“Excellent,” said Li. “If you stop hiding behind Junior Brother Chen and dare to fight me, then there’s no harm in making a little wager. I have a treasured sword as well as several tens of thousands of Spirit Stones!” Laughing, he slapped his bag of holding to produce an azure-colored sword. The sword aura which swirled around it wasn’t spectacular, but wasn’t ordinary either.
“Little Junior Brother, you….” said Chen Fan.
He was about to continue when Meng Hao, eyes bloodshot, interrupted him. Glaring, he said, “A handful of Spirit Stones and a sword aren’t enough for Meng Hao. Put some more onto the table, sir, and then I’ll fight you!” His loud voice rang out. The words he had spoken, and the expression on his face, were something he had long since become accustomed to using. He had faced many situations like this in the State of Zhao. Furthermore, he still had an unused golden spear in his bag of the Cosmos….
The crowd around them laughed loudly. Li looked at Meng Hao, his sneer growing larger.
“Very well,” he said. “Whatever you put up as stakes, sir, I will match in value.”
Next to him, Zhou Shanyue laughed. “No matter,” he said. “Whatever you produce, if Elder Brother Li matches it in value, then so shall I!” He glared at Chen Fan, and deep in his eyes, killing intent swirled.
Meng Hao gasped. His eyes darted around as if he wished to run away. “Are you serious?!” he said, his voice sounding forced.
“You’re in the Solitary Sword Sect, now,” said Zhou Shanyue haughtily. “Do you really think we would lie?”
Chen Fan grabbed Meng Hao’s arm and was about to say something.
Trembling, Meng Hao looked over at him and said, “Elder Brother Chen, can you please loan me your flying dagger?”
Chen Fan looked at Meng Hao for a long moment. Finally, he lifted his hand up, and the black flying dagger appeared, a blade which could unleash the power of the Core Formation stage!
This dagger was extremely important to Chen Fan. If he lost it, his position within the Sect would immediately become unstable. The repercussions would be dire. However, it only took the space of a few breaths for him to make up his mind to place it in Meng Hao’s hand.
This display of brotherly affection caused Meng Hao to look deeply at Chen Fan. A warm feeling filled his entire body, creating a memory that would exist for the rest of his life.
“Junior Brother,” said Chen Fan, his eyes glowing with encouragement, “if you’re really going to fight, then do so with a light heart. If you lose, it won’t matter. No big deal. And if you win, then win something good!” Although he didn’t have much faith that Meng Hao could win, this was his style.
Everything was quiet around them as the crowd stared at the black flying dagger in Meng Hao’s hand.