Amidst the noisy surroundings, Su Duan wore a faint smile as he gazed at Zhou Yuan with interlocked hands, the old black bracelet on his wrist appearing to give off a deep lustre under the lamp light.

Zhou Yuan’s gaze merely paused on the bracelet for a split second, before turning away without anyone noticing.

Su Duan was obviously here because of jealousy, and hoped to show off in front of the girl he liked, while also taking down this potential rival a peg or two.

With regards to the little enchantress Zuoqiu Qingyu, all Zhou Yuan had were feelings of admiration for her. Thus, he was not really interested in involving himself in this matter.

Therefore, his first reaction was to shake his head to reject.

Until he saw the bracelet on Su Duan’s wrist...

“The moment I saw your bracelet, I just knew that you and I are definitely going to be friends…” Zhou Yuan secretly said inside.

His current progress in the Taiyu mark was way too slow. The root of the problem lay in the lack of rich Yimu Qi, because older precious ancient wood was really not easy to find.

Su Duan’s ancient wooden bracelet was obviously quite an antique. The rich Yimu Qi within it was definitely better than all the ancient wood Zhou Yuan had absorbed before.

If he could obtain it, he should be able to make a huge leap in perfecting his Taiyi mark.

Zhou Yuan’s gaze faintly flickered in thought. But how should he express his desire for the bracelet without alerting Su Duan?

After all, if Zhou Yuan came on too strongly, the other party would certainly make things more difficult..

While Zhou Yuan was silent, Su Duan seemed to be under the impression that he had intimidated the former, causing a look of contempt to flash across his eyes. The truth was that he had long known of Zhou Yuan, and was thus aware that he came from a remote continent. Honestly speaking, if he was not a disciple of the Cangxuan Sect, Su Duan felt that a hick like Zhou Yuan would not even have the right to speak with him.

After all, the people of the Shengzhou Continent usually felt superior to those from other continents.

A smile appeared on Su Duan’s face as he said, “Relax brother Zhou, it’ll just be for fun. You don’t have to worry at all, I’ll cover all of the costs.”

“In fact, if brother Zhou manages to open one with an old essence flame, you can go ahead and keep it.”

With a confident smile, he said, “After all, we’re just having fun, winning or losing is not important at all.”

“Brother Zhou is a Cangxuan Sect disciple, someone from such a prestigious sect can’t be afraid, right?”

He stared at Zhou Yuan with a hint of ridicule in his eyes.

The face off between the two plus the presence of the gorgeous Zuoqiu Qingyu beside them immediately turned them into the focal point of the place as countless gazes shot over.

At the same time, a wave of imposing looking figures arrived behind Su Duan, grinning from ear to ear as they watched.

“Are brother Zhou and brother Su having a little wager? Haha, that’s a good idea. This will be an eye-opener.”

“But brother Zhou appears to be a little undecided.”

“What rubbish are you spouting. Brother Zhou is a disciple of the Cangxuan Sect, how can he possibly lack the courage?”

These individuals were not unfamiliar. They were the ones who had been crowding around Zuoqiu Qingyu when Zhou Yuan first arrived.

They were also the geniuses from the top factions of Black Flame Province, and were clearly siding together against Zhou Yuan.

Zhou Yuan’s relationship with Zuoqiu Qingyu had made them feel threatened. Moreover, he was merely a country bumpkin from some remote continent, and yet he had managed to enter the Cangxuan Sect. This made them feel both disdain and envious of him.

As such, when they saw Su Duan step forward to try and shame Zhou Yuan, they were naturally happy to show their support.

The thought of stepping over a disciple from a titan such as the Cangxuan Sect filled them with a strange sense of euphoria. After all, they did not have the balls to challenge the Cangxuan Sect’s Chosens, and it just so happened that this fourth layer Alpha-Origin stage Zhou Yuan was even from another continent. This undoubtedly made him an excellent target for bullying.

Zuoqiu Qingyu’s expression darkened slightly when she saw the group’s continuous attempts to instigate Zhou Yuan, and was just about to speak up to berate them when she saw Zhou Yuan lift his head and give her a look.

Their gazes had only met for an instant, but the eccentric and highly intelligent Zuoqiu Qingyu immediately understood that Zhou Yuan had some kind of a plan.

Hence, an enchanting smile quickly appeared on her pretty face as she feigned a look of interest and said, “Opening flame rocks? It sounds like it’ll be fun.”

The sight of an interested Zuoqiu Qingyu was an unexpected but pleasant surprise to Su Duan, while the other geniuses looked at him in envy. How is this guy be so lucky? To think that he haphazardly drew Zuoqiu Qingyu’s interest.

Zuoqiu Qingyu smiled and said, “But a gamble like this will be quite meaningless if there’s no incentive.”

Su Duan was stunned, before he quickly said, “Miss Qingyu is right. There should indeed be some kind of incentive, but what kind of incentive do you have in mind?”

A slight smile was revealed on Zuoqiu Qingyu’s face as she responded, “Anything you currently have on you is fine…”

Her gaze swept towards Su Duan, causing him to straighten his back slightly as he smiled warmly.

Zuoqiu Qingyu’s gaze ultimately stopped on Su Duan’s wrist as a probing look seemed to flutter in her eyes.

Su Duan immediately raised his hand, displaying the black mottled bracelet on his wrist. He hesitated a little, but quickly smiled and said, “This Genesis treasure was given to me by my father, and was crafted from a thousand year Jasper Pine. When worn, it will allow one’s body to gradually heal even if a serious injury is sustained.”

“Since miss Qingyu wants to spice things up, allow me to wager this item as a bet.” He magnanimously waved his hand, a faint smile on his face as he looked towards Zhou Yuan. “If brother Zhou Yuan wins, I will gift this bracelet to you.”

While he spoke, he secretly remarked in his heart, “Of course, that’s only if you have the ability, you country bumpkin.”

Zhou Yuan gazed at the bracelet Su Duan had put on display for everyone, before sweeping a glance at Zuoqiu Qingyu, unable to stop himself from marvelling at her inside. His gaze had only changed briefly earlier when he saw the bracelet on Su Duan’s wrist, but she had still managed to detect it.

Nothing could escape a woman’s eyes.

Moreover, her acting had been perfect. Making Su Duan offer his bracelet without suspicion had seemed effortless for her.

“I’ve already taken out my ‘incentive’, I wonder what brother Zhou Yuan has to offer us?” Su Duan suddenly asked as he grasped his bracelet.

However, without waiting for Zhou Yuan’s reply, Su Duan turned towards Zuoqiu Qingyu with a seemingly joking smile as he said, “If I manage to win by some chance, how about miss Qingyu give me the opportunity to ask you out tomorrow?”

The other geniuses immediately cried out in surprise. Su Duan had finally revealed his goal.

Zuoqiu Qingyu merely smiled. Her long and narrow eyes seemed to glisten in a watery manner, making her look even more lovely. She swept a glance at Zhou Yuan, before she nodded.

The smile on Su Duan’s face instantly brightened.

While he was distracted, Zuoqiu Qingyu shot somewhat chilling look at Zhou Yuan, her red lips cracking open slightly as a voice was transmitted into his ears.

“If you dare to lose, just wait and see how this little lady will deal with you!”

For the sake of helping this fellow, she had even sacrificed herself this time!