Zen had memorized them and could repeat them verbatim.
Master Wen smiled back at him but instantly turned into a serious face. "Don't forget that you hit
Blackrock Peak's disciple Mack in the previous round. They must be holding the grudge against you. I
am afraid Dick is planning to take revenge on you. Please pay attention to your safety," he reminded.
However, his concern did not shake Zen's resolution even the slightest. Instead, he clenched his fists
hard with determination and said, "Master Wen, don't worry about me at all. No matter what, I will try
my best. I may end up being defeated, but it is still better than giving up."
Seeing Zen this determined, Master Wen did not dissuade him any longer. He nodded his head in
consent.
Although Zen had improved a lot in his training, Master Wen could not help but feel worried that Zen's
stubbornness would do him more harm than good. After all, Dick was the most powerful disciple that
Zen would be fighting against. He did not want Zen to invest his all into this one competition and end up
losing his motivation for further cultivation. For Master Wen, there was no need for Zen to rush.
On the other hand, he could not persuade Zen to give up either. However, he had his reservations
about this competition. It was unbelievable to him that Zen could defeat those personal disciples and
the high-grade ones.
'He might not be the strongest, but he is absolutely the most persistent, ' Master Wen pondered. After
going through many competitions, Master Wen knew the pattern clearer than anyone else that the final
winner would be decided not only by his barren strength but also his persistence and resolve. If a
disciple had great strength and unshakeable resolution, he would become unbeatable.
"I'm sorry for worrying too much. You're right. One must absolutely try his best whatever the outcome
will be. And I believe that you will not disappoint yourself," Master Wen encouraged Zen.
Zen nodded and smiled. He finally looked at the stage with his eyes blazing with determination and
walked up to it.
Among the small number of people who had bet on Zen, Zachary was the most nervous one. His eyes
were locked on the Picture Slab as if it would disappear in the blink of an eye.
Just before the competition started, he had placed all his bets on Zen with a total of 1200 cubic
crystals.
Given that Zachary was from a humble and simple family, the amount of his bet was already a big
fortune. So where did he get that amount of cubic crystals? Usually, he would only go to Seven Star
Sword Light Platform once a month for practice because his countable points would not allow him an
extra trip.
But the competition today brought him wealth from the moment he placed his bets on Zen. And since
Zen had won every round, he had already doubled his cubic crystals. From the original two cubic
crystals, he had already made an unimaginable twelve hundred cubic crystals. He did not expect to
earn this much by betting in the competition. But before this, he was disappointed that he didn't get to
participate into All Peaks Competition. But the disappointment had vanished. With the amount he had
already earned, he was now more eager to bet than to participate in the competition.
Now the compensation rate between Zen and Dick was one to nine, which was the highest
compensation rate that he had ever seen. He could see from the huge gap that most people there
placed their bets on Dick instead of Zen.
Choosing Zen instead of Dick in this competition was a big risk. But for Zachary, the risk was worth
taking, so he had placed all his bets on Zen.
"Nine times more, nine times more. Zen, if you defeat Dick this time, I will serve you forever!" Zachary
repeated these words as he folded his arms in front and prayed. If Zen won this round, his cubic
crystals would soar up to ten thousand pieces according to the current compensation rate. That also
meant that he could exchange five thousand points with this many cubic crystals. And with these
points, he would be able to practice more on the Seven Star Sword Light Platform. For Zachary, today
was the day that would define his future life, and he was willing to risk his all in this game.
In the din of the crowd, Zen walked up to the stage.
Zen and Dick both had eleven consecutive wins. But in this round, one of them was doomed to be
defeated and end his consecutive wins.
Dick was already on the stage. Instead of Blackrock Peak's inner disciple robe, Dick was wearing a
blue gown with a jade belt around his waist.
There were no strict requirements for clothes that the competitors should wear in All Peaks
Competition. And the way Dick dressed himself in today was clean and neat that he looked more like a
gentle and intelligent poet than a competitor. There was no sign of crucial killing in his eyes.
"Just admit your defeat," Dick said in a level, toneless voice as he watched Zen walked up to the stage
and stood in front of him.
"Why?" Frowning his brows slightly in ire, Zen questioned.
"Because I am from Blackrock Peak. Since I joined them, my master was nothing but kind and caring to
me. And since you beat Mack the last time, you cannot blame my master if he holds any grudge
against you. He wants me to take revenge on his behalf, so you'd better be prepared," Dick replied, his
voice still low and void of any emotions.
Hearing Dick's explanation, Zen averted his eyes to look at the crowd from Blackrock Peak and saw
Master Yu seating in the center. He could see Master Yu's strong and vindictive eyes flickering with
profound hatred as if it would blast out any minute and burn him. Zen then turned his gaze back at Dick
and smiled contemptuously. "I can see that. But why bother warning me? It would be more interesting
to beat me up than warn me ahead," Zen said, a flame of mockery flickered in his eyes.
Dick sighed and said, "That's not true. The fact that I am telling you this is because I don't think that it's
your fault or Yehudi's. Mack did not behave himself in the first place and hit Yehudi. You hit him just for
the sake of Yehudi and that's kind of a fair deal to me."
Zen was puzzled after hearing Dick's words. He had no idea that his opponent was such a reasonable
man. After a short pause, Zen asked, "But you're still taking revenge on me for your friend Mack, am I
right? Is that what's this competition going to be?"
"Frankly speaking, yes. But it is more of Master Yu's idea than mine. I don't want to lie to you. I am not
fond of Mack either," Dick replied. A grimace of helplessness came over his face.
Indeed, Mack was a cruel and insidious man, and a humble and courteous person like Dick would
never be his friend. Dick was the kind of a person who enjoyed a simple but full life, learning as much
knowledge as he could in books and in life and treated his friends with integrity and politeness. He
would never offend or bully anyone who was inferior to himself. So taking revenge on behalf of Mack
was apparently an insult to him.
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