Chapter 130: Collective Bet

After the Emperor finished his long-winded and pointless speech from above, the sect tournament finally commenced.

Over a dozen sects began dividing the arena grounds among themselves; with so many disciples, it was impossible to run everything simultaneously. Bai Feiyu and his peers watched from the sidelines. The competition began as expected with the Haotian Realm disciples, starting from the weakest and progressing upward. Since the lowest level of entry for this tournament was the Haotian Realm, there was no other place to start.

These Haotian Realm bouts dragged on for three full days, during which most of the audience could be found yawning incessantly. Everyone knew that the real main event wouldn't begin until the Shackle Realm disciples took the stage. Only then would the betting become frantic, and the atmosphere reach its fever pitch.

Over the past few days, Bai Feiyu had placed a few scattered bets on his fellow Guixu Sect disciples. To be honest, most of the Guixu Sect’s disciples were painfully mediocre, and their overall performance was merely standard. They hovered in the middle of the pack, and seeing this, Bai Feiyu realized that the top spot was likely out of reach for the Guixu Sect this time. Even if the Shackle Realm disciples performed brilliantly, they would struggle to make up for the losses incurred by those in the Haotian Realm.

Finally, it was Bai Feiyu’s turn. This round featured disciples at the ninth level of the Haotian Realm, and the moment Bai Feiyu stepped into the arena, he became the focal point for the Guixu Sect. Without exception, every one of them scrambled to pull out spirit stones to place their bets on him. They knew him well; Bai Feiyu’s combat prowess was undeniably superior, easily crushing any other ninth-level Haotian Realm opponent. Betting on him was a sure thing.

One should not underestimate these prodigies. Though they usually appeared to have money to burn, most of it was already spent; often, they even had to borrow funds just to afford the resources required for a major breakthrough. This time, even those without spare spirit stones were petitioning the sect for advances just to bet on Bai Feiyu.

The atmosphere was electric—a fervor that the other sects could not match. The surrounding sects were bewildered. Was it not just another disciple stepping up to compete? Did the other sects not have their own brilliant talents? Could they really be so certain of victory? Or perhaps this disciple held such a high status that everyone was simply eager to curry favor with him? The disciples from other sects couldn't grasp the dynamic.

Qianshuang sighed inwardly as she watched. Given that this was only a Haotian Realm match, the stakes were low, and the returns were hardly worth the effort. Bai Feiyu himself wouldn't even care for the meager winnings from this round, so Qianshuang only placed a symbolic bet. She was saving her real capital for the Shackle Realm matches. Those bouts would be entirely different; while the Guixu Sect disciples would still bet on their own, the disciples from other sects and the vast crowd of spectators would finally throw their full weight into the gambling. That was where the real money was made; compared to that, the current situation was trivial.

Still, curiosity got the better of her. While Bai Feiyu was competing, Qianshuang snuck a peek into his storage bag and was stunned to find a literal mountain of spirit stones. And that wasn't even all of them; he had more in other bags. Even as the wealthy daughter of the sect leader, she had never seen such a fortune. It was enough to rival the wealth of some small sects, or even reach a tenth of the total assets of a major power like the Guixu Sect. To think that even the sect leader couldn't personally command a tenth of the sect’s wealth as private property—Bai Feiyu’s hoard completely upended her worldview. He was no longer the little junior brother who needed her financial support; he was a tycoon in his own right.

Bai Feiyu’s fight ended quickly. It was as if he were merely walking through the motions; a single slap sent his opponent collapsing before he could even react. The entire arena fell into shock, marvelling at the sheer power of this Haotian Realm disciple. It was clear that, in time, he would inevitably ascend to the Shackle Realm.

Only then did the people from the other sects realize why the Guixu Sect disciples had bet so collectively—it had been a guaranteed profit. What they didn't know was that, in the eyes of his fellow disciples, the reality was even simpler: Bai Feiyu was so powerful that he would remain invincible even in the Shackle Realm matches. To make money, one simply had to bet on him.

As Bai Feiyu returned, he found Qianshuang staring at him as if she had seen a ghost.

"Why are you looking at me like that? You're making me shy!" Bai Feiyu said with a thick-skinned grin, feeling a flicker of bashfulness under her intense gaze.

"Honestly, where did all that money come from?" Qianshuang moved closer, her expression grave. If the sect discovered a single disciple possessed such wealth, it would be a sensation.

"Didn't I tell you? From the Toba ruins. Where else?" Bai Feiyu answered honestly. "You've seen that pitch-black rabbit in the White Alliance, right? These spirit stones belonged to that rabbit’s original master."

He looked at her, genuinely puzzled by her shock. In truth, while other disciples who entered the Toba ruins had found spirit stones, their collective hauls didn't amount to a fraction of his. He had clearly stumbled upon the stash of a massive hoarder—a master who must have been a miser in life, or he never would have amassed such a fortune.