Chapter Fifty-Four: Dean!

On the arena, Chen Long stood dressed in a striking white outfit, looking flamboyant enough to draw a chorus of squeals from a group of infatuated girls. The scene was reminiscent of a pop star holding a concert, and, for reasons he couldn’t quite explain, this display left Chen Bo feeling distinctly irritated.

Chen Long had already been waiting for nearly half an hour, his patience worn thin. When he caught sight of Chen Bo chatting with Bai Ge and the others, a cold glint flickered in his eyes. Today, he was determined to kill Chen Bo right here in the arena. Once that was done, the position of the next head of the Chen family would be his for the taking—there would be no contest. He felt no fear toward Chen Jingjing, who was far away in the imperial capital, nor did he worry she might return to claim the family leadership. On the Savage Continent, the family headship was always passed down to direct male heirs, never to collateral lines, and never to daughters. No matter how powerful Chen Jingjing became, she couldn’t overturn the customs of an entire continent.

Going into this duel to the death, Chen Long brimmed with confidence. If Chen Bo hadn’t become a cripple, he would never have agreed to such a fight—not even if Guo Liu forced his hand. He wasn't so eager to throw his life away. But as fate would have it, Chen Bo was already a useless wreck, weaker even than the average person his age. Back in the Chen family’s martial training field, Chen Bo’s punch strength had been measured at barely fifty jin, even less than most ordinary youths.

As for Chen Long, he was already in the late stage of Body Tempering. Even if his cultivation wasn’t fully stabilized, he could muster over eighteen hundred jin of force. Once his foundation was solid, two thousand jin would be a certainty—a full metric ton! With that kind of power, he could easily flip a lightly built sedan with a single punch. He was, for all intents and purposes, a superhuman.

Seeing Chen Bo completely ignore him below the stage, still chatting away with Bai Ge and the others, Chen Long’s anger boiled over. He shouted, “Chen Bo! You worthless coward, do you dare step into the ring and fight? Or are you stalling down there hoping to forfeit?”

He sneered, “Don’t even dream of backing out! You’ve already sworn an oath, and if you break it, may you be struck dead by heavenly lightning! Get up here—today I’ll beat you into a pulp!”

“Good! Good! Good!”

“Chen Long! Chen Long! Chen Long!”

“Victory to Chen Long! Crush Chen Bo! Victory to Chen Long! Crush Chen Bo!”

“How could useless Chen Bo possibly be a match for Chen Long? This is nothing but a slaughter!”

It went without saying that all these people had been bribed by Guo Liu to cheer for Chen Long, ramping up the momentum and giving the event a grander appearance.

“Dear viewers,” Chen Bo murmured to himself, “your host has been provoked by an old enemy once again—how infuriating! And they’ve even gone so far as to hire hundreds of paid supporters. Truly, the extravagance of the wealthy knows no bounds.” Chen Bo clicked his tongue inwardly. Anyone who could attend Tianyang Academy was never short on gold or silver; only source stones were truly scarce. To buy off so many people must have cost at least several hundred source stones—a true display of ostentation.

He wondered when he might reach that level himself: tossing around source stones as if they were nothing, crushing his enemies with the most precious stones whenever he felt the urge. What a powerful daydream.

“Your host is about to step onto the arena. This time, it’s either the other guy dies, or the other guy dies—there’s no third option,” Chen Bo declared with a straight face. His outward confidence looked unshakable, as if victory was already in his grasp, but inside, he was more nervous than anyone could imagine.

“Host, go mop the floor with Chen Long! If you take him down, I’ll tip you ten million—Vietnamese dong!”

“Wow, a ten-million dong tip! What a tycoon. Us poor folk will just manage 1,111,000 dong.”

“By the way, how much is ten million dong in yuan?”

“Hao Anyi tips the host 111 coins. Go, host! Let the tips roll in!”

“Hao Anyi tips the host 222 coins. Go, host! Let the tips roll in!”

“Hao Anyi tips the host 333 coins. Go, host! Let the tips roll in!”

“Dumb Scholar tips the host 1,110 coins. Just popping in, don’t poke me—let me linger a bit longer.”

“Ma Yun tips the host 100,000 coins. Here’s a hundred thousand—give it your all, host!”

Soon, the entire live stream was awash with a sea of tips. The smallest was just one coin, but the largest—100,000 coins—was equivalent to a million yuan, and no fewer than three people had given such a tip. The world would never lack for the outrageously wealthy; this was proof enough.

Chen Bo’s attention was completely absorbed by the live stream; he’d practically forgotten Chen Long’s earlier taunts, only snapping back to reality when Bai Ge patted him on the shoulder.

“Brother Bai, Brother Guo, Brother Dugu, I’ll head up now,” Chen Bo said, making his way toward the arena.

The stage looked dauntingly high. Chen Bo knew his own agility was pathetic, so he decided not to embarrass himself by pretending otherwise—better not to make a fool of himself.

His momentary daze hadn’t gone unnoticed; those who disliked him took the opportunity to mock, “Chen Bo, have you been scared stupid? You should just give up and get struck by lightning—at least it won’t hurt!”

“Hahaha, and to think this loser actually wanted to pursue Xin’er. He really doesn’t know his place. Is Tianyang Academy so short on talent that a country bumpkin from the backwoods dares to make a scene here?”

“How many moves do you think it’ll take for Chen Long to kill Chen Bo? I’m guessing ten.”

“Ten? You’re giving that wretch too much credit. I bet he won’t last past three before his head’s smashed to pulp.”

“Ten? Three? I say one move, and he’ll be finished! Hahahaha!”

“These muscle-brained idiots. I bet Chen Long will draw it out in the ring, toying with Chen Bo like a cat with a slow mouse. This is going to be quite the show.”

Elsewhere, three figures stood together, their gazes fixed on the arena. There was an elderly man and two young women. If Chen Bo had been present, he would have recognized them instantly.

The old man was the same one who had swindled him out of a fortune! And standing beside him were Xin’er and Yu Shifei!

Yu Shifei watched the arena with interest and remarked, “Has that little thief gone mad? A weapon refiner with no cultivation at all, challenging an advanced Body Tempering cultivator. I don’t know how Jingjing could have such a brother—maybe his brains got caught in a door.”

The old man’s lips twitched. “My dear daughter, could you try to be a little kinder? I suspect Chen Bo is not as simple as he appears. That boy is full of secrets!”

This old man was actually Yu Shifei’s father—the elusive headmaster of Tianyang Academy himself!

An old father blessed with a daughter in his twilight years, still vigorous and shrewd as ever. The expression “an old horse knows the way” might not be quite right, but it conveyed the spirit.

“Hmph, that little thief won’t survive a single move,” Yu Shifei scoffed, her disdain for Chen Bo plain as day.