Chapter 100 – Ten Million: Thirty Years on the East Bank, Thirty Years on the West

Linghu Meng had vomited so much blood that he fainted on the spot. Gong Yu frowned deeply and immediately took him away, completely disregarding anything else.

The crowd fell silent for a moment before erupting in cheers. In the arena, Green Bean was startled, its tail hook springing up.

Lian Mu descended from the high platform, stepped over the mess on the ground, and walked toward Green Bean. It paused its munching and stared at her blankly.

She hadn’t expected it to suddenly grow so large, and found it a bit hard to get used to. Thinking it over, it made sense—Green Bean hadn’t grown all this time, probably because that old black shell had been restricting its size.

“As long as we win, that’s enough.” Lian Mu patted one of its pincers. It was nearly shoulder-height to her now. “Where’s the thing I told you to find?”

Green Bean wriggled its mouthparts, then spat out a smooth pearl—it was the inner core of the Spiny-Tail Wuchang Grey Wolf.

Lian Mu held the warm, still-bloody core. It pulsed with an intense spiritual energy.

A fourth-tier magical beast… She’d never used such a high-level beast core to refine medicine before.

The tail and claws of the Spiny-Tail Wolf had already fused into Green Bean’s new shell, giving its entire body a much shinier appearance. When it saw her standing there unmoving, it tried to climb up onto her.

She pushed it away. “You’re this big now and still want to be held? Walk on your own.”

Green Bean shrank back and plopped down, not moving an inch. It was lazy and didn’t feel like crawling.

Xu Xianxing climbed over the barrier and walked straight toward them. “I knew you guys would win. That three million was well spent.”

“We’ve got the money now—let’s go have a feast,” Lian Mu said. “Bring Green Bean too… think you can carry it?”

Xu Xianxing sized up Green Bean, wrapped his arms around it, and tried to lift it. Green Bean rolled its eyes and surprisingly cooperated, lifting its pincers.

Xu Xianxing exerted himself—then promptly lost his balance and fell over with Green Bean on top of him. “Owww!”

He spread his hands. “Figures. I’m just a delicate artifact refiner. Always full of ambition but lacking in strength.”

Lian Mu: “…”

Since Green Bean refused to move, she began thinking about how to transport it. After all, she’d beaten Linghu Meng, which meant she should now be entitled to a chance at stone-gambling. She was eager to head to the spirit mine shop and choose a raw stone.

The crowd had already dispersed. Unlike Xu Xianxing, they couldn’t just hop into the arena and could only sneak peeks at General Bean and Lian Mu through the cracks in the stands. This match had fully captured their curiosity.

Lian Mu was used to being watched, but Xu Xianxing rubbed his arms and muttered, “Tch, so many people staring. Should we find a place to lay low?”

She nodded. “Let’s go to the spirit mine shop first.”

Just as they were about to walk over to the silver-masked man and redeem a token to gamble a stone for free, Bai Lingque suddenly appeared in front of them, blocking their path.

“Wait.” Bai Lingque’s face was expressionless, her voice cold as she looked at Lian Mu. “The Pavilion Master requests your presence. Please come with me.”

Lian Mu said, “The Pavilion Master’s back? Good timing.”

Bai Lingque glanced at Xu Xianxing and added, “The Pavilion Master only invited you.”

Xu Xianxing poked Lian Mu. “You’re gonna leave me here alone? What if someone bullies me while you’re gone?”

Everyone now knew he was friends with General Bean’s master. If Linghu Meng held a grudge and targeted him, a mere artifact refiner, that would be trouble.

Lian Mu pulled a rope from her spatial pouch, tied one end to Green Bean’s pincer, and handed the other to Xu Xianxing. “Walk it. No one will dare mess with you.”

Bai Lingque interjected, “General Bean must come with us too.”

Lian Mu responded, “I haven’t sold it yet. My spirit pet’s none of your business. Keep bossing me around, and we’ve got nothing more to talk about.”

She could tell that Bai Su really valued Green Bean. That alone told her Bai Lingque wouldn’t push it.

Sure enough, Bai Lingque fell silent for a moment before relenting. “…Fine. As you wish.”

After handing Green Bean over to Xu Xianxing, Lian Mu followed Bai Lingque, leaving behind one man and one scorpion staring at each other.

Green Bean blew a bubble at him, then started crawling toward the exit. Xu Xianxing couldn’t pull it back and had no choice but to follow as it “walked” him.

The great beast-slaying warrior now being walked like a pet: Xu Xianxing sighed and let it lead him down to Feihai Street.

…

…

“Your Pavilion Master has good taste.”

Lian Mu followed Bai Lingque into the Feihai Association’s inner building and noticed a row of swords hanging on the wall.

Trying to build rapport, Bai Lingque replied, “The Pavilion Master is a sword cultivator like you and enjoys collecting fine swords and famous artifacts.”

“Really? Never would’ve guessed.” Lian Mu had always assumed Bai Su was an alchemy cultivator, especially given the abundance of high-grade spirit herbs in her spatial pouch.

Every time she’d seen Bai Su, she was wearing a veil and long sleeves—an odd look for a sword cultivator who valued mobility.

Bai Lingque pushed open a sandalwood door and stepped aside. “The Pavilion Master is inside. Please, go in.”

Inside the elegant chamber, a veiled woman stood before a splendid screen. Hearing the sound of footsteps, she turned, removed her veil, and revealed a face like a hibiscus blossom.

Bai Su smiled at Lian Mu. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

The sudden reveal of her true face made Lian Mu instinctively wary. She had already pulled out Wealth Bringer upon entering and now instinctively gripped the sword’s hilt tighter.

Bai Su raised a hand. “No need to be nervous. I only revealed my face to be more open with you. You don’t need to take off your mask if you’re uncomfortable.”

Lian Mu cut to the chase. “How much are you offering for my spirit pet?”

Bai Su remained unhurried, gesturing for someone to bring tea. “I saw General Bean in action. It’s quite a fine spirit pet. You seem new to this kind of transaction. As Pavilion Master, I won’t cheat you. You name the price—but I need your assurance that once it’s mine, you won’t try anything to help it escape.”

Lian Mu didn’t take the tea. She was about to name her price but paused at the last sentence. “…That’s hard to guarantee. It doesn’t always listen to me. It had a previous owner, who gave up because it kept running away.”

“Oh?” Bai Su said. “Was the previous owner male or female? What were they like?”

Lian Mu wasn’t sure why she asked that, but after thinking it over, she said, “You saw her at the Star-Plucking Tower. She’s my companion.”

“I see… I was overthinking,” Bai Su replied. “For a pet like General Bean, it’s natural to resist restraint. But as its master, you can always force it into sleep mode.”

“Why would I want to put it to sleep?” Lian Mu narrowed her eyes. “You don’t want it alive?”

Bai Su was quiet for a moment. “It’s not that… Never mind. You’re still bound to it through the arena contract, so we can’t separate it from your spirit yet. Let’s settle the price first. Once this season’s competition ends, we’ll make the trade—money for pet. Deal?”

“One million,” Lian Mu named the price directly. “No haggling.”

“Done.” Bai Su agreed immediately.

Lian Mu instantly regretted not asking for more. Judging by her reaction, it was as if a million meant nothing to her.

Lian Mu: “…”

Why are there so many rich people in the world?

“I heard your spirit pet was found in the north of Xuanwu. Was there only one of them?” Bai Su asked casually, her expression unreadable.

Lian Mu said, “Just it. Nothing else. It’s pretty stubborn and doesn’t like being around other spirit beasts.”

Bai Su replied, “That makes it seem you and it are truly fated.”

Lian Mu felt Bai Su was a little too interested in Green Bean. Something about it struck her as odd, though she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

To be safe, Lian Mu decided to finish the business quickly and leave right away. She said, “I heard this round of the beast arena matches will go on for another two months. I’ll be heading elsewhere soon and won’t be able to return to Feihai Pavilion, so you might have to wait a little longer.”

“No matter. I trust in your character—you’re not someone who would go back on her word so easily.” Bai Su’s smile carried a strange warmth that made it hard for people to stay on guard.

Lian Mu turned to go, but out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of something that looked familiar on the desk in front of the screen.

Her steps halted, and she instinctively looked closer.

Bai Su noticed her movement and followed her gaze, then said, “That’s a viewing mirror showing footage from this year’s Immortal Sect Competition. Would you like to take a look?”

Lian Mu recognized it—the image flashing across the mirror was the Crimson Sky Sect’s top team, and this scene was from the Worm Mountain and Snake Ridge segment. Her face remained calm as she asked, “I’ve heard of it. But… I thought the Four Great Sects weren’t releasing footage to the outside. How did you get your hands on it, Pavilion Master Bai?”

She hadn’t expected to see members of the Crimson Sky Sect at Feihai Pavilion. If she remembered right, the Immortal Sect Competition was an internal event, with only disciples and elders of the Four Great Sects participating or spectating—outsiders weren’t supposed to have access.

Bai Su pressed the mirror flat against the table, smiling faintly. “Getting footage from the Immortal Sect Competition isn’t difficult—it just takes a bit of money. There are always disciples willing to sell memory stones. These trades happen every year. Didn’t you know?”

“Didn’t know.” Lian Mu replied without batting an eye.

“I’m a rogue cultivator,” Bai Su went on, “and I heard about the competition from a friend. Got curious and bought some footage. We even placed a few bets recently on which sect would win this year’s competition.”

She spoke casually, as if chatting about daily life, then turned her gaze to Lian Mu and smiled. “Which sect do you think has the best odds?”

“The Azure Profound Sect, probably. I hear they’re the leader among the four, so I assume they’re strong.”

Lian Mu made no mention of the Returning Immortal Sect. She was glad she’d disguised her voice and appearance before coming—otherwise her cover might have already been blown.

“Heh,” Bai Su said with a meaningful look, “That artifact cultivator sect finally produced a crafting genius. After all these years, they’ve finally made a comeback. Truly, thirty years on the east bank, thirty years on the west… The once-first-ranked Returning Immortal Sect is now in decline.”

“There’s still another round left, isn’t there? Maybe they’ll rise again this year,” Lian Mu said.

“You seem to know a fair bit about it,” Bai Su remarked.

“I just heard it from a friend… Us small fries can’t do much even if we care about big sect affairs. My friend’s still waiting—I’ll take my leave first.”

Seeing she’d already turned to go, Bai Su didn’t press further. She simply said, “Take care, little friend.”

Lian Mu exited the room and found the corridor completely empty—no sign of Bai Lingque either. So she simply followed her memory to retrace her steps.