parentshiftbook Chapter 241: The Boy and the Old Woman
Chapter 241: The Boy and the Old Woman
With a few embellished words from well-meaning people and busybodies, the news that Zhang Ping had bet 30,000 spirit coins quickly became a hot topic in the noisy stands, with whispers and discussions all around.
Lin Lun and the others, who were also in the same corner, heard the commotion and were all shocked. They turned to stare at Zhang Ping. They thought that it was already outrageous of them to spend some spirit coins to play a few rounds, but they did not expect that there was a ruthless person hiding next to them.
Xin Yuhan, who was standing to the side, instantly lost her initial curiosity about him, leaving only disappointment. She had thought this man had some talent, but she never expected him to be a gambler who couldn't tell the difference between right and wrong, daring to throw away 30,000 spirit coins for a moment of greed.
Zhang Ping, surrounded by the gossip, acted as if nothing was wrong. He leaned back lazily in his chair, pulled out a packet of snacks from somewhere, and slowly popped them into his mouth, chewing them leisurely. His gaze remained fixed on the two about to clash. The surrounding chatter drifted into his ears, and he found it somewhat amusing.
Although he had a considerable amount of spirit coins, he wasn't at the point where he could squander them recklessly. The reason he dared to spend 30,000 at once was because he had just activated his Eye of Truth and clearly seen that the cultivator named Yang Shi possessed an extremely strange power within him.
That power was completely different from the qi and spiritual energy of ordinary cultivators, and it was impossible to discern which cultivation system it belonged to. Although Sirius on the opposite side had an intact body and could exert his full strength, he was completely unaware of this hidden power, and his chances of losing this battle were extremely slim.
Zhang Ping's relaxed and composed demeanor only deepened Xin Yuhan's confusion. Suppressing her surging curiosity, she took advantage of the surrounding noise and the fact that no one was paying attention to them, and whispered a sentence to Zhang Ping, her voice clear and crisp, like the chirping of birds in a mountain stream:
"Fellow Daoist, you've bet 30,000 spirit coins at once. Aren't you afraid of losing everything in the end?"
Hearing the voice, Zhang Ping wasn't surprised at all. He had noticed Xin Yuhan glancing in his direction frequently. Without turning his head, he kept his eyes fixed on the arena and casually replied, "What if we win?"
This blatant gambler's rhetoric left Xin Yuhan speechless, the rest of her words stuck in her throat.
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The screams and cheers around them rose higher and higher, and the battle in the arena instantly intensified. As everyone had predicted, Yang Shi, with his arm severed, was greatly affected in combat and was being relentlessly beaten by Sirius, narrowly escaping death several times. The sharp blade grazed his face; a fraction more and it would have cleaved his skull.
This extremely dangerous scene instantly chilled the hearts of the few cultivators who had bet on Yang Shi, hoping to gamble their way to a big win. A few others gave up entirely, shaking their heads and leaving the scene early.
But just as the two were passing each other again, a sudden change occurred.
Suddenly, Yang Shi flung his long sword, forcing Sirius to retreat. Then, he sat cross-legged on the ground, clasped his hands together, and moved his lips rapidly as if reciting some obscure scripture.
This sudden action was so bizarre that the entire audience was stunned, and no one knew what he was going to do.
Until someone in the stands exclaimed in shock, "It's a curse! He's chanting a curse!"
It's the power of a curse!
Many cultivators who had read the relevant records changed their expressions instantly.
"It's the power of a curse! How could he possibly cultivate something like that?"
The power of curses is completely different from ordinary spiritual energy and blood. It can only be cultivated through extremely special methods in sinister and treacherous places. There is simply no place in the entire Taihu Lake region where the power of curses can be cultivated. Therefore, most of the cultivators present had only seen related records in ancient books, and they were all astonished to see someone use it in person.
Xin Yuhan was also startled and her eyes widened slightly. She could clearly sense how malevolent the curse power spreading in the field was. Even if its power did not exceed the range of the Divine Harmony Realm, it was definitely not something that Sirius, who was in the early stage of the Divine Harmony Realm, could withstand.
The situation is about to completely reverse.
The thought flashed through her mind like lightning. She turned her head sharply to look at Zhang Ping beside her, her eyes filled with astonishment and unconcealed suspicion. He had just bet 30,000 spirit coins on Yang Shiying. Did he already see through the curse power hidden in Yang Shiying's body?
In the blink of an eye, the situation was decided.
Sirius, entangled by the power of the curse, instantly turned his eyes bloodshot and cloudy, as if he had lost his mind. In front of everyone present, he raised his hand and dug a bloody hole in his own chest, his life force extinguished on the spot.
Amidst the uproar, Zhang Ping remained calm, slowly getting up to exchange his 90,000 spirit coins.
On the other side, Lin Lun and his group had bet everything on Sirius and were now losing everything, feeling extremely pained. When they turned around and saw Zhang Ping casually earn 60,000 spirit coins, their eyes turned red with envy and jealousy.
In the following matches, Zhang Ping continued to rely on his Eye of Truth to accurately see through the weaknesses and flaws of both sides, placing precise bets each time, and soon made a small profit.
As dusk settled, a cool breeze swept through the arena, dispersing the pervasive stench of blood and tempering the fervor of many spectators. The organizers had prepared a variety of food and drinks, which were continuously delivered to the stands. Although cultivators of this level had long since abstained from grains, it didn't stop them from indulging their cravings.
Although Zhang Ping had the idea of taking the sect token, he had no intention of rushing into the battle. He needed to figure out the rules here and his opponent's tactics first, and observe for a few more days before making a move.
Until the last match of the day, the two who took to the stage surprised everyone.
On one side was a boy who looked no more than ten years old, and on the other side was an old woman with white hair.
Zhang Ping's gaze fell on the boy, and his brows furrowed involuntarily.
The boy had disheveled hair and was enveloped in an aura of deathly stillness. His left eye was covered by a black eyepatch, indicating that he was blind.
He carried a heavy longsword on his back that was disproportionate to his size, and his exposed palms were covered with calluses from years of hard work, rough and calloused, which should not be the hands of a boy of his age.
What concerned Zhang Ping even more was that there seemed to be traces of some special constitution remaining in the boy's body, but they were so faint that they were almost impossible to grasp, as if... a constitution that had been destroyed by someone.
The two stood on either side of the battlefield in the center, and the once noisy stands gradually quieted down.
Zhang Ping noticed the strangeness around him. He looked around and saw that many cultivators were staring at the two people in the arena, their faces full of sighs, and some even looked reluctant to see them suffer.
Lin Lun and the others were also completely bewildered. They quickly pulled the cultivators next to them to ask, and after asking two people, someone finally told them about the grudge between the two with a sigh.
This old woman was originally an elder of a small sect, with a low cultivation level, only at the Essence Blood Realm.
Later, her sect disbanded, and she was heartbroken. She returned to Penglai Immortal City hoping to find her family and spend her remaining years in peace. But who could have imagined that the enemies she had made back then, upon hearing that her sect was gone, would come knocking on her door beforehand and slaughter her entire family, leaving only a severely injured and dying grandson.
Although not a direct descendant, he was the last remaining bloodline in her family.
The old woman exhausted all her resources to save her grandson's life, but the severe injuries she sustained left the child with hidden wounds, and he didn't have many days left to live. The successive blows caused the old woman's cultivation to regress significantly, leaving her without even the strength to seek revenge.
Later, she heard that her old friend had also suffered a terrible fate, with his entire family wiped out. By chance, she learned that her friend had left behind a pair of grandchildren, so she took the two children in and raised them. Those few years were tough, but they were relatively peaceful. The two children were sensible, and she treated them like her own grandchildren. Everyone thought that life would continue like this.
The unexpected turn of events stemmed from these two children.
As the two children grew up, they displayed astonishing talent for cultivation, progressing at a rapid pace. Before long, they became quite famous in the Immortal City, and even cultivators at the Divine Integration Realm came to them, wanting to take them as their personal disciples.
The boy was a grateful man. To repay the old woman's kindness in raising him, he and his sister stayed by her side. Besides cultivating, he spent his days visiting cultivators who wanted to take him as a disciple, hoping to find a way to cure the old woman's grandson.
But no one expected that fate would play such a cruel trick.
No one knows where the old woman found a sorcery manual, and she deduced that the brother and sister she had adopted might have special constitutions. In a moment of madness, she had a wicked idea: to forcibly take the two children's constitutions and transfer them to her own grandson, so that he could heal his injuries and be given extraordinary talent.
No one knows the details that followed. All that is known is that the boy risked his life to escape with his sister and was never heard from again.
No one expected that they would meet again in this way after so long.
Was she their adoptive mother, who had shown them immense kindness? Or was she the enemy who had nearly killed them?