"You could also give up or be knocked unconscious. It's just…" Shimizu Mizutani paused.
"Mmm, it's not likely to occur," Elder Inazuma finished for her, "as it's much easier and quicker to strip one of his pants than it is to beat them into submission."
Naturally, when experts of such a high level fought, mortal cloth already had trouble surviving the battles unscathed. If one could not use lethal force, then forcibly removing one article of another's clothing was much more manageable than the other two ways of victory.
"I have another question, Second Elder. Is the Fourth Elder stronger than the other two elders?"
Kenja had originally thought the Fourth and Sixth Elder were teaming up to avenge him for what occurred earlier, but now, the Third and Sixth Elder appeared to be working together against the Fourth Elder and losing.
"Hmmm…yes and no. There isn't a simple answer to your question. We are all at the Nascent Soul stage of cultivation, so you could say we are on equal footing, but we each spend our time differently."
He took a sip of tea before continuing, "Third and Sixth Brother spend a large amount of their time refining weapons and pills while Fourth Brother spends most of his time cultivating his body and battle techniques. Because of this, Fourth Brother has a slight advantage in combat. That doesn't mean Third and Sixth lack cards up their sleeves, but such cards would be precious and designed to kill their enemy or escape danger. They wouldn't waste them in a practice match."
"It's because of this reason that Brother Miji attacked first, and why there was no shame when Brother Kondo and Brother Diao cooperated against him. After all, the tallest nail gets hammered down first."
Kenja nodded to show his understanding. Elder Inazuma's explanations cleared up all his doubts including why the Fourth Elder would make the first move.
While taking initiative was considered the best thing to do in a battle, this rule of thumb was for one-on-one duels. In the rare situation that three or more people of relatively similar strength fought amongst themselves, the person who made the first move placed himself at the greatest disadvantage.
In the best case scenario, the first attacker's move would force one side to retire, but he would have spent energy to accomplish the feat while the third party merely watched his opponents weaken each other. Yet, what kind of enemy would be kind enough to hold back from attacking you the instant after you finish off their other opponent?
Despite his small size, Fourth Elder Ariyoshi Miji had a distinct advantage when it came to fighting that was only magnified when the rules of the match restrained Third Elder Kondo and Sixth Elder Gao Diao.
Because the three elders knew he had an advantage in battle, this advantage became a disadvantage in a three-way battle as the two weaker sides would naturally team up against the stronger side. That was why Ariyoshi MIji sent Kondo flying towards Gao Diao, hoping he could encourage them to fight one another through convenience.
Unfortunately, although Kondo had swung at Gao Diao, they still ended up working together.
"Alas, it's my brothers who are sparring; otherwise, I could place some wagers with them…I don't suppose you like to gamble, Little Hikaru?" He stared at Kenja with his lone eye full of hope and doubt.
"Uncle! Gambling is a bad habit. You shouldn't encourage it in front of the younger disciples," Shimizu Mizutani reminded Second Elder while gesturing to Kenja and Aracha, "Especially the girls!"
It would reflect poorly on a younger female disciple to gamble with a male elder concerning the outcome of the other elders' sparring match.
"Bah! It's just a little fun. If they can play around, why can't we?" He pointed to the Fourth Elder and Sixth Elder who were still locked in an epic confrontation of flying fists and vines.
"Whaddya say, Little Hikaru?"
He looked at Kenja as if his confirmation was destined, with eagerness and excitement.
Kenja smiled awkwardly in return.
Although Kenja enjoyed a good gamble, he would not gamble so carelessly. He knew very little about the elders or their way of fighting, so wagering on their fight would just be throwing money away.
Kenja thought of a good way to decline Elder Inazuma's proposal, "It would be improper of me to gamble on the elders' match—"
More than two dozen middle tier spirit stones flew out of Kenja's sleeve like magic and formed a disorganized pile on the table, interrupting Kenja mid-speech.
Shimizu Mizutani, Aracha and Kenja himself looked at the pile of enormous wealth stunned, failing to reconcile what he had just said with the image of the spirit stones on the table. On the other hand, Inazuma looked at Kenja with increasing interest.
"Put me down for thirty on Little Sixth losing his pants twice, disciple! And don't think you're getting any part of my winnings. I'm using my own savings."
Kenja wanted to strangle Snail right then and there.
He had just announced he would not gamble, and now he had to slap his own face?
And what kind of Qi Flourishing disciple took out thirty middle tier spirit stones like it was nothing? Even thirty low tier spirit stones would be too much for a Qi Flourishing disciple to show off!
Also, what was this about losing his pants twice?! This was not a sport where you get a point for each pair of pants one obtained. He would lose the moment their pants were lost. The others would not wait for him to put on a second pair.
"—I mean to say, it would be improper of me to gamble on the elders' match with anything less than thirty stones…" Kenja quickly corrected himself. Since the spirit stones had come from his sleeve, he could not claim it was a mistake, so he played it off as an impulse.
Elder Inazume broke out in a pearly-white smile.
"Well said, Little Hikaru! Who are you betting on?" He took out thirty middle tier spirit stones and dumped them onto Kenja's pile.
Although thirty middle tier spirit stones were a hefty sum for even the elders at the Nascent Soul stage, he was a spiritual architect who spent his time making tools instead of utilizing the spirit stones that the First Elder pushed on him in an effort to encourage him to cultivate.
"Thirty on Little Sixth losing his pants, twice! Don't forget to mention the twice part, disciple!"
Clenching his jaw in irritation, he forced the words out, "Thirty on Sixth Elder losing his pants…twice."
Elder Inazuma looked at him bemused. "Interesting! Interesting! Handicapping yourself intentionally. So interesting! Very well, I can't let you show me up." He held his storage bag and dumped a ton of middle tier spirit stones on the table, growing the pile to ten times its original size. "I'll give you nine-to-one odds for the hell of it!"
Kenja was betting on an outcome that was statistically improbable as the combatants would withdraw from the fight once they lost one pair of pants, so Elder Inazuma voluntarily giving him better odds was the most sportsmanlike action he could think of as a response.
Aracha and Shimizu Mizutani nearly fainted from the sight.
The mountain of middle spirit stones released a vibrant and expansive amount of fresh Qi that engulfed them and the nearby spectators, simultaneously drawing all the disciples' eyes away from the tight fight between the elders.
What was a middle tier spirit stone?
Valued at ten-thousand times the value of a low tier spirit stone, it was an item that even the Core Crystallization experts could not obtain easily. Only a figure equivalent to the sect elders would carry so many.
Seeing three hundred copies of such a rare item appear on a table in public left everyone mesmerized.
Kenja accepted Elder Inazuma's arrangement, "Second Elder is gracious."
Kenja could feel his ear suddenly become moist with what he believed was Snail's drool. "Second Brother is a man after my own shell," he praised Elder Inazuma, promoting him to 'brother' status.
"Wait a moment."
Shimizu Mizutani glared at Kenja.
"I can't let this go, junior sister. If you bet against master, then I will compete with you as well."
Kenja sighed in exasperation; he only desired to watch the sparring match. "I thought senior sister said it was inappropriate to gamble."
"I've changed my mind. I can't stand by and watch while another slanders master. I will bet as well."
Kenja felt wronged.
He was not the one who wanted to place the wager, yet he had to take the blame for it! And now, the pill alchemist he had just befriended was at odds with him.
"I understand, senior sister. How many spirit stones would you like to wager?"
Shimizu Mizutani bit her tongue.
She remembered that Kenja had pulled out thirty middle tier spirit stones which was an astronomical figure for her.
This reminded her of Hideaki Akiyoshi's advice to be wary of Hirai Hikaru, for a normal Qi Flourishing cultivator would not own such extravagant wealth, nor would they waste it frivolously.
She regretted her hasty decision to wager against Kenja, but it was too late.
She carried only two middle tier spirit stones that were gifted to her from the Sixth Elder, but she was hesitant to wager them.
Kenja had put up thirty middle tier spirit stones like it was nothing. She would lose face in front of the entire sect if she put forth only two stones to support her master.
Her eyes shone brilliantly when an idea popped into her head.
"I'll match you with thirty stones of my own, if you can afford it," she bluffed with a smirk.
Was this not the perfect opportunity to get rich? If she could obtain thirty middle tier spirit stones with zero hassle and risk, her future cultivation would be infinitely bright.
On the other hand, if logic returned and Kenja did not have another thirty middle tier spirit stones, she could regain some face for her and her master.
Aracha and the spectating disciples stared at her with bulging eyes filled with disbelief.
It was already unbelievable for Hirai Hikaru to have thirty middle tier spirit stones, but she had cleared two of the elders' toughest challenges and caused enough waves throughout the sect for everyone to barely accept it. Yet now Shimizu Mizutani was claiming she also had thirty middle tier spirit stones to gamble?
Since when did middle tier spirit stones become as commonplace as chicken eggs?!
Kenja's expression blackened as he was not sure how to reply to her. It was Snail who was throwing away his money, so he could not speak for him.
An eye crept out of Snail's shell and squinted at Shimizu Mizutani's storage bag, "Does this little girl even have thirty stones? Check to see if her purse is as full as her mouth."
Kenja's eyes furrowed in anger at Snail's remark.
How could he ask her such a rude question?
Was Snail dead set on destroying his friendship with Shimizu Mizutani, who was a professional pill refiner, before it had a chance to begin?
Seeing Kenja's anger rising, Shimizu Mizutani feared her previous comment was a bit too dismissive. If she offended Kenja because of it, all her previous efforts of befriending Kenja for her master's sake would be negated.
"I can't disappoint senior sister. Thirty middle tier spirit stones it is then," he accepted the gamble on Snail's behalf.
"Wait, disciple! I didn't agree to thi–"
"Say one more word, and I'll cancel both bets."
Snail immediately shut up.
If Kenja could not tell Snail was a gambling addict by now, his entire life would have been a waste. He only had to threaten Snail's addiction, and he would shrivel back into his shell.