"The fifth round, the Beast Fight! The Xuan Beast Fight!" Zhan Qingfeng spat out the words almost through gritted teeth! At this moment, Zhan Qingfeng had long since ceased caring about face or reputation. This was the final, do-or-die battle!

If they lost...

The consequences would be too much for even the two brothers to bear! What was the point of worrying about dignity then?

Now, their only hope was that this Mo Junye didn't know the games these spoiled young masters played, or if he did, that he wasn't too proficient, because their brothers truly couldn't afford to lose this time...

However, this Xuan Beast Fight also required considerable skill, including elements of manipulation. Even if it meant cheating, they had to win this final round!

"A Xuan Beast?" Jun Moye’s mouth twitched; he almost burst into loud laughter! What was this guy thinking? Even selling out his own clan wouldn't be this obvious; this was practically an open admission!

Damn it. Asking me, the king of the Heaven’s Punishment Forest, the young master who possesses the Heaven-Opening Fortune Technique coveted by all Xuan Beasts... to fight you with Xuan Beasts? Is there anything funnier in the world than that?

"Yes! A Xuan Beast Fight!" Zhan Qingfeng stared at him desperately, his eyes already beginning to show traces of bloodshot veins! Losing the previous four rounds so frustratingly—he had clearly been on the verge of victory in the last one, only to have the tables turned and suffer massive losses in the end...

He even had an inexplicable intuition that whatever he proposed, the opponent had already anticipated it; it always played right into Mo Junye's hands! It no longer felt like he was setting a trap, but rather that he had stumbled right into Mo Junye’s snare!

"I don't object to fighting a Xuan Beast..." but how do we fight it? And besides, I don't possess one..." Jun Moye was genuinely confused this time.

It was true that Young Master Jun was the de facto "King" of the Heaven’s Punishment Forest, but when it came to the so-called "fighting" of Xuan Beasts, he was utterly clueless!

"I will have someone send the Xuan Beasts over shortly. Rest assured, we will fight small ones with lower ranks. If the ranks were too high, their mere aura would decide the outcome, making comparison pointless..." Zhan Qingfeng explained. "As for the competing beasts, they will all come from the Beast Fighting Pits. They won't be ones I’ve personally raised, or that would lose fairness..."

"So, the rules are roughly that you and I each select one, and they engage in a duel between the two beasts?" Jun Moye inquired.

"Exactly!" Zhan Qingfeng sneered. "Don't blame me for not warning you; selecting the Xuan Beast is an art in itself. If you lose, blame your poor judgment. If you win, it's pure luck. Because the beasts delivered will mostly look identical—similar size, same rank, perhaps even the same fur color. I am truly interested to see if Genius Mo’s knack for fortune remains so sharp!"

"Whether my fortune is sharp or dull will be evident soon enough. Right now, I want to know how victory and defeat are determined in this so-called Beast Fight?" Jun Moye frowned.

"After both parties confirm their selections, we will mark the heads of the two Xuan Beasts with circles of two different colors to distinguish them: when the duel concludes, the victor lives and the loser dies; who wins and who loses will be immediately obvious!" Zhan Qingfeng stated.

As he explained, Zhan Qingfeng slowly relaxed internally, secretly delighted. It seemed Mo Junye truly didn't understand the trick to the Xuan Beast Fight; otherwise, he wouldn't be ignorant of such a rudimentary basic rule!

This round, it seemed, was truly within his grasp. After losing the previous four rounds, especially the fourth where he clearly held a massive advantage only to be overturned by the opponent, Zhan Qingfeng was genuinely scared of losing. Even in this round he felt certain of winning, his heart still fluttered with anxiety...

"I see! I understand!" Young Master Jun nodded.

During this waiting period, someone had already rushed off on horseback to the Beast Fighting Pits to arrange matters, ordering them to transport the Xuan Beasts over.

With so many dignitaries present, were they expected to travel all the way there? That would be absurd.

Besides, given the background of any of the young masters present, making the owner of a small Beast Fighting Pit obey orders was an incredibly easy "small" matter.

In the meantime, Miao Xiaomiao impatiently pulled Jun Moye aside to explain some of the rules and requirements of the Beast Fight. Though time was short, grinding one's weapon right before battle was better than nothing.

Zhan Qingfeng watched from the side, feigning generosity, though he was inwardly amused. This Xuan Beast Fight was indeed a field requiring specialized knowledge. Low-ranked Xuan Beasts, lacking their own dominant aura, were largely similar in raw strength; victory depended entirely on the command from the handler and stimulating the contestants' fighting instincts...

These specialized techniques were incredibly difficult to learn without years of immersion and a fortune spent on tuition fees...

Did people not see those who lost everything outside the Fighting Pits, driven to despair, taking their own lives with a blade? Those people were seasoned veterans of the Beast Fights! If they weren't experts, they wouldn't have staked their entire fortune on their judgment... Zhan Qingfeng felt completely certain of victory for another reason: in addition to practicing Xuan Qi, the Zhan family possessed an ancient manual passed down through generations, the Xuan Beast Scripture. This was one of the special cultivation techniques secretly hidden away by the first master of the Illusionary Mansion when the Nine Serenity’s Foremost Youth was conquering all external martial arts of the world.

Later, when the Eight Great Families of the Illusionary Mansion rose to prominence, that ancestor, to enhance the capabilities of his descendants and to learn from external examples, revealed the treasured collection of secret manuals, allowing the Eight Great Families to each select one.

At that time, the Xuan Beast Scripture was considered the most useless, the most redundant technique. After all, it was merely an unorthodox method of mental cultivation, offering no practical use in direct combat or warfare.

But the Zhan family, at that time, was merely the weakest among the newly established great families in the Illusionary Mansion. They had no choice but to pick the volume with the lowest inherent value—it was better than nothing. However, after several thousand years, this situation underwent a fundamental change!

Precisely because they possessed this Xuan Beast Scripture, the Zhan family members, after cultivation, unexpectedly gained the miraculous effect of attracting the affinity of Xuan Beasts. Although limited by the content to only affect beasts below the eighth rank, it brought the Zhan family immeasurable wealth!

And the Zhan family rose step-by-step within the Illusionary Mansion, achieving their current momentous and glorious status, entirely relying on this seemingly trivial Xuan Beast Scripture!

One must remember: economics, in any world, is a dominant force!

With money, one can achieve what most people cannot even conceive of!

The Zhan family benefited from this advantage of wealth!

Possessing such a divine skill gave the Zhan family absolute supremacy in every area concerning Xuan Beasts within the Illusionary Mansion! And the Beast Fight was naturally a major cornerstone of that advantage!

Even slightly weaker Xuan Beasts, after the Zhan family's specialized training, could defeat enemies one rank higher than themselves! And it was precisely because of this advantage that Zhan Yushu proposed this challenge!

While this situation was a known secret within the Illusionary Mansion, Miao Xiaomiao, as the Mansion Master's granddaughter, naturally knew about it. This was why she was now even more worried. Mo Junye didn't understand this, and now, with the Zhan family possessing such a massive inherent advantage, how could he possibly win against superior strength with inferior means?

For a moment, Miao Xiaomiao was truly filled with worry, because this time she truly saw no hope of victory for Mo Junye!

This time was completely different from the previous rounds. Previously, one might argue they won through inherent foundation or even luck, but this time, even the sharpest fortune would be useless—the opponent possessed absolute superiority... Miao Xiaomiao sighed deeply.

"Miss Miao, what's wrong?" Jun Moye asked absentmindedly while listening to her explanation, noticing her sigh.

"The Zhan family is truly despicable... You don't know..." Miao Xiaomiao sighed, recounting the entire matter, finally frowning, "There is absolutely no chance of winning this final match..."

"Impossible? Can the Zhan family truly be that formidable? Can the same Xuan Beast become worse in their hands? How can that be!" Jun Moye asked uncertainly.

"It's true. In this world, there are only things one hasn't thought of, not things that cannot be done! The Zhan family possesses exactly that capability!" Miao Xiaomiao looked at him worriedly. "Hoping to win this round based on luck again... is completely impossible! The Zhan family proposed this final round specifically to eliminate any lingering hope you have, intending to defeat you with their absolute, inherent strength!"

"Not necessarily, not necessarily." If it were any other matter, Jun Moye might concede defeat, but in the realm of Xuan Beasts... If Jun Moye claimed to be second best in the world, even the Nine Serenity’s Foremost Youth might hesitate to claim the title of number one!

Regarding this final round, Jun Moye had a 100,000,000% certainty that he would win.

What the Zhan family could achieve at most was merely stirring up the Xuan Beasts' emotions, what was so great about that? This Young Master could make a Xuan Beast advance a rank in the blink of an eye... You want to compete with me? The Zhan family is nothing but dog dung! At best, they’re just stirring things up, making themselves smell worse! Watch this Young Master dismantle them!

While waiting, the crowd also engaged in discussion. Everyone present, including the judges, believed that the Zhan family was undoubtedly going to win this time! There would be no surprises!

The expressions of Zhan Qingfeng and his group finally regained their arrogant fervor.

So what if you possess the legendary Ethereal Body? So what if you won the preceding four rounds? As long as you lose this final one, you're still finished!

The winner is king, the loser is a thief.

But, who truly held the reins of victory?

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