"Place your bets! Place your bets!"
"The successor of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan's Sword Douluo versus the future master of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. Everyone, come place your bets!"
The Heaven Dou Royal Academy was bustling with excitement today. News of Tian Lin challenging Yu Tianheng had spread throughout the academy. Both were future leaders of the second and third most powerful clans in the world, which naturally became a hot topic.
Oslo and Yufeng had even set up a betting booth.
"Hey, Oslo, what are the odds for both of them?" a noble student asked. Although the students of Heaven Dou Royal Academy were all wealthy, they were still quite interested in gambling. After all, winning with your own money felt much more satisfying than simply spending family wealth.
"Well, both are Soul Grandmasters with top-tier martial souls of similar quality. So, the odds are based on their levels. Tian Lin is Rank 22, while Yu Tianheng is Rank 26, a gap of four levels. Therefore, after my professional analysis, I've set the odds at 2-to-1 for Tian Lin and 1-to-1 for Tianheng."
The crowd nodded in agreement. They knew Oslo was close to both combatants and likely had an accurate understanding of their strengths. The odds seemed fair.
"I'll bet 1,000 gold soul coins on Yu Tianheng!"
Immediately, someone placed a bet, seemingly starting a trend. Most bets were placed on Yu Tianheng, as the four-level gap was hard to ignore. Additionally, Yu Tianheng was older and likely had more combat experience.
Not far away, Tian Lin and a few others silently watched Oslo and Yufeng's antics.
"These two set up a betting booth for my duel with Tianheng," Tian Lin said, shaking his head. He didn't mind Oslo, but what was Yufeng doing? Why was he joining in?
Tian Lin smiled faintly and turned to Ye Lingling. "Senior Sister Lingling, interested in tricking them a bit?"
"Very interested. What's your plan?" Ye Lingling, known for her ruthless decisiveness, wasn't one to shy away from scamming her teammates.
Tian Lin pulled out a golden card. "This is the gold soul coin card my Uncle Ning gave me before I left the clan. It has about 100,000 gold soul coins. Use it to bet everything on me winning. Once we win, we'll split the 200,000 gold soul coins fifty-fifty."
"The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan truly is the wealthiest in the world. That's your allowance?" Ye Lingling remarked, taking the card. However, she hesitated. "Are you that confident? Yu Tianheng isn't easy to deal with. You might lose everything."
"Don't worry! My boss is unbeatable among those of the same rank!" Gu Ran appeared behind them, exuding confidence—perhaps even more than Tian Lin himself. "Sister Lingling, I also have a card from my master, with about 30,000 gold soul coins. Bet all of it on my boss. Same deal—we split the winnings."
"Got it!" Ye Lingling accepted their cards and headed toward Oslo. "A total of 130,000 gold soul coins on Tian Lin."
"What the—Lingling, where did you get so much money?" Oslo was stunned. He never expected the usually quiet Ye Lingling to turn out to be so wealthy.
"Don't worry about it. Just place my bet." Ye Lingling left after dropping off the cards.
It had to be her placing the bet—if Tian Lin or Gu Ran did it themselves, Oslo would surely suspect Tian Lin had some secret trick up his sleeve. That would ruin the plan.
Soon, it was noon, and the much-anticipated duel began. The match had drawn a huge crowd, including not just the betting students but also other academy students, teachers, and even the three Elders.
The teachers and elders were there for two reasons: to witness the strength of these two prodigies and to ensure the fight didn't spiral out of control. After all, both combatants were future leaders of their clans. If one of them were seriously injured, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan or the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan would surely retaliate—perhaps even destroy the academy in their rage.
"Tian Lin, I've waited for this day for a long time. Today, I'll prove that the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan is no weaker than the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan. Hah!" Yu Tianheng roared as a massive thunder dragon appeared around him, exuding an aura of dominance.
"So that's the world's number one beast martial soul, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon? Let's see which of our martial souls is more powerful."
Tian Lin's martial soul wasn't as visually striking. A simple longsword appeared in his hand. However, the yellow and purple soul rings that followed shocked the crowd.
"A thousand-year second ring? Am I seeing this right?" Bai Baoshan rubbed his eyes, wondering if his vision was failing.
"No, you're seeing it correctly. Incredible! Our Heaven Dou Royal Academy has produced a true genius!" Meng Shenji was ecstatic. In all his years of teaching, he'd never seen a student with a thousand-year second soul ring. Tian Lin had broken the norm.
"I've been tricked. Lingling must've known something, which is why she placed such a large bet. I'm doomed!" Oslo was on the verge of collapse. He never expected Tian Lin to be capable of overcoming a four-level gap. But with a thousand-year soul ring versus a hundred-year one, the gap was as good as erased. The outcome of the battle was now uncertain.
"A thousand-year second ring. No wonder Sword Douluo said what he did." Yu Tianheng grew serious. He no longer saw Tian Lin as a younger schoolmate but as an equal opponent.
"First Spirit Skill: Thunder Dragon Claw!"
Yu Tianheng opened with his first spirit skill, demonstrating his respect for Tian Lin's strength.
Tian Lin smiled faintly. "Good. That's how it should be. First Spirit Skill: Frozen Snow!"
Both skills were power-enhancing abilities. Thunder Dragon Claw enveloped Yu Tianheng's hands in electric energy, greatly boosting his attack power while adding a piercing effect—lightning's natural characteristic of violent penetration.
Tian Lin's Frozen Snow, on the other hand, concentrated the power of ice onto his sword, enhancing his attack power and adding a freezing effect.
"Tianheng, here I come! Take this: Moonlight Reflects on the Cold River!" Tian Lin leaped forward, thrusting his sword directly at Yu Tianheng.
"Good move! Let's see how you handle my Thunder Dragon Windbreaker!" Yu Tianheng raised his dragon claw to meet the attack head-on.
In an instant, sword and claw collided. Sparks flew as Yu Tianheng's claw managed to neutralize some of the ice energy from Tian Lin's sword.
This exchange gave Yu Tianheng a slight upper hand. He followed up with a rapid flurry of six claw strikes, each precise and powerful.
Thanks to his Fluttering Butterfly Dance footwork, Tian Lin narrowly dodged the flurry. However, his chest was still grazed, leaving five claw marks on his clothing.