That’s right. This wasn’t the tournament commonly seen in other orthodox sects or novels, where disciples climbed brackets like a ladder. Th

  That’s right. This wasn’t the tournament commonly seen in other orthodox sects or novels, where disciples climbed brackets like a ladder.

  This was a free-for-all plunderfest—a grand, round-robin gambling table for the strong!

  Interests get traded! Power gets shuffled! The strong devours all, the weak falls!

  Everyone knew this cruel truth.

  Smiling like an old wily fox, the Grand Elder went even further to make that fact sink in.

  "Our sect doesn’t like hiding behind flowery words or false civility. Neither do I like being long-winded, so I’ll only say this once…”

  “Have an unresolved feud you want to settle? Got an eye on the magic artifact of another disciple?”

  “Lacking spirit stones and cultivation resources? Want to turn the women of another man into your personal furnace?”

  “Then do it! Everything and anything you want, it’s yours as long as you have the power! Welcome...”

  His arms stretched wide, like an emperor presenting his kingdom.

  “...to the stage of the strong! Now, let the bloodbath… begin!”

  “Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!”

  The blood-boiling chants roared to life everywhere!

  Even Bubai could feel the wave of bloodlust washing over him...

  But a firm slap on his back shook him from his trance.

  “Brother, don’t get too excited. It’s still early.”

  Resisting his instincts to cleanse himself using a drop of dew, Bubai willfully suppressed his thirst to kill, then nodded in thanks to his lanky neighbor.

  This Old Fifth was right. It was indeed too early to make any moves.

  To sit at this gambling table, one must have enough chips—something valuable coveted by others, something worthy to go into the pot.

  Yet in games like these, jumping out first and standing out was not a good thing.

  The first ones to act can get first dibs at the gambling pot, but the more they took, the heavier their bag becomes.

  Deep pockets invite greed just like how a tall tree attracts the wind.

  Even the mighty will capsize in the gutter if they get targeted.

  It’s fine if there’s enough power to deter others, but if there’s any signs of weakness…

  Everything won will become nothing more than a wedding dress for the hyenas behind.

  Hence, even if most hunters already picked their preys in their hearts, nobody wants to be the early bird, lest their head gets snapped off by the hidden viper in the grass.

  A wicked old devil like the grand elder must have known this well.

  That magical blood-riling speech of his was most likely meant to shake the tree until something fell.

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  Those patient, strong-willed predators can resist and avoid being affected by the bloodlust, but...

  There were always those demonic cultivators who were much easier to manipulate...

  The waiting game did not last long. The grand elder’s notice rolled out like thunder.

  "To start us off, we have Tie Zhubi challenging Yu Shusheng to a life-and-death match!"

  Hearing this, Qian Bage slapped his thigh, eyes lighting up. “Ouuu! Staking everything from the start!”

  “Ai. Not too surprising.” Qian Feifu swirled his wine cup and smiled. “Anything can be staked, but when there is too great a wealth gap, they can only stake the simplest thing.”

  “Huh?” Qian Zhongta looked over, confused.

  “I heard these two’s blood feud started due to the death of a brother in the secret realm, but… Lao Wu, why does it sound like you’re implying something different?”

  Qian Feifu clicked his tongue and chided, “Lao Si, oh Lao Si, don’t look at others through our family’s looking glass.”

  “Due to dual cultivating that special Four Gentlemen Art together, they may call themselves the Four Gentlemen and acted close like brothers, but…”

  “How can their superficial bonds really be as close as us brothers. Even if one falls, the other two won’t shed a tear.”

  Huh? Wait a sec. Two? Bubai felt the math ain’t mathing. “Shouldn’t it be three?”

  Qian Feifu blinked, then looked over with a smirk. “No, no. Two is right. There’s only three actual gentlemen.”

  Uh… then why are the called the Four Gentlemen?

  Seeing the genuine confusion written all over his face, Qian Bage leaned over to let him in on the joke.

  “Ou, Brother Bai, they don’t count the fourth because... the last is the replaceable friend at the bottom.”

  Oh. Ohhhh. Okay, alright. Never mind that. There’s no need to dig deeper down this particular rabbit hole!

  Bubai dropped the subject, but the ever-honest brother scratched his head and helpfully dug deeper.

  “Eh… if they don’t care about brotherhood, then why go this far?”

  “We demonic cultivators can be ruthless when it comes down to it, but who actually wants to fight to the death meaninglessly after working so hard to reach our level?”

  At that, the quietest Qian Fusha let out a sigh as if lamenting the nature of the world itself.

  "When will we cultivators ever escape the word profit?"

  "Ah?! Then they are..."

  “Yep. Those three gentlemen must have had an adventure in the secret realm. Out of the three, that Shusheng seems to be the final winner... and that Tie Zhubi? All along, he’s most likely greedy for what the other got.”

  The logic of that analysis was so sound that Bubai couldn’t help but believe it.

  Merlin’s diaper. Everything makes sense now.

  A universal truth: how do losers become winners? By hunting the winners.

  So those who returned from the secret realm weren’t always the true winners.

  The real winners were those who hunted them down after!

  That Long Batian case was a good example.

  Now, this stage similarly became a bloodfest for exchanging winners and losers!

  As for who will be the final winner? Haha, just wait and see…

  Down in the arena.

  Two scholarly-looking men stepped out from opposing gates at almost the same time.

  Facing each other, both hid their hands in their baggy sleeves.

  Tie Zhubi looked his brother up and down. “Did you bring it?”

  Yu Shusheng scoffed. “Heh. I just knew you nutcase were aiming for that thing.”

  "And so what if I am? Brother Jin entrusted it to me. A selfish prick like you doesn’t deserve it."

  A mocking chuckle answered him. “Gehaha. Brother Jin, Brother Jin. You call his name so sweetly, but don’t forget, your hands helped send him to his grave.”

  “Nonsense! Brother Jin and I have been through thick and thin. I treat him like a real brother! It was your selfish heart, your betrayal that led to his end!”

  “Heh. Hypocrisy. I’m sick of your sophistry after hearing them all these decades. Enough is enough.”

  Tie Zhubi sneered. “What? Did I say anything wrong, mommyboy?”

  Yu Shusheng’s eyes sharpened. “Don’t bring her into this.”

  Tie Zhubi can hear tautness beneath the other’s voice, like a blade just shy of a throat.

  But this only made him grin—a wicked thing, full of venom.

  "Oh? And what if I do? Keke. Now that it has come to this, I’m not afraid to tell you..."

  “Every time you went to drink with Brother Jin, I actually went to pay your mother a visit. Oh, I had so much fun watching her gag and beg for mercy. You should’ve seen the results.”

  Yu Shusheng’s face went dark. "So it was you!"

  Qi crackled dangerously at his fingertips that curled into claws and he gnashed his teeth in rage.

  But then—just as quickly—his rage was replaced by something even more sinister.

  “Oh, right, I just remembered something... Remember that white moonlight of yours? The one you weren’t willing to share?”

  A muscle twitched in Tie Zhubi’s jaws.

  “That time when you were out hunting, Brother Jin and I pulled her into a dark alley and let our dogs have at it. Gehaha!”

  “Poor thing. She couldn’t handle it and got sent down to sell salted duck eggs! Oh, we felt so good comforting you when you cried over that little accident!”

  "You." A crack of killing intent split Tie Zhubi’s ugly mask. “Really deserve death.”

  “Right back at you.”

  Eyes clashed like swords. Qi boiled and robes billowed...

  Both sides were like powder kegs about to explode.

  All they were waiting for was—

  "BEGIN!"