Chapter 7: Dividing the Spoils

Lin Feng's face was ashen, he felt he had been duped.

Just after handing over fifty-five Lower Grade Spirit Stones, Li Xiaobai had already brought out another item for auction in the blink of an eye.

And why did these words sound so familiar?

"Oh, junior brother, this talisman of yours is truly remarkable, with Daoist rhymes flowing through it, strokes like dragons and snakes, executed in one breath, truly the work of a master!"

Liu Jinshui was still using the old tactics, beginning to hype up the Vajra Talisman's value.

"Senior brother has sharp eyes; this is indeed a divine talisman, with infinite power. Whoever obtains it can claim first place in the competition!"

Li Xiaobai was quick with his words too.

"Stop spouting nonsense, your pitch is exactly the same as it was for the Spirit Sword. This fatso is clearly a plant you've brought in!"

Lin Feng's face contorted, his hand fan crumpled in his grasp.

"I'm no plant. Whether this talisman is good or bad can be seen at a glance. Look at the strokes, the momentum of the script, and the faint golden light shimmering through. It's definitely a Lower Grade talisman."

"A few simple strokes yet bearing the elegance of a master—clearly the hand of a famous artist!"

Seeing Lin Feng so "supportive," Liu Jinshui laughed even more merrily.

The onlooking disciples, prompted by his words, stared intently at the talisman on the stall. On closer inspection, it did appear quite extraordinary.

"That's right, this is a genuine Vajra Talisman. Its effect is to greatly enhance the body's defensive power. Before its power dissipates, one can withstand hits from Lower Grade Spiritual Artifacts without trouble—such a highly practical skill."

"The senior brother Lin Feng clearly wanted to monopolize this treasure for himself, which is why he disparaged it so."

Li Xiaobai said slowly, unexpectedly raising the Vajra Talisman's value again.

"No need to say more, junior brother; the talisman is truly excellent, I'll buy it."

With that, Liu Jinshui threw twenty Lower Grade Spirit Stones, picked up the talisman from the stall, and turned to leave, as if afraid someone would snatch it from him.

This series of actions left Li Xiaobai somewhat puzzled—wasn't the point to drive up the price? Why had he bought it outright?

However, he soon understood. Several dashing, well-dressed young masters immediately followed Liu Jinshui. At a glance, one could tell they were not lacking in money; they chatted and laughed with Liu Jinshui, and quickly became chummy.

Li Xiaobai's expression darkened—Liu Jinshui was clearly looking to make a profit through brokerage. With the scene that had just played out, he could probably resell it for four or five times the price.

Madness, senior brother's heart is so dark!

There's too much knowledge in tricking people; I should just stick to doing honest small trades.

With a flick of his wrist, he took out a few more Vajra Talismans and asked with a beaming smile, "Senior brothers and sisters, I have a few more Vajra Talismans here, only twenty Lower Grade Spirit Stones each, what do you think...?"

Half an hour later,

Li Xiaobai happily closed his stall. This wave of street economy had directly added three hundred Lower Grade Spirit Stones to his income. Had he not been afraid of attracting the notice of the vigilant, he would've liked to cash in big time all at once.

"Junior brother, you must have made a good sum this time, right?"

Liu Jinshui appeared from nowhere, smiling gleefully.

"Not at all, senior brother; I'm just running an honest business, barely breaking even without making a profit."

Li Xiaobai said seriously.

Liu Jinshui didn't believe a word: "Stop pretending, can you really do honest business? When you're tricking people, you laugh happier than anyone. Isn't it time to settle the commission for your senior brother?"

"I don't ask for much, junior brother. Just give me a few more of those talismans you sold earlier, and in exchange, I can share a secret with you for free."

After thinking for a moment, Li Xiaobai took out five Vajra Talismans and handed them to Liu Jinshui.

"Hehehe, that Lin Feng is your next opponent, right? He has a secret ailment in his Danzhong Acupoint. In the upcoming match, just press it lightly, and he'll be in such pain he won't be able to take care of himself."

"That's all the help I can offer you, make the most of it!"

Liu Jinshui walked away, giddy with satisfaction.

Li Xiaobai was overjoyed, feeling as if a weight had been lifted from his heart. His next opponent actually had such clear weaknesses—didn't that mean he could easily defeat the other party?

The second match was about to start. The competition was arranged round by round, and they needed to wait until all the winners emerged before proceeding to the next round.

Li Xiaobai slowly walked up to Arena 17, recalling that he had just acquired a Sword Qi skill. Just in case, he casually took a longsword from the weapon rack. This was free for competitors to use, just a common iron sword.

The surrounding disciples had complex expressions. His victory in the last round was unclear and confusing; the onlookers didn't really understand what had happened.

At this moment, Lin Feng was sitting cross-legged right in the center of the arena, exuding great style. He had arrived at the arena early on.

Ever since he had encountered Li Xiaobai, he had felt that things were not going his way, having been mutedly frustrated several times and tricked out of many Spirit Stones. Today, he must reclaim his face on this arena and beat the opponent to vent his anger!

"Junior brother, you've made your senior brother wait a long time!"

Lin Feng sneered time and again. In his eyes, Li Xiaobai was already as good as dead.

He had discussed with Chen Tao, and they agreed that Li Xiaobai knew nothing about cultivation. He had no cultivation level, and his victories were all thanks to a mysterious poison that could make someone feel weak all over.

Therefore, before coming, he specifically asked his master for a Water Spirit Pearl, which could avoid all kinds of strange poisons—even poisons of a certain grade could not penetrate it.

With this pearl in hand, there was no need to fear the opponent's poison.

"Senior brother is so eager to be defeated by me?"

"As fellow disciples, I really don't want to make senior brother lose too disgracefully."

Li Xiaobai instantly entered the zone. Once the fight started, he needed to boast and max out the animosity to proceed with the following operations.

The onlookers below erupted again.

This scene was all too familiar. This guy started taunting as soon as he stepped onto the stage—he was so hateable!

"Go Lin Feng!"

"Lin Feng, beat this arrogant brat!"

"Teach him a lesson, the disciples of Misty Peak are too arrogant!"

"Lin Feng..."

The onlookers were fervently agitated; they hated that they couldn't go up and beat Li Xiaobai themselves.

Li Xiaobai was also feeling a bit jittery inside; he really feared that the audience might rush up and beat him, even he thought he was quite shameless.

But there was no other way, everything was for victory.

Presently, he once again stood with his hands behind his back, gazing up at the sky at a 45-degree angle.

"You mere mortals do not understand the aspirations of a great swan. My goal is the Universe."

"Such petty competition for the top ten is within easy reach!"

A wave of animosity instantly maxed out, and Lin Feng's eyes turned blood red on the spot. Drawing the sword at his waist, he lunged at Li Xiaobai.

"Silver Serpent Luanyu!"

All at once, Sword Qi crisscrossed the arena.

Lin Feng also wielded a sword. Unlike Chen Tao, his swordplay was tricky, with flashes of silver light aiming straight for Li Xiaobai's forehead.

It turned out that the quality of the helmet was extraordinarily good—the System's product was certainly of high quality.

No matter how sly and sneaky Lin Feng's angles of attack were, if it couldn't break the defense, it was in vain.

[Attribute Point +5...]

[Attribute Point +5...]

Watching the numbers jump on the attribute panel, Li Xiaobai felt confident. It seemed Lin Feng's strength wasn't much different from Chen Tao's.

Hehe, in that case, it would be easy to handle!