The Portal of Wonderland
Chapter 529: A Clue

"Shi Mu wins! Chen Zuomu is out," announced the red-browed youth.

There was a sudden commotion under the ring, but those seated at the gambling table were even more stunned.

Many who had placed their bets on Chen Zuomu were dumbfounded and regretting their choice.

The wretched man who initially scoffed at Ma Long for betting Shi Mu was the most astonished of all. As he watched Ma Long being handed her prize of a big bag of spirit stones, he was so filled with regret that tears were visible at the corners of his eyes.

Cai jumped to and fro on Ma Long's shoulders. He was staring so eagerly at the spirit stones that his eyes looked like they were about to fall out.

According to Ma Long's calculations, the number of Shi Mu's top-quality spirit stones must have gone up to a thousand and eight hundred. Seeing that she had too made a healthy profit out of this gamble, she was in a good mood.

Looking at Cai's expression, she smiled softly as she took out a fine spirit stone from her bag and handed it over to him.

"Wow! Sister Ma, you're the most beautiful person I've ever seen!"

Upon seeing it, Cai quickly caught the stone in his mouth and raised his head up to swallow it. He then let out a hearty belch with a flash in his eyes.

This naturally stunned everyone in the crowd!

This was a top-quality spirit stone. To reward it to a spirit pet was simply a waste of resources!

"Aren't you sweet? Here's one more for you!"

Ma Long enjoyed the feeling of being able to spend. As a smile emerged from the corner of her lips while she fed Cai another spirit stone, she messaged Shi Mu telepathically.

"Brother Shi Mu, the odds on you are one to four. At this point, the number of spirit stones are close to two thousand!"

"That's good," Shi Mu echoed back.

Although his voice was as calm as ever, his heart was bursting with joy.

Such a number of high-quality spirit stones were huge for him. It could easily be exchanged for close to two thousand Xuanling points. It would be more than enough for him to live in the Holy Land for another ten years.

The surface of the ring had finished being repaired, and Chen Zuomu was lifted out for medical assistance.

The red-browed youth glanced at the crowd and took a deep breath.

"Is anyone willing to issue another challenge?"

After a moment of silence, a big man with horns on his forehead came out of the lineup and walked to the center of the ring.

"I, disciple Huo Dun, fifty-first placed, would like to challenge brother Lu who ranked forty-fifth."

The man he challenged was only a step away from him. He was skinny and with an extremely pale face. Even looking so pallid, he was quite elegant and handsome.

After the two challengers stated their names and races according to the rules, they began to fight.

The big horned man had an energy construct in the form of a fiery red-footed warrior standing three feet tall. It could spurt flames out of its mouth.

Meanwhile, the elegant man's energy construct was a six-tailed cyan fox. Each of the fox's tails seemed to be strangely reactive and sensitive to the surroundings.

As they battled, the man with the pale but handsome face had the upper hand. With the help of his six cyan fox's tails, he landed a finishing blow on his opponent and won the match.

The fight was over, but the contest did not stop for long. Before the audience under the stage could fully comprehend the match, a new one started.

On Shi Mu's right, a woman with a voluptuous red body walked out of the line. After standing in the center of the stage, she turned back and pointed out where Zi Ling stood.

"I am disciple Su Rou, rank 38. I would like to challenge disciple Zi Ling."

As soon as she issued the challenge, everyone's eyes turned toward the petite figure.

The little silhouette was none other than Zi Ling. She did not seem at all surprised as she walked out with a bright smile on her face and stood in front of Su Rou.

"My name is Su Rou, from the Torpedo demon clan of the Scaling Star," the red-skinned woman said with a smile.

"I am Zi Ling, from the human race of the Turn Star," Zi Ling replied.

Su Rou smirked and whispered, "Little sister Zi Ling, don't blame me for choosing you as my opponent today. Shi Mu only placed one rank below me, so picking him wasn't gonna be much fun even if I were to win. Don't worry, I'll go easy on you."

There was a natural charm to her smile, but Zi Ling did not fall for it. Zi Ling looked at her and could not help but blush.

"How polite of you. Please give me your best shot," Zi Ling said with a smile.

"Well, be careful!" Su Rou said as her body began to glow red and a red-scaled koi fish construct manifested behind her.

Zi Ling put her smile away and a purple hue circulated around her entire body. She placed her arms across her chest in a defensive pose.

Su Rou's two slender hands waved forward gently and the red koi behind her flashed. The two identical koi constructs separated.

As soon as the two phantom koi were summoned, they bobbed up and down, passing by Su Rou. They flew at Zi Ling, leaving two red streaks in the air.

Zi Ling clapped her palms together loudly and the purple hue lit up. A short purple-edged blade appeared in her hand.

She held the blade with one hand and swiftly swung it in front of her.

Chi-cha!

Seven or eight long crescent-shaped blades of purple light suddenly shot toward the two koi shadows.

The red koi did not back away, but went toward the purple blades at full speed, colliding with one another.

With a series of piercing sounds, the two koi constructs were struck by the purple blades and the light shattered.

It seemed that Zi Ling did not expect the two koi would falter and she was stunned for a moment.

Su Rou looked horrified as she evaded the purple light coming toward her.

Boom!

The glowing purple blade hit the ground and smashed into pieces.

Su Rou waved her sleeves to move away from the debris as she quietly walked back on her toes.

Just as Zi Ling began another charm spell, looking to attack once more, there was a sudden change!

There was a strange wave of fluctuations at her feet. She looked down and saw red ripples rising from beneath her.

Boom!

A red koi shadow suddenly leaped out of it, knocking Zi Ling into the air.

Zii Ling had no time to stabilize her body. In midair, more red ripples appeared and another red phantom koi came out of it. Its big mouth rushed at Zi Ling while spitting out a red column of light that was as thick as iron.

Boom!

The impact of the red light sent Zi Ling crashing fiercely to the ground. The two koi phantoms bobbed up and down while the red light column shot toward the center of the arena. For a time, the red light was shining on the ring.

The view of the spectators around the ring was obscured, so they could not see the situation inside. That being the case, many among them felt unusually sympathetic toward Zi Ling, due to her pretty, pleasant features.

"I think this little girl can't go on anymore…"

"This Su Rou may look delicate and gentle, but she's rather vicious!"

"She is a newcomer after all. She's still too soft compared to the elder disciples..."

Shi Mu looked at the rolling smoke in the ring with a calm expression.

"Oh, you did put in all your strength!" Zi Ling's voice echoed through the ring within the red glow and the smoke. The crowd quickly focused on the ring to catch a glimpse.

Then, a purple aura spread out at an alarming rate. When the two koi phantoms touched it slightly, they immediately melted away into nothingness.

As the smoke dissipated, Zi Ling's figure emerged.

Shi Mu looked into Zi Ling's amber-colored eyes, his gaze perked up slightly and he said something to himself.

"Zi He!"

Zi Ling's body was flashing purple light, and a gust of qi was released, blowing away the surrounding smoke.

Everyone at the ring could clearly see a purple moon shadow behind Zi Ling.

"Full Moon Magician? Oh, what a surprise." Su Rou chuckled at the sight.

Above the high platform, the lotus fairy looked at Zi Ling and his eyebrows moved slightly while whispering to himself.

"Two souls in one body…"

In the ring, Zi Ling floated leisurely in the air with her hands gesturing as she conjured complex charm spells.

The shadow of the moon behind her head suddenly collapsed and turned into countless purple moons at the tips of her fingers. With one finger pointing forward, a purple arrow of light shot out of it, aimed at Su Rou's chest.

The glowing purple arrows distorted space wherever it passed. A powerful force formed a purple vortex around the arrow, pulling in the gravel from the ground.

At the sight of this, Su Rou's eyes flashed boldly. She quickly retraced her hands, summoning two more red koi behind her. From her left and her right, they rushed toward the glowing arrow.

The two red fish were stopped as soon as they approached the vortex. The incredible suction force tore them apart, leaving only a red glow that was swallowed up by the vortex in the blink of an eye.

Su Rou was shocked when she saw this, and her hands quickly twitched on her chest.

A red koi fish energy construct emerged behind her. With its mouth wide open, a solid red light fired at Zi Ling.

Bang!

The red light in the air suddenly burst into fragments. On the other hand, the vortex around the purple arrow began to collapse as well, shrinking to the size of a thumb.

Even so, the thumb-sized arrow did not slow at all. The arrow pierced Su Rou's shoulder and the wound instantly bled.

Su Rou's body went numb and fell to the ground weakly. Her face was as pale as a piece of paper.

Everyone around the ring looked at the scene before them, and their faces changed dramatically. Some did not get to react at all, while others were too stunned to speak.

Shi Mu's eyes swept past and watched Zi Ling slowly descend from above.

He suddenly heard a voice calling him.

"Hey brother Shi Mu, I was just near the gambling table and saw the man who tried to get you back then. His name is Zhao Lei or something, I can't quite recall."

Shi Mu's brows wrinkled and he asked, "Oh, Zhao Shenlei, what's up with him this time?"

"It seemed that he gathered a group of people and all of them are betting against you. Please be careful," Ma Long answered.