MTLNOVEL Chapter 480: Misunderstanding
"Ha ha ha, Fu Yangzi, this round is another victory for our Wu Family."
In the Wu household, a bald elder's piercing laughter echoed.
This man was none other than Wu Tianxiao, the Wu Family Patriarch.
Opposite him, the Fu Family Patriarch Fu Yangzi and many high-ranking family members had gloomy expressions and remained silent.
The betting war between the Fu Family and the Wu Family spanned from the Postnatal Qi Transformation Realm family disciples to the Qi Transformation Innate elders, and finally, it would involve a confrontation between the Guiyuan Realm powerhouses.
So far, the bet match had gone through seven rounds, of which the Fu Family had won only three.
"Who will you send to fight next?"
Wu Tianxiao laughed triumphantly.
The Wu Family had already won four rounds, and there was one more Qi Transformation Innate level confrontation to go. Since Fu Lin, the strongest in Fu Family's Qi Transformation Realm, had already lost, the Wu Family was sure to win the next round as well.
Then, there would be two Guiyuan Realm confrontations, and the Wu Family was equally confident of their victory.
Thus, with this course of events, the Wu Family would emerge as significant victors in the betting war, gaining a substantial amount of resources from the Fu Family.
Thinking of this, Wu Tianxiao could hardly hide his joy, laughing recklessly.
Just then, a group of people appeared in the distance.
Both parties turned to look.
"That's... Chen Yu, Ye Luofeng!"
Wu Tianxiao immediately recognized them.
Nine years ago, during the grand hunting competition, it was because of Chen Yu and Ye Luofeng that the Fu Family clinched first place.
Later, in the academy competition, Chen Yu shone brightly, surpassing the prestigious Royal Yun Hai Zhen and securing the top position among the academy's prodigies.
Though many years had passed and there had been no news of these two, Wu Tianxiao recognized them at a glance.
"Chen Yu, Ye Luofeng?"
Upon seeing Chen Yu and Ye Luofeng, Fu Yangzi was overjoyed and began to laugh.
Firstly, these two were powerful talents.
Secondly, for this betting war, it was agreed between the two families not to enlist external help, but Chen Yu and Ye Luofeng had become Guest Elders of the Fu Family long ago and were eligible to represent the Fu Family in the fight.
If Chen Yu and Ye Luofeng were willing to help, the Fu Family still had a chance to win this time.
"Guest Chen, so long without any news from you, and suddenly you have time to visit our Fu Family?"
Family Head Fu Yuan greeted them warmly; having interacted more with Chen Yu in the past, they were somewhat familiar.
At the same time, Fu Yuan glanced at the Wu Family, his face full of triumph, as if to imply that with Chen Yu and Ye Luofeng's arrival, the outcome of the battle was still uncertain.
The senior members of the Wu Family started to feel uneasy, cursing Chen Yu and Ye Luofeng's untimely arrival internally.
Geniuses like Chen Yu and Ye Luofeng, with their formidable strength, joining the bet battle would definitely be bad news.
"I was passing by and heard that the Family Head and Uncle Lin were here, so I thought I'd stop by."
Chen Yu replied with a simple smile.
"Isn't this Chen Yu? The day you won first place in the big academy competition and planned to visit Yunlai Prefecture, I had just prepared to invite you to the Wu Family but you had already left."
Wu Tianxiao responded with a smile.
"Then that must have been my bad luck."
Chen Yu replied courteously.
After all, he held no enmity with the Wu Family, and being a Guest Elder of the Fu Family, he did not consider the Fu Family's competitors, his enemies.
"No good, we can't let Wu Tianxiao keep talking to Chen Yu, who knows what kind of schemes this old man might use to prevent Chen Yu from helping our Fu Family."
Seeing this, Family Head Fu Yuan inwardly cried out in alarm.
"Guest Chen, I wonder if you'd be interested in joining the bet battle between the Fu Family and Wu Family? The last match has just ended, and the Fu Family is now selecting combatants."
Fu Yuan came straight to the point.
The rest of the Fu Family also looked expectantly at Chen Yu.
Chen Yu had a big reputation, having won the grand academy competition, and they feared that with his high standards, he might disdain participating in such a bet battle.
"Guest Chen, since you've just arrived, feel free to exercise your skills, regardless of the outcome, the Fu Family would be pleased to offer a welcome gift."
Fu Yuan continued, throwing in incentives.
On the other side, the Wu Family cursed Fu Yuan for being so eloquent, thinking if Chen Yu joined the battle, how could he possibly lose?
"Brother Chen, please help the Fu Family. If you intervene, no one below the Guiyuan Realm can match you."
The short-haired young man who accompanied Chen Yu also spoke up.
On the way, he found that Chen Yu was approachable, so now he felt more emboldened to make such a direct request.
"I won't participate in this one."
After pondering for a moment, Chen Yu responded.
He had refused!
The people of the Fu Family were momentarily stunned, then a bit disheartened, and some even looked at Chen Yu with a hint of disdain.
Fu Gong, Fu Hong, and Fu Yanzi, who had participated in the hunt with Chen Yu, all showed expressions of disappointment.
In their eyes, Chen Yu, now a top genius of Yun Zhao Country, had changed his perspective, became more arrogant, and was too proud to help the Fu Family, thus he had refused.
"It must have been Wu Tianxiao, that fool, who secretly sent a message to Chen Yu promising some benefits, otherwise why would Chen Yu refuse?"
Clan Leader Fu Yangzi glared at Wu Tianxiao, his eyes burning with rage, cursing the opponent's ancestors in his heart.
Across from him, the Wu Family members looked momentarily taken aback, then all began to laugh.
They hadn't expected Chen Yu to refuse!
"Chen Yu, the last time you left in a hurry, after the betting war, why not sit a while at the Wu Family?"
Wu Tianxiao immediately extended an invitation.
Even if it didn't work, it showed his good intent.
But as soon as Wu Tianxiao said this, the people of the Fu Family became even more convinced that the Wu Family must have reached some agreement with Chen Yu secretly.
"No thanks, I'm busy."
Chen Yu declined Wu Tianxiao's invitation.
The Wu Family was just a third-rate small clan and Chen Yu didn't have any relation to them; he didn't want to waste much time on such meaningless socializing.
"No worries, you can always visit when you're free next time."
Wu Tianxiao found himself an excuse but secretly cursed Chen Yu for being too arrogant.
"Fu Cheng, you're up."
Fu Yangzi instructed.
"Yes."
A middle-aged man stepped onto the stage.
On the other side, the Wu Family also sent an elder who was at the Peak of Innate in the Qi Transformation Realm.
The two immediately began to fight, but Fu Cheng had only recently broken through to the Peak of Innate and was not as powerful as the elder from the Wu Family.
The battle was one-sided.
The Fu Family, originally without hope, watched as Fu Cheng continuously retreated, their sorrow deepening.
"Alas."
The short-haired young man beside Chen Yu stepped a few paces away from him.
Initially, when Chen Yu agreed to come and watch, he thought Chen Yu would certainly help the Fu Family, but Chen Yu refused, which disappointed him.
Chen Yu was fully aware of the young man's actions.
However, he was also very helpless in his heart.
This gambling battle was clearly on the level of Qi Transformation, and he, being in the Guiyuan Realm, couldn't possibly participate in a battle meant for the Qi Transformation levels. There were surely rules in the gambling battle that prevented someone from the Guiyuan Realm from fighting someone in the Qi Transformation Realm.
Chen Yu refused to participate in this round, but he could participate in the next Guiyuan Realm level battle.
Of course, it was also the Fu Family's fault for underestimating him.
In their memory, Chen Yu was only at the Peak of Middle Innate seven years ago.
Only a little over seven years had passed, and they only knew of Chen Yu's low-grade Spiritual Body, never expecting him to have advanced to the Guiyuan Realm.
Moreover, for the past few years, Chen Yu had been out of touch and kept a low profile.
In their eyes, it must be that Chen Yu's cultivation progressed slowly, and he was gradually surpassed, feeling embarrassed, so he purposely stayed low-key.
Especially in recent years, as the new academy competition concluded, Chen Yu's name was gradually replaced by new prodigies.
"Bang!"
Fu Cheng was struck off the dueling platform by the elder from the Wu Family.
The Fu Family lost another round, now three to five.
Next were two bouts within the Guiyuan Realm.
But the Fu Family heard that a Supreme Elder from the Wu Family had recently broken through to the Early Peak of the Guiyuan Realm.
The Fu Family had no one at the Early Peak of the Guiyuan Realm, so they were bound to lose.
"Brother Jing, it's all on you now."
Wu Tianxiao turned respectfully to an elderly bald man behind him.
Having won three consecutive bouts, he directly invited the strongest person within their clan to fight this battle, aiming for a fourth consecutive win and giving the Fu Family a harsh blow.
"Hmm."
The bald elder responded calmly, walking up to the dueling platform and looking indifferently at the people of the Fu Family, appearing very relaxed.
"Ah, I'll go first."
Fu Yangzi sighed and prepared to ascend the platform.
However, a figure suddenly appeared in front of him, extending an arm to stop Fu Yangzi.
"Guest Chen, what's the matter?"
Fu Yangzi looked toward Chen Yu, frowning slightly with a somewhat displeased expression.
Chen Yu was unwilling to help the Fu Family and now was even blocking him—what did this mean?
Could it be that the Wu Family offered him great benefits, causing Chen Yu to betray the Fu Family and now purposely embarrass him?
"Senior Fu Yangzi, didn't the Family Head just invite me to join this gamble? Please let me handle this round."
Chen Yu said calmly.
In fact, he wasn't interested in this fight but was purely trying to help the Fu Family.
"Hmm?"
Fu Yangzi was momentarily stunned.
The rest of the Fu Family paused for a moment, then immediately showed surprised smiles.
"Chen Yu, have you broken through to the Guiyuan Realm?"
Family Head Fu Yuan asked, somewhat incredulously.
Chen Yu was not even thirty years old and had a low-grade Spiritual Body.
It was truly inconceivable that someone with a low-grade Spiritual Body had cultivated to the Guiyuan Realm before thirty.
"Yes!"
Chen Yu replied, then stepped onto the dueling platform.
Across from him, the people of the Wu Family were similarly shocked and furious.
The Wu Family members, thinking of how they rejoiced believing Chen Yu had refused to help the Fu Family, suddenly felt embarrassed, having a sensation of being played.
It turned out Chen Yu was not unwilling to help the Fu Family; rather, his cultivation was too high to participate in the previous battle.
"We're doomed, even if Chen Yu just broke through to the Guiyuan Realm, his strength must far surpass the typical early peak of the Guiyuan Realm. Brother Jing might lose."
Wu Tianxiao internally cursed his luck.
Back then, in the academy's grand competition, Chen Yu, merely at the Peak of Middle Innate, defeated those already in the Guiyuan Realm. Now that Chen Yu was in the Guiyuan Realm, his strength couldn't be measured by ordinary standards.
"Can we start now?"
Chen Yu stood on the platform for a while and asked.
"We can... start!"
Family Head Fu Yuan immediately responded with a smile.
On the platform, Chen Yu looked at the bald elder from the Wu Family, arms behind his back, his expression calm with no intention of making a move, seemingly giving leeway to the Wu Family Guiyuan Realm fighter.
But the bald elder felt that Chen Yu's action was contemptuous and dismissive, his expression darkening with annoyance in his heart.
"Such a young hero breaking through to the Guiyuan Realm, truly a hero emerges from youth, but don't underestimate the older generation."
The bald elder snorted lowly, his figure floating up.