Chapter 272: Ascenders

Qi Xia and Qiao Jia Jin filled a sack with Dao and carried it on their backs.

"Deceiver..." Qiao Jia Jin asked with some doubt, "Have we gathered enough?"

"Hmm..." Qi Xia pondered for a moment before saying, "I didn't expect this to go so smoothly, but now we have another problem. If we don't find Tian Yang, Di Hu won't return those two thousand nine hundred Dao to us."

Qi Xia sighed helplessly. If he hadn't managed to bluff Di Yang this time, he probably would have died here.

But why hadn't Di Yang tried to kill him in the end?

"Then..." Qiao Jia Jin glanced back at the black sheep-headed figure not far away, "Deceiver, you participated in a Di Yang game. Did you find out where Tian Yang is?"

"Just the opposite..." Qi Xia shook his head, "Now I have no idea where Tian Yang is at all..."

The two of them left the Di Yang game area with mixed feelings.

To gather enough participants, the Di Yang game had only started at noon, and after more than two hours of gameplay, it was now afternoon.

"Deceiver, where should we hide the Dao this time? Go to another Sheng Xiao?"

"Yes, let's go to another Sheng Xiao." Qi Xia nodded, "But this time, it's still Di Hu."

"Huh?" Qiao Jia Jin was stunned, "He already has two thousand nine hundred Dao. Are you really going to give him another thousand or so?"

"Yes." Qi Xia nodded, "If he doesn't return those two thousand nine hundred to us, we still won't have enough for three thousand six hundred. Might as well give him all the Dao—it's safer and more convenient that way."

"Oh... I guess that makes sense."

The two walked for about half an hour and arrived back at the Di Hu game area.

Di Hu had just seen off a group of "customers." The participants were covered in injuries, big and small, and it looked like some had even died in the area.

"Oh...?" Di Hu turned his head and spotted Qi Xia and Qiao Jia Jin right away, then noticed the sacks on their backs.

"I did it." Qi Xia said, "All of Di Yang's Dao are here."

The two threw the sacks down in front of Di Hu.

Di Hu showed a clear look of surprise.

"All of them...?"

"Probably even more than all of them." Qi Xia said, "He only brought a thousand one hundred, but I won you more than that."

"You..." Di Hu blinked, "Did you even win the entry fees that the participants paid him? You didn't just steal them, did you?"

"No." Qi Xia shook his head, "I beat him using the method he's best at. And besides, you've got more ways to humiliate him than that."

"Oh?" Di Hu perked up, shaking his massive head as he asked, "Tell me all about it! Did he cry after losing so much?"

"He didn't cry," Qi Xia said, "but there's a chance he'll come to borrow money from you tonight. He owes all the participants about a thousand Dao, which means this whole operation cost Di Yang around two thousand four hundred Dao in total."

This statement left both Qiao Jia Jin and Di Hu speechless.

Di Hu knew about Di Yang's games—supposedly, some speculators with good luck and high skills could earn several dozen Dao in one go, and the most impressive case was someone winning a hundred Dao at once.

But those successes always came with huge risks and heavy casualties.

Yet here was this man, who had gone alone, returned unharmed, and not only won all of Di Yang's Dao but also left him in debt.

Was this really happening?

Seeing Di Hu's hesitant expression, Qi Xia pressed his advantage and asked, "Since I met your condition and won all of Di Yang's Dao for you, shouldn't you return those two thousand nine hundred to us?"

Di Hu snapped back to attention and nodded silently, "Fine, those two thousand nine..."

A split second later, he furrowed his brow, "Wait a minute, kid?"

"Hmm?"

"When did I ever say that if you won all of Di Yang's Dao, I'd give yours back to you?"

"Wasn't that the deal?" Qi Xia replied innocently, "Maybe I remembered wrong."

"Don't try to twist my words." Di Hu said coolly, "What I said was that after you won all of Di Yang's Dao, I'd agree to look after yours... isn't that right?"

"Of course." Qi Xia nodded, "That's exactly what we agreed on; I just misspoke."

"And I also said... as long as you let me see that person... I'd return all the Dao untouched."

"Yes, I remember now." Qi Xia nodded.

"Kid... so do you have any leads on that person?" Di Hu asked.

"That person..." Qi Xia slowly looked up and said, "Di Hu, are you sure the one you're looking for is Tian Yang?"

"I've told you." Di Hu shook his head, "I don't care if it's Tian, Di, or Ren—whatever kind of sheep it is... I just need to see them. I want to ask why they never followed through on any of their promises to me..."

The more Qi Xia heard, the stranger it seemed.

"Hold on..." He gently interrupted Di Hu, "So... you don't even know what level they are?"

"Their level..." Di Hu narrowed his eyes slowly, "When I knew them, they were already Di Yang. And I saw with my own eyes that they ascended successfully..."

"They ascended successfully...?" Qi Xia's eyes widened gradually, "So that means... there was no Tian Yang before?"

"Wasn't I clear enough...?" Di Hu said coldly, "Since they ascended, they're Tian Yang now. I don't care how many sheep there were before—I just want to see them. Even if they've become a Tian-level and escaped, you have to find a way to drag them back for me."

Qi Xia was starting to think Di Hu was being unreasonable.

"If the Tian Yang you're talking about really escaped..." Qi Xia stepped forward, his tone serious, "Then I won't help you find them anymore. They shouldn't be here in the first place—escaping would be for the best."

"What?!" Di Hu's face instantly darkened with anger, "Kid, are you talking to me like this when all your Dao are with me?"

"Yes, if that's the case, I don't want any of the Dao. I just want them to be safe."

"You..."

Di Hu had never imagined that this man would willingly give up over four thousand Dao.

"But what's your connection to them?" Di Hu asked, "I was around them for so long, and I never heard of anyone like you."

"Before I answer your question, I have one for you too." Qi Xia slowly lifted his head, a spark of hope igniting in his eyes, "Did you see with your own eyes that they ascended and then escaped?"

Di Hu settled back down and nodded slowly, "That's right. The four of us all saw it. That day, they ascended to Tian and vanished from this world."