Before long, Ye Feng down below seized his first streak of spiritual light.
Yet his brow furrowed, and in the next breath, he casually tossed the light away.
He was clearly deeply dissatisfied with the grade of that cultivation technique.
The time of an incense stick was quickly drawing to an end.
During that time, Ye Feng caught a total of two streaks of light, but he discarded both.
With his proud and arrogant nature, he certainly looked down on anything of low or mid Mystic grade.
*Whoosh!*
Ye Feng reached out toward a streak of golden light, but it abruptly shifted direction, slipping past his fingertips.
Immediately after, Ye Feng's body twisted in midair, forcibly contorting mid-flight.
In a flash, he clamped the streak of light firmly between both feet!
Li Guanqi curled his lip, thinking Ye Feng would probably settle on this technique.
Among all these flying lights, its aura was relatively potent.
Sure enough, when Ye Feng saw the technique within the light, delight spread across his face.
The time of an incense stick had finally elapsed.
Ye Feng pushed off with his feet and leapt onto the ten-foot-high platform.
"Ah, this thing really is tough. They're way too fast."
"I barely managed to snag a high-grade Mystic technique."
With that, he cast a provocative look at Li Guanqi.
Li Guanqi glanced at the name of the technique.
*Golden Haze Mind Method.*
It appeared to be a technique matching Ye Feng's spiritual root as well. Not bad.
With a rueful expression, Li Guanqi said, "Sigh, looks like I won't be keeping my spirit stones."
Ye Feng laughed heartily and clapped Li Guanqi on the shoulder. "Haha, don't worry about it!"
"I just love a good wager. In my eyes, anything can be bet on."
"So if you really lose, I'll just take half your spirit stones."
"My gambling ethics are top-notch. My word is my bond."
Li Guanqi shrugged, walked down the platform at a steady pace, and stepped into the arena.
He had already picked out his target: an exceptionally swift mote of purple light.
As Li Guanqi walked into the arena, his aura shifted abruptly!
Under Ye Feng's shocked gaze, the youth moved even faster than he had, shooting straight toward a streak of purple spiritual light in the air.
Yet the light was too fast, slipping through Li Guanqi's fingers several times in just a few breaths.
Just then, suspended in midair with his back to Ye Feng, Li Guanqi's expression shifted slightly.
He suddenly turned his head toward another shimmering purple speck of light.
Midair, Li Guanqi suddenly unbuckled the sword casket from his back.
The sword casket plummeted straight down.
Watching this, Ye Feng couldn't help muttering with a furrowed brow, "Is he trying to shed weight to boost his speed and agility?"
"But just a sword cas—Holy crap?!"
*Boom!!*
A dull, massive impact abruptly resounded!
The sword casket smashed clean through the stone pavers on the ground!
Dropping down, Li Guanqi planted both feet atop the sword casket and kicked off with explosive force!
*Crack! Crack!*
The tremendous force caused the stone flags beneath to fracture at a visible speed.
Immediately after, Li Guanqi blurred into an afterimage, rocketing straight toward that other streak of purple spiritual light in midair.
The spiritual light sensed him and accelerated instantly, trying to flee his grasp.
But Li Guanqi gave it no such chance!
With a flash from the storage bag at his waist, three spirit stones appeared in Li Guanqi's hand.
With a flick of his wrist, the three spirit stones shot out at blinding speed!
The three stones struck the light, forcing it to change course several times in midair.
Arriving right behind them, Li Guanqi caught the streak of spiritual light in his grip.
Yet throughout this, the youth kept his brows knit, because he clearly felt that this light's aura wasn't particularly strong.
Landing steadily, he scooped up the sword casket with one hand and slung it onto his back.
Looking up, he saw Ye Feng staring with wide eyes and a dropped jaw.
Pushing off the ground, the youth leapt onto the platform as light as a breeze.
With a wave of his hand, he swept up all the spirit stones, smiling. "Thank you for your generosity, Brother Ye. I almost feel bad taking them."
Only then did Ye Feng snap out of it. He pointed at Li Guanqi and cried, "You... you, you, you!!"
Li Guanqi asked with an innocent face, "What about me?"
Ye Feng took several deep breaths before managing to ask, "How heavy is that sword casket on your back?"
Li Guanqi shrugged. "Five hundred jin."
"Five... five! Five hundred jin?!"
Li Guanqi said nothing. If this fellow had been in the Tianshui Peak hall that day, he would have seen him hoist a five-hundred-jin stone roller with a single arm.
Ye Feng pressed on, "Are you... already in Qi Refinement?"
Li Guanqi spread his hands. "Yeah, first layer of Qi Refinement. Otherwise, why would I come looking for a cultivation method right now?"
"My dantian was swelling so badly, and without a cultivation method, I couldn't convert the absorbed spiritual energy into vital qi."
Li Guanqi could clearly see Ye Feng's fingers trembling.
"You never said!"
"You never asked..."
"Fine! I won't hold any of that against you!"
"But my technique's spiritual light was obviously much stronger! I didn't lose, did I?"
Ye Feng protested, his face full of stubborn defiance.
Even so, Li Guanqi actually found himself liking the fellow.
From start to finish, Ye Feng hadn't cared about gaining or losing spirit stones; his sole concern was winning or losing the bet itself.
Li Guanqi had no choice but to show him the technique in his hand. Written clearly upon it were several large characters:
*Nine Revolutions Punishment Thunder Scripture! Mid-grade Earth-grade remnant, first half.*
*Due to the absence of techniques beyond the Core Formation stage, graded as a peak Mystic-grade cultivation method.*
A look of deep disappointment washed over Ye Feng's face, and he lamented ruefully, "Aargh, I lost another bet! Is my luck really that terrible? How could I even lose this?!"
Li Guanqi gave a faint smile and waved his hand, preparing to leave.
"You're welcome to wager with me again anytime."
Ye Feng shrugged, watching Li Guanqi's retreating figure. "How about another bet during the first introductory assessment three months from now?"
Li Guanqi smiled faintly. "Bet on what?"
Ye Feng pondered for a moment, then scratched his head in exasperation. "Haven't thought of it yet. We'll talk then."
"Next time, I'm definitely winning back what I lost today."
Seeing the spark in Ye Feng's eyes, Li Guanqi couldn't help asking, "Do you want me to leave you some spirit stones for cultivation?"
To his surprise, the other boy didn't care about the stones at all, waving a hand dismissively. "No need. I'll just have my family send some over later."
The two of them walked downstairs together.
The senior brother on the second floor was still agonizing over which manual to choose; seeing Li Guanqi descend, he simply pretended not to see him.
Yet just as the two were exiting the Scripture Pavilion, Ling Daoyan suddenly blocked their way.
Glaring at Li Guanqi, he grunted irritably, "Pay up."
"Ten spirit stones!"
Li Guanqi understood at once. Exercising patience, he said, "Elder Ling, you really can't blame me for this. Ye Feng insisted on making a bet with me."
"And then I exerted just a bit too much force and broke a tiny piece of the floor."
"Not to worry, though—my good brother Ye Feng said he'd pay for me."
Ye Feng stared at Li Guanqi in utter shock, his clear eyes filled with disbelief.
Just as Ling Daoyan was about to speak, Li Guanqi greased the soles of his feet and slipped away, leaving Ye Feng standing frozen on the spot.
In the end, Ye Feng still paid the ten spirit stones for Li Guanqi.
"Li Guanqi!! You owe me ten spirit stones!!"
"Don't you know that when people owe a gambler money, it ruins his luck?!"
Chapter 26