After the test, Han Lang walked into the group of newly accepted recruits under Huang Yuhua's regretful gaze.
He was not surprised by the outcome.
However, as he passed Zhao Wu, he unexpectedly heard Zhao Wu's disdainful mockery.
"Thought you were so great? Turns out you're just at the middle stage of Foundation Establishment! Your strength isn't much, but you put on quite a show!"
Hearing this, Han Lang immediately stopped, looking at Zhao Wu with a forced smile, and asked.
"What did you say?"
Zhao Wu, not intimidated, casually repeated.
"I said, you are a small! pathetic! loser!"
Han Lang heard the words clearly and retorted sarcastically.
"It seems Young Master Zhao is very confident in his own strength! Do you have confidence in winning the championship of the new recruit arena competition?"
Zhao Wu scoffed, "I dare not hope for the championship! But at least I should have more certainty than you, shouldn't I?"
Han Lang chuckled, "Is that so? How about we make a bet?"
Zhao Wu, unafraid, quickly asked, "Bet on what?"
"Let's bet on who between us can win the championship of the new recruit arena competition!"
Zhao Wu trembled in shock.
The surrounding crowd also immediately erupted into chaos.
"Did I hear that right? He's provoking someone in the late stage of Foundation Establishment?"
"He must have lost his mind! This is basically impossible!"
"Exactly! Although the late stage of Foundation Establishment is already very strong, among the thousands of new recruits who passed the test, there shouldn't be only one with this level of strength in our squad!"
"You're right! To directly bet on the championship is indeed too arrogant! In other squads, there might even be someone who has broken through to the Golden Core stage!"
"Hmph! Bragging is not illegal. Who can't do it? In my opinion, he's just putting on a brave face!"
...
Zhao Wu's thoughts were similar to those of the chattering bystanders.
Although he possessed the strength of the late stage of Foundation Establishment, he did not have enough confidence in winning the championship of the new recruit arena competition.
Even if there were no one-in-ten-thousand Golden Core cultivators among this batch of new recruits, there were certainly no less than five people in the late stage of Foundation Establishment.
Such a bet, in his opinion, was meaningless.
Therefore, he sneered even more contemptuously.
"Hmph, hmph! Are you joking? I won't say anything about others for now, but if neither of us wins the championship, how should the outcome of this bet be determined?"
Han Lang also smiled faintly.
"That's easy! Whoever ranks higher wins! However, if you're unwilling to bet directly on the championship, does that mean you're scared?"
Zhao Wu, having never been so humiliated, was instantly enraged and replied.
"I'm scared? Heh, a bet is a bet! But we must agree that if neither of us wins the championship, we will settle the bet according to our rankings. Do you dare?"
Han Lang replied without hesitation.
"Of course! Tell me, what do you want as the stake?"
Zhao Wu also barely thought about it.
In his opinion, such a bet was merely about venting his anger.
Moreover, they were all new recruits, and Han Lang was a rogue cultivator from a small place like Ley City. He probably didn't have anything he would value on him.
Therefore, he directly replied.
"In my opinion, you're just a pauper! Let's forget about material stakes. Let's bet that whoever loses will follow the other's lead in this special forces unit from now on! Always be inferior to the other, and address them as 'Big Brother' whenever you meet. How about that?"
Han Lang smiled calmly.
He knew that Zhao Wu's prejudice against him stemmed from Zhao Wei's issues with the Wang family of Ley City, and the exaggeration of matters in the trial.
Therefore, what Zhao Wu wanted most was to humiliate him in every possible way.
And if Han Lang retaliated using Zhao Wu's methods, it would be unbearable for him.
Thus, he agreed without even thinking about it.
"Deal! It's as you said!"
Upon hearing this, a smile of cunning success appeared on Zhao Wu's face.
Han Lang's words immediately caused a stir in the group of new recruits.
They began to discuss again.
"No way? He actually dared to accept the challenge!"
"Like an egg hitting a rock! Overestimating himself!"
"How about we also act as bookies? I'll say it upfront, I'm backing that kid Zhao Wu!"
As the situation developed to this point, some people naturally held different opinions.
"I don't think so! Since that Han Lang dares to accept the challenge, I estimate he must have some extraordinary qualities!"
"I think so too! We are all adults, don't we understand the basic difference in strength?"
"Since it's a bet, both sides must have supporters! I'm also betting on Han Lang!"
Hearing the chattering discussions, Ma Long could no longer hold back.
"Brother, you have good judgment! I guarantee you, my young master will definitely win this bet!"
Seeing Ma Long's confident and socially adept demeanor, Tang Qin and Tang Geng couldn't help but feel a flock of crows fly over their foreheads, looking innocent.
But Ma Long did not intend to let them off the hook.
After boasting about them to everyone, he even pulled Tang Qin and Tang Geng along, pointing at them and saying to the crowd.
"Everyone, let me tell you! Everything I say is true. If you don't believe me, you can ask these two! My young master had the strength to easily kill a mutated S-class esper when he was only in the early stage of Foundation Establishment! They both witnessed it!"
The crowd was immediately in an uproar.
"Mutated S-class esper? Isn't that the strength of a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator?"
"Are you bragging? Outside of special forces, where in Xia Guo can you encounter S-class espers? And mutated ones at that!"
"Exactly! I think he's bragging too much, and it will fall apart on its own! Haha..."
...
Just then, someone in the crowd suddenly seemed to remember something and pointed at Ma Long, asking.
"Brother, you're not from Hua Nan region, Ley City, are you?"
Ma Long's spirits immediately lifted.
"What? Brother, have you heard our story?"
The person nodded.
"I've heard a little. I heard that the Ley City Special Investigation Bureau took down three esper bases in one go, wasn't that you?"
Ma Long became excited.
"It was us! It was us! I never thought we would be so famous! Brother, you have insight! Where are you from?"
Seeing Ma Long's smug look, the person couldn't help but feel speechless.
In the end, he just replied sheepishly.
"Brother, you flatter me! I'm just an ordinary cultivator from Fengcheng in Hua Zhong. I don't have insight, not at all! Heh heh."
Although their conversation had ended, every word reached the ears of others. 138 Reading Network
"No way? They actually took down three esper bases?"
"If that's the case, then the matter of killing mutated S-class espers might have some credibility!"
"But, are there really espers of this level infiltrating Xia Guo? This is terrifying to think about!"
"Who cares! I only know that I've changed my mind, and I want to bet on Han Lang's side!"
...
Hearing that many people had changed their minds because of Ma Long's words, Zhao Wu's expression gradually became more and more unpleasant.
He glared resentfully at Ma Long, about to explain himself and canvass for votes, when Huang Yuhua, after dealing with the seven or eight cultivators who had been eliminated, immediately returned to his already noisy team.
"What's all the noise? What's all the noise? Do you think you're so amazing just because you passed the test?"