No strange things are allowed to evolve!

Jiang Shu's answer was also straightforward: "Have you heard of the crows of the Holy Temple? That's right, I'm here to reach the top. According to the rules of the martial world, as long as I defeat the strongest person here, I can dominate this place, right?"

"No..." Brother Bing suddenly became anxious: "What kind of江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the underworld or江湖义气, a code of conduct) is this?"

"Hayaru City, Suzuran Junior High School"

Immediately, most of the people in the room felt dissatisfaction and malice towards him.

"Looks like a crazy guy has arrived."

"Whoever lost to him in the high-stakes arena sent him here, I really have to laugh at him."

"A hot-blooded incubator, huh? That's interesting."

Despite the cold words, Jiang Shu did not back down, but continued to ask, "So, who is the strongest here? Or let me put it another way, who has the highest score?"

But despite his arrogant behavior, no one really intended to teach him a lesson.

As Brother Bing said, the people in the final round are all very shrewd and take the score very seriously.

Therefore, even though they were very unhappy with Jiang Shu, no one actually stood up for him, because they were unsure whether Jiang Shu was truly incompetent and prone to shouting, or whether he was a powerful outsider with real backing.

If you step forward and lose to the other side, wouldn't that be like helping others step on a landmine?

So, for a time, a strange situation was formed.

Jiang Shu's aura alone overwhelmed everyone else, and no one dared to accept his challenge.

Seeing this, Jiang Shu's face showed obvious disappointment: "I heard that the ultimate field against the hatchery represents the highest level of the evolutionary world, so I came here specifically. But I didn't expect that they are all a bunch of unworthy people. I'm really disappointed."

Upon hearing this, everyone frowned, but no one stepped forward.

Seeing that Jiang Shu was going too far, Brother Bing was afraid that he would offend everyone on his first day at the final event, so he quickly tried to smooth things over: "How can you say that? Didn't I tell you to keep a low profile? You have to eat one bite at a time and walk one step at a time. You challenged the strongest person right away. Everyone here is a decent person. Who would pay attention to you or lower themselves to your level?"

"Then let me rephrase my question," Jiang Shu said, glaring at the accusing crowd. "Who among you is the weakest? Who's the pushover? Dare to step forward and have a contest?"

That's not what I meant!

Brother Bing's attempt to smooth things over did not have the desired effect.

Jiang Shu's misinterpretation led many to believe that Brother Bing was putting on a show with Jiang Shu, speaking in a sarcastic and unsettling manner.

Even so, no one showed any intention of accepting the challenge.

Scouting the enemy's situation before the game starts has become an ingrained habit for these score-obsessed players.

They know nothing about Jiang Shu, so even though Jiang Shu has offended everyone from top to bottom, no one is willing to be the one to take the lead.

Compared to momentary anger, they clearly valued points more.

It would be a terrible waste to sacrifice a potential opportunity to participate in a major competition or sow the seeds of future problems just for the sake of momentary pleasure or to show off one's abilities.

Jiang Shu was well aware of this.

So after drawing all the hatred, he deliberately sighed: "I know you all secretly wish you could slap me in the face, right? But you're afraid I'll play dumb and accidentally lose to you, so you've been holding back."

I have to say, I admire you guys. You're so patient; you'll surely succeed at anything you do.

But I want to say that I'm different from you. I didn't come here for the points; I came here to challenge the strong and prove my strength.

So how about this: in order to allow me to challenge stronger opponents without causing too much concern for everyone, let's not use the usual 100 points as the wager, shall we?

"If the bet is set at a point, surely someone will be willing to take the challenge?"

Just a few points...

Everyone pondered this.

Winning or losing doesn't really matter, and besides, it lets me figure out this guy's background, which seems pretty good...

Immediately, someone asked, "Besides points, aren't there any other prizes?"

Jiang Shu realized that this guy clearly didn't really want to add any other stakes; he was just testing the waters to make sure that even if he lost, he wouldn't suffer any losses, and to confirm that Jiang Shu really just wanted a thrilling duel.

So he immediately replied, "I don't mind, you can add it if you want."

Sure enough, these people weren't the kind of gambling addicts who were itching to gamble; they really didn't have the guts to raise the stakes any further.

Although he said, "Let's forget about it then, so you won't say I'm bullying a newbie like you."

"So..." Jiang Shu raised an eyebrow, carefully observing the other person: "It's you?"

The other person was a man who looked to be around thirty years old, with no particularly memorable features, truly like an ordinary passerby.

The man glanced at the others and laughed, "They are more concerned about their reputation and have more worries, but I am already at the lower level, so I don't care about these things. It wouldn't hurt to ask you for a few pointers."

Jiang Shu understood from his words that there were also cliques within the final arena.

This guy was probably pushed out by someone to test his mettle.

This explains why those in the lower ranks, knowing they'll only ever be there to make up the numbers, don't try to gain as much advantage as possible from lower-ranked matches like the shrewd and docile Goblin, but instead stay here and get tortured.

Perhaps their real benefit lies elsewhere, in the hands of those in higher positions?

However, it was within Jiang Shu's expectations that someone from the lower ranks would emerge as the first to take the lead.

The stakes are only one point. Those in the middle and upper ranks won't get any benefits if they won, and they'd lose face if they lost. Most importantly, they might be afraid of revealing their trump cards, since they can watch the battle against the hatchery.

So no matter what, no matter how big the stakes are, in the end only those at the bottom will rise to the top.

Thinking of this, Jiang Shu smiled confidently: "It's okay. Just like my friend said, you have to eat one bite at a time and walk one step at a time. Starting with the weakest and challenging one by one is not a bad thing. So I'll respectfully accept your offer and start with you."

"Damn it...you take advantage of me just because I'm being given a little leeway..." the man muttered quietly to himself, then took a deep breath and said to Jiang Shu, "Choose."

Jiang Shu carefully selected the hatchery for a long time, until the patience of the man and everyone else was about to be exhausted.

"Have you finally chosen the type you're good at?" The man felt he was beginning to see through Jiang Shu's arrogance and emptiness.

Jiang Shu waved his hand and said deliberately, "I deliberately chose something I'm not good at."

"Whatever." Although the man felt that Jiang Shu was just being stubborn, he didn't care whether Jiang Shu was telling the truth or not. He would just have to try and see. It didn't matter if he won or lost, even if it was just a few points.

Jiang Shu nodded slightly: "Please."

One hour later.

To everyone's astonishment, and even to the disbelief of Snow Queen and her companions—

Jiang Shu suffered a crushing defeat.

He was completely powerless in the hatchery, suppressed by the random man the whole time, and couldn't even lift his head.

Not only in terms of operations in the incubation field, but also in terms of awareness and thinking, they are completely unable to keep up with those who are only at the lower level in the final arena.

He was completely clueless about what the mission objective was, making countless elementary mistakes that made people frown.

Although Xue Wang and the other two did not believe this result at all, no one else had any doubts about it.

Why would he deliberately let the opponent win for just a few points?

Moreover, his ridiculous antics in the hatchery showed absolutely no trace of acting.

Listening to the comments from the professionals around him, even Brother Bing gradually began to have some doubts.

Jiang Shu, having left the incubator, merely frowned and clicked his tongue lightly: "I was careless. Let's play another round, how about a best-of-three?"

But the man who had already seen through Jiang Shu's true nature would no longer indulge him out of fear.

"Your performance doesn't deserve to keep you in the final round, let alone a best-of-three series. Do you think anyone here would waste their time competing with you? Why should they, just for your few points?"

After a pause, the man seemed to realize something and sneered:

"Unless, the stakes are raised to one hundred."

Jiang Shu was taken aback, and said with difficulty, "Isn't this too big of a leap?"

Upon hearing this, the man was completely relieved.

If Jiang Shu readily agreed, it would mean that he might really be doing it on purpose, trying to catch a big fish with a long line. But if he refused, it would mean that he himself was not confident, otherwise there would be no reason not to agree.

As a result, the man became even less tolerant of him, simply leaving behind the words "Get out!" as a way of expressing his dissatisfaction and venting his frustration with Jiang Shu's previous actions.

For a moment, everyone watched the four people as if they were clowns, making them unable to even lift their heads.

Jiang Shu wanted to speak up one last time.

But then, something even worse happened.

The referee from the previous match came over and said to Jiang Shu politely but firmly, "Your score is now only 999 points. You can no longer use the Incubation Field in the Ultimate Arena. Please return to the Expert Arena."

Jiang Shu was horrified and knelt on the ground, looking up to the sky and crying out, "No!!!"

The jeers from the crowd, mingled with Jiang Shu's howls, seemed to play a heart-wrenching melody of "A Song of Melody"...

"No way..." Jiang Shu scratched his head and asked Brother Bing, "How did I suddenly become the villain?"

"After drawing aggro, you get kicked to death like a stray dog ​​on the street and then mocked. Isn't that the epitome of a villain who jumps on the bandwagon?" Brother Bing retorted.

"But actually I could win. To be honest, that guy's skill level is about as good as an itch-headed person. If I were to take it a little more seriously, I could just kick him to death," Jiang Shu explained helplessly.

"Still being stubborn, still being stubborn!" Brother Bing said with exasperation, "Why are you so unwilling to humble yourself?"

"Uh... it's actually quite ironic that the word 'humility' comes out of your mouth."

Jiang Shu sighed, seemingly lost in thought.

"You really aren't the Brother Bing I know."

"Who else do you know, Brother Bing?! Tell me so I can meet him!"

However, Jiang Shu did not delve deeper into this topic. Seeing that a crisis of trust had already emerged within his team, he understood that if he did not reveal his plans, he would be seen as a fool and disappoint his friends.

"Actually, I thought you all realized that I obviously lost on purpose."

But what just happened left Brother Bing with no reasonable explanation, even if he wanted to believe it.

What is the reason?

Jiang Shu shrugged and explained, "We divide it into portions, then fill it with sugar."

"So what exactly does 'card points' mean?" Brother Bing asked again the question that Jiang Shu hadn't answered before.

"Find someone in the high-stakes arena with the same score of 999, win all the way up to 1998, and at the same time, make the people in the final arena believe that I'm an easy target, and make them believe that my score is inflated, so they'll be willing to gamble with me."

And I've already planned it out. Even if I win, I'll always make it seem like I'm barely winning, like I'm just lucky, so lucky that they'll be resentful and keep betting with me. Only in this way..."

Jiang Shu stroked his chin:

"Only then will I have a chance to break through 10,000 points."

Chapter 229 Children, I'm back!

Upon hearing Jiang Shu's words, all three were taken aback.

None of them expected that Jiang Shu was faking his defeat, that he was playing the long game, only that the long game he played was much longer than they had imagined.

Sure enough, Jiang Shu was never one to make anything unexpected.

However, it seems that Brother Bing doesn't quite approve of Jiang Shu's plan.

He said solemnly and deeply:

"Have you ever thought that the prerequisite for you to achieve your ultimate goal is that you can actually keep winning? If you can't win at the upper level, or even the middle level, then you will really just be an experience-gaining baby in the end."

"I understand that."

Jiang Shu nodded:

"But my thinking is very simple. No matter what the process is like, my ultimate goal is to enter the top ten of the final arena and participate in the competition. Sooner or later, I will have to face off against people from the higher ranks. There is no escaping it."

Even if they escape, there's still the main competition.

Since I'm going to participate, I'm naturally aiming for first place. I'm not just going to have fun and broaden my horizons.

It was only a matter of time before I had to face these people as my opponents. That's why I didn't even consider whether I could win, because I had to win, and thinking about it was pointless.

If we can't win, then we'll just give them the points. What's the use of points anyway?

This is also why Jiang Shu's plan was simply to get people to be willing to gamble with him, rather than having them give him points like the Soft Goblin.

If Jiang Shu were to use his Cataclysmic Skill to deal with each person in the final arena one by one, he was confident that he could get them to give him some points, thus securing his place in the top ten.

But as he said, that makes no sense.

What he needs are serious matches, to continuously improve himself through those matches.

Whether it's match experience, evolution points, or items and skills, these are the truly important things. Points are just the ticket to the tournament, and Jiang Shu won't put the cart before the horse.

Therefore, he needs experience in the final arena; he needs to compete against truly strong players. Apart from the final arena, he is not very interested in other minor matches.