Chapter 185: Playing the Pig to Eat the Tiger

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“Yuer, you have been blinded by prejudice.” Guan Fei, the Righteous and High-Minded, shook his head and smiled. His insight was extremely sharp. Although Lei Qing was currently forced into a dangerous situation, his steps were steady, and there was no trace of panic in his eyes. Clearly, he still possessed strong confidence in this battle.

Seeing that his niece still did not believe him, Guan Fei smiled and said: “If I remember correctly, this Young General Lei Qing comes from the Tianlan Lei Family. Historically, the Lei Family once led the way; although they seem to have declined somewhat in the last few hundred years. However, within the entire clan, there are usually two or three Gold-rank experts existing side by side. The Lei Family’s Heavenly Thunder Combat Code has always been famous for being swift, domineering, and unstoppable. But what do you see in Lei Qing?”

“I saw him constantly defending; he was obviously suppressed by Wan Rui’s fast attacks.” Zhu Yuer’s eyes paused slightly, but she still insisted on her point of view: “No matter how powerful the Combat Code is, it needs someone to execute it. In my opinion, this Lei Qing is just an embroidered pillow—good-looking but useless. On the other hand, I looked down on Wan Rui before; I didn’t expect his basics to be so solid. His swordsmanship flows like moving clouds and flowing water.”

“Heh heh, this Wan Rui is indeed not bad; he has good aptitude and is willing to work hard. If one wants to show off in front of others, one must endure hardship behind their back.” Guan Fei slightly agreed with some of Zhu Yuer’s words, but then changed his tone and said: “It’s a pity he picked the wrong opponent to show off against. Otherwise, in today’s battle, he could have made a name for himself.”

As if to confirm Guan Fei’s judgment, Lei Qing moved. With a few clangs, after blocking Wan Rui’s tide-like combo with a very reluctant posture, during the last block, the Heavenly Thunder Fighting Qi around his body secretly erupted. Following his arm and Lian Zhan, he fiercely launched a sneak attack on Wan Rui.

Wan Rui, who had never been attacked by Lei Qing’s Fighting Qi in return before, suddenly felt a shock in the tiger’s mouth of his hand, his arm went numb, and a current of electricity rushed straight through his whole body. Before this, Wan Rui had been full of high spirits, thinking that in a few more moves, he could defeat Lei Qing and establish his own reputation by stepping on Lei Qing’s body.

While feeling smug in his heart, he was caught off guard by this secret force. He hurriedly circulated his Fighting Qi to resist and expel the electric current.

But it was already too late; his body stiffened slightly, and his movements paused.

When masters fight, the difference is often just a hair’s breadth. Moreover, Lei Qing’s actual strength was probably far above Wan Rui. Immediately, Lei Qing did not use a ruthless move; he just swept with his sword, knocking away Wan Rui’s long sword, and raised his leg to deliver a fierce kick.

The hard leather boot kicked fiercely into his lower abdomen.

Boom~ Wan Rui was hit as if by a giant hammer. He staggered back six or seven steps, his internal organs churning, and a mouthful of blood almost sprayed out.

But before he could steady his body, Lei Qing’s figure flashed like a cheetah, leaving a faint shadow. He turned his body sideways, and his shoulder fiercely slammed into Wan Rui’s chest.

Crash~ The huge shock force sent Wan Rui flying into the air. He flew a full three or four zhang before falling outside the arena. As his butt hit the ground, he could no longer control himself and spat out a mouthful of blood.

As if this battle had exhausted all of Lei Qing’s Fighting Qi, he was covered in sweat, his face was a bit pale, and he was panting violently. He closed his eyes slightly and used deep breathing to recover his strength as soon as possible.

Wan Rui’s face was ashen. He stood up shakily, staring at Lei Qing on the stage in disbelief, filled with unwillingness in his heart. Victory was clearly within reach, and this kid named Lei had been forced into danger by him and could barely parry. Unexpectedly, this Lei Qing was so cunning; he held back until he lost his vigilance due to complacency, then launched a sneak attack in one fell swoop, finally knocking him off the arena and causing him to fall short at the last moment.

Looking at Lei Qing’s appearance again, sweat was popping out, he was panting heavily, and he seemed completely exhausted. This made Wan Rui, who was only half a step away from victory, feel annoyed and regretful. A pent-up breath in his heart exploded, and he could no longer hold it back. With a puff, he spat out another mouthful of blood. So close, just so close. That damned Lei Qing, that cunning bastard. I could have won against him; my strength is clearly above his.

Actually, it wasn’t just Wan Rui; the vast majority of people present had the same thought as Wan Rui. This Young General Lei Qing, in terms of real strength, was probably not Wan Rui’s opponent. It was just that he had a smart brain and used treacherous tactics.

Of course, no matter how sinister the means or how cunning the tactics, a victory was a victory.

Only Zuo Qianqian and Guan Fei revealed different smiles. Zuo Qianqian knew Lei Qing’s strength very well; Brother Lei didn’t usually fight like this. His strength should far surpass that kid named Wan. Doing this was just a tactic.

And Guan Fei saw through the essence of Lei Qing’s acting. Until that last collision, his eyes had still been very indifferent. But in the blink of an eye, he started panting violently, making himself look as if his Fighting Qi was exhausted and his stamina was spent.

Obviously, this was a tactic, a tactic of showing weakness to the enemy. It wasn’t aimed at this Wan Rui, but at the Wan Family members after Wan Rui. With his current performance, he probably wouldn’t draw out the top expert among the younger generation of players.

At the very least, it could make the young experts of the Wan Family who came to find fault next underestimate Lei Qing’s strength again.

Others only thought about the battle in front of them, but Lei Qing had already considered that the Wan Family would certainly not let the matter rest.

Guan Fei was a loyal person, but being loyal didn’t mean being a brainless brute. He wouldn’t stupidly think that using tactics and strategies was a sign of incompetence.

After this battle, although Guan Fei hadn’t figured out Lei Qing’s true strength, his fondness for him had actually increased a lot. He thought to himself: Good kid, good calculation. No wonder he could rise to fame in such a short time and establish his own team and power.

It is strange how some people just get along well; no matter what the other party does, they will think about the good side. At this moment, Lei Qing gave Guan Fei the impression of a young hero who had courage, strategy, bravery, and faith. This made Guan Fei even more eager to befriend him.

The same matter, falling into the eyes of the prejudiced Zhu Yuer, turned into a cold snort: “A cunning and insidious villain. No wonder my usually smart cousin suffered such a big loss at his hands.”

“Brother Wan, I won this duel, right?” After regulating his breath for a few moments, Lei Qing’s complexion seemed much better. He cupped his hands towards Wan Rui and said.

“I don’t accept it!” Wan Rui’s face was pale, grief and indignation filled his heart, and he roared angrily.

“Hey, hey, you’re not planning to renege and not admit defeat, are you?” Lei Qing deliberately raised his voice so that everyone could hear this sentence.

The onlooking heroes all turned their gazes towards Wan Rui, waiting to see what he would say. That’s right, Young General Lei Qing did use tactics. But in a martial arts competition, using tactics was a perfectly reasonable thing. It’s fine to not accept it, but not admitting defeat would be a big mistake.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, even though Wan Rui’s face was extremely unsightly, he had to force himself to say: “For this round, I admit defeat. But I don’t accept it; I want to fight you again.”

Lei Qing laughed in his heart. This young man had solid basics and good strength, but he had too little life experience. However, regarding this matter, Lei Qing was also very welcoming. He smiled and said: “Sure, I can fight you again. But first, please follow the bet promise, Brother Wan, and give me that Heart-Cleansing Pendant.”

At the mention of the Heart-Cleansing Pendant, Wan Rui’s liver-colored face instantly turned pale. It seemed that only at this moment did he remember that the Heart-Cleansing Pendant was lent to him by the Clan Head from the treasury for his use. Once he lost it to Lei Qing, the consequences would be unimaginable.

His lips were blue, and his pale face trembled as he said: “Lei Qing, let me owe you for now. I will repay you after I gather ten thousand gold coins.”

“No way? You clearly bet with the Heart-Cleansing Pendant, and that’s why I put up my Spatial Ring to bet against you. Otherwise, did you think I couldn’t produce ten thousand gold coins?” Lei Qing deliberately emphasized the words Spatial Ring. He turned around and cupped his hands to the surroundings: “The events from just now were seen by all the seniors and brothers here, right? Please help everyone judge and uphold justice.”

Those who could be treated as honored guests of Xianke Ju were mostly people with status. Seeing that Wan Rui seemed to be showing signs of reneging, they immediately started a noisy uproar of accusation.

Words of cold sneers or angry curses hit Wan Rui until he could not parry them. He wished he could find a hole in the ground to crawl into and end it.

“Kid of the Wan Family, stop dawdling. Quickly hand the Heart-Cleansing Pendant to Lei Qing.” Guan Fei also glared and said angrily: “If you dare to renege, I will immediately go find your Clan Head to reason with him.”

Wan Rui shivered. He tremblingly took out the Heart-Cleansing Pendant and handed it to Steward Wu. Steward Wu also had a pale face, revealing a helpless smile. He handed the item to Lei Qing and whispered: “Please keep it safe, Young General. But don’t lose it. Perhaps someone from our family will want to win it back.”

“That also depends on whether I’m willing to bet or not, right?” Lei Qing chuckled and put away the Heart-Cleansing Pendant. He cupped his hands to everyone again and smiled: “Thank you, seniors and brothers, for upholding justice. If everyone has free time, you can go to Yehe Town in the Northwest to find me. I will definitely entertain you all fully.”

Lei Qing also quite liked this small treasure, the Heart-Cleansing Pendant. Firstly, he could use it himself usually to increase his state of calmness. Secondly, he could also lend it to his subordinates at critical moments to help them break through. In any case, it was more valuable than ten thousand gold coins.

“I want to fight you again. If I win, you return the Jade Pendant to me.” Driven to a dead end, Wan Rui had no retreat. He could only harden his scalp and jump onto the arena again. His eyes were fierce, as if he wanted to eat Lei Qing in one bite.

“Sure, I’ll allow you to take out ten thousand gold coins to bet against me. I’m giving you a bargain.” Lei Qing said leisurely.

Ten thousand gold coins—if he could produce that much, why would he have used the Heart-Cleansing Pendant to bet before?

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