Li Tan stood expressionless, motionless at the spot without any reaction.
“Tsk!” Li Kang clenched his fists, cracked his neck, and went through the unnecessary preparations for show, though no one knew exactly what he was trying to highlight.
Li Zhen asked with concern, “Tanner, are you really confident enough? What if you lose?”
If they lost, it wouldn’t just be Li Tan’s reputation at stake; as the clan head, his own authority would be severely damaged. If the elders took this opportunity to make things worse, the consequences would be extremely serious.
“Uncle, rest assured, Brother Tan is very powerful. That person definitely won’t be his match.”
Before Li Tan could say anything, Li Jiaying happily chimed in.
Li Zhen still looked somewhat uneasy, so Li Tan added, “I don’t even consider this kind of opponent worth taking seriously.”
“I know you’ve improved dramatically, but don’t underestimate your opponent carelessly. As the saying goes, overconfidence leads to defeat.”
Li Zhen said earnestly.
Li Tan nodded slightly and said, “Of course I understand this principle, but that person isn’t even qualified to be my enemy yet.”
“What an arrogant Li Tan! Since you’re so full of yourself, I’ll place a bet today—fifty gold coins on Brother Kang’s victory.”
As soon as Li Hantian’s voice rang out, many sycophants immediately clamored to bet on Li Kang as well, and in the end, the total amount of gold coins reached one hundred.
“Since that’s the case, then I, as the clan head, will place one purple gold coin on Tan’er’s victory.”
One purple gold coin was worth almost half of all the coins bet on Li Kang, immediately causing a wave of murmurs.
Li Hantian said, “Uncle, you’ve got guts, but sorry, I’ll be taking this purple gold coin.”
“Haha, Hantian, don’t get too excited yet. Until the end, no one knows who will come out on top.”
“That may be true, but in my eyes, the outcome is already decided.”
At this moment, Li Jiaying carefully took out an embroidered pouch from her pocket and counted, “One, two, three, four…” stopping at twenty, she solemnly said, “I’ll bet twenty silver coins on Brother Tan’s victory.”
Li Hantian said with some surprise, “Little Jiaying, you should think carefully. I wouldn’t really want to take your money.”
Imitating Li Zhen’s tone, Li Jiaying said, “No one knows who will win until the end.”
Li Hantian turned to look at Li Tan, “If you back out now, this bet will be canceled.”
Li Tan glanced at him, then took the last remaining spiritual stone from the storage box in the desolate tower, casually tossing it to the ground. He said indifferently, “One spiritual stone—betting on myself to win.”
Li Hantian was momentarily stunned, surprised as he looked Li Tan up and down, then said nothing more.
“Fine, one purple gold coin, betting on myself to win!”
Since Li Tan had placed a bet, naturally Li Kang followed suit. He technically couldn’t afford that purple gold coin, but it didn’t matter—he was convinced he would win, not even considering what would happen if he lost.
“Three, two, one, begin!”
After the betting concluded, Li Zhen announced the start of the duel. Since the challenge was simple and seemingly insignificant, no special arena had been prepared.
“Take this!”
Li Kang roared and charged forward, his right fist raised, with faint yellow spiritual energy clearly visible.
This was a martial arts technique! Starting with a martial skill, he wanted to catch Li Tan off guard and defeat him instantly.
“Tan’er!”
Li Zhen’s muscles tensed, ready to intervene and save him at any moment.
However, Li Jiaying proudly patted her chest and assured, “This kind of skill won’t even touch Brother Tan.”
Whoosh! Sure enough, Li Kang’s seemingly unstoppable attack missed completely.
Li Hantian’s eyes widened as he muttered softly, “This speed—how could it be possible for a late-stage Xiantian cultivator? He must have used some martial technique.”
“So impressive!” In an inconspicuous corner at the edge of the crowd, Li Xiu watched Li Tan and Li Kang intently, his mouth slightly agape in astonishment.
“See, you can’t even hit Brother Tan, right?”
Li Jiaying happily placed her hands on her hips, then stuck her tongue out at Li Hantian, saying, “You won’t be taking my money!” Li Hantian, somewhat nervously, shifted his gaze back to Li Kang, intending to encourage him a bit, but saw that Li Tan, who had just dodged Li Kang’s attack, had counterattacked with an extremely sharp angle.
“Wow!”
Li Kang spat out some blood, fell to the ground with a loud thud, and cried out in pain.
“No, it’s impossible! How did you hit me?”
Li Tan waved his fist at him, saying, “Obviously with this.”
“Ugh…” Li Kang passed out with an expression of deep resentment.
Li Tan lowered his hand and swept his gaze across the entire training ground, calmly asking, “Does anyone else have objections?”
Li Hantian stood frozen, completely stunned, unable to comprehend what had just happened.
Why had Li Kang fallen so easily? He hadn’t even noticed it happening.
“See, I told you I was right.”
Li Jiaying proudly curled her lips.
Li Zhen was also greatly surprised, reassessing Li Tan’s strength.
At the very least, he had reached the peak of the late Xiantian stage! In just a few days, how had he achieved such a feat?
Many people likely shared this thought, so they unconsciously remained silent.
Li Zhen stepped forward, crouched down, and examined Li Kang, then said, “He’s already unconscious. This duel is won by Li Tan. I assume no one has any objections?” The response was silence, and in such moments, silence meant agreement.
Li Hantian reluctantly examined Li Kang as well.
There were no obvious wounds on his body, but there was a large bruise on his abdomen, clearly indicating internal injuries.
These weren’t the main concerns. More importantly, Li Tan had definitely not used any underhanded methods.
“Done looking?”
Li Tan coldly looked at them and said, “Then just hand over the money obediently and behave.”
Upon hearing this, Li Hantian shot a glare at Li Tan.
Li Tan remained unmoved and retrieved the large box from the desolate tower.
“Put the money in here.”
Li Hantian gritted his teeth.
Li Tan glanced at him and said, “If you’re not satisfied, you can fight as well. The rules will be the same as before.”
After saying this, he scanned the crowd from left to right and added, “If any of you have objections, feel free to challenge me. I’m giving you the opportunity.”
The training ground immediately fell into an eerie silence.
Come on, seriously—if Li Kang, an outstanding mid-Xiantian stage practitioner, was defeated with a single punch, then they would just be asking for a beating. If anyone could possibly challenge Li Tan, among all those present, probably only Li Hantian had the qualifications.
Thus, over a dozen intense gazes converged on Li Hantian.
Li Hantian lowered his head, his face dark and silent, seemingly deep in thought.
After a short while, he threw fifty gold coins into Li Tan’s box.
A wave of murmurs rippled through the training ground, followed by others tossing their betting money in as well.
Since only three people had bet on Li Tan, and they were all allies, Li Tan simply collected everything directly, planning to divide it later.
At this moment, Li Tan’s attention focused on the money-filled box, thinking about how he could repay all his debts to Nolan and maybe even buy some medicinal herbs.
However, everyone else understood one thing clearly by now.
This Li Tan was no longer the same good-for-nothing nobody liked from a week ago.
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