Chapter 130: Gambling Battle

“I lost,” Ruo Xuan said somewhat dejectedly. Even with the immortal remnant acceleration activated, her speed only slightly surpassed Lei Mulan’s.

Moreover, she wasn’t used to fighting in such a high-speed, high-reflex state. Her experience in this regard was far inferior to Lei Mulan’s, so it wasn’t an unfair loss.

Nevertheless, having used all her means and still failing to defeat a demon cultivator who had only recently gained enlightenment, she couldn’t help but feel depressed.

Could she really make it into the elite class like this?

Lei Mulan didn’t make things difficult for Ruo Xuan. Instead, she helped her up and said, “Your intentions were too obvious. In a fight, that makes it easy for an opponent to prepare for or counter you.”

“That burst of immortal remnant acceleration was very sudden, but you shouldn’t have used it for your flying sword. Instead, you should have pressed the advantage to knock me down completely.”

Ruo Xuan gave a wry smile. She was being comforted by her opponent, even though Lei Mulan was actually more injured than she was.

Ruo Xuan could walk out of the water curtain barrier unharmed, while Lei Mulan had to sit on the ground, sparks flying from her hands to melt the ice on her feet.

“Her feet are frostbitten, which has greatly affected her speed and movements. Now is the perfect time to challenge her.”

“Once she heals her injuries and regains her mobility, few in this class will be able to beat her,” Shangguan Yun said, continuing her sharp critique of Lei Mulan.

Mu Yanxi agreed with this view. Lei Mulan’s most impressive traits were her lightning-fast speed, her offensive pressure, and her habit of fighting in high-speed motion.

In the Qi Refining stage, most people’s flying swords couldn’t even keep up with her movements, let alone compete in close-quarters combat.

Conversely, once her speed dropped, Lei Mulan’s strength would be significantly compromised. Now was indeed the best time to challenge her.

Unfortunately, most people had been scared off by her performance earlier, when she took a hit from the plasma head-on without injury.

They didn’t dare challenge her, unaware that she couldn’t actually withstand an attack at the golden core stage; it was simply because of her unique constitution and attributes.

After Ruo Xuan came out, Mu Yanxi ran over to say a few words of comfort. Ruo Xuan offered a faint smile.

“It’s fine. I still have two chances left, and I haven’t consumed much energy. Losing one challenge attempt might actually be a good thing for me.”

However, Mu Yanxi could see the unease in her eyes.

Although Ruo Xuan hadn’t exhausted herself, she seemed to have played all her trump cards and still failed to win, which had severely damaged her confidence.

Just as she was about to offer more comfort, a voice suddenly came from behind her. “Mu Yanxi, I want to challenge you!”

“Hm?” Mu Yanxi turned around to see a blue-haired girl with a high ponytail. She didn’t recognize her at all, so she asked, “Who are you, exactly?”

Before the girl could answer, Shangguan Yun frowned and asked, “Ling’er, what are you doing? Why do you want to challenge Yanxi?”

If she hadn’t asked, it might have been fine, but at the question, the girl called Ling’er became agitated and demanded, “Sister Shangguan! Why didn’t you choose one of our sisters to be your study partner? Instead, you chose an outsider! That’s not fair to everyone!”

Shangguan Yun frowned. “My family has a deep history with hers, so I could only choose her. Stop making a scene.”

To her surprise, Ling’er didn’t stop. Instead, her eyes lit up. “So, Sister Shangguan, you only chose her because of family pressure? You didn’t abandon us?”

“I have never abandoned my sisters, but choosing Yanxi as a study partner wasn’t due to family pressure. It was for personal reasons,” Shangguan Yun explained calmly.

“Whatever the reason, she’s not the girl you actually wanted, right? If I can take away her status as your study partner, you’ll be happy, Sister Shangguan, won’t you?” Ling’er said to herself.

‘What kind of bizarre logic is this?’ Mu Yanxi couldn’t help but think. This girl wasn’t listening to a word anyone said.

She seemed overly emotional and completely impossible to reason with.

She only believed what she wanted to believe, ignoring even Shangguan Yun’s words. ‘If I were Shangguan Yun, I’d have a massive headache.’

“Ling’er, calm down. A duel only determines the slots for the elite class; it cannot change the double cultivation partner,” Shangguan Yun said, still maintaining a calm and friendly tone. It was truly a rare feat.

“I know! But as long as you don’t object to changing partners, and I win the bet in our duel, I can take her spot as your double cultivation study partner!” Ling’er said with conviction.

“That’s only if Yanxi agrees to the bet. A unilateral declaration is invalid,” Shangguan Yun said coolly, without mentioning whether she personally objected or not.

“No problem! Mu Yanxi, you heard her! You’re not worthy of being Sister Shangguan’s study partner. If you know what’s good for you, agree to the bet and hand over your position,” Ling’er spoke aggressively to Mu Yanxi.

Initially, while this concerned Mu Yanxi, she didn’t care all that much. She secretly mocked how popular Shangguan Yun was among the younger girls.

Many other girls, just like Shuang’er, were watching with admiration; they were likely all students who had been promoted from the Lingyue Chuzong.

She hadn’t expected the spear to be pointed at her. Mu Yanxi felt so annoyed she almost laughed. She was a dignified Nascent Soul Stage cultivator, and Shangguan Yun was her former fiancée.

‘How does this little brat in the Qi Refining stage dare say I’m not worthy of being Shangguan Yun’s study partner?’

“Sure. I’ll bet with you. If I lose, I’ll voluntarily give up my position as a study partner. But what are you putting on the line? What stake could possibly be worth Yun’er’s double cultivation position?” Mu Yanxi countered.

“This… that…” Ling’er was suddenly stuck. In the Spiritual Moon Sect, the opportunity to practice double cultivation with the grade top disciple was priceless; it was common knowledge.

Forget being the chief study partner for a year—people would pay just for a single session.

But the thought of Mu Yanxi intimately calling Sister Shangguan “Yun’er” made Ling’er’s anger boil.

She declared, “If I lose, I’ll let you perform plucking and supplementing on me three times! You can take as much as you want!”

“Ling’er! Stop this! This is no joke. Apologize now and we’ll forget this,” Shangguan Yun said, her expression turning serious. Betting on plucking and supplementing was no laughing matter.

“You think plucking and supplementing you three times is worth a year of a chief disciple’s study partner privileges? Are you joking?” Mu Yanxi asked.

She wasn’t being mocking; she genuinely wanted the girl to back down by realizing she couldn’t match the stake.

Seeing that Shangguan Yun’s relationship with the girl was actually quite good, she didn’t want to truly make things difficult for a junior.

“Then I’ll be your furnace for a year and your maid! You can use me however you like. Besides, I still have my primordial yin,” Ling’er said through gritted teeth.

“Wei Ling! Will you not even listen to me anymore?” This time, there was real anger in Shangguan Yun’s voice. She even used the girl’s full name. Even the other girls nearby flinched in fear.

Mu Yanxi, however, simply smiled. “Fine. That stake is reasonable enough. I accept.”