Chapter 217 - 216: Underhanded Tricks by the Overlord

Chapter 217: Chapter 216: Underhanded Tricks by the Overlord

Seeing Elder Chu laughing so happily, Old Ancestor Li’s expression twitched. He immediately suppressed his anger and forced a smile, agreeing; "Haha! Yes, yes! He... he is indeed a lively young man..." However, deep down, the Old Ancestor was helplessly shedding tears.

Below the stage, the battle had entered a hot phase. The silver-robed boy became increasingly panicked, desperately thrusting his sword. Li Zhang, remembering Liu Xiong’s earlier shout about maintaining balance, noticed the boy’s unsteady footing. Li Zhang dodged to the side, blocking the youth’s sword strike, and then unleashed his full power, delivering a devastating shoulder slam!

Boom!

The silver-robed boy was sent flying by a force, letting out a shrill scream, as he fell off the stage and crashed heavily onto the stone floor. The sword in his hand made a clang beside him. Nearly defeated, Li Zhang finally stood on the stage, panting and wiping the sweat from his brow, finally it was over! It would be embarrassing to play a hero and then lose.

"And we have a winner!" the referee announced, his gaze still tensely fixed on Liu Xiong’s VIP box: "Thank you, little brother, you all can go to your seat now."

The silver-robed boy struggled to his feet, his face flushed with shame. The referee’s decision and Li Zhang’s gaze left him helpless. He could only dejectedly bow his head to Chen Liwei, offer a weak apology, and then slip away with his servants.

Li Zhang stepped down from the stage, and Chen Liwei approached him. The usual arrogant and calculating light in Chen Liwei’s eyes had vanished, replaced by a deep and sincere warmth and gratitude.

Chen Liwei said as he bowed deeply to Li Zhang: "Li Zhang, thank you. You really didn’t have to do this for me."

Li Zhang grinned, patting Chen Liwei’s shoulder enthusiastically: "Haha! Isn’t that what friends are for? If anyone dares to speak ill of my friend, I’ll beat them up! Next time they try anything funny, just let me know!"

Chen Liwei smiled slightly, thinking that won’t be necessary. As expected, he wasn’t wrong about Li Zhang, this guy was really interesting. But he doesn’t want anyone to get involved with his messy family.

As the opening warm-up matches concluded, the atmosphere in the central arena shifted abruptly. The whispers among the crowd gradually subsided, followed by a loud roar of cheers.

The main tournament officially began. This was no longer merely a stage for local geniuses or family feuds, but the ultimate battleground for the three major sects of South River City; the Nine Spirits Sect, the Thundercloud Sect, and the Frost Sky Sect. For them, victory was not only about year-end honor, but also about regional dominance, prestige, and control over key resource channels for the coming year.

The competition quickly reached its climax, with top geniuses from each sect stepping onto the Spirit-Suppressing Granite Arena. Sword energy clashed, ice domain techniques condensed into frost on the arena walls, and thunder crackled in the air.

However, amidst this fierce clash of dragons and tigers, the most captivating figure was Lu Chen, the chief disciple of the Nine Spirits Sect. At only twenty-seven years old, Lu Chen had already broken through to the legendary Divine Power Realm. He was tall and handsome, dressed in a white robe with feather patterns, standing proudly on the arena, his longsword neatly held horizontally across his chest, as he easily defeated his opponent.

On the balcony of a high-ranking sect overlooking the arena, an elder with sharp, eagle-like eyes, dressed in a deep red robe, was laughing loudly. This was Elder Mo of the Martial Hall of the Nine Spirits Sect. He stroked his long beard and boasted loudly to the representatives of the Thundercloud Sect and Frost Sky Sect sitting nearby:

"Haha! Do you see that? That’s my disciple, Lu Chen! At only twenty-seven years old, he has already reached the third level of the Divine Power Realm! In the entire Southern River region, who among the younger generation can rival him? Today’s championship title is firmly in the Nine Spirits Sect’s pocket!" Elder Mo boasted smugly.

Sitting in the VIP box next to ancestor Li, Elder Chu’s brows furrowed slightly, a cold contempt flashing in her eyes before she looked away.

Ancestor Li noticed the subtle change in her expression and immediately understood what was going on. This arrogant Elder Mo was none other than the Sect Master of the Nine Spirits Sect. He had been relentlessly pressuring Elder Chu, attempting to seize her peak ancestral vein and strip her of her elder position!

Ancestor Li narrowed his eyes, a cold glint flashing within them: "So it’s this old fellow harassing Little Chu," he sipped his tea, secretly observing Elder Mo’s expression: "I’ll definitely teach him a lesson when I get the chance!"

On the main stage, Lu Chen proved his master’s boasts were no empty boast. With astonishing speed and sharp sword intent, he easily defeated two challengers from the Thundercloud Sect and Frost Sky Sect, both experienced early-stage Divine Power Realm cultivators. The Nine Spirits Sect disciples cheered wildly, and the entire arena was shaking with thunderous applause.

Everything seemed to be proceeding smoothly according to plan. Liu Xiong sat comfortably in a high armchair, casually leaning out over the wooden railing. He noticed a bustling crowd gathered near the inner area below. Golden light flashes as cultivators place a pile of glittering spirit stones on a stone table guarded by the official gambling house.

"Huh?" Liu Xiong stroked his chin, his eyes lighting up: "They’re actually gambling on the competition? Spirit stones are being handed out left and right!"

Although Liu Xiong was an invincible overlord with the power to tear space apart, he had almost no currency or spirit stones in this realm. Whenever he wanted to buy fine wine and delicacies, he had to rely on Li Jainn. Fortunately, the wine brewed from his little fruit was the best. But if he can really afford to pay, that wouldn’t be a bad thing. Realizing he could win a large sum of spirit stones here, his heart skipped a beat.

In the high, isolated monitoring room, Elder Xuan was nervously checking the competition list when suddenly a loud and resounding voice entered his mind: "Old man Xuan! See the gambling table below? Go and place a few bets for this Lord!"

"Ah!" Elder Xuan exclaimed, jumping up and nearly knocking over the mahogany table. He clutched his chest, cold sweat instantly soaking through his inner robe. Hearing the overlord’s voice directly into his mind nearly scared him to death!

When he realized the other party was merely asking him to place a bet, Elder Xuan hurriedly wiped his forehead, his mind trembling as he replied, "Yes, yes, your Lordship! This servant will carry out your orders immediately!"

Elder Xuan hastily dispatched his most trusted confidant with twenty thousand high-grade spirit stones to the main gambling pavilion. However, as soon as Liu Xiong transmitted the specific betting choices through telepathy, Elder Xuan nearly fainted on the spot.

Liu Xiong didn’t bet on a genius like Lu Chen, but instead placed a large sum on those well-known, low-level, nameless cultivators. Those that were destined to lose!

The upcoming match was between Zhao Wu, a peak Soul Palace disciple, and Han Shan, a powerful core disciple of the Divine Power Realm from the Frost Heaven Sect. The odds were a staggering 500 to 1 for Zhao Wu to win.

The difference between the Soul Palace Realm and the Divine Power Realm was like heaven and earth; in the history of martial arts, a Soul Palace cultivator defeating a Divine Power Realm expert was practically unheard of!

"Master Liu... are you really sure?" Elder Xuan’s weak, trembling voice transmitted a message: "Zhao Wu has no chance of winning..."

"Stop talking nonsense, and put down the stone! High risk, brings high reward!" Liu Xiong shouted sharply through telepathy.

The battle began immediately. Han Shan of the Frost Heaven Sect sneered, releasing a chilling aura that instantly froze the stone floor, pushing Zhao Wu into a corner. Just as Han Shan raised his ice blade, preparing to deliver a fatal blow, an invisible spatial pressure silently descended from above.

Han Shan’s body suddenly stiffened, his spiritual energy flow completely halted as if frozen by an invisible mountain! He slipped, staggering forward and falling right into Zhao Wu’s desperate, blind swing.

Boom!

Zhao Wu’s staff unexpectedly struck Han Shan’s temple, and the genius of the divine power realm instantly lost consciousness!

"The winner... Zhao Wu!" the referee announced, his voice trembling with disbelief.

The entire arena erupted into chaos! The bookmakers stared in disbelief at the odds that had suddenly appeared under Zhao Wu’s name, their faces deathly pale.

Liu Xiong didn’t give up. In the next three matches, he continued to bet on the weaker opponents with vastly different strengths. Miraculously, in each match, the favored powerful experts suffered bizarre accidents, sudden muscle spasms, brief paralysis, or tripping over flat ground. Which allow the weaker Soul Palace cultivators to achieve absurd victories!

By the fourth match, the surrounding powerhouses, sect leaders, and city elders understood the reason. Their divine senses swept across the entire arena, immediately detecting subtle spatial energy emanating from above. All clues and spiritual energy pointed directly to the central VIP box at the highest point. That box just so happened to be Liu Xiong’s VIP box!

Angry gazes and suppressed whispers spread across the arena: "Someone is blatantly cheating in the VIP box!"

"Absurd! How can they be so shameless? Unheard of!" Elder Mo of the Nine Spirits Sect slammed his palm against the wooden railing, his face contorted with rage, as his red robe billow under the impact of his divine power.

"This is the grand annual martial arts tournament of South River City! How dare an unknown nobody interfere with the competition right under the noses of the three major sects?!"

The Frost Sky Sect Master stood up, his boots releasing a chilling aura, as his eyes burned with fury: "One of my Frost Heaven Sect’s core disciples, a disciple of divine power, has been disgraced on stage by despicable means! If the tournament organizing committee does not provide an explanation today, do not blame my Frost Heaven Sect for being hostile!"

"That’s right! Who is that black-robed barbarian?!" An elder of the Thundercloud Sect roared, sparks flying from his fingertips, "Does he think he can use our sect’s geniuses as pawns with just a VIP pass? The tournament organizing committee should drag him down and strip him of his pass!"