Zhou Lixing shook his head.“The new furnace was bought. I don’t know why Little Junior Sister isn’t using it.”
When they bought it, she’d said it would “do for now.” Maybe she wasn’t satisfied with it.
His gaze drifted toward Shen Tangyuan’s side, at the Yuntian Carved-Gold Furnace. That one truly seemed fit for their junior sister.
While her fellow disciples fretted, Hua Shengqing suddenly quarreled with someone nearby.“What do you mean my junior sister will definitely lose?! She’s going to win! Don’t you dare look down on her!”
A Yaowang City disciple sneered.“Just because our Fifth Senior Brother is a second-rank alchemist. Hah, you people from Cijian Peak are so poor you can’t even afford a proper furnace! And you think you can beat him? Try in your next life.”
Liang Xiao quickly tried to pull her back, but Hua Shengqing violently shook him off and jabbed a finger at the other’s nose.“Fine! If my junior sister wins, you’ll kneel and kowtow to her three times!”
Liang Xiao’s head throbbed. This Seventh Junior Sister’s worst flaw was her pride—she could never back down from provocation.
“Seventh Junior Sister, you—”
The other disciple scoffed.“As expected of sword cultivators—so poor that your only stake is kowtowing. How about this: I’ve got one hundred high-grade spirit stones right here. If you can put up the same, we’ll bet on it. If your sister wins, you get mine. But if she loses, I take yours. Well?”
He emphasized high-grade, making onlookers smirk with contempt. Everyone knew sword cultivators were poor, and Cijian Peak poorest of all.
But to their shock, Hua Shengqing snapped open a mustard seed pouch.“Who says I don’t have spirit stones? I’ve got seven or eight hundred high-grade stones right here!”
These were what Nan Sinning had distributed after selling her spirit plants, and Hua Shengqing hadn’t had time to spend hers.
The disciple doubted her, but she opened the pouch, and its dazzling glow silenced everyone.
“Since you’re so eager to give me free stones, I’ll accept. Bet’s on!” He slapped down a square stone tablet, split with a line. Infusing it with energy, he marked Xiao Jingwen’s name on one side, Nan Sinning’s on the other, then placed their stakes down. Light flared, sealing the wager—no one could withdraw before the result.
The sight of such easy money drew more Yaowang disciples.
“I’ll bet too! Fifth Brother wins!”“One hundred mid-grade stones on Fifth Brother!”“Fifty high-grade stones!”
In moments, Xiao Jingwen’s side piled up like a mountain. On Nan Sinning’s side sat only Hua Shengqing’s solitary pouch—though worth thousands upon thousands of lower-grade stones.
Zhou Lixing couldn’t bear it. He tossed his pouch onto Nan Sinning’s side.“I bet on my junior sister to win!”
Laughter roared around them.“Perfect! I was worried my wager was too small to even earn a share!”“Ha! Cijian Peak may be broke, but at least they’re loyal. Respect!”
“Anyone else daring enough to back Junior Sister Nan?”
The gambling frenzy grew.
Liang Xiao, distressed, asked Qin Sangyue,“Senior Sister, aren’t we guests here? Isn’t this… unseemly?”
Qin Sangyue sent Shen Tangyuan a private message. He replied coolly,“They wanted to gamble. Let them.”
She was surprised—he normally upheld Yaowang City’s discipline strictly. Why the change? Still, she said aloud,“Since Senior Brother Shen allows it, we as guests should not interfere.”
Liang Xiao choked on his own logic, unable to argue.
Meanwhile, Yuan Qing’an quietly tossed his own pouch onto Nan Sinning’s side.“This was Little Junior Sister’s gift anyway. Using it to support her suits me well.”
Liang Xiao wanted to shake him. Second Brother, you’re the most extravagant one! Don’t waste spirit stones here!
On stage, Nan Sinning placed her cracked, wobbly furnace on the platform. Xiao Jingwen smirked.“Surrender the cabin now, and we can call this duel off. Spare yourself the humiliation.”
Nan Sinning drawled,“Can’t help it—I like being humiliated.”
Xiao Jingwen: …
He’d never seen someone so shameless.
She didn’t start right away, only watched him summon flame, warm the furnace, and add herbs.
“Why aren’t you starting?” he demanded.
“You first. I’ll watch.”
In truth, though she’d refined in the secret realm, she hadn’t watched others before. The system’s knowledge was solid, but live observation mattered. Xiao Jingwen, fool though he was, had decent technique—perfect for her to study.
Her intent eyes disconcerted him. He’d expected disdain or scorn, not bright curiosity.
Even Shen Tangyuan noticed. Is she… learning from him on the spot?
Only when Xiao Jingwen began condensing pills did Nan Sinning start.
She no longer needed Zhou Lixing to control the fire. But her flame was ordinary, unlike Xiao Jingwen’s exotic flame, and murmurs rippled through the crowd.
With both furnace and fire inferior, his advantage loomed. More wagers landed on his side.
Nan Sinning wasn’t surprised. She knew Yaowang City had its own secret realm, a trove of exotic flames given to disciples upon reaching first-rank alchemist level.
And she remembered why Luo Qingyao had truly come here—not for Xiao Jingwen’s invitation, but for the Ziwei Heavenly Fire. Said to hold the power of the Northern Dipper’s stars, it was a dream treasure for sword cultivators.
In the original story, Luo Qingyao had stolen the fire from Nan Sinning’s grasp, then returned to dominate the sect competition, even defeating Yuan Qing’an. That loss had driven him into reckless advancement, crippling him forever.
But having lived with him these days, Nan Sinning knew her Second Brother wasn’t that rash. The author had simply dumbed him down to clear Luo Qingyao’s path.
Not this time, she vowed. The Ziwei Fire will never be hers.
As her resolve hardened, her focus slipped. A burnt stench rose. Her first batch failed.
The spectators murmured, unsurprised. Luo Qingyao exhaled in relief.
She eyed the gambling heap greedily. After being robbed in the secret realm, she was penniless. Those stones would have steadied her nerves.
Only Shen Tangyuan saw differently. Her techniques had been precise—the essences pure—until her sudden distraction ruined it.
Qin Sangyue calmly added her own pouch to Nan Sinning’s side.
Gasps broke out.“Are sword cultivators brainless?”“She’s Golden Core stage—she can hear you!”“Well… stubborn maybe, but their loyalty is real.”“With no master left, they only have each other.”
“Now I feel bad for taking their money…”“Look—Fifth Senior Brother’s pills are forming, but she’s still so calm.”“Wait—she just pulled out… a beginner’s manual?!”“She’s seriously learning on the spot? How dare she!”
A new wave of wagers followed Qin Sangyue’s bold move.
Even Luo Qingyao couldn’t resist. She poured her last hundred high-grade stones onto Xiao Jingwen’s side.
He thrilled at her faith. Luo Shimei believes in me! He felt he could refine ten more furnaces’ worth.
But she was disgruntled. So many had bet on him, her share of the winnings would be thin. Still—meat was meat, even off a mosquito’s leg.
Hua Shengqing seethed, seeing Nan Sinning’s side supported only by their own sect.
“Come on! Place your bets! After the first round, it’ll be too late!”
“Such generosity, Hua Shimei,” a Yaowang disciple laughed. “You’re practically handing us free spirit stones!”
Her temper made them happier. It proved even her own senior sister doubted Nan Sinning’s chances.
More bets poured in.
At last, someone called out boldly,“Hey, Cijian Peak’s Fourth Brother—aren’t you going to back your junior sister? All your sectmates have.”