Chapter 81: The Combat Techniques of Alchemy (Part 1)

“Ahem, this is something that can only be understood, not explained…” Ye Lang coughed lightly.

“Are you sure you can do it? Come out of it unscathed?” Ye Chengtian asked skeptically, his only concern being Ye Lang’s safety, not the outcome.

“I’m absolutely, positively certain!” Ye Lang replied with such seriousness that for a moment, even others believed him. For the moment, at least!

“Even so… I still have to go!” Ye Chengtian hesitated for a while, but remained firm in his decision.

Ye Lang once again insisted that no one should interfere, threatening to fall out with them if they did, but his efforts were largely ignored.

In the end, Ye Chengtian didn’t go—not because Ye Lang finally succeeded in persuading him, but because Li Danteng himself took the initiative to change the life-or-death duel into an ordinary contest.

Such a thing had almost never happened before; no one ever changed the rules of a duel after agreeing to them. But given the special circumstances, not only was there no opposition, almost the entire city supported the change!

Perhaps no one had expected it, but the whole city stood behind Ye Lang. When everyone learned that Li Danteng had “forced” Ye Lang into a life-or-death duel, crowds rushed to the First Sword Saint’s residence, denouncing Li Danteng’s shameless behavior and demanding that he withdraw from the duel.

Under immense public pressure, and with the First Sword Saint himself feeling that Li Danteng had gone too far—and not wanting to offend the Ye family—the duel could not be canceled, but the format could be changed. Withdrawal was impossible!

So, the First Sword Saint instructed Li Danteng to alter the nature of the duel, making it so that neither side needed to fight to the death.

Though many found even this compromise unsatisfactory, it was the best that could be done.

The time and place of the duel were then set: it would take place seven days later in the Royal Academy Arena, a massive stadium capable of holding tens of thousands.

Afterwards, Li Danteng threw himself into secret training, preparing for the duel with all his might. Every duel had to be taken seriously, even one against someone like Ye Lang, whom everyone considered a good-for-nothing.

And as for this so-called good-for-nothing? No, as for Ye Lang?

He continued as he always had, attending classes at the academy…

“Ye Lang, why do you act as if nothing’s happened?” Zhen Xiaoyan asked helplessly. Just yesterday he had insisted he would win, that he would prove himself a man, and now he seemed not to care about the whole affair.

“What happened?” Ye Lang seemed genuinely to have forgotten.

“Your duel with Li Danteng!” Zhen Xiaoyan shook her head, feeling even more exasperated.

“That’s not for another seven days. Why talk about it now?” Ye Lang replied, fully aware but entirely untroubled.

“Aren’t you going to prepare? How else will you win, or make sure you’re unharmed? Hmph, if you lose even a single hair, I’ll make you pay!” Zhen Xiaoyan grabbed his hand and declared fiercely.

“Fatty, it’s perfectly normal for someone to shed a strand of hair by accident. You can’t blame me for that!” Ye Lang protested, innocence written all over his face.

“I don’t care, you’re not allowed to lose a single hair. At most, you can lose a body hair…” Zhen Xiaoyan fell silent for a moment before launching into her completely unreasonable demand.

“That’s a bit tricky. I’ll have to give it some thought… By the way, where’s my lunch?”

“Right here. I was just about to bring it to you.”

Days passed. Suddenly, Ye Lang remembered something. He dragged Zhen Xiaoyan off to a certain place, and upon arrival, stared in disbelief.

“Fatty, look at that notice board—are my odds three-to-one, or one-to-three?”

“I think… it says three-to-one!” Zhen Xiaoyan replied uncertainly. She too suspected a mistake, but neither of them had misread it, nor had anyone written it wrong. The odds really were three-to-one!

These were the betting odds for Ye Lang and Li Danteng’s duel. The thing Ye Lang remembered was the gambling; how could he let such an opportunity slip by? He planned to squander a little money for fun.

He never imagined, though, that his own odds would be so low—lower even than Li Danteng’s. Li Danteng’s were even odds, yet Ye Lang’s were three-to-one!

What was going on?

Ye Lang had no idea. In this round of betting, almost everyone supported him, placing their wagers on him, so much so that the odds kept falling—from an initially astonishing high to their current, unbelievably low level.

This took many people by surprise.

“Another bet on the Thirteenth Young Master? Hey, have you investigated at all? The Thirteenth Young Master is a complete good-for-nothing—he doesn’t even have a one percent chance of winning.”

“We know!”

“Then why bet on him?”

“Because we like the Thirteenth Young Master!”

So said the ordinary townsfolk. As for the nobles and wealthy magnates placing heavy bets, their reasoning should be given by the emperor himself—the gambling-loving emperor who, once again, had staked a fortune!

And the emperor’s reason was always the same—

“I don’t know Ye Lang’s strength, but I know his luck. I believe he will win!”

With all sorts of reasons like this, the whole situation became rather unexpected, and Ye Lang himself felt both gratified and delighted by his popularity.

As for the low odds, he didn’t mind in the least. He had never planned to profit from high odds. This time, he came to bet on Li Danteng, knowing he would certainly lose the money!

But this time, he found himself unable to place a bet.

“What? I can’t place a bet? Why not?”

“Thirteenth Young Master, you’re the protagonist this time. Even though we believe in your character (maybe), it’s against the rules! If you want to bet, you can only bet on yourself—that much is allowed,” the betting house staff explained humbly.

“To hell with that! If I bet on myself, I’ll just win money. Forget it; I was never here!”

Only you would complain about not being able to lose money, always scheming to lose…

So Ye Lang left the betting house with Zhen Xiaoyan and wandered the streets, searching for fun and food.

“Ye Lang, you should be preparing for the duel instead of wandering aimlessly,” Zhen Xiaoyan had said at first. But before long, she was saying something else entirely—

“Ye Lang, this is delicious! And this one, and that one…”

In the end, Zhen Xiaoyan was running all over town with Ye Lang, the duel completely forgotten.

Time passed slowly. Li Danteng trained diligently every day, while Ye Lang spent his days eating, drinking, and amusing himself—the two of them a study in contrasts.

Was Ye Lang giving up, or was he brimming with confidence?

In theory, it should have been the former, and most people agreed. In everyone’s eyes, Ye Lang, who had never trained, could never defeat Li Danteng. Why bother preparing at all?

Yet some believed it was the latter, for Ye Lang’s luck was legendary. Perhaps Li Danteng would be defeated without a fight, and this was the main reason so many supported Ye Lang.

Which was it? Today, the answer would be revealed!