Chapter 1978: Don't Kill Or Cripple Him . . .
Huang Xiaolong couldn't help grinning when he did not receive Ao Ping's answer after waiting for quite a while. He said, "What's the matter? Don't have the guts to bet?"
Ao Ping's gaze burned with curiosity as he continued to stare at Huang Xiaolong, and he asked, "Who are you really?"
Huang Xiaolong responded, "Who I am is not important. How about it, as the Young Lord of Dragon World, you don't even dare to bet?"
Ao Ping inhaled deeply and breathed out, "You don't have to stimulate me."
A brief pause later, an overwhelming power burst forth from Ao Ping's body. The dragon might spread in the four directions of the peak and onwards to the surrounding mountain peaks.
His momentum immediately alerted other students of the imperial courtyard.
"This is...? Dragon World's Ao Ping? Our imperial courtyard's new recruit! What a strong pressure. This Ao Ping has already cultivated to mid-Third Order Emperor Realm!"
"Although it's mid-Third Order Emperor Realm, his momentum is comparable to a mid-Fourth Order Emperor Realm expert!"
Some of the older students exclaimed in surprise.
Standing closest to Ao Ping, under his overwhelming pressure, Huang Xiaolong remained unaffected; the corner of his robe didn't even flutter.
Seeing Huang Xiaolong was unaffected in the slightest, Ao Ping's eyes narrowed, but he nodded appreciatively and said, "I have to admit, you are stronger than my earlier estimation. Perhaps, you would last ten moves against the Son of Light."
"What?! Ao Ping said that kid could last ten moves against the Son of Light? Who's that kid?"
"He is also a new student of our imperial courtyard. It seems he too has a king of supreme godhead like Ao Ping, but I think Ao Ping's words are too exaggerated. That kid's cultivation is merely at the early Second Order Emperor Realm. How can he last ten moves against the Son of Light?"
Some of the old students voiced contrary opinions.
Ao Ping spoke again, "However, I don't think you can win against Dun Hao, much less defeat him within ten moves. So, I will make this bet with you!"
"What, win against Dun Hao? On top of that, defeat him within ten moves?"
Ao Ping's words caused a stir among the old students.
Although they did not know the ins and outs of Ao Ping and Huang Xiaolong's conversation, they understood the gist of it! Ao Ping and Huang Xiaolong were making a bet, betting whether Huang Xiaolong could defeat Dun Hao!
Strictly speaking, it was defeating Dun Hao within ten moves!
"Say, is there something wrong with that kid's head? In the entire universe, no one among the younger generation has been able to reach ten moves against the Dun Hao so far, yet he has the guts to bet he would defeat Dun Hao within ten moves!"
"Awesome, also naive!"
"Who does he think he is? He merely has a king of supreme godhead. There have been enough king of supreme godhead cultivators challenging Dun Hao in the last few years, but all of them were defeated. Hell's Fengdu City's Young Lord Qin Huangzhong didn't last either. Dun Hao defeated him in six moves!" An old student's voice reverberated in the air.
Huang Xiaolong remained calm despite the endless jeers from all around and contracted the bet with Ao Ping.
Watching Huang Xiaolong and Ao Ping make a contractual bet, all the imperial courtyard's old students shook their heads.
After that, Ao Ping looked at Huang Xiaolong and said, "I believe the news about this bet would soon reach Dun Hao's ears. He has many dogs in the imperial courtyard, and these dogs will definitely come looking for your trouble and even pummel you badly. So, I think you better hide for a while."
Huang Xiaolong shook his head, "No need." With that said, Huang Xiaolong turned and returned to his own peak.
Ao Ping looked at Huang Xiaolong's back as he left, falling into contemplation, but he soon shook it off, muttering under this breath, "This brat is mad, madder than me."
Although Ao Ping was confident that he could last ten moves against Dun Hao, he was not mad enough to think that he could actually defeat Dun Hao. As for defeating Dun Hao within ten moves was nothing but a fantasy.
Truthfully, even though Ao Ping thought that the Mad Battle Angel's Ao Li wasn't capable of defeating Dun Hao, anticipation grew in his chest.
As Ao Ping had estimated, the word about the bet between him and Huang Xiaolong traveled fast. It spread through the imperial courtyard, inner courtyard, and outer courtyard in less than half a day.
The first reaction of all the Reverence Moon Academy's students when they heard this news was that the Mad Battle Angel's Ao Li had gone insane. No one thought Huang Xiaolong could defeat Dun Hao, much less defeat Dun Hao within ten moves. That was simply a ludicrous thought.
At this time, in the core area of the imperial courtyard space, on a huge mountain peak stood a humongous palace. Inside the palace's hall sat four old men.
Each of these four old men exuded awe-inspiring auras. Especially, the two old men seated at the center were exuding undisguisable momentum of Sovereign Realm experts, despite converging their auras.
These four were none other than the Reverence Moon Academy's Deputy Deans, the four people with the highest authority after the Dean, Reverence Moon Old Man.
One of the old men with long eyebrows at the center, Bai Hui, shook his head, "This new student named Ao Li deserves an extra point for courage, ah! None of us dare to claim that we can defeat Dun Hao if we were to suppress our cultivation to the early Second Order Emperor Realm."
The old man seated next to Bai Hui, Bin Ge, harrumphed coldly, "Extra point for courage? I think ignorant of the immensity of the sky describes him better. He thinks he's invincible because of a king of supreme godhead!"
The old man sitting on the furthest left, Ban Ke, laughed as he said, "Anyone with a king of supreme godhead would inevitably possess some defiant traits and unruliness. Honestly, there is nothing bad about this. Just let Dun Hao polish his rough edges, temper his temperament a little."
Bai Luo, sitting on the furthest right, grinned, "It probably won't come to Dun Hao's turn to grind him. His followers in the imperial courtyard like Brennus and Carey are more than enough to deal with Ao Li. Who knows, maybe Ao Li won't even have the guts to walk up the battle stage at the end of the day?!"
'Sparring' between students was a norm in the Reverence Moon Academy. As a matter of fact, competition among the imperial courtyard students was encouraged. As long as no one died or maimed, the academy generally did not interfere.
Inside a luxurious mansion in the Reverence Moon Divine City, when Dun Hao, Lin Tianrui, and a few others were enjoying some geocentric milk elixir offered by a church's pontiff, a subordinate came in and reported about Ao Li and Ao Ping's bet. It caused everyone to cough out the geocentric milk elixir in shock. Lin Tianrui was slightly red from choking on the elixir.
Defeat Dun Hao within ten moves? Lin Tianrui secretly stole a glance at Dun Hao's reaction.
A sinister sneer rose up the corners of Dun Hao's lips, "Defeat me within ten moves? This Ao Li, I think I'm beginning to like him a little!"
He looked at one of the young men present and asked, "You know what to do, right?"
This young man was also an imperial courtyard student of Reverence Moon Academy called Caley. He was one of Dun Hao's many followers who was highly talented,, and he was already a late-Third Order Emperor Realm expert.
Caley smiled, responding swiftly, "Rest assured, Senior Brother Dun Hao, I'll make sure that kid learns what's the difference between heaven and hell and that there are jokes he can't afford to make."
Dun Hao nodded his head in satisfaction, "Keep his life, and don't cripple him, or those four old men would come for us. It would be troublesome for me to explain. Don't be careless. It's said that even the Radiance Knight Corp's Lu Zhaoming lost to him."
Caley laughed unconcernedly, "Lu Zhaoming is just an average late-Third Order Emperor. He is nothing to shout about. Don't worry. I'll make sure that kid is still breathing when I'm done."