Chapter 98: Shrinking Body – The Thoughts of the Wealthy Are Hard to Guess

“Who placed the bet?” Lian Mu recalled the previous moment. “I didn’t make a move.”

Linghu Meng’s gaze instantly changed when he looked at her. He said, “Keep pretending. Let’s see how long you can keep up this bluff!”

The people around them also glanced at them from the side. Lian Mu looked at Xu Xianxing. “It wouldn’t be you, would it… suddenly getting so generous?”

Xu Xianxing seemed to answer Lian Mu, but his gaze was fixed on Linghu Meng. “If others have such a presence, my friends must have it too.”

Linghu Meng sneered. “Three million, did you empty your entire fortune? Don’t come crying when you lose it all.”

Lian Mu knew that this amount of money was nothing for Xu Xianxing—probably less than the value of the beads on his clothing—but she still pinched him. “Instead of betting this, why not just give me the money?”

Xu Xianxing tilted his head. “I believe you and your beast can win. You won’t lose any money.”

Lian Mu replied, “Fine, but don’t bet so much next time.”

The time for the match was almost up, and both sides entered the arena. The spectator seats were already packed. It was rare for a nine-tier competition to draw this many people, most of whom were attracted by the 1,000 spirit stones on the invitation.

The two lackeys in charge of handing out spirit stones for Linghu Meng didn’t seem to recognize Lian Mu, so before entering, Lian Mu also used an invitation to exchange for 1,000 spirit stones.

Xu Xianxing saw her action and pulled out an invitation of his own, handing it to one of the spirit stone distributors.

Linghu Meng, passing by, thought he had seen wrong. “?”

When he saw Xu Xianxing take the 1,000 spirit stones and pocket them, grinning while sharing with Lian Mu, he fell silent. “…”

He just bet three million and is still trying to snatch this small advantage?

“Boss, are we really letting them take the spirit stones?”

Linghu Meng didn’t reply. His companion Gong Yu spoke, his tone indifferent, “It’s just 2,000 spirit stones. They’ll lose it all back.”

His voice wasn’t loud, but it was enough for Lian Mu and Xu Xianxing to hear. However, the two didn’t react at all, and even started discussing where to eat after the match.

“Bad luck, should’ve brought Qianzi. Three people, 3,000 spirit stones, we could’ve made a big bet… but I don’t know how the food at Feihai Pavilion is.”

“What kind of nickname is Qianzi… but he can be pretty unscrupulous sometimes.”

Gong Yu said nothing and just pursed his lips, his expression complicated. In the end, he didn’t say anything else and turned to enter the spectator area, while Linghu Meng went with his spirit beast to the preparation area.

After discussing dinner plans, Xu Xianxing also left. He paid the highest price for a front-row seat, conveniently situated next to Lian Mu.

Lian Mu followed a silver-masked man into the preparation area. She stood on a circular platform, facing a protective barrier. After placing her spirit beast inside the barrier, the beast master set up a spiritual link, and the platform rose up, sending the beast to the arena above.

The person setting up the barrier for her was the Bai Lingque. Since she entered, he hadn’t said a word, his back to her as he checked the protective barrier.

Lian Mu noticed a silver-tailed mountain sparrow on his shoulder, its body snow-white with two bright blue eyes. It was staring at Green Bean.

Green Bean also gazed back, but it seemed a bit restless, eager to eat. Its pincers made a clicking sound.

“You have a spirit beast too?” The silence was too heavy, so Lian Mu casually asked.

The Bai Lingque didn’t turn around but replied in a cold tone, “Mm.”

Lian Mu said, “It’s quite cute.”

The Bai Lingque’s finger paused for a moment, then he stood up and said, “Thank you. Yours is… also cute.”

He seemed to search for a word to reply but stopped mid-sentence after seeing Green Bean. He awkwardly continued with an awkward compliment.

Lian Mu knew that compared to other spirit beasts, Green Bean was indeed a bit ugly. It didn’t have an exquisite appearance, and calling it majestic didn’t quite fit. Its body was pitch black, and its clumsy crawling looked almost completely unremarkable.

“Has the pavilion master not returned yet?” Lian Mu asked.

The Bai Lingque walked over and fastened a wristband engraved with the spirit beast’s name on her arm while saying, “The pavilion master has returned, but when she saw you entering the arena with it, she thought you wouldn’t want to part with it. She plans to find you later.”

Lian Mu said, “Tell her for me that I’ll only be satisfied if I make it to the top 300, and also ask her how much she plans to charge.”

“Understood.” The Bai Lingque paused for a moment and said, “…Where did you find your spirit beast? East of Qinglong?”

“North of Xuanwu. I picked it up by the roadside.”

Upon hearing this, the Bai Lingque froze for a moment, his brow slightly furrowing before returning to calm. “North of Xuanwu? How could it be from there…”

“Why?” Lian Mu noticed something strange in his gaze.

The Bai Lingque replied, “Nothing. It’s just unexpected. Your spirit beast shouldn’t live in the North of Xuanwu. It’s too cold there.”

Lian Mu replied, “It doesn’t mind the cold.”

It can even go out into the snow to hunt when hungry.

The Bai Lingque completed his task, placing a talisman on Lian Mu’s hand before leaving hurriedly without saying another word.

In the spectator seats, those who had placed bets before the match had already chosen their side. The total betting amounts for both sides were displayed on the high-altitude projection screen. At first, the total for Lian Mu’s side far exceeded Linghu Meng’s, but after Gong Yu placed his bet, the amounts nearly balanced out. When others saw that Gong Yu had bet on Linghu Meng’s victory, many also followed suit, bringing the total behind Linghu Meng to nearly four million.

“Young master, who are you betting on to win?”

Opposite Gong Yu, a silver crane dressed in brocade clothes shook a folding fan, smiling as he looked at the two combatants in the arena. He closed the fan and pointed toward Lian Mu’s side.

“Full bet, General Bean wins,” the silver crane said, then smiled at Gong Yu.

Gong Yu snorted coldly, avoiding his gaze.

Another three million was placed, and the crowd in the spectator area immediately became restless.

“Six million? I’ve never seen this much spirit stone in my life.”

“What’s up with General Bean? Why is it attracting such a big show?”

Few people bet on the invincible General Bean, since it was a newcomer, and no one dared to gamble heavily. However, just the two bets placed on General Bean had far surpassed Linghu Meng by several streets in terms of total amount.

Everyone knew the temperament of the silver crane. Every time Gong Yu was in the spectator area, the crane would bet on the opposite side, and the two had been clashing like this for a long time.

Gong Yu placed his bets carefully, ensuring he didn’t lose, while the silver crane was just deliberately opposing him, not caring about the money at all.

The silver crane had placed three million on General Bean. But who else had placed another three million?

Unknowing spectators saw the name next to the silver crane: “The Young Master is the Richest.”

This name… seemed to have appeared for the first time.

“How many young masters and young ladies has Feihai Pavilion taken in recently? Do their spirit stones just fall from the sky?”

“Who knows? The thoughts of the wealthy are hard to guess.”

The match officially began.

Linghu Meng released his spirit beast. As soon as the spotted dog entered the barrier, its body rapidly expanded many times over, and its limbs thickened like tree trunks. Its true form was revealed: a pair of dark green, sharp eyes, rough white wolf fur with black spots, spiritual armor covering its teeth and mouth, silver-gray claws, and a spiritual armor tail that slammed into the ground, creating a deep indentation.

It remained inside the barrier, not yet leaving, but its eyes were already fixed on the opponent, saliva dripping from its mouth, seemingly wanting to rip apart both the opponent and their spirit beast from a distance.

“Was that a shrinking body? Linghu Meng’s spirit beast had more hidden strength than I thought. I thought it was only that big.”

“So, General Bean is also in shrinking body form?”

The crowd’s gaze inevitably shifted to Green Bean in the other side of the barrier. It showed no signs of growing at all, still roughly the size of a palm, lying flat on the ground, glaring at the opposite side with the same eerie green eyes. Compared to the fierce and large spotted wolf, it looked somewhat comical and funny.

Seeing that Linghu Meng’s magical beast had suddenly grown larger, Lian Mu’s reaction was calm. She instead began to observe the body of the spotted wolf.

A Tier-5 Spiked Tail Wolf…

Lian Mu recalled the record about this magical beast type from the registration place, then her eyes zeroed in on its tail.

“Can you bite?” Lian Mu asked Green Bean.

Green Bean clicked its pincers, and Lian Mu understood: “Bite its tail and claws.”

She thought for a moment. The opponent was a Tier-5 magical beast. Although it was raised by a human, it wasn’t as strong as a truly wild one, but its inner core would still have some use.

She had already finished the high-tier spiritual plants given to her by Bai Su, and now she would need to find another magical beast’s inner core to refine more medicine.

Lian Mu gave Green Bean a few more instructions, then tore the talisman in her hand. The circular platform beneath her rose, sending her upwards.

Linghu Meng rolled his eyes, then also ascended higher.

The moment the talisman was torn, Lian Mu closed her eyes and suddenly, she could see the situation in the arena from Green Bean’s perspective. She hadn’t been able to do that before, so it must have been the effect of the talisman.

The crowd in the viewing seats was uninterested. They had come for the money, not many really wanted to see a Tier-9 competition. They had initially thought both sides would hold back some power, but the side with General Bean hadn’t changed at all.

In past large vs. small matches, it wasn’t unheard of, but the small spiritual beasts were often fast types, like thunder beasts. If not using size, they would try another approach.

But this General Bean—well, it was small, and slow to move. It looked like it had no chance of winning.

In the eyes of the spectators, the result was already decided.

They didn’t know what the Beastmaster of General Bean was thinking, bringing such a creature out for everyone to see. It really seemed like they were crazy about money.

“This time, it looks like Silver Crane and that ‘Young Master with Money’ might lose big.”

“Not necessarily. I bet on General Bean to win. I saw them at the free competition before. That General Bean… it’s strange.”

“What’s strange about it?”

“I can’t explain… General Bean is very famous at the free competition. It bites other people’s spiritual beasts. It’s not trying to defeat them with ‘bites,’ it looks more like it wants to eat them.”

“At the free competition, it’s full of weirdos, so everyone knows. If it can bite ordinary spiritual beasts, do you think it can bite a Tier-5 Gold Beast? Don’t let it get stomped to death.”

The person supporting General Bean fell silent, then stopped speaking, quietly watching the match.

“Withdraw the barrier!”

At the command of the silver-masked person, the barrier was removed, and the two magical beasts were exposed to the air.

The Spotted Wolf’s nose twitched as it caught the scent of something unusual. It immediately bared its teeth, claws scraping the ground, and charged straight towards the black scorpion opposite.

Green Bean moved its feet, just lifting its forelimbs to prepare to run, but the Spotted Wolf was quicker, reaching it before it could move.

The pair of eyes on its back stared blankly at the Spotted Wolf. The drool from the opponent’s mouth dripped onto its shell, and it closed its eyes.

At the same time, a cold sensation spread across Lian Mu’s body. She felt a numbness in her feet, and when she looked down, she saw that the Spotted Wolf’s claw had already landed on Green Bean’s back.