Chapter 140: Is He About to Break Through?

Although Bai Feiyu’s defeat seemed inevitable, the disciples of the Guixu Sect naturally hoped that he would continue to extend his streak of brilliance. Even though Bai Feiyu had always been unrestrained and unconventional, it did nothing to diminish their support for him.

However, as things stood, it appeared that Bai Feiyu had no hope of winning this round. After all, the gap between the two sides was far too vast, and Bai Feiyu was fighting across a major cultivation realm.

"Bai Feiyu, why haven't you broken through yet? If you don't do it now, you're going to lose."
"It doesn't matter if you lose, but the problem is that all our money will go down the drain."
"Although I only invested a quarter of my savings this time, the amount is still substantial..."

In the distance, Qian Shuang stared at Bai Feiyu nervously, praying for him to hold on. If he couldn't, the thought of losing so much money made her heart ache. As for whether Bai Feiyu would lose or not, she didn't care; she was only heartbroken over the money.

On the arena stage, Bai Feiyu’s battle with Yue Linglong looked incredibly desperate, but only Bai Feiyu knew that he was merely testing the waters. He had long been ready for a breakthrough; he had simply been suppressing his cultivation to continue fleecing people of their money. Now, he couldn't wait any longer, especially since he had already gathered all the attributes he could possibly extract from this fight.

"Heh, Yue Linglong, you don't really think you have this in the bag, do you?"
"You have no idea that I've been playing cat and mouse with you all this time. Your display of strength is, in my eyes, utterly laughable!"

Bai Feiyu finally decided to stop pretending. I’m laying my cards on the table; I have reached the threshold of a breakthrough.

However, Yue Linglong was left completely bewildered by his words. Had this guy lost his mind? Why was he suddenly spouting nonsense? Truth be told, this was the moment Yue Linglong truly felt the terror of Bai Feiyu—that he could hold his own against her for so long while only at the ninth level of the Haoqi Realm. But she felt that he couldn't sustain this state for much longer. For him to suddenly blurt out such incoherent words made her feel very strange. Could it be that Bai Feiyu couldn't handle the prospect of suffering defeat at the third level of the Shackles Realm and had spiraled into madness? That seemed unlikely, given how heaven-defying he had already proven to be.

Despite these thoughts, Yue Linglong sneered on the surface:

"Haha, Bai Feiyu, don't tell me you're trying to save face by spouting empty threats before your loss?"
"If that’s the case, I can only say you are naive!"
"Even if you are incredibly gifted, in the face of absolute power, you are nothing but an ant. You will never rise above this."
"I am grateful to fate for letting me meet you, giving me the chance to settle this..."
"The people of the Jinguang Sect despise you to the core. This time, I will absolutely not let our elders and disciples down."
"Don't expect me to go easy on you."

Yue Linglong’s mockery was actually an attempt to test him and see if he had truly gone mad. If he was already teetering on the edge, these words were meant to push him into the abyss and drive him completely insane. Although Bai Feiyu was talented, their opposing allegiances meant she would never pity him. If there was a chance to cripple him, she would show no mercy, for being soft-hearted toward an enemy was cruelty to oneself. She understood this well.

"Haha, did everyone see that? Bai Feiyu is finished!"
"Damn it, the kid is finally done for. Hell, I lost so much money on him before!"
"Yue Linglong, we support you! You're the best—crush Bai Feiyu!"

Many spectators began to jeer. For a moment, Yue Linglong’s rather plain appearance seemed to become quite charming to them. Their hatred for Bai Feiyu had reached the point where they wanted to tear him apart. Now that they finally saw a chance to win back their money, how could they let it pass? It was also an opportunity to mock him and vent their pent-up frustration.

Audiences are like this: if you help them win money, you are their god. If you make them lose money, well, they will drown you in their bile. That is something that will never change. Earlier, when Bai Feiyu looked like the weakest one, he had unexpectedly defeated opponent after opponent. If he had higher cultivation, they might have had some confidence, but his weakness made them mistakenly bet on his opponents, only to lose time and time again. It was enough to drive anyone mad. That was why his popularity with the crowd was so abysmal.

"Oh? Is that so? You all think I can't turn this around? Well, I intend to do exactly that!"

Bai Feiyu hooked the corner of his lips into a smile, and in an instant, his entire demeanor changed. Seeing this, many were filled with rage, especially the disciples of the Jinguang Sect. At this moment, they felt as if the entire audience stood with them in loathing Bai Feiyu. Since he was about to lose, this feeling was exhilarating. They refused to believe he could turn the tables.

"Senior Sister, crush him! Make this brat stop pretending!"

The Jinguang Sect disciples began to shout, seeing hope once more. This arena, which had once been the place where their dreams began, had become their nightmare because of Bai Feiyu. Naturally, they held a great deal of resentment.

"Heh!"

After a cold laugh, Bai Feiyu immediately began his breakthrough. In an instant, a cracking sound resonated within his body. A feeling of natural progression, like water overflowing from a channel, surged forth. At that moment, his cultivation finally stepped into the Shackles Realm.

Although it was only the first level of the Shackles Realm, his combat prowess was there for all to see. When many in the crowd witnessed him breaking through at such a moment, they looked as if they had seen a ghost. A chorus of wails and howls erupted from the spectators; Bai Feiyu’s breakthrough meant they had bet on the wrong person again. This time, it was highly likely they would continue to lose money.

The most heartbroken of all were the disciples of the Guixu Sect, who had not bet on Bai Feiyu this time.