"What exactly was Jiang Xuan hiding?"
Filled with confusion, quite a few people grew even more envious and jealous of Jiang Xuan.
But others began entertaining different thoughts.
"Could Jiang Xuan actually be capable? Are we simply too blind to see it?"
The people in the back rows of the training ground buzzed with discussion about Jiang Xuan. Among the Aristocratic Clan children in the front rows, as well as their accompanying maids and Daoist Acolytes, many eyes also fell upon him.
It could not be helped. Dong Hao's treatment of him was simply far too exceptional, and it was currently the midday break. Everyone had plenty of idle time to watch the show.
Fortunately, although the looks directed at Jiang Xuan were either contemptuous or intrigued, most merely glanced at him. No one came over to stir up trouble.
But just when Jiang Xuan thought he could finish his meal peacefully and leave, one of the Aristocratic Clan children not far away, someone from roughly the same circle as Dong Hao, suddenly walked over with a grim face.
"Dong Hao, what are you doing?! You've completely disgraced our entire group with this!"
The furious, dissatisfied accusation instantly wiped the smile from Dong Hao's face, and his expression darkened.
"Guo Shaoshang, what I do is not for you to point fingers at!"
"And disgrace? I don't recall doing anything disgraceful."
Casting a sidelong glance at Jiang Xuan, Guo Shaoshang snorted coldly. "Still denying it! Bowing and scraping before a Cold Gate disciple, currying favor with a mud-legged peasant like this—you’re trampling the faces of all us Aristocratic Clan children into the mud!"
"Open your eyes and look around! Everyone else is laughing at us!"
The looks from the surrounding crowd indeed carried a hint of mockery, but Dong Hao's expression did not waver in the slightest. He merely sneered. "To let other people's gazes sway your mind... Guo Shaoshang, you truly are worthless refuse that cannot be propped up."
"Besides, I don't recall the Star Daoist Academy—or the Divine Firmament Sect elders evaluating our grades a hundred days from now—ever caring about one's background. Strength and talent are the only passports for us to gain a foothold in the Divine Firmament Sect."
"Trash will always be trash. You can't even tell what matters most."
"You..."
Seeing Guo Shaoshang burning with rage and about to quarrel publicly with Dong Hao, another youth from their group immediately rose to his feet and stepped between them.
"Enough, enough. You two are part of the same team. It's hardly worth arguing over a Cold Gate disciple."
After calming them down, the youth named Zeng Jun glanced at Jiang Xuan, then smiled at Dong Hao. "Brother Dong protects Jiang Xuan so fiercely. It seems you think very highly of him?"
"Of course." Dong Hao nodded, making no attempt to hide how highly he regarded Jiang Xuan. "In my opinion, Brother Jiang's potential surpasses that of the vast majority of Aristocratic Clan children. He will certainly enter the Dao-Bearing Class with a 'Good' evaluation, and in the future, he may even become a true fellow disciple of ours."
As he spoke, his gaze fixed directly on Guo Shaoshang. That line about surpassing the vast majority of Aristocratic Clan children was clearly aimed at someone.
Those words only made Guo Shaoshang's anger burn hotter.
Before he could erupt, Zeng Jun stepped forward again and assumed an impartial air. "Since Brother Dong thinks so highly of him, while Brother Guo remains unconvinced, why not make a wager? Set a limit of ten days and bet on whether Jiang Xuan or Shaoshang can be the first to open thirty-six apertures and receive a 'Good' evaluation."
To make Dong Hao accept the wager, he added, "If you win this bet, then if Jiang Xuan wishes to join our team in the future, I will never raise another objection."
Nan Zhi, who had been standing by the side all along, could not help secretly transmitting her voice to Dong Hao. "Young Master, be careful. You've been set up! That Zeng Jun clearly sent Guo Shaoshang over on purpose to provoke you into making this wager!"
Upon hearing his maid's warning, Dong Hao showed no surprise whatsoever. He merely replied through voice transmission, his tone filled with understanding. "I know—this scheme was something I merely pushed along with the current and helped bring about myself."
Guo Shaoshang was merely a pawn pushed to the forefront. The one truly pulling the strings behind the scenes was Zeng Jun. Dong Hao naturally saw this clearly.
He could even guess Zeng Jun's intentions—nothing more than using this matter to cement Dong Hao's reputation for poor judgment and severely damage his prestige in the training ground.
Besides that, he is probably hoping to use this wager to provoke me into spending a great deal of resources on Jiang Xuan, thereby slowing my own cultivation.
Dong Hao looked at the seemingly impartial Zeng Jun and sneered inwardly.
There's some calculation behind it, but unfortunately, I brought all of this about myself.
As a merchant, Dong Hao excelled at reading expressions and gauging people's hearts. His grasp over the situation was even more refined to the point of perfection.
He could naturally sense that the Cold Gate disciples in the back rows of the training ground were filled with envy, jealousy, and resentment toward Jiang Xuan. Meanwhile, the Aristocratic Clan children in the front rows looked down from the bottom of their hearts on Jiang Xuan, whose Spirit Root was merely Profound Grade Middle Tier.
Under such circumstances, if he had truly been thinking wholeheartedly of Jiang Xuan, he could have taken Nan Zhi and the food box to a corner in the back rows to eat with him. Then Jiang Xuan would not have been thrust into the eye of the storm, and even if Zeng Jun and the others wanted to pick a fight, they would have found no excuse.
But Dong Hao was a merchant, not some purely kind-hearted man.
He befriended Jiang Xuan and gave him resources because he had noticed Jiang Xuan's talent and wanted to take this fine sword into his own hands.
And after considering matters just now, he realized that eating in a corner was far less advantageous to him than pulling Jiang Xuan into the spotlight.
Once Jiang Xuan is brought into the open, everyone else will know he is mine. Under those circumstances, it will be harder for others to win him over, and harder for Jiang Xuan to turn to someone else—no Aristocratic Clan child likes someone who betrays his master.
More importantly, only by pushing him into the storm and giving others an excuse to attack can I rightfully step forward to protect Jiang Xuan, weld this favor firmly into place bit by bit, and make this sword completely loyal to me.
All these calculations meant that Dong Hao was not angered by Zeng Jun and Guo Shaoshang jumping out at all. Instead, he was delighted inwardly.
Naturally, he did not reveal a trace of these thoughts on his face. At that moment, facing Zeng Jun's proposal of a wager, he put on the appearance of being provoked and directly said, "Fine. I accept this bet."
He agreed readily, while Guo Shaoshang on the other side was even more impatient.
This had originally been planned by him and Zeng Jun, and he did not believe he could lose to a student with a Profound Grade Spirit Root from a Cold Gate background. Thus, he agreed just as quickly.
"I agree as well!"
And in order to gain a little personal benefit, after agreeing, he deliberately pretended to be furious. "Not only that, I'll add one hundred and eighty Spirit Stones as stakes! Don't you believe this mud-legged peasant can win? Do you dare take it?"
"..." Dong Hao said, "Of course I dare!"
And so, Dong Hao and Guo Shaoshang, who had seemingly had a "dispute," made a wager under Zeng Jun's witness.
Besides Jiang Xuan being allowed to join the team if he won, with no one else permitted to object, the wager also included one hundred and eighty Spirit Stones.
However, just as they were about to finalize the wager, Jiang Xuan, who had remained calm as though it had nothing to do with him, abruptly spoke.
"Forget the first bet. I have no intention of joining your team."
"Huh?!"
The moment those words came out, Zeng Jun froze on the spot. He had never imagined that Jiang Xuan would unhesitatingly abandon what he considered a heaven-sent opportunity to join the team.
Is he acting on impulse, or does he know his own limits and feel he isn't qualified... Whatever. Either way, his stupidity has made him lose the greatest opportunity of his life.
Sneering inwardly, Zeng Jun could not be bothered with Jiang Xuan any longer. Turning to Dong Hao, he said, "Then the stakes are somewhat unfair. I'll add another two hundred Spirit Stones—if you win, all three hundred and eighty Spirit Stones will be yours; if you lose, you only need to pay Shaoshang one hundred and eighty Spirit Stones."
He said this partly because he feared the stakes would not be enough to hook Dong Hao, causing this scheme to fall apart. If that happened, he would lose his chance to make Dong Hao humiliate himself in public. The other reason was that he firmly believed Jiang Xuan had no chance whatsoever of winning. Thus, these Spirit Stones were merely a matter of moving things from one hand to the other, so naturally he could afford to appear generous.
"Fine." Dong Hao still agreed without hesitation.
In just a few words, the wager was completely settled. Zeng Jun then pulled away Guo Shaoshang, who was still putting on an act of indignation, and turned to leave.
After they left, Dong Hao cupped his hands toward Jiang Xuan apologetically. "Brother Jiang, sorry for the trouble. You were startled."
"It's nothing." Jiang Xuan looked deeply at Dong Hao before calmly saying, "This is not your fault. If anything, I may be the one causing Brother Dong to lose a sum of Spirit Stones for nothing."
"Hahaha..." Dong Hao laughed heartily at that. "Brother Jiang, I told you long ago that I believe in your ability. I have never thought you would lose. Perhaps this time, Brother Jiang will help me make a great profit."
"If you truly win, we'll split the Spirit Stones fifty-fifty."
"Of course, even if you lose, it doesn't matter. I, Dong Hao, can still afford one hundred and eighty Spirit Stones."
After saying that, he stepped forward and lightly draped an arm over Jiang Xuan's shoulders like a close friend of many years, his tone earnest. "But I truly want to win this wager. The Spirit Stones are a small matter, but I do not want to see Zeng Jun and Guo Shaoshang wearing those smug, villainous faces. So later, I'll prepare some cultivation resources for Brother Jiang. You absolutely must not refuse again."
"Alright."
This time, Jiang Xuan agreed with exceptional decisiveness, without the slightest refusal.
"Hmm?!"
That swift agreement instead made Dong Hao pause, and a few doubts rose in his heart.
He didn't stand on ceremony at all? Why? Did I misjudge his character, or... does he think he can win, which is why he agreed so readily?
The two thoughts circled in Dong Hao's mind, leaving him uncertain for a moment.
He did not believe his judgment was so poor that he could not see Jiang Xuan's true character.
But as for Jiang Xuan winning this wager, he did not even have a thirty percent certainty in his heart.
Indeed, in his view, Jiang Xuan possessed exceptional talent in the sword path. In merely one day, he had comprehended Unity of Man and Sword.
But everyone knew that swords governed slaughter, their sharpness unmatched. That improved actual combat ability, not cultivation speed.
As for Guo Shaoshang, although Dong Hao looked down on him somewhat and did not consider him a threat—
He was still a Lineage descendant, and he possessed an Earth Grade Lower Tier Spirit Root. By Dong Hao's estimation, Guo Shaoshang would advance successfully faster than Jiang Xuan.
Under such unfavorable circumstances, he had still been willing to make the wager because he wanted Jiang Xuan to feel indebted to him, thereby owing him a favor.
He was cultivating a dead warrior.
Jiang Xuan could vaguely guess some of Dong Hao's thoughts. Rather than becoming angry, he instead let out a great sigh of relief.
He and Dong Hao were neither relatives nor friends, with no prior ties between them. If Dong Hao truly sought nothing in return and thought only of Jiang Xuan's welfare, that would have been what made Jiang Xuan wary—unable to see through him or gauge him.
Now that he could see the general outline, Jiang Xuan instead felt at ease.
At the same time, Dong Hao had guessed one thing correctly—Jiang Xuan had accepted the resources so readily because he believed his chances of victory were extremely high.
Since he could help Dong Hao earn back several hundred Spirit Stones in the blink of an eye, drawing some cultivation assistance in advance naturally amounted to nothing.
"Once this wager is settled, I'll be able to repay most of the favors I owed before."
And so, having found a way to repay his debt of favors, Jiang Xuan chatted with Dong Hao for a few more moments before picking up his bowl and chopsticks again and drinking the Three-Yang Rejuvenation Soup.