Chapter 146: Do You Dare to Wager?
“What’s that sound?”
“Look, what is that?”
“Oh my goodness, a dragon, a golden dragon!”
Just as Ke Bei unleashed a palm strike—the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms—a resounding dragon’s roar immediately drew the attention of thousands around him.
Thousands stood frozen, staring wide-eyed at the golden giant dragon appearing in the sky. Their mouths gaped open, and the numerous bags they carried slipped from their hands to the ground.
“A divine miracle!”
“Let’s go, quickly take a look!”
“Move, move!”
The crowd surged toward the golden dragon.
“What’s going on? Let’s check it out.”
Such a commotion not only caught the attention of ordinary people but also drew in gene enhancers and members of the Guardian Squad. Dozens of squad members tasked with maintaining order followed the crowd toward the golden dragon.
“Come on, everyone. The more, the better.”
Ke Bei watched the rushing crowd with a faint smile curling his lips.
Those gene enhancers with some worldly experience inhaled sharply at the sight of the golden dragon bursting from Ke Bei’s palm. They could vaguely sense its immense power. As for the ordinary people, they stared at Ke Bei in awe and reverence, treating him as a celestial being!
“That’s probably enough.”
After a while, seeing that the area was packed, Ke Bei slowly retracted his internal energy into his dantian. As he did, the golden dragon soaring into the clouds gradually faded away.
“Ahem, everyone, I’m sure many of you are somewhat familiar with this young brother here.”
Ke Bei glanced at the crowd, clearing his throat twice. His somewhat youthful cheeks flushed faintly with embarrassment. Taking a deep breath, he cast aside the chaotic thoughts in his mind and pulled the astonished Huang Dou forward, preparing to focus fully on this performance.
Hearing Ke Bei speak, the crowd shifted their gaze to Huang Dou, a chubby boy with an odd appearance. The ordinary onlookers had some impression of him, vaguely knowing he was a member of the Guardian Squad—a significant figure!
The Guardian Squad members looked at Ke Bei with suspicion, wondering what this boy with extraordinary skills intended to do. Regardless of their thoughts, Ke Bei had successfully drawn everyone’s attention onto himself. His goal was achieved; now, he would stage a magnificent drama!
Ke Bei patted Huang Dou’s shoulder and slowly stepped toward the burly middle-aged man he had pointed out earlier.
The man appeared to be in his thirties, dressed in worn coarse linen clothes. He had a square face, thick eyebrows, and large eyes, giving off a simple and honest aura.
“Uncle, do you believe you can defeat this young man?”
Ke Bei looked at the man’s honest face, gesturing toward Huang Dou standing by, and asked softly.
“I... can’t beat him.”
The seemingly simple man stared at Huang Dou for a long moment before slowly shaking his head.
“He’s a member of the Guardian Squad, a gene enhancer. I’m just an ordinary person. Though I’m a bit stronger, there’s no way I could beat him.”
At the man’s words, the crowd chuckled lightly. To them, no matter how gifted an ordinary person was, there was no chance against a gene enhancer.
Just moments ago, they had marveled at Ke Bei’s golden dragon. Now, with the dragon vanished and hearing Ke Bei’s seemingly foolish statement, laughter broke out. They turned back to Ke Bei and realized he wasn’t that far away after all.
“Everyone!”
The honest man’s response was exactly what Ke Bei expected. A faint, mysterious smile played on Ke Bei’s lips as he raised his voice a bit and scanned the crowd.
“I ask you all, would you believe if this uncle here could openly defeat that boy?”
“No!”
“No way!”
“How can an ordinary man beat a gene enhancer?”
Voices rose, turning the previously quiet environment noisy. Yet, listening carefully, the crowd’s opinions were unified—they did not believe the honest man could defeat the boy.
“Haha, I knew you wouldn’t believe me. How about a bet? If this uncle really defeats the boy, you’ll all shout ‘Long Live Qitian City’ three times. Deal?”
Ke Bei smiled slightly and addressed the crowd.
‘Qitian City’ was the name Ke Bei had given to his base city. He intended to seize this opportunity to make ‘Qitian City’ famous!
“I bet on it!”
“I’m in!”
The crowd immediately cheered. Shouting ‘Long Live Qitian City’ three times was no loss to anyone.
“Good!”
Ke Bei shouted loudly, his mind stirring. From the system disk deep within his brain shot a golden beam of light. He slowly extended his right index finger, glowing faintly with golden light, and pressed it onto the honest man’s forehead.
Boom!
As Ke Bei’s finger touched the man’s brow, a memory of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill imprinted deeply into the man’s mind through Ke Bei’s touch.
Ke Bei possessed six martial arts skills, each of which he could pass down 110 times. Among these, ten people could inherit one-tenth of his cultivation, and a hundred people could receive one-hundredth!
With Ke Bei’s mastery of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill, imparting just one-hundredth of his power was enough for the honest man to defeat Huang Dou, a second-level enhancer.
Crack!
Golden light infused into the middle-aged man’s body, his bones clicked softly, muscles rippled, and he grew stronger with every moment.
“Roar!”
The honest man suddenly roared toward the sky. His coarse linen shirt tore apart, revealing a muscular torso. With a fierce stomp, the air around him vibrated slightly, and an invisible shockwave stirred the dust on the ground.
Ke Bei’s mastery of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill granted him the strength of fourteen thousand ordinary men. The man had inherited one-hundredth of it—strength equivalent to one hundred and forty men—power rivaling a junior divine being! His combat ability was comparable even to advanced human cultivators beyond the mortal realm.
“Do you feel confident now to defeat him?”
Ke Bei looked at the honest man with a profound and inscrutable smile.
Thud!
The shirtless man knelt heavily to the ground, knocking his head on it three times with force, leaving dents.
“I’m not good with words. For this life, I want to follow you, to serve you like an ox or horse! I thank you for giving me a new life!”
“Hehe, get up. They’re waiting for you.”
Ke Bei raised his palm, and the internal energy of the Nine Suns Divine Skill surged gently, an invisible force lifting the honest man to his feet.
“Mm!”
The middle-aged man felt an irresistible power and stood up involuntarily, nodding heavily as he approached Huang Dou.
“Don’t use your full strength. Don’t hurt him.”
Watching the man’s back, Ke Bei smiled faintly and whispered a reminder. He knew well that even one-hundredth of his power was more than enough to overwhelm Huang Dou, a second-level gene enhancer.
“Master, I understand.”
The honest man turned respectfully to Ke Bei, his face simple and sincere, breaking into a smile.
“I don’t believe this!”
Chubby Huang Dou was startled by the man’s actions, a trace of nervousness creeping into his heart. As the honest man stepped closer, Huang Dou grew increasingly uneasy. To break the strange atmosphere, he growled and charged forward suddenly!
A first-level gene enhancer possessed three times the strength of an ordinary person; a second-level enhancer had nine times that strength.
Huang Dou, a second-level enhancer, wielded power nine times that of an average man. Yet this seemed feeble before the honest man’s strength equivalent to one hundred and forty men.
Huang Dou’s fist, carried by a roaring wind, smashed fiercely toward the honest man.
Boom!
With a thunderous sound, the honest man firmly caught Huang Dou’s fist in his palm.
“Master told me not to hurt you, but I’m too clumsy. Afraid I can’t control my strength, so I have to throw you out.”
Gripping Huang Dou’s fist, the honest man looked at the boy’s flushed, chubby face and spoke in a low, gruff voice.
Bang!
No sooner had he spoken than he stepped forward slightly, grabbed Huang Dou’s arm with one hand, the waist with the other, and exerted force, hurling the boy far away.
Whoosh!
Huang Dou felt a tremendous force suddenly surge through him as he was thrown high into the air.
True to his word, the honest man was indeed very clumsy—he couldn’t control his strength at all. He had flung Huang Dou over sixty meters into the sky!
“Damn!”
“Boss, save me!”
Huang Dou panicked midair. From such a height, even with his enhanced physique, if he fell like that, he would be crippled if not killed!
Ke Bei smiled faintly, waved his hand, and a thick internal force surged forth, forming an invisible cushion that gently cradled Huang Dou’s body.
Supported by Ke Bei’s internal energy, Huang Dou’s body slowly descended from the heights.
“Damn, you scared me!”
Huang Dou wiped the sweat from his forehead, staring fearfully at the honest man.
From the moment the honest man clashed with Huang Dou to the boy’s being thrown was but an instant. The thousands of onlookers hadn’t yet grasped what had happened. Only as Huang Dou’s body gently landed did they suddenly realize, collectively gasping in disbelief, turning their shocked gazes first to the honest man, then nervously to Ke Bei!
(To be continued)