"If you don't dare to bet, it just means you can't afford to lose. Isn't that right, everyone?"
Those who came with Liu Shuangyan echoed her words, and the onlookers gathered nearby also began murmuring amongst themselves.
Mu Lingyao's beautiful face flushed with anger, turning a shade of ashen green. She shouted furiously, "Betting on Sister Flower Butterfly breaking her record is completely unfair! Why not bet on your own record? If you can break your own record today, I'll kneel and kowtow to you! If you can't break your own record, then you kneel and kowtow to me! Do you dare to bet?"
"We're currently betting on Flower Butterfly Fairy's record."
"Sorry, but this Grandaunt is now betting on your record. Do you dare or not? If you don't dare, then you're just a sore loser! If you're a sore loser, then get lost!"
Mu Lingyao had learned this trick too, using the same method to turn someone's own tactics against them.
"It's just one kowtow, what's the big deal? How could I, this young lady, be a sore loser?"
Perhaps not expecting Liu Shuangyan to actually dare to agree, Mu Lingyao was momentarily stunned.
"But since you speak of fairness, then the three of us will each try to break our own previous records. Whoever fails to break their record loses, and the loser must kowtow!"
Hearing Liu Shuangyan say this, Mu Lingyao truly couldn't react immediately. She hadn't expected Liu Shuangyan to be so daring, willing to play this game with her.
"Well? Fair enough, right? I've already agreed. What about you two? Still don't dare to bet? Are you really that afraid of losing?"
"If you're not afraid of losing face, what is this Grandaunt afraid of!"
Mu Lingyao steeled her heart and agreed, shouting, "Just the two of us will bet, on breaking our own records. Whoever fails to break their record kowtows to the other. But, what if neither of us breaks our record?"
"If neither breaks it, then there's no winner or loser, and the bet naturally becomes void!"
"Good! That's still fair. This Grandaunt bets with you!"
"Miss Mu, you're mistaken. It's not the two of us, but the three of us!"
Liu Shuangyan stared at Flower Butterfly Fairy and said, "Even I dare to bet. Could it be that the famous Flower Butterfly Fairy can't afford to lose?"
"Having this Grandaunt bet with you is enough! Why must you drag Sister Flower Butterfly into it! Moreover, your record is only the thirteenth layer, while Sister Flower Butterfly's record is the nineteenth layer. Anyone who has challenged the Tower of Stolen Gold knows that breaking the thirteenth layer record is only a one-in-thirty chance, while breaking the nineteenth layer record is a one-in-two-hundred chance!"
"Miss Mu, you can't say that. Your record is only the tenth layer, with a mere one-in-ten chance. My record is the thirteenth layer, with a one-in-thirty chance. With such a big gap, I still agreed to bet with you, didn't I?"
Mu Lingyao was so angry inside she wished she could slice Liu Shuangyan into a thousand pieces on the spot. She cursed herself silently for having such a clumsy mouth, unable to out-argue Liu Shuangyan. Every time she got into a war of words with Liu Shuangyan, she ended up utterly defeated.
Liu Shuangyan asked triumphantly, "Flower Butterfly Fairy, I'm waiting for your answer. If you really can't afford to lose, I certainly won't force you."
Flower Butterfly Fairy, who had remained silent all along, finally spoke. "Fine, I agree."
Hearing Flower Butterfly Fairy agree, Liu Shuangyan immediately beamed with joy and shouted loudly, "Everyone, listen up! Now, I, Mu Lingyao, and Flower Butterfly Fairy are also making a bet. Each of us will try to break our own record. Whoever fails to break theirs loses, and the loser must kowtow to the winner as an apology. If none of us breaks our record, this bet becomes void!"
Earlier, the bet between Gu Qingfeng and Young Lord Xuan Yun and the other two had already caused an uproar in the venue. Everyone was still discussing that bet when, unexpectedly, Flower Butterfly Fairy, Mu Lingyao, and Liu Shuangyan also decided to bet. Truly, one wave hadn't settled before another rose.
Although the bet between Gu Qingfeng and Young Lord Xuan Yun's trio had higher stakes and greater difficulty, the crowd wasn't particularly interested in it. In their view, the outcome of that bet held no suspense whatsoever—that nouveau riche Gu Qingfeng simply couldn't possibly ascend to the Tower of Stolen Gold's twenty-seventh layer.
For a bet with such a foregone conclusion, naturally no one was very interested. As for the bet's stakes, ten million kowtows were just too absurd. Even if someone lost, they probably couldn't kowtow ten million times. So, no one took it seriously.
Compared to the bet between Gu Qingfeng and Young Lord Xuan Yun's trio, everyone was more interested in the bet between the three women.
The reason was simple: the three were betting on breaking their own records. Until the end, no one knew who would win or lose. It was full of suspense.
Most importantly, both Liu Shuangyan and Mu Lingyao enjoyed high visibility and great fame in the Dual-Pole Celestial Domain. Especially Flower Butterfly Fairy—she was practically a household name in the Dual-Pole Celestial Domain.
As the saying goes, celebrity effect. Even if these three women walked down the street, they'd attract attention, let alone with such a major bet.
Immediately, the crowd in the venue began discussing.
Many favored Flower Butterfly Fairy and hoped she could break her record and win the bet. After all, Flower Butterfly Fairy's reputation for healing and helping others was well-known to all. Combined with her excellent interpersonal skills and her status as a goddess in many people's hearts, no one wanted to see the goddess in their hearts kowtow to Liu Shuangyan.
Of course.
Many also felt Flower Butterfly Fairy had been too impulsive. She shouldn't have succumbed to Liu Shuangyan's provocation, nor should she have agreed to this bet with an uncertain outcome. After all, breaking one's own record wasn't as simple as just saying it. Everyone knew the Tower of Stolen Gold involved a large element of luck and many variables. If luck turned bad and she was eliminated again, it would be terrible.
After Liu Shuangyan left, Mu Lingyao said, "Sister Flower Butterfly, you should have just let me bet with that bitch Liu Shuangyan. Why did you get involved too? I said I agreed impulsively in the heat of the moment, but how could you also..."
"Liu Shuangyan deliberately targeted me. She was so aggressive. Did I have any other choice?"
"But!"
Mu Lingyao knew the situation at the time truly left no room for refusal. If they hadn't agreed, that bitch Liu Shuangyan would have gone around shouting that she and Sister Flower Butterfly couldn't afford to lose. She, Mu Lingyao, couldn't stand being provoked by others the most.
"Damn it all! That bitch Liu Shuangyan really went all out this time! To bet with us, she even staked her own face! That bitch is truly capable of anything! But I can't figure it out, why is she doing this? Is she really not afraid of losing? Not afraid of losing face by kneeling and kowtowing to us? Or does she truly have confidence she can break her own record?"
Flower Butterfly Fairy shook her head. "She has no confidence."
"Then why is she betting with us? What is she after?"
"Fame."
"Fame?"
Mu Lingyao didn't understand. "What kind of fame?"