Chapter 136: Huge Credit Haul

Chapter 136: Huge Credit Haul

"He actually accepted the challenge!"

The crowd was stunned. Most assumed Mu Feng would decline.

The bookmaker smirked and turned toward Bai Ziyue. "Kid, got the guts to bet everything again?"

Having already lost over 3,000 credits to Bai Ziyue, he was eager for a comeback.

"Bet everything? Fine! Today, I'll make sure you can't even afford a pair of underwear!" Bai Ziyue sneered, slamming three blue crystal cards down on the counter.

"Place your bets! Place your bets!"

The crowd grew excited.

"This time, I'm betting on Mu Feng. That kid's no ordinary rookie."

"I'll go with Zhou Tao. He's been in the academy for six years. His techniques must be top-notch."

As bets poured in, the audience turned their attention back to the stage, where the stark contrast between the competitors was striking. One was a seasoned veteran, the other a freshman who had only entered the academy the day before.

"If you admit defeat now, you can avoid unnecessary injuries," Zhou Tao said coldly.

"Don't worry about me, Senior. You should be more concerned about whether you can afford to pay us so many credits," Mu Feng replied with a faint smile.

"Arrogant brat!" Zhou Tao growled, his body surging with powerful Yuan energy. In a blur, he charged at Mu Feng with blinding speed, delivering a knife-hand strike that emitted a sharp blue energy blade.

The blade tore through the air toward Mu Feng, capable of splitting a boulder in two. Mu Feng pivoted gracefully, the blade brushing past his face and dissipating several meters away. Zhou Tao followed up with a heavy punch aimed at Mu Feng's chest.

Boom!

Mu Feng countered with a punch of his own. Energy erupted, forcing both fighters to step back. Zhou Tao's eyes widened in surprise. Despite being a level higher, his power hadn't overwhelmed Mu Feng.

"Let's see how long you can hold out!" Zhou Tao roared, charging back into the fray.

The two exchanged a flurry of blows, their movements a blur as fists and palms clashed repeatedly. Zhou Tao's techniques were well-practiced, and even his footwork demonstrated mastery of advanced movement skills. Despite this, Mu Feng held his ground, matching Zhou Tao blow for blow without revealing his full strength.

The crowd was shocked. Zhou Tao's cultivation was at the Greater Heaven tier of the Zifu Stage, yet he couldn't dominate Mu Feng. The bookmaker's confident expression began to waver as he noticed Bai Ziyue and Mu Kuang chatting casually, completely unbothered.

"Who are these guys?" the bookmaker thought, a sense of foreboding creeping over him.

"Rending Stone Claw!"

Zhou Tao shouted as his hands transformed into claw-like shapes, yellow Yuan energy condensing into sharp claw projections that tore through the air toward Mu Feng. This was a high-tier Yellow-level technique, honed to perfection by Zhou Tao.

Mu Feng's eyes lit up as flames danced around his fists. Channeling the energy from three of his elemental vortices, he shouted, "Nine Flame Explosive Punch!"

The fiery punch met the claw projections head-on.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The claws disintegrated under the fiery onslaught, and Mu Feng's blazing fist struck Zhou Tao's hands.

Crack!

"Argh!" Zhou Tao screamed as his hand bones fractured. The force of the punch hurled him off the stage, leaving him coughing up blood on the ground.

Mu Feng stood tall, white hair swaying as he retracted his fist. The crowd fell silent, stunned by the rookie's overwhelming strength.

"Zhou Tao… lost?" the bookmaker murmured, his jaw slack.

"Dammit! I bet 300 credits on Zhou Tao!"

"Ha! I bet 200 on the freshman. Today's my lucky day!"

While some celebrated, others cursed their losses. Bai Ziyue knocked on the bookmaker's counter and said, "Time to pay up, buddy."

The bookmaker's face turned red with anger. Having bet on Zhou Tao himself, he now owed Bai Ziyue and his group several thousand credits.

"That's enough, Brother Feng," Bai Ziyue called out.

Mu Feng nodded, clasping his fists toward the crowd before stepping off the stage.

"Brother Feng, we hit the jackpot! You earned 3,000 credits, and Mu Kuang and I each made over 2,000," Bai Ziyue said, handing Mu Feng's card back.

Mu Feng glanced at his card, which now displayed 4,200 credits. A smile spread across his face.

"This trip was worth it," Bai Ziyue said with a grin.

"Credits are easier to earn than I thought," Mu Kuang added with a laugh.

The bookmaker and others who had lost glared at them, grumbling under their breath. "Easier? They only got lucky because we didn't know their capabilities."

"I can finally repay Wan'er's credits," Mu Feng said, walking out of the arena with his companions, basking in the envious stares of the crowd.

"Who is that kid? He's got to be someone extraordinary," someone murmured as they watched Mu Feng's group leave.

The trio wandered around the academy, marveling at its vastness. Tianyun Academy felt more like a city than a school, complete with lecture halls where instructors taught advanced techniques—for a fee in credits, of course.

After some exploration, they returned to their dormitory area, only to be met by a group of anxious Mu family disciples.

"Brother Feng, you're finally back! There's been trouble," one said, his face bruised and swollen.

Mu Feng frowned. "What happened?"

"While we were at a freshman lecture, Mu Fan offended a student from the Tianfeng Kingdom. That guy called a group of his countrymen, and they beat Mu Fan up. He's still unconscious in his room," the disciple explained.

Mu Feng's expression darkened. The animosity between the Tianfeng Kingdom and the Southern Ling Kingdom was well-known, and tensions often flared among their students. Given that the Mu family was a prominent military clan in Southern Ling, they naturally had many enemies from Tianfeng.

"Take me to him," Mu Feng ordered.

In Mu Fan's room, the young disciple lay on a bed, his face swollen and bloody. His ribs were broken, his arm fractured, and internal injuries made his breathing labored.

Mu Feng examined him carefully. Rage flared in his chest. The injuries were severe enough to sideline even a trained cultivator for weeks.

"Who did this?" Mu Feng asked, his voice icy and his eyes blazing with fury.