Inside a private room on the second floor, Zhou Xuanyuan sat sipping his tea.

A servant leaned in close and whispered, informing him that Shen Xian had chosen the Thunder Pattern Spirit Cat.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xuanyuan let out a cold laugh. “Interesting. He actually chose that beast? Has he given up on himself completely?”

That spirit cat had been acquired by the Chamber of Commerce by chance a few days prior. Because it possessed Tier 4 strength, it had been sent to the Spirit Beast Pavilion.

However, the creature was notoriously untamable. It refused to serve the Spirit Beast Pavilion, showing zero will to fight even when grievously injured by its opponents in the arena.

Zhou Xuanyuan had been wanting to rid himself of such waste for a long time and had planned to sell it today.

“Inform the buyer that we will sell it immediately after this match,” Zhou Xuanyuan transmitted via voice.

The servant departed just as Shen Xian returned.

“Have you made your selection?” Zhou Xuanyuan asked, looking up with a trace of mockery flashing in his eyes.

“Let’s begin,” Shen Xian replied calmly.

As soon as the words were spoken, Zhou Xuanyuan abruptly stood and walked to the window.

It was currently the intermission, and the crowd was still heatedly discussing how to bet on the next match.

He suddenly raised his voice and announced, “The next match features the Purple Lightning Sable versus the Snow-White Spirit Cat, personally selected by Third Young Master Shen!”

His words caused a momentary silence in the hall, followed by a low hum of discussion.

“Third Young Master Shen? Which Third Young Master Shen?” someone asked, puzzled.

“Who else could it be? The Shen family’s direct descendant with the Ninth-Grade Spirit Root,” another person sneered. “I heard he’s only at the second level of Qi Refining. How dare he come to the Spirit Beast Pavilion to pick a beast for a wager fight?”

“Hah, probably trying to play the hero.”

“For the Ye family’s legitimate daughter to marry him… truly a pearl cast before swine. What a pity.”

“That spirit cat is infamously useless. It’s lost four straight matches and doesn’t even have the will to fight. Why choose it? To humiliate himself?”

“Maybe he knows he’s no match and has decided to give up completely. Winning or losing doesn’t matter anyway.”

“Hahaha, that makes sense! His life is pretty much set in stone anyway. What does it matter what he chooses?”

…

Snickers rippled through the crowd, their tones dripping with contempt. It was as if Shen Xian’s very existence was a joke. They showed absolutely no respect for this direct descendant of the foremost great clan.

The cultivation world was harsh and realistic. Without strength, there was no dignity.

In the private room on the second floor, Zhou Xuanyuan’s lips curled into a smirk full of derision.

This was exactly the effect he wanted.

Since he was going to win, he naturally wanted everyone to know about it. He wanted that woman, Ye Qingxian, to see how he would trample her husband underfoot.

Beside him, Ye Shun’s face turned ashen upon hearing the commotion.

Regardless of anything else, Shen Xian was the Ye family’s son-in-law. To be insulted like this was truly hard to bear.

“Young Master-in-law, you shouldn’t have agreed to this,” he transmitted via voice.

Now that everyone knew about it, it was too late to back out even if they wanted to.

Moreover, he simply could not understand why his young master-in-law would choose such a spirit beast. Was it really as the people below were saying? Was he giving up on himself?

Faced with these words, Shen Xian’s expression remained calm. His tone was indifferent as he said, “It hasn’t started yet.”

Hearing this, Zhou Xuanyuan felt even more disdain in his heart. He spoke up again. “Now, you may all place your bets. The wager fight will officially begin in two quarters of an hour.”

As soon as his words fell, the Spirit Beast Pavilion’s manager loudly announced the odds:

【Purple Lightning Sable: 1 to 1.1】

【Snow-White Spirit Cat: 1 to 100】

The hall immediately erupted in an uproar.

“One to a hundred? The Spirit Beast Pavilion is practically declaring that Third Young Master Shen is doomed to lose!”

“That spirit cat lost all four fights and can’t even be bothered to lift a claw. Isn’t this free money?”

Several cultivators eagerly took out their betting jade tokens. Spiritual light flickered at their fingertips as they inscribed their bet amounts directly onto the tokens.

“I bet on the Purple Lightning Sable! Five hundred common spirit stones!” A cultivator in brocade robes laughed heartily as he transferred the stones from his token.

“I bet eight hundred,” another followed immediately.

“I bet twelve hundred! Might as well earn this easy money today!”

Some went even further, rushing straight to the counter and shouting, “Load another three thousand spirit stones onto my token! All on the Purple Lightning Sable!”

The betting pool grew larger and larger, and the odds kept shifting…

Watching more and more people bet on the Purple Lightning Sable, someone even deliberately shouted towards the second-floor private room, “Third Young Master Shen! Aren’t you placing a bet? Just bet on yourself to lose! At least you’ll earn some pocket money!”

Amidst the roaring laughter, Ye Shun’s expression grew increasingly grim.

He gritted his teeth and took out his own jade token. After hesitating for a moment, he inscribed a small bet: Snow-White Spirit Cat, fifty spirit stones.

He did not do this because he believed in Shen Xian. He simply felt it would look too pathetic if not a single person placed a bet on his young master-in-law.

This action was more of a symbolic gesture than a gamble.

Shen Xian’s expression remained as calm as ever, as if he were not part of this wager at all.

At that moment, a young master from a noble clan stepped forward, fanning himself with a folding fan. He deliberately drawled, “This young master bets on the Purple Lightning Sable… five thousand spirit stones!”

He glanced sideways at the second floor and sneered. “If certain people are short on funds, why not beg this young master? Perhaps I’ll toss you a few spirit stones to try and win back your losses?”

Seeing this, Zhou Xuanyuan seized the moment to add fuel to the fire. “Since everyone is so enthusiastic, why not add an extra prize… If anyone today bets on the Snow-White Spirit Cat and wins, this young master will personally gift them an additional bottle of Profound Origin Pills!”

The hall immediately erupted into even louder peals of mocking laughter.

“Who would be stupid enough to bet on that useless spirit cat?”

“Exactly! Only a fool wouldn’t take free money!”

…

Amidst waves of derisive laughter, the data on the betting jade wall flickered wildly—the odds for the Purple Lightning Sable had dropped to 1 to 0.4, while the odds for the Snow-White Spirit Cat had skyrocketed to 1 to 200.

Of course, even under these circumstances, there were still a few who chose to bet on Shen Xian.

In their view, this direct descendant of the Shen family must have some tricks up his sleeve; he couldn’t possibly be this foolish.

However, these people were definitely in the minority.

Who would joke around with something as valuable as spirit stones?

These people were merely trying their luck…

Two quarters of an hour passed in an instant. With the clear chime of a bell, betting for the wager fight officially closed.

The fighting arena at the center of the Spirit Beast Pavilion suddenly lit up with array light. Intricate spiritual patterns emerged on the ground.

“Let the spirit beasts enter the arena!” The manager announced loudly.

The murmuring below abruptly ceased. Everyone craned their necks towards the two passageways on either side.

From within the left passageway, a streak of purple lightning whooshed out and landed steadily on the fighting platform.

As the light faded, a Purple Lightning Sable with entirely purple fur and golden-glinting eyes stood proudly, surveying its surroundings.

“Excellent!” Cheers immediately erupted from below.

“Look at that presence! Truly worthy of being a peak Tier 4 Purple Lightning Sable! The lightning patterns on its fur have almost solidified into substance. It’s probably just one step away from reaching Tier 5.”

“This is a major favorite on a seven-win streak! It’ll probably break its record with an eighth win this time.”

…

These cultivators who regularly engaged in wager fights knew this Purple Lightning Sable very well; that was why they believed Shen Xian could not possibly win.

Right in this heated atmosphere, a snow-white figure slowly emerged from the right passageway.

The spirit cat walked agonizingly slowly; each step seemed forced.

Its fur was dull and lifeless; its tail dragged powerlessly along the ground; even its eyelids were half-drooped—it looked for all the world like an old cat at death’s door.

Seeing this scene made everyone burst into another round of laughter!

“Haha! If that beast can win,” one plump cultivator guffawed loudly, pointing at a nearby counter, “I’ll eat that counter right here and now!”

Many others shared the exact same thought.

Although both beasts were Tier 4 creatures, they were worlds apart—this wager fight seemed utterly devoid of any suspense whatsoever!

Those who had bet heavily on the Purple Lightning Sable felt they could already see vast piles of shining, beautiful spirit stones waving beckoningly towards them!