Chapter 98: The Wager of the Soul Master Competition (Fourth update, please subscribe, please support)

"Why not give it a try?" Xiao Yu smiled faintly. "Who knows, maybe the old man will see how exceptional my talent is and hand his precious granddaughter over to me!"

"Dream on!" Qian Renxue said irritably. "I haven't even agreed, and you're already thinking about meeting my grandfather. If he knew a flighty playboy like you was after his granddaughter, he'd chop you to pieces!"

"Then how about we make a bet!" Xiao Yu said seriously. "According to the rules of Spirit Masters, everything is decided by strength!"

"You want a Spirit Battle? Fine, let's settle this once and for all!" Qian Renxue was eager at the suggestion, not merely because of the bet, but because she had long harbored the desire to test her strength against Xiao Yu.

Among the younger generation of Spirit Masters, Xiao Yu was the only one who could catch her eye. As for the others, even that woman's meticulously trained disciple Hu Liena would be reduced to instant fodder compared to her.

"Don't be so impatient!" Seeing that Qian Renxue had almost instantly completed her Martial Spirit possession, with the Angelic Holy Sword appearing in her hand out of thin air, Xiao Yu gave a light cough and said, "What's the point of a duel in this desolate place, without even a witness? I have an idea—our battle can take place on a more formal stage, witnessed by all the Spirit Masters under heaven!"

"You want me to participate in the Advanced Spirit Master Academy Tournament?" Qian Renxue was sharp-witted and immediately grasped the meaning behind Xiao Yu's words.

"I do enjoy conversing with intelligent people!" Xiao Yu smiled knowingly. "The Advanced Spirit Master Academy Tournament—that's a grand spectacle unseen for years across the entire continent. To have our victory and defeat witnessed in such an unprecedented competition—don't you think that would be quite ceremonial?"

No girl can resist the allure of ceremony, and Qian Renxue was no exception.

After a pause, Qian Renxue said, "Aren't you afraid that if I join, I'll steal your thunder? If I'm not mistaken, your purpose in joining the tournament is to recruit outstanding Spirit Masters into the Nine Star Hall, isn't it?"

"I enjoy challenges. Only high difficulty can give me pressure, and pressure is what allows me to break through!" Xiao Yu said. "What's more, without you, this Spirit Master Tournament would be truly boring for me. The Golden Generation your Spirit Hall boasts about is nothing more than three low-level Spirit Kings. Even without me, Eden, Ichi, and Purple Dragon could handle them with ease."

The cultivation levels of Spirit Hall's Golden Generation were hardly a secret. Even Dugu Bo, who didn't have good relations with Spirit Hall, knew them clearly in the original story. Only Tang San and Yu Xiaogang, those two armchair theorists who kept their doors shut, were completely in the dark.

"That does make sense." Having spent this much time together, Qian Renxue had a clear picture of the strength of Xiao Yu's teammates. She now understood why Xiao Yu had insisted she never leak any information to Spirit Hall. Even without Xiao Yu, this team could effortlessly crush Spirit Hall's team.

But even if she hadn't sworn on her Martial Spirit back then, she still wouldn't have divulged the Nine Star team's situation to Spirit Hall. After all, if they lost, it would be Hu Liena who'd be embarrassed and Bibi Dong who'd look bad. Seeing those two women suffer would only bring her satisfaction... And as for the championship reward, it was nothing more than a Spirit Bone. Others might lament losing it, but who was she, Qian Renxue? She was a little rich girl with a complete set of Angelic Divine Equipment to inherit. Those Spirit Bones she had no use for—whether they went to an outsider or to Hu Liena, giving them to Hu Liena would actually annoy her more.

So originally, she had planned to watch this Spirit Master Tournament with the expectation of enjoying Bibi Dong's humiliation.

But now that Xiao Yu had proposed she participate, her mind began to churn with possibilities.

Given the current situation, Spirit Hall's team's only real chance of victory was indeed her joining.

Hoping that Hu Liena and the other two, Spirit Kings who had only just passed level fifty, could defeat Eden and the others was a pipe dream. But delaying them for a while, they could probably barely manage.

Eden and his group were formidable, but according to Qian Renxue's estimation, with less than a year left before the tournament, there was no way they could break through to Spirit Emperor in that time. As long as they hadn't reached Spirit Emperor, that gap of a major rank meant they were ultimately no match for her.

As long as she could defeat Xiao Yu in that time and then quickly support Hu Liena and the others, using her soul power advantage to pick off Eden and his team one by one—there were still many uncertain variables, but it was likely the only way Spirit Hall's team could win.

Moreover, if it played out that way, wouldn't it look to everyone like she, Qian Renxue alone, had turned the tide at the tournament and secured victory for Spirit Hall's team? Wouldn't that slap Bibi Dong's face even harder?

As for losing—if she lost, she'd have to honor the bet with Xiao Yu, and wouldn't the winner be her own man? The one disgraced would still be Bibi Dong. Looking at it that way, no matter the outcome, wasn't it a win-win situation for her?

"Fine, let's settle this at the Spirit Master Tournament!" Qian Renxue extended her right hand. "Clap on it as our oath. A gentleman's word is his bond, swift as a team of four horses!"

"You're not exactly a gentleman, are you?" Xiao Yu silently grumbled to himself, but since the moment called for it, he couldn't actually voice such a remark and ruin the atmosphere.

"It's a deal!" Xiao Yu extended his left hand, striking firmly against Qian Renxue's right palm with a crisp, resounding clap.

...

(At this point, a section of the original text is incomplete; please refer to the authorized source for the full content.)