Shocking the Nine Heavens With My Sword
Chapter 257 - 245: Start Gambling (3/3)

Chapter 257: Chapter 245: Start Gambling (3/3)

Bai Feifei, Mei Yixiang, Han Yiyao, these three women were known as the three great beauties of the Imperial Capital. The Ying Family of this generation didn’t have any outstanding beauties emerging, but the previous generation’s Ying Mengfan was a dream for countless men in the Imperial Capital, said to be far more gorgeous than the current three great beauties!

However, more than a decade ago, Ying Mengfan suddenly disappeared, leaving everyone clueless about her whereabouts. It was speculated whether she had been kidnapped to be kept as a hidden concubine, or if she had chosen to live incognito in some desolate mountains and valleys, or even if she had already met an early demise.

Moreover, Ying Mengfan was Ying Cheng’en’s own sister, so her disappearance naturally caused a huge commotion within the Ying Family. But even after more than a decade, there was still no sign of her being alive nor of her body, she had disappeared without a trace.

This caused untold numbers of men to feel immense regret, and some even went mad, committing suicide driven by "love," which showed the tremendous allure Ying Mengfan possessed!

After Ying Mengfan disappeared, there was a vacuum of over a decade, only then a younger generation emerged with new beauties of the Imperial Capital, the likes of Zhao Hongcheng and others. They had not seen Ying Mengfan, so naturally, they didn’t care.

Zhou Heng thought for a moment and said, "No need to spend money, I’ll find a fighting beast myself!"

"Brother Heng, these Fighting Beasts aren’t just any Demon Beast you can grab. They must be tamed!" Zhao Hongcheng hurriedly explained.

That was a given, otherwise, with his Land Cleaving Third Layer Heaven Cultivation Level, plus the help of a few others, he could have definitely captured a Land Cleaving Realm Demon Beast alive. Why would he frown over the death of a mere Initial Separation Realm fighting beast?

Taming Demon Beasts is extremely difficult; they and humans are natural enemies, let alone being captured for arena fights. How could any Demon Beast not go mad?

The higher the Realm of the Demon Beast, the prouder they are. Though survival is important, they would never stoop so low just to scrape by! That’s the reason most Fighting Beasts are only in the Initial Separation Realm.

The Winged Locust Mantis owned by Ying Chuchen is a being from the Initial Separation Third Layer Heaven, and it even has wings that allow it to fly in the sky, making it akin to adding wings to a tiger. Since it began competing in the Beast Fighting Arena more than ten days ago, it remains unbeaten to this day, having defeated countless renowned and fearsome Fighting Beasts.

Zhou Heng nodded. He could let it be if it were someone else, but since it was someone from the Ying Family, he just couldn’t stand it.

He went to find Feng Lianqing.

"What, you want her Grey to participate in beast fighting? No way, Grey is a good baby, how can it kill living creatures!" As soon as Feng Lianqing heard what Zhou Heng was proposing, she instantly shook her head like a rattle-drum.

Zhou Heng turned to look at the grey bear, only to see the Demon Beast, which had shrunk to the size of an ordinary brown bear, pulling a golden carp out of a pond and gulping down the whole fish with one bite.

Seeing Zhou Heng looking over, the grey bear quickly wiped its mouth, acting as if it had no part in what just happened.

"There’s money to be made!" Zhou Heng played his trump card.

Feng Lianqing’s eyes immediately lit up. She leapt up and waved her hands at the grey bear, saying, "Let’s go, let’s go, we’re about to create a mess!"

"I thought you said no killing?" Zhou Heng said with a smile.

"When in the jianghu, who can avoid the knife! Since we’re bound to get cut, what difference does it make who does the cutting?" Feng Lianqing shamelessly replied.

The big grey bear came running over, and the wild girl immediately threw herself onto it, saying affectionately, "Grey, we’re finally going to be rich!"

"Roar roar roar!" Grey roared back in response.

Zhou Heng was covered in black lines, was all this exaggeration necessary?

Guided by Zhao Hongcheng, Zhou Heng and Feng Lianqing followed through, quickly arriving at the city’s Beast Fighting Arena.

The place was packed with people, and excited screams filled the air non-stop.

The people of Cold Blue Country enjoyed watching fights among people; this place seemed to be a bit "more civilized," but when it came to the level of fervor, it was definitely not inferior, as if the uproarious cheers could topple the entire Beast Fighting Arena.

Zhao Hongcheng knew his way around well and led Zhou Heng and company into a large private box, where a dozen or so young people were sitting and watching the beast fights below.

Both men and women were present, but there were only three women, all of whom were above average beauties, especially the girl being surrounded like a moon by stars. With a long dress of azure blue, her skin was like fine porcelain exuding a captivating luster, her figure was incredibly slender, and the proportion of waist to hips was particularly prominent, making her tiny waist especially enthralling.

She must be Bai Feifei—the torso alone was on par with Han Yiyao and Mei Yixiang, and she even outshone beauties like Xiao Huoshui and Nangong Yuerong.

Her most distinguished feature was indeed that tiny waist, slim and long, radiating elegance amidst her sensuality.

"Zhao Hongcheng, are you still not convinced?" A young man immediately greeted them with disdain written all over his face as the three entered.

Zhao Hongcheng snorted and said, "Ying Chuchen, today you’ll taste defeat!"

"Haha, what Fighting Beast do you have that can defeat my Winged Locust Mantis?" Ying Chuchen coldly stated, shaking his finger at Zhao Hongcheng, "You Zhao Family people are all talk no action!"

"You—" Zhao Hongcheng, whose verbal skills were actually quite poor, glared and was about to swing his punches at him.

Zhou Heng stopped him and shook his head disapprovingly.

"Where did you come from?" Ying Chuchen demanded of Zhou Heng.

Zhou Heng smiled faintly, "As a Martial Artist, rather than improving your own strength and only caring about fun and games, don’t you feel ashamed? If danger comes your way, can even the most ferocious Fighting Beast save you?"

Ying Chuchen snorted coldly, "After all is said and done, you just can’t produce a formidable Fighting Beast and can only boast with your lips!"

"You little brat, what’s with all the chatter? If you want to fight, let’s fight, see if I’m scared!" Feng Lianqing butted in, her large eyes glaring fiercely.

However, her attire was a tad too revealing, and while people had initially kept their gazes in check out of courtesy, her interjection naturally drew everyone’s attention. Women quietly compared their figures and looks with hers, while the men’s gazes became significantly more heated, as if they couldn’t wait to devour her whole.

"Haha, where is your Fighting Beast? Don’t tell me it’s just that dog?" Ying Chuchen pointed at the little grey Demon Beast nesting in Feng Lianqing’s arms, whose cute appearance disguised its potentially fearsome and terrifying true form.

Mountains and Rivers Realm!

Purely in terms of strength, even Zhou Heng wouldn’t be able to match this Demon Beast!

Feng Lianqing revealed a mischievous grin, showing her small white teeth. Though this girl looked innocent, she was actually quite sly—anyone who believed in her displayed innocence was bound to be thoroughly swindled.

"What, a dog can’t fight?" she said, feigning dissatisfaction.

"Then let’s fight!" The others cheered them on. They were here for the beast fights after all.

"Zhao Hongcheng, do you dare to make a bet?" Ying Chuchen’s eyes were on Zhao Hongcheng, but his gaze drifted towards Feng Lianqing with a burning intensity.

Zhao Hongcheng was momentarily stunned. Although he had brought Zhou Heng and the others here, he didn’t believe for a second that the earthy dog with the big begging eyes had the slightest appearance of a Fighting Beast—anyone with brains wouldn’t bet on it to have any chance of winning!

To bet on a sure loss was nothing short of madness.

"Bet!" Zhou Heng chuckled and joined in.

"Brother Heng!" Zhao Hongcheng was anxious, mistakenly thinking that Zhou Heng was taking a stand for him out of loyalty, feeling grateful yet uneasy. True brothers and family share hardships, and he was ready to jump into the pit of fire with Zhou Heng!

The corners of Ying Chuchen’s mouth curled up in a cold smirk. Both he and Zhao Hongcheng were among the best of the Imperial Capital’s younger generation and also the most intense rivals.

When they referred to the youth, they meant those actually in their twenties. He, Zhao Hongcheng, Mei Qiyue of the Mei Family, and White Tiger Temple of the Bai Family, were touted as the Imperial Capital’s Fab Four. In their age group, they were invincible!

All four of them were at the Land Cleaving Third Layer Heaven, each watching to see who would be the first to make it to the Open Heaven. That person would indisputably be the first outstanding youth.

Martial Artists must comprehend, be confident, and be in good form to break through a Great Realm. After all, not everyone was a freak like Zhou Heng, for whom breaking through a Great Realm was as easy as drinking water. Therefore, if Ying Chuchen could undermine Zhao Hongcheng’s confidence through the beast fight, he would undoubtedly gain an advantage on the path to breaking into the Heaven-Opening Realm.

However, advancing in the Martial Realm was increasingly difficult, with Open Heaven representing a significant barrier. Even if one reached the pinnacle of the Land Cleaving Realm and possessed enough talent, taking that step was extraordinarily challenging.

Not everyone was a naturally gifted freak like Zhou Heng, Zhao Duotian, or Ying Cheng’en, nor born with the Mysterious Yin Physique like Han Yiyao, naturally harmonizing with nature!

If these four wanted to break through on their own, it would take at least a decade to overcome this barrier.

However, if one could defeat a formidable enemy, the boost to their confidence would be immense. They might even achieve a great realization in the process and break through in one fell swoop!

This was why Zhao Hongcheng and Ying Chuchen were so fiercely confrontational—it wasn’t just a matter of rivalry or winning the heart of a beauty. Additionally, Mei Qiyue and White Tiger Temple were formidable enemies, and all four had their own adversaries to overcome.

"Zhao Hongcheng, are you afraid?" Ying Chuchen’s lips twisted into a smirk as he watched Zhao Hongcheng. Every time he could strike at his opponent, his confidence grew. Soon he would fight the young man and, overwhelming him with his presence, secure a resounding victory that would lead to his breaking into Open Heaven!

He was destined to be the first among the Four Young Outstanding People to break through to the Heaven-Opening Realm, even though he couldn’t match the family’s number one talent, Ying Cheng’en, who was a freak that appeared once every ten thousand years. It was normal not to be able to compete with him.

"Bet on what?" Zhao Hongcheng, seeing Zhou Heng brimming with confidence, also felt a surge of confidence and challenged Ying Chuchen.

"If you lose, crawl around the Beast Fighting Arena!" Ying Chuchen proposed a malevolent wager.

Indeed, anyone who really had to crawl around once would have no face left to speak of!

"Scared of you?" Zhao Hongcheng agreed through gritted teeth.

"Let’s start then!" Ying Chuchen appeared triumphant, his Fighting Beast having secured a record of twenty-six consecutive victories. Aside from a few top-tier Land Cleaving Fighting Beasts, it was invincible!

"Wait!" Zhou Heng smiled and looked around, "Since we’re making bets, let’s all join in. I’ll accept any bet, no limits!"

At these words, everyone’s eyes lit up—this was a golden opportunity handed to them on a silver platter!

Only Bai Feifei’s eyes flashed with a hint of puzzlement as she thoughtfully watched Zhou Heng. Her alluring eyes sparkled, utterly captivating. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to go to qidian.com to cast your recommendation votes and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)

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