Zhou Tieyi’s body stiffened slightly, his gaze fixed on Guan Guan.
A second of eye contact later, Guan Guan continued to transmit her voice through the Divine Seed: "If not for the fact that I can still sense the Divine Seed, I might not have been able to keep myself from striking you dead just now."
"There is no need for you to rush your reply, Young Master. Take your time and tell me later."
Zhou Tieyi reached out and pinched Guan Guan’s chin. "Very well, I shall follow your words, my beauty."
With that, Zhou Tieyi’s gaze swept across the crowd and he roared at a figure in the distance, "Brother Jing! This Zhao Taisui is challenging me to a wager today; why are you standing all the way over there instead of coming over to back me up!"
People’s eyes followed the direction of Zhou Tieyi’s shout. There stood a graceful young man in green robes. His features were no less handsome than Zhao Taisui’s, though his build was slightly leaner than Zhou Tieyi’s. He wore no crown, letting his long hair hang loose in a carefree, uninhibited manner. Within his peach-blossom eyes lingered a touch of intoxication, as if he hadn't yet shaken off a hangover.
Li Jing, Prince Anle, the Fourth Prince of the current dynasty, and the mastermind who had arranged tonight’s events.
Hearing Zhou Tieyi’s roar, Prince Anle Li Jing walked over with a look of helplessness. "I merely thought that beauties were meant for heroes, which is why I brought you and Miss Guan Guan together. Who could have known it would lead to such a dispute?"
Zhou Tieyi glanced at Prince Anle Li Jing. Things had reached this point, yet the man was still sowing discord. It seemed that, just as Guan Guan had said, Li Jing was one of the puppet masters behind the scenes. As a pawn, he still had his uses to Li Jing, so while his words were worth listening to, they could not be fully trusted.
The moment the phrase "beauties are meant for heroes" left Prince Anle's lips, it immediately provoked Zhao Taisui again. Zhao Taisui retorted, "Zhou the Barbarian, since the bet has been set, it is a matter between the two of us. Why drag an outsider into this?"
Although Zhao Taisui lacked intelligence, he knew enough to avoid unnecessary trouble; he did not want to involve Prince Anle, a prince who was not in the Emperor's favor, in their affairs.
Zhou Tieyi stroked his chin and said, "That is true. However, betting only on a beauty without any treasures involved would be far too dull."
As he spoke, he patted Prince Anle on the shoulder with practiced familiarity. "I didn't bring any treasures with me today. Do you have anything good you could bring out for the wager? If we win, the two of us can split it!"
Li Jing thought for a moment, then suddenly chuckled. "I happen to have a treasure here that could serve for this wager."
He reached into his robe and produced a coiled dragon jade pendant. The pendant was translucent, with mist like rosy clouds swirling in its center, making the coiled dragon appear as if it were about to take flight.
As soon as Li Jing produced the pendant, the servants behind him looked visibly nervous.
A flash of realization crossed the eyes of the crowd. While the Daxia dynasty did not strictly forbid commoners from using dragon and phoenix motifs, given Li Jing’s status, this coiled dragon jade pendant was likely a gift from the palace. Using it for a wager could become a significant charge if the censors of the Censorate reported it to His Majesty.
Li Jing, however, was entirely unconcerned. He looked at Zhao Taisui and said, "This pendant was a gift from the Empress during the New Year. Since the two of us are the ones wagering, regardless of who wins or loses, it all stays within the family. Do you have any treasures to bet?"
Zhao Taisui looked at the coiled dragon jade pendant with obvious covetousness. While he yearned for such a treasure, his aunt would never have bestowed a coiled dragon pendant upon him during the New Year.
"Who says I don't have a treasure?"
Zhao Taisui hurriedly exclaimed, reaching into his pocket to pull out a small box. He opened it to reveal a three-colored glazed bead no larger than a thumb, from which a faint, ethereal sound of Buddhist chanting emanated.
"A flesh sarira!"
Some of the hedonistic youths couldn't help but gasp.
Even among the idle rich in Tianjing, there were hierarchies. Zhao Taisui and Prince Anle were at the top; the treasures they brought out were rarely seen by ordinary wealthy families.
Zhou Tieyi watched the show from the sidelines. He couldn't estimate the value of the coiled dragon jade pendant, but he recognized the value of the three-colored sarira.
Sariras were ranked from low to high: three-colored, six-colored, and nine-colored. A three-colored sarira was the life's crystallization of a Middle-Rank Cultivator of the Buddhist path. With the right Buddhist initiation techniques, it could even immediately forge a new Middle-Rank Buddhist practitioner. However, a Middle-Rank practitioner created in such a way would find it nearly impossible to ever reach a higher level of cultivation.
Zhou Tieyi said to Prince Anle with a beaming smile, "You're a real brother!"
He wore the expression of a man who had been sold out but was still helping the other party count the money.
Zhao Taisui was already impatient, eager to obtain both the coiled dragon jade pendant and the beauty. He looked at Zhou Tieyi and said, "I won't bully you. The martial practitioner behind you is Rank Seven, and my sword cultivator is also Rank Seven. Why don't we let the two of them settle the outcome with one round?"
Zhou Tieyi cast a casual glance at the monk beside Zhao Taisui.
The fact that Zhao Taisui was so certain of Ada’s strength meant the monk had likely transmitted the information to him.
During his earlier observations, Zhou Tieyi had already confirmed that a cluster of sword qi was coiled near the sword cultivator’s kidneys, and there was a cluster of cloud qi above the man’s head, pale red in color, with a precious sword poised to unsheathe in the center.
Zhou Tieyi looked at Ada beside him. Ada seemed eager to fight, but a layer of ominous grey-black had veiled the cloud qi above his head.
Does this mean Ada might lose?
No wonder the monk had the confidence to propose such a wager.
Just as Zhou Tieyi was about to stall for time until an expert from his family arrived, a flash of insight struck him. The reason the sword cultivator could defeat Ada must have something to do with that sharp point of golden light at the back of his throat.
Their strengths were evenly matched; the golden light hidden in the sword cultivator's mouth was the key to the victory!
The moment this thought occurred to him, he looked at Ada again. The grey-black cloud qi above Ada’s head naturally dissipated, and the shape of the *pi-xiu* became increasingly clear.
"What? Are you afraid to bet?" Zhao Taisui urged.
Zhou Tieyi became certain of his intuition and replied, "Let’s head to the fighting stage."
Linshui Pavilion occupied a vast area and naturally had a venue for wagers. It was a massive water pavilion, nine acres in size and solid as a single piece of bedrock, built in an octagonal pattern over the lake. It was known as the Lingbo Platform.
On the way to the stage, Zhou Tieyi patted Ada’s back with an unperturbed expression and shouted, "If you win this round, that sarira will be your reward."
Beyond switching to the Military School, martial practitioners could also transition to schools like the Buddhist path.
Under the cover of the night, taking advantage of the pat on Ada's back, Zhou Tieyi used his index finger as a pen to quickly write the words "Beware the sword in his mouth" on Ada’s back.
As a Rank Seven martial practitioner, Ada’s perception of external stimuli was far beyond that of an ordinary person; he understood immediately.
Below the fighting stage, Zhou Tieyi and Zhao Taisui signed a temporary betting contract prepared by the manager of Linshui Pavilion. Naturally, the pavilion would not pass up such a good opportunity to make money; they sent men to verify that both sides were indeed Rank Seven and opened a temporary betting pool for the spectators.
Zhou Tieyi said to Prince Anle Li Jing beside him with a hint of envy, "This Linshui Pavilion certainly knows how to do business. I’m afraid 'a fortune every day' isn't enough to describe the Crown Prince’s industry, is it?"
Prince Anle Li Jing raised the wine in his glass, drained it in one gulp, and sighed. "I don't envy the wealth of Linshui Pavilion, but there is one thing I do envy."
"What’s that?" Zhou Tieyi asked, curious.
Li Jing pointed at Guan Guan, whom Zhou Tieyi was holding. "The courtesans of the twelve months are all selected by Linshui Pavilion. Sitting here, one can admire all the famous flowers of the world. Is this not a great happiness?"
Zhou Tieyi glanced at the affection-filled eyes of Guan Guan, then at Prince Anle, who was enjoying his "great happiness." After a moment of silence, he said, "The Crown Prince has a blessed land like Linshui Pavilion, and a wise brother like Brother Jing who does not contend for power—that is truly the greatest fortune of all!"