"How do you want me to help?" You Qingyi asked.
"Lend me some silver, Iâll pay you back today."
"How much do you need, will a thousand taels suffice?" You Qingyi noticed Lou Yi used the word âlendâ, but she didnât mind.
As long as she could repay the life-saving favor, even if she had to give it to Lou Yi, she wouldnât hesitate for a moment.
"Thatâs enough." Lou Yi smiled.
"Consider it a gift, no need to repay." You Qingyi said lightly.
"That wonât do, I said lend, so itâs a loan." Lou Yi shook his head.
With the thousand taels of silver borrowed from You Qingyi, Lou Yi once again returned to the peak of Disciple Peak.
On-site, there were already two Lifebound Corpses standing in the circle, facing each other less than five feet apart.
One was wearing a simple black cloth robe, while the other was dressed in an expensive white brocade robe.
The older disciple in charge of the scene said: "The one in black is Chen Axinâs Lifebound Corpse, unearthed eleven years ago.
The one in white is Feng Dabaoâs Lifebound Corpse, unearthed nine years ago.
Both have signed a Dao Heart Oath, no deceit is allowed.
The usual rule, bet on Chen Axinâs Lifebound Corpse to win, place the silver on the left plate. Bet on Feng Dabaoâs Lifebound Corpse to win, place the silver on the right plate.
After the outcome is decided, apart from the ten percent cut taken by the alliance, the remaining money is divided according to the initial proportion of the bet on silver coins.
Those who bet more get more, those who bet less get less."
After the older discipleâs introduction, the crowd didnât move for a moment.
Everyone was closely observing the two Lifebound Corpses, looking east and west, as if trying to discern something.
In Lou Yiâs ears, the discussions around continued:
"Chen Axin has been in the sect for eleven years, his Lifebound Corpseâs refining and nurturing time is longer, and the rapport should be better, logically, it should be stronger."
"Thatâs not necessarily true, Feng Dabaoâs talent is stronger, and his family background is quite well-off, I think the likelihood of him winning is higher."
"I think we can judge from the appearance and aura of these two corpses. Feng Dabaoâs Spirit Corpse, its color is slightly dark, clearly itâs not far from being an Iron Corpse..."
Before long, most people made their decisions and went up to place their silver on the wooden plates.
Lou Yi observed that fewer people chose Chen Axin to win, while more chose Feng Dabao.
So, he leisurely went forward.
He placed the thousand taels of silver borrowed from You Qingyi entirely on the plate representing Chen Axinâs win.
"Wow, isnât that eight hundred or a thousand taels?" someone exclaimed.
"This junior brother is quite wealthy, heâs placed the largest bet so far, if he wins, heâll make the most money."
After Lou Yi placed his bet, everyone turned their gaze to the center of the field, where the two Spirit Corpses had already begun to engage each other.
Outside the circle, Chen Axin and Feng Dabao, the two owners, were concentrating intensely on communicating with the Spirit Corpses.
Although Spirit Corpses have a high degree of independence, at crucial moments the ownerâs guidance can make a decisive difference.
âWham wham wham!â
âClang clang clang!â
âBang bang bang!â
The Spirit Corpses fought barehanded, without weapons.
Since their realm was close to the Iron Corpse level, their hardness was astonishing, each collision producing metallic, piercing ringing sounds.
Lou Yi stayed aside, carefully observing the exchange between the two Lifebound Corpses.
Grass Corpse, Spirit Corpse, Iron Corpse, Copper Corpse, Silver Corpse... these are the realm divisions of Lifebound Corpses in the Corpse-Driving Sect.
They were both at the Spirit Corpse level, not far from being Iron Corpses, with incredible speed.
Every move they made left only a faint afterimage, their speed surpassing that of an average Full Cycle Martial Artist.
As for their moves, they were simpler.
Mostly consisting of straight punches, hook punches, jumps, and straight kicks â not much variety, relying purely on speed and strength.
However, after observing for a while, Lou Yi noticed that after each collision, the Spirit Corpsesâ movements became slightly uncoordinated.
This uncoordination was hard for anyone below the Martial Artist level to detect, but at the Martial Artist level and above, it could be noticed with careful attention.
Itâs like a machine that slightly stalls after running for a long time.
If these two Spirit Corpses were to face off with an ordinary Martial Artist, it would be difficult to gain the upper hand.
Of course, because Spirit Corpses are not human, they donât have the usual weak points of normal humans.
Itâs also not easy for a Martial Artist to completely kill them.
At the Iron Corpse level, they would become immune to blades and bullets, with immense strength, and fighting a Martial Artist would be even tougher.
Even if an Iron Corpse couldnât find a Martial Artistâs weakness for a while, as long as it seized one opportunity, it could be a catastrophic disaster for a Martial Artist.
âHuman Martial Artists are too fragile compared to these mystical creatures like Iron Corpses,â Lou Yi thought.
On the field, the battle between the two Lifebound Corpses continued.
âThud thud thud!â
Feng Dabaoâs Lifebound Corpse, due to its realm being closer to the Iron Corpse level and seemingly having a higher control level,
was driving Chen Axinâs Spirit Corpse back step by step, almost forcing it out of the circle.
At this critical moment, Lou Yiâs Corpse Control Technique and Talent Control worked in tandem, causing Feng Dabaoâs Lifebound Corpse to suddenly throw a punch off course, exposing a major flaw.
Upon seeing this, Chen Axinâs eyes lit up, urgently guiding his Spirit Corpse into a counterattack.
It swiftly maneuvered to the side of the opposing Spirit Corpse, delivering a direct kick squarely to its chest!
âBoom!â
Feng Dabaoâs Spirit Corpse flew backward, steadying itself upon landing, but it had already fallen outside the circle.
"Damn it, were you putting on a show for me?"
"Thereâs collusion, thereâs conspiracy, bloody hell, give back the silver!"
"Hahaha, I made it big! I never thought that a shaky hand would lead to this perk!"
Due to Chen Axinâs Spirit Corpseâs comeback victory, an unexpected result, the field erupted with curses.
Most people had bet on Feng Dabao to win, and after the result, these people lost their shirts.
"Deliberately setting up a scam for us, Feng Dabao, damn you, may you never have a son!"
The desperate losers had already begun hurling insults at Feng Dabao.
Feng Dabao, feeling dejected after the defeat and fearing the angry crowd, hurriedly turned away and left.
"Chen Axin wins, those who bet on him, come collect your winnings. More bets mean more gains, fewer bets mean less," the middle-aged male disciple in a deep blue Daoist Robe announced with a smile.
As the bookmaker, regardless of who lost or won, he only collected the rake, always staying on the winning side.
The young man behind him carried a black round wooden tray full of silver ingots and gold leaves, stepping forward to distribute the silver.
Lou Yi and the other winners lined up, coming up one by one to collect their principal and winnings.
The middle-aged male disciple held a blue booklet recording the details of the principals, starting to call names.
"Lou Yi, principal of one thousand taels, winnings of nine hundred taels." The middle-aged male disciple apparently had an exceptionally high computation skill.
In just a few brief breaths, he calculated Lou Yiâs winnings.
"Wang Han, principal of five hundred taels, winnings of four hundred and fifty taels."
Lou Yi placed the silver in his pocket, quietly waiting for the next round.
He easily won two more times afterwards, each time making four to five hundred taels in winnings.
Then he decisively withdrew.
âSteady and continuous, steady and continuous,â Lou Yi kept reminding himself.
...