Chapter 229: We Need To Take Acting Seriously (2)
"This fight...is not going to happen."
Liu Hong shook his head. I doubt that Su Yu would be able to take out something of equal value. He could agree with Zheng Yunhui's previous proposal of adding a martial weapon and martial technique to the bet, but those things were not equal in value with the Skybreak Technique. Furthermore, none of them were truly that useful for Su Yu.
"Divine blood essence..."
Liu Hong sighed. That was a treasure. Unfortunately, he didn't have anything like that in his possession.
The two kids continued arguing. After a while, Zheng Yunhui impatiently said, "You told me to steal something from my home. Can't you do the same? Your teacher is in seclusion, right? You're the only person left in the Wentan Research Center. Don't tell me there is not a single treasure in such a big research center? You're confident you can win, right? In that case, put something that is really valuable down as the stake."
"Research center..."
Su Yu's expression changed repeatedly as he seemed to have thought of something.
Liu Hong was getting more and more shocked. The nerves of these two! One wanted to steal the divine blood essence from his family. And the other...seemed to be contemplating stealing from his research center.
Su Yu was different from Zheng Yunhui, who was from the main branch of the Zheng Family. If what he did was exposed, even Bai Feng would not be able to let it slide. At that time, even expelling him would be letting him off lightly. He might even end up with his cultivation base crippled.
"Have they gone mad?"
Liu Hong was greatly shocked. Was that kid really going to do it? Should he notify Bai Feng about this? Wait, why should he do that? If...if the kid really did manage to steal something that was also useless for him, then...maybe he could try to get it for himself!
Su Yu struggled for a long time before finally saying, "The research center's data can't be leaked or it would be very troublesome. I will be in deep trouble."
Zheng Yunhui was indifferent, "Who's asking for the data? I don't care about some stupid data. I want things like blood essence and willpower text. Don't tell me your multiple character faction is so poor that you don't have those things anymore."
Yes, they were really that poor. Liu Hong knew that very well.
Su Yu clenched his teeth and said, "I don't have those things. I only have the data. But...if I really use the data as the wager, you're not allowed to leak it. I can provide you with a set of data secretly, but you must not leak it! If you dare to leak it, I'll tell everyone that you stole it from me! At that time, you'll have to face the fury of my grandteacher."
Liu Hong couldn't believe what he was hearing. These kids were crazy. For the sake of a minor match, they were escalating the value of their bets to insane levels.
"What data?" Zheng Yunhui frowned. "Not all data are valuable."
"The data is related to the research of blood essence abilities. It concerns the blood essence abilities at the Skysoar Realm, allowing Infinite Strength cultivators to consume blood essence and unleash the combat strength of Skysoar cultivators. Of course, it's not perfect yet. I can only provide you with a part of the data. I know where the data is being kept. Also, if I'm taking this out, a drop of your blood essence won't be enough. You need to take out 10 drops to match the value of my data!"
"Fuck off!"
"Eight drops. If you disagree, forget it. Do whatever you want."
Su Yu started walking away again.
Zheng Yunhui frowned. This time, he did not chase after Su Yu. Instead, he muttered, "Is that thing even valuable? He wants eight drops of blood essence for it? Dream on."
Zheng Yunhui stood there in deep thought, looking like he was wondering if the data was really that valuable. Meanwhile, Liu Hong was going crazy. He really wanted to run over and tell the kid to agree. Eight drops of blood essence? That was nothing! What a fool!
Sure, Su Yu had assigned a rather high price for the data by asking for 10 drops of blood essence. But even that was nothing compared to the true value of the data. Hong Tan's faction had probably spent millions of merit points for this research. And 10 drops of divine blood essence would only have a value of 10,000 to 20,000 merit points.
Meanwhile, the data's value could not only be measured by the resources that had been used to produce it. The amount of effort a Mountainsea expert had put on it for decades had to be taken into consideration as well.
"Damn that kid! Damn these two lunatics! Holy shit! If Bai Feng is willing to make a bet like this with me, I can even sell my own organs to accept the bet!"
Liu Hong's agitation didn't last long. The entire bet did not seem to have anything to do with him.
"Should I raid them and take everything for myself? No, if that happens, the two kids might really spread rumors that they were robbed. That would get me in a lot of trouble. Only if they lose their bet to the other party from the match would they stay silent about it."
Numerous thoughts surfaced in Liu Hong's mind. His first thought was to raid and seize everything for himself since the two would definitely have an unsanctioned private match considering the contents of their bet.
He might really succeed in that. But if he did that, he would need to leave the academy after.
"Will they stay silent if I take everything?"
Liu Hong sank into thought. He was still confident that the match would still happen. As long as Zheng Yunhui found out about the value of the data, he would agree.
"No, that won't work. Su Yu might not dare to say anything, but after losing the blood essence, Zheng Yunhui would only need to endure some scolding from his family. And he would then expose everything. What if I wait until Zheng Yunhui gets the data before taking it from him? No, that still won't work...What if I offer to buy from Su Yu?"
This was tempting. Su Yu would be gutsy enough to sell it if he was gutsy enough to use that as the stake in the match.
"No...he won't sell it."
Suddenly, Liu Hong realized something. Su Yu wouldn't agree to sell the data as he was confident he would win. That was the only reason he was offering to use the data as the stake.
Su Yu was no fool. If he sold the data, it was only a matter of time before he was exposed. That would be the same as ruining his own future.
"He is confident he can win. He has never considered losing the data. He is only aiming to get the blood essence for free...Can he win?"
Liu Hong looked at Su Yu. The kid had reached the fifth-stage Great Strength Realm. That was quite good for a student. With 10 more acupoints, Su Yu could reach the sixth-stage. His cultivation speed was truly too fast. He might really be able to reach the sixth-stage before the match. That way, he would have a lot more confidence in winning.
"This kid...is trying to feign weakness and swallow Zheng Yunhui up! If he wins, he will get the blood essence. As for losing...Zheng Yunhui was still under the impression that he would face a fourth-stage Great Strength cultivator. He would probably underestimate this opponent and end up in a disadvantageous position."
Liu Hong kept thinking. He also wondered if this was a scam by Su Yu using some fake data? That could happen. Sure, Zheng Yunhui was no fool and would definitely inspect the data. But things like research data weren't easy to verify.
"It won't be easy to verify. But the chances of Su Yu taking out some fake data won't be too high, right? After all, he is confident in winning. There is no need to risk exposing himself and losing the chance to win some blood essence..."
Thinking about all that was giving Liu Hong a headache. But he was also very tempted. The bet of two kids below the Infinite Strength Realm had reached a sum of over 10,000 merit points. To be precise, they were betting with treasures that even money couldn't buy. It was only natural that Liu Hong would be so tempted.
"I'll need to wait and observe more..."
Liu Hong decided to wait a bit. He was going to pay more attention to the two kids.
On the next day, he concluded that the two had finally reached an agreement. That day, Zheng Yunhui had not looked for Su Yu. Su Yu had also ignored Zheng Yunhui. The two acted like their previous conflict had never happened.
Zheng Yunhui had also stopped talking about challenging Wu Jia. Some people guessed that Su Yu might have returned the text. But Liu Hong knew that Su Yu had definitely not done that. Both of them must be maintaining their silence for a different reason.
...
On the third day, nothing happened either.
But on that day, Liu Hong's little brother visited him.
"Big Brother!" Liu He called out loudly. Liu Hong had been having trouble sleeping recently so he answered impatiently, "What is it?"
"Someone from the black market has a message for you."
"What's the message?"
"That person said that he has a set of data that you are definitely interested in. He's asking if you want it..."
Liu Hong said, "Tell him to piss off. I'm not interested."
"Oh." Liu He did not mind. He said, "Any data sold in the black market is most likely fake. I told that fellow to not bother, but he actually has the nerves to ask for 50,000 merit points for the data. He must be crazy."
"What did he ask for?"
"50,000 merit points." Liu He said, "That fellow claimed that you will definitely be interested in the data. He said that he doesn't need the data, but the data would be very valuable for you."
"Who is that person?"
Liu Hong thought of something and hurriedly asked.
"Zheng Yunhui." Liu He said, "That bastard is very cocky. He said that I'm not qualified to discuss this with him. He demanded that you personally talk to him."
"Zheng Yunhui?" Liu Hong was alarmed. "Why hasn't he looked for me personally?"
"He said that he wanted to see if you're actually interested. If not, forget it."
Numerous thoughts surfaced in Liu Hong's mind.
Liu He continued, "He even said that you might not be able to afford it. I saw him talking to Zhou Pingsheng's student as well..."
Liu Hong's eyes flickered. Was he looking for buyers? If that was the case, then Liu Hong's faction would be the perfect choice. The Zheng Family was filled with brutes. The data wouldn't be too useful for them. But if Zheng Yunhui could sell the data for merit points, he would be able to convert the merit points into his strength.
"He's looking for me..."
Liu Hong sank into thought. But why him? He wasn't strong enough. Neither was he rich enough. And he was the same person who had lost Zheng Yunhui's willpower text. Was the kid not afraid that history would repeat?
Liu Hong rapped on the table with his fingers as he thought. Suddenly, Liu He said, "Oh, right, he also said that you might not be able to afford it so he offered to trade it for the things left by Elder Zhao..."
Liu He curiously asked, "Big Brother, just how many willpower texts did Elder Zhao left behind?"
"Scram!" Liu Hong's eyes turned sharp, "Damned bastard! Is that the kind of question you should be asking?" Before Liu Hong's teacher went into seclusion, he had left a lot of things behind. He was afraid that he wouldn't be able to leave the seclusion alive.
Things like willpower texts, myriad race willpower texts, cultivation methods, blood essence, cultural weapons, and so on were left behind. Elder Zhao had been very kind toward Liu Hong, leaving all those things with Liu Hong. However, Liu Hong had never touched those things.
Unless his teacher really ended up dead, those things still didn't belong to him. He would not touch them rashly.
With a cold look in his eyes, Liu Hong snorted.
"Liu He, I'm warning you. You can't covet those things. Scram! Also, tell Zheng Yunhui to scram as well. How dare he set his eyes on me?"
Liu He left fearfully. His elder brother was quite fierce when angry.
"Zheng Yunhui...that kid has quite a big appetite."
He finally understood why that kid was looking for him. That kid had his eyes on Elder Zhao's things.
"But are you so sure you can win?"
Liu Hong sneered. That fellow was already looking for a buyer before even winning. If he really ended up losing, his fate would be miserable.
"But this is still an opportunity for me. Zheng Yunhui must win. If he loses, I won't be able to get anything."
Liu Hong gave it some thought. Perhaps he could sell a piece of information for a good price. Zheng Yunhui was wrong. Su Yu was not a mere fourth-stage Great Strength cultivator.