Chapter 595 - 593: A Total Loss of Face

The smile on Long Jingtian’s face suddenly froze.

He felt the world spin as a roar echoed in his ears. His eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at Jiang Chen. "You... you... what did you say? How many did you catch?"

’It was as if the heavens were playing a cruel joke on him.’

Just moments before, he had been gloating. He had shattered the Celestial Lake fishing record at the very last second, leaving Jiang Chen far behind. He was eagerly anticipating the sight of Jiang Chen kneeling before him, begging for mercy.

But in the blink of an eye, Jiang Chen was telling him he had caught even more fish.

’Could it be that he, who had been so certain of his victory, was the one who had lost the bet?’

Long Jingtian glanced at the fish behind Jiang Chen, his face a mask of disbelief. With his cultivation at the Seventh Stage of the Human Emperor Realm, a single glance was all it took to count the pile of fish.

One hundred and five!

Exactly.

"Impossible! That’s impossible! You only had fifty or sixty a moment ago. How could you suddenly have so many?"

Long Jingtian’s face contorted with fury. He shook his head frantically and snarled, "Someone must have given you their fish! Who was it? Who dares to help Jiang Chen and oppose me, Long Jingtian? Show yourself!"

Gai Shi walked over, a mocking expression on his face. He chuckled, "Long Jingtian, you’re not a sore loser, are you?"

"Who said I lost? How could I possibly lose?"

Long Jingtian erupted in fury, his eyes blazing as he stared daggers at Gai Shi. "It must have been you helping Jiang Chen! That’s right, no one else would dare offend me by helping him. Gai Shi, the two of you are utterly shameless!"

Jiang Chen: "..."

Gai Shi: "..."

"Are you out of your mind?" Gai Shi said, looking utterly exasperated. "When did you ever see me help Jiang Chen? Besides, even if you’re blind, do you think all those elders in the cabin are blind too?"

Long Jingtian’s furious expression faltered.

He came back to his senses.

This was the Celestial Secret Banquet, and so many top experts were seated in the cabin. Forget Gai Shi helping him—if Jiang Chen had used even the slightest inappropriate method, Long Chan, Yang Qiong, and Bing Qianchi would have intervened instantly.

"S-so you’re saying you really caught all these fish in just one hour? But how is that possible? How could you be so fast?" Long Jingtian was utterly dumbfounded.

Jiang Chen shrugged, a playful smile on his lips. "Maybe my character is just that good, and the fish came knocking on my door themselves!"

’Of course, the real reason was the Chaos Bloodline within him!’

However...

Jiang Chen wasn’t about to shoot himself in the foot by revealing that.

A mocking smile played on his lips as he looked at Long Jingtian. He spoke in a slow, deliberate voice, "Long Jingtian, you shouldn’t have any more doubts now, should you? A bet is a bet. Time to kneel."

"I..."

Long Jingtian’s expression stiffened, his face alternating between pale and flushed.

’Kneel to Jiang Chen?’

’How could I possibly do that!’

’He was a Super genius from the Dragon Emperor Ancient Country, the Direct Disciple of the Dragon Emperor himself! How could he do something so utterly humiliating?’

Long Jingtian snorted. "Jiang Chen, don’t get too smug. You only beat me because you used some dirty trick. I will never acknowledge this result."

His voice was loud, ensuring everyone on deck could hear him loud and clear.

Everyone quickly understood what was happening.

Looking at the huge pile of fish behind Jiang Chen, they all shook their heads. "I knew it. How could anyone catch so many fish in just one hour? Turns out he used underhanded methods!"

"Jiang Chen will stop at nothing to win. He’s so shameless!"

"I have no respect for people like that."

The crowd whispered among themselves.

The corners of Long Jingtian’s lips curled up. This was exactly the effect he wanted. As long as everyone believed Jiang Chen had cheated, no one would blame him for not honoring the bet.

However...

Fantasies are beautiful, but reality is often cruel.

Just as Long Jingtian thought his diversion tactic had worked and he could weasel out of the bet, Wei Lihuang’s voice boomed from the cabin. "Congratulations to Jiang Chen! For catching sixty-three Sunfish and forty-two Silver Moon Fish, a total of one hundred and five, he has won first place in this Celestial Lake fishing competition! What’s more, he has single-handedly shattered the century-old Celestial Lake fishing record!"

BOOM—

The announcement hit the deck like a thunderclap, sending the crowd into an uproar.

"Didn’t they say Jiang Chen cheated? How is he in first place? And he broke the record?"

"Are you an idiot? If even Master Wei confirmed Jiang Chen’s score, it proves he didn’t cheat!"

"Then why did Long Jingtian say he cheated?"

"It’s obvious. Long Jingtian lost the bet and didn’t want to honor his promise, so he deliberately tried to frame Jiang Chen. I was just starting to admire Long Jingtian, but I never expected he’d be this kind of person. Utterly shameless!"

"I’ve lost all respect for him!"

The experts all turned to look at Long Jingtian, their gazes filled with scorn and contempt as they pointed and whispered.

The color drained from Long Jingtian’s face.

He could feel their gazes on him had changed completely. Contempt, disdain, mockery... The piercing stares made his skin crawl, and his face turned as black as charcoal.

Gai Shi looked at Long Jingtian with a taunting expression. "Long Jingtian," he jeered, "you’ve not only lost the bet, but you’ve lost all face, too."

"Gai Shi, this has nothing to do with you! Shut up!"

Long Jingtian snorted.

Jiang Chen said calmly, "You say it has nothing to do with Gai Shi, but it certainly has something to do with me, doesn’t it? So, Long Jingtian, are you going to kneel and kowtow to me out here? Or would you rather wait until we’re inside the cabin and do it in front of all the elders?"

"I..."

Long Jingtian’s face was a mess of colors. At a loss for words, he stared at Jiang Chen through gritted teeth. "Jiang Chen, it’s wise not to burn your bridges. Don’t take this too far."

"Me? Too far? You’ve been pushing me from the very beginning. When have I ever been the one to go too far? Long Jingtian, you don’t have to kneel. That’s fine. All you have to do is shout out loud that you, Long Jingtian, are a welsher, and I’ll pretend this bet never happened. Otherwise," Jiang Chen said fearlessly, "I’ll have to ask Master Wei and Elder Golden Dragon to uphold justice on my behalf!"

"I can be a witness!"

Gai Shi added with a grin.

Gai Shi had been annoyed by Long Jingtian’s aggression toward Jiang Chen from the start. Seeing him humiliated like this, Gai Shi felt his mood could be described in a single word: Sweet!

Long Jingtian’s face cycled through shades of pale and red. A towering rage swelled in his chest, making it hard to breathe. He let out a cold snort and said in a grim voice, "Fine, Jiang Chen. You’re ruthless."

He took a deep breath.

Then, he closed his eyes and yelled, "I, Long Jingtian, am welshing on the bet! I refuse to acknowledge it!" His gaze, dark enough to devour a man, locked onto Jiang Chen as he asked through gritted teeth, "Are you satisfied now?"

"Perfectly satisfied. You can go now," Jiang Chen said with a dismissive wave.

"Hmph!"

Long Jingtian snorted, his venomous gaze fixed on Jiang Chen. "Jiang Chen," he said viciously, "you won’t be celebrating for long." With a flick of his sleeve, he turned and stormed away, his face grim.

He couldn’t stand to stay there a moment longer.

But he also knew that what happened today was destined to become a lifelong stain on his reputation, a laughingstock for all to gossip about. He had been utterly and completely disgraced...