Chapter 1228: Betting With His Life

The middle-aged man who offered to be the banker leered at the Nangong Brothers greedily and replied with a fiery gaze, "Sure! I'll accept your bet."

In his opinion, these two guys were just giving him the Origin Stones.

"You can accept my bet but first, you must show me proof that you can actually compensate us. 300 supreme grade Origin Stones plus 5,000,000 high-grade Origin Stones," Nangong Yi said nonchalantly.

"Hmph! I won't lose!" The middle-aged man retorted.

"Then, does this mean that you want to bet with us empty-handedly? Do you think that there really is such a thing as a free lunch in the world?" Nangong Yi snorted.

"It looks like you guys have no intention to bet at all." The middle-aged man smirked.

Of course, he was unable to take 300 supreme grade Origin Stones and 5,000,000 high-grade Origin Stones out at all.

In addition to that, he was certain that nobody there could take so many Origin Stones out in just one go, not even the three old men who seemed to be Martial Emperor's disciples of Ling Tian Peak.

"It seems like they had no intention to bet from the beginning after all. They already knew that this guy wouldn't be able to take so many Origin Stones out as compensation."

"And here I was, thinking that they had faith in their companion, but It actually turned out otherwise."

...

Many people were whispering to one another.

"Not intending to bet at all?" Nangong Yi grinned with a smile so bright that his eyes became slits instantly. "How about this? We'll still place our bets and if we lose, you can take all of our Origin Stones away. If you lose, besides leaving behind your Spatial Ring, your life is ours too!"

As Nangong Yi reached the end of his sentence, a devilish smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

The moment his words left his mouth, everyone else including the three old men, were taken by shock. Only Duan Ling Tian and Nangong Chen remained calm.

Of course, among those stunned included the middle-aged man who had offered to be the banker.

With a flash in his eyes, the middle-aged man asked in a deep voice, "You want me to put my life on the line?"

"Dare you?" Nangong Yi asked indifferently.

At once, both of them were waging a tit for tat stalemate against each other.

Most of the people had their gazes fixed on them as well.

"Why not?" Soon, the middle-aged man gritted his teeth and agreed to the challenge.

At the same time, he looked towards the three old men who seemed to be Martial Emperor's disciples of Ling Xuan Peak. "Sirs, please be the witness of this wager between them and me."

The leading middle-aged man among the three of them nodded coolly. "Sure."

The old man looked at the two Nangong Brothers and warned them, "If you lose and aren't able to take that many Origin Stones out for him, I'll cripple your Dantian and banish all of you from Ling Xuan Peak!"

Then, he turned to the middle-aged man again. "If you lose, your life is theirs."

At this moment, the middle-aged man looked at the old man and asked respectfully, "Sir, if somebody insists on joining the Selection of the Martial Emperor's disciples and followers that will be held six months later, what will happen to him when that time comes and he chickens out at the final moment?"

"Once you've decided to join the Selection of the Martial Emperor's disciples and followers six months later, retreat is not an option... Nobody is allowed to regret his decision. Even if he does, he'd need to at least join one round of the Selection. Otherwise, he'll be treated as making fun of the Ling Xuan Peak. Whoever who makes fun of Ling Xuan Peak will only have one consequence: death!" When the old man reached the end of his sentence, he emphasized the last word and at the same time, he deliberately cast a glance at Duan Ling Tian who was standing quietly by the side, trying to warn him.

This man was a First Level Martial Monarch Stage who dared to come to join the Selection of the Martial Emperor's disciples and followers.

In his opinion, this man did not even respect their Ling Xuan Peak at all!

As a Martial Emperor's disciple of Ling Xuan Peak, he felt like Ling Xuan Peak, which he viewed as a Saint place, had been defiled. Thinking of that, the flame of fury inside him threatened to break out anytime.

"Haha... Awesome! I'll make a bet with them then!" Upon hearing the old man, the middle-aged man burst out laughing and agreed readily.

In his eyes, his avarice was even more apparent as though he could already see the thirty supreme grade Origin Stones and 500,000 high-grade Origin Stones entering his pocket.

"What are you so happy about? Do you really think that you've won?" Nangong Yi smirked before looking at the old man. "We'll bet with him as well."

The old man nodded and at the same time, he looked towards Duan Ling Tian who was standing by the side. He announced, "Do you insist on joining the Selection of the Martial Emperor's disciples and followers that will be held at Ling Xuan Peak in six months? If you insist on joining, withdrawal is prohibited. You'll need to at least join one round of the Selection. It could be either a life-or-death test designed for a Martial Monarch or even a battle against a Martial Monarch."

To him, if this purple-clad young man in front did not want to die, he definitely would not insist on joining the Selection.

A First Level Void Interpretation martial artist joining the Selection of the Martial Emperor's disciples and followers would very likely end up dead!

The rest of the crowd had their attention trained on Duan Ling Tian as well.

Everybody else, except for the two Nangong Brothers, felt that he would definitely give up joining the Selection of the Martial Emperor's disciples and followers.

"I've won! I've won already!" The moment he saw the slight twitch of Duan Ling Tian's lips as he was about to open his mouth, the middle-aged man's eyes lit up immediately

An extremely dazzling smile appeared on his face.

However, the moment Duan Ling Tian spoke, his smile froze at once.

"Count me in," Duan Ling Tian looked squarely at the old leader of the three elderly men and replied nonchalantly.

Boom!

Duan Ling Tian's words struck down on most of the crowd like a thunderbolt, particularly the middle-aged man. Other than having his smile froze on his face, his eyes were filled with dread as well. He feared the death that he was going to face soon.

"You're crazy! You're absolutely insane!" The middle-aged man cursed Duan Ling Tian out loud before suddenly speeding off without warning as he tried to leave the scene.

He did not want to lose his life!

However, would he be able to just leave as he wished?

The second the middle-aged man moved, a worn figure appeared out of thin air before him and blocked his path.

It was one of the two men from the trio apart from the old man.

"Okay. Very good." After the old leader was taken by surprise, his face turned grave before he stared at Duan Ling Tian coldly. "I'll watch over every action of yours in the next six months! Before you join at least one round of the Selection of the Martial Emperor's disciples and followers, don't even think of leaving Ling Xuan Peak at all!"

"I'll count on you then," Duan Ling Tian shrugged and replied indifferently.

His casualness took the crowd, who was coming to their senses one by one, by bewilderment.

"This guy doesn't seem to fear death at all."

"He doesn't just stare death in the face, but he also seems to be full of confidence as well. Don't tell me that he's actually confident that he'll be able to survive one round of the Selection and live?"

"How's that possible?! Forget the fact that he's a First Level Void Interpretation Stage martial artist. Even if he's a First Level Void Transformation Stage or a Ninth Level Void Transformation Stage martial artist, he'll most likely still die in the Selection of the Martial Emperor's disciples and followers held at Ling Xuan Peak!"

"Then, is this guy intentionally seeking death?"

"Well, given the circumstances now, he must be!"

...

At once, the group of people present were convinced that Duan Ling Tian was deliberately looking for death.

After all, to them, Duan Ling Tian was merely a First Level Void Interpretation Stage martial artist.

By right, even if a First Level Void Interpretation martial artist had a high level of comprehension, he could only grasp the Void Interpretation Stage Concepts.

Such a person was no different than an ant in their eyes.

"I hope that you'll still be this calm in six months. I'm looking forward to it," the old man commented in a deep voice.

After saying that, he no longer had his attention on Duan Ling Tian. In a flash, he appeared in front of the middle-aged man who had made a bet with the Nangong Brothers. His eyes were as cold as ice and were devoid of emotions.

The middle-aged man glanced at the leading old man standing close to him and said with a terrified expression, "Sir! I-I was merely joking! I withdraw my bet! I don't want to bet anymore!"

At this moment, his eyes were filled with dread that originated from the bottom of his heart and his soul.

The fact that another person had no fear towards death did not mean that he shared the same sentiments.

If he had known earlier that this purple-clad young man was so gutsy, he would not have accepted the bet with the two Nangong Brothers.

Boom!

In the face of the man's begging, the leading old man did not give a damn. With a raise of his hand, he quickly blasted him to death.

As for the Spatial Ring and Profundity Fragments that were left behind by the middle-aged man, he guided it towards the Nangong Brothers using an invisible force with just a flick of his hand.

The scene made the crowd gasp in horror. This ending was far from their imagination.

"Thank you, Sir." After Nangong Yi had stored the Spatial Ring and the Profundity Fragments, he smiled and thanked the old man who nodded nonchalantly.

In the next instance, he swept a glance around and his gaze landed on the few martial artists who were on the Seventh Level Martial Monarch stage and above, including Nangong Chen. "The few of you, follow him to where you'll be staying for the next six months."

As he reached the end of his sentence, he looked wordlessly at one of the old men beside him.

At once, the old man brought Nangong Chen and the few of them away.

"All of you, follow him." Then, the leading old man looked at Nangong Yi and a few more others before turning to the other old man.

The group of people, including Nangong Yi, were all between the Fourth and Seventh Level Martial Monarch Stages.

"Duan Ling Tian, I'll leave first." Before Nangong Yi left with the group of people and the old man, he smiled and acknowledged Duan Ling Tian as though he was not worried about the situation that the latter was facing.

Upon seeing this, confusion filled the depths of the old man's eyes right away.

Was this guy not worried about his companion at all?

Was it because he had absolute faith in his companion?

Or did he just not care about the life or death of his companion?

At once, the old man's gaze shifted towards Duan Ling Tian unknowingly and his heart jolted.

He felt that it must be the latter.

"If a First Level Void Interpretation Stage martial artist can set a hurricane or something off at Ling Xuan Peak, that would be extremely strange," he thought to himself.

Soon, the old man looked at the few people, including Duan Ling Tian before he announced, "All of you, follow me."