Chapter 54: A Wager of Two Hundred Thousand Catties of Source

Li Yao also spotted the man, and upon hearing the murmurs of the crowd, he learned of his identity.

The Tuoba family had also produced a genius disciple, though it would still be some time before that particular figure made their formal debut.

In the original work, Tuoba Chang of the Tuoba clan engaged in stone-gambling with Ye Fan in the Holy City, ultimately slicing open a human-head-sized piece of divine source, only to lose in the end to the divine silkworm cut open by Ye Fan.

Yet, defeat notwithstanding, one could not deny the profound and mysterious nature of the Tuoba family's Scarlet Gold Divine Hands and the Source-Heaven Precious Wheel.

These two techniques were certainly in no way inferior to Li Yao's Heaven-Man Communion and Source-Technique Divine Eyes.

Jiang Xiong stepped forward to greet him. A master of source techniques was fully worthy of his solemn respect, especially since he was the one who had invited him this time.

"Brother Jiang, you invited me here just to deal with some wet-behind-the-ears punk?" Tuoba Lie looked at Li Yao, a half-grown teenager, and yet he was expected to personally step in and gamble on stones with him?

"Brother Tuoba, do not be careless. This young friend Li possesses extremely high attainments in source techniques. Before your arrival, the rare treasures he had already cut open amounted to hundreds of thousands of catties of source in total," Jiang Xiong reminded him hastily, fearing that Tuoba Lie might underestimate his opponent.

However, instead of heeding the warning, Tuoba Lie felt looked down upon after being reminded.

"If you allowed me to scour all the source stones in the same manner, I could easily do the same," he retorted.

It was not hard to understand why Tuoba Lie was so confident. The practice of source techniques required accumulated time; no matter how high one's innate talent, one could not achieve mastery overnight.

Unless Li Yao practiced the Source-Heaven Book—only such an ancient and peerless source technique could turn decay into magic and reduce the need for accumulated time.

Yet, as everyone knew, the Source-Heaven Book had been lost for ten thousand years, and the source techniques Li Yao studied were not the Source-Heaven Book. Therefore, Tuoba Lie refused to believe that anyone could cultivate source techniques to the grandmaster realm at the tender age of teenagers.

Tuoba Lie strode forward, looking down at Li Yao with a condescending gaze. "Little friend, since I have arrived, you ought to know that your time for running wild is over. Step aside; I would rather not bully the young with my age."

"Oh, if I may ask, who are you?" Li Yao inquired sincerely.

Within the stone garden, everyone fell silent. The two of them had clashed immediately upon meeting, filled with gunpowder smoke. This source-technique duel was bound to be fierce.

Indeed, no one believed that Li Yao was unaware of who Tuoba Lie was, for in the world of source techniques, there was no one who did not recognize Tuoba Lie.

"Your source techniques may be decent, but that is not your capital for arrogance. At the very least, you should know how to show respect to your seniors." Tuoba Lie was losing face. As a source-master, wherever he went in the past, he had always been met with universal respect.

Yet now, a teenager in his teens dared to treat him with such disdain.

"I know you are from the Tuoba family, but I truly have no idea who you are," Li Yao said earnestly.

"Heh, good, very good. Young people are truly arrogant." Tuoba Lie laughed out of extreme anger. He did not believe that Li Yao did not recognize him, assuming instead that the youth was deliberately provoking him.

It was normal for young people to be spirited, but he could not accept being humiliated in this manner.

Li Yao was left speechless. He genuinely did not know Tuoba Lie, but at this point, he saw no need for further explanation.

"Since you are so ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth, let me take your master's place and properly discipline you," Tuoba Lie said in an icy tone.

"Uncle, why must you personally gamble with him? Just let me handle it," a young man behind Tuoba Lie stepped forward to say at that moment.

"What kind of nobody are you, crawling out from who knows where, trying to steal the spotlight?" Seeing a minor character jump out, Yao Xi immediately retorted with mockery.

Her voice was crisp and clear like celestial music, yet the words she spoke were exceptionally harsh. However, this did not diminish her charm in the least; instead, it lent her an air of overbearing empress-like majesty.

Tuoba Hong wanted to snap right back, but upon catching sight of Yao Xi's breathtaking visage, he instantly reined in his somewhat ferocious expression.

As for being mocked, he didn't mind it at all; the fact that such a celestial fairy was willing to speak to him clearly meant she held a rather favorable impression of him.

"This fairy..."

Seeing that his nephew was about to make a fool of himself, Tuoba Lie waved his hand dismissively. "This stone-gambling is at the invitation of the Jiang family. I will handle it myself; consider it a lesson for the youth."

Tuoba Hong was momentarily choked for words, though he dared not speak further. He then glared at Li Yao, his eyes burning with jealousy.

What right did this brat have to stand alongside the fairy? Jealousy clouded his mind, prompting him to instantly hurl taunts at Li Yao:

"Brat, you should feel honored. Being able to gamble on stones with my uncle is the most boastworthy thing in your entire life."

Li Yao glanced sideways at Tuoba Hong, then gave a light stamp of his foot. The source energy within the earth veins surged violently, hurtling toward the young man like a lethal tide.

"Careful!" Tuoba Lie perceived the anomaly and hastily pressed a hand down toward the ground. With a sudden boom, the entire stone garden shuddered violently for a fraction of a second.

"Next time before you open your mouth, bring your brain along and see who it is you cannot afford to offend." A trace of cold indifference lingered at the corners of Li Yao's lips.

Had Tuoba Lie not stepped in to block it just now, Tuoba Hong would have undoubtedly been blasted into a mist of blood by the rampaging source energy.

"Such a mere youth, thinking that mastering a few parlor tricks to manipulate source energy gives you the right to show off. You truly do not—" Tuoba Lie was likewise enraged that his opponent had actually attempted to murder his nephew right before his very eyes.

"Enough, save the idle chatter. Since you wish to gamble on stones, let's settle the stakes. No matter how much you put up, I will match it," Li Yao interrupted.

Relying on his status as a source-master and masquerading as a senior, Tuoba Lie had maintained an arrogant, high-and-mighty posture throughout their entire exchange.

Conversing with such an idiot felt like a waste of energy and time to Li Yao.

Nearby, everyone was filled with anticipation. The two had not even begun gambling yet, and they were already at each other's throats. The hostility was dialed up to the maximum from the very start, sharp as awls meeting, and both were top-tier experts in source techniques. Today, they would most likely witness astonishing rare treasures being cut open.

"That's the way! A source technique duel, cutting out peerless and rare treasures to broaden our horizons!"

"Everything else is empty; the truth is decided solely by the blade on the stone. Let the duel begin now!"

Everyone was extremely excited, eager to witness the methods of source-technique masters. Perhaps they would even witness the birth of world-sharing treasures.

"The secret arts of the source-technique clans were once praised even by the Source Heaven Master. Today, everyone is in for a treat."

Tuoba Hong was being quite high-profile, seemingly eager to showcase the extraordinary nature of his family's source techniques. After speaking, he cast a glance toward Yao Xi.

Unfortunately, Yao Xi didn't even bother to look at him.

Tuoba Lie also wished to cut the farce short, so he said, "Let the stake be set at one hundred thousand catties of source, then."

Upon hearing this price, Li Yao let out a scoff of derision, mocking, "A source-master, yet your horizons are so narrow. Since you lack the courage, I'll set the price: two hundred thousand catties of source. How about it?"

The onlookers gasped. Ten thousand catties of source was already an extravagant sum, yet Li Yao had directly doubled it.

Tuoba Lie stared at Li Yao with icy eyes; the youth's arrogance, insolence, and blatant disrespect truly infuriated him.

"Initially, seeing that you are a disciple of the Jade Lake Holy Land, I didn't want to make things too difficult for you. But since you are so confident, the stake shall be set at two hundred thousand catties of source. Not only that, but everything cut open by the loser shall belong to the winner."

"It's a deal," Li Yao agreed, turning around to head toward the inner garden areas.

"Hold on!" Tuoba Lie called out to stop him.

Li Yao halted and looked back at him with absolute calm. Given the other party's arrogance and contempt, he had no desire to waste words, simply waiting for him to speak.

Tuoba Lie said, "The Holy Land's Heaven-grade stone garden is a sacred place. True source-technique experts duel their way step by step into it."

"What do you want?" Li Yao asked.

"There's no need for us to start from the outermost stone garden. Let us take this place as our starting point. If we cannot cut out source of equivalent grade here, there is no need to enter the Heaven-grade stone garden to compete."

"Indeed, if the gap in our source techniques is too vast, Uncle need not waste his time," Tuoba Hong chimed in.

"Very well, pick your stones then." Li Yao remained indifferent to the demand.

Inside the stone garden, patches of vegetation flourished and pavilions stood tall. Everyone grew excited; at last, they were about to witness a stone-gambling clash between two source-masters.

Tuoba Lie made the first move, pacing swiftly among the most ordinary stones. Otherwise, if there truly were miraculous stones present, the other party might snatch them first.

"The stones touched by his fingers are turning golden!" someone exclaimed in shock.

"What is happening?!" Many people stared with wide eyes and slack jaws.

Tuoba Lie moved with blinding speed, his index finger continuously jabbing outward. Every time it landed on a stone, it transformed the raw material into gold, making it appear as though it were cast from solid gold.

"This is... the Scarlet Gold Divine Hands, reached the realm of ultimate perfection!" an old man sighed in admiration, feeling that his horizons had been vastly expanded.

For many, it was their first time hearing of the technique, and naturally the first time witnessing it in person. Tuoba Lie's finger seemed imbued with a miraculous magic; as he walked along, he tapped dozens of stones until their entire bodies turned a brilliant golden hue.

It was not until he had walked more than a dozen paces away that those stones slowly returned to their normal state, leaving everyone deeply astounded.

*(PS: There is an extra chapter today. Begging for monthly votes, recommendation votes, and continuous reading!)*