"An urgent matter has come up at home, so I'm reselling my ticket! Highest bidder takes it!"
At those words, the crowd fell silent for an instant.
Then, an uproar erupted.
"One hundred spirit stones! Little brother, give the ticket to me!"
"One hundred? Brother, you're trying to swindle the lad! I'll offer a hundred and one!"
"Heh, a bunch of paupers. Just because I got here late—one hundred and fifty, sell the ticket to me!"
"Fellow Daoist, how about one hundred and sixty? That's quite a sum."
"I bid one hundred and seventy!"
"One hundred and eighty, not a spirit stone more! Kid, I advise you to quit while you're ahead. The Jade Cauldron Sword Sect disciples are watching right by the side!"
In the middle of the crowd, Luo Chen wore a look of troubled reluctance.
"If not for an urgent matter at home, I really wouldn't want to miss such a grand occasion. Sigh, forget it... One hundred and eighty going once, one hundred and eighty going twice, one hundred and—"
"Two hundred!"
*Whoosh!*
Two diamond-shaped crystals flew swiftly through the air and came to a gentle halt, hovering right in front of Luo Chen.
Medium-grade spirit stones!
This was worth more than a mere two hundred low-grade spirit stones; on the black market, they fetched a premium of several low-grade spirit stones each.
Luo Chen looked up and saw a burly man over two meters tall, built like a massive bear, striding toward him.
Without saying a word, the man reached out and plucked the jade token ticket right from Luo Chen's hand.
Luo Chen didn't bother putting on any more pretenses this time and obediently let him have it.
He truly didn't dare do otherwise.
In fact, even if he had called for higher bids, none of the others would have dared raise the price.
Simply because this hulking figure radiated the imposing aura of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, resembling nothing less than a humanoid demonic beast.
Having obtained the ticket, the brawny man strode straight into the passageway under the watchful eyes of the crowd.
As for Luo Chen, he found himself bathed in the envious gazes of numerous early Qi Refinement cultivators.
Just flipping it once had earned him a profit of a hundred spirit stones.
To think such lucrative business actually existed in the world!
Luo Chen cupped his hands to the onlookers without saying another word and squeezed his way out of the throng.
A moment later, once he was sure no eyes were on him, he quietly slipped over to the entrance of the passageway.
"A Mountain Breaker Gang iron token. I can enter with this, right?"
The person managing ticket sales was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, who fixed a dark, eerie gaze upon Luo Chen.
His Foundation Establishment spiritual sense swept across the iron plate. Confirming it was indeed a token eligible for use as a complimentary family pass, he waved his hand dismissively.
"Scram inside!"
Luo Chen ducked his head and scurried inside at a brisk trot.
*What terrible manners!*
*Foundation Establishment or not, right now you're just a ticket collector! Shouldn't you show a customer like me some courtesy?*
*Lacking even a shred of professional etiquette—this Dao Discussion Platform is going to run itself into bankruptcy sooner or later.*
Muttering complaints under his breath, Luo Chen circulated both Carefree Wandering and the Wind Riding Technique to sprint forward at top speed.
*This tunnel is absurdly long!*
The passage gleamed with a translucent, glassy sheen, stretching wide and vast.
By the time Luo Chen emerged from the other end, it felt as though he had run all the way from the outer city to the inner city.
Yet the moment the sight of the Dao Discussion Platform met his eyes, his jaw dropped!
"Is this the Dao Discussion Platform?"
As far as the eye could see, a towering elevated stage stood at the very center of the arena, behind which loomed a stone monument standing a full hundred zhang tall.
Colossal and imposing, the stele gave off a powerful aura that felt as though it could seize one's very soul.
A magical treasure!
That stone stele was undeniably a genuine magical treasure!
"The Prodigy Roll?"
Luo Chen blinked, then turned his gaze to the sides.
Seeming as if carved straight into the cliff walls, the spectator stands flanked both sides, stone seats arranged tier upon tier in tight, orderly rows—more than ten thousand in total.
Among them, ten distinct private enclosures sat at the very highest vantage point, partitioned off by walls and formations so that outsiders had no way of seeing what went on inside.
A familiar sense of déjà vu washed over him.
"Isn't this just an oversized soccer stadium?"
"No, that's not it either. It's a cultivation-world colosseum."
The Jade Cauldron Sword Sect must have truly hollowed out Fallen Phoenix Mountain. Otherwise, where could they have found enough space to construct such a massive Dao Discussion Platform?
Luo Chen cracked a wry quip to himself, glanced left and right, and jogged toward the eastern stands.
Spectators lined the path in droves, most of them cultivators hailing from other regions.
The spending power of the locals was limited; at most, they had probably bought around a thousand tickets. The real spending powerhouse had to be the wealthy magnates from outside.
As he passed one section of the stands, Luo Chen quickened his pace, remaining tight-lipped.
This was because that section was where the Great River Gang members had gathered.
"When is the fight starting? Second Brother Gao will definitely pummel that guy with the broken blade into paste!"
"Speaking of which, who's Min Longyu? Does our Great River Gang even have someone like that? Can he actually beat Han Dang, the Heart-Devouring Tiger?"
"Who the hell knows? All I know is that Yang Rusheng is terrifyingly strong—a renowned rogue powerhouse over in Tianye Market."
"I just hope we win. I dropped two hundred spirit stones betting on our Great River Gang!"
*A bunch of hopeless losers!*
*Sooner or later, you'll gamble yourselves into ruin and drag your families down with you!*
Luo Chen cursed internally, only to be stopped in his tracks.
"Fellow Daoist, this area is reserved for the Mountain Breaker Gang. Please proceed elsewhere to spectate."
Luo Chen calmly produced his iron token.
The man took a look and let out an involuntary gasp of surprise.
"It's Protector Wang's personal token! When did he take on a little brother?"
After looking Luo Chen up and down closely, he said, "Follow me!"
Feeling a bit uneasy, Luo Chen stayed close behind him.
Ascending along the walkway, they soon arrived at the highest level.
"Gang Leader, this fellow seems to be one of ours too. He's holding Protector Wang's token, but I haven't seen him before."
Mi Shuhua looked over, his kind and benevolent gaze settling upon Luo Chen.
Luo Chen presented the iron token without hesitation.
Wang Yuan had personally come to his first home back in the day to give him this very token.
He had even said back then that from that day forth, Wang Yuan would have his back.
"Ah, it's Xiao Luo! You joined the Mountain Breaker Gang too?"
The speaker was Murong Qinglian, who sat right nearby.
Luo Chen gave a sheepish grin. "Wang Yuan is my older brother. I forgot to mention it to you earlier."
Mi Shuhua inspected the iron token and nodded.
"You can sit next to Qinglian!"
Luo Chen nodded repeatedly and took a seat beside Murong Qinglian.
After settling in, he looked out across the sea of people with great curiosity and mounting anticipation.
Seated adjacent to him, however, was not only Murong Qinglian, but also a young man with a face as fair as jade.
"You're Wang Yuan's little brother?"
The cool voice carried a faint trace of hostility.
Luo Chen froze for a second. *Brother, if you've got a grudge against Brother Wang, don't drag me into it!*
*I don't fancy playing collateral damage in someone else's face-slapping drama.*
"Ke Yuelin, be polite to Xiao Luo!" Murong Qinglian snapped in reproof.
To Luo Chen's surprise, the young man did not dare disobey in the slightest.
"I only wanted to get acquainted with him. I had no idea he had ties to you and Big Brother, Sister-in-law."
Murong Qinglian replied coolly, "He's your sworn elder brother's little brother, and our neighbor besides. In the future, you really should get closer to him within the gang."
*Qin Liangchen's sworn brother?*
The thought flashed through Luo Chen's mind.
At the same time, a gentle voice transmission reached his ears.
"Ke Yuelin is the current master of the Mountain Breaker Gang's Seven Tigers Hall. He inherited Old Qin's title of the Jade-Severing Tiger."
"He was originally slated to fight in this death match, but your elder brother Wang Yuan rose too quickly and took one of the spots, so he might harbor some resentment."
"Still, don't let it bother you. With Old Qin and me here, he wouldn't dare do anything to you."
It was Murong Qinglian's voice.
Luo Chen gave her a grateful look and nodded.
*Turns out that without even realizing it, I've got quite some backing in the Mountain Breaker Gang!*
*My elder brother Wang Yuan is a protector.*
*And my neighbors, the couple next door, seem to carry a lot of weight in the gang as well.*
Right as his mind wandered through these thoughts, billows of white mist suddenly rose from all sides of the arena.
A cool, tranquil chill drifted through the air, soothing the restless agitation of the entire crowd.
Then, from within the vast white haze, the clear, melodious strumming of a zither drifted forth.
Immediately after, an ethereal, slender figure clad in a flowing celestial dress with sweeping sleeves drifted gracefully out from the white mist.
Luo Chen's eyes went wide. Wasn't that Gu Caiyi?
Chapter 59