As his words fell, the scene erupted into an uproar once more, filled with sighs and endless exclamations.
The outcome of this bet had surpassed everyone's expectations.
At the same time, everyone knew that from this day forward, Lin Xuan's reputation would spread once again, shaking the entire sect.
Hearing this, Lin Xuan nodded slightly, took out his identity token, and walked toward the referee.
Seeing this, the referee immediately understood Lin Xuan's intent.
With a wave of his hand, he directed two inner disciples to help Hu Yuanhua, who was still lying on the ground, to his feet.
Hu Yuanhua also knew what to do and took out his own identity token.
When Lin Xuan approached, he said in a low voice:
"Senior Brother Lin, I lost this bet, and I admit defeat wholeheartedly!
I won't renege on the wager of eighty thousand contribution points.
But I currently don't have enough energy points on hand—only sixty thousand.
Could I use some spirit stones to make up the difference?"
Hu Yuanhua's attitude was very humble, even addressing Lin Xuan as "Senior Brother."
In truth, since Lin Xuan had crushed Hu Yuanhua so overwhelmingly, his strength had clearly surpassed Hu Yuanhua's.
According to the unspoken rule of the martial world—where the strong are revered—it was only fitting for Hu Yuanhua to call Lin Xuan "Senior Brother."
However, Hu Yuanhua was ranked on the Elite List, with a status, position, and cultivation level far above Lin Xuan's.
Even if Lin Xuan's strength exceeded Hu Yuanhua's,
most martial artists would still feel some reluctance and find it hard to say.
But Hu Yuanhua spoke it naturally, sincerely acknowledging Lin Xuan as his senior brother from the bottom of his heart.
Because after this battle, he had witnessed Lin Xuan's strength.
He realized that Lin Xuan was even more monstrous and freakish than the rumors suggested.
In fact, even the title of "Number One Genius of Flowing Cloud Sect" might not be worthy of Lin Xuan.
Such an existence had limitless potential for the future.
Even now, he couldn't compare.
He naturally didn't dare to offend him and wanted to curry favor in every way.
So he willingly called Lin Xuan "Senior Brother," setting aside the useless pride and arrogance of an Elite List disciple.
Hearing this, Lin Xuan glanced at Hu Yuanhua with some surprise.
He hadn't expected Hu Yuanhua's attitude to change so quickly.
But that wasn't his concern.
He couldn't be bothered to dwell on it.
Still, Hu Yuanhua's suggestion wasn't bad—he happened to be short on spirit stones for cultivation.
"Fine. How many spirit stones do you have on hand?"
Lin Xuan then asked.
"Six thousand. I only have six thousand low-grade spirit stones left."
Hu Yuanhua replied truthfully.
"I happen to need some spirit stones too, so using them to supplement the wager is no problem.
I'll take all six thousand.
But as for the exchange rate, what do you think is fair?"
As he spoke, Lin Xuan looked at Hu Yuanhua with a faint, knowing smile.
Hu Yuanhua put on a flattering grin and quickly said:
"Since Senior Brother Lin needs them, just take them.
As for the rate, how about six thousand spirit stones for twenty thousand contribution points? That, plus the sixty thousand contribution points left in my identity token, makes exactly the eighty thousand wager.
Senior Brother Lin, what do you think?"
Six thousand spirit stones for twenty thousand contribution points.
This rate was much higher than even the highest unofficial exchange rate within the sect.
It was clearly a loss.
But Hu Yuanhua, eager to ingratiate himself with Lin Xuan, didn't care about such details.
"Fine, let's do it that way."
Lin Xuan nodded with satisfaction.
He tossed his identity token to the referee nearby.
Hu Yuanhua's obvious attempt to curry favor was not lost on him.
But since Hu Yuanhua had harbored ill intentions when issuing the challenge,
he accepted it now and let go of Hu Yuanhua's earlier schemes.
Soon, the referee completed the transfer.
He returned the identity token and a storage ring to Lin Xuan.
After taking them, Lin Xuan turned to a few stewards at the Condensing Whirlpool Peak stage standing among the crowd not far away, and said with a smile:
"Steward Liu, Steward Sun... I'm currently short on spirit stones. May I exchange some contribution points for spirit stones?"
...
Leveraging the momentum from crushing Hu Yuanhua, an Elite List disciple, and damaging the arena, the exchange was completed quickly.
To curry favor with Lin Xuan, the stewards even adjusted the exchange rate to match Hu Yuanhua's, taking a small loss themselves.
Lin Xuan naturally had no objection to taking it all.
A few minutes later, his one hundred and twenty thousand contribution points were successfully exchanged for eighteen thousand low-grade spirit stones.
Adding what he already had, he was left with seventy thousand contribution points and twenty-four thousand spirit stones.
Lin Xuan nodded, quite satisfied.
Now he could continue cultivating for a while and improve his strength.
Moreover, once news of everything that happened at the arena spread, it would shake the sect again.
By then, a large influx of energy points would follow.
Energy points and cultivation resources—both in abundance.
This trip had been a complete success.
The only pity was that he could only do this once; he couldn't repeat it.
After all, he had inadvertently revealed too much of his strength this time.
It was probably already considered impressive even on the Elite List.
If he came to the arena again, no one would dare to accept or challenge him.
Because it would be a guaranteed loss—no one would be foolish enough to seek a beating.
He could no longer earn energy points and cultivation resources here.
Lin Xuan could only sigh inwardly, with no other recourse.
Soon, he composed himself.
If this place didn't work, he'd find another.
Once his strength improved, why worry about finding ways to earn cultivation resources?
With that, Lin Xuan planned to leave the arena.
He had a purpose for coming out this time.
It wasn't for the arena, but to check out other halls, like the Alchemy or Formation Halls, to see if he could replicate related talents and choose a martial profession that could earn him a lot of cultivation resources.
He had only stopped because the arena had changed significantly, offering a chance to make a big profit.
Now that he had earned his spoils, it was time to go.
But just then, a steward surnamed Chen called out to him.
"Junior Disciple Lin, please wait a moment."
Lin Xuan stopped and looked at him with a puzzled expression.
The steward Chen nodded to him, then walked over to Hu Yuanhua not far away.
Hu Yuanhua was momentarily stunned, then understood, showing a bitter smile as he took out a silver-edged black token and a palm-sized booklet, handing them to the steward Chen.
"Senior Brother Lin, Steward Chen, I forgot about this. Take the Elite List token and the Elite List register."
The steward Chen took them and handed them to Lin Xuan, explaining:
"This is the sect's rule: on the Inner Sect Elite List, strength reigns supreme—the strong rise, the weak fall.
Any Elite List disciple who is defeated falls off the list and is replaced by the victor.
Junior Disciple Lin, you defeated Junior Disciple Hu in full view of everyone at the arena.
According to the rules, from this moment on, you are the new Elite List disciple, ranked twenty-eighth!
You are entitled to all the benefits and privileges of an Elite List disciple."
Lin Xuan was taken aback, then smiled and nodded, taking the token and register, saying:
"Thank you, Steward."
If the other hadn't reminded him, he really wouldn't have known about this.