As a veteran of countless battles, he had taken a beating more than once or twice; he had known situations like this before—driven to within a single sliver of health the moment the fight began.

With his strength, if he could find a chance to strike back—even one chance—he could still overturn everything and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat!

That was his specialty.

But before the words had even left his mouth, Wei Zhao's fingertip gathered light once more—another Thunderbolt Finger....

Carved red, also called carved red lacquer or red lacquer carving, is one of Huaxia's lacquerware crafts: a base of wood ash or metal is used, layer upon layer of red lacquer is applied to the core—eighty or ninety layers at the least, one or two hundred at the most—and when it has reached sufficient thickness, a design is painted on and then carved into the finished pattern.

Xirong, her eyes full of resentment, raised her brows, a look of regret flashing in them; she retreated two steps in succession, staring at Qianbai's hands in disbelief, dumbstruck.

"Sir, I am willing to offer twenty million yen for this green teacup of yours. What do you think of that price?" After thinking for a moment, Nakata Yoshinori put forward a price—not high, but by no means low either.

"Yes." The other man in black answered and departed. Wei Qi glanced at the leaves swaying naturally overhead, shook his head, and headed toward that trace of white.

Seeing that the others were still frowning, their faces absorbed in thought, Ma Tian could not help looking toward Su Mu; after pondering a moment, Su Mu nodded to him.

His scalp prickled and his hair stood on end. Lin Dong suppressed the urge to retch, crouched behind Sun Yizhen, and gently patted her back.

Long Tianming could not help glancing over as well. He remembered that the youth was called Gu Bei, of the Gu clan; the young man surely could not have gotten so much prize money from the clan alone—could Gu Bei have been running some business of his own?

Sun Yang said with a smile, and Batiatus was not particularly surprised: Sun Yang had only been in Capua a few months, and it was already quite something that he could produce a single gladiator. Still, he paid no mind to Sun Yang's claim that his man would face Theokoles; he simply thought Sun Yang was boasting.

"Oh! Good old Zhang—show him what you're made of, crush him!" Below the arena, Ye Tao and the rest of the team cheered, and Wang Yunlong could not help nodding.

Moreover, flawless-grade emeralds barely exist in nature; one might even say that emeralds invariably contain fissures and inclusions of one kind or another—so many and so complex are these fissures and inclusions that researchers have dubbed them "gardens."

"Where are we now?" Looking at the unfamiliar room, he suddenly thought of something and asked.

Zhongxing Yan was first taken aback, then stole a glance at Xi Qi with a look of astonishment, feeling that this man was not only short-tempered but also seemed rather lacking in the art of speaking like a human being.

Wang Le was somewhat skeptical—the other man had only met him once, so what could he possibly know? Still, his own name had made a splash after that fight at the school gate, so Wang Le thought it over and concluded that what the man had in mind was very likely a matter that would have to be settled by force.

In the end, the emperor's reward was taken away by a minister. Du Yanwan heard that the minister was quite renowned, and when she heard the poems and verses he composed, she found them truly excellent—so it was only fitting that he should receive the reward.

But her natural foundation was still there: a single hair tie bound her lustrous hair neatly at the back of her head, boldly revealing her full forehead and her striking features.

Some time ago, Shen Yue had been transferred out of the capital by the emperor; no one knew what he had gone to do. The very first thing he did upon returning was to seek out Du Yanwan.

Furious as he was, Xi Zhi did nothing excessive; he led his troops through the land of Dan and into a plain that belonged to the Son of Heaven of Zhou.

Everyone was baffled by what they heard, yet all were dumbstruck and greatly astonished: no one had known that this lofty Daoist figure had ever carefully studied the essentials of Buddhism.

Su Mo and Jiang Yueling's relationship had not yet progressed to the stage Xia Yili spoke of—as for the days to come, who could say.