Chapter 201: Face Is Not As Important As Substance

Yang Fan couldn't help but sigh slightly in his heart. It was worthy of being an entertainment area for the direct descendants of the Five Great Giants; this level of venue was similar to the Divine Kingdom Simulation Battle he had participated in when he was still a Divine Being, and the rental fee must be quite high.

Just as Yang Fan was observing his surroundings, a familiar voice suddenly came over.

"Brother Yang!" Sima Bang walked over with a big smile on his Face. "When are we going to gather at Yuexiang Pavilion again?"

Before Yang Fan could answer, Gu Le teased first: "Are you coming over here to spar with my husband?"

Upon hearing this, Sima Bang shook his head frantically, his big head swaying like a rattle-drum.

"No, no! I just came over to say hello!"

"Sparring with Brother Yang? Wouldn't that just be asking to be abused?"

Gu Le looked at him with disdain. "How rude. We got married, and you didn't even know to give a gift? Won't you take this opportunity to show some sincerity?"

Sima Bang was instantly torn between laughter and tears, even regretting having come over to say hello.

This cousin-in-law, Gu Le, was just as rumored—she would pluck a goose feather from every passerby.

There was no custom of giving wedding gifts among the Five Great Families; this was clearly just an excuse to extort him.

However, just at this moment, a tall figure slowly walked over from not far away.

The other party was burly, a full half-head taller than the people around him, and every step he took seemed to carry a heavy sense of oppression.

Most importantly, this person did not restrain his aura at all. That violent and scorching pressure, like a humanoid Vicious Beast, made many people around him subconsciously give way.

The originally relaxed atmosphere at the scene became subtly quiet.

…

Sima Bang also noticed the newcomer, his expression suddenly turning somewhat ugly, and then he lowered his voice and said: "Brother Yang, this person is named Ma Huainan. He is the SS-grade Genius with a different surname from the Sima Family I mentioned to you before. His talent is—Martial God Body."

Yang Fan's eyes flickered slightly upon hearing this, and he asked with some confusion: "So… is he here for you?"

Yang Fan had some impression of this name, and even remembered that when Sima Bang first mentioned "Ma Huainan," his expression was clearly somewhat unnatural.

"Looking for me?" Sima Bang pointed at himself, looking completely bewildered.

"Why would he look for me?"

"You don't have any conflict with him?" Yang Fan asked.

"Of course I do." Sima Bang curled his lips. "Both he and I are on the Martial Route."

"His talent is better than mine, but my background is stronger, so there has always been disagreement within the Family regarding the allocation of resources."

Hearing this, Yang Fan said as a matter of course: "So, is he here to spar with you now?"

"How is that possible!" Sima Bang shook his head on the spot. "He is a peerless prodigy, after all."

"If he asked to spar with me, wouldn't he be losing Face? Besides, I would just refuse directly, and it would be him who loses Face in the end."

As he spoke, the smile on Sima Bang's Face suddenly froze, as if he had suddenly realized something.

Then he looked sharply at Yang Fan. "Holy crap! Brother Yang, I'm afraid this guy is here for you!"

He hurriedly lowered his voice to warn: "Don't bet too much later. Ma Huainan's ranking in the Taichu Battlefield is already close to 200,000. It wouldn't be shameful to lose to him since you haven't been receiving the Gu Family's investment for long."

Sure enough, Ma Huainan did not look at Sima Bang from start to finish, but walked straight to Yang Fan.

"Ma Huainan, Divine Kingdom talent Martial God Body—SS grade."

The other party's voice was low, and his eyes were fixed on Yang Fan, with Battle Intent almost undisguised.

Looking at this scene, Yang Fan had only one thought in his heart—trouble.

He really had no interest in this so-called gambling match.

At this moment, many eyes had already gathered around. Although there were many people attending this gathering, there were not many who were rated as "peerless prodigy."

What's more, the two were of similar age, and such a collision was much more interesting than other people's sparring.

Yang Fan sighed softly, "Greetings, Brother Ma."

"I want to have a match with you." Ma Huainan was straightforward. "Any format is fine."

However, before Yang Fan could speak.

A lazy voice suddenly came from the side, "You have been accepting investment from my Sima Family for two years, you should go and challenge someone stronger."

Sima Tianci walked over slowly with a wine glass, still wearing that lazy smile, but the meaning in his words was already very clear.

In the process of developing a Divine Kingdom, talent is important, time is important, but resources are even more important.

Unlike Yang Fan, when Ma Huainan first awakened his Divine Kingdom in his third year of high school, he was detected to have an SS-grade "Martial God Body."

Subsequently, he received strategic investment from the Sima Family at the first opportunity.

High-spec building resources, a massive amount of divinity points subsidy every month, and various exclusive cultivation plans.

The resource allocation he enjoyed far exceeded that of ordinary Geniuses.

Currently, although Yang Fan and the other party are both peerless prodigy, in the eyes of outsiders, the starting gap between the two is really too big.

Ma Huainan taking the initiative to propose a gambling match now is a bit of a bully.

Hearing Sima Tianci's words, Ma Huainan smiled, "Brother Tianci has misunderstood. I am just a bit curious. After all, Brother Yang Fan has received such high-spec investment from the Gu Family. I assume there must be something extraordinary about him."

"Besides, this place is for entertainment and gambling anyway, everyone is just having fun. As for the amount of the bet, Brother Yang can decide for himself."

He kept a smile on his Face while speaking, but deep in his eyes, there was a hint of cunning.

Ma Huainan knew very well that if he challenged Yang Fan proactively, many people would feel it was beneath his dignity, so he specifically added this rhetoric.

He believed that it was not just him; many people present were curious about Yang Fan's strength.

To be precise, what they were really curious about was not Yang Fan's status as the first place in the Heavenly Pride Apotheosis Battle.

In the eyes of these peerless prodigy, the so-called "first place in the Heavenly Pride Apotheosis Battle" is worth nothing.

What they really mind is the investment specification the Gu Family gave Yang Fan.

That resource allocation even exceeded that of the vast majority of peerless prodigy with different surnames.

Everyone is SS-grade, so why is your treatment so much better?

Naturally, some people will be unconvinced.

And now that Ma Huainan has put it this way, if Yang Fan refuses, it will become cowardice in the eyes of others.

Anyway, he won't be the one losing Face; he is just "friendly sparring."

As for the bet, if Yang Fan takes too small an amount, it will only make him look stingy.

After all, almost everyone present knows how many resources the Gu Family gave him.

A dignified peerless prodigy cannot be like an ordinary Human Race Prodigy, taking out a Spiritual Vein to bet, right?

Thinking of this, a hint of excitement even appeared in the depths of Ma Huainan's eyes.

The bigger the bet, the happier he would be.

Because he couldn't think of any reason why he would lose.

"We'll talk later, I still have things I haven't asked yet." Sima Bang snorted lightly.

Then he very naturally handed the smart watch on his wrist to Yang Fan.

Yang Fan looked down and saw a line of text appearing on the screen.

"[Don't look at Ma Huainan being burly; in fact, this guy is cunningly bad.]"

"[Brother Yang, don't fall into the trap. Keep the bet small.]"

"[Face is not as important as substance.]"

…

"Brother Yang, what do you think of this building? Those believers in my Divine Kingdom are just too damn good at eating!" Sima Bang didn't stop talking, as if he were really discussing Divine Kingdom buildings.

Meanwhile, he had already switched to the virtual Mall interface, without revealing any abnormality at all.