Fantasy, starting with a treasure bowl

Lu Feng didn't know much about Shen Tianzhong's background.

Moreover, even though he had been hospitalized for more than a year, he and Shen Tianzhong had basically had no contact. They usually kept to themselves.

Therefore, Lu Feng was naturally very surprised to see Shen Tianzhong showing murderous intent towards him.

"Although Fellow Daoist Lu is young, his strength is remarkable, even comparable to most of the experts in the Southern Academy. I, Shen, have long admired your name..."

Just as Lu Feng was pondering where he had offended Shen Tianzhong, the latter suddenly grinned, his tone meaningful, "It's a pity that, in the year since I was admitted to the hospital, I haven't been able to witness Fellow Daoist Lu's true strength firsthand. I must say, it's quite regrettable..."

At this point, the murderous aura in Shen Tianzhong's eyes gradually dissipated, transforming into a surging fighting spirit, clearly indicating that his true intentions lay elsewhere.

"So this guy wants to fight me...?"

Having also grasped the underlying meaning in Shen Tianzhong's words, Lu Feng narrowed his eyes, a playful glint in his eyes. "Heh, looks like I won't be short of opponents for the upcoming free challenges. Interesting...!"

Although the opponent is not weak, he defeated Wang Wu, a fellow student of the West Academy and whose cultivation had reached the first level of the Spirit Soul Realm, with an overwhelming victory in the previous draw challenge. He can be considered a formidable opponent.

However, Lu Feng is not a mediocre person like Wang Wu, and Shen Tianzhong alone cannot stop him!

"Since Fellow Daoist Shen wishes to fight, I will gladly oblige!"

Composing himself, Lu Feng spoke calmly again, his expression still composed, clearly not taking Shen Tianzhong's challenge seriously.

After all, he hadn't encountered a decent opponent in this year's academy competition so far; almost all of them were weaklings. Now, he was naturally eager to face off against Shen Tianzhong, who was once ranked third on the villain list.

As the saying goes, the strong remain strong, and the weak remain weak!

If you keep playing chess with terrible players, your chess skills will only get worse and worse. The same principle applies to those who practice martial arts or cultivate immortality.

In addition, the rules for free challenges and draw challenges are very different. Not only can you choose your opponent freely throughout the entire process, but there are also no requirements for winning. The only difference is that the winner takes all and the loser loses a lot!

To put it simply, as long as Lu Feng can defeat Shen Tianzhong, he can not only successfully enter the West Academy, but also replace the other party's academy ranking, and directly win big!

However, the free challenge is not mandatory. Both sides can choose to concede or, like Lu Xiaoxiang before, simply forfeit. The price for doing so is that the competition rewards will be halved, and the ranking will not improve.

For Lu Feng, simply abstaining was obviously impossible; not only would it be a huge loss, but it also didn't fit his personality!

"Hahaha, that's awesome!"

"Just what I wanted!"

Seeing that Lu Feng readily accepted his challenge, Shen Tianzhong laughed heartily, as if he had finally gotten his wish. He then leaped onto one of the arenas.

"Hey buddy, aren't you going to start announcing it yet?"

With a steady landing, Shen Tianzhong turned to look at the young steward in charge of the referee, his tone urgent, as if he couldn't wait to have a big fight with Lu Feng to prove his strength!

"The two sides facing off in this free challenge are Shen Tianzhong from the West Academy and Lu Feng from the North Academy!"

"The competition begins!"

Seeing this, the young deacon did not dare to be negligent in the slightest and immediately made an announcement.

After all, this duel is not a battle of novices. Both Lu Feng, who had won five consecutive matches, and Shen Tianzhong, who was once ranked third on the villain list, are no ordinary people. This is a true clash of masters!

As the young steward loudly announced, Lu Feng lightly touched the ground with his feet, and like a dragon soaring through the clouds, he suddenly cut through the air and landed steadily on the opposite side of the arena, his face still calm.

...

Beside the ring, in the crowded crowd

"Look, the competition has started again! And the two opponents are Shen Tianzhong and Lu Feng...!"

"Wow! I didn't expect these two to fight right from the start of the free challenge. This is going to be good!"

"Hey, who do you guys think will come out on top in this battle? I have a feeling Shen Tian will win most of the time..."

"That makes sense! Shen Tianzhong is, after all, a third-level expert of the Spirit Soul Realm, and he previously defeated Senior Brother Wang Wu in a crushing victory. On the other hand, although Lu Feng achieved five consecutive victories to advance, the opponents he defeated were all nobodies..."

"Stop arguing! All that nonsense is pointless. Right now, placing your bets is the only thing that matters, and it's the same old rule: place your bets and it's done!"

Seeing Shen Tianzhong and Lu Feng leap onto the arena, a fierce battle was about to break out. A commotion arose from the crowd, clearly indicating that everyone was eagerly anticipating this duel between masters. Even the bookmakers who had placed bets had gotten involved.

However, due to the difference in strength between the two sides on paper, most of the students present bet on Shen Tianzhong to win. At the same time, the odds for Shen Tianzhong and Lu Feng were also very different, with the former only 1.5 times and the latter a full 5 times, which can be described as the odds being maximized!

In other words, if you bet on Lu Feng to win, you could receive up to five times the reward!

However, while the potential gains from betting on Lu Feng's victory are substantial, the risks involved are also considerable.

The students present clearly didn't dare to gamble, after all, their contribution points didn't fall from the sky, and if they bet wrong and lost everything, it would be a huge loss!

"Brother Lu actually accepted Shen Tianzhong's challenge?!"

Surrounded by students placing bets and watching the spectacle, Wu Yunran, squeezed into the crowd, secretly clenched his fists. A look of surprise appeared on his slightly dark face. "Wait a minute! Brother Lu never does anything he's not sure about...!"

"Now that he has accepted Shen Tianzhong's challenge, he must have been confident and it wasn't an impulsive decision..."

Thinking of this, Wu Yunran felt a surge of determination. She turned to a bald man beside her, who seemed to be the bookmaker for this betting event, and said, "Hello, I want to place a bet too!"

"Three thousand contribution points, betting on Brother Lu to win!"

He pulled out his Vast Token from his pocket and handed it to the bald man opposite him, speaking firmly.

"What? You're betting three thousand contribution points, and you're betting on Lu Feng to win?"

"Hahahaha! Has this southern barbarian kid lost his mind? How could Lu Feng possibly beat Shen Tianzhong!"

"Exactly! Although Lu Feng is known as the rising star of the Northern Academy, his cultivation level is at most only at the first level of the Spirit Soul Realm. On the other hand, Shen Tianzhong is a third-level expert of the Spirit Soul Realm, and he hasn't even revealed his full strength yet. The outcome of this battle is completely without suspense!"

"That's right! With Shen Tianzhong's strength, defeating Lu Feng is as easy as crushing an ant!"

"Kid, I advise you to stop now and give up this unrealistic daydream, lest you lose everything you have!"

When Wu Yunran unexpectedly bet on Lu Feng to win, not only was the bald man in charge of the bookmaking stunned, but the group of students who were betting also cast mocking glances at him. Laughter filled the air, and they all thought he had gone mad.