Chapter 69 – Another bet?

"Get lost!!"

A sudden shout erupted.

Jiang Yan's face still wore a sinister smile as he swung his blade, seemingly about to strike Su Xin's sword.

He was confident that Su Xin, a newcomer, wouldn't be able to withstand his attack.

But under the influence of that shout, the sword intent within Su Xin's already formidable swordsmanship suddenly surged.

"What?"

Jiang Yan's expression changed. As his blade clashed with Su Xin's swordsmanship, not only did he fail to break Su Xin's defensive technique, but a powerful force emanated from it, instantly sending him and his blade flying.

Thud, thud, thud!!

Jiang Yan landed, trying to steady himself, but his feet kept retreating several steps, each step echoing heavily.

"You were hiding your strength!!"

Once Jiang Yan regained his balance, his twisted face turned back to Su Xin, looking extremely displeased.

In that brief moment, he could feel that Su Xin's strength was not much weaker than his own.

"Same to you." Su Xin sheathed his sword and looked at Jiang Yan with a cold smile.

"Bastard, you tricked me!" Jiang Yan's anger flared, ready to explode.

"What, can't accept defeat?" Su Xin's expression turned cold.

"Hey, what's your problem? I've lost to you so many times before, and I've always paid up the fire points. You've lost just once, and now you won't honor the bet?" Duan Yunfeng shouted from the side.

Nearby, the disciples of Heavenflame Palace also looked at Jiang Yan, with some speaking up.

"Jiang Yan, a bet is a bet. Pay up the fire points first."

"Exactly, you were the one who initiated the challenge and set the conditions. Now that you've lost, you want to back out?"

"Jiang Yan, stop embarrassing yourself."

These Heavenflame Palace disciples could see that Jiang Yan had been outsmarted by Su Xin.

But so what?

This bet was proposed by Jiang Yan himself, including the conditions.

Jiang Yan had been deliberately hiding his strength to trick fire points from newcomers, and now Su Xin was just using his own tactics against him.

If Jiang Yan could hide his strength for a bet, why couldn't others?

Jiang Yan's face turned ashen. He knew he was in the wrong, and despite his reluctance, he could only obediently transfer a thousand fire points to Su Xin.

"A thousand fire points in hand." Su Xin smiled.

Beside him, Duan Yunfeng, Xia Mang, Mo Bing, and other newcomers were all happy for Su Xin.

But then Jiang Yan spoke again, "Su Xin, do you dare to bet with me again?"

"Another bet?" Su Xin sneered at Jiang Yan, "What are we betting on? Whether I can last thirty breaths against you again? Or should we extend it to forty breaths this time?"

"Haha!!" Duan Yunfeng laughed.

Jiang Yan's mouth twitched slightly.

From that brief outburst, he could tell that Su Xin's strength wasn't much weaker than his own. With that defensive swordsmanship, forget thirty breaths, even forty or fifty breaths, he couldn't defeat Su Xin head-on.

Su Xin's words were clearly meant to mock him.

"This time, we'll fight head-on to determine the winner." Jiang Yan said darkly.

"A head-on fight?"

Before Su Xin could respond, Duan Yunfeng stepped forward, "Jiang Yan, are you stupid, or do you think we're all fools?"

"You want us newcomers, who've only been in Heavenflame Palace for two months, to fight head-on with someone like you, who's been cultivating here for years? Why don't you just unleash your mid-stage Void Shattering Realm power and fight us Sea Transformation Realm folks?"

The other Heavenflame Palace disciples also looked at Jiang Yan strangely.

To them, Jiang Yan's previous bet conditions, where one only needed to last thirty breaths against him, were already bullying newcomers.

And now, he wanted a head-on fight to determine the winner? That was even more shameless.

"Su Xin, do you dare!" Jiang Yan ignored Duan Yunfeng and stared coldly at Su Xin.

"How many fire points are we betting?" Su Xin glanced at Jiang Yan.

"Six thousand!" Jiang Yan declared.

The surrounding crowd immediately erupted in astonishment.

Six thousand fire points was no small amount.

Even for these veterans, who had long completed their training tasks and could take on regular tasks within the palace to earn fire points, those tasks were challenging, and the rewards weren't substantial.

Six thousand fire points would typically take them several months of task completion to accumulate.

Jiang Yan, among the veterans in Heavenflame Palace, was considered mediocre, even at the bottom. Completing tasks was even more challenging for him, so six thousand fire points was likely his limit.

"Su Xin, I know your strength isn't much weaker than mine."

"Six thousand fire points, do you dare to bet!"

Jiang Yan's gaze was cold as he stared at Su Xin.

Being outsmarted by Su Xin and losing a thousand fire points was one thing.

But being tricked by a newcomer and losing to him was a blow to Jiang Yan's pride. Now, he was burning with anger, wanting to regain his dignity.

He wasn't worried about Su Xin's strength. After all, Su Xin was just a newcomer, and he couldn't believe he would lose to him.

Even if Su Xin didn't accept the challenge, while he wouldn't recover the thousand fire points, he could at least salvage some pride.

"Six thousand fire points..." Su Xin furrowed his brows.

At this moment, Duan Yunfeng pulled Su Xin aside and whispered, "Brother, are you really planning to accept the challenge?"

"Of course, why wouldn't I take the fire points handed to me?" Su Xin replied.

"But Jiang Yan has been cultivating in Heavenflame Palace for years. I've heard he's comprehended four types of Concept Comprehension. Are you confident against him?" Duan Yunfeng asked.

"I can't guarantee victory, but at least I won't lose." Su Xin said confidently.

He had confidence.

Once he unleashed his Mountain-Sea Volume, its defensive capabilities were impeccable. Even a genius who had comprehended five types of Concept Comprehension would struggle against him.

Jiang Yan was far from comprehending five types of Concept Comprehension.

In a head-on fight, Su Xin was naturally in an unbeatable position.

"In that case, what are you hesitating for? Accept the challenge." Duan Yunfeng said excitedly.

"I want to accept, but I don't have enough fire points. If I win, it's fine, but if I accidentally lose and can't pay up, that would be embarrassing." Su Xin said helplessly.

He didn't have many fire points left.

He had spent five thousand fire points in the Star Hall.

Exchanging for "Detailed Explanation of Sword Intent Essence" and "Flying Blood" sword art cost him three thousand four hundred fire points.

He also spent two months in the Trial Tower, costing him twenty fire points daily, totaling twelve hundred points.

Adding it all up, he only had a few hundred points left. The previous bet of a thousand points was manageable because he was confident he wouldn't lose in thirty breaths, so he dared to accept the challenge even without enough fire points.

But now, with six thousand fire points... Even though he was confident he wouldn't lose, what if something unexpected happened?

"I thought it was something serious. It's just fire points. Go ahead and fight. If you lose and don't have enough fire points, I'll lend them to you." Duan Yunfeng laughed.

"Lend me? That's six thousand fire points." Su Xin looked at Duan Yunfeng in surprise, "You already lent Mo Bing two thousand fire points, lost thirteen hundred in a bet, and must have used a lot to improve your strength in the past two months. How do you still have so many fire points?"

"Honestly, how many fire points did you get for exchanging your master's sword manual?" Su Xin asked curiously.

"Not much, just twelve thousand points." Duan Yunfeng chuckled.

"Twelve thousand points?" Su Xin was shocked.

He knew that most sword arts in the Treasure Pavilion, including the "Flying Blood" sword art he exchanged for, were priced at one or two thousand, at most three or four thousand fire points.

But Duan Yunfeng exchanged his master's sword manual for twelve thousand fire points?

What level was his master's sword art?

Shaking his head, Su Xin made up his mind.

"Jiang Yan, six thousand fire points, I'll accept this challenge."

As Su Xin's cool voice echoed, the entire training ground buzzed with excitement.

"He really accepted?"

"A six thousand fire point bet, a head-on fight to determine the winner, and Su Xin dares to accept?"

"This batch of newcomers is fearless!"

The Heavenflame Palace disciples looked at Su Xin with strange expressions.

Some even regretted not challenging Su Xin earlier.

Maybe Su Xin, in a moment of heat, would have agreed to bet with them too.

Six thousand fire points.

A head-on fight to determine the winner, it was practically a gift.

Jiang Yan, who was previously furious, now had eyes gleaming with unprecedented excitement.

He had proposed the bet to scare Su Xin off and regain some face, but he didn't expect Su Xin to actually accept?

"Haha, good, very good!" Jiang Yan laughed.

Soon, the two distanced themselves, and the crowd made space for the duel.

On the battlefield, Su Xin and Jiang Yan stood apart, facing each other. Jiang Yan grinned and immediately attacked.

Whoosh!

Jiang Yan's figure moved like a ghost, appearing before Su Xin in an instant, his blade swinging down.

It was incredibly fast!

The intent within the blade art amazed newcomers like Duan Yunfeng and Xia Mang.

"So strong!"

"This is his true strength."

Duan Yunfeng realized that Jiang Yan had been hiding his strength during their previous bets, but once he truly attacked, like now, Duan Yunfeng wouldn't be able to withstand even one strike.

"With such strength, how can Su Xin defend?" Xia Mang frowned.

He and Su Xin were the most outstanding in this hunt, and they fought to the end. In terms of strength, the gap between them was minimal.

After two months of training in Heavenflame Palace, he had made significant progress, but he knew he could only withstand one or two strikes from Jiang Yan.

Su Xin's defensive swordsmanship was impressive, but... could it hold up?

But what Xia Mang didn't know was that Su Xin never intended to use his defensive swordsmanship.

Boom!

Sword intent erupted, fierce as thunderfire.

The air on the battlefield instantly heated up, and an endless scorching aura swept through.

Su Xin took a step forward, unleashing his sword art.

Clang!

A loud clash, and the blade light from Jiang Yan's swing was not only dispersed instantly, but even his figure staggered backward.

"You..." Jiang Yan looked at Su Xin in shock.

"This sword art..."

The observing Heavenflame Palace disciples were all astonished.

They could all see the extraordinariness of Su Xin's sword.

"Four types, at least four types of Concept Comprehension, maybe even on the verge of comprehending the fifth."

"How is it possible? Su Xin, a newcomer, has only been in Heavenflame Palace for two months. How can his Concept Comprehension be so advanced?"

"Jiang Yan has hit a brick wall!"