hands with a smile: "Mr. Han, I have long admired your name."

Han Jingyang nodded slightly: "How should I address you?"

"Li Laojiu, from Dao City."

"Mr. Li, do you have something to say?"

"Well, I originally just came to join the fun. Whether there is treasure or not doesn't mean much to an old bag of bones like me. But I really can't bear to see everyone fighting to the death over a treasure when we don't even know how much is in it. So, I boldly stepped forward to say a few words, just to get the ball rolling. If I speak poorly, I hope Mr. Han and everyone will forgive me."

Han Jingyang rolled his eyes inwardly.

This old guy was no good.

Just as I was about to turn the sisters Lin Yuelan and Lin Yuegui to my side, he immediately jumped out to interrupt.

Not only did he interrupt me, but he was also here pretending to be a good guy, saying he wasn't interested in the treasure.

If he were really not interested in the treasure, would he have traveled all this way?

Having lived to such an age, how could he not know that a place like this was a vortex where one could lose their life if not careful?

Having lived to such an age, how could he not know that this was no place to just join in the fun?

He clearly wanted to seize the treasure, yet he spouted so much nonsense!

Hypocritical.

However, the people behind Li Laojiu had clearly already formed a small team, which showed that Li Laojiu had strong persuasive power and clever methods. It further proved that this old thing had quite the ambition.

One must absolutely not underestimate such an old guy, or one would suffer a great loss.

Thinking this, he said with a smile: "Mr. Li, there is no need to say these high-sounding words. Don't waste everyone's time; just tell us your thoughts directly."

Li Laojiu nodded with a smile: "You are quite right. Some things don't need to be said too much; everyone understands. Avoiding death and injury completely is impossible. Fortunately, everyone is mentally prepared. After all, we are all just making a living at this; we aren't here for a sports competition, so we won't be talking about sportsmanship or moral integrity. However, it's also not good to just start a slaughter. So, I think the best way is to use a king-of-the-hill system to decide the winner."

"A king-of-the-hill system? How does that work?"

"The champion accepts challenges. If they lose, they lose their status as the champion. This continues until the final champion is decided, and the treasure belongs to the final champion."

"This format... is extremely disadvantageous to those who go first. It's most disadvantageous to the first champion. Isn't that unfair?"

"Fairness? In this Jianghu, where is there any fairness to speak of? It is inherently the law of the jungle. By setting up a king-of-the-hill system, at least the champion doesn't have to worry about being ganged up on in the arena."

Han Jingyang laughed: "That, indeed, makes sense. So, who will be the first champion? And who will be the first to challenge the champion?"

Li Laojiu smiled: "Of course, it's the treasure owner. Whoever holds the treasure is the treasure owner, and whoever is the treasure owner is the champion. That's reasonable, right?"

Upon hearing this, Han Jingyang laughed out loud: "Isn't this just a disguised gauntlet? Come, come, come, who is afraid of whom? No, that's not right, a gauntlet is boring. How about we just have a duel?"

Having said this, Han Jingyang scanned his surroundings with burning eyes, his sharp gaze slowly sweeping across everyone's faces: "I alone, challenging all of you. Do you dare to accept?"