Meanwhile, at the Silver Pond, the youths were making loud noises, awaiting the two rivals who were going to entertain them soon.
Just as everyone was wondering how much time it was going to take, a flying swan came close to the Silver Pond and flew over the water surface with great elegance and style. Hen Ping sat on the back of it with a proud demeanor.
As the swan landed at the eastern fighting ring, she graciously descended and watched the opposite end. To her disappointment, Henry was not there.
"Sister Ping, that fellow Henry still didn't come. I think he won't dare to come today as he clearly knows that you can beat him like a dog," one of the Ping family young ladies said with a wide smile.
Hen Ping also thought the same, but inside she was expecting Henry to come, because if she defeated Henry, the Ding family patriarch would pay her handsomely. As the recruitment of Fire Gate Academy was on the way, those spirit stones would be of great use to her.
Slowly the murmurs increased as more and more people thought Henry was not going to come.
Just as everyone was feeling restless, a casual whistle came from the distance. Henry Clark, with his broken sword behind his back and his long tied hair, slowly walked towards the gathering without any care for the fight.
Hen Ping's face turned serious after seeing Henry walking with a carefree attitude.
"This idiot is even bringing his wife with him. Doesn't he fear that I will beat him like a dog in front of his own wife?" Hen Ping thought as she picked the long staff from the side of her swan pet.
Just then a loud voice reverberated all around the gathering.
"Golden Pig Betting Store is open for betting! 1:2 in favour of Henry Clark! Whoever dares to think Hen Ping will win, come here and bet your spirit stones! If you have any guts, put your spirit stones against my brother Henry! We will offer double spirit stones if Henry loses! Do you all dare?"
Suman, who was standing on top of a large boulder, shouted loudly with a wand pointing against his throat.
"What?!!!"
All the crowd turned towards Suman, who stood on the stone platform with a confident face.
Surprise and astonishment could be seen on everyone's face. Even the Clark family youths were shocked by this sudden surprise.
But the most surprised one was Hen Ping. She never expected a Clark family youth to place a betting booth in this situation.
"This fellow must be a fool or a crazy one. How dare he bet one to two odds against me? Does he think I can't beat this Henry?" Hen Ping muttered with an angry look while staring at Suman, who was busily placing his betting booth with a large jug to collect spirit stones and an ink brush to issue tickets.
"Hey Suman, are you mad or did you lose your mind?" Philip Clarke, the patriarch's son, asked with an infuriated look.
"Yes, Suman, you must have gone mad. Stop the drama now or else we can't bear the consequences," another Clark family member stepped forward to stop Suman from setting up the betting booth in favour of Henry.
"Brother Philip, don't stop me now. You don't know the ability of Brother Henry. He is very much capable of defeating this lady Hen Ping. If you don't believe me, place your bet. I won't mind receiving bets from the family also." Suman replied confidently, as he was determined to take this opportunity to earn a large number of spirit stones.
More and more people gathered around Suman to ask questions, but Suman declared his stance of putting up the betting store.
As expected, the Ping family and Ding family members rushed to place their spirit stones. Almost everyone was placing one or two spirit stones, as they had received the spirit stones from their families as encouragement for the upcoming Firegate Wizard Academy recruitment.
"Hey Henry, shall we start? Don't tell me you're not ready to face me," Hen Ping asked in a loud tone while staring at Henry Clark, who stood opposite her in the fighting ground.
"What's the hurry? Let everyone place their bets. There is a lot of time for us to fight," Henry replied casually as he felt satisfied with the sight of a large number of people tossing their spirit stones into the Golden Pig Betting Store.
"Aren't you afraid of losing?" Hen Ping asked with a playful smile.
Henry only smiled at her taunting question.
"I'm not in the mood to fear you. I hope you brought enough spirit stones to place the bet. Don't tell me you came here to fight with empty hands. Otherwise, I won't waste my time playing with you."
"Don't worry, I am wealthier than you think. Tell me how many spirit stones you want to bet. Is it five or seven? I won't mind even placing ten, because I am going to beat you like a dog soon," Hen Ping replied in a mocking tone.
"That's more like it. Then we place twenty spirit stones. What do you say?" Henry asked with a look of expectation.
"Henry, don't be too greedy. Are you thinking of avoiding the fight by raising the bet to a large number of spirit stones? I won't let it happen. Let's bet ten spirit stones. It is not a small sum for you. Will you fight or not?" Hen Ping asked with an angry look.
"Seems like I'm really greedy," Henry murmured to himself before picking up the broken sword from his back.
"Ok. Ten spirit stones are enough. I will definitely fight with you for the ten spirit stones. But why don't we wait a few minutes? All these people are eager to place their bets against me." Henry said as he stared at the large boulder where Suman was busily collecting spirit stones and writing tickets with his unique ink brush.
"Oh, I don't mind waiting. Once I defeat you, all these people will kick your brother like a street dog for opening this nonsense betting store," Hen Ping said with a playful smile as she leaned on her swan.
Henry only gave a smirk after hearing her reply.