CHAPTER 89: CHAPTER 81: 500,000 BETTING MONEY

Ye Chen accepted the bet, much to everyone’s surprise. Nearly everyone had thought that Ye Chen would not agree, considering he was no longer the unparalleled prodigy who broke into the Innate Realm at the age of thirteen; with his Dantian damaged, where did this confidence and audacity come from to accept Xia Mang’s wager?

Unexpectedly, Vivian did not stop Ye Chen from taking the bet, seemingly having considerable faith in him.

Hua Shaoyang’s face wore a strange expression as he said to Xia Mang, "Mr. Xia, you’d better be careful. There’s something odd about this man."

But Xia Mang didn’t care at all and chuckled coldly, "He’s just a piece of trash. What’s there to worry about? I actually want to see this trash kneel down and apologize to this young master, thinking about how to humiliate him is the greatest pleasure."

If you knew his identity, you wouldn’t dare humiliate him even if you had ten times the courage, Hua Shaoyang moved his lips, sighed silently, and after all did not reveal Ye Chen’s good relations with Master Li Yun of Danxin Palace.

Moreover, Hua Shaoyang was also curious to know where Ye Chen got his confidence from to meet Xia Mang’s challenge. Had he truly recovered his former Cultivation, or was he just bluffing to intimidate Xia Mang?

This was a point well worth waiting to see.

The lady in red also looked at Ye Chen with great interest, full of anticipation.

"Ye Chen, since you’ve agreed, come forward and test now, let us see if you, this piece of trash, have recovered your Cultivation or not," Xia Mang sarcastically taunted, uncovering the old scars.

At this moment, everyone was looking forward to Ye Chen stepping forward to test, but just then he shook his head and said, "Sorry, I don’t want to bet anymore."

As soon as these words came out, everyone was taken aback. He had just agreed, and now he was reneging so soon.

Xia Mang, Li Hu, and a few others’ faces changed. Were they being played with? Especially Xia Mang, whose face darkened as he demanded, "Kid, what do you mean by this? Are you playing me?"

One of the elite students close to Xia Mang sneered, "Ye Chen, if you can’t afford to play, don’t. Just kneel and apologize to Mr. Xia, and all will be forgiven. How about that? It’s giving you face."

"Annoying!" Ye Chen swept a glance over the man and uttered coolly, causing the man’s face to change, while Ye Chen went on, "It’s not that I dare not accept the bet; I’ve just realized that the wager of one hundred thousand Gold Coins is too low, and I have absolutely no interest."

This indifferent comment stunned everyone present, and Xia Mang was especially irritated. This boy was clearly too scared to bet, but he seemed to know what he was doing, thinking the boy had no confidence at all and had thrown out a baseless excuse to back out.

Just after thinking of this, Xia Mang suddenly brightened, a cold smile on his face, "Fine, if you think it’s too small, how about I bet two hundred thousand Gold Coins?"

The surrounding people were amazed. As expected of an elite student from the Heavenly Level Academy, as expected of a distinguished offspring from the Royal Capital’s noble families, their betting was generous, adding more than one hundred thousand Gold Coins at once, making others look up in admiration.

Yet Ye Chen still shook his head, "Still too little."

"Three hundred thousand Gold Coins!" Xia Mang increased the bid again, and even people like Li Hu couldn’t help but speak out, "Mr. Xia!"

"No need to worry. He’s just a paper tiger, with no real substance. I will surely win this round without a doubt," Xia Mang was not concerned at all.

But Ye Chen still shook his head, and after several repeated increases all met with refusal, Xia Mang finally couldn’t help but roar, "Then how much exactly do you want?"

In response, Ye Chen held up five fingers.

"Five hundred thousand Gold Coins?!" Upon seeing this, not just Xia Mang, but everyone else couldn’t help but gasp. This was a bit too much to ask, wasn’t it?

Five hundred thousand Gold Coins was an enormous fortune. Not just any wealthy scion, but many of the Royal Capital’s officials and nobles might not possess such wealth.

Now, Ye Chen was demanding such an amount for the wager. Such a bold move indeed.

"Kid, you—" Xia Mang couldn’t help but change color; the bet was too big, and he didn’t have that much. Ye Chen simply said lightly, "If you can’t come up with it, then forget the bet."

"Fine, I accept it!"

Xia Mang clenched his teeth nearly to the point of drawing blood, and the people around him changed color.

But Ye Chen, seizing the advantage, was relentless. He said, "First get out the five hundred thousand principal. If you lose and refuse to admit it, wouldn’t I have wasted my time?"

With a cold snort, Xia Mang took out a Purple Pattern Gold Card. As an elite disciple of the Heavenly Level Academy, he had a Purple Pattern Gold Card as well, with three stars twinkling on it, signifying three hundred thousand Gold Coins. He said, "This is all the money I have on me, just three hundred thousand Gold Coins. If you win, I will deliver the remaining two hundred thousand Gold Coins to you within three days. My reputation is still worth something."

"Sorry, your reputation is worthless in my eyes, still short of two hundred thousand Gold Coins. If you can’t come up with it, don’t bet. I don’t gamble with poor people," Ye Chen remained unyielding.

"You—," Xia Mang was infuriated by the young man today, absolutely furious. When did the great Xia Mang ever not pay his debts? But the more it was like this, the less he could back down. By doing so, it would prove that Ye Chen had no confidence and was merely bluffing.

"Li Hu, Hua Shaoyang, Young Master Yangg, Young Master Wuu, lend me two hundred thousand Gold Coins first. It’s impossible for me to lose this time. This kid is only bluffing. If we back down now, that’s the real defeat," Xia Mang said.

"Okay, Mr. Xia, we all believe in you." Except for Hua Shaoyang who hesitated slightly, the other three people promptly transferred fifty thousand Gold Coins each from their gold cards to Xia Mang.

Finally, Hua Shaoyang sighed and transferred the money as well. In the end, Xia Mang’s Purple Pattern Gold Card shone with five golden stars, bright and eye-catching.

Xia Mang sneered, "Ye Chen, now the five hundred thousand Gold Coins are here. Let’s see what excuses you have left not to bet. If you lose, I won’t take a single coin from you, but you must kowtow to me, calling me ’Grandfather’, then strip off your clothes and run naked through the Academy."

By this point, everyone understood Xia Mang’s malicious intentions. He was convinced that Ye Chen had only set the five hundred thousand Gold Coins as the bet because he was afraid to lose, with no real ability to back it up.

Was it really only that?

Many were curious and wanted to see if Ye Chen had that level of confidence, or if, as Xia Mang speculated, he was merely a paper tiger.

At this moment, a lady in red came up to Vivian, looking somewhat concerned. "Vivian, aren’t you worried that Ye Chen might lose?"

Vivian shook her head with a smile, then suddenly asked her a question. "Sister Hongs Rong, let me ask you something. Who do you think is more formidable? Xia Mang or the Innate Giant Crocodile I brought back when I was performing a task for the Academy?"

Although the lady in red didn’t understand Vivian’s intention, she still said, "Naturally, it’s the Innate Giant Crocodile. It is a Mutant Alligator, at the very least at the Innate Realm Third Stage—a formidable Demon Beast capable of exerting a staggering fifty thousand catties of force, with thick skin and flesh. Xia Mang doesn’t stand a chance against a Mutant Innate Giant Crocodile; he’d be on a one-way street to death. I still don’t understand how you managed to hunt such a fearsome beast."

"Sister, you’re joking. How could Vivian have the power to kill such an Innate Giant Crocodile? Someone else made the move," Vivian said.

"Who?" The lady in red asked in surprise, but at that moment, Vivian’s gaze had already fallen on Ye Chen, the implication clear without words.

Could it be him?

Shock filled the lady in red’s face, and she could scarcely believe it.

Li Hu said coldly, "Ye Chen, hurry up and take the test. Let us see what qualifies you to disdain Mr. Xia’s achievements."

At this time, several people were looking at Ye Chen with mocking smiles—aside from Hua Shaoyang, they all believed Ye Chen was just boasting. Now with the five hundred thousand Gold Coins at stake, wouldn’t he be even more panicked?

But Ye Chen’s face showed none of the panic they expected. On the contrary, he smiled, a very radiant smile. He had been thinking about how to raise the principal for the auction event in a few days, but now with five hundred thousand Gold Coins at hand, he certainly wouldn’t let it slip away.

Under countless watching eyes, Ye Chen walked up to the Strength Monument, a ten-zhang-tall pitch-black stele. Mocking voices from Xia Mang and the others rose from behind: "Ye Chen, stop dragging your feet. Hurry up."

"Hehe, he’s really scared now. How could he dare make a move? He must be thinking about how to slip away."

Unperturbed by the mockery, Ye Chen smiled faintly and threw a punch that was strikingly ordinary, without even a hint of Inner Strength or True Yuan energy fluctuations appearing. But just as Xia Mang and the others wanted to laugh at him again, the scene that unfolded before everyone left them completely stunned.

Boom—

The Strength Monument trembled violently as red, orange, yellow, and green lights flashed forth. Light Radiance covered the sky and then dissipated. Following that, the blue radiance appeared...

In the next Chapter, a surprising scene will emerge, haha!