Spirit Cultivation

Xiao Wen was the first to try the wine, being a connoisseur of wines and commented right after while pursuing her lips, "Ah, it's good. It's my first time tasting it and my mouth is melting. I wish I could have it every day…" 

"It's not a problem," Xuefeng said calmly and asked the waitress who was still nearby, "How much of this wine you have in stock?" 

"Uhmm…" It was not a typical question one would ask, causing the waitress to falter for a moment. "We have about ten barrels left…" 

"Great. I will take all of them then. You can prepare them for me," Xuefeng ordered, celebrating his decision with a sip of wine. 

"Yes! Right away!" the waitress nodded happily and skipped towards the bar, ready to inform her manager. Seeing how confident Xuefeng was, she didn't question if he had money to buy them. Fate Stones were really precious so even though they could bet a few thousand in the battles, no one would spend so much on a simple wine. 

After all, one barrel was equal to almost eighteen hundred cups. Not many could afford that. Not to mention ten barrels which would equal eighteen thousand. 

There was only one thought everyone had after hearing his order. 

He was loaded! 

Anyone who could casually spend eighteen thousand Fate Stones on wine was simply filthy rich. 

The lady in the black was still standing nearby, watching Xuefeng's face as he sipped his wine and couldn't help but lick her lips. She seemed to be really interested in him.

After the second rejection, the room quietened, no one willing to move first. Xuefeng couldn't reject for the third time else he would be kicked out of the arena and everyone knew that. The next person that challenges him would be actually forced to fight him. 

Knowing that he could defeat Saber Devil with one attack, they knew he was strong but that was all. No one knew his limits. This gave Xuefeng a short moment to finish his wine. Everything was going according to his plans. 

Unfortunately, he didn't expect a sudden cry inside his mind. 

'Such a waste… Why, whyyy~' Drakos lamented, feeling pain when his Fate Stones were about to be taken by someone else. 'If you need a way to spend your money, you can give them all to me! If I regain my strength, you will be able to get rid of me quickly and I can help you more! Do you want me to watch your girls' naked bodies forever? I can obviously see everything when you guys do it!' 

Xuefeng almost choked when he heard it, first time realizing this fact. 'It is true! He can see it all. Damn…' Xuefeng cursed and scolded him back, 'Why didn't you tell me earlier?! Get out of my body right now!' 

'Pff, I wish! I'm stuck in this bracelet because I have no physical body yet. I still need about eight hundred and fifty-two thousand Fate Stones to restore it,' Drakos replied with exact numbers, shocking Xuefeng even more. 

'That's all I have! Do you want to rob me?!' Xuefeng shouted, sensing that Drakos tried to scam him. 'I will be left with nothing in that case!' He got all those Fate Stones from Nuwa after she visited the Holy Land.

'Well, I guess I will enjoy a nice view for a while longer. Don't mind me, I will just watch quietly like always,' Drakos said casually, knowing he grabbed Xuefeng's weakness. 

'Damn… Fine, you win,' Xuefeng cursed and gave up. 'But don't think I won't beat you up once you have a physical body.' 

Once Xuefeng learned about this fact, he couldn't just forget about it. The whole time he treated him like a Spirit but now he wouldn't be able to feel comfortable knowing some other man was spying on him. 

"Hahaha, then we will talk about it once we leave this Realm. You should win some more Fate Stones first,' Drakos laughed wholeheartedly, happy from the successful extortion.

He planned it for a while already and struck when Xuefeng was the least prepared for it. He couldn't wait forever. With the frequency he was fed, it would take months before he recovers. 

In the meantime while Xuefeng with his thoughts, the tension inside the Challenge Room was raising. Everyone wondered who would be the one to face Xuefeng and looked at the two ladies together with Quickshot. They were the ones who suffered from Xuefeng's hand and knowing their reputation, they wouldn't let that slide easily. 

Just as they expected, the lady in black dress began approaching Xuefeng, smiling to herself. Everyone thought she would challenge him but instead they heard a male voice. 

"I challenge Liu Xuefeng for a battle." 

Someone else was a second a head of her and she knew the person well. 

"Quickshot!" She called out to the man with glasses, showing her disapproval but he only shrugged. 

"I accept," Xuefeng agreed this time before taking another sip. "Give me five minutes to finish my wine." 

"Deal," Quickshot nodded as he fixed his glasses and left through the exit to the arena. 

Knowing who would be fighting, everyone clearly got excited, forgetting about their own battles and rushed after Quickshot towards the betting center. They wanted to see what would be the odds for this battle. Once someone issued a challenge and it was accepted, the battle would appear on the betting board. 

When the people saw the odds, they thought something was wrong with the system. 

Liu Xuefeng - 1.50

Quickshot - 5.00

"What is this bullshit? How come Quickshot has lower odds of winning?" Someone asked from the crowd but there was no one who knew the answer. It was useless to ask the cashiers as they knew nothing. The system was automatic. 

Basically, if Xuefeng won, one could only win half of what he betted as reward but if Quickshot won, anyone who bet on him would leave with five times the amount they bet. 

The challengers primary goal to enter arena was to earn money through betting and winning. Seeing such good odds, they hesitated. If the arena favoured Xuefeng so much, there must have been something they didn't know. 

It was too risky of a bet for anyone. 

Back in the room, Xuefeng was about to speak to the girls when the lady in black dress came up to him. "I wanted to challenge you but I was late. Hope you can win so we can face off against each other later. I'm interested in you," the lady informed, sending a flirtatious gaze at him. 

She completely didn't care about his wives by the table, making their eyes twitch. Xiao Wen, who had unfinished business with her, was the first to call out in place of everyone, "I challenge Black Mamba for a battle!" 

"Hehe, I knew you would get jealous and challenge me." Black Mamba giggled as she finally glanced at Xiao Wen. "Did you forget the last time you lost?"

"Times changed. I'm not the same person from before," Xiao Wen replied coldly. 

"Alright, I will battle with you. I want to see how little Wen improved," Black Mamba agreed and winked at Xuefeng, walking away right after. 

"Do I want to know what happened between you two?" Xuefeng asked as he grabbed Xiao Wen's hand into his. "It seems you hate her." 

He didn't propose to help her as he could see she wanted to solve her problems on her own. 

"I'm fine, don't worry. I can beat her," Xiao Wen smiled gently while shaking her head. "You should focus more on your own opponent instead. He is strong."

"Yeah, I wanted to ask you about him before I fight him," Xuefeng nodded and asked, "Who is he and what are his strengths?"

"Just as Saber Devil, the other four are called Devils. It's a rank given to the strongest Fate Holders. Quickshot is specialized in elements and quick attacks, hence his nickname. His Fate Spirit ability passively improves his Elemental Power and that's all I know about him. He rarely shows his other abilities," Xiao Wen described based on little knowledge she had but that was enough for Xuefeng. 

"Let's do our best then," Xuefeng cheered and finally stood up, calling out to Nuwa, "Hope you can protect everyone as we battle." 

"Hmpf, so selfish," Nuwa only pouted in response, demanding justice, "Next battle is mine."

Xuefeng could only laugh at her reaction and treat it as an agreement.