After charging forward fifty steps, Fang Yuan's momentum finally halted. He turned around to face Li Ran, ready to resume his assault.
But Li Ran had already raised his hand and was shouting at the top of his lungs: "Wait! I'm not fighting anymore—I surrender!"
The moment those words left his mouth, the entire arena fell silent, then erupted into an uproar.
"What the hell? He's quitting already?"
"We spent Yuan Stones specifically to come here and see All-Out Gu used at full power!"
"You coward! Are you even a man? Get up and fight!"
The crowd seethed with indignation.
Many were so furious they were huffing through their noses, feeling they'd wasted their Yuan Stones, and began cursing up a storm. But there were also a good number who found Li Ran's decision perfectly understandable.
"There's no way he can win. Li Ran was smart to surrender."
"That last exchange was enough to show the gap between them. If the fight kept going, Li Ran's life would've been in real danger."
"This Li Ran is an old hand at the arena. He's got plenty of experience — I'm not the least bit surprised he did this."
*Clang.* A crisp bell toll announced the end of the match.
Along the edge of the arena, the spectators began filing out. Fang Yuan made as if to leave as well.
"Fang Zheng, don't go just yet." Li Ran suddenly spoke up, stopping him.
Fang Yuan furrowed his brow and turned to look at him. "What do you want?"
Even the people around them slowed their steps involuntarily.
"Fang Zheng, I did you a good turn, and now you've gone and hurt me. You're biting the hand that fed you — you owe me compensation!" Li Ran shouted.
The words were shameless. Li Ran had been the one who recklessly challenged Fang Yuan and gotten injured for it, yet here he was turning the tables, accusing the other of "biting the hand that fed him."
Many who heard this couldn't help but scoff, their contempt for Li Ran growing even deeper.
Forcing Fang Yuan into a challenge — fine, that was just a man letting his temper get the better of him, a human failing anyone could understand. But sticking around to badger Fang Yuan afterward? That was just being an unreasonable nuisance.
Fang Yuan shook his head, turned, and walked away. "Did I knock something loose in your skull too?"
A roar of laughter went up from the crowd.
But Li Ran struggled to his feet and called after Fang Yuan: "Fang Zheng, I know who you are! You're someone who repays kindness and grudges in kind — they say a drop of grace repaid with a gushing spring, a spark of enmity burned back across a whole plain! Shang Cinsi gave you a few small favors, and you risked your life to rescue her, escorting her all the way to Merchant City. The Merchant Clan Patriarch offered you a reward, and you turned it down flat, saying your debts were settled. It was the Merchant Clan Patriarch who practically shoved that Purple Thorn Token into your hands!"
"Fang Zheng, I did you a good turn too! Think about it — if I hadn't picked that Starlight Stone, would you ever have obtained All-Out Gu? No! Heh heh, anyone else wouldn't matter. But I know you. I understand you. You're a man who's a bit of a tyrant, maybe, but you always repays his debts — otherwise you can't even sleep at night. Isn't that right? Think about it. If you owe me this, will you ever be able to sleep soundly again?"
"Hmph. That's because you haven't seen Fang Yuan's true face!" In the crowd, Bai Ningbing heard Li Ran's words and couldn't help but laugh coldly to herself.
Fang Yuan obtaining All-Out Gu had only stoked her curiosity further.
After all, Fang Yuan had always been her imagined rival.
But Fang Yuan stopped in his tracks.
Under the gaze of every person present, he turned around to face Li Ran, his expression somewhat grave.
"Hearing you put it that way... I suppose I do owe you a debt. But first, you were the one who offended me by picking this fight. Second, there's no way I'm handing All-Out Gu over to anyone. So what exactly do you suggest I do?"
Fang Yuan's words caused the departing crowd to halt in their tracks, everyone pausing to watch.
Bai Ningbing also let out a small "hmm" of surprise.
"All-Out Gu may be a Third Transformation Gu, but it originates from the ancient era — nowadays it's one of a kind, and its true value is beyond estimation. Just give me a hundred thousand Yuan Stones and we'll call it even!" Li Ran mulled it over and spoke.
"Is this Li Ran an idiot?"
"He's actually asking for that much? He's stupider than I thought..."
"To even make such a request — the man has no shame whatsoever!"
Shakes of the head rippled through the crowd as their disdain for Li Ran deepened.
Fang Yuan considered for a moment, then shook his head.
"A hundred thousand Yuan Stones isn't enough to settle this debt. I'll give you two hundred thousand Yuan Stones — that's the only way my conscience will be clear." With that, he raised his hand and summoned his Elder Gu, withdrawing every last Yuan Stone from inside it.
A pile of Yuan Stones instantly materialized on the arena floor.
"This is a little over eighty thousand Yuan Stones. It's all I have on me right now. When I've got more money in the future, I'll pay you the rest!"
"What?!" Fang Yuan's words left everyone stunned.
"He actually gave them? And he even offered to raise the amount to two hundred thousand!" Many stood there with jaws agape.
"Am I seeing this right? Li Ran didn't get All-Out Gu, but with this kind of Yuan Stone compensation, it's not a bad deal at all." Most of the spectators blinked at the pile of Yuan Stones, nearly drooling.
"This Fang Zheng is really..." Many watched Fang Yuan's departing back, a strange mix of expressions crossing their faces, unable to find the right words.
Though they hadn't gotten to see All-Out Gu unleashed as they'd hoped, the entertaining exchange between Li Ran and Fang Yuan had not left the crowd without their fill.
The tale of this fight spread quickly from mouth to mouth, ten becoming a hundred, a hundred becoming a thousand, and circulated rapidly throughout Merchant City.