All eyes shifted from the battles of the geniuses from various families to the clash between the Divine Sacred Family and the Heavenly Mark Family.
Many family heads watching the genius battle couldn’t help but feel a sense of excitement.
“I heard that the bet between the Heavenly Mark Family and the Divine Sacred Family is fifty million demon spirit coins.”
“Fifty million demon spirit coins? Only the Divine Sacred Family and the Alchemist Association could afford such a wager. A small Heavenly Mark Family wouldn’t dare to play like that! Without the backing of the Alchemist Association, the Heavenly Mark Family wouldn’t have the guts to gamble!”
The wager between the two great families sent the entire martial arena into a frenzy.
Aside from the bet between Nie Li and others, the Divine Sacred Family opened up betting, backing Nie Li at 1 to 1.5 odds for winning, betting on Shen Fei at 1 to 1.3 odds, and betting that Shen Fei could defeat Nie Li in a single strike at 1 to 1.9 odds...
Nie Li observed that the odds for Nie Li winning in one strike against Shen Fei reached as high as 1 to 11.
“It’s a pity that bets can only go up to six million demon spirit coins at a time. If there were no limits, I could make the Divine Sacred Family lose their pants!” Nie Li thought to himself.
For the first round, he would just play with them a bit; later, bigger games would follow.
Nie Li had Nie Hai and the others discreetly place bets, spreading them out to avoid drawing too much attention, eventually betting around thirty million demon spirit coins on himself, some of which betted that he would defeat Shen Fei within twenty moves, with odds at 1 to 3.
Among the cheers of many powerful spectators, both sides prepared to step into the arena.
Nie Hai, Nie En, and others from the Heavenly Mark Family had eager looks on their faces.
Yang Xin glanced at Nie Li, a subtle smile on her lips.
She had a feeling that Shen Fei would certainly suffer a devastating loss.
Shen Ming and the others returned to the Divine Sacred Family’s viewing area.
He glanced at Shen Fei and said, “The genius battle does not allow the use of battle armor or similar tools, but medicinal pills can be used. Bring two demon spirit enhancement pills, just in case!”
The demon spirit enhancement pills were specially made by the Alchemist Association for a few peak families, usually only used during battles against demon beasts.
Normally, who would use such expensive pills in a genius battle? However, with fifty million demon spirit coins at stake against Nie Li, spending just over a million for a demon spirit enhancement pill was a steal.
These pills could significantly enhance the power of a demon spirit, albeit with potential side effects that could cause permanent damage to the demon spirit.
However, for the Divine Sacred Family, this was nothing.
Even if Shen Fei's demon spirit were to be ruined, the family could easily provide him with a stronger one immediately.
“Also, you must defeat Nie Li after twenty moves. Only then can we profit!” Shen Ming said, looking at Shen Fei.
“To have to win after twenty moves; that really gives him an advantage!” Shen Fei's eyes flashed with disdain.
“Don’t underestimate him, Young Master Shen!” Shen Ming warned.
“I understand!” Shen Fei nodded.
Though he said that, he still felt quite dismissive.
Once all the families finished placing bets, most betted on Shen Fei to win, with many also betting that he would defeat Nie Li within twenty moves.
However, there were quite a few who wagered on Nie Li to win.
After all, the Alchemist Association wouldn’t casually give away fifty million to the Divine Sacred Family, and as Nie Li and Shen Fei stepped into the arena, the entire competition ground erupted.
“Shen Fei, defeat the Heavenly Mark Family's Nie Li!”
“Go, Young Master Shen!”
“Nie Li, give it your all, defeat the Divine Sacred Family! You can do it!”
The cheers rose higher and higher, as if Shen Fei could win and they would profit.
In the spotlight, Nie Li and Shen Fei faced each other in the martial arena.
“I will make you suffer greatly, and I won’t let you off easily.” A chilly smile appeared on Shen Fei's face as he vowed to utterly defeat Nie Li for daring to touch his woman!
“Your words are truly a grand compliment, Young Master Shen. When I return home, I will relay it to Ning'er!” Nie Li still smiled calmly.
Seeing Nie Li's expression, Shen Fei almost erupted with rage but held it back, remembering Shen Ming’s words to defeat Nie Li after twenty moves.
With a roar, Shen Fei erupted with furious battle intent, raising his fist and charging at Nie Li.
He didn't plan to use his demon spirit immediately; facing such an opponent, he figured that if he used his spirit, Nie Li probably wouldn't last even one move.
Not to mention, he had to defeat Nie Li after twenty moves.
Seeing this scene, Nie Li's lips curled into a slight smile.
He had known this fool would not summon his demon spirit, so he would take him out in one move!
“What a joke! I was planning to put on a show, maybe struggle to beat you, but it seems there’s no need!” Nie Li thought to himself, as the waves in his Soul Realm surged. “Come forth, Tiger Tooth Panda!”
A giant Tiger Tooth Panda materialized out of nowhere, merging with Nie Li, its muscles becoming extraordinarily strong.
Shen Fei waved his fist and charged at Nie Li, expecting him to face a few maneuvers first; he didn’t expect this despicable guy to suddenly summon his demon spirit without warning.
The speed at which Nie Li summoned his spirit was shocking—he completed his fusion in an instant, leaving Shen Fei with no time to react.
By the time he wanted to summon his spirit, it was already too late.
What’s the use of such a low-level Tiger Tooth Panda? Shen Fei was still very confident in his own strength.
At worst, he would receive one blow from Nie Li’s Tiger Tooth Panda and then retreat to summon his spirit.
Who would be foolish enough to fuse with such a low-level demon spirit like the Tiger Tooth Panda? Shen Fei looked down on it completely.
Even if you summon a demon spirit, what difference would it make? A garbage spirit like the Tiger Tooth Panda could never be my opponent! With a cold smile, Shen Fei eagerly anticipated slamming Nie Li to the ground and trampling him to relieve his grievances.
As Shen Fei's fist came crashing down, Nie Li, merged with the Tiger Tooth Panda, smiled slightly and raised its giant paw to smack Shen Fei on the head.
Bang!
The Tiger Tooth Panda's paw struck Shen Fei hard on the face, driving him forcefully into the martial arena floor, cracking the ground beneath him.
After taking that hit, Shen Fei surely felt terrible.
What a heavy punch!
Shen Fei had never imagined that Nie Li’s punch would possess such incredible power!
Though Nie Li fused with a Tiger Tooth Panda, this was no ordinary spirit but a berserk demon spirit with divine-level growth potential.
It possessed a terrifying strength that belied its appearance.
Shen Fei was likely stunned, caught off guard by Nie Li’s cunningness in merging with his spirit and fighting him while he was unarmed, and on top of that, he never expected the low-level Tiger Tooth Panda would have such monstrous strength.
Shen Fei's ears rang as the impact reverberated; he had slammed his head directly into the ground.
Although his martial arts foundation was decent, taking such a hit was not pleasant at all—his brain felt like it might burst.
The crowd erupted in uproar.
“No way, Young Master Shen isn’t throwing the match, is he? He didn’t even use his demon spirit to fight?”
“Nie Li is shameless, summoning his spirit without hesitation while Shen Fei hasn’t even done so! How despicable!” The bettors on Shen Fei’s side all shouted in outrage.
In their view, if it weren’t for Shen Fei’s underestimation and Nie Li’s sneakiness in summoning his spirit, Shen Fei wouldn’t have suffered such loss easily!
In just the first exchange, Shen Fei had already experienced a setback, enraging the Divine Sacred Family members!
“Despicable!”
“Those from the Heavenly Mark Family are too cunning!” The members of the Divine Sacred Family lashed out.
As for those who bet on Nie Li, they stood firmly on his side.
Seeing Nie Li knock Shen Fei down in one swing, they could hardly contain their joy, knowing they had gained the upper hand right at the start of the battle.
It seemed Nie Li certainly wouldn’t lose to Shen Fei!
“What’s wrong with Nie Li’s actions? Deceit is part of war! It’s Young Master Shen’s fault for being so foolish and charging in without using his demon spirit. Can he blame anyone else?”
Though Nie Hai, Nie En, and others from the Heavenly Mark Family felt Nie Li was a bit shameless, they certainly wouldn’t let their momentum falter.
“You Divine Sacred Family members look down on the rest. As a demon spirit master, you didn’t summon your spirit but ran in with just fists. What else can I call that if not foolishness?”
Various voices clamored around, creating a chaos that wouldn’t quiet down.
However, after a brief uproar, the entire martial arena fell into silence as they finally processed what just happened!
“What the… did I just witness?”
“Was that really a Tiger Tooth Panda? No way, did someone really summon such a low-grade demon spirit?”
“The Heavenly Mark Family couldn’t afford a top-notch spirit, could they? Giving some underling a Tiger Tooth Panda?”
“What can a Tiger Tooth Panda do? Faced with other demon spirits, wouldn’t it just be chopped down like vegetables?”
“Shen Fei probably just had a small advantage, but once he summons his spirit, that kid is in for trouble!” Those who bet on Shen Fei gathered their spirits again.
“No way, how embarrassing to use a Tiger Tooth Panda like this! Let’s crush this kid!”
“Beat him down!”
People from the Heavenly Mark Family, including Nie Hai and Nie En, widened their eyes, especially Nie Hai and Nie En, who had recently acquired many demon spirits far stronger than the Tiger Tooth Panda.
Why would Nie Li choose such a worthless spirit? It didn’t make sense!
Not just the Heavenly Mark Family, even Yang Xin was truly puzzled.
She knew exactly how much Nie Li had, and with his financial means, it wouldn't be hard to obtain a top-tier demon spirit, yet he surprisingly chose a Tiger Tooth Panda? It left her baffled!
What they didn’t know was that the Tiger Tooth Panda Nie Li fused with wasn’t an ordinary spirit; it was a super demon spirit with divine-level growth potential!
Although Nie Li gained some advantage in the first round, ninety percent of the spectators didn’t have faith in Nie Li’s victory, all eyes locked on Shen Fei, waiting to see how he would summon his spirit and defeat Nie Li!
(End of Chapter)