"It doesn't count?"
Taken aback, Zhang Jiuxiao frowned. "What do you mean by that?"
"Nothing much!"
The middle-aged man harrumphed coldly. "The bets we place here are based on fairness. You and Zhang Xuan, one feigned weakness to confuse the crowd while the other intentionally placed a bet. This is considered cheating, and it's a violation of the rules. Not only will all of your bets be confiscated, you will also have to compensate us!"
"Compensate us?"
"Disrupting the order of the market and maliciously placing bets … Men, arrest this fellow!"
The middle-aged man ordered with a wave of his hand.
Huala!
In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen armored guards rushed in from the surroundings. Every single one of them possessed the strength of a Primordial Spirit realm pinnacle cultivator, and they surrounded Zhang Jiuxiao.
"You all …"
Zhang Jiuxiao did not think that the underground black market would refuse to admit defeat and even want to arrest him. With a flick of his finger, a Saint intermediate-tier artifact floated before him, ready to make a move at any moment.
While he did possess the strength to challenge those stronger than him, there were simply too many people standing before him. Furthermore, the middle-aged man before him was a Leaving Aperture realm pinnacle expert as well. With his current strength, there was no way he could stand against him.
"To think that you can't even afford to compensate us for your loss. Is this how you conduct yourselves?"
Before Zhang Jiuxiao could make a move, a nonchalant voice suddenly sounded. The young man who had just defeated Hong Yang had suddenly appeared on the dueling ring with a displeased look on his face.
He had intended to use his winnings to participate in the auction to purchase the Ancient Tome of Bedstead, but who could have known that not only would the other party refuse to pay, they would even surround Zhang Jiuxiao? Unable to hold himself back any longer, he flew over from the dueling ring.
"It was you all who conspired to set up this scheme and broke the rules. If everyone is allowed to act in such a manner, how are we supposed to continue doing business in the future?"
The middle-aged man said with a flick of his sleeves.
He was none other than the boss from before.
Even in the entire black market, there was only 20,000 concentrated high-tier spirit stones. If he were to give it to them, there was no way the market could continue operating.
"Rules? There are rules in the black market as well? "
Zhang Xuan sneered coldly.
Didn't they say that the black market was a place that didn't care about rules?
"Nothing can be accomplished without rules. This is the same even for the black market," the boss said.
"Since you are willing to abide by the rules, let me explain them to you.
Zhang Xuan shook his head.
Even a place like Mingshi Tang, which was so particular about rules and regulations, couldn't do anything to him. So, for a mere owner of a black market to talk to him … it was no different from selling cakes in front of a bank!
Zhang Xuan is a friend of mine, and he has high hopes for me. There shouldn't be any problems with him betting on my victory, right? "Zhang Xuan asked.
"No problem!"
The boss nodded.
In the black market, many contestants bet on their own victory. Without this kind of excitement, who would be willing to risk their lives here?
It was normal for friends to bet on their victory.
Zhang Xuan harrumphed. "Since there's no problem, and you're the one who set the odds, you can accept any amount of bets … What right do you have to say that we're breaking the rules?"
"He could have easily defeated the other party, but he pretended to be weak … That's cheating …"
"Deceive? Deceive refers to using underhanded means to gain profit … Ask everyone here. When I fought with Hong Yang, I kept saying that I wasn't a match for him and that I wouldn't be able to hold on any longer. However, he refused to listen to my advice and insisted on fighting with me. Thus, I was forced to retaliate … That's cheating as well? "
Zhang Xuan glanced at the middle-aged man. "If you really want to gain profit from this, you should have just agreed to the battle with him. There's no need for you to reject him time and time again!"
"This …"
The middle-aged man's eyebrows shot up.
He had heard the other party's words as well.
It was true that the other party didn't want to fight with him, but the other party insisted on fighting with him … Speaking of which, he couldn't really blame the other party.
"There's no need for you to argue with me. This is the black market, and I'm the boss. My words are the rules! Men, take these two troublemakers away as well! "
Knowing that the other party would only have more excuses to justify his actions, the middle-aged man flung his sleeves furiously.
"Since you can't find a reason, you want to arrest them? Let's see who dares to touch a single hair on our heads … "
Zhang Xuan frowned as he scanned the surroundings.
"Charge!"
One of the guards bellowed as he charged forward.
No matter how powerful the other party was, they had the advantage in numbers, and they were all Primordial Spirit realm pinnacle experts as well. They should be able to subdue him easily.
Zhang Xuan raised his sword and sent a burst of sword qi toward the middle-aged man.
As a guard of the black market, his strength was not to be underestimated. Even before the sword qi reached the middle-aged man, it tore through the air, seemingly capable of cleaving a person in half.
Seeing that the middle-aged man's sword qi carried a hint of gentleness amidst its ferocity, Zhang Xuan did not bother dodging. Instead, he flicked his finger forward.
Padah!
The sword qi shattered, and the middle-aged man's zhenqi struck his dantian, causing it to tremble intensely. Pah! His dantian shattered.
"Y-you … crippled my cultivation?"
The middle-aged man's body went limp, and he collapsed to the ground with fear in his eyes.
The shattering of one's dantian was equivalent to the destruction of one's cultivation. He had been cultivating for innumerable years, but this time, his cultivation had been crippled.
Zhang Xuan could not be bothered to reply to the middle-aged man's question. He continued moving his feet, and a series of crackling sounds reminiscent of firecrackers could be heard. In just a few breaths, the dozen or so guards who had surrounded Zhang Jiuxiao were lying on the ground. Feeling their dantian being crippled, fear welled up in the depths of their hearts.
This group of people had been abusing their authority and abetting the evildoers. Even if they were killed, it would not be too much. Crippling their dantian could already be considered as going easy on them.
Seeing how a mere Primordial Spirit realm advanced stage cultivator actually crippled his subordinate right before his eyes, the middle-aged man's eyes reddened in rage. He raised his hand, and a powerful might burst forth from his palm to grab Zhang Xuan.
Narrowing his eyes, Zhang Xuan did not bother dodging. Instead, he stepped forward to meet the middle-aged man's attack.
Having reached Primordial Spirit realm advanced stage, he had no one to spar with yet. Since this fellow was looking for trouble, he did not mind giving him a good beating!
Boom!
Zhang Xuan's fist collided with the middle-aged man's palm, and a deafening explosion sounded in the surroundings. Under the impact of the shockwave, the spectator stands immediately collapsed.
Upon seeing such a powerful force, the crowd who had been watching the commotion immediately scattered in fear. Even Zhang Jiuxiao retreated several dozen meters away.
"Y-you … How can you be so powerful?"
The middle-aged man narrowed his eyes in astonishment.
He had thought that the other party was only capable of fighting above his cultivation realm, but who could have thought that they would actually be evenly matched?
For a Primordial Spirit realm advanced stage cultivator to possess strength comparable to a Leaving Aperture realm pinnacle cultivator like him …
Even though he was witnessing it with his own eyes, he still found it hard to believe.
"Who in the world are you?"
Given how the other party was capable of fighting above his cultivation realm, there was no way that the other party was just an ordinary challenger.
"Zhang Xuan!"
With a faint smile, Zhang Xuan flicked his palm and sent a palm strike toward the middle-aged man.
The palm strike did not seem to carry any force behind it, but it felt extremely difficult to withstand. The middle-aged man was just about to say something when he saw the palm strike coming toward him. Knowing that he had no choice but to face it head-on, he hurriedly raised his palm to meet it.
However, before his fist could come into contact with the middle-aged man's palm, the other party had already appeared before him and pressed down lightly.
Peng!
Fresh blood spurted from the middle-aged man's mouth, and he was sent flying before crashing heavily onto the ground.
Back when Zhang Xuan was still at Primordial Spirit realm intermediate stage, he was already capable of fighting on par with Leaving Aperture realm pinnacle cultivators. Now that he had reached Leaving Aperture realm advanced stage, no matter how powerful the middle-aged man was, he was still no match for him.
"Go! Cripple him for me!"
After exchanging two blows, Zhang Xuan knew that the middle-aged man was no match for him, so he could not be bothered to make a move anymore.
Hula!
From a room beneath the dueling ring, more than a hundred sabers of various shapes and sizes flew out, and they headed straight for the middle-aged man.
Even though these sabers were only Saint low-tier artifacts, there were simply too many of them. With more than a hundred of them attacking simultaneously, the middle-aged man narrowed his eyes in astonishment. Before he could even retaliate, he had already been reduced to a bloody mess.
"These …"
Upon seeing so many sabers, the eyebrows of the middle-aged man who was reporting to the middle-aged man widened in astonishment.
These were none other than the sabers that were provided to the contestants in the dueling ring … Just that, weren't these weapons supposed to lack spirit? Why would they be so obedient as to attack the middle-aged man?
"They must have been enchanted …"
The middle-aged man clenched his fists tightly as he came to a realization.
Clearly, these weapons had been enchanted by the other party. That was also the reason why they were so obedient as to attack the middle-aged man.
It had not been too long since that fellow entered the dueling ring to choose his weapon, and yet, he had managed to enchant so many weapons … How in the world did he manage to do it?
The middle-aged man was not the only one who was in disbelief. Zhang Jiuxiao's lips were twitching as well.
He had known that Zhang Shi's means of enchantment were unparalleled in the world, but who could have thought that the other party would actually be able to tame the other party's sabers?
It seemed like Zhang Jiuxiao had already guessed that it would not be easy for him to take away the other party's winnings as soon as he arrived at the dueling ring.
Wuuuuuuuu!
It was as if the hundred or so Saint low-tier artifacts had undergone some kind of special training. Every single strike was aimed at the weakest point of the middle-aged man's body. It did not take long for the middle-aged man, who had been charging at Zhang Jiuxiao ferociously a moment ago, to be reduced to a bloody mess.
"Hold it right there! I'm willing to return the high-tier spirit stones that you have won!"
Knowing that it was only a matter of time before he was hacked to death, the middle-aged man hurriedly shouted.
As indignant as he felt, there was nothing he could do about it.
He was no match for Zhang Jiuxiao, let alone those sabers.
"Return?"
With a wave of his hand, the sabers flew back to Zhang Xuan, and they floated behind him like a peacock spreading its tail.
"This is …"
Struggling back to his feet, the middle-aged man took out a storage ring and passed it over. "Here are 19,800 high-tier spirit stones …"
This was the underground black market, and the profits that it had accumulated over the years would come to an end if it were to be handed over to Zhang Jiuxiao.
Taking the storage ring, Zhang Xuan took a look at it and nodded.
It seemed like the middle-aged man wasn't pulling any tricks on him.
"I won these bets in a battle. Since you dared to make a move on me and my friend, let's see how you intend to compensate us!"
Zhang Xuan said as he stowed the high-tier spirit stones away.
"Compensate?"
The middle-aged man's face paled.
He had already gone bankrupt, but he still wanted to compensate them?
"That's right!"
Zhang Xuan nodded.
The black market did not care about the lives of others. Even though Mingshi Tang and Qianchong City did not do anything about it, it was only right for him to do something about it. Otherwise, what would become of the rules that master teachers had established?
"May I know how you intend to compensate us?" the middle-aged man asked with gritted teeth.
"I heard that your black market has just obtained an Ancient Tome of Bedstead Disquisition?"
Zhang Xuan pondered for a moment before replying.
(Author's Note: Participating in the Writer's Salon, he traveled to Malaysia and Singapore for a total of ten days. Yet, not only did Laoya not stop updating, he even updated on time every single day. Isn't such a formidable Laoya worth a few monthly votes? Also, I implore everyone to pay attention to Laoya's official account and search for 'Sweeping the World' on WeChat. In the next few days, Laoya will be participating in a fan meet-and-greet meeting, as well as posting photos of his trips to Singapore and Singapore.)
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