Those Classmates who Suddenly Disappeared
Chapter 963 Small bets add excitement to life.

Chapter 963: 963 Small bets add excitement to life.

This was a rare grand occasion, where one could watch various experts cross swords and witness the election of a new Martial Arts Alliance leader, but most importantly, the majority of people were there to enjoy the excitement, since daily life for most was quite mundane.

Of course, to add a bit of fun for everyone, some started running betting pools, listing out the thirty martial artists who had confirmed their participation in the Martial Arts Competition, including the leader of the Xuanjian Sect.

Whoever bet on the martial artist who became the Martial Arts Alliance leader after a series of matches would make a tidy profit.

Each martial artist’s odds were different; the higher their strength, the greater the hope of becoming the Martial Arts Alliance leader, and therefore, the lower the odds.

Gu Fan got a list and didn’t find his own name on it, which disappointed him greatly, but he still analyzed it closely and found that the odds for the leader of the Xuanjian Sect were one to two, currently the lowest of anyone, indicating that everyone generally believed he would become the Martial Arts Alliance leader.

Other strong fighters also had some fame, with odds of one to three, one to five, and even one to ten.

Gu Fan pondered whether to place a bet, so he began to calculate how to bet to ensure a no-loss situation. With more than thirty experts, it definitely made sense to bet on several to be safe, but if none of them became the Martial Arts Alliance leader in the end, that would mean losing everything.

At this moment, Lu Bei sidled up, "Brother, who have you got your eye on?"

To this, Gu Fan shook his head, "Hard to say, until the very end, only a ghost would know who can become the Martial Arts Alliance leader, practically all bets right now are losses."

Lu Bei added another line, "Actually, everyone knows that bets placed now are basically losses, but the odds are high at this stage. Later on, when fewer top fighters are left, there will only be a few people worth betting on, and the odds will be very low. Anyway, nobody expects to win much, it’s just something fun to do."

"Why do I feel it’s bizarre?" Gu Fan, gambling like this for the first time, was completely directionless, feeling like he would lose no matter how he bet.

Just then, someone shouted, "All second-rate experts participating in the competition, please gather, the matches are about to begin."

Hearing this, Gu Fan began his warm-up exercises, looking eager to try, which left Lu Bei in a state of startled confusion, "You’re not really entering the competition, are you, brother?"

"Of course, that’s my main purpose here, to improve by crossing swords with experts," Gu Fan said as though it were really a matter of course, but Lu Bei sensed something was amiss.

By now, Lu Bei was convinced that Gu Fan belonged to the Devil Cult and that his participation in the competition had an ulterior motive.

"Alright, I’m up, wish me luck." With that, Gu Fan headed for the arena.

The selection method for this Martial Arts Competition to elect the Martial Arts Alliance leader was as follows: everyone was eligible, everyone could participate, but those with fame and recognized strength by the martial community would directly join the Martial Arts Competition.

Some with less fame and unacknowledged skills, like Gu Fan, would have to go through a preliminary round similar to a selection process. Only by getting through this could they spar with the real martial arts experts, and only then would they stand a chance to fight for the position of the Martial Arts Alliance leader.

Before entering the arena, Gu Fan did a lot of warm-up exercises, but his movements, to the eyes of the other martial artists, seemed unorthodox, some even speculating that his warm-up routine was some kind of lost supreme skill.

Mo Yun and Lord Xiong looked at him with sympathetic eyes, "Ah Gu Fan, you’re merely a third-rate martial artist right now, it will be quite difficult for you to break through, we have no expectations for you, so there’s no need for you to push yourself so hard."

"What kind of talk is that? You should be encouraging me, not sapping my enthusiasm," Gu Fan retorted. Looking around at the sturdy-bodied fighters each wielding all manner of seemingly dangerous weapons, he couldn’t help but feel a chill in his heart.

Mo Yun added, "Just look at the others, then take a good look at yourself. Do you really think you stand a chance? Better to give up."

"No, I must go on, I aim to be the dark horse," Gu Fan declared, clenching his fists, then he looked around and saw no sign of Lin Xi, nor was there any mention of Jian Shen.

Gu Fan felt deeply disappointed, thinking he had set his hopes too high from the start. Someone like Jian Shen attending the Martial Arts Competition would definitely draw a lot of attention, there was no need for Gu Fan to go looking deliberately.

The rules for the competition among the sub-level experts were such that ten people would enter the arena together, and whoever could fight to the end would qualify to compete for the Martial Arts Alliance leader’s seat with the real experts.

Everyone accepted such rules without objections; if one couldn’t prove strong enough, why should they be given the chance to duel with the true experts?

Mo Yun shook her head, "You can’t even guarantee a win one-on-one, so how can you expect to carve a path through ten people? Do you think you’re capable?"

"Because it’s nine opponents? That’s why I believe I can win," Gu Fan was about to say more when he heard someone call out ten names in quick succession, summoning those ten to the stage.

The rules for ten people fighting together in the competition were such: bringing the fighters into the arena together and then randomly calling ten people to the stage to ensure that the ten could not collude. You wouldn’t know if you would be called next or which of them would be your opponents.

Many agreed with such rules, but Gu Fan did not, as it prevented him from cheating, making it less likely for him to advance through this layer of combat.

"What to do? What to do?" Gu Fan pondered, his head bowed. If he could know when his match was going to be and who his opponents were, then perhaps handling what followed would become easier.

At this moment, ten people were fiercely battling it out on the arena, with no allies, each fighting alone. Other than yourself, the remaining nine were all enemies.

Gu Fan observed the movements of the ten carefully; in a melee with ten fighters, ’you hit me, I hit you, and then we both hit him’ was a common occurrence. Sometimes, if a fighter performed too well, they would become the target of several opponents.

"I see?" Gu Fan stroked his chin, pondering. He realized it was not entirely a matter of luck; as long as he could seize the right moment, it was entirely possible to create a path to victory from the chaos of ten fighters.

"But how should I go about it?" Gu Fan frowned, he had thought of a possible tactic, but putting it into action might not lead to the desired outcome.

Soon, the result of the first match, where ten experts competed simultaneously, came to light: the strongest among them won by sheer prowess, qualifying to compete with the real martial arts experts. He roared with exhilaration, as if he were already the ultimate victor.

Gu Fan silently prayed, "Don’t call me for the next round, please don’t call me for the next round, I beg you, I beg you, I haven’t figured out a plan yet."