Those Classmates who Suddenly Disappeared
Chapter 987

Chapter 987: 987

The fourth round of the Martial Arts competition began, with three matches held in the morning, resulting in the leader of Xuanjian Sect, Jin Yi, and the Female Sword Immortal each winning and successfully advancing to the next round.

Many people couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise because this round of the competition was truly unexpected. First, there was Jin Yi’s age; people in Martial Arts had never seen someone so young continuously defeat so many Martial Arts masters and break through to this point.

Then there was the Female Sword Immortal, who was also quite rare in people’s eyes. After all, men have a natural advantage in martial training, and yet a woman had managed to carve out her own space in this male-dominated world.

The last one was the most bizarre, being the weakest in Martial Arts and lacking in strength, yet still managing to fight his way up to this point.

Now, everyone’s topic of conversation was the match scheduled for the afternoon, where Gu Fan would face off against Northern Desert Sword’s Jiang Tie.

Actually, many people thought that it was already miraculous for Gu Fan to have reached the third round of the competition, and that he likely couldn’t win this time. However, this view didn’t stop the crowd’s enthusiasm for betting on him to win, after all, they had witnessed Heavenly Thunder assist him and help him defeat his opponent.

The leader of Xuanjian Sect was very calm, believing that Gu Fan couldn’t possibly defeat his opponent in a fair and straightforward match. And with those rules set in place, any minor incidents could only be dealt with after the competition ended, by which time he could earn a hefty sum.

"A bunch of fools, still daring to bet on Gu Fan winning even now, completely nonsensical." Just as the leader of Xuanjian Sect was feeling smug, suddenly the main bookmaker came running over in a fluster. The panic on his face immediately made the leader’s heart tighten: "What’s happened, seeing you in such a panic?"

The main bookmaker, panting heavily from his run, couldn’t even bother to rest: "It’s bad, leader, for some reason, a lot of people are betting on Northern Desert Sword’s Jiang Tie to win, and some are even betting on both Gu Fan and Northern Desert Sword."

The leader of Xuanjian Sect was somewhat confused: "What’s the issue with that?"

The main bookmaker explained in detail how disadvantageous this situation was for them, and after understanding, the leader of Xuanjian Sect was also taken aback. According to the odds for Gu Fan and Northern Desert Sword’s Jiang Tie, when the amount bet on both sides was roughly equal, the bookmakers wouldn’t make any profit at all.

The leader of Xuanjian Sect was a bit angry: "Didn’t you consider this when you set the odds?"

The main bookmaker was also frustrated: "In all our years of business, we’ve never seen bets on both sides so similar in amount. I feel that someone is secretly manipulating this, guiding those betters to place wagers on both sides."

Hearing this, the leader of Xuanjian Sect felt a sinking feeling in his heart: "Someone is guiding secretly? Who could it be?"

The main bookmaker lamented: "Last time, we guided people to bet on both sides to reduce losses. This time, someone else is guiding everyone to do the same, but it’s making us not only earn less but also lose money."

The leader of Xuanjian Sect slammed the table to bits: "In the fourth round of the competition, in my match, many people bet on me to win, and I had to win, which already made us lose a lot of money. If we incur more losses because of Gu Fan’s match..."

"I know, so I came up with a solution, which is to make Northern Desert Sword’s Jiang Tie lose." The suggestion from the main bookkeeper caused the leader of Xuanjian Sect to frown deeply. He then inquired about how much they would lose if Northern Desert Sword’s Jiang Tie won.

"Fine then, notify Northern Desert Sword’s Jiang Tie to lose the competition." The leader of Xuanjian Sect hesitated no longer; such a significant loss was simply unbearable.

The main bookmaker excused himself and immediately went to handle the matter.

Afterwards, Northern Desert Sword’s Jiang Tie received the order, and he couldn’t help but feel furious over having to lose the competition, especially since losing to the leader of Xuanjian Sect was one thing, but losing to a martially deficient Gu Fan was downright humiliating.

But with the instruction jointly issued by the leader of Xuanjian Sect and the main bookmaker, even if Northern Desert Sword’s Jiang Tie didn’t want to comply, he had to, because if he won, he would cause huge losses to the leader and the bookmaker, and that would spell trouble for him.

"Fine, I agree," Northern Desert Sword’s Jiang Tie could only agree in the end, looking utterly dejected.

Then, the problem became how to make Northern Desert Sword’s Jiang Tie’s loss seem genuine. Although most people initially bet on Gu Fan to win, they believed that Gu Fan could achieve victory by luck, not that someone was deliberately throwing the fight.

If those onlookers saw that Northern Desert Sword’s Jiang Tie intentionally lost, they would realize that someone was manipulating the match from behind the scenes, potentially pointing the finger at the World’s Number One Gambling House and, by extension, implicating the Xuanjian Sect.

In the end, the main bookmaker and Northern Desert Sword’s Jiang Tie thought of a compromise, hoping to muddle through without issue.

And so, under the eager anticipation of the crowd, the last match of the third round of the Martial Arts competition, Gu Fan vs. Northern Desert Sword’s Jiang Tie, finally began.

Even before the battle began, onlookers each voiced their opinions. One said that if Gu Fan won again this time, he would bet all his assets on Gu Fan eventually becoming the leader of Martial Arts.

Others said that if Gu Fan really became the leader of Martial Arts, he would be the weakest such leader in history, wondering how such a person could lead the heroes of Martial Arts.

Lu Bei and Jin Yi were in the crowd, watching Gu Fan step onto the stage step by step; they were also curious about what kind of person he truly was.

Since the last time Gu Fan mentioned his grudge with Jian Shen, Lu Bei paid closer attention to him: "I understand Jian Shen, he wouldn’t embarrass others casually, and this Gu Fan is quite easygoing. I really can’t believe there is a conflict between them."

Jin Yi nodded: "I can’t believe it either, but Gu Fan himself said so. Otherwise, why would he inquire about my master’s whereabouts?"

"What baffles me most is that this fellow, despite his weak Martial Arts, seems determined to seek revenge against Jian Shen, inquiring about his whereabouts, as if he would rush over as soon as he learned where Jian Shen resided," Lu Bei said, puzzling Jin Yi as well. Indeed, Gu Fan’s behavior was irrational.

Ordinarily, people in the world wouldn’t seriously consider facing Jian Shen in a deadly duel, despite their grievances. They might talk big about being irreconcilable with Jian Shen, but the thought of actually tracking him down and confronting him in a fight was out of the question—they wouldn’t be able to win, and rushing in would be pointless.

Thinking it over, Jin Yi felt something was off: "Since Gu Fan’s Martial Arts are so poor, yet he dares compete for the leader of Martial Arts, and dares to seek revenge against my master, it does make sense. I just don’t understand why. With his skills so lacking, yet he challenges everything."

"Indeed, I don’t get it either. With such weak Martial Arts, yet to achieve consecutive wins in competitions, who else could manage that? Perhaps this guy really defies common sense," Lu Bei’s heart tightened with unease, a gut feeling telling him it was best not to make an enemy of Gu Fan.