If Heaven hadn't given birth to me, I would be arrogant.

Lotte's disturbance at the Zong residence did not cause any controversy in the capital. After all, it was not a big deal for the Minister of Military Affairs to teach the Deputy Minister of Military Affairs a lesson. As for Lotte being punished by Zong Ze, those present who knew about it were basically Zong's direct subordinates. No one dared to risk offending a Grand Duke with the title of Marshal and a Grand Duke with royal blood to spread such rumors!

Therefore, the most talked-about event in the capital right now is the duel between the young master of the Zong family, the former idiot of the capital, now the genius of the capital, and Long Xiaotian, the third prince of the Longteng Empire.

Although Zong Ze nearly bankrupted all the casinos in the capital last time, these casino operators all have the bad habits of gamblers—they don't learn their lesson, especially since they found Zong Ze's win inexplicable. Furthermore, while Zong Ze has reached the level of a second-level Martial Master, His Highness Long Xiaotian is a fifth-level Martial Master. Therefore, the odds are still very high this time!

Long Xiaotian, 1 to 1; Zongze, 1 to 7!

It wasn't that these casinos didn't want to increase the odds on Zongze; they really wanted to win back all the money they'd lost last time. However, they'd lost so badly that, after doing the math, offering 7 to 1 was the highest odds they could offer this time!

Initially, the casinos were overjoyed. Since this incident involved two empires, many people in the Dragon Empire, some motivated by profit, others by currying favor with the royal family, and still others perhaps with ulterior motives, contacted all merchants within the Rune Empire who belonged to the Dragon Empire, doing everything they could to persuade them to bet on Long Xiaotian!

On the other hand, although some people in the Luen Empire also bet on Zong Ze for the honor of the country, Zong Ze's strength was simply too great. So apart from His Majesty Lan Qi Zhan symbolically betting 100 million, the rest of them only bet less than 50 in total!

Of course, the main family is an exception. This time, the main family placed a bet of 1000 million, while Zong Ze himself also entrusted Princess Han Li to place a bet of 500 million! It is worth mentioning that after hearing about this, King Yu Tian of the Jade Kingdom also placed a bet of 500 million on Zong Ze!

Just before the duel began, the casino tallied up the accounts and found that everyone had placed a total of 22 million bets on Zong Ze, while the bets on Long Xiaotian had accumulated to a terrifying nearly 200 million!

Now, the casino owners started praying again. They had changed their minds and genuinely hoped that Lord Zongze could win the duel, so that they could make a small profit. But if Long Xiaotian won, the casino would lose money again! So, before the duel began, these owners prayed one by one that His Highness Long Xiaotian would fall slightly ill, which would increase Lord Zongze's chances of winning!

However, it was clear that the bosses' prayers had no effect. When the duel began, His Highness Long Xiaotian, dressed in a magnificent samurai outfit, appeared in the arena riding a robust level eight magical beast, the Youyun Black Panther.

When Long Xiaotian appeared, the entire audience was stunned. The Dark Cloud Black Panther! That's an eighth-level magical beast, a speed-based combat beast that even Martial Saints would find difficult to handle! It seems the Dragon Soaring Empire has truly invested heavily in this duel!

In the Holy Word Continent, many people own spirit pets. However, adult high-level spirit pets are extremely difficult to tame, while young high-level spirit pets are even harder to capture. Therefore, most people's spirit pets are magical beasts below level three. Some young masters and ladies, lacking their own strength but concerned about appearances, are forced to capture ordinary animals with no combat power to keep as spirit pets, just to show that they also own spirit pets!

There are quite a few such people in the capital. For example, everyone knows that the young master of the Zong family is one of the oddballs, as he raises a black pig as his spirit pet!

But today, Long Xiaotian is riding an eighth-level magical beast. How much would one have to pay to acquire an eighth-level magical beast? First, at least a Martial God-level expert would need to kill the cub's parents, then capture the cub, and then spend a great deal of money and time to slowly raise and tame it into a combat-ready spirit pet that can fight alongside its master! Only a prince of the empire like Long Xiaotian could obtain such a spirit pet!

At least according to rumors in the capital, even His Majesty the Emperor of the Luen Empire possesses a ninth-tier spirit pet!

Upon seeing Long Xiaotian's appearance, everyone began to sigh for young master Zong Ze. In particular, the casino owners closed their eyes in despair. There was nothing they could do. A level 5 martial artist alone was enough to give Zong Ze a hard time, not to mention the level 8 magical beast Youyun Black Panther, whose combat power was equivalent to that of a martial saint.

Finally, amidst everyone's expectant gazes, our protagonist, young master Zong Ze, made his appearance!

Just like in the last duel, young master Zongze made a lazy entrance, still wearing a strange magic robe!

However, observant people noticed that this time was a little different from the last! The fire poker that knocked Little Fox unconscious last time was gone, replaced by a black iron rod more than two meters long. Moreover, Young Master Zongze's famous little black pig spirit pet, which was known throughout the capital, was also following behind him, grunting and whining!

This time, there were no boos! After all, Zongze represented the Rune Empire, and as the home team, few wanted to see him lose! Of course, the Empire's Finance Minister and his son were visibly excited, with Little Fox even shouting, "Zongze, you dare to come out for a duel? Cousin, beat this guy up! I've already booked food at the best restaurant in the capital. After we beat him, we'll go celebrate!"

"Hmm?" Upon hearing Little Fox's shout, the first one to lose face was His Majesty Blue Chess, the Supreme Commander of the Rune Empire. He frowned slightly and said to Fox, the Finance Minister who was smiling beside him, "Lord Fox, it seems that your son really wants our Rune Empire to lose face!"

"Ah! This..." Fox instantly realized what was happening, his face turning deathly pale. "Your Majesty, this...this...I have failed to discipline my son properly. Please forgive me. I suppose my son was a little unwilling to accept his defeat last time, so he spoke without thinking this time!"

"I hope so!" Lan Qizhan said coldly, "I believe my finance minister won't have any objections!"

After saying that, Lan Qizhan ignored Fox, who was pale with fright and kept saying no, no, and frowned slightly, saying, "What is Zong Ze doing now? Why isn't he going up to greet his opponent? What is he muttering to himself? Does he have some kind of evil plan again?"