Outside of the secret dimension, Hu Feng looked at Qi Shaorong's outfit and couldn't help but widen his eyes, "Really… Really rich!"
Qi Shaorong's crystal armor was covered with magic crystals, and the crystals were connected and arranged in a special way. By relying on this armor, Qi Shaorong was able to use his level six magic power to launch level seven dark magic attacks.
Hu Feng frowned. Just from where did his disciple get so many gold coins?
Reportedly, it has been said that Qi Shaorong runs a brothel. Is it really so profitable to open a brothel these days?
Qi Shaorong looked at Zhuang Hao and said, "Young Master Zhuang, I placed a million gold coins on a bet that Tianlan College would win first place in this competition. I don't know if Young Master Zhuang would be willing to hand over all the rainbow coloured crystals that you're carrying right now to help me win?"
Zhuang Hao looked at Qi Shaorong and said, "You think that I'd help you?"
"Why wouldn't you? Don't worry, I'm a generous person. Zhuang Hao, if you're willing to help, then I will compensate you with 30 000 gold coins for your hard work." Qi Shaorong said.
Zhuang Hao looked at Qi Shaorong and chuckled, saying: "Do you think that for 30 000 gold coins I'd be willing to agree to such a rude request?"
"Why not? 30 000 gold coins isn't a small amount, Young Master Zhuang, humans shouldn't be too greedy. There's a saying that when one is too greedy, one will be hurt by their own desires, like a snake trying to swallow an elephant [1]. You should know that those who are satisfied with what they already have will be happy for a long time." Qi Shaorong said.
Zhuang Hao: "… This isn't a question of money."
"Of course it's not a question of money. The question now is whether or not you'll agree. Either way, the result will be the same, if you don't agree to my request then I'll just have to do more work myself. Young Master Zhuang, I'm thinking of the fact that we were engaged for 16 years, so I'm giving you a right to choose what you want to do. You wouldn't want to disappoint my goodwill!" Qi Shaorong said sarcastically.
Zhuang Hao looked at Qi Shaorong and said, "Fourth Young Master Qi, I think you've won."
Qi Shaorong pointed his staff towards the dragon beast on one side and said, "Young Master Zhuang, I have more magic scrolls with me. If I throw them at you like how I did before, then you will become disfigured. In the future, all the sisters who were chasing after you will all run away from you. Do you really want me to do this?"
"You can try," said Zhuang Hao with a grimace.
"Young Master Zhuang, I'll admit that you're very powerful, but the fight between you and the level eight monster beast has already consumed most of your energy," Qi Shaorong said.
Zhuang Hao coldly smiled and said, "Young Master Qi, do you know how long the competition period is?"
Qi Shaorong squinted his eyes and said: "One month."
"The time left now is still enough for a single stick of incense to burn [2], after this time, all the contestants will be teleported out." And it won't be counted as an elimination.
[T/n: So I think what Zhuang Hao is saying is that if Qi Shaorong wants to forcefully eliminate him from the competition, then he'd have to fight Zhuang Hao first and Qi Shaorong won't be able to defeat him in that amount of time since the competition is almost over.]
Qi Shaorong looked at Zhuang Hao and said: "So that's the case, there isn't enough time left. Thank you so much for reminding me, I have offended you."
Qi Shaorong wielded his magic staff and successively launched three level seven dark magic attacks.
Zhuang Hao's body glowed with seven colours of light, and seven types of magic rushed out and converged into a torrent of magic to face off against Qi Shaorong's dark magic. The two magics were evenly matched.
Qi Shaorong and Zhuang Hao fought for a few rounds, but neither of them were able to gain an advantage, and their faces turned gloomy.
"Young Master Zhuang, you really are amazing! At this point, you still have a lot of power left! Chen Yuan, that inferior product, really can't compare with you at all. Sure enough, there's a fundamental difference between the first and last place within the rankings of the Seven Imperial Talents." Qi Shaorong's face was full of appreciation.
Zhuang Hao and the level eight dragon beast had fought for a long time, and he had already exhausted his strength. At this moment, the reason why Qi Shaorong's attacks could be blocked, isn't it only because of Zhuang Hao's motivation to not lose against his "love rival"?
"Young Master Zhuang, my time is running out, so please forgive me for being rude."
Qi Shaorong took out a bunch of magic scrolls from his space storage ring and smashed them towards Zhuang Hao.
Zhuang Hao's clothes lit up in a golden light, and most of the magic scroll's power was blocked by Zhuang Hao's clothing.
"Level nine magic protective clothing, how good! No wonder you dared to go up against the level eight dragon beast!" Qi Shaorong narrowed his eyes and said.
Level nine magic protective clothing, to a certain extent, can offset most magic attacks below level nine. That is to say, after his attacks had landed on Zhuang Hao, at most only around 30% of the attack's power could've made it through.
"Although I'm a little embarrassed, truth be told, it's helpful to have such high quality equipment." Zhuang Hao smiled.
Qi Shaorong looked at Zhuang Hao gloomily, "Since this is the case, then I'll have to use my last resort."
Qi Shaorong abruptly stepped back, covering his mouth and nose. Zhuang Hao suddenly felt a bad premonition.
The bracelet on Zhuang Hao's wrist suddenly exploded, and a thick green smoke came pouring out. Zhuang Hao was smothered by the thick smoke and immediately fell to the ground.
"What did you do?"
Qi Shaorong giggled, and his clear laughter echoed through the forest, letting everyone who heard feel the good mood of the person who laughed, "Young Master Zhuang, how innocent. I said the bracelet was given by the Ghost Doctor, and you actually believed it."
Outside the secret dimension, Qi Shaorong's actions caused another big commotion.
"Hu Feng, the people from your college are really so shameless, you know?" Lu Ming scolded furiously.
"On the battlefield, regardless of the means, only winning or losing matters. Not to mention, Zhuang Hao also didn't play fair. This guy is already so powerful, but even wore level nine protective clothing." Hu Feng said.
"You actually accepted such an unscrupulous disciple."
"You're just jealous that I accepted such a talented disciple, jealous!"
Chen Yuan looked at Zhuang Hao who was inside the secret dimension, and said, "A-Qian [3], what's going on with your brother? Did something happen to him?"
Zhuang Qian shook his head and said, "I don't know!"
Zhuang Renquan touched his chin and said, "Qi Shaorong bet one million on Tianlan College winning first place? If he really defeats Zhuang Hao, then Tianlan College's number one place will be secured, and he'll make a fortune! Unfortunately, all the major gambling houses have already closed the betting for this competition, otherwise… The Ghost Doctor really has good vision! Qi Shaorong really isn't just another ordinary person. [4]"
Zhuang Qian: "…" Brother is currently experiencing a sticky situation, but Third Uncle is only thinking of gold coins.
Chen Yuan rubbed his nose. Sister Chen Manwu had said that all the major colleges had a large amount of funds to settle. When Qi Shaorong was betting on Tianlan College taking first, he should have been very alert. If Chen Yuan is careful enough, he might be able to find some clues, maybe, he need not lose so badly?
[T/n: I'm so sorry, I literally have no idea what the heck Chen Yuan is talking about.]
Zhuang Hao felt his arms and legs go soft, and squatted down as a last resort. He looked at Qi Shaorong and said: "This thick smoke is able to block off magical power."
Qi Shaorong looked at Zhuang Hao and said: "How is that possible, it's only for restricting your actions! The time duration for it to be effective is very limited, but it should be enough."
Zhuang Hao: "…"
Qi Shaorong walked over and pressed Zhuang Hao to the ground, saying: "Young Master Zhuang, will you hand over the colourful stones yourself, or should I search your body for it? I don't know if there's monitoring in this area, but I don't mind stripping you. I just don't know, Young Master Zhuang, if you'd mind being watched?"
Qi Shaorong perversely scanned over Zhuang Hao's body. Qi Shaorong found that Zhuang Hao's ring was very ordinary, it wasn't a space storage equipment. Qi Shaorong searched up and down Zhuang Hao several times, but couldn't find out where Zhuang Hao's storage equipment was.
Outside the secret dimension, Chen Yuan shivered fiercely, "Zhuang Qian, look at your brother's ex-fiancée [5], how cruel! He wants to strip your brother naked, he wants to strip your brother naked in front of a large audience!"
Zhuang Qian: "…"
Zhuang Qian looked around. Zhuang Qian found that many of the female spectators who were watching all seemed to be feeling shy, but were also very excited at the same time.
Zhuang Hao widened his eyes suddenly. Qi Shaorong was very close to Zhuang Hao, and by negligence, he was attacked by Zhuang Hao's spiritual power.
Qi Shaorong only felt like a sharp knife had pierced through his consciousness, and his mind became muddled.
Qi Shaorong snorted [6], and a will to surrender to Zhuang Hao rose from his heart. Qi Shaorong was so angry that he was almost vomiting blood. Zhuang Hao, this guy, actually used the technique of beast-taming to deal with him. Was he being considered as a beast?
Qi Shaorong pressed Zhuang Hao under his body, and a wave of dark magic spurted out. Zhuang Hao coughed and spit out blood.
"Zhuang Hao, you really are like an unkillable cockroach." Qi Shaorong gritted his teeth.
Zhuang Hao: "…"
Qi Shaorong suddenly tore apart Zhuang Hao's upper clothes, and the smooth skin under Zhuang Hao's clothes was exposed to the sun all at once. Qi Shaorong didn't know that due to his actions, the audience that was watching from outside the secret dimension suddenly exploded. The female spectator's screams sounded out one after another, and the scene almost went out of control.
"Young Master Zhuang, your skin is very good and your muscles are very full. No wonder you don't mind being seen." Qi Shaorong reached out and touched Zhuang Hao's chest, and whistled, "Young Master Zhuang, if you don't mind being watched, then I definitely wouldn't mind. Are you really sure that you don't want to tell me where you're hiding everything?"
Outside of the secret dimension, Chen Yuan looked at Zhuang Hao's chest with a stunned expression: "Zhuang Qian, Qi Shaorong seems to be taking advantage of your brother." [7]
Yi Chuxue was fuming with anger as she watched Qi Shaorong's actions, "Qi Shaoru, your brother is too shameless."
Qi Shaoru pursed her lips. Her brother turned out to be such a lunatic, and she didn't even notice before in the past.
Zhuang Qian clenched his fists, widened his eyes, and said, "It's good that they broke off their engagement, otherwise, how could my brother have endured being married to such a fierce wife?"
Chen Yuan rubbed his nose and said, "He said your brother is like a cockroach…" Qi Shaorong compared Zhuang Hao to a bug.
Zhuang Qian's eyes flickered, and he twisted his fingers, saying: "It seems to be the first time that someone has evaluated brother like this."
Hu Feng blinked and said: "No one in the younger generation can suppress Zhuang Hao. Looking at this, do you think that this can be considered as Zhuang Hao finally being suppressed?" [8]
Li Hong: "…"
Zhuang Hao looked at Qi Shaorong coldly. The two faced each other, and their reflections were reflected in each other's eyes.
"The things are in my space belt."
"Thank you." Qi Shaorong pulled off the belt on Zhuang Hao's body.
A burst of white light was emitted from Zhuang Hao's body. At the same time, a white light from Qi Shaorong also burst out. All the players who entered the secret dimension were allotted a teleporter. If the teleporters were not self-activated, then after a month has passed, it would be automatically activated to send the contestants out.
When Zhuang Hao and Qi Shaorong were teleported out, Qi Shaorong still maintained the posture of pressing down on Zhuang Hao.
As soon as Qi Shaorong was sent out, he was smothered by the countless gazes of the audience.
Qi Shaorong got up calmly, adjusted his clothes, and walked towards the direction of where the people from Tianlan College were gathered.
Zhuang Qian walked over quickly and handed a set of clothes to Zhuang Hao.
"Brother, are you okay?" Zhuang Qian asked worriedly.
Zhuang Qian shook his head and said, "I'm okay."
Zhuang Hao looked at Qi Shaorong's back, and in his eyes emerged an indescribable gloominess.
Footnotes:
A snake trying to swallow an elephant: Means that when people are too greedy, it's cause them to do things that will only harm themselves in the end, like a snake being greedy enough to try to swallow an elephant whole.
Stick of incense to burn: I think in ancient times, people used to measure the passing of time by burning sticks of incense?
A-Qian: The "A" (pronounced like "ah") is kind of just something you'd add on to the beginning of a person's name when you call their name, you usually do it with someone you're familiar with.
Another ordinary person: Original said "another thing in the pool", meaning someone who has no ambitions.
Fiancée: So "fiancé" is the term used for a man engaged to be married, and "fiancée" describes a woman who is engaged to be married. Just thought that that's interesting.
Snorted: So the original Chinese word can be translated as other sounds as well, like "groan", "humph", "hum", but none of those sounded right in this context. "Qi Shaorong snorted…" doesn't exactly suit the context either, but the sentence sounds better like that. I mean, saying that Qi Shaorong "groaned" sounds a little too suggestive in this situation lol…
Taking advantage of: It basically refers to sexually taking advantage of someone, but in a lighthearted and not too serious way, kind of like "eating tofu".
Suppressed: I think Hu Feng is referring to the positions that Qi Shaorong and Zhuang Hao are in, because Qi Shaorong is currently on top of Zhuang Hao and pressing him down (it makes more sense in Chinese).