Chapter 48 (1/2)

As soon as Ma Wensheng finished speaking, there was a sudden steely coldness in the room. Jiang Shaochuan was pale. Gao Pan was no longer displaying any air of arrogance. His valiant face was as cold as stone.

Ten thousand taels of gold. What was the amount of money capable of doing? It could purchase the life of a powerful warrior in the Qi Ocean.

Black Dragon Hall had countless members. After deducting annual operating costs, the annual surplus was only ten thousand taels of gold. Ten thousand taels of gold would be the surplus of ten years.

“Hall Master Gao, by now you should have known the reason for our leader to award you the special robe that is valued at two thousand taels of gold.”

Ma Wensheng was pleased with what he had seen. Gao Pan was solemn. His mission was to drill the importance of this duel into Gao Pan. He had no doubt about Gao Pan’s prowess. However, there was no guarantee of a sure win in any duel. Any unmitigated risk could result in a downfall. Black Dragon Hall would have too much to lose, and a defeat could be disastrous.

Gao Pan was stunned, and he solemnly declared, “I’ll complete my mission without fail!”

“Excellent! I believe you won’t be treating your life like child’s play.”

As he spoke, Ma Wensheng took out a small box from his waist pouch. When he opened the matchbox-sized box, a silver ring lay in the centre of it. There was a design of an exquisite snake on the ring. It was extraordinary. “This is a gift from the supreme leaders. If there’s any unforeseen circumstances in the duel, you just need to activate your palm force to touch the head of the snake. There will be a beam of green light. This green light is the rear needle of the hundred-year-old Glacial Queen Bee. Its venom is indomitable and can bring down a gigantic beast. When we are testing it, even the formidable warriors in the Qi Ocean have to temporarily avoid the killer beam.”

With those words, Ma Wensheng activated his palm energy and touched the snake’s head gently. A beam of green light was emitted. It flew past Gao Pan’s shoulders and hit an embroidery on his gold armour. It drilled a microscopic hole into the armour and flew out at lightning speed for over ten yards. It finally stuck on the a pillar constructed from pure copper and gold.

The robustness of the green beam was able to penetrate the special robe built by the Alchemists’ Chamber. Even Gao Pan was unable to make any attempt to avoid its path trailing at such lightning speed.

Ma Wensheng swiftly retracted the green beam and let it sit on his palm. Jiang and Gao were able to take a good look at the green beam.

The green beam was extremely short. It was a third of the usual length of a sewing needle. Its colour was clear and crystal. It was as fine as hair. It was inconspicuous on the palm.

During the demonstration, Ma Wensheng split the snake ring into two semi-circles and carefully hid the green beam into the body of the ring. The design was restored. He handed the ring to Gao Pan, and in a serious tone, he announced, “This object has phenomenal power. When you have it as a last resort, it’s insurance. This duel will have no room for error. However, I have to caution you. This is a consumable item. Once it comes into contact with skin, the venom in the green beam will be released. This treasure is expensive and it costs thousands of taels of gold. Our supreme leader, though extremely generous, my wish is that you’ll only use it as a last resort. I believe in your ability to kill that rascal.”

“Generous indeed.”

Gao Pan had his own unspoken opinion. However, he chose to go with the flow.

The supreme leader of Black Dragon Hall was an extreme miser. Everyone knew about it. The special gold armour robe which he had received was also a loan from the supreme leader. When the duel was over, he had to return it.

Once he thought about the miserly leader and his ruthlessness, Gao Pan had decided that he would not activate the green beam unless his life depended on it.

Otherwise, his win would also be his loss.

…

Xu Yi was intrigued by the hourglass made from crystal.