Jin Tianlu let out a sigh of relief only after the Wu Family's young master had walked off.

"You've been in Qilan City for years—don't tell me you still don't know the Wu Family?"

Fang Hao replied, "I know. They're the number one clan in the city, even closely tied with the City Lord's Mansion."

"That's not all. The Wu family also has ties with a major family in one of the great cities. In Qilan, they're sometimes even more influential than the City Lord himself," Jin Tianlu said in a hushed tone.

While they spoke, the Wu family's young master—Wu Yuqi—had already stepped onto a nearby dueling platform.

"Young Master Wu, I—"

"Shut it."

His opponent didn't even get to finish a sentence before Wu Yuqi slapped him to death.

Everyone watching was stunned, but no one dared say a word.

Jin Tianlu quickly whispered to Fang Hao, "If you're unlucky and get paired with Wu Yuqi, don't even bother going up. Just surrender immediately."

"What's his cultivation level?" Fang Hao asked, curious.

"Wu Yuqi is already at the third tier of the Dharma Phase Realm. And on top of that, he has a unique physique. Top five? Practically guaranteed. He's just going through the motions at this point," Jin Tianlu said.

If this weren't such a major event like the Hundred City Grand Tournament, Wu Yuqi wouldn't even need to participate in this preliminary round.

Although the venue was packed, most people were just here to watch—or to place bets at the gambling stalls.

Only a fraction were actually participants, and nearly all of them were at the Heavenly Palace Realm, with only a few rare exceptions at the Dharma Phase level.

Wu Yuqi's opponent had been at the fifth tier of the Heavenly Palace Realm.

Unfortunately, he ran into Wu Yuqi. Not only was he eliminated in the first round, he didn't surrender fast enough—and got killed instantly.

"Dharma Phase, third tier…"

Fang Hao muttered to himself. Even if Wu Yuqi didn't have a special physique, Fang Hao wouldn't stand a chance at his current level.

After a while, it was finally Fang Hao's turn.

After verifying his bone age, his name was registered and his opponent randomly assigned.

Unless someone had connections or had pulled strings in advance, most matchups were randomly generated.

How many rounds you passed depended largely on luck.

But to make it into the top five, you had to rely on strength.

Even if someone got weak opponents every round, once they left Qilan and faced the geniuses of other cities, a poor showing would only bring shame to Qilan City.

Many gambling houses had set up odds on the matches—even the City Lord's office had its own betting stalls.

Most spectators were here to place bets.

When Fang Hao's matchup was posted, so were his odds.

Jin Tianlu rushed to check the board and turned back to Fang Hao, looking serious.

"Your opponent's at the seventh tier of the Heavenly Palace Realm. Do you think you can win?"

Cross-realm fights weren't unheard of, but since no one knew either fighter, odds were based purely on cultivation level—and Fang Hao's looked grim.

Fang Hao chuckled, "You want to bet?"

Jin Tianlu nodded, "That's why I'm here. Watching kids fight isn't as fun as listening to songs at the brothel."

"No problem. Place a bet for me too," Fang Hao said.

Jin Tianlu's eyes lit up with excitement.

If Fang Hao wanted to bet on himself, he must be confident—that meant the odds were in their favor.

Fang Hao's current payout was 4-to-1—a huge return.

"How much do you want to bet?" Jin Tianlu asked.

"One hundred premium-grade spirit stones," Fang Hao offered.

"…What?"

Jin Tianlu gawked.

"Brother, are you insanely confident or just insanely rich?"

Premium-grade spirit stones were no joke. Even Jin Tianlu would hesitate to throw around that much.

But Fang Hao looked like he'd just dropped a few mid-grade ones.

Either he was loaded, or he was utterly sure of victory.

"Is that too much?" Fang Hao asked.

Jin Tianlu came back to his senses, "It's not that… but if you bet that much in the first round, you might attract the bookies' attention."

Fang Hao thought about it and said, "Alright, make it a hundred high-grade spirit stones then."

"Done. I'll match your bet!" said Jin Tianlu.

Fang Hao handed him the stones, and Jin Tianlu went to the City Lord's betting stall to place the wager.

"Good luck, brother. If you win, tonight's brothel music is on me!"

"Don't worry. I'll give it my all," Fang Hao replied.

Naturally, Jin Tianlu had faith. They both had money riding on this.

Only someone like Wu Yuqi could pick his opponent and when to start.

Normally, once matched, you had to wait two incense sticks' worth of time before your match began.

This buffer wasn't to help fighters rest or adjust—it was to give spectators time to place bets and maximize profit for the gambling houses.

Once the time had passed, Fang Hao and his opponent stepped onto the arena.

The floating platform was vast—plenty of space even for Dharma Phase cultivators to unleash their full strength.

Fang Hao's opponent wore a pale blue robe, was thin and sallow-faced, exuding a gloomy, venomous aura—like a snake in hiding, ready to strike at any moment.

The man stood with hands behind his back and gave a cold grin.

"I hear your friend placed two hundred high-grade stones on you to win. I've no idea where your confidence comes from."

"Please," Fang Hao said calmly, clearly uninterested in small talk.

The blue-robed man sneered.

"So eager to die? Fine, I'll help you along."

As soon as he finished speaking, he vanished.

He reappeared above Fang Hao, his gray whip slicing through the air like a venomous serpent, shrieking as it shot down at him.

Fang Hao narrowly dodged at the last second, adopting the posture of someone barely holding on.

Boom!!

The whip cracked against the arena floor, sending a dull shockwave outward.

Had this not been a specially reinforced platform, it would've reduced a small mountain to dust.

The man sneered, "Hmph. You won't get that lucky again."

Fang Hao quickly drew his weapon, fending off the attacks with great caution, as if he were on the back foot.

His acting was decent—he could have ended the fight instantly, but chose to hold back.

He feigned weakness so that in future rounds, he could bet on himself again with high odds and maximize his profit.

After all, easy spirit stones shouldn't be left on the table, especially since Jin Tianlu was placing the bets. It had nothing to do with him directly.

Watching Fang Hao struggle, Jin Tianlu began to feel puzzled.

"Weird. He was so confident earlier, but now he doesn't seem very impressive…"

But after a while, he noticed something: Fang Hao had taken no hits and hadn't lost ground once.

Jin Tianlu's eyes lit up.

"Ohhh! I get it now! This brat's deliberately holding back! He wants to maintain those high odds and rake in the profits!"

"Haha! I love this move!"

To outsiders, Fang Hao looked like he was barely holding on—on the verge of defeat.

But only Jin Tianlu understood—he was faking it.

Even the opponent hadn't caught on. He just thought Fang Hao had good luck and slippery movements, and it was starting to get under his skin.

How could he not have taken out a junior one tier below him by now?

Frustration crept in, and with it—mistakes.

Fang Hao's eyes gleamed. His sword shot forward, left hand following with a powerful palm strike.

Boom!!

Their weapons clashed with a deafening roar—Fang Hao's palm struck the man squarely in the chest.

"Pffft…"

Even with internal armor, the blue-robed cultivator spat blood from the force.

Fang Hao pressed the attack, forcing his opponent backward with a flurry of strikes.

Seeing that he couldn't hold on any longer, and burning with humiliation and anger, the blue-robed man finally leapt off the platform to save his life.

"Thanks for the match," Fang Hao cupped his fists politely before jumping down himself.

The blue-robed cultivator's face flushed red—whether from injury or embarrassment, it was hard to say.

Jin Tianlu rushed up with a broad grin.

"Beautifully done, brother!"

His praise wasn't just for Fang Hao's strength, but for his sharp mind.

That bit of acting would help them both profit even more in the next round.