There were fewer of them this time around - nearly half of them were absent.
Helian Tulong was present, of course, and he made sure to occupy the prime seat in the middle. An indifferent look on his face, it was coupled with a contemptuous stance.
Feng Chongwu and Yun Changxiao were there as well except the two of them looked terrible. A simple observation would tell that they had suffered some pretty serious injuries.
Luo Shanhe was in attendance too, of course. He was standing at the door greeting the contestants. âChilde Zhufeng! You came! Please take a seat! Please!â
Saint Dukeâs intelligence had reported seeing Chen Xiaobei leaving the ten-thousand mountains way before the time was up. The assumption was that he did not manage to capture and kill a Giant Barbaric Tiger.
Naturally, Luo Shanhe did not expect him to show up.
Bt then again, against odds and as Luo Puti had predicted, he showed up!
âWhy do you sound so surprised that I did?â Chen Xiaobei smiled at the man.
Helian Tulong interrupted with a deliberately loud cough. âOf course, heâs surprised! Itâs a miracle that a weasel like you did not die in the hands of a Giant Barbaric Tiger!â
Feng Chongwu piped in, âI heard that this guy had only been in the mountains for only a few days before escaping the place. I donât see a single strand of cat fur on him. He must have just come for the buzz today!â
Yun Changxiao hissed, âEighth Wangye, I propose that we check this guyâs spiritual instrument storage first. If thereâs no tiger inside, he should not be standing here!â
Luo Shanhe nodded. âChilde Chen, since weâre going to check everyone anyway, do you mind letting me check your storage ring first?â
âOf course not. Since I made an appearance here, I must be able to present a satisfactory answer to Saint Duke!â Chen Xiaobei then changed the subject, âBut I am rather annoyed by the three menâs remarks - I would like to make a bet with them!â
âErrâŠâ Luo Shanhe was caught off-guard and found himself unable to make a decision.
âAlright! What do you want to bet on? I will accompany you till the end!â Helian Tulong welcomed the challenge with extreme confidence.
âUs too!â Feng Chongwu and Yun Changxiao chuckled. âTulong, Chongwu and Changxiao, the top three in the Nine Zones Earth Leaderboard! We are more than powerful enough to completely mess up your life!â
Nine Zones Earth Leaderboard
Behold, the leaderboard that included all of the strongest elites under thirty!
The people whose names were included on this list were favored by the gods and were said to have a bright future ahead. To place in the top three was even more of a privilege and honor!
Chen Xiaobei was only ranked eleventh on the board. The three men would not even consider him a worthy competitor.
None of them believed that they would lose to Chen Xiaobeiâs bet.
âAlrightâŠâ Luo Shanhe nodded. âSince the three young masters accept the challenge willingly, I will not oppose it. But I would like to remind all of you that while it is okay to make small bets, try to avoid damaging relationships!â
âDonât worry! My stake is very simple!â Chen Xiaobei smiled. âIf I win, I want the three young mastersâ chairs to be thrown out!â
âWhat? Throw our chairs?â Helian Tulong echoed amusingly. âYou mean youâre sure that the Fuma position will be yours?â
âOf course!â Chen Xiaobei was frank. âPuti must be mine!â
âPretentious fool!â Feng Chongwu hissed. âTake a look in the mirror and look closely - who the hell are you? You will never be Fuma!â
Yu Changxiao glowered, âHey dumbass! Thereâs a price to pay for gloating! What if you lose?â
âDoesnât matter.â Chen Xiaobei shrugged. âYou can do whatever you want!â
Helian Tulong chuckled sadistically. âDeal! You said it! If you lose, I will make sure that you know the price of dishonoring me!â
Feng Chongwu laughed along. âIt looks like this piece of sh*t is dead! Anyone who dares cross Childe Tulong are all dead!â
Yun Changxiao asked eagerly, âHey kid! Tell us, what is it that you want to bet on?â
Chen Xiaobei answered, the expression on his face unchanged. âThe Giant Barbaric Tiger, of course! If I have the tiger, you all lose!â
Helian Tulong immediately protested, âThatâs not fair! Everyone here knows that you have had powerful backup! Even though you left ten-thousand mountains early, no one can attest to the fact that you did not get any help killing a Giant Barbarian Tiger!â
Chen Xiaobei grinned. âThen Iâll add one more detail - If I can show you that I have a living Giant Barbaric Tiger in my possession, all of you lose!â
âWhat?!â chuckled an amused Helian Tulong who dissolved into laughter. âYou captured a Giant Barbaric Tiger? Oh⊠This is the funniest joke Iâve ever heard! HahahaâŠâ
âHey, kid! There is a limit to ostentatiousness and that is just stretching it!â Yun Changxiao said in a mocking tone. âNo one in the Nine Zones could capture a Giant Barbariac Tiger alive and live to tell the tale! Even in Apocalypse Starfield, only one guy - the ancestor of Divine Tiger faction, had managed to do so before and that was three thousand years ago! Since then, no one has ever been able to do it! And here you are, claiming that youâve managed to capture it?â
Feng Chongwu didnât bother to think far and went straight to shooting profanities. âMotherf*cking retard! A dumbass like you captured a Giant Barbaric Tiger alive? Why arenât you in heaven already?â
Chen Xiaobei did not react nor show contempt at the three menâs mockery and insults. In fact, he felt like laughing. âSince none of you believe me, that will be the bet then! Follow me!â
With that, Chen Xiaobei walked out of the hall with long strides.
Helian Tulong remained in his seat, calling out, âHey kid! Your show has come to an end! If you donât show us your live Giant Barbaric Tiger, I will hack you into unrecognizable pieces!â
Feng Chongwu and Yun Changxiao did not leave their seats either.
Such a gesture clearly displayed the confidence in their belief that Chen Xiaobei would never be capable of taking a living Giant Barbarian Tiger captive. Walking out of the hall would only be a waste of effort!
âChilde ChenâŠâ called an equally doubtful Luo Shanhe. âIf you canât do it, I canât protect you either!â
âHehe, open your eyes and see!â Chen Xiaobei smiled, and flicked his finger.
Immediately, red and yellow lights began expanding from outside the hall, and it formed the outline of a tiger as big as a mountain!
The gigantic effigy was no less tall than 20 meters and no less longer than 100 meters!
Its limbs were like thick, humongous pillars and its fangs and claws were thicker than an adult human thigh!
The felineâs long and absolutely enormous tail whipped back and forth, sweeping the pavilions nearby and sending them crumbling into the ground!
This golden-haired and crimson patterned giant of a tiger could be seen from every corner of the Saint Duke palace!
The sheer size of the colossal beast sent the palace maids and eunuchs screaming and running helter-skelter in a frenzy.
Even the soldiers on guard found no courage to draw close to the creature.
Luo Puti and Luo Qiongcang who were deliberating in the study room were startled at the sight of the giant beast. They instantly flashed out their Earth-God Instruments, ready for a battle.
Chen Xiaobei called out, âEighth Wangye! Three princes! This is a living and breathing Giant Barbaric Tiger! If you donât believe me, come over and see for yourselves!â
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