"Someone's going to participate in a life-and-death challenge?"

The news spread like a plague through the martial artist circles of Iron City. On every street and in every alley, people were discussing who this fearless person could be, especially considering that up until now, the success rate of the life-and-death challenges was zero. This also meant the death rate had reached a terrifying 100%.

"This is interesting. Our Iron City's challenge is said to be the most difficult. In this area near the border, there are mountains all around, so getting some fierce Warcraft is pretty easy."

"Wasn't that unlucky guy last time unable to even pass the second stage before he kicked the bucket?"

"That fool didn't even have a decent martial arts skill but still dared to challenge the life-and-death battle. Wasn't it just a joke? At the time, I even bet he could pass the second round, and I lost big time."

"This time's challenger seems to have some ability," Zhang Menglong's relevant information was also released after inspection. "God-breaking Peak, looks much better than that last fool."

"Only in his forties? How is that possible? Their equipment must be malfunctioning, right? When did a God-breaking Peak in their forties ever appear on the Stigma Continent?"

"Who knows? But if this news is true, then this challenger seems quite unfathomable. I'm planning to bet he'll survive at least four rounds!"

"You really dare to bet! This realm is the hardest to win bets on. If the Giant Blade Martial Battle Arena pulls some tricks and directly throws in a Void Transformation Realm Warcraft, do you think that kid could challenge beyond his level?"

"True, they would do anything to make money at the Giant Blade Martial Battle Arena!"

...

Amidst the surrounding buzz of martial artists, Zhang Menglong sat in a restaurant, his ears constantly gathering the surrounding information. After all, besides the basic rules, he knew very little about this life-and-death challenge.

"Kid, did you hear? The Giant Blade Martial Battle Arena only cares about profits. If you win too much and cause them a loss, they might do anything. You might be able to explode with fifty times your combat power, but at most, you could only take down a First Realm Warcraft, right?"

"No worries, let them be strong. I treat them as a melon peel!" Zhang Menglong was unconcerned about any tricks they might pull. No matter what they did, with the Super God Academy behind him, he couldn't lose.

The only thing he cared about was how much prize money he could win. Observing the discussions and atmosphere around him, this life-and-death challenge seemed even more captivating than the World Cup. Likely, no martial artist in Iron City would miss it. Wealth was mostly concentrated among martial artists, and even if only half of them placed bets, the prizes would likely reach astronomical figures.

"Indeed, who would expect a martial art with a 50-fold increase?" Xiao Bai said, placing a Soul Core in his mouth. "For an average martial artist, a skill with two or three times the burst power is impressive. If they underestimate you, they might lose heavily this time."

"Alright, the challenge is tomorrow. Let's open an account first. Otherwise, when you win a big sum, there might be nowhere to store it."

...

The on-site tickets for the life-and-death challenge sold out in less than 10 seconds after going on sale. Their prices were driven up by scalpers by an unknown number of times. Even the online viewing slots reached the price of 200 Sacred Gold per seat, with more than 1.6 billion slots made available.

Understandably, Iron City has a permanent population of around 2 billion. Just from the viewing rights, the Giant Blade Martial Battle Arena made a huge profit.

The prize pool kept accumulating, and in the Iron City Giant Blade Martial Battle Arena, this figure was open and transparent for all to see.

Three hours before the challenge began, the prize pool had already reached an astronomical number.

With billions of martial artists, some might only put in tens of millions of Sacred Gold. The more affluent ones threw in hundreds of thousands or even millions, because winning meant several times the return. No era or world lacks gamblers.

The amount bet also related to Zhang Menglong's prize. If he could win this life-and-death challenge, he would instantly go from a pauper to the richest person in Iron City!

The challenge hadn't even begun, but martial artists online and offline were already engaged in fervent discussions.

"This time the odds aren't favorable. The odds for winning the first round are only 1.08. It seems the organizers have a lot of confidence in his ability!"

"True, winning the second round is only 1.22. The prize for the first round last time was nearly 1.3!"

"But take a closer look at these odds. The odds for rounds 1 to 3 aren't high. Winning all three is less than 1.5 odds, but if he wins the fourth round, it suddenly jumps to 2.15, suggesting the organizers believe his Evaluation lies in passing the third battle."

"Goodness, this is clearly giving us a multiple-choice question. Do you dare to bet on the fourth round? Fortune favors the bold!"

"Hahaha, I don't have the courage. I trust the keen eye of the Giant Blade Martial Battle Arena. After all, they have a Void Transformation Realm martial artist overseeing it. Their odds are the result of repeated evaluations, and they aren't optimistic. We shouldn't doubt them."

"True, but this time I plan to take a gamble. I invested 100,000 Xuan Gold, betting he can pass the fourth round!"

"Then wouldn't it be better to bet he dies in the fifth round?"

"What if he wins the fifth round? Then I'd be at a huge loss."

"Hahaha, the organizers don't believe he can pass the fourth round, and you think he can pass the fifth?"

...

"You damn boy, it seems the Giant Blade Martial Battle Arena isn't very optimistic about your strength!" Xiao Bai sneered sarcastically.

"That's because they're blinded," Zhang Menglong said. "If I had some money, I'd bet on myself to win them all. Winning eight battles has odds of over 17,000 times. Wouldn't that be insanely satisfying?"

"Indeed, some people do such things," Xiao Bai glanced at the prize pool, "12 smart ones bought it!"

"Of them, 11 probably did it just for fun, just a few thousand Sacred Gold. Even if you really won everything, it wouldn't be much. This prize pool was long enough to cover these losses... Wait! Who's this big brain!"

Xiao Bai's expression suddenly turned startled, "Kid, someone actually bet on you to win and put in 2 million Sacred Gold! Is he mad?"

Even Xiao Bai seemed to have little confidence in Zhang Menglong winning eight rounds in a row.

"Hahaha, then I can only congratulate this brother on earning big!" Zhang Menglong said, "Is this a gift from above for those with keen insight?"

...

"It's over, it's over!" In the City Lord's Mansion of Iron City, a chubby teenager fumbled nervously with the equipment, "A slip of the hand, how did I end up betting on winning all eight rounds? 2 million Sacred Gold, that's my New Year's money saved up over the years!"

[Ding! Bet completed, funds cannot be withdrawn until the match ends!]

"The Giant Blade Martial Battle Arena is simply a heartless merchant!" The chubby boy's face was full of pain and helplessness. Although the odds were frighteningly high, no one had ever passed all eight rounds. Even those who passed five rounds were as rare as phoenix feathers. This money was 100% going to charity.

The boy clasped his hands in prayer, "Oh heavens, ancient gods and buddhas, you must bless that guy named Zhang Menglong to win eight matches. If you do show a miracle, I swear not to eat meat or touch women for ten years!"

...