Today, The Villain Couple is Settling Scores Again

At the hour of Mao, the morning sun hung on the horizon, painting the surrounding clouds with a golden glow.

In the Treasure Pavilion of the Jade Clarity Sect, a man in white robes walked through the door, his face adorned with a smile that revealed his sharp canine teeth. "Good morning, junior brother," he greeted.

A moment passed, but there was no response from within the pavilion.

Curious, the senior brother with the canine teeth approached and saw his junior brother sitting on a chair behind the shelves, engrossed in the Xuantian Mirror.

"Junior brother?" The senior brother tapped the shelf with his knuckles and called out again.

The junior brother finally snapped out of his reverie and hastily stood up. "Good morning, senior brother!"

"Morning," the senior brother replied, his curiosity piqued. "What are you looking at? You seem so absorbed."

"Today is the day of the first-year inner disciple competition, isn't it?" the junior brother replied as he put away the Xuantian Mirror and began tidying up. "I heard there's a betting pool at the martial arena."

He paused, his eyes gleaming with a hint of greed, and extended his hand, showing a 'five'. "A five hundred thousand bet!"

"Five hundred thousand?!" The senior brother was astonished. "That much? Who's involved?"

Every year, during the first-year disciple competition, there are always a few betting pools. Of course, these are unofficial, organized privately by the disciples themselves.

When two equally matched popular disciples face off, some enthusiasts would wager a sum of spirit stones on the one they favor, while others who disagree would bet on the other disciple.

However, the stakes are usually not that high, typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand.

A bet of five hundred thousand was unheard of.

"Liu Qi and Jian Huan," the junior brother quickly answered. "I heard that this year's first-year sword cultivators and talisman cultivators have been at odds. Liu Qi has even beaten a few talisman disciples before. Jian Huan is the most skilled talisman cultivator among the first-years, and she drew Liu Qi in the first round. Maybe she couldn't stand it and impulsively bet five hundred thousand on herself."

"Jian Huan?" The senior brother was surprised.

He remembered this junior sister vividly. She had once visited the Treasure Pavilion and looked around but didn't buy anything.

He had also often flown past her and Shen Jizhi's residence, frequently hearing strange creaking noises from their room, which made him blush.

"That doesn't seem right," the senior brother thought carefully. "I don't think this junior sister has many spirit stones. Where would she get five hundred thousand to bet on herself?"

The junior brother replied, "It's not just her. Yang Ye is also involved. It's said that Yang Ye and Jian Huan are on good terms and have even gone to a secret realm together. Yang Ye and Jian Huan also have the support of Gong Feihong, the wealthy young master of the Gong family. I suspect that most of the five hundred thousand came from him. For the Gong family, five hundred thousand is like five spirit stones to us."

The senior brother nodded subconsciously, still finding the whole thing hard to believe.

Five hundred thousand, five hundred thousand!

"I was planning to go to the martial arena and place a bet myself," the junior brother said, looking eager. "Senior brother, do you want to place a bet? I can take it for you."

"It feels like a trap," the senior brother said, having met Jian Huan before. He didn't think she was the type to let others take advantage of her. "This five hundred thousand seems like bait. Junior brother, be careful."

The higher the stakes, the more people are drawn to place bets.

For example, in the match between Jian Huan and Liu Qi, Jian Huan has already bet five hundred thousand. People wouldn't bet on her because there's no profit in it; they'd bet on Liu Qi instead.

If, in the end, a total of ten thousand spirit stones are bet on Liu Qi, and Liu Qi wins, each spirit stone would yield a profit of fifty spirit stones.

Not to mention, both are at the seventh level of Foundation Establishment, and as a sword cultivator, Liu Qi naturally has a higher chance of winning than Jian Huan.

Jian Huan's five hundred thousand seems like a generous gift, giving away money for free.

That's precisely why it feels suspicious.

"Even so," the junior brother said, "what if? I won't bet much, just ten spirit stones. Senior brother, are you really not going to bet?"

The senior brother shook his head.

The junior brother didn't say more and turned to leave.

Just as he stepped out the door, he heard his senior brother call out, "Wait, ah, forget it. I'll bet one spirit stone."

The junior brother: "..."

Until the competition ends, no one knows the outcome.

If Jian Huan wins, it's just a loss of one spirit stone. But if Jian Huan loses, it's a free gain of fifty spirit stones!

Many people shared the same thought as the senior brother.

Although they also sensed something fishy, the allure of the five hundred thousand was too great, and they were willing to risk a few spirit stones for the possibility.

Under a peach blossom tree at the martial arena.

Jian Huan stood there, stretching her arms and intertwining her fingers to loosen up.

There were twenty arenas in total, and the matches couldn't all be held at once; they were divided into five rounds.

Although Jian Huan and Liu Qi were in the first round, a crowd had already gathered around her.

Beside her, Yang Ye sat on the ground with a spirit pig in his arms. On the ground in front of him, he had drawn a large oval with charcoal, with 'Liu Qi' written on the left and 'Jian Huan' on the right.

On the side of 'Jian Huan,' there was a Mustard Seed Pouch containing five hundred thousand spirit stones.

Additionally, a 'cross' was drawn under her name, indicating that no further bets were accepted.

Only the 'Liu Qi' side was open for betting.

Since they initiated this betting pool, the rules were set by them.

If others were dissatisfied, they could start their own pool.

Last night, Yang Ye, Shen Jizhi, and Wen Jiu had a meeting. Yin Yusheng wasn't in the sect, so he wasn't included.

The three of them, along with Jian Huan, pooled together two hundred thousand spirit stones, and the remaining three hundred thousand was borrowed from Gong Feihong.

Wen Jiu didn't like crowded places, so he didn't come and stayed in his room, spreading the word through the Xuantian Mirror.

As for Shen Jizhi, well, he had just arrived when Elder Wei called him over, saying they were short-handed and asking if he could help for a hundred spirit stones a day.

Shen Jizhi agreed without hesitation.

At that moment, he was carrying a set of tables and chairs from one end of the martial arena to the other.

Everyone else used spiritual energy to move things, but he used physical strength to save on spiritual energy and craft more spiritual tools.

Jian Huan's gaze followed his figure through the crowd.

Last night, when Shen Jizhi returned, he told her not to expect too much.

At the time, she didn't quite understand what he meant.

Now, she finally got it.

Jian Huan shifted her gaze to the 'betting table.'

A sword-carrying disciple reached into his pocket and pulled out a spirit stone, placing it solemnly on the 'Liu Qi' side.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Jian Huan sighed.

She had been standing there for nearly half an hour. Although many people had come, most only bet a few spirit stones!

The most anyone bet was a few dozen!

She estimated that their five hundred thousand would only attract a little over a thousand spirit stones.

Jian Huan had initially thought they could make at least ten thousand.

Jiang Mian approached, genuinely worried for Jian Huan. But since the five hundred thousand bet had already been placed, worrying was futile, so she decided to let it go.

"This person is also a first-year sword cultivator. I've seen him on the road before; he was walking with Liu Qi at the time, and they seemed to be on good terms."

"Really?" Jian Huan asked, scrutinizing the sword-carrying disciple. "I can't tell that he and Liu Qi are on good terms."

Jian Huan's gaze was too obvious, and the sword-carrying disciple instinctively looked her way.

Jian Huan wasn't shy and smiled openly, getting straight to the point. "Are you Liu Qi's friend?"

The other replied, "For now, I guess."

If Liu Qi lost the upcoming match and caused his spirit stone to go to waste, he would have to reconsider their friendship.

Jian Huan: "So you only bet one spirit stone on him? People who don't even know him are betting dozens."

"One spirit stone is enough for a friend," the other replied. He looked around, stepped closer, and whispered to Jian Huan, "Actually, if you give me one spirit stone, I can be your friend too..."

Jian Huan's mouth twitched. "No need, I have enough friends."

"What a pity," the other said with a hint of regret before walking away.

Jian Huan fell silent.

So, sword cultivators' friendships are this cheap?

"Move aside!" A hoarse, impatient voice rang out moments later, and the crowd parted to make way for a bull-faced man who squeezed through.

Jiang Mian leaned in again to remind Jian Huan, "That's Liu Qi."

Jian Huan nodded slightly and clasped her hands in greeting, smiling lightly. "Good morning, Brother Liu. Are you here to place a bet on yourself?"

Liu Qi's sinister gaze fell upon Jian Huan, his thick lips curling into a smirk. "Well, with 500,000 spirit stones practically handed to me, how could I possibly refuse?"

He had just woken up when someone informed him that Jian Huan had set up a betting ring early in the morning at the martial arena and wagered 500,000 on herself.

He couldn’t help but laugh and immediately went to borrow spirit stones from Elder Wei.

"10,000 spirit stones," Liu Qi slammed a Mustard Seed Pouch onto the table, cracking his knuckles as he glared at Jian Huan with a cruel glint in his eyes. "Who gave you the guts to bet 500,000 spirit stones?"

He leaned in, lowering his voice. "Didn’t those sectmates of yours, the ones I beat to a pulp last time, warn you?"

Jian Huan took a step back, her smile unwavering, especially when she heard the words "10,000." Her grin widened. "Thank you, Brother Liu, for your 10,000 spirit stones. You’ve just secured my stake."

Otherwise, if she only ended up earning a few thousand, splitting it among the four of them would have felt unfair to Yang Ye, Wen Jiu, and even Shen Jizhi, who had gifted her that talisman brush.

Before Liu Qi could retort, Shen Jizhi walked over, his tone calm but firm. "The first round of the competition is about to begin. Both of you, step onto the platform."

Jian Huan and Liu Qi were assigned to the ninth arena.

They temporarily placed their Mustard Seed Pouches on the elder’s table and had the talismans and swords they would use for the competition inspected before stepping onto the platform.

For the outer sect disciple initiation trials, the use of external items beyond one’s cultivation level was strictly prohibited.

On the arena, Jian Huan and Liu Qi stood at opposite ends.

Liu Qi sneered at the sword strapped to Jian Huan’s back. "A talisman master carrying a sword? What a joke."

Jian Huan shrugged. "If you can have a mouth, why can’t I have a sword?"

Truthfully, she didn’t plan to use the sword in this match. The talisman-sword technique Fang Quan had taught her was reserved as a trump card for the final battle.

To deal with Liu Qi, the talismans she had recently mastered would suffice.

But with 500,000 spirit stones on the line, she decided to bring the sword just in case.

Liu Qi gritted his teeth, swinging his sword at Jian Huan with a fierce slash.

Jian Huan’s bangs fluttered as the deadly sword light reached her in an instant.

She raised her hand, a Golden Shield Talisman materializing in front of her, blocking the strike head-on.

As the shield shattered, Liu Qi’s second slash followed immediately.

Jian Huan leaned back, executing a graceful backbend to dodge the attack.

At the same time, her fingertips lightly brushed the arena’s surface, as if just to steady herself.

But in the distance, Elder Wei suddenly stood up. "She knows how to use Hidden Talismans!"

Hidden Talismans were different from Invisibility Talismans. While Invisibility Talismans concealed the user, they had many limitations.

Hidden Talismans, on the other hand, concealed the talismans themselves.

This was no small feat.

Liu Qi, oblivious to Jian Huan’s subtle movements, glared at her with murderous intent. Seizing the opportunity, he aimed a powerful kick infused with sharp spiritual energy straight at her abdomen.

Jian Huan dropped to the ground, shielding her stomach with her hands, and rolled away, her protective spiritual energy flaring as she narrowly avoided the attack. It seemed like a close call.

Liu Qi snorted, pressing his assault. Jian Huan continued to dodge, looking increasingly disheveled.

At one point, Liu Qi feinted, catching her off guard. Though she managed to deploy another Golden Shield Talisman at the last moment, the residual force sent her tumbling to the edge of the arena.

Liu Qi seized the moment, leaping into the air and descending with an unstoppable sword strike aimed directly at Jian Huan!

Just then, Jian Huan, her face pale, suddenly looked up and blinked at him, her smile as gentle as a spring breeze.

A sense of dread surged in Liu Qi’s heart. He instinctively tried to retreat, but it was too late.

The Hidden Talismans on the arena erupted in a golden light, transforming into a vast golden ocean. A towering wave surged forth, engulfing Liu Qi completely.

"Ahhh—!" Liu Qi’s agonized screams echoed as if thousands of needles were piercing his body, leaving him in unbearable torment.

After a brief struggle, he could endure no more. "I surrender! Elder, I surrender!"

"Boo—" The crowd erupted in jeers.

Only then did Elder Wei leisurely rise from his seat, waving his hand. The talismans on the arena dissipated, and the golden ocean vanished.

With a loud thud, Liu Qi fell from the air, bloodied and battered.

Someone in the audience muttered softly, "As expected, if you don’t gamble with spirit stones, they won’t leave you."