Chapter 174: Setting up the Arena, Gambling on Dragon Marrow

Dragon marrow is precious, but that is only for ordinary cultivators.

But for these young geniuses who are able to enter the Palace of Strange Men, dragon marrow is not such a precious thing. The forces behind them will provide them with sufficient dragon marrow to practice in the secret realm of dragon transformation.

The new Holy Son of the Yin Yang Sect used a large amount of dragon marrow to elevate his cultivation to the fourth level of Dragon Transformation.

For cultivators from the East Wilderness, South Ridge, West Desert, and North Plains, they may lack dragon marrow, but for those geniuses born in Zhongzhou, they will definitely not lack dragon marrow.

This time, Qi Shi Mansion opened and enrolled more than 700 students.

Among them, there are more than two hundred students from Zhongzhou. Li Zhi believes that the total amount of dragon marrow in their bodies is definitely more than two thousand drops.

"If you pass by, don't miss it. Ladies and gentlemen, I am a newcomer here and don't know the rules here. I have set up a platform for everyone to communicate. Those who have money can support me with money, and those who don't have money can support me with their presence."

Li Zhi stood under a ten-foot-high banner with the word "Gamble" on it and shouted to passers-by.

Perhaps because they had just experienced the thunder warning yesterday, most of the students were not in seclusion. When they heard Li Zhi's shouting, which sounded like a street performer, it immediately attracted the attention of some students.

Someone stopped and asked, "Little Taoist priest, are you also a student of Qishi Mansion? Why haven't I seen you before?"

"Senior brother, are you interested in a bet? I'm new here, and in order to make friends with you, I've set up this arena." Seeing someone stop, Li Zhi immediately went up to him enthusiastically.

As if he was afraid that the man would be scared away by him, Li Zhi's attitude was very nice.

The man said, "Don't you know that private fighting is prohibited in Qishi Mansion?"

Li Zhi said: "This is not a private fight, this is a discussion of the Dao."

Then, Li Zhi took out a pen and wrote the odds and the method of gambling on the huge banner.

"Discussing the Dao and betting on Dragon Marrow: if you are at a lower realm, you will get ten times the compensation if you lose one; if you are at the same realm, you will get three times the compensation if you lose one; if you are at a higher realm, you will get two times the compensation if you lose one; if you cross realms, you will get one time if you lose one. There are four ways to discuss the Dao: a pure physical strength competition, a competition of mana and magic, a competition of souls, and a competition of comprehension. You can choose any one of them."

The monk watched Li Zhi write down the method of discussing Taoism and the odds on the banner, and then he read the words on it.

The man said in surprise: "My fellow Taoist, do you have so much dragon marrow that you have nowhere to use it?"

Li Zhi said to the man enthusiastically, "Brother, do you want to take a gamble? If you win, you will never lack dragon marrow for cultivation again."

At this moment, Li Zhi looked like an insurance salesman, and his ability of rhetoric made the cultivator somewhat moved.

"Are you really willing to accept any kind of betting?" Cheng Hui confirmed with Li Zhi again.

"Of course, since I dare to write the conditions on the banner, I will accept anyone's invitation to a fight. Of course, except for the powerful." After saying that, Li Zhi added a sentence on the banner, "Except for the powerful."

"Brother, how about giving it a try? We all come to Qishi Mansion to study and practice. We can't just bury our heads in hard practice all the time. It is necessary to exchange ideas with each other."

After that, Li Zhi took out the jade bottle of dragon marrow given to him by the mansion master, shook it in front of Cheng Hui, and said, "Brother, I have top-grade and best-grade dragon marrow here. As long as you can win, I can afford the bet."

Although all the dragon marrow inside had been refined by Li Zhi, the aura of the remaining top-grade dragon marrow was still quite strong, exuding the fragrance of a magical medicine that made people excited.

"My name is Cheng Hui and I'm from Anping Country. I'm at the third level of the Dragon Transformation Secret Realm. Where are you from, little Taoist priest?" Cheng Hui seemed really moved and asked.

"I also came from Anping Country. A few days ago, I met Princess Yudie of your Anping Country. I wonder if Princess Yudie has returned to Qishi Mansion?" Li Zhi asked.

"So you also know Her Royal Highness the Princess. The princess is still in the capital handling some matters, but she will be back soon." Cheng Hui said with a smile.

After chatting for a while, the relationship between the two seemed to have become much closer, and Li Zhi asked directly: "Brother Cheng, what do you want to bet with me? Physical body, magic power, soul, or understanding?"

Cheng Hui took out a can of ordinary dragon marrow and said, "I won't bully you. You are young and your realm should not be as good as mine. Let's compare and see whose body is stronger."

Li Zhi nodded and said, "Okay."

The reason why Cheng Hui wanted to compete with Li Zhi in physical strength was because he had witnessed with his own eyes the scene of Dongfang Ye entering the Qi Shi Mansion, which gave him a great shock.

Afterwards, Li Zhi and Cheng Hui came to the ring, ready to engage in the purest physical contest.

The two of them punched each other with pure physical strength.

With a "bang", Cheng Hui was knocked away by Li Zhi like a cannonball and was directly embedded in the mountain next to him.

"Cough cough!"

After a violent coughing fit, Cheng Hui, with stars in his eyes, finally came to his senses. A divine light flashed across his body, and then his broken bones were restored.

"Master Li, what is your level of cultivation?" Cheng Hui came up to Li Zhi and asked with a look of shock on his face.

Just now, Cheng Hui felt like he almost died.

In other words, Li Zhi controlled the force, otherwise Cheng Hui would have exploded into a ball of bloody mist on the spot.

"Transform into the ninth level of dragon." Li Zhi spread his hands and asked Cheng Hui for the jar of dragon marrow.

"What, you are a master of the ninth level of Dragon Transformation?" Cheng Hui exclaimed.

"My cultivation level is not serious and can't be taken seriously. Brother Cheng, do you want to try other aspects?" Li Zhi continued to promote.

A trace of fear flashed in Cheng Hui's eyes, and he shook his head and said, "No."

Then he gave the jar of dragon marrow to Li Zhi.

After Li Zhi received the dragon marrow, he said happily: "Brother Cheng, can you help me spread the word so that all the students in our Qishi Mansion know that I am setting up a competition arena here. I am not a stingy person. When the time comes, I will give you 10% of the dragon marrow. What do you think?"

Cheng Hui's eyes lit up and he said, "This is easy to do."

Afterwards, he went to inform other students.

Half an hour later, hundreds of students came to the stage where Li Zhi set up his stall. Each of them had an extraordinary aura, some were shining with divine light, some were standing in the clouds, and some were controlling magic weapons.

Seeing Li Zhi sitting under the giant banner with his true body hidden by a layer of mysterious spiritual mist, everyone was a little curious.

"Hey, little Taoist priest, are you the one setting up the arena here?" A child about eight or nine years old, standing on a military vehicle in the crowd, shouted directly at Li Zhi.

In the spiritual mist, Li Zhi did not reveal his true face, but said calmly: "It's all written on the banner, go and see for yourself."

The indifferent tone seemed to disregard all the geniuses present, causing everyone to whisper.

"Where is this little Taoist priest from? Why haven't I seen him before?" someone in the crowd asked his companion next to him.

"I'm talking to you, what's with your attitude?" The child seemed irritated by Li Zhi's attitude and shouted at Li Zhi.

"Do you have dragon marrow?" Li Zhi asked.

"I have plenty of dragon marrow in my hands. Do you want to bet with me?" The child looked at Li Zhi with contempt.

Li Zhi said bluntly: "It's enough if you have dragon marrow. Otherwise, go anywhere cooler and don't waste my time."

It seemed that they didn't want to waste time with the child, and their attitude seemed to look down on the genius present. The discussions in the crowd became louder.

After saying that, Li Zhi stood up from under the giant banner and said to the young geniuses below the stage: "I heard that you are geniuses carefully selected from the five major domains. Today I set up the arena here just to gauge whether the strength of you so-called geniuses is just for show." Just one sentence angered most of the people on the opposite side.

"Where did this lunatic come from? How dare he shout in Qi Shi Mansion?" Various discussions began in the crowd.

“Let me meet you.” At this moment, a cultivator at the fourth level of Dragon Transformation jumped out from the crowd. He came from an ancient sect in Zhongzhou and could usually fight against cultivators at the eighth or ninth level of Dragon Transformation.

"Kid, please step aside first. Wait until the Taoist uncle and this Taoist friend are done gambling. Then it won't be too late for you to go on stage." Li Zhi turned his head and said to the kid.

"Haha" a burst of laughter suddenly broke out in the crowd.

“Little Taoist priest, how dare you ignore me. I am Wang Chong, and Northern Emperor Wang Teng is my elder brother.” The child jumped up and shouted.

"What Northern Emperor, Southern Emperor? We'll talk about it later. I have no interest in who your brother is. You can't block my uncle's road to wealth, otherwise I will ask you to compensate." Li Zhi said to Wang Chong as if he was coaxing a child.

Wang Chong was so angry at this that he immediately shouted, "Let me teach you a lesson first."

Li Zhi shook his head and said, "At your age, have you learned all the characters? Didn't you see what I wrote on the banner? If you want to fight me, take out the dragon marrow first, and then choose the way to fight."

"This young Taoist priest is so confident that he can even use his physical body, magic power, soul, and comprehension separately for gambling. What kind of cultivation is he at?" Finally, someone discovered the meaning behind the content on Li Zhi's banner.

In the crowd, a purple-haired man said to an extremely beautiful woman beside him, "Princess, do you want to go up and test the skills of this little Taoist priest?"

The stunning woman said with a smile on her face: "Let's take a look first. I didn't expect Qishi Mansion to be so fun."

"Brother, who is this person?" Ji Ziyue, who was standing in the crowd with the Eastern Wilderness cultivators, asked Ji Haoyue beside him.

Ji Haoyue's eyes were shining brightly, as if he wanted to see through the spiritual mist that enveloped Li Zhi, but he couldn't.

After sensing Ji Haoyue's gaze, Li Zhi shouted at him: "Future God King of the Ji family, do you want to try your skills?"

Ji Ziyue stood in front of Ji Haoyue and said to Li Zhi, "Little Taoist, you haven't introduced yourself yet. Are you planning a sneak attack?"

Li Zhi then said, "I forgot to tell you that I am at the ninth level of the Dragon Transformation Realm. But don't worry, I am not a genius, just an ordinary cultivator. You are welcome to challenge me. It is said that the geniuses in the Qishi Mansion are of the highest quality. In my opinion, you should all have the strength to fight against higher-level cultivators. So I am not bullying you."

As soon as these words were spoken, many people felt as if their hearts were choked, and they had the urge to utter sweet words.

After saying that, Li Zhi did not stop and shouted to the group of young geniuses from Zhongzhou: "The prince of the Great Xia Dynasty, the princess of the Jiuli Dynasty, and the geniuses from Shenzhou and Guhua Dynasty, you are welcome to challenge me. As for the people from the nine ancient countries and various schools of thought, please wait a little longer. After I have sent away the geniuses from the four immortal dynasties, you can come up one by one. You all have a chance. I will not favor one over the other."

As soon as such arrogant words came out, the crowd exploded like a pot of boiling water and instantly started to make noise.

This is to bring together all the young geniuses in Zhongzhou. They have no choice but to go on stage.

Seeing that everyone was talking about this, Li Zhi shouted to the geniuses from the Eastern Wasteland, "Geniuses from the Eastern Wasteland, if you have dragon marrow, I also welcome you to come on stage."

He turned around and shouted to the Nanling geniuses, "Friends from Nanling, if you don't have dragon marrow in your body, you don't have to go on stage."

Finally, he looked at the Tianjiao of Ximo and said, "Future Bodhisattvas and Buddhas from Ximo, I know you are not short of dragon marrow. I am waiting for you on the stage."

After that, Li Zhi invited the prodigy who jumped out to the stage and asked him what he was going to fight. He could choose one of the four.

The only thing missing is a message to the geniuses of Beiyuan.

This made Wang Chong's face look ugly, and he shouted at Li Zhi: "You stinky Taoist priest, what do you mean by this?"

Li Zhi slapped his forehead and said, "I almost forgot. There is also the Tianjiao from Beiyuan. What the hell are you doing? You actually sent a child as a representative. This is really wrong. Where are the adults?"

Wang Chong was so angry that he shouted directly at Li Zhi: "Young Master, I want to compete with you in physical strength."

Li Zhi spread out one hand and said, "Sure. How much dragon marrow do you want to bet?"

Wang Chong directly took out a can of top-grade dragon marrow and said, "A can of top-grade dragon marrow, do you dare to bet?"

Li Zhi nodded and said, "Choose one of the four, or all four. It's up to you."

Then he shouted to the others, "This young master Wang Chong is so heroic. Come, let us all cheer for him."

Unfortunately, no one shouted for Wang Chong. Instead, they all stared at Li Zhi. Even many cultivators had a strange look on their faces.

In the crowd of Eastern Wasteland cultivators, the Saint of Yaochi was so embarrassed that she wanted to find a crack in the ground to hide in. Yan Ruyu smiled brilliantly.

Li Heishui was amazed and said to Jiang Huairen and Liu Kou beside him: "What a talent."

A fat white man in the crowd looked at Li Zhi with shining eyes, seeming to be satisfied.

"What an arrogant little Taoist priest." Princess Qi, the hot pepper from Nanling, showed a look of eagerness to try.

Then, the fight between Li Zhi and Wang Chong began.

Li Zhi simply grabbed Wang Chong's fist with one hand, making him unable to move, and then Li Zhi happily put away the jar of dragon marrow.

Seeing Li Zhi's arrogant and domineering look, the young geniuses of Zhongzhou jumped out one after another and fought with Li Zhi one by one, but they all lost in the end.

The heirs of the Immortal Divine Dynasty, such as the prince of the Great Xia Dynasty and the princess of the Jiuli Divine Dynasty, did not appear.

The people including Yaoguang Saint, whom Li Zhi was expecting, had no intention of taking action.

It seemed that the top geniuses had no intention of competing with Li Zhi, they were just there to watch the fun.

Even so, Li Zhi fought with seventy-three people in succession.

Win seventy-three games in a row.

But no one felt that Li Zhi had any outstanding performance, and it seemed that he was bullying others by relying on his high level of cultivation.

But Li Zhi never gets tired of it and accepts anyone who goes on stage.

There were even people who fought with Li Zhi three times in a row in terms of physical body, magic power and spiritual power.

From the beginning to the end, no one has ever competed with Li Zhi in terms of understanding.

Seeing that no one was going to play, Li Zhi waved his hand to put away the banner, and then said: "My fellow Taoists, I am a little tired today, so I will go back to rest first. If anyone wants to spar with me, please come back another day."

After saying that, he walked directly towards the back mountain of Qishi Mansion.

"Who is that Taoist priest?" After Li Zhi left, everyone was discussing the matter.

At this moment, everyone discovered that the place Li Zhi was going to was not the direction of the students' cave, but the place where the top leaders of the Qi Shi Mansion in the back mountain lived.

"Could he be the senior invited by the Palace Master to encourage us in our cultivation?" someone speculated.

"That's for sure. The Palace Master discovered that some of us had become slack in our practice, so he staged this drama." Someone else said.

If Li Zhi heard their discussion, he would probably laugh to death.

Only a fat white man followed quietly.

(End of this chapter)