The next morning.

Tang Yan slowly withdrew from cultivation.

Ever since arriving in Fang City, he had devoted himself entirely to cultivation. With an ample supply of Pills as well, his strength had reached the peak of Black Rank Third Grade.

After washing up, Tang Yan went to the City Lord's small courtyard.

"Let's go. Time to eat," Lin Xiao greeted him with a smile.

"Is Liu Zhi not going today?" Tang Yan asked when he saw that only Lin Dongxue and Lin Xiao were in the courtyard.

A chill flashed through Lin Xiao's eyes. In a low voice, he said, "I already know about your encounter with Liu Jing at Cangyun Mountain. Liu Zhi has gone where he ought to go."

Tang Yan's heart trembled at those words.

Liu Zhi had likely gone to meet his second uncle.

"Many thanks, City Lord." Tang Yan cupped his hands.

"The Liu Family brought this upon themselves. There is no need to mention it further." Lin Xiao waved a hand, then smiled. "Let me tell you about today's Grand Competition."

Tang Yan nodded and listened as Lin Xiao explained the rules while they walked.

"It will be the same as yesterday, drawing lots for duels. Since half the contestants have been eliminated, this morning will decide the twenty into ten, and this afternoon will decide the ten into five. The final top five will have their rankings decided the day after tomorrow."

After briefly explaining, Lin Xiao continued, "Today, there will be an unprecedentedly grand wager."

"A wager?" Tang Yan became somewhat interested and asked with a smile, "What are they betting on?"

"They are betting on who, aside from the Four Young Masters of the East Domain, will enter the top five. Everyone may choose one contestant they favor from the remaining sixteen and place a bet. The odds for everyone are one to one."

"Are those odds not a little too casual?" Tang Yan asked in surprise.

"The odds have always been like this in previous years. Since Fang City is involved as the banker, its credibility is extremely high, so quite a few people are willing to take a chance," Lin Xiao explained patiently.

"Does City Lord intend to place a bet?" Tang Yan asked with a smile.

"You and Dongxue-I will place five hundred thousand taels of silver on each of you. You two had better strive for some dignity and not make me lose the silver I have saved over the years." Lin Xiao made a joke of it.

"Hmph. A few days ago, when Tang Yan went to challenge Absolute Kill Tower, we earned one million taels. Why would you need to touch your savings?" Lin Dongxue exposed him without the slightest mercy.

Lin Xiao's old face reddened. Feigning anger, he said, "What does a child know? The winnings from last time were stored away by your father. This time, I am using my own savings."

Tang Yan could not help finding it amusing. Though the City Lord was usually lofty and dignified, he carried little authority before Lin Dongxue.

The three of them arrived at the plaza. It was already packed with people.

Tang Yan and Lin Dongxue found Yun City's seats and sat down.

The several City Lords took their places on the judging platform.

Clang-

A clear, lingering bell rang out, and the surroundings gradually quieted.

The City Lord of Fang City stood. His voice carried True Qi as it spread in every direction.

"Everyone, today is the second day of the Eastern Region Grand Competition. The rules for the duels are the same as yesterday. Contestants will draw lots and fight their matches.

"Before the competition begins, we have an entertaining matter prepared-that is, to guess who will enter the top five of this Grand Competition."

"The Four Young Masters of the East Domain will not be included in the betting. For all other contestants, the odds are one to one. Each bet must be at least five taels of silver, with no upper limit. The names of all participating contestants are on the large board."

As soon as Fang Wentian finished speaking, a large board was raised.

Recorded upon it were the names of sixteen contestants. Behind each name was the word "bet," and at present, every one of them displayed "zero."

"As everyone places their wagers, the amount behind each contestant's name will change accordingly. The betting period will last two ke. Those who wish to place a bet, please go to the northwest side of the plaza to register. Contestants, please come forward now to draw lots."

The moment Fang Wentian finished, the entire place erupted.

"Miss Wan Fei is quite good. Earlier, when she fought a Black Rank Second Grade opponent, she defeated him in two moves."

"Song City's Song Qing has great Potential as well. His strength has reached Black Rank Third Grade."

"I favor Qing City's Sun Long."

"Yun City's Lin Dongxue is a dark horse."

"That's right. Lin Dongxue also has Potential."

"......"

Almost everyone was heatedly discussing who had the Potential to enter the top five.

By the time Tang Yan and the others finished drawing lots, the betting area at the northwest side of the plaza was already packed tight. Twenty registration points seemed wholly unable to withstand the crowd's enthusiasm.

"I bet on Qing City's Sun Long, thirty taels of silver!"

"Sun Long, fifty taels of silver."

"Song City's Song Qing, ten thousand taels of silver."

"Sun Long, one hundred taels of silver."

"Fang City's Wan Fei, twenty taels of silver."

"Yun City's Lin Dongxue, fifteen taels of silver."

"Song Qing, five hundred thousand taels of silver!"

"......"

As people placed their bets, the numbers behind "bet" on the wooden board kept changing.

That large board seemed to be supported by a Formation and would automatically arrange itself according to the total amount wagered.

Those who placed heavy bets were mostly the families from the various cities. They supported the most outstanding juniors of their own city-first to form a good connection, and second because there was a chance to win silver.

This made matters difficult for Tang Yan.

No family from Yun City had come to watch the competition. Though Tang Yan had won yesterday, the strength he had shown was only Black Rank First Grade. No one believed he could enter the top five, so even small scattered bets on him were pitifully few.

With sixty-six taels of silver, he sat firmly in first place-from the bottom.

Lin Dongxue had displayed the strength of Black Rank Third Grade yesterday. Before even half the time had passed, she had already received more than three thousand taels of silver in support. Although her ranking was still on the lower side, it looked far better than Tang Yan's.

As time passed bit by bit, the rankings gradually settled.

At the very top of the board, Sun Long had received more than forty-eight million taels of silver in bets, drawing close to fifty million!

Song Qing, who ranked second, also had forty-six million taels of silver wagered on him.

From sixth place onward, the betting was no longer so fierce. For instance, Li Feng in seventh place had only nine hundred thousand taels of silver behind his name, not even breaking one million.

"Hahaha, sixty-six taels of silver!" Someone could not hold back and pointed at Tang Yan's ranking as he laughed.

A two-digit wager was even more eye-catching than Sun Long at the very top.

"Hehe......" Seeing this ranking, Tang Yan could not help rubbing his nose. "The number is rather auspicious."

"Hahaha!" Lin Dongxue, standing beside him, could no longer hold back. She laughed until tears nearly came out, and only after a long while did she catch her breath. "Tang Yan, this also counts as leaving everyone else in the dust!"

Tang Yan glanced at Lin Dongxue's wagers. They had already risen to twenty thousand. Though it was not much, for someone from Yun City to gain this much support by her own strength alone was indeed rather impressive.

"Enough, let's not talk about this. Look at the rankings above. The top six are all opponents we felt had Potential yesterday: Qing City's Sun Long, Song City's Song Qing, Song City's He Fengzheng, Fang City's Wan Fei, Fang City's Ji Wang, and Qing City's Du Qiong."

Tang Yan's expression turned serious. "All of these people possess strength at Black Rank Third Grade. It cannot be ruled out that some are hiding their true strength and have already reached Fourth Grade. If you face them, you must be careful."

"Mm." Lin Dongxue nodded obediently.

"Haha, time is almost up. Is there anyone else who wishes to place a bet? And the City Lords-will you not support the outstanding talents of your own cities?" Fang Wentian asked with a smiling expression, though his gaze drifted toward Lin Xiao.

Tang Yan only had sixty-six taels of silver bet on him. Could Lin Xiao really endure that?

Sure enough, when Lin Xiao heard Fang Wentian's words, he straightened in his seat.

But before he could place his bet, a voice interrupted him.

"Tingxiang Kingdom's Myriad Pill Pavilion bets on Young Master Tang of Yun City-ten million taels of silver!"

"What!"

At this voice, everyone present was shaken.

The title before Myriad Pill Pavilion was not Yun City, nor was it the Eastern Region, but Tingxiang Kingdom!

What ability and virtue did Tang Yan possess, for Myriad Pill Pavilion to place such a wager on him in this manner?

When an old man dressed in a Pill robe walked out from the crowd, Tang Yan recognized him at a glance.

It was Ge Ming.

Before Tang Yan could greet Ge Ming, another powerful voice rang out.

"Tingxiang Purple Bamboo City bets on Young Master Tang of Yun City-fifty million taels!"