And so, when it was heard that the first to take the stage was not the Herb Division’s rising star Zhang Xiaohua, the entire arena erupted. Most crucially, those disciples who had placed their bets on the Herb Division began shouting and complaining—wasn’t this just a trap for them? The Pill Division’s Second Vajra, Lü Fengmeng, against the Herb Division’s Sixth Arhat, Liu Quan—how could the Herb Division possibly have any chance of winning?

Wu Zhouxu also revealed a strange expression. He walked into the arena and loudly asked, “Chief Chen, shouldn’t you give our Pill Division—oh no, give all the disciples here—an explanation?”

Chen Fengxiao was not the least bit intimidated. He strolled calmly to the center and said with a smile, “Dalang’s request is truly simple. Even if you hadn’t said it, I would have come up to explain.”

Then he raised his voice and said: “Yesterday, I did discuss this with Dalang—that our Herb Division’s Ren Xiaoyao would take the stage. However, this is a wagered duel between our Pill Division and Herb Division. When arranging for Junior Brother Ren to go on stage, we must consider the overall effect, not just Junior Brother Ren’s personal benefit. Dalang, please rest assured—Junior Brother Ren will certainly go on stage, and the conditions I promised you will absolutely be fulfilled.”

“But… but…” Wu Zhouxu stammered for a long time, unable to say anything further. Indeed, the Herb Division had agreed that Ren Xiaoyao would go on stage, but the order of appearance had never been specified as the first match. Any match would have been acceptable. Thinking back, when he had spoken with Chen Fengxiao, he hadn’t clearly stated which match it had to be.

Then, Chen Fengxiao turned to face both the Pill Division and Herb Division disciples and cupped his hands. “Fellow brothers, I believe everyone knows that our Herb Division is somewhat weaker than the Pill Division—this is nothing to hide. With Junior Brother Ren joining us, our Herb Division’s strength will surely grow wings and soar. As for the order of the matches, there has always been strategy involved—something all of you understand. Therefore, arranging for Junior Brother Ren to appear in the next match, or the one after that, is entirely within the rules.”

“Moreover, and most importantly, our Junior Brother Ren will fight three times. Each bout carries a stake of fifty taels of gold. This is my agreement with Wu Dalang, and also Junior Brother Ren’s agreement with the Pill Division. We will certainly honor it. I believe—and you should also believe—that with Junior Brother Ren’s participation, this most important wagered duel of Tianmu Peak will become even more exciting and worth watching. Don’t you all agree?”

Well, what else could be said? Since the leader of the Herb Division had spoken, how could the Herb Division disciples not raise their hands in support? Immediately, the crowd burst into cheers: “Alright! Exciting—we want excitement!”

Meanwhile, the Pill Division disciples saw that Wu Zhouxu made no further objections. Thinking about how there would be even more exciting matches to come, they too became eager and began shouting in anticipation.

After the crowd quieted down a bit, Chen Fengxiao turned his head and asked Elder Lei, “May I ask, Elder Lei, does this arrangement of mine violate the previous rules of the wagered duel?”

Elder Lei nodded and said, “Naturally not. Inside this silk pouch are still ten slips of paper with the order written on them, no different from before.”

Then Chen Fengxiao asked Wu Zhouxu, “Dalang, what do you think?”

What could Wu Zhouxu possibly say? Though he was grinding his teeth in hatred, Chen Fengxiao’s words were well-reasoned, and his actions entirely justified. Wu Zhouxu could only swallow his anger. Fortunately, when drawing lots earlier that morning, he himself had not been selected—otherwise, he would have lost a great deal of face!

With an expressionless face, Wu Zhouxu flicked his sleeve and stepped down from the arena, casually taking a seat.

Chen Fengxiao also returned to his original spot. With a wave of his hand, a short and sturdy man on the right side shot out from the crowd with a “whoosh,” leaping directly onto the stage—it was none other than the Herb Division’s Sixth Arhat, Liu Quan.

Chen Fengxiao walked over to Zhang Xiaohua and said in a low voice, “Little brother, I arranged for you to go on stage three times without asking for your consent first—you don’t have any complaints in your heart, do you?”

“Complaints?” Zhang Xiaohua was taken aback, thinking to himself: And you still have the nerve to say that? The Pill Division wanted to challenge me, not the Herb Division’s Six Arhats. By stepping in like this, you’ve cost me who knows how many pills I could have earned! Of course I have complaints!

However, Zhang Xiaohua smiled and said, “Not at all. Yesterday, I already entrusted everything to Chief Chen’s full authority. How could I now say something irresponsible?”

Hearing this, Chen Fengxiao was quite pleased and said, “Actually, Wu Dalang is merely coveting your gold leaves. Just now, he already gave you some pills. Later, when you go on stage, as long as you can win the first match, then even if you lose the next two, it will still count as a draw overall. That was my thinking when I agreed to Wu Dalang’s proposal. It all happened at noon, so there wasn’t time to inform you.”

Zhang Xiaohua waved his hands repeatedly and said, “No matter, no matter—just three matches. If it really doesn’t work out, I can always concede.”

In truth, he had already begun calculating in his heart. Three matches meant he could win one hundred and fifty taels of gold—hmm, not a small amount. It was equivalent to many years of wages as a servant at Huanxi Villa.

But then he suddenly thought of another question. “Chief Chen, does the stake for each match have to be put forward in advance?”

Chen Fengxiao pointed to the two people already fighting on the stage and said, “No need. Look at those two—they first go on stage, and only after the entire wagered duel ends do they settle the accounts themselves. If there’s any unfairness, or if someone refuses to pay, then the five arbiters are called in.”

“And also, Chief Chen, seeing how you’ve painstakingly arranged the order of appearances, does it matter whether the Pill Division or the Herb Division wins overall?”

Chen Fengxiao nodded. “Exactly. Our Tianmu Peak’s Pill Division and Herb Division have always been competing. The rules were set long ago. If both sides each win five matches, then neither side pays anything. But if our Herb Division wins six matches while the Pill Division wins four, then the Pill Division must pay us twenty percent of the total stakes from all ten matches. If we win seven and they win three, then they must pay forty percent of the total stakes to us. And so on, increasing step by step, until eventually they would have to pay the entire sum of the stakes to our Herb Division.”

“Ah? It’s calculated like that? That’s quite a large amount.” Zhang Xiaohua said. Then, looking at Liu Quan on the stage, who was already beginning to falter, he added, “It seems our Herb Division must have lost quite a lot in the past.”

Chen Fengxiao still nodded. “That’s right. We have fewer people we can field, and our martial skills are generally weaker than those of the Pill Division. Even with some strategies, we’ve always been at a disadvantage.”

Chen Fengxiao then smiled and said: “However, although the stakes in the past weren’t small, compared to this time, they’re nothing at all. Hehe—ten matches, each with a stake of fifty taels of gold. Just twenty percent alone is already one hundred taels of gold. Little brother, as long as you can win two matches, our Herb Division will recover all the pills we lost in the previous rounds!”

Only then did Zhang Xiaohua come to a realization. He had thought his own little calculations were already quite clever, but compared to Chen Fengxiao, they truly fell far short. Of course, real knowledge comes from practice. Without reaching Chief Chen’s level, how could one coordinate so many matters and calculate so precisely? Zhang Xiaohua comforted himself in this way.

As they spoke, the wagered duel in the arena had already reached its conclusion. The two had been opponents for many years, and the gap in their martial skills was plainly evident. Although they were fellow disciples and could not strike too heavily, this short period was still enough for Yao Ping to defeat Liu Quan. With a forceful move, “White Crane Spreads Its Wings”, followed cleverly by a sweeping kick, Yao Ping sent Liu Quan crashing to the ground. Then, with a single kick, he knocked him out of the arena.

However, despite his victory, Yao Ping was far from satisfied. Fighting Liu Quan not only felt like an unworthy win, but more importantly, the stake worth fifty taels of gold would surely shrink greatly. Not only would he fail to obtain Zhang Xiaohua’s gold leaves, but he also wouldn’t even get his hands on that failed-refinement “Jade Restoration Pill”. It truly ruined the great stroke of luck he had enjoyed that morning.

Yao Ping cast an annoyed glance toward the expressionless face outside the arena, waved his fist provocatively, and then reluctantly stepped down. Perhaps he could only wait for the next time—but would the next time still involve a stake of fifty taels of gold?

Seeing the duel had ended, Elder Lei stood up from his seat and loudly announced, “First match—Pill Division’s Yao Ping is victorious.”

Then he addressed the arena again, “The second match is about to begin. Disciples, please place your bets!”

As soon as his words fell, many record-keeping disciples once again entered the arena. This time, however, the crowd hesitated greatly and was not nearly as eager as before. Of course, there were still quite a few wealthy disciples who chose to place their bets.

After all the procedures were completed, Elder Lei once again took out the silk pouch from the box, drew a slip of paper, and read aloud, “For the Herb Division’s second match, the selected participant is Si Huinan.”

Immediately after, from Chen Fengxiao’s right side, a somewhat plump man leapt into the arena.

In an instant, Wu Zhouxu of the Pill Division turned somewhat pale, his mouth bitter, staring blankly at Chen Fengxiao with a gnashing expression. Just as Zhang Xiaohua was about to ask, Deacon Lei drew another slip and called out, “For the Pill Division’s second match, the selected participant is Xu Andong.”

Immediately, the Pill Division disciples burst into an uproar, while the Herb Division disciples cheered with delight.

Qiu Weicheng explained in a low voice from the side, “Brother Ren, this Si Huinan is the fourth Arhat of our Herb Division, while Xu Andong is the Pill Division’s ninth Vajra. Hahaha—Si Huinan’s martial skill is just slightly higher than Xu Andong’s. In their previous ten bouts, Si Huinan won seven. The Chief is truly farsighted—he had already anticipated that if Brother Ren were to take the stage, he definitely wouldn’t appear in the second match. We would surely send out our weakest, Liu Quan, to fill the spot, and they would send Xu Andong, who could just manage to defeat Liu Quan—winning the match while conserving their strength. So the Chief did the opposite, sending out Si Huinan, who could just barely defeat Xu Andong.”

Zhang Xiaohua nodded, thinking to himself, All of the Pill Division’s arrangements were based on the assumption that I would appear first. Meanwhile, the Herb Division, knowing their plan, feinted with a false move—sending Liu Quan first to completely disrupt their strategy. This is truly ‘the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.’

Sure enough, with Chen Fengxiao confident and composed, and Wu Zhouxu unwilling yet powerless, the two fighters battled fiercely for nearly the time it takes to eat a meal before the Herb Division finally eked out a narrow victory.