Huo Yuhao paused, looking into Dai Huabin's vacant eyes, and continued:
"You, who challenged a Thousand-Year Spirit Beast, did not achieve a perfect combat score. Your final score was one hundred and forty-nine. As for me, although I chose a hundred-year Soul Beast, my performance was too brilliant, earning me an exceptional perfect score from the judging teachers: one hundred and fifty."
Each of his words was like a steel knife, viciously stabbing into Dai Huabin's heart.
"One hundred and fifty versus one hundred and forty-nine."
A cold, curved smile tugged at the corner of Huo Yuhao's mouth.
"It is you who lost."
Dai Huabin's body trembled violently.
Lost... he lost... He, the son of the esteemed Duke of White Tiger, a Soul Elder nearing level forty, actually lost to a trash who had just barely surpassed level twenty?
And in a manner he could neither comprehend nor accept.
Before hundreds of fellow students, before over a dozen teachers, before the head of teaching and a Titled Douluo... he could not go back on his word, nor could he welch on the bet.
His pride, Dai Huabin's pride, would not allow him to commit an act more shameful and cowardly than defeat.
"Pfft—!"
A surge of emotion—a mix of humiliation, rage, resentment, and despair—violently rushed to his head.
Dai Huabin only felt a sweet taste in his throat. His face instantly flushed with a sickly crimson, and a mouthful of scalding blood, utterly uncontrollable, gushed out, blooming into a glaring flower of blood on the dark yellow sand.
His gaze became venomous to the extreme, glaring daggers at Huo Yuhao as if to carve his likeness into his very bones.
Then, under the stunned gazes of everyone, he unhesitatingly let his knees go weak. With a heavy "thud," he knelt heavily on the ground.
He lowered that once supremely arrogant head, mustering all his strength to squeeze out from between clenched teeth the words that could shatter all his dignity:
"...Yes... I lost..."
"...I... am... trash..."
After uttering these words, it was as if all his vigor and Martial Soul had been drained from him.
He abruptly stood up, not even looking at the expressions of anyone around him, turned around, and without a backward glance, staggered unsteadily as he ran toward the exit of the Beast Fighting Arena.
That retreating figure was filled with wretchedness and panic.
"Huabin."
Zhu Lu cried out in worry. She shot a vicious, venomous, and warning glare at the expressionless Huo Yuhao, then hurriedly lifted the hem of her skirt and chased after him.
The entire Beast Fighting Arena fell deathly silent.
Beast King had remained silent the whole time, watching everything with keen interest.
Only after Dai Huabin's figure disappeared through the exit did he stroke his steel-needle-like stubble, narrow his eyes, and mutter to himself in a low voice:
"This kid... is quite the ruthless character who can bend and stretch."
"Wow... heavens... Dai Huabin... he really knelt."
In the line, Ye Guyi covered her mouth with her hand, her beautiful eyes wide open, her face full of disbelief.
She never would have imagined that Dai Huabin, who was usually as proud as a peacock, would actually fulfill that extremely humiliating bet in front of so many people.
"Expected."
Caelus's tone, however, was very flat.
"Given his pride, the shame brought by publicly reneging or denying—that cowardly behavior—would be far more unbearable for him than kneeling and admitting defeat."
Caelus looked in the direction Dai Huabin had disappeared and said slowly.
"This person, although arrogant and domineering, with countless flaws, at least retains a shred of a true contender's backbone—the willingness to honor a bet."
Having used Dai Huabin as a whetstone for so many years, Caelus had a fairly good understanding of his character.
"Wait, no."
Ye Guyi was momentarily stunned by Caelus's analysis, but her mind worked quickly, and she suddenly realized.
She grabbed Caelus's arm and demanded angrily:
"If Dai Huabin lost, that means... I lost too. Caelus, did you know this all along? You tricked me."
"Wasn't this bet something you eagerly proposed yourself?"
Caelus spread his hands, a sly smile appearing on his face.
"And besides, it was you who broke the 'martial virtue,' snatching the choice of Dai Huabin who seemed to have a higher chance of winning. I was the one forced into the choice."
"I..."
The little angel's face instantly darkened.
Thinking about it carefully, that was indeed the case.
From start to finish, she had dug a huge pit for herself and then gleefully jumped into it.
Throughout the whole process, Caelus truly hadn't done anything to trick her; he had even shown a hint of helplessness.
Infuriating, absolutely infuriating.
Just as Ye Guyi was about to become depressed to the point of self-isolation, a clear, pleasant, yet slightly teasing voice softly sounded by her ear.
"The most expensive one."
The speaker was Gu Yuena.
A faint, elusive smile played on her lips, and her beautiful violet eyes sparkled with the light of someone enjoying the show.
Three simple words, yet like the sharpest finishing blow, accurately struck Ye Guyi's vitals.
Ye Guyi exaggeratedly clutched her chest, putting on an expression of being instantly slain, utterly heartbroken.
Tingchao Pavilion... and the most expensive set meal at that. She wasn't like Caelus. That guy had the Star Luo Empire's Princess, Her Highness Xu Jiujiu, a rich woman openly and covertly supporting him, spending money lavishly.
As for her? Although she had an ancestor teaching her, that ancestor was extremely strict with her, giving her very little pocket money. She didn't dare to squander money recklessly like Caelus.
Eating the most expensive meal at Tingchao Pavilion would genuinely make her heart ache for a long time.
Dai Huabin's wretched departure after kneeling and kowtowing drew the final period on this grand, dramatic bet.
However, the storm it stirred up had only just begun.
The entire Beast Fighting Arena was shrouded in an eerie silence. The gazes of everyone present unconsciously shifted back and forth between Huo Yuhao and the Beast King Douluo, Gong Zhanglong.
The anger had long faded from Gong Zhanglong's rugged face, replaced by a gaze filled with curiosity and scrutiny.
Stroking the steel-needle-like stubble on his chin, he took a step forward.
Just this single step unleashed an invisible pressure that enveloped Huo Yuhao, making him feel as if a great mountain were pressing down on him, causing his breath to catch.
"Kid."
Gong Zhanglong's voice was low and filled with oppressive force.
"What exactly is the deal with your spirit rings? Don't tell this old man that you, a Spirit Grandmaster who just reached a little over twenty levels, truly possess two hundred thousand year spirit rings."
Facing the direct inquiry of a Titled Douluo, although nervous inside, Huo Yuhao maintained a composure on his face that belied his age.
He knew that any attempt at evasion or concealment at this moment would only invite deeper suspicion.
He bowed respectfully and answered honestly:
"Reporting to Elder Gong, those are not real spirit rings. They are the second Spirit Ability of my first Martial Soul, Spirit Eyes, named 'Simulation.' It uses powerful mental force to simulate the form and aura of any spirit ring I have seen."
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