Sun Radiant Arena Lounge.

  “...I still can’t believe somebody actually dares to challenge you! It’s really not giving our Qian Cn any face!”

  Chilling in the lounge, the group of rugged men, in the midst of polishing their daggers and shooting each other menacing looks, directed their predatory gaze over to the entrance.

  There, a trio just arrived at the foot of the stairs.

  Two men, followed by a red-hot woman outlined by a bck qipao.

  Lustful eyes can’t help but stay on the alluring rose.

  Her appearance was definitely a notch above the standards they own. It was hard to not arouse their greed.

  Some men were already licking their lips, ready to give it a try, but when their eyes went to judge her owner, a shorty jumped out and gred back.

  "What? What are you all looking at?! Never seen someone as handsome as your grandpa before?!"

  That earned many nasty gres, but recognizing the shorty’s monkey face, most of the men scoffed and went back to doing their own things.

  Even those who kept staring only shot them provocative smirks, but didn’t bother making things bigger.

  Qian Bage grinned at this and gave his buddy a friendly shoulder pat.

  “Ou, Brother Bai, don’t bother with them. Just a bunch of rabble that fears the strong and only knows how to bully the weak.”

  “Um.” Bubai hummed absentmindedly and looked around, thoughtful inside.

  This Qian Cn really wasn’t simple to deter all these foundation builders.

  He wasn’t entirely clear about their full background, but at the very least, this definitely saved him a whole lot of trouble today.

  If not for the loud show this “moneybag” friend of his put on outside, perhaps these poor hungry ghosts would’ve hounded him and turned today into a repeat of yesterday, but worse.

  Gotta say, he picked the right friends.

  As... like always, not everyone is afraid of his so-called friends.

  "Scram. Get out of my way."

  Hearing the snobbish growl, the duo looked over their shoulders, just to see a cleanly-robed man sneering down at them.

  A gourd and a storage pouch hung on each side of his hip, almost squeezed between the two colred women getting hugged left and right.

  But the true kicker? He had seen that face before.

  Bubai’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly once he matched that face to the portrait in his database.

  Wu Dawei. Foundation-building backer of the Flower Picking Gang.

  Older brother of that “Seed of Pleasure” water boy who threw a hefty, posthumous sponsorship his way yesterday.

  Grievances? Obviously already set in stone.

  Wu Dawei made a note of the shorty’s face then looked at Bubai like he was looking at a dead person.

  “So, you’re the one.”

  Bubai sensed the malice in his tone, but he brushed it off like a passing breeze and fshed a smile back.

  "Senior Brother, my condolences."

  Wu Dawei’s expression darkened.

  “Wipe that dirty smile off your face. Think you’re all that just because you beat up a few greenhorns? Heh. It doesn’t change the fact that you’re nothing but a vermin that belongs in the cesspits.”

  "Ou? A vermin?" Qian Bage grinned and slung an arm over his drinking buddy’s shoulder. "Even if my brother here is a vermin, at least he’s a vermin with your sister under his belt!"

  Bubai blinked innocently. Huh? Hold up…

  Dear Merlin above! How come everyone seems to know about that “secret” tryst? What’s the point of Miss Raven’s Shadow Pearl then?

  This… was something Bubai really wasn’t sure about, but he was sure of one thing: that line seemed to have stung a nerve.

  Wu Dawei gave the shorty a long, hard gre, but rather than erupting, his gloomy face only got calmer and calmer…

  “You two can stop with these meaningless provocations. I’m not so weak as to fall for them. As for that matter?”

  Those chilling eyes of his cut back over to Bubai.

  "Heh. Know that she only chose you for her first rite to fulfill the oath she made when she was young. To give herself to whoever takes her brother’s head. What an ungrateful piece of trash."

  “I’ve long wiped filth like her from our cn’s ancestry. Even if she ends up getting done by dogs in a back alley, it has nothing to do with me.”

  “Oh? Is that so?” Bubai smiled back provocatively.

  “You like talking big, but instead of cawing nonsense here, why don’t you go say that to her face if you’re so brave? Haha. If you don’t mind, I can help pass the message along.”

  Wu Dawei’s face stiffened, but only for a fraction of a second.

  "Heh. You better hope you can still talk like this after I’m done with you."

  Wu Dawei scoffed and shot him one st look before steering around them with his two colred pets in tow.

  Watching his challenger go straight ahead toward his awaiting fate, the dangerous glint in Bubai’s eyes sharpened.

  Bloody Merlin’s stinking diapers. How troublesome.

  Level-headed types like these were always the most dangerous to deal with.

  Fortunately, if there’s one thing he learned from that little barbed bout, it was that this Wu Dawei wasn’t unsolvable.

  At least, this guy had certain boundaries that he doesn’t dare overstep.

  Like the moneybag at his side. Or that Miss Raven.

  Clearly, there was something about them that a guy at his level didn’t dare to mess with.

  Was it strength? Or status?

  Bubai was pretty confident he can check off both.

  Of course, the others didn’t know that yet.

  A nudge came from his buddy.

  “Ou, I heard this Dawei is a wood and water dual-attribute genius who climbed all the way up from a side branch and can now even compete with the main branch’s heir for the cn inheritance.”

  “If Brother Bai isn’t too confident, how about we go back and ask Lao Er to step in?”

  Bubai showed a rexed smile. “A man never takes a step back from what he must do.”

  "Ou? You sure?"

  "Rex. Do I look like the type who’d send myself to a meaningless death?"

  "Ouu! Right, right. Haha, good, good—it’s good brother’s got the confidence!"

  They shared a grin and strutted forward side by side.

  Stopping in front of the check-in desk manned by the eunuch, Bubai nodded to his partner.

  “Brother Ba, then I’ll leave it to you here.”

  "Ouu! Just leave everything to me!" Qian Bage thumped his chest, beaming.

  "Good brother, don’t worry and go forward bravely! I gotcha back! If you can’t come back, I’ll make sure to pick up your corpse and erect a pque to burn incense for you every year!"

  Bubai rolled his eyes. “Can’t you say something more auspicious? Not afraid I will come back to haunt you?”

  “Ouhahaha! Not afraid! Not afraid at all! I, Qian Bage, couldn’t wish for more!”

  This guy…

  Bubai didn’t bother with him anymore and looked to the arrogant rose nearby.

  When their eyes met, she looked away and snorted. “Tsk. Go ahead and die. Like I care.”

  Haha. Bubai chuckled then turned to walk forward, leaving them a carefree back.

  Behind, his buddy cheered him on. "Brother, I’m betting big on you—fighto!"

  At the same time, a sound transmission reached his ear.

  "Brother Bai, watch out for his gourd. It’s not simple."

  Huh? Gourd? Bubai thought back to the simple wine gourd he noticed earlier.

  That… can’t be some sealing BS, right?

  Well, no point overthinking now. Just be careful and see if he can confiscate it when he gets the chance.

  Bubai walked forward unhurriedly, getting swallowed once more by the rather familiar corridor that stretched into darkness.

  Step. Step. Step…

  With every step closer to the exit, his mind sharpened, rerunning his tactics for the upcoming challenge...

  Ahead was no longer a childish spar with lower-level noobs, but a battle against an elite that can’t be avoided.

  The stake? His life.

  Surrender? That was just a fancier way of saying death.

  There was no road back. No second chances.

  He only had one choice.

  Step forward—and make history.