Chapter 685: Champion Xiao Wanfeng

“Let us congratulate the champion of this Tian Luo Zhan!”

“He is the successor of the Ban Sheng family, Xu Shao, Xu De Tye…”

The host’s voice echoed through the Tian Luo arena, but it paused for a long while at that point.

Faintly, the audience could still hear some muffled scolding: “He’s not here yet? Get his information up here, quick!”

After a good while longer, as everyone stared speechlessly at the lone figure left on the stage, the host’s voice finally came back to life.

“…’s servant!”

“He is the super ordinary person who just joined the top establishment in the heavens, Tian Shang First Tower, and awakened the ancient sword cultivator’s sword intent on the stage—Xiao Wan Feng!”

“Yes,” the host added emphatically, “you heard that right… an ordinary person! The champion! Unprecedented and never to be repeated!”

A wave of uproar swept through the crowd.

The host’s voice cut off abruptly, and the audience’s angry shouts erupted in an instant.

“What the hell is this? He’s the champion?”

“This is clearly an official scam of a fixed match! Xu Shao was the one who won the competition—how did it end up with this guy on the stage?”

“Can he even stand his ground? Can he withstand Luo Yin’s punch? Can he resist Xu Shao’s sword?”

“This… is absurd! I’m going to file a complaint! The Tian Luo Zhan isn’t run by you at the Tian Luo arena—it’s backed by the Sheng Shen Dian Tang. Aren’t you afraid of the consequences when they come down on you? You won’t be able to handle it!”

The onlookers’ furious roars crashed in like a tidal wave.

Standing alone on the stage, Xiao Wan Feng held a tea tray and stiffly waved and smiled at the enraged crowd.

In that moment, the only thing left in his mind was Xu Shao’s repeated warnings from earlier.

“Remember, a person’s success always comes with endless criticism.”

“They envy you, they hate you, because you made them lose money. But as long as you can stand on that stage and endure all the criticism to claim this championship…”

“Then, no matter what terrifying things you face later, they won’t be as bad as the curses from thousands of people right now.”

“Face it calmly, Champion Xiao…”

Xiao Wan Feng’s eyes lost focus.

In his vision, the audience turned into a sea of angry giant bananas.

Only by imagining them that way could he try to block out their hateful words.

Yes, he, Xiao Wan Feng, had become the champion.

Somehow…

It was all because Mu Xiao Gu Nai Nai didn’t want the championship, and Xu Shao didn’t want it either… He had no idea what those two were thinking. Things that others desperately sought, they treated like hot potatoes and just handed over.

But regardless, in that situation, the one pushed forward by their hands was only him, Xiao Wan Feng.

“Go die, you!”

The audience angrily clawed at the barriers, trying to rush in, only to be held back by those maintaining order.

“Thank you, thank you everyone.”

Xiao Wan Feng kept his stiff smile.

“Give me back my thirty thousand Ling Jing, you deadbeat! I bet on Xu Shao—get off the stage, you scum!”

“Thank you, thank you everyone.”

“How dare you stand there? Disappear from my sight, you jerk!”

“Thank you… uh, should I leave then?”

In the VIP box.

“Sister, what do you think of this?”

Xiao Lian looked out the window at the completely chaotic scene.

If it weren’t for the throne holders and Dao Slayers from the Tian Luo arena keeping order, that crowd would probably storm the stage and tear Xiao Wan Feng apart!

Yao Yue watched the scene below with a bit of a headache.

She couldn’t understand why Xu Shao didn’t take the championship. She had already prepared to lose money because of him.

After all, most of the audience had bet on the Ban Sheng successor, Xu De Tye.

Even with the odds dropped to the lowest, with so many bets, they would still lose big.

But unexpectedly…

They had made a fortune!

Of course, there was a price to pay.

By letting Xu Shao give up the championship, the Tian Luo Zhan would be pushed to the forefront of public opinion by those who lost money—it was inevitable.

Because the Sheng Shen Dian Tang prioritized fairness and justice above all.

If Mu Xiao Gong had taken the championship, the Tian Luo arena could have excused it by saying Xu Shao exhausted his strength in the fight with Luo Yin and chose to give up.

But who would have thought that Xu Shao wouldn’t take it, and even Mu Xiao Gong wouldn’t take it?

In the end, the championship fell to an ordinary person!

Well, Xiao Wan Feng might not be entirely ordinary, since he had awakened sword intent.

But the audience didn’t care about that.

In their eyes, a mere servant of Xu Shao— no matter how talented—couldn’t possibly surpass Xu Shao himself.

This was absolute class suppression, and under the weight of public opinion, it was impossible to change.

“Oh, Xu Shao…”

Yao Yue rubbed her temples and turned to Xin Gu Gu. “Is he always like this?”

“Mm.”

Xin Gu Gu didn’t offer any explanation.

All he could think about was how lucky he was! Lucky that he was a penny-pincher and hadn’t followed his instincts—or Xiao Wan Feng’s advice—to bet all his money on Xu Shao or Mu Zi Xi.

If he had, he’d be as furious as the people below right now.

“Xiao Wan Feng is the champion…”

This was too absurd!

Absurd enough that even Xin Gu Gu, who had only sent Xiao Wan Feng up to serve tea and liven things up for Xu Shao, couldn’t believe that guy would end up as the real winner.

The door to the box swung open with a bang.

Xu Shao entered with Mu Zi Xi and Mo Mo.

“Xu Shao.”

Yao Yue stood up immediately, her gaze lingering curiously on Mo Mo for a moment, but she didn’t ask questions. She welcomed the three and said, “Xu Shao, you might have gone a bit too far this time.”

“Oh?”

Xu Shao picked up a grape from the fruit plate and popped it into his mouth. “How so?”

“You’ve taken it too far.”

Yao Yue sighed. “If it were just a regular event, I could cover for you and let you do as you please. But the Tian Luo Zhan is essentially under the watch of the Sheng Shen Dian Tang, and this could blow up in a way we can’t handle.”

“Is that so…” Xu Shao hesitated, then asked, “Alright, how much will it cost?”

Yao Yue felt a bit dizzy.

Even Xiao Lian rubbed her forehead in exasperation.

As expected, in the eyes of this wealthy Xu Shao, everything in the world could be solved with money.

“This isn’t about money…”

Yao Yue said helplessly.

Xu Shao’s expression shifted, and he grabbed another grape. “I get it. So, how many billions?”

Yao Yue: “…”

She glanced back at Xiao Lian instinctively.

But Xiao Lian just shrugged slightly, with an expression that said, “He’s always like this—I can’t do anything about it.”

“Xu Shao, I’m being serious here!”

Yao Yue was getting anxious.

“Fine, go ahead.”

Xu Shao wiped his hands and straightened up.

He never forgot his identity as Xu Shao.

Only by emphasizing such details could he reinforce others’ recognition of his status.

Later, if anyone doubted his true identity, the people he’d interacted with would serve as the best cover.

Yao Yue said seriously, “If you do this, Xu Shao, the issue could be big or small. As long as the Sheng Shen Dian Tang doesn’t get involved, you’ll be fine.”

“But!”

Her voice grew firm: “If someone takes it to the Sheng Shen Dian Tang and questions the fairness of the Tian Luo Zhan, you could be directly disqualified from participating.”

“That serious?” Xu Shao was taken aback.

Disqualified?

What about his passive points then?

“Yes,” Yao Yue nodded. “Your reputation is too big, Xu Shao. I don’t think this will be suppressed—it’s bound to reach the Sheng Shen Dian Tang.”

“How do we fix it?” Xu Shao interrupted. “I just need the solution.”

Yao Yue was at a loss for words.

This was typical of a great family heir—make a mess and not worry about the fallout, as long as someone cleans it up.

Honestly, Yao Yue looked down on people like this deep down.

But since he was a Ban Sheng successor, she couldn’t show it.

“There’s no way to fix it.”

Yao Yue looked helpless.

“The Tian Luo Zhan is essentially the Sheng Shen Dian Tang’s event—they’re just using our venue and name.”

“The final say on judging lies with them. We have to follow their rules.”

“Now, all we can do is wait for their decision.”

Xu Shao was getting impatient. “Then hurry up and set up the next match! There’s another one today, right? I’m not tired—I can still fight.”

Yao Yue stared at Xu Shao for a long time before chuckling softly and parting her red lips.

“Xu Shao, do you really think you can compete today under these circumstances?”

She glanced outside.

Even though Xiao Wan Feng had left the stage, the area around it was still in complete chaos.

Forget about Xu Shao quickly joining the next match—it was questionable whether today’s tenth event could even happen.

Gamblers’ money was easy to make, but it was also the hardest.

Especially with an official organization backing it, the Tian Luo arena could ignore some faces, but not the Sheng Shen Dian Tang’s.

“This is such a hassle…”

Xu Shao looked at the noisy crowd below and felt like going down there to unleash his aura and suppress them all.

These people should just contribute their passive points obediently—causing trouble was outrageous!

But clearly, that would only treat the symptoms, not the root cause.

It wasn’t realistic anyway.

“Fine, let’s leave it for now!”

Xu Shao stood up. Since the matter wasn’t resolved, he didn’t plan to waste more time here.

“Thanks for the trouble, Yao Yue. If the Sheng Shen Dian Tang doesn’t issue a final ruling, send someone to Tian Shang First Tower to let me know. After all, I still need that trial qualification.”

“Alright.”

Yao Yue was a bit surprised at how quickly Xu Shao changed his mind.

She had been thinking about how to persuade him not to cause more trouble today!

But he went from wanting to keep stirring things up one moment to being perfectly compliant the next.

What a strange person… Yao Yue thought.

There was a knock at the door, and Xiao Wan Feng entered.

“Xu Shao…”

As soon as he stepped into the box, Xiao Wan Feng couldn’t hold back his grievances. “I’m done for! I got the Wang Cheng trial qualification, but I feel like I’m going to be hunted down!”

He pulled out a golden jade pendant.

Xu Shao knew that holding this was the key to participating in the Wang Cheng trial.

And in a place as treacherous as Dong Tian Wang Cheng, the Sheng Shen Dian Tang wouldn’t restrict who owned the pendant—they only maintained surface-level justice.

The pendant recorded everything and had some spiritual essence.

As long as it wasn’t a Zong Shi-level expert using force to seize it and help someone else, but rather a fair contest among those at the innate level that led to the pendant changing hands…

Then it would recognize the new owner’s trial qualification.

“Hmm, that gives me a new idea…”

Thinking about it, Xu Shao suddenly had a plan as he looked at the jade pendant in Xiao Wan Feng’s hand.

The only issue was that everyone who had a pendant right now was no pushover, with at least a major force backing them.

If he wanted to snatch someone else’s pendant, he’d have to make the first move.

Dong Tian Wang Cheng didn’t ban killing.

But if the person being robbed was in the city and under a major force’s protection, and an outsider attacked without provocation…

Then, if it blew up, the Sheng Shen Dian Tang’s public stance of justice wouldn’t hold.

He needed an excuse… Xu Shao pondered.

“Keep the pendant safe for now.”

He waved at Xiao Wan Feng.

No matter how tricky it got, Xu Shao wouldn’t turn on his own people.

With Xiao Wan Feng having the trial qualification, that nonsensical turtle map he drew wouldn’t be needed anymore.

They could just go to the trial together, and Xu Shao could keep Xiao Wan Feng away from the vortex at Pi Xiu Mountain.

At that moment, the unassuming Mo Mo spoke up.

“If Xu Shao wants a trial qualification, there are a few other places you could go.”

She was now quite comfortable using the title “Xu Shao,” thanks to the crowd’s repeated cheers—it was hard not to get brainwashed by it.

“What do you mean?”

Xu Shao turned to her.

He knew that Mo Mo and his junior sister had gone out early that morning, not just for shopping, but also to inquire about getting a Wang Cheng trial spot.

Mo Mo said calmly, “The Lian Dan Shi Association or the Ling Zhen Shi Association.”

Yao Yue’s eyebrows twitched, and she looked at Xu Shao strangely.

From what she was hearing…

Was Xu Shao also a Lian Dan Shi or Ling Zhen Shi?

Xu Shao was still a bit confused, but Xiao Lian suddenly realized.

“Oh, right, Xu Shao, you could try the Lian Dan Shi Association.”

“Though getting a qualification there is even harder than at the Tian Luo arena, it’s worth a shot. If you get a Lian Dan Shi trial spot, you can bring two guardians into the trial.”

“After all, compared to their overflowing high-end fighters, what the Sheng Gong really lacks is high-quality Lian Dan Shi!”

“And high-quality Lian Dan Shi are incredibly fragile—they always need protec… um.”

Xiao Lian trailed off as she looked at Xu Shao, suddenly at a loss for words.