The Wager

Shen Ge didn't place a bet based on Mu Wan's words, but hesitated slightly before saying, "This thing is very expensive and hard to find. You don't know it's a main ingredient for crafting Law Treasure, do you?"

Huang Tao chuckled and nodded, "I know."

Looking at Huang Tao's somewhat meaningful smile, Shen Ge fell silent.

What does he mean? Knowing the value of this thing, why is he using it as a bet? What is he trying to do? Or what does he want to get from me?

No, that's not right. Shen Ge keenly sensed something was wrong, but couldn't quite put her finger on it.

As Shen Ge pondered, he glanced around hoping to find some insight, but everything remained the same as usual, with nothing amiss.

Seeing that Shen Ge remained silent, Mu Wan was about to speak to finalize the bet when Shen Ge's voice echoed in her mind, "Don't interrupt, I'll speak!"

Mu Wan was stunned for a moment, then glared at Shen Ge before turning her head to look in the other direction, without questioning Shen Ge about why.

Unable to grasp the key point, Shen Ge hesitated before speaking, "Brother Huang, this thing of yours is too valuable. I can't offer anything of equal value, so... this bet... or, Brother Huang, what do you want?"

Huang Tao raised the corners of his mouth slightly and said with a smile, "Brother Shen, two high-grade magic Law Artifact plus a few Foundation Establishment Pill will suffice."

Shen Ge's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately had a guess. The reason he had handed over the initiative to Huang Tao earlier was to see how he would react.

The two high-grade magic Law Artifact and several Foundation Establishment Pill are worth less than a third of this Star Stone. He is not unaware of the value of this thing, but he still says so, which is interesting.

As for currying favor, Shen Ge wouldn't believe it even if he didn't have a brain. To offer a piece of Star Stone to befriend someone as insignificant as himself in the Foundation Establishment Early Stage was something only a donkey could come up with.

Shen Ge gave Huang Tao a meaningful look, then chuckled and agreed, "Alright, I agree to this bet."

"Brother Shen is indeed straightforward. I, Huang Tao, have decided to be your friend. If you ever need anything, just come to me. Although I, Huang Tao, don't have any great abilities, I can still handle some small matters. This is my Sound Transmission Jade Slip. As long as I am within the Flowing Cloud Kingdom and Mountain and River Kingdom, you can contact me through this."

Looking at the Sound Transmission Jade Slip handed over by Huang Tao, Shen Ge smiled and took it, "Brother Huang's straightforward nature makes it really comfortable to communicate with him. Brother Huang, please feel free to call me if you need anything in the future. I will definitely not refuse as long as I have time."

The two then chatted like old friends, exchanging Daoist techniques and their experiences while watching Tang Yu's battle.

Perhaps it was the slightly lively atmosphere that attracted a female practitioner to come here.

She wore a pure white robe; her appearance wasn't exceptionally beautiful, but it was pleasing to the eye, and her long, jet-black hair was loosely draped behind her.

"You two seem to be having a very engaging conversation, so I took the liberty of coming over to listen in. I hope you don't mind?" the woman said, her tone slightly stiff.

Shen Ge glanced at the other person, and judging from their cultivation level and expression as they looked at the arena, he had a guess in his mind. He smiled and shook his head, saying, "This... um... fellow Daoist, you may do as you please. After all, this place was provided by the Wan Household, and we have no say in the matter."

Huang Tao chimed in, "Brother Shen is right. Fellow Daoist, please feel free to do as you please. If you're interested, we can also chat about cultivation matters."

The woman nodded, but did not introduce herself by name or title.

After that, she mostly watched the arena, only saying a few words when Shen Ge and the others talked about topics that interested her.

Before they knew it, it was evening. Four more battles had taken place, and without exception, Tang Yu won them all, though each victory was a close call.

Shen Ge glanced at the arena, then turned to Huang Tao and said, "Brother Huang, this is the last match. If Tang Yu wins again, he will win the final victory, and you will lose our bet."

Huang Tao said dismissively, "Gambling naturally involves winning and losing. If you lose, you lose. Besides, Brother Shen, the final round hasn't even started yet. It's still uncertain who will win and who will lose."

"However, I am a little curious. Tang Yu was able to win two matches against Foundation Establishment Peak cultivator. His strength and background are completely unlike those of Rogue Cultivator. I wonder which force he comes from?"

"Who knows?" Shen Ge said casually. "This background check is a headache for Wan Household. Since they're looking for a son-in-law, they probably won't hire someone of dubious origin."

"Brother Shen is right."

"Look, the last person has come up, and it looks like he's also at the Foundation Establishment Peak."

Shen Ge glanced at the person who was about to enter the arena. He was dressed in a long black robe and had a full beard that made him look like a black bear. A fierce aura emanated from him.

"Strange, these women in the back all seem to have their own unique characteristics," Shen Ge, glancing discreetly at the woman in the corner. He was disappointed to find that her gaze remained unchanged.

He thought that the other person would show some disgust when they saw someone who wasn't very good-looking or even a little ugly, just like Mu Wan did, but she didn't even change her expression.

Huang Tao smiled slightly and said, "Brother Shen's focus is indeed a bit unusual, but that's not important. What's important is that this person has the strength of the Foundation Establishment Peak and a very strong aura."

"Kid, those bunch of chickens and dogs in front of you actually let a Foundation Establishment Late Stage like you win nine games in a row, it's utterly shameful. But Tang Yu goodness I came, otherwise you would have succeeded." The burly black bear-like man sneered, his appearance as ferocious as a beast ready to devour its prey, inspiring fear in all who beheld him.

His expression was somewhat grave, but he sneered, "To me, you're no different from the chickens and dogs in front of me."

"How arrogant!" The burly black bear didn't waste any words with him and directly summoned a large fireball to smash over, while he himself quickly created distance to prevent Tang Yu from using vines to bind him.

Tang Yu smirked, dodged the fireball, and raised his hand to unleash his flying sword.

Although his flying swords hadn't shown much offensive power before, they still couldn't be ignored.

The burly black bear's eyes narrowed, and without being careless, he summoned a flag-shaped Law Artifact and waved it forcefully, sending a gust of wind howling towards Tang Yu.

Up in the attic, Shen Ge keenly sensed a faint worry flash in the eyes of the woman in the corner, which made him feel a little happier. So, she wasn't truly indifferent after all.

"Brother Shen, Tang Yu's situation is not good. That burly man's flag is clearly a high-grade magic Law Artifact, and Law Artifact like flags are more unpredictable than swords and blades, making them very difficult to deal with."

"Really? Then it seems you have a very good chance of winning, Brother Huang," Shen Ge replied with a faint smile.