After Huadiexianzi ascended to the twenty-seventh layer of the Tower of Stolen Gold, she did not continue onward but chose to give up.
Most of the people present felt deeply regretful.
Because the Tower of Stolen Gold involved a high degree of luck and many variables, succeeding in reaching the twenty-seventh layer this time did not guarantee the same result next time. Since she had already succeeded in reaching the twenty-seventh layer, why not seize this opportunity to push herself to the limit and create her own personal highest record? Even if she couldn't win the prize money in the end, at least she wouldn't regret it later.
Of course,
many also expressed understanding.
Reaching the twenty-seventh layer was already no easy feat. After all, the success rate for this layer was one in a thousand, while the record for the twenty-eighth layer was one in two thousand—the difficulty doubled, and the chance of failure was very high. If she failed to reach the twenty-eighth layer and word got out, she wouldn't win the prize money either.
One must know that the prize money for the twenty-seventh layer was a full ten million immortal stones—a substantial sum for anyone.
Why risk challenging those two-thousand-to-one odds and give up a hefty ten million immortal stones?
"Congratulations to Huadiexianzi for successfully ascending to the twenty-seventh layer of the Tower of Stolen Gold and winning ten million in prize money," said the Tower's chief steward, Old Master Luo, stroking his goatee with a smile. "Huadiexianzi's ascent to the twenty-seventh layer today has not only set a higher record for the youth of our Dual-Pole Celestial Domain but also shamed us old folks."
Hearing Old Master Luo's praise, Huadiexianzi humbly replied, "Senior Luo flatters me."
"Since Huadiexianzi has smoothly ascended to the twenty-seventh layer, why not seize this chance to climb even higher?"
"Being able to reach the twenty-seventh layer is already a great honor for this junior. I dare not hope for anything higher."
Old Master Luo nodded in admiration. "Not arrogant, not impatient, not greedy, not resentful—rare, truly rare!"
After bidding farewell to Old Master Luo, before Huadiexianzi could return to the Luxurious Grand Carriage, Mu Lingyao excitedly rushed over.
"Sister Huadie, you're amazing! You actually reached the twenty-seventh layer—that's absolutely insane, hahaha! I can't wait to see that bitch Liu Shuangyan's face now. This young lady is definitely going to teach her a good lesson today."
"Let's wait a bit. There are so many people here; it wouldn't look good," said Huadiexianzi, glancing at the dense crowd gathered around the Tower of Stolen Gold. "And many seniors are present too, including those from the Golden Crow Liu Family. If you publicly humiliate Liu Shuangyan, the Golden Crow Liu Family seniors will likely intervene."
"It's precisely by making Liu Shuangyan lose face in public that she'll learn her lesson. Otherwise, she'll keep deliberately targeting us," Mu Lingyao said disdainfully. "So what if the Golden Crow Liu Family seniors intervene? Even if Liu Shuangyan's own father came today, it wouldn't matter."
Huadiexianzi understood Mu Lingyao's temperament well and knew clearly that no one could stop Mu Lingyao from teaching Liu Shuangyan a lesson today. Huadiexianzi wasn't exactly trying to stop her, but she felt there were simply too many people at the Tower. Publicly disciplining Liu Shuangyan would cause a significant stir. After all, in the Dual-Pole Celestial Domain, everyone crossed paths frequently. Minor squabbles were one thing, but if things escalated too badly, it could easily provoke conflicts between family secret realms.
Mu Lingyao knew what Huadiexianzi was worried about. She said, "Don't worry, I'm not a child. I know what I'm doing."
With that, without waiting for Huadiexianzi's response, Mu Lingyao directly ran over. Huadiexianzi thought for a moment, still somewhat concerned, and followed.
Within the grounds,
everyone was buzzing with discussion.
They were discussing the earlier bet between Liu Shuangyan, Mu Lingyao, and Huadiexianzi. The matter had already spread like wildfire. Now that the outcome was decided—with Mu Lingyao and Huadiexianzi both exceeding their previous records—everyone wanted to see if Liu Shuangyan would fulfill her promise and kneel to kowtow.
At this moment, Liu Shuangyan's face was as ugly as could be. Hiding behind Lord Qianxing, she didn't even dare to lift her head.
"Liu Shuangyan, if this young lady remembers correctly, your previous record was the twelfth layer. Everyone saw clearly earlier that you were eliminated on the fourth layer. My previous record was the tenth layer, and this time I reached the thirteenth. As for Sister Huadie, I don't need to say more—her previous record was the nineteenth layer, and this time she reached the twenty-seventh."
Mu Lingyao walked over, speaking with considerable smugness. "You haven't forgotten our bet, have you? We agreed earlier: the three of us made a bet. Whoever broke their own record would win. The loser would kneel and kowtow to the winner. And this wager was proposed by you yourself. Since that's the case, hurry up and get on with it."
Lord Qianxing stepped forward. "Huadiexianzi, Young Lady Mu, Shuangyan was just joking earlier. There's no need for you two to take it seriously, is there?"
Liu Shuangyan also stepped forward, forcing herself to say, "That's right, I was just joking earlier. How could you take it seriously..." Before Liu Shuangyan could finish, Mu Lingyao spat fiercely and shouted sharply, "Bullshit! Now that you've lost, you say it was a joke. If you had won, would you still be calling it a joke?"
"Even if I had broken my own record, I would still say the bet was just a joke, and I wouldn't actually make you kneel," Liu Shuangyan retorted, as if she had long prepared this defense. "It was just a joke. I never took it seriously, yet you're taking it seriously and demanding I kneel and kowtow. Aren't you being too overbearing?"
"Heh, originally, if you had been willing to admit your mistake to this grandaunt today, this matter could have been dropped. This grandaunt isn't that petty. But since you've lost and now refuse to acknowledge it, don't blame this grandaunt for not giving you face!" Mu Lingyao had long anticipated Liu Shuangyan would renege. Her beautiful face was now covered in frost. Pointing at Liu Shuangyan, she shouted, "This grandaunt asks you one last time: do you acknowledge it or not?"
"I said it was just a joke." Liu Shuangyan knew there were many people at the Tower of Stolen Gold and guessed Mu Lingyao wouldn't dare do anything drastic to her. Moreover, quite a few from the Golden Crow Liu Family were present, so she felt emboldened. "Believe it or not, that's my final word."
"Good! Good! Very good!" Mu Lingyao nodded, saying 'good' three times in succession. "You really have guts."
Nearby, watching Mu Lingyao at this moment, Huadiexianzi thought, *This is bad.* She understood Mu Lingyao and knew clearly that Mu Lingyao right now was absolutely furious. And when angry, Mu Lingyao never considered consequences—otherwise, she wouldn't have earned the nickname 'Little Demoness.'
She was thinking about how to persuade Mu Lingyao to back down when Mu Lingyao spoke: "Since you won't acknowledge it, then this grandaunt will show you something good."
As her words fell, Mu Lingyao raised her hand, and in her palm suddenly appeared a black-gold whip. Seeing this whip, Huadiexianzi's expression changed drastically, and she cried out in alarm, "Yao'er, don't!"