Tianming's words shocked everyone into silence. They widened their eyes in disbelief as they looked at the 'old fart.' The imperial son and Princess Qing's love story had spanned a hundred thousand years and touched countless hearts, save for the imperial son's own, it seemed. Even Yueling Xi found it hard to fathom! He had never planned to fight Tianming in the first place despite the powerful temptation; he was the predator and would not become prey no matter how tempting it was. Yet, Tianming's actions utterly baffled him.

They shot Tianming and Mu Qingqing wondrous expressions. Even Mu Qingqing's expression was blank; she couldn't stand being stared at by so many people awkwardly like that.

"U-u-um..." Dao Feng couldn't even find words for this situation.

"Imperial Son... Surely you jest?" Yueling Xi said.

"You think I'm joking? You were the one who brought up those conditions. You're telling me you stepped up there to bet your life just to make a joke?" Tianming took the contract from him before he could react.

"Yueling Xi, go!"

"Do you dare? That's Princess Qing we're talking about!"

"That imperial son's going too far. Did someone with his personality really live for a hundred thousand years? He's just as brash as that grandson of mine!"

"Yue Lingxi, deal with him! If he messes up this time, he'll be ruined for good!"

Yueling Xi felt the pressure cooking him alive. He glared at the brainless imperial son and turned his gaze to the confused Mu Qingqing. "Imperial Son, I'm going to emphasize again that if you really lose, the regulations of the Dongshen Arena must be upheld. If not, the sky plunderers will lose any and all trust across the Realm of Chaos. We have an honor system here, so we can't get our way with brute force or threats, understand?"

"Don't waste words. If I wasn't going to follow through my bet, why would I be up here in the first place?" Tianming said.

"But is Princess Qing willing to abide by the results of the bet? You should know that I wouldn't dare to force her to," Yueling Xi said.

Tianming laughed. "It's fine, she'll listen to me. If I lose, I'll let you kiss her."

"Alright!" Yueling Xi finally agreed wholeheartedly, spurred on by the wild crowd. All his former wariness evaporated from the assurances and temptation. He signed a new contract with Tianming while everyone else witnessed it and took out a thousand-meter-long root of flames that let out a mystical glow. It was the Flame Universal Root.

"Imperial Son, we have to take out what we're betting before the duel and place them in the public area for everyone else to watch!" Yueling Xi gave Tianming a provocative look and had the root sent to a place surrounded by a large crowd.

"Fine." Tianming turned to Mu Qingqing and said, "Wifey, will you walk there on your own accord or do you want me to drag you there?"

"You're sick!" No matter how well tempered she was, even she couldn't stand to be in that situation. Still, she still abided by what he said and stood next to the Flame Universal Root. For the first time ever, Princess Qing of Nullity was used as a bet in the Dongshen Arena. Many people called their friends over to join the fray.

"Step on the platform!" the crowd called. Tianming and Yueling Xi followed suit. This was a place where countless lost their lives. As such, a sinister aura surrounded it.

"Fight! Fight!" The spectators were hungry for excitement, and they would be fed. Dao Feng hugged his wife tightly, both of them tearing up nonstop.

"Imperial Son..." Qin Yan looked incredibly apologetic.

"We have to trust him!" Dao Feng said passionately.

"Okay... I just pity Princess Qing," Qin Yan said in helpless resignation.

"The Imperial son is a passionate and decisive person. Princess Qing must understand why he feels he can do this," Dao Feng said. From his view, as long as Tianming was confident enough, taking this risk wasn't unreasonable.

But before things could unfurl further, a group of seniors arrived after hearing about the commotion. A white-robed middle-aged man among them looked at the situation and asked, "Has the contract been signed?"

"It has," someone answered.

The middle-aged man's expression turned odd, before he spoke in a clear voice, "Imperial Son, apologies for my misbehaving son for causing you trouble."

"Who might you be?" Tianming asked.

"Yueling Momo, at your service. I am the host of Godly Sands and I am from Yueling Starcage."

"Your name's rather cute, isn't it?" 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"The imperial son sure has a way with humor. I do believe that using Princess Qing as a betting chip is rather brash. No matter the result of the duel, it won't do any good for your reputation. People might criticize Godly Sands for even allowing such a bet to be made. That's why, in both our interests, I would like to present the Flame Universal Root to you as a gift on behalf of Godly Sands. Do you think this would be appropriate, Imperial Son?"

"Dad, no!" Yueling Xi cried.

"Shut up!" Yueling Momo snapped. His reasoning was sound. As far as the seniors were concerned, allowing Tianming to use Mu Qingqing as a betting chip was going too far, especially considering the fact that Tianming was the one who held true seniority over them. Godly Sands could easily spare a Flame Universal Root, and Tianming had already ruined his reputation on his own accord by accepting the bet, which already worked in their favor. So, there was no need for there to be a fight at all. Yueling Momo was an old fox indeed.

What he didn't expect was Tianming's answer. "If contracts can be annulled so easily, wouldn't this put your shitty arena out of business? If you don't want to run the betting ring properly, let me do it!"

People were shocked that Tianming didn't just walk off with a free gift. Then again, if Tianming didn't fight despite putting his word on it, his reputation would suffer even more. If he fought and won, he could at least recover some of it.

Yueling Momo shook his head and sighed. "Since that's the case, forgive my son's misbehavior. I hope you will tolerate him."

"Forget it and stop pretending. Shut your mouth and open your eyes."