### Chapter 72: The Battle Begins
Prince Bei’s mansion is enormous.
And by enormous, I don’t just mean inside the mansion.
Three miles outside the mansion also belong to the North Prince’s Manor.
That’s just how the immortal cultivation world works; territory is vast. A small dynasty might possess land the size of a civilized planet.
Consequently, Qin Bei and Ye Jianxiu found a patch of open space not far from the mansion gate.
They were ready to fight.
“Prince Bei, please!”
Ye Jianxiu stood tall with his sword in hand.
At first glance, he exuded a tremendous aura.
When it comes to showing off, Qin Bei truly admires the disciples of the Sword Sect.
Each one tries to outdo the other in pretentiousness.
“Hold on!”
Qin Bei raised his hand to halt him.
Ignoring Ye Jianxiu’s speechless expression, he stepped out of the arena and approached Qin Xuan.
“Xiao Xuan, hurry, set up a betting table and let them place their bets.”
These folks are eager to achieve fame by defeating him.
So it wouldn’t be too much for him to wring out some spirit stones from these people, right?
“Uh?”
Qin Xuan was a bit surprised.
He thought, can this sort of Jianghu challenge really have a betting table?
But in the end, Qin Xuan went ahead and set up the betting table as Qin Bei requested.
He noticed something peculiar.
Since emerging from the secret realm this time,
His brother seemed quite keen on raking in spirit stones.
Although he didn’t know why,
Following his brother’s orders was the smart move.
“Come and place your bets! The minimum bet is 50,000 spirit stones, and the odds will depend on the total bets made. I’ll be the house!”
Qin Xuan echoed what Qin Bei taught him.
His voice attracted the attention of ten individuals.
However, once they heard this was a bet on the outcome of the battle, their interest went poof.
Come on, they’re not dumb.
Sure, they did come to challenge Qin Bei.
But that doesn’t mean they think Qin Bei is weak.
They merely want to test him.
If Qin Bei turns out weak, they could rake in huge profits this time.
But there’s no guarantee that Qin Bei isn’t absurdly strong.
With just the sixth level of the Foundation Establishment realm, he could defeat Ye Jianxiu, the top contender on the Cangzhou Continent Combat Power List.
If that were the case, they’d lose both reputation and riches on this trip.
So, naturally, they wouldn’t be joining this kind of gambling.
Free riding is always the coziest option.
Spend money?
Only if they could earn even more by doing so.
“Seriously, does Prince Bei think he can just rake in our spirit stones with such a clumsy trick?”
“Maybe he’s focused too much on cultivation.”
“Prince Qin Xuan, we’ll skip the bets on this Jianghu challenge; it’s utterly boring.”
“Exactly, let’s just get on with the battle! After Ye Jianxiu finishes, we have our own challenges to tackle.”
Mo Huai chuckled.
“This…”
Qin Xuan felt a bit lost.
His brain was spinning as he struggled to figure out how to persuade these folks to willingly part with their cash.
So he glanced at Qin Bei.
He wanted to ask what to do next.
But Qin Bei just shook his head.
Indicating that if these people don’t want to bet, then forget about it.
Seeing this, Qin Xuan had no choice but to abandon this golden opportunity.
Mo Huai and the others were quietly snickering to themselves.
None of them were just small kids anymore.
There was no way they’d fall for such a lame trick.
…
“Prince Bei, can we start now?”
Ye Jianxiu asked, sounding quite helpless.
Qin Bei’s “hold on” had forced him to maintain this pose for well over ten minutes.
In the pursuit of looking cool, he resolutely stood still.
“Alright, we can start, but I must warn you in advance, I don’t strike easily. Once I do, your fate might be worse than Jian Wushuang’s.”
Qin Bei set the tone with bravado.
“As long as you don’t humiliate me, even if you seriously injure me with one move, I, as a disciple of the Sword Sect, will never hold a grudge.”
Ye Jianxiu responded earnestly.
“So, does this mean Jian Wushuang is already holding a grudge against me?”
Ye Jianxiu: …
What have you done to him? Don’t you have a clue?
Feeling slighted is a gentle reaction.
Not calling in elders to save face? That’s the Sword Sect not protecting its own.
If it were a prized genius from the royal family,
Like Qin Xuan, for instance,
If someone stripped him of his pants and spanked him in front of everyone,
Ye Jianxiu would believe that even if the perpetrator was an elder from his Sword Sect,
Emperor Xia would definitely come knocking.
Of course, if it’s just some mediocre prince, well, that’s a whole different story.
…
“Alright, alright, let’s get this started. I’m curious how strong the top contender in the Foundation Establishment realm actually is.”
Qin Bei said while stretching.
“Okay! Then, here we go!”
Finally, they could commence.
Ye Jianxiu declared that he would be using his full strength from the get-go.
There was no room for complacency.
Ye Jianxiu thrust his sword forward; despite lacking any martial technique,
Having only just grasped the sword intent, each of Ye Jianxiu’s moves was beyond what an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator could contend with.
“Tsk, tsk~ Ye Jianxiu truly lives up to his title as the best. I’ll have to give it my all to counter this strike.”
“Indeed, if Ye Jianxiu could spend a year in the Foundation Establishment realm and genuinely comprehend the sword intent, there might be a chance of competing for a place on the combat power list of the cultivation world.”
“Don’t even think about it; Ye Jianxiu has already been waiting for half a year. He can’t wait any longer! The golden cultivation period is too short; who has the time to spare?”
“Right? You think everyone is like Prince Bei? Just for the top spot in a realm, he actually waited twenty years. That takes some serious guts!”
…
The group of ten challengers chatted amongst themselves.
They all focused on how Qin Bei would handle this move.
If Qin Bei could brush it off easily,
Well, then it goes without saying;
Once Qin Bei and Ye Jianxiu finish their duel, they’ll act like nothing happened and just head home.
Otherwise, they’d take advantage of Qin Bei to gain fame.
After Ye Jianxiu launched this attack, Qin Bei already had a good grasp of his opponent’s capabilities.
Let alone defeating him.
Even if he stood still, it would be hard for the opponent to inflict a fatal injury.
Take this attack as an example.
Even if Qin Bei braced himself against it with his body,
It would amount to little more than some superficial injuries.
Nothing that he couldn’t shake off immediately.
“It’s not surprising that someone of this caliber can’t break into the combat power ranking of the cultivation world,”
Qin Bei mused.
After all, the combat power ranking of the cultivation world comprises all characters from ancient times to the present.
Not just the talents of Cangzhou but those from other regions too.
There’s no shame in not making it onto the cultivation world’s list.
Only someone as out of the ordinary as Qin Bei could continuously break into and top the list.
“What incredible swordsmanship!”
Just as everyone was watching closely, Qin Bei exclaimed.
With his surprised tone, Qin Bei hurriedly retreated.
He appeared to be utterly reluctant to clash directly.
Mo Huai: ??????
“What’s going on? The rumors said Prince Bei isn’t just overly arrogant, but his physical strength is off the charts; he fights aggressively, so when did he turn timid?”
“Physical strength becomes less effective as one rises in realm. You can’t expect a Foundation Establishment’s physique to withstand the earth-grade sword in Ye Jianxiu’s hands, right?”
“Oh~ Now that you mention it, that does make sense.”
“Seems like we came to the right place after all.”
“We definitely did come to the right place!”
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