Spirit Cultivation

Participants could only watch the battles from the Challenger Room as they could be challenged at any time. They could watch the ten battle stages through various screens placed throughout the room or through the giant window with a direct view.

Naturally, the girls wanted a first hand experience so they followed Xuefeng and Xiao Wen to the arena. They wanted to cheer for him and Xuefeng naturally agreed, knowing Liena wouldn't stop them like that. They first passed by the betting section before the entrance to the main stages and stopped. 

Xuefeng needed to squeeze as much money as possible before he makes the deal with Drakos. He knew Drakos definitely didn't need so much Fate Stones and just wanted to extort him but there was nothing he could do. Even if he didn't peek on them in reality, Xuefeng couldn't be sure he wouldn't do it in the future. 

"Hmm, there is something wrong. Why are your odds so high? Usually the first timers have a same odds so if you bet on them, you can double your money," Xiao Wen commented as she looked at the betting board. 

"Well, I already expected this much," Xuefeng shrugged, knowing he wouldn't be able to earn much on himself but that wasn't his goal from the start. "Don't worry, I have a different plan." 

"You plan to bet on Wen instead?" Nuwa asked, licking her lips and Xuefeng nodded, smiling at them. 

"Huh? Me? Let me check my—What?! Ten to one?! Really?" Xiao Wen looked at her odds and almost choked, seeing the arena completely didn't believe she would win. 

It was understandable as she lost to her the last time they fought but it shouldn't be that bad. The gap between them wasn't that big before. 

Black Mamba, who still lingered in the betting center, smiled from the distance at Xiao Wen's reaction and commented loudly, "Hah, I guess the arena already found out about my power spike. Too bad that I can't hide it much longer." 

She then walked up towards the cashier window and passed the arena worker a ring. "I bet twenty thousand Fate Stones for myself," She commented out loud. 

The cashier got surprised and checked the ring before passing a black token to her with a smile. "Bet has been placed. Here is your token madam," the cashier confirmed politely and everyone in the crowd got excited. 

They knew a black token represented any bets between ten thousand to one hundred thousand. They had a proof that Black Mamba was really betting this much on herself, being this confident of her victory. 

Keeping her token, she winked at Xuefeng's group and wished with a smile, "Good luck! I will wait for you at the stage." She didn't wait for them and left cooly, up to everyone expectations. 

The confidence of everyone immediately skyrocketed and they rushed up to the cashier, placing their bets. 

"I bet a thousand on Black Mamba!"

"Me too! Two thousand for me!"

"Count me in! Five thousand on Black Mamba!"

There was a three to one payout if one bet their money on her so they naturally expected a nice return. The Challengers were not the only ones who went crazy but also many viewers who didn't take part in the arena today decided to win some money through gambling. 

Despite the sudden betting chaos, Xuefeng remained calm and grasped Xiao Wen's hand to ease her mind. "Don't worry, just focus on your battle and win," he assured her. 

"Well, I thought I had forty percent chance of victory after my own improvements but hearing she has some hidden ace, I guess it's lower now..." Xiao Wen admitted, thinking intensely what she should do but Xuefeng stopped her thoughts with a kiss. 

"I told you not to worry. I already have a plan," he said and grasped her second hand. In an instant, a great amounts of Fate Qi got pumped into her body, filling her completely. As her dantain was full, he stored it in her veins, muscles and bones. 

Xiao Wen glanced at him with questioning gaze but he placed a finger on her lips after he was done. 

"Shhh… No one needs to know," Xuefeng whispered and left towards one of the free cashiers. 

He placed two Storage Rings on the counter and said casually, "I would like to place some bets as well. One of the rings on my, Liu Xuefeng's victory. The other one on Xiao Wen's victory. They both have same amount of Fate Stones so it doesn't matter which one goes where." 

"Sure, right away," the cashier nodded calmly but his face changed right after he counter the exact amount of Fate Stones inside the rings. 

"Sir, are you sure you want to—" The cashier wanted to ask for confirmation but Xuefeng cut him off, nodding. "Yes. I'm sure." 

"I-I will prepare the tokens…" the cashier stuttered and quickly pulled out two gold tokens, marking something on them before passing them to Xuefeng. "I wish good luck in your battle Sir!" 

"Thanks," Xuefeng replied and returned back to his group while playing with two gold tokens in his hand. He couldn't hide that fact so he bragged this way instead. If he couldn't stay low profile then it was better to act as high profile as possible. 

'I really hope your girl wins. If she loses…' Drakos commented, not trusting Xuefeng on Xiao Wen's win but Xuefeng assured him. 'Don't worry, she will.'

Xuefeng kept the tokens and smiled confidently as he asked the girls, "Shall we go?"

Only Xiao Wen knew what did the gold token signify and at this point, she didn't know if she wanted to ask for the exact numbers. One would only receive a gold token if their bet was higher than one hundred thousand. Those type of tokens were very rarely seen in the betting center as no one was stupid enough to bet such a fortune. 

'To think he trusts me so much…' Xiao Wen thought touched, tightly gripping onto Xuefeng's hand and a determined looked returned to her face. 'I can't lose!"

As they walked out towards the main arena, the cashier that attended to Xuefeng suddenly closed his working spot and rushed out to the back rooms were all the managers had their offices. Coincidentally, he saw a general manager leaving his office and quickly approached him. 

"Sir! I think we have a problem. One of the clients place a golden token bet. If he wins, his returns will be enormous," the cashier explained, passing Xuefeng's rings to him. 

There was a similar surprised look on the manager's face but it immediately disappeared as he asked, "Was this bet placed by a person named Xuefeng?" 

"Mhmm, yes Sir," the cashier nodded firmly. "He bet on one of his friends who will be fighting Black Mamba. The odds are in our favour but he seemed pretty confident while spending four hundred thousand just like that." 

"We will not do anything," the manager said without much hesitation and passed the rings back. Before the cashier said anything, he added, "Those are the orders from above. You are dismissed." 

——— 

As Xuefeng's group approached the stages, hearing cheers from the viewers, they were stopped by the arena guards to check their identification. Just as Xuefeng expected, once he introduced himself, they were let in without much trouble. Liena tried really hard to curry favors. 

He saw Quickshot already standing on one of the biggest arenas and smiled, asking in his mind, 'If I kill him, can you recover his Spirit like we did with Pio?'