Shang Xin Ci and Bai Ning Bing were both astonished as Liu Nan handed the amount over. "Uh, is it really all right for me to take this?" Shang Xin Ci wondered.
"Oh, it's not a problem whatsoever," Fang Yuan said. "What's the issue here? Liu Nan and I want to fight, and we want to publicize the fight. You're simply taking a fee in order to arrange for things - that's all you're doing. It's not easy every day that one sees a fight between Rank Five Gu Masters, is it? And it's not easy to arrange for that kind of fight either. This is only an honest fee that we are accepting for our services."
Liu Nan snorted. "There's nothing honest about you, Fang Yuan."
Shang Xin Ci wanted to rebuke him at those words, but Fang Yuan just shook his head. Shang Xin Ci sighed and did not say anything as she took the 200,000 primeval stones, feeling like they were contaminated in some way as she was taking them from someone who had slandered her hero.
"All right, then I will go around and try to find a venue and let us try to sell tickets," Shang Xin Ci said.
"Remember, Fang Yuan. No backing out of this," Liu Nan said.
"I have no desire to back out of this, trust me, I am a man who keeps my word," Fang Yuan replied.
The two of them shook hands, finalizing the binding agreement.
Shang Xin Ci and Bai Ning Bing felt slightly baffled given just how… cordial the two of them were. They were about to enter a fight that, while not a death match, would certainly involve them fighting for real - one that, even with the provision that both would avoid lethal hits, could still end up killing them.
To see them shaking hands and then going their separate ways like old friends, especially after all that Liu Nan had said regarding Fang Yuan, puzzled Shang Xin Ci.
"Are you sure about this, Teacher?" Shang Xin Ci said after Liu Nan left. "I really don't want to see you hurt because of this..."
"Once again, do not worry for me," Fang Yuan said. "Regarding risk and danger, Gu Master cultivation is always risky and dangerous, Shang Xin Ci. You should know that by now. During gu worm refinement, one can hurt one's soul and suffer injuries from backlash. If one uses gu worms in an incorrect way, they can also suffer backlash. Sometimes these can even be fatal. If one wishes to avoid death, one cannot be a true Gu Master."
"Even so, Teacher, to unnecessarily go and court death like this-" she began.
Fang Yuan waved his hand. "Don't worry. As long as this can help you, I have no problem dealing with it. And anyway, I was considering taking Liu Nan's proposal regardless. It was clear after he had interfered in some of my business regarding this gu worm refinement that he wasn't going to take 'no' for an answer, and this will at least get rid of him as a thorn in my side."
'Teacher...' Shang Xin Ci thought, now slightly regretting the decision she had made in order to enter the Young Master competition. What if Fang Yuan did get hurt because of her? She would never be able to forgive herself if he was injured because of her misplaced ambitions.
However, Fang Yuan had made it clear that there was no backing out now, and so she could only strive to make the event as safe as possible.
First, she had to deal with finding a suitable venue. None of the ordinary battle arenas were big enough for the kind of fight they needed. They would require an entire coliseum with the seats greatly elevated as an extra layer of precaution for those who were watching. She had found such a place, which had been used for a similar fight over a decade ago, but it was in disrepair and ruin, so that could not be used as it wouldn't be up to par in time. A second venue she went to asked for a far too high a price.
Hit with this immediate roadblock, she turned towards Fang Yuan and Bai Ning Bing once more.
"Do one thing," Fang Yuan thought to himself. "Go ahead and announce the match anyway, even if we don't have the venue as of yet."
"Are you sure?" Shang Xin Ci asked. If they went ahead and announced the match and were not able to organize it properly, then it would stain their name and it would hamper them if they tried to pivot to some other business venture in the future.
"Yes, don't worry." Fang Yuan did so. She released the news that Fang Yuan and Liu Nan would be fighting to the general public.
Immediately, the news spread like wildfire, even though a venue and a final date had not been decided yet it became the talk of the city almost instantly.
It was rare enough to see Rank Four Gu Masters battle each other, and those fights could draw in large crowds. But to see two Rank Five Gu Masters go at it was an opportunity that many of them felt they could not easily find again.
Not only that, but both Fang Yuan and Liu Nan had become somewhat famous figures recently because of Liu Nan's actions during the gambling den incident. Back on Earth, before a boxing match or the like, the two contestants going against each other would often trash-talk each other just to generate hype. However, there was no such need in the case of Fang Yuan and Liu Nan. Talk about what had happened in the gambling den had already spread throughout the city, and so it had already been established that these two were fierce competitors.
"Did you hear? Liu Nan lost face because of Fang Yuan being supported by Shang Xin Ci. Now, he's going to go ahead and give it his all to salvage his reputation."
"Yeah, I heard that Liu Nan really hates Fang Yuan, too. Does anyone know why exactly their rivalry started?"
"Liu Nan says that Fang Yuan is a demonic Gu Master, but I've never heard of him before."
"He must be a terrible demonic Gu Master if he got to Rank Five without accumulating a criminal record."
"Yes, it doesn't make sense, so I'm sure there must be something else behind the feud between the two of them. Why else would two Rank Five Gu Masters hate each other? Maybe Fang Yuan stole Liu Nan's girlfriend or something?"
"Fang Yuan has so many beauties by his side - he seems to be quite the womanizer so I wouldn't put it past him."
"I doubt it was his girlfriend, if you understand what I mean."
"No, I don't."
"Oh, you haven't heard? Liu Nan was seen going into the Rose Garden."
"That Rose Garden you say - isn't that managed by the Sunflower Sect?"
"Yes, indeed. So it seems that Liu Nan is not someone who is interested in women."
"Now that you mention it, Liu Nan seemed to be rather uncomfortable when around women. Maybe he really is someone who prefers the company of men?"
"Oh, I see how it is. Could it be that Fang Yuan and Liu Nan were once lovers and there was a falling out between the two of them?"
Several women let out scandalous gasps while imagining this, wondering who between the two of them would be the 'top' and who would be the 'bottom.'
"Speaking of that, did you know that there are some demonic Gu Masters leaking chemicals into the water to make the frogs gay?"
"What? You're kidding!"
"Nah, I heard it from a friend in the Tie Clan who heard it from one of their Young Masters..."
"Really - the Tie Clan said so? It must be true then..."
Just like this, various rumors began erupting all around the city, even if they were completely baseless. There was no way to control them.
However, there wasn't just pre-match trash-talking. There were many people who were eager to witness the event. Shang Xin Ci already had over 100 people who were interested in buying tickets for it. She could not issue them right now, of course, as they did not have a venue or a decided date yet.