Chapter 281 - 237: Want Me to Show Up? That’ll Cost Extra

Chapter 281: Chapter 237: Want Me to Show Up? That’ll Cost Extra

"A critical moment?" Liang Yu didn’t understand.

Tang Wen nodded. "Find a way to delay them for three days."

"Three days? We don’t need to delay them then. We just have to set the duel for three days from now. But, Young Master, the Thirteen Thieves are veteran Extraordinaries. I’m afraid they won’t be easy to deal with."

"It’s fine! Has Lao Liu opened another betting pool?"

"He has. I secretly took one thousand taels of silver and bet on you to win. If you win, we’ll get twenty thousand taels of silver!"

"He sure knows how to make money," Tang Wen grumbled, pursing his lips in annoyance.

After thinking for a moment, he asked, "The Thirteen Thieves challenged me and stated the rules of engagement. In that case, don’t I get to decide the time and place of the fight?"

Liang Yu blinked her almond-shaped eyes in confusion. "That’s right, but duels are usually held in the plaza of our Black Water Gang Headquarters."

"Fame is to a man what fat is to a pig. As the so-called number one genius, I’m about to make a fool of myself here. I imagine a lot of people will want to see the show, right?"

Liang Yu’s charming, oval face tightened, and she pressed her red lips together. "A lot of people have placed bets, and they’ve all bet on you to lose!"

"Hmm, what do you think if I charged an admission fee?" Tang Wen said, his eyes narrowing.

"?"

"Every faction that wants to watch my duel must offer up one portion of Extraordinary Blood Marrow as an entrance fee. The items won’t be given to me directly. Between me and the leader of the Thirteen Thieves, whoever wins gets it all. Of course, if any faction can’t afford it, they can just sneak in with another group." A wicked smile played on Tang Wen’s lips.

"This?"

"Is there a problem?"

"What if no one comes?"

"They will. If it were free, some might not show up. But the moment you charge a fee, everyone will definitely want to see it."

"What kind of logic is that?"

"Heh. That’s just human nature."

Liang Yu nodded, only half-understanding, and left.

「The next morning.」

A new notice appeared on the many bulletin boards along the streets and alleys.

[The Black Water Gang’s Seventh Young Master will face the leader of the Thirteen Thieves of the Desert Sea in three days.]

[Location of the duel: Inside the Black Water Gang’s territory.]

[All are welcome to observe, but entry requires a payment of one portion of "Extraordinary Blood Marrow"... Winner takes all.]

"I get the first two lines, but what does that last part mean?"

"I’m not sure if I’m understanding it right, but is it like having to buy a pot of tea to listen to a storyteller, or tossing some money to watch a street performer?"

"Shut up! A duel between two Extraordinaries, and you make it sound like they’re street performers!"

"But... isn’t that what it is?"

"..."

There wasn’t much to see in Ganshan City.

The upper echelons either spent their time on Martial Arts Training, engaging in internal gang struggles, or messing with women.

Day after day, life was dreadfully dull.

The matter of the duel between Tang Wen and the Thirteen Thieves of the Desert Sea, after a series of provocative moves like "opening a betting pool," "the First Courtesan placing a huge bet, hinting at an untold story with Tang Wen," and "charging an admission fee," became known to everyone in Ganshan City in just a single day.

After meals and during leisure time—at dinner tables, in taverns, and on top of women—everyone was talking about it.

"What is the Black Water Gang trying to do? Do they really think their eighteen-year-old Seventh Young Master can match a Peak Extraordinary?"

"I don’t know. Since you’re interested, sir, why not go and see for yourself in three days?"

"Mm, fine. Prepare a portion of Extraordinary Blood Marrow."

"With the Black Water Gang making such a scene, could it be they want to teach that Tang Wen a lesson?"

"There’s no point in guessing. We’ll know once we see it."

"..."

「At the residence of the Thirteen Thieves.」

"Big Brother, how did this whole thing blow up so much?"

"Could it be the Gang wants to make a name for you, Big Brother?"

"Are they crazy? We’re not even part of the Black Water Gang’s core Direct Lineage."

"What core Direct Lineage! With Big Brother’s ability, he should at least be a Vice Gang Leader!"

"..."

As the other party involved, the Thirteen Thieves of the Desert Sea were equally baffled.

Even Shui Yun, who knew Tang Wen best and realized this "admission fee" business was his doing, felt her mind turn to mush. She couldn’t guess what her junior brother—and lover boy—was plotting.

’And it’s winner-takes-all. He has to win to take the Extraordinary Blood Marrow.’

’Does he actually think he can win?’

’Er, that should be impossible.’

’Is he trying to win over the Thirteen Thieves with a soft approach then?’

’My junior brother isn’t that naive.’

’Whatever. My junior brother isn’t a reckless person. I’ll just wait and see.’

"Where is the Seventh Young Master now?" Shui Yun asked casually.

"Uh, we haven’t... haven’t seen him come downstairs."

Shui Yun’s breath caught. ’That brat should know his limits, right?’

Inside the Gravity Chamber stood a black Blade Testing Stone as tall as a man.

The Blade Testing Stone was incredibly hard; even the light from the Nightlight Crystals didn’t reflect off its surface.

Tang Wen held a Bamboo Blade as thin as paper.

This Bamboo Blade would struggle to even cut paper. If you gave it to a child, they would toss it aside in disgust.

But his expression was immensely serious. SWISH!

He slashed out, and the Bamboo Blade shattered into a shower of fragments.

No surprise showed on his face. He casually drew another from behind his back, drew the blade, and slashed again!

VMMMM~

The Bamboo Blade cut horizontally, and the air vibrated like water.

The edge, so thin it was nearly translucent, trailed a faint white gleam.

CRACK.

The Bamboo Blade disintegrated, bursting into flames in mid-air and turning to ash in an instant.

[Visualization Martial Arts, Heaven’s Edge (Sword Skill), Beginner (1→101/500)]

[Visualization Martial Arts, Heaven’s Edge (Sword Skill), Beginner (101→309/500)]

His experience points skyrocketed.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

More than a dozen Bamboo Blades were all shattered.

[Visualization Martial Arts, Heaven’s Edge (Sword Skill), Beginner→Master (999→1097/3000)]

When Tang Wen reached for another blade, his Spiritual Power scanned an empty space.

There were no blades left.

He stood in place, looking at a new notification.

[Wind-breaking Blade→Basic Blade Skill, Expert→Grandmaster (1/12000)]

All swordsmanship is technique.

[Basic Blade Skill (Wind-breaking Blade), Grandmaster (Saber Aura Realm) (1/12000)]

His swordsmanship was complete.

Over half a month of arduous training had borne fruit.

Tang Wen wanted to look at the starry sky. He raised his head, saw the shimmering Nightlight Crystals, and only then remembered he was still underground.

Suddenly, he understood why he had just failed to execute "Heaven’s Edge."

Under the influence of ten times gravity, the underground environment was, after all, different from the surface.

A slight sound came from outside the Stone Gate. He opened it to find Liang Yu had arrived.

"Young Master, hmm?"

When Liang Yu saw Tang Wen’s eyes, she felt as if she’d been stung by light. She jerked her head back, her high ponytail swinging behind her.

"What’s wrong?"

"You... you seem different somehow."

"Is it that obvious?"

"A little, but not glaringly so. You didn’t have another breakthrough, did you?"

Tang Wen took the food from her hands, smiling without a word.

There were still two days until the duel.

He had no intention of leaving his seclusion, planning to train for two more days underground to properly consolidate his gains.

Seeing the mess in the chamber, Liang Yu picked up a broom and bent over to start sweeping.

As she bent over, her full, moon-like rear couldn’t help but jut out enticingly.

The broom was a bit short. With her long legs and tall stature, which was comparable to an average man’s, she had to bend her waist even lower.

Tang Wen, having just broken through and still needing to consolidate his Realm, didn’t stare. He just made a comparison in his mind.

’The housekeeper Shu Mei, Zhou Bing, Liang Yu, Shui Yun, the Child-faced Lady Li Zi...’

’If we’re comparing legs, then Li Zi and Liang Yu are on the lower end of the scale.’

’Zhou Bing and Shui Yun are about equal.’

’Liang Yu is in the middle.’

’The Queen, ahem.’

’Scratch that. The Queen is *the* thigh.’

Then two more names popped into his head:

’Feng San Niang, Bai You Ruo.’

’As for their legs, I’ve never seen them.’

’Can’t rank them.’

’Actually, I have a ranking for another body part in mind, but since I haven’t... played with them in detail, it’s really hard to say.’

’In terms of looks, each has her own charms, like the chrysanthemums of spring and the orchids of autumn.’

’But my favorite is still the Queen.’

’Eat, eat. Stop with the random thoughts.’

Three days passed.

「Early that morning.」

Liang Yu, the housekeeper Shu Mei, and Li Zi—the three women—led a group of people to the main gate of the Black Water Gang Headquarters.

As an underground figure in Ganshan City, this was Li Zi’s first time setting foot on the Black Water Gang Headquarters’ territory.

She felt a strange sense of wonder. ’I’m actually walking in through the front gate, in broad daylight.’

’Shouldn’t I be sneaking in under the cover of darkness?’

Li Zi and the housekeeper stood with their people at the entrance, ready to collect the "admission fees."

Liang Yu went to the underground chamber to find Tang Wen...

Outside, the crowd was growing.

The Gang Leader, Shui Yun, Vice Gang Leader Zhao, the Sixth Young Master, and others arrived.

Shi Lei from the Giant Rock Martial Arts Hall brought his men over to watch the spectacle.

The First Courtesan, Feng San Niang, stepped through the Black Water Gang’s gates with a flock of chattering women.

People from the Three Great Families of the Inner City came as well.

As more and more people arrived, Wu Hao and others, under Shui Yun’s direction, continuously added more stools.

The Thirteen Thieves of the Desert Sea arrived. Having never seen such a grand scene, they spent the first ten minutes in a daze, facing the gazes of countless masters.

However, it was almost time, and everyone had arrived.

So where was Tang Wen?

Why wasn’t he here yet?

The crowd’s attention shifted towards the entrance.

Everyone who came knew that eighteen days ago, he had gone up to Jile Tower and hadn’t come down since.

They chatted casually with those around them, waiting for Tang Wen to walk through the main gate.