On the field, Lin Shiming watched as the fair-faced Li Yucheng calmly stepped forward, his heart growing even more cautious.
He didn't believe that Li Yucheng was a reluctant choice for Li Chengli; on the contrary, he felt that Li Yucheng exuded even more pressure than Li Yuhe, as if everything was premeditated.
Lin Houyuan, who was on the stage, originally wanted to speak up to stop Lin Shiming; naturally, he didn't agree with letting his own son replace him in taking risks.
Even though he understood that Lin Shiming was far more excellent and outstanding than he had imagined.
Just like he had said before, even if the sky were to fall, it wasn't yet time for Lin Shiming to shoulder the burden.
However, at this moment, Lin Xianzhi glanced at Lin Houyuan and directly stymied any response the latter might have had, speaking up first:
"This is acceptable, but merely discussing the way is dull, why not add a little wager?"
Lin Xianzhi understood that Lin Shiming's strength was definitely beyond that of an average Qi Cultivation Ninth Level, not to mention with the help of a Golden Winged Mantis and a Red-haired Demon Monkey, his odds of winning were far greater than Lin Houyuan who had not yet consolidated any foundation.
Also, based on his understanding of Lin Shiming, the latter wouldn't make unfounded claims or act without preparation.
He even held a bit of anticipation for Lin Shiming to create a sensation here, bringing out the momentum of the Lin Family.
"A wager?" Li Chengli seemed to have misheard, thinking to himself, at such a time, Lin Xianzhi still couldn't see the situation clearly—could it be that he still considered the Li Family as if they were here to offer treasures?
One should know that Li Yucheng was a Dual Spirit Root Cultivator, ranked within the top three for cultivation in the Li Family, equipped with Supreme Grade magic artifacts and protected by Spirit Talismans; not to mention a Qi Cultivation Seventh Level, even an ordinary Qi Cultivation Ninth Level would be no match for him.
"What sort of wager can your Lin Family afford?" Li Chengli retorted.
"A Third Rank Demonic Beast Inner Core!" Lin Xianzhi, taking the lead, produced a Jade Box.
As soon as the Jade Box was opened, a Demon Core full of Spirit Light and brimming with spiritual energy could be seen within, accompanied by faint tiger roars.
"A late Third Rank Jade Spirit Tiger's inner core, fair enough. In that case, my Li Family will stake a Third Rank Superior Grade defensive magic artifact, the Twin Dragons Jade!" Li Chengli, upon seeing the Demonic Beast Inner Core, couldn't help but feel elated.
Normally, Demonic Beasts only produced inner cores once they reached the Golden Core Stage at Fifth Rank, but some Demonic Beasts, blessed with extraordinary fortune, could produce inner cores at the Fourth or even Third Rank.
The effects of these inner cores were immense; not only could they be used to assist Demonic Beasts in advancing, but they could also be used for Alchemy, with some high-level alchemy recipes essentially requiring Demonic Beast Inner Cores.
Seeing the swarm of black beetles turning into a cloud and rushing over, Lin Shiming promptly employed the Five Elements Tower and released an ice-freezing spell directly at the beetle cloud.
The black beetle cloud was indeed frozen, but what was frightening was that these black beetles continued to ferociously gnaw on the ice, quickly breaking through the icy layer and continuing to fly out.
Lin Shiming then released a flame attack, finally causing some damage to the beetles, but their numbers were simply too great, and killing a few didn't make much difference.
Without further hesitation, Lin Shiming threw out countless Wood Vine Technique seeds, imbued with spiritual energy for catalysis; the moment he released the Wood Vine Technique, vines surged out from all directions, wrapping around and forcefully containing the black beetles.
The beetles devoured, yet the vines grew faster and denser!
"A Wood element cultivator?" Li Yucheng was slightly surprised; his insects feared fire, but their terrifying quantity was not something a mere Fireball Technique could halt. He hadn't expected, at this moment, to be trapped by Lin Shiming's even more abundant vines.
"Damn it!" Li Yucheng's expression changed drastically the next moment.
He then saw that the beetles trapped by the vines were being set on fire by Lin Shiming.
The endless tendrils burned, turning into a massive fireball that roasted all the black beetles inside to a crisp.
Li Yucheng could no longer sit still; the black banner in his hand continuously released a black fog that began to erode toward Lin Shiming.
The black fog emitted by the banner was clearly poisonous and impaired visibility as well.
Lin Shiming had to maneuver his Spirit Shield into action.
At the same time, Lin Shiming's vines were eroded by the poisonous fog, turning into a heavy liquid that sizzled as it extinguished much of the fire, allowing many black beetles to escape and continue flying towards Lin Shiming.
Simultaneously, from the black banner emerged several poison scorpion demon souls, each the size of a small calf, with their black pincers shining ominously even though they were formed by spiritual energy.
Suddenly, Lin Shiming was under tremendous pressure; the impact of the poisonous fog was far greater than his vines. Along with demon souls and the escaping black beetles, he was in imminent peril.
The worst part was that his Spirit Seed germination had been affected; the vines could no longer sprout, leaving only the Snake Vine Flower and Iron Thorn!
But even the speed of their emergence was greatly slowed down, and he feared even if they did sprout, they would be corroded away by the gathering toxic fog!
He must break Li Yucheng's black banner first.