Chapter 68 – Gamble

No matter what weapon is used, to advance from the first level of Concept Comprehension to the second level, one must understand the essence of nine different intents.

The second level is already the comprehension standard for most Nirvana Realm experts.

This Jiang Yan, with only a mid-stage Void Shattering Realm cultivation, has already comprehended the essence of four intents, making him quite a remarkable genius. However, among those disciples who have been cultivating in the Heavenflame Palace for several years, or even longer, he is considered to be at the bottom.

"Duan Yunfeng." Su Xin spoke as he walked up.

"Su Xin?"

Seeing Su Xin, Duan Yunfeng immediately smiled, "Brother, I heard you've been training hard in the Trial Tower for the past two months, even sleeping there. How's your progress?"

"Not bad." Su Xin nodded slightly, "I just watched your match with Jiang Yan. I suggest that if your strength doesn't improve significantly in the short term, it's better not to gamble with him."

"You noticed?" Duan Yunfeng glanced at Su Xin, then shrugged, "Actually, I noticed too. Jiang Yan has been deliberately hiding his strength to trick me into continuing to gamble with him."

"You noticed, yet you still gamble with him?" Su Xin frowned.

"I can't help it." Duan Yunfeng smiled wryly, "Brother, you know I'm naturally combative. I traveled through the states and counties of the Heavenflame Dynasty back then just to challenge various strong opponents. Now that I'm in the Heavenflame Palace, facing the provocations of these 'old-timers', who even lower their conditions to force me into gambling, how could I refuse?"

Su Xin couldn't help but shake his head.

The first time he met Duan Yunfeng in Dongyang City, he saw that Duan Yunfeng was a battle-crazed maniac.

Such a battle-crazed maniac staying in the Heavenflame Palace, encountering provocations from others, would never hold back.

"Actually, it's not that bad. Although I agreed to gamble with them, the stakes aren't high, just a hundred fire points each time. Even though I've lost thirteen times in a row, it's only thirteen hundred fire points." Duan Yunfeng said nonchalantly.

"Thirteen hundred fire points?" Su Xin was taken aback, "Didn't you only have a thousand fire points as initial resources? Where did the other fire points come from?"

"That thousand fire points were used up long ago. The fire points I have now were exchanged with my own items." Duan Yunfeng explained.

"Exchanged?" Su Xin was puzzled.

"Exchanged in the Treasure Pavilion. The Treasure Pavilion will give you corresponding fire points based on the level of the treasures you provide." Duan Yunfeng said.

"The Treasure Pavilion can do that?" Su Xin was astonished.

He only knew that fire points could be used to exchange for treasures in the Treasure Pavilion, but he didn't know that you could also exchange your own treasures for fire points.

"Hey, brother, you seem like someone who doesn't lack fire points." Duan Yunfeng laughed, "You got first place in the hunt, starting with ten thousand fire points as initial resources. That's enough for a while, but we're different."

"For those of us ranked sixth to tenth in the hunt, we only have a thousand fire points as initial resources. What can a thousand fire points do? Just exchanging for a detailed explanation of the essence of intents uses it all up. If we don't rely on our own treasures to exchange for some fire points, wouldn't we be wasting a great opportunity like fools?"

Duan Yunfeng continued, "Like Xia Mang and me, we've exchanged quite a few fire points with our own treasures. The other geniuses who entered the Heavenflame Palace with us have exchanged some too. But there are those who haven't, like Mo Bing. She has no background and has always relied on herself for cultivation, so she doesn't have any treasures to exchange for fire points."

"So, she eventually came to me and borrowed two thousand fire points."

"Oh?" Su Xin raised an eyebrow, curiously asking, "You lent her two thousand fire points just like that? You must have quite a few fire points. What treasure did you use to exchange for fire points?"

"Hehe, it's nothing much, just a saber technique manual my cheap master tossed to me." Duan Yunfeng laughed.

"Saber technique manual?" Su Xin was stunned, looking at Duan Yunfeng in surprise, "Isn't it the saber technique you used in your duel with Xia Mang?"

He still remembered the incredibly beautiful saber technique Duan Yunfeng used in the duel.

That saber technique left a deep impression on him.

It was definitely a terrifying saber technique.

Duan Yunfeng winked at Su Xin.

"Really?" Su Xin was even more surprised, "Duan Yunfeng, that saber technique must be your master's creation, right? He passed it on to you, and you gave it to the Heavenflame Palace to exchange for fire points?"

Duan Yunfeng rubbed his nose, a bit embarrassed, "It's no big deal. When my cheap master gave me the saber technique manual, he tossed it to me like trash. He didn't care much about it, and I didn't give it to anyone else, just to the Heavenflame Palace. My master wouldn't mind."

"You really are something."

Su Xin didn't know what to say, so he just gave Duan Yunfeng a thumbs up, "Your master really found a good disciple!"

...

Su Xin and Duan Yunfeng were chatting, and Jiang Yan had already noticed Su Xin's presence.

"Su Xin!"

Jiang Yan walked over and asked, "I heard you're the first in this hunt. Are you interested in having a match with me?"

"Not interested." Su Xin directly refused and was about to turn away.

"Don't be in such a hurry to leave." Jiang Yan persisted, "At worst, like with Duan Yunfeng, if you can last thirty breaths against me, you win. How about it?"

"Last thirty breaths?" Su Xin stopped and looked at Jiang Yan again.

Jiang Yan continued, "Duan Yunfeng didn't even make it to the top five in the hunt, yet he dared to accept my challenge. Are you, the first in the hunt, afraid to accept?"

"You're right." Su Xin nodded, "How many fire points do you want to bet?"

"How about a thousand fire points?" Jiang Yan suggested a relatively conservative number.

He knew that the ten newcomers, including Su Xin, had just entered the Heavenflame Palace and were self-aware. Except for the somewhat reckless Duan Yunfeng, the others rarely accepted their challenges.

Su Xin hadn't accepted any challenges before.

Now that Su Xin seemed willing, he was worried that if he set the number too high, it might scare Su Xin away.

"A thousand fire points? Alright, I accept." Su Xin agreed directly.

Duan Yunfeng, standing nearby, frowned and whispered, "Brother, I only bet a hundred fire points with him as a token gesture. You're betting a thousand, which isn't a small number. Are you confident?"

"Don't worry." Su Xin smiled confidently.

He had just witnessed Jiang Yan's moves, including his true strength when defeating Duan Yunfeng. Su Xin saw that Jiang Yan had comprehended four essences, still some distance from the fifth.

As for himself, he had already comprehended three sword intents when he left the Star Hall, and after two months of continuous training in the Trial Tower, he had comprehended four essences and was close to the fifth.

Regarding swordsmanship, his talent allowed him to execute sword techniques even without meeting the comprehension requirements.

Even in a direct confrontation, he wasn't afraid of Jiang Yan.

Let alone just lasting thirty breaths against Jiang Yan.

...

Seeing Su Xin accept the challenge, Jiang Yan was secretly delighted.

"Indeed, these newcomers to the Heavenflame Palace are all very confident. The higher their talent, the more confident they are. It's easier for me to win fire points from them. These thousand fire points are mine." Jiang Yan smiled slyly.

"Jiang Yan is challenging the top talent of this hunt, Su Xin? And the bet is a thousand fire points?"

"A thousand fire points, Su Xin is really daring to accept."

"These newcomers to the Heavenflame Palace are all headstrong. After a few lessons, they'll understand."

Many Heavenflame Palace disciples gathered, some laughing and chatting.

Even though they knew the rules of the duel, where Su Xin would win if he lasted thirty breaths against Jiang Yan with equalized power, none of the Heavenflame Palace 'old-timers' believed in Su Xin.

After all, everyone who entered the Heavenflame Palace was a top-tier genius with extraordinary talent. The Heavenflame Palace had the best cultivation environment and resources in the Heavenflame Dynasty. A genius who had been cultivating here for years was bound to be much stronger than one who had just entered for two months.

"Why would Su Xin agree to gamble with Jiang Yan? And for a thousand fire points?"

"Su Xin is being a bit reckless."

Xia Mang, Mo Bing, and other talents from this hunt also came upon hearing the news, feeling a bit worried for Su Xin.

After two months of interaction, they knew how formidable these 'old-timers' were.

Xia Mang, in terms of strength, was second only to Su Xin in the hunt. He had gambled with these 'old-timers' a few times but dared not challenge them again.

Only Duan Yunfeng was a bit headstrong.

"Su Xin, are you ready?" Jiang Yan asked with a sly smile, staring at Su Xin.

"Go ahead." Su Xin appeared calm, a long sword already in his hand.

Without much negotiation, Jiang Yan immediately attacked.

Swish!

The blade light flashed, just like when he fought Duan Yunfeng, Jiang Yan didn't use his full strength at first.

"If I use my full strength from the start and defeat him directly, I won't be able to gamble with these newcomers and win fire points from them in the future." Jiang Yan thought to himself.

Seeing the blade light coming, Su Xin sneered inwardly, "Still pretending?"

He could tell at a glance that Jiang Yan's current blade light was akin to someone who had only comprehended two essences.

Su Xin didn't expose him, merely swinging his sword, unleashing layers of Mountain-Sea sword intent, directly executing the Mountain-Sea Volume sword art.

"It's Su Xin's defensive sword art!"

"This sword intent... has improved a lot since before."

Xia Mang, Duan Yunfeng, Mo Bing, and other talents from this hunt watched intently.

They all knew Su Xin's defensive sword art was formidable. In the previous hunt, it was recognized as the top defense. Even Xia Mang, using all his strength to drive the power of two dragons, couldn't break it.

Now, Su Xin's defensive sword art was clearly much stronger than before.

Jiang Yan swung his saber, sending out blade light after blade light. Although he deliberately suppressed his cultivation, using only the power of the Void Shattering Realm threshold, the blade light was still intimidating.

On the battlefield, it seemed as if Jiang Yan was attacking Su Xin with all his might, while Su Xin relied on his defensive sword art to withstand the onslaught.

Both appeared to be using their full strength.

But in reality, both were holding back.

"This Su Xin, worthy of being the first in this hunt, is indeed much stronger than Duan Yunfeng. But that's about it." Jiang Yan sneered, calculating the time as he attacked furiously.

When the duel reached the twenty-ninth breath.

"Almost there."

Jiang Yan's heart stirred, and his strength suddenly surged.

Swish!

The same blade light was unleashed, under the same power guidance, but its speed and power suddenly increased several times over.

"Finally making a move?" Su Xin smiled coldly.

His gaze turned icy, and his sword intent erupted.

"Get lost!!"

...