Devouring The Heavens

Chapter 295: Hua Wushang

As the disciples withdrew one by one, the leaders watching did not criticise them. Rather, they praised their decision-making.

“Unlike the ones before, these disciples are worthy. While both sets of disciple withdrew, the ones who withdrew when it was the top 28 were just scared. Even though the odds were unlikely that they would face Funglie, Hua Wushang, or Wan Jianlun, they didn’t want to risk themselves while trying to improve themselves. However, the ones who just withdrew are smart. They have already proven themselves through the previous battles, and now that the odds of them facing the powerhouses of the sect is far higher, they choose to withdraw. There is a fine line between bravery and recklessness, and these disciples have proven that they can tread their line well. They are rare talents that are worth cultivating.” Looking at the four disciples who withdrew, one of the xians approved of them.

One must not push oneself too far. They should know when they should stay and fight, and when they should retreat.

“That’s right, disciples should be able to accurately gauge their own strength. As one goes higher up in the ranking, the rewards are definitely greater. But along with greater rewards comes greater risks. Let’s see if Xuanyuan is just staying out of bravado, or does he really have the strength to back up his actions.”

“Haha, while Xuanyuan has done well to come thus far, the gap between him and the others is just too massive. He cannot be a match for any of them. I can only say that he is too arrogant because of his rapidly increasing strength. Several talents like him die because of their over-confidence, I fear even Xuanyuan is going to be the same.”

“So what? It’s still a valuable experience if he survives. I can only hope that Xuanyuan faces Fenglie, at least he can escape with his life and the experience gained from fighting one so much stronger than him. If it’s either of the other two, I’m afraid Xuanyuan will die. However, we can’t do anything. It’s all dependent on the boy’s fortune. Life and death within the ring is all based on one’s fortune, we can’t rush to save him.”

“Haha, don’t criticise him too much, after all he’s only 16 or 17. It’s the boldness of the age.”

“Hmm, Hua Wushang, isn’t he the child that the Huawu Xian brought back. Isn’t he a disciple of Master Ruyi? I heard he’s an outstanding disciple, and the one and only disciple of Master Ruyi. I guess his presence in this competition is because of the last meeting between the masters.”

“That’s right, I heard that the Huawu Xian and Master Ruyi nurse a grievance against Xuanyuan, that would explain why he is here.”

“Yeah, especially considering none of the other geniuses came out. Only Wan Jianlun of the Swords in the South came. Luo, Huang Yuechan, Jiang Yitian, Xuan, and Bai Shaxian all decided to refrain from participating. Looks like he is targeting Xuanyuan.”

The xian realm fighters were all discussing the sudden appearance of Hua Wushang. The sect generally did not want to risk the lives of their top disciples. Furthermore, they wanted to hide the strength of their top disciples as well, since it gave them the element of surprise. Other sects would be dissuaded from attacking them if they didn’t know their true strength. It even allowed them to launch a surprise attack, since other forces would not be expecting an attack from a sect that they deemed weak.

“Xuanyuan dares to remain? Isn’t he afraid of death?”

“It’s already a great honour to be in the top 8, is he still not satisfied?”

“This time he won’t escape from death. He’s no match for any of them. All three of them are comparable to first circle xian realm fighters. How can Xuanyuan even stand a chance.”

“I’m certain Xuanyuan will lose this time.”

“If he wins, I’ll cut my head off and offer it as a seat to him.”

“I will castrate myself in front of everyone if he wins!”

Everyone was surprised at Xuanyuan’s decision to stay. They thought it was a fluke that he managed to beat Xie Tian. Compared to Fenglie and the others, Xuanyuan’s strength was not at all comparab;e, thus they expected his loss to be a surefire thing. They thought he had no self-awareness.

Curious at Xuanyuan’s decision to stay, the Saint murmured to himself, “I’m curious as to what you will show us this time, Xuanyuan…”

Interrupting everyone’s thoughts, the pig predictably screamed again.

“Come one, come all, let’s wager on this match! Who will win, and who will lose! Let’s see who the future Saint of the sect will face next. Will it be Fenglie? Or maybe Wan Jianlun of the Swords! It could even be Hua Wushang! Prepare your bets on the outcome of the next match!”

The old man simply raised his eyebrows and looked questioningly towards Xuanyuan.

“Young man, I hope you have considered whether you should withdraw.” His voice was gentle, yet persuasive. He tried to shake Xuanyuan’s confidence.

Xuanyuan remained unperturbed, and calmly replied, “I have already considered whether I should withdraw or not. I have decided that I would like to stay.”

Seeing his determination, the elder smiled with satisfaction and declared, “Very well then, let’s start.”

Two beams of starlight fell from the heavens, one onto Xuanyuan, and the other onto Hua Wushang.

The crowd was in an uproar.

“Looks like the first match is Xuanyuan versus Hua Wushang.”

“Hua Wushang huh. It is said that he is the last disciple of Master Ruyi. Did you see his power in the last fight? He used the jade that Master Ruyi gave him, and severely damaged the cultivation of the seventh rank Emperor from the Fang family. He’s reduced to a cripple now.”

“It’s not just the last fight. All his previous competitors had their cultivation destroyed, and were reduced to mere cripples. I feel that’s scarier than killing them outright.”

As the disciples were discussing this, a stretcher passed them carrying a true disciple, who’s cultivation was crippled, and another disciple who had died.

A violent force ran through the air. A door opened in the sky, and from it stepped two people.

“That’s senior Fang Yun.”

“Looks like he managed to reach the seventh rank of the Emperor realm after two years in the Time Void. He is just one step away from the xian realm.”

“Who is that man standing next to him? He also appears to be in the Emperor realm.”

“You fool, that’s senior Fang Yun’s niece, Fang Yuyou. Can’t you see the lack of an Adam’s apple? She doesn’t even resemble a man, she just likes to dress up as one. I heard that she is very fond of Xuanyuan, but I don’t know how true it is. She did defend Xuanyuan in the Fighting Dragons Hall last time.”

Both Fang Yun and Fang Yuyou looked dignified as they descended. Fang Yun looked at the seventh rank Emperor realm fighter whom Hua Wushang had injured, but he held his tongue.”

Fang Yuyou turned to the pig and said, “I bet two million pounds of pure source energy on Xuanyuan’s victory.”

Fang Yun looked at her in surprise, but said nothing. Everyone shivered, they could sense another massive bet beginning.

The pig happily grinned and declared, “Let the betting begin! The first person has already bet two million pounds on Xuanyuan’s victory. Anyone else?”

“Only fools will bet on Xuanyuan. It’s no contest that Brother Hua will win. I bet 150,000 pounds on Hua Wushang’s victory!” A seventh rank Emperor shouted out.

Fenglie calmly said, “I bet 500,000 pounds on Xuanyuan winning.”

“So do I. I bet three million on Xuanyuan’s victory.” Huang Yuechan chimed in, her voice spreading.

At the same time Bai Shaxian spoke up, “The lady Bai wishes to bet 5 million pounds on Xuanyuan’s victory.”

Many people were considering whether or not they should bet on Xuanyuan. At that moment, the Saint smiled and declared, “I bet 4 million pounds on Hua Wushang.”

The crowd was in an uproar. Everyone immediately started betting on Xuanyuan. Despite the 5 million bet on Xuanyuan, the amount of Hua Wushang far exceeded it. The total amount bet on Hua Wushang was 9.8 billion pounds, while Xuanyuan only had 1.7 billion pounds bet on his victory.

“Now that everyone is done betting, let’s see what the outcome will be!” The pig declared, a smile splitting his face. Seeing his expression, several chief disciples sneered and thought, “How naive! He will definitely lose a fortune this time. Serves you right, you damn pig!”