The onlookers stared intently at the field without caring about their fluttering robes.
In the field, calm was gradually restored after the ripples rolling in the air spread out.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, the purple-clad Duan Ling Tian swung both his hands and took two steps backward before he managed to stop moving. His cheeks were slightly flushed.
In contrast, Feng Fan's broadsword vibrated as he suddenly drew it back. His face turned green and pale but his feet did not move.
Naturally, not many people noticed the difference in their complexions. They merely noticed their body movements.
"Senior Brother Feng Fan was better!"
"Hmph! He dared to grab Senior Brother Feng Fan's broadsword without using his Saint Weapon! He's really courting death."
"Once they fight, we'd know who's stronger immediately! He's still my idol! Senior Brother Feng Fan is stronger."
…
Many outer court disciples looked towards Feng Fan with a burning gaze while they were discussing.
The outer court disciples were all blindly worshipping him.
"Eh? Senior Brother Duan Ling Tian didn't utilize his Saint Weapon but was merely slightly worse off… Senior Brother Feng Fan used his instead."
"Senior Brother Duan Ling Tian is insanely strong, isn't he? He resisted Senior Brother Feng Fan's strike empty-handedly without getting hurt!"
"It seems that the outcome of today's battle won't necessarily be Senior Brother Duan Ling Tian's death."
…
The outer court disciples that said those were the ones who were neutral. All of them were shocked by the strength Duan Ling Tian presented.
The faces of the group of outer court elders and deacons also turned serious.
"Indeed, there's a reason why he's famous. Duan Ling Tian is extraordinary!" The group of inner court disciples who came to see the action looked shocked too.
Feng Fan was a powerhouse on the Earth Rankings.
"How's that possible?!" Zhou Qi was also shocked and in disbelief when he saw that scene. He never expected Duan Ling Tian to be able to resist Feng Fan's strike empty-handedly.
Even though that strike was far less than his full strength, it was still a force which was amplified by utilizing a Saint Weapon!
On the field, Duan Ling Tian whose face had returned to normal stared ahead at Feng Fan and mocked, "Tsk tsk… No wonder you're a powerhouse on the Earth Rankings! You'd rather swallow your broken teeth than take a step backward."
With Duan Ling Tian calling attention to this, the onlookers' eyes landed on Feng Fan in unison.
"Why does Senior Brother Feng Fan look so pale?"
"Is what Duan Ling Tian said true? Does Senior Brother Feng Fan rather forcefully take Duan Ling Tian on than take a step backward?"
There were quite a few smart ones.
"Wa!!" As Duan Ling Tian had exposed him in front of everyone else and then he felt the gazes from the surrounding people, Feng Fan felt the blood rush to his head at once and he could not help but spit out a mouthful of blood.
After his blood stained the ground, his complexion gradually recovered. It was deadly silent at the scene.
At that point, there was no way that they could not see that Feng Fan had been at a disadvantage in the earlier round.
"Duan! Ling! Tian!" Feng Fan gnashed his teeth in anger when he looked towards his opponent once again.
If he wanted to kill Duan Ling Tian in the beginning because of Zhou Qi's order, then now, he wanted to kill him for humiliating him under everyone's watchful eyes.
The onlookers quickly came back to their senses and their gaze which was directed towards Duan Ling Tian was also very different now.
"Although Feng Fan's strike was rushed, he used his Saint Weapon after all… Even if he fully exerted himself without the Saint Weapon, it wouldn't be any stronger than that," Dong Chong shot Duan Ling Tian a complex look as he muttered.
In other words, if both of them had fully exerted themselves without utilizing Saint Weapons, Feng Fan was not Duan Ling Tian's match!
Besides Dong Chong, the other outer court elders including Huang Cheng comprehended that too. In particular, Huang Cheng's face turned slightly distorted.
He thought that Feng Fan would surely kill Duan Ling Tian today.
However, as the situation unfolded, he realized that nothing was guaranteed.
His 360,000 Merit Points were likely to be for naught!
The other outer court elders breathed a sigh of relief while they were secretly pleased with themselves for not placing a bet yesterday.
Otherwise, they would also be on tenterhooks right now.
With that thought in mind, all of them looked toward Huang Cheng in unison and could not help but feel smug when they say Huang Cheng's displeasure.
"Elder Huang Cheng, if Duan Ling Tian wins today, your 360,000 Merit Points would be for naught… Tsk tsk, 360,000 Merit Points! Even if it isn't everything you have, it should be close, isn't it?" One outer court elder looked towards Huang Cheng and taunted with laughter.
"360,000 Merit Points… Even for you, Elder Huang Cheng, I'm afraid you can't accumulate such an amount in less than ten or twenty years' time!" Another outer court elder also said jokingly.
"You guys don't have to add salt to my injury! We still don't know how will things turn out to be."
Huang Cheng smirked. "Did you really think that Feng Fan could become a famous Peak Mortal Shedding Stage powerhouse on the Earth Rankings without any other moves?"
The several outer court elder certainly knew that. The reason they teased Huang Cheng was because of the arrogant behavior he had exhibited yesterday.
"Come to think of it, Duan Ling Tian prevented us from betting yesterday out of kindness." After thinking for a while, one outer court came to his senses.
"So, it means that Duan Ling Tian is a pretty kind guy." The few other outer court elders found that Duan Ling Tian was more pleasing in their eyes when they looked at him now.
"Elder Huang Cheng, have you offended Duan Ling Tian?" One of the outer court elders looked at Huang Cheng and asked with an odd look on his face.
"If I'm not mistaken, you didn't use the Spiritual Secret Tactic to check on Duan Ling Tian yesterday, did you?" In this rare instance, Dong Chong posted a question.
"Duan Ling Tian is a Perfection Mortal Shedding Stage Martial Cultivator below the age of forty… Isn't it obvious? Why should I check with the Spiritual Secret Tactic?"
"That's right! Besides, It's always rude to use the Spiritual Secret Tactic to check him. He might be weaker than us now, but with his innate talent, he'll definitely be an existence that we'd have to look up to if he's able to develop further. If it's not necessary, I really don't want to offend him."
"Yes, that's right."
…
The few elders said the same thing as they had not probed Duan Ling Tian with the Spiritual Secret Tactic.
'That's why when he looked at me yesterday, his eyes were laced with wariness and hostility… It turns out that it was because I probed him with the Spiritual Secret Tactic a month ago.' Dong Chong smiled bitterly
"Duan Ling Tian!" Having heard the conservation among Dong Chong and the others, Huang Cheng ground his teeth in anger. If he still had not figured out what happened, he would have lived so many years for naught.
It turned out that Duan Ling Tian did not intend to give him Merit Points, but wanted to trick him!
Moreover, there were so many outer court elders, but he had chosen to trick him alone!
"You'd have to beat Feng Fan first before you can trick me." Huang Cheng's face darkened. If Duan Ling Tian really won, then he really did go for wool and come back shorn.
That was 360,000 Merit Points! It would be quite substantial to him if he lost.
Now, more than anyone else, Huang Cheng wished that Feng Fan would win.
"It seems that Senior Brother Duan Ling Tian has the strength to battle Senior Brother Feng Fan. That's why he'd set up a gamble like that! And yet, there I was, thinking that he was giving away money because he thought he was going to die today."
"Senior Brother Duan Ling Tian is unscrupulous! I bet 3,000 Merit Points on Senior Brother Feng Fan. It Senior Brother Feng Fan loses, there go my points!"
"Why am I so greedy? I put more than 2,000 Merit Points in for less than a hundred Merit Points."
…
The group of outer court disciples that betted in Duan Ling Tian's gamble was also remorseful.
On the other hand, the group of outer court deacons, including Deng Wei, looked displeased.
The strength Duan Ling Tian had presented was beyond their expectations. Indistinctly, they felt that the Merit Points they wagered were threatened.
"Dammit! How could this Duan Ling Tian be so strong?" Deng Wei was brooding. He had almost bet all of his Merit Points on Feng Fan. If Feng Fan lost, he would have nothing left.
His remaining few thousand Merit Points could not do anything.
That was more than hundred thousand Merit Points which he had accumulated in almost twenty years!
"Duan Ling Tian…" Ye Man was conflicted as he looked at Duan Ling Tian who was on the field. On one hand, he did not want Duan Ling Tian to die because he wanted to kill him personally to break free from the obsession which had turned him into a devil.
It was the only way he could break free from his constraints and soar into the sky!
However, when he saw the strength presented by Duan Ling Tian, he became somewhat perturbed and wary. "I became a devil to defeat Duan Ling Tian… Do I really have the chance to beat him after becoming a devil?" Ever since he picked up Devil Dao and became a Devil Cultivator, it was the first time such a thought rose in Ye Man's mind.
"Senior Brother Feng Fan, go, go, go!"
"Senior Brother Feng Fan, you'll surely win!"
"Senior Brother Feng Fan, you're a powerhouse on the Earth Rankings. You're always the winner in a battle!"
…
Soon, most of the onlooking outer court disciples started to cheer out loud.
Some of the outer court disciples' eyes even narrowed as if they wished that they could transfer their energy to Feng Fan.
Naturally, they were cheering hard for the Merit Points they had bet on Feng Fan.
Listening to the applause surrounding him, it went into Feng Fan's head. He felt that he was filled with energy as he lifted his broadsword in front and said to Duan Ling Tian coldly, "Duan Ling Tian, I don't know if it's because you're a Saint Beast or the descendant of one, which is why your physical fitness is much stronger than an ordinary person's, but if that's all you've got, then you'll definitely die today!"
In his tone, it was obvious that he figured out that Duan Ling Tian's body was far stronger than an ordinary person's.
"Sometimes, don't set the bar too high. Otherwise, if you've said it but can't achieve it, you're embarrassing yourself," Duan Ling Tian smiled faintly as he cautioned slowly.
"I'll give you a new understanding immediately!" Feng Fan sneered as he rammed both his feet into the ground. An airwave rolled out from his feet and he flew towards Duan Ling Tian like a soaring Roc.
Roc Soaring The Nine Heavens!
The giant sword in his hands vibrated. In addition to alayer of True Energy, there was a mysterious power which rose up and completely changed the aura of the giant sword.
"It's the Saint Inscription!" Many people exclaimed instantly.