"Haha, so that's how it is."
Lin Xuan chuckled and nodded slightly.
He hadn't expected things to turn out this way.
But then again, he was merely the spark.
With that, Lin Xuan stopped dwelling on it and turned his gaze to the nearest arena, Platform Two.
These were all inner sect elites engaged in betting battles, with stakes far beyond what ordinary inner sect disciples could offer.
Wasn't the whole point of his trip here to earn cultivation resources?
He'd already used up everything he had.
Now, this situation was just perfect.
Who knew, he might just make a big haul again?
A glint of anticipation shone in Lin Xuan's eyes.
Before long.
Boom!
With a loud explosion, one person spat blood and fell off the platform.
The betting battle on Platform Two had reached its conclusion.
"Anyone else want to challenge? This time, the stakes are even higher—thirty thousand contribution points!"
On the platform, the tall young inner sect elite who had won bellowed loudly.
"This Li Quan is really something, already won three in a row."
"Yeah, I heard Li Quan is only at the eighth level of the Condensation Rotation realm, but aside from those on the Power Ranking, no inner sect elite at that realm can beat him!"
"I also heard Li Quan is a battle maniac, but he doesn't know his own strength—he's seriously injured many inner sect elites he's fought, so over time, no one dares to face him."
"Now Li Quan is probably deliberately raising the stakes to lure in some greedy inner sect elites to challenge him!"
"Too bad, he's already won three straight, each opponent losing and spitting blood, badly hurt—probably no one will dare to challenge him anymore, right?"
"..."
The surrounding inner sect disciples buzzed with chatter, a lively din.
But all wore expressions of fear and wariness, with no one stepping forward.
Hearing this, Lin Xuan's eyes lit up with amusement.
This was perfect timing; he could earn a bit more.
He then walked out, leaped up, and landed on the platform.
"Whoa, someone actually went up!"
"Another one who doesn't fear death, putting money before life."
"I feel like that guy looks familiar!"
"..."
Seeing this, the inner sect disciples started chattering again.
On the platform.
Lin Xuan said calmly:
"Ordinary inner sect disciple Lin Xuan wishes to issue a challenge. Will Senior Brother Li accept?"
As his words fell.
The usually bustling betting arena fell silent in an instant.
Whoosh!
In the blink of an eye, everyone's gaze unanimously shifted to Platform Two.
Then, the crowd erupted again.
"Whoa, Lin Xuan? That new disciple Lin Xuan?"
"That's right, it's him. No wonder he looked familiar—I've seen him before."
"This betting arena turned out this way because of Lin Xuan. Now that he's here, this is going to be interesting."
"Earlier, Lin Xuan, as a new disciple, defeated an inner sect elite, really humiliating them. Those inner sect elites won't let him off."
"Yeah, this is a good chance to see if Lin Xuan's strength is as amazing as the rumors say!"
"..."
The crowd of disciples was in an uproar, noise unabated.
After the initial shock, everyone turned their attention to Platform Two with keen interest, their eyes fixed on Lin Xuan.
Though Lin Xuan had only been a disciple for a month, his name had already spread throughout the entire Flowing Cloud Sect.
For someone like Lin Xuan, who had been creating miracles, breaking records, and sparking legends since joining, the disciples were all intrigued.
They wanted to see if Lin Xuan lived up to the rumors.
And how much of those tales was true or false.
In the crowd, Chen Yu stood frozen, utterly bewildered:
"He's Senior Brother Lin Xuan? And I just said all that in front of him..."
Chen Yu was completely flustered.
Similarly, it wasn't just Chen Yu—the inner sect elites on the other platforms were also thrown off.
Because Lin Xuan's reputation was so immense, the moment he appeared, everyone's focus shifted to him.
As for the other platforms, even the rare inner sect elite battles were largely ignored.
Even the few stewards recording by the platforms were the same.
The inner sect elites fighting on those platforms stopped, exchanged awkward glances, and looked embarrassed.
They never thought that as inner sect elites, they'd be upstaged by an ordinary inner sect disciple.
They were a bit speechless.
But since things had come to this, there was nothing they could do to change it.
They tacitly agreed to pause their fights and turned their gazes to Platform Two, watching Lin Xuan's performance.
Though they came to the betting arena for the rich stakes, they also harbored thoughts of challenging Lin Xuan to restore the inner sect elites' pride.
Now, they could first gauge Lin Xuan's strength.
Then decide on their next moves.
It was not to be missed.
On Platform Two.
After speaking, Lin Xuan stood still, gazing into the void before him. Seeing the energy points in his attribute panel surging, he nodded with satisfaction.
He had deliberately raised his voice to draw everyone's attention.
All to earn more energy points.
And sure enough, his guess was right.
With his current fame, just the name Lin Xuan had instantly captured the crowd's focus.
Next, he needed to put on a show to rake in even more energy points.
Across from him, Li Quan was also taken aback.
He hadn't expected that while guarding the platform and raising the stakes to lure greedy challengers and satisfy his battle lust, he'd end up attracting the legendary Lin Xuan.
He had heard plenty about this Lin Xuan.
A month since joining, top of the outer sect, mastering a complete intent, challenging across major realms, defeating inner sect elites... and so on.
Each and every feat highlighted Lin Xuan's extraordinary nature.
Just as the rumors circulating in the sect said.
If not for Lin Xuan's short time in the sect and his still-developing cultivation, he might have already been hailed as the number one genius of Flowing Cloud Sect.
Li Quan hadn't expected Lin Xuan to voluntarily step up and challenge him.
Then, Li Quan snapped out of it, a look of delight spreading across his face.
Perfect—he'd been finding his opponents too weak anyway.
This Lin Xuan had a big reputation and carried himself well, so he should be no pushover. Maybe they could have a real fight.
Li Quan smiled and nodded, saying:
"Alright, I accept."
The referee, a steward at the peak of the Condensation Rotation realm, announced loudly:
"Betting battle begins!"
With that, he stepped aside, looking on with anticipation at the two.
Li Quan cupped his hands and said:
"Junior Brother Lin Xuan, I've heard you have exceptional talent and formidable combat strength. Let me test whether these rumors are true or false!"
As his words fell, Li Quan charged at Lin Xuan like a raging ape.
His momentum was immense, shattering the air with crackling sounds.
His speed was equally swift, closing the distance in an instant.
He threw a punch.
"Raging Ape Shakes the Heavens!"
The fist force exploded with overwhelming power, as if a massive black ape were striking the heavens in a single, terrifying blow.
With this punch, Li Quan held nothing back, unleashing his full strength.