Xu Mu stood below the stage, a deep smile on his face as he watched the two young figures fighting on the competition platform.
He hadn't actually left. The one who had fled earlier was merely the Qiongqi wearing his clothes.
The reason he remained was that Charles, now possessing a body he could control autonomously, would be dedicating twenty-four hours a day to research. The materials required might not even be filled by several oceans, and ten million taels of gold poured in would only patch a small hole.
With such a dire need for money, winning here was fast. Therefore, Xu Mu decided to take a gamble and stay. At worst, if exposed, he could have the Qiongqi assist him again. After all, the latter hadn't gone far and could teleport over at any time.
"Buddy, are you sighing because you lost badly just now?" As Xu Mu's thoughts swirled, a familiar voice sounded beside his ear.
Xu Mu turned his head and saw that it was Xiao Yao Feng.
The latter's face was pale, and there were bruises on his lips, as if he had just been beaten by someone.
Xiao Yao Feng looked at Xu Mu's "mature" face, his mind racing, intending to use Xu Mu to recoup some losses.
But who would have thought that before he could even introduce his business to Xu Mu, the group of gamblers who had just placed bets would swarm forward, loudly berating Xiao Yao Feng:
"You still dare to come back? Do you know how much money I lost because of you!"
A middle-aged man in a grey robe, playing with walnuts in his hand, wore a ferocious expression. "Xiao Yao Feng, Grandpa here bet twelve million on Chen Ming just now. Thanks to you, I lost five times that amount!"
Another young man, hearing this, also spoke with a look of misery: "And me, I lost over three million, all my savings are gone!"
A fat man said, "I'm even worse off. I bet over two million, and the bookie took ten million taels. The capital our sect planned to use for building a subsidiary sect is all lost!"
"It's all your fault, pay up!"
"Right, pay up!"
"Xiao Yao Feng, pay up!"
Several people gathered, shouting angrily at Xiao Yao Feng, demanding compensation for their losses. The excessive noise attracted many onlookers, and no one paid attention to the match on the platform anymore, their eyes fixed on this scene.
Xiao Yao Feng's expression tightened, and he quickly said, "This isn't my fault, it's Chen Ming who intentionally lost!"
"He colluded with that kid who just ran away, the one the Qilao of the Jialan clan was chasing. The two of them teamed up, one betting and the other throwing the match, they scammed you out of your money!"
Upon hearing this, the crowd exchanged glances, then continued to shout: "Do you take us for fools? Would the young master of the Chen family throw a match?!"
Xiao Yao Feng calmly replied, "Otherwise, where is Chen Ming now? Why did he disappear amidst the chaos? Why did the person who won the bet run so fast, and why did the Qilao intervene?"
The crowd was momentarily speechless.
Before this, they hadn't considered Chen Ming's disappearance. After all, Chen Ming's fight with Lu Fei had been exciting, full of twists and turns, and losing didn't feel unfair.
But things started to make sense when you thought about it. As Xiao Yao Feng said, why did Chen Ming leave immediately after losing the match? Why would someone dare to bet so much on Lu Fei? Before the match, more people favored Chen Ming!
The fat man pondered for a moment, then asked, "Even if what you're saying is true, then I'd like to know how the elder of the Jialan clan knew that person was going to run, and why did he intervene?"
Everyone turned to look at the Qilao.
The Qilao remained silent. He was unaware of the situation here and could only rely on Jialan Lou to explain.
"Senior Qilao was not aware of these things; I asked him to intervene," Jialan Lou stepped forward, his eyes serious. "In truth, I couldn't be entirely sure if Chen Ming was throwing the match, but I felt his strength was likely more than what he displayed. And then, coincidentally, someone bet against him, so I thought I'd have Elder Qilao apprehend that person and question him."
"But I didn't expect that, just as Elder Qilao was about to act, that person actually collected his winnings and fled. He was prepared, and even Elder Qilao's domain couldn't catch him."
Xiao Yao Feng listened, then added, "Everyone, think carefully. This is Sacred City. Martial arts are forbidden in Sacred City."
"If he were truly a cultivator betting normally, why would he have prepared such means to escape beforehand?"
The crowd fell silent. Xiao Yao Feng continued with a sigh, "In reality, I am also a victim in this. After all, I couldn't have predicted that the other party would throw the match. Here, I wish to apologize to everyone."
"Forget it." Seeing this, the crowd, whether they believed him or not, could only wave their hands and forgive him. After all, even if they suspected the truth of the matter, they had no way to prove it.
Whether it was Jialan Lou or Chen Ming, they couldn't afford to offend the families behind them. Therefore, whatever they said, that's what it was.
After this incident, many people left, no longer wishing to bet. New ability users also arrived to place their bets.
Xiao Yao Feng continued to search for targets in the crowd, one by one recommending his predictions, leading everyone to win several rounds in succession. Xu Mu was naturally among them.
He watched as Xiao Yao Feng manipulated him, playing him like a puppet. After several rounds of betting, the odds for the matches increased again.
Xu Mu then knew they were about to make their move. This time, the odds were triple, so he took out another three million. Of course, in front of everyone, he bet on the opposite of Xiao Yao Feng's predicted outcome.
And so, including everyone from Jialan Lou, they all knew who he was.
"He's the one who threw the match and scammed us!" Xiao Yao Feng retreated several steps, pointing at Xu Mu and shouting shrilly, attracting everyone's attention. Even the two combatants on the stage stopped their fight.
"Who says I threw the match? Do you have any evidence?" Facing Xiao Yao Feng's accusation, Xu Mu revealed his original appearance, that of an extremely handsome young gentleman.
"You threw the match! You colluded with Chen Ming just now and scammed many of us out of our money!" Jialan Lou also spoke sternly. The people beside him immediately rushed forward, surrounding Xu Mu, but Xu Mu remained unfazed.
His gaze was calm as he looked at Jialan Lou and asked with a smile, "This is Sacred City. Do you dare to touch me?"
Jialan Lou's expression was unpleasant. He said in a deep voice, "You also violated the rules. If I touch you, the guards won't say anything!"
Xu Mu smiled faintly and then said, "If you truly have the guts, then call the guards over. Let the Xuan Yuan clan investigate personally whether I violated any rules. This will also give everyone the truth."
Hearing this, Jialan Lou and Xiao Yao Feng stiffened.
Seeing this, Xu Mu continued to smile, "What, you don't dare?"
"Of course I dare!" Jialan Lou declared loudly, then added with a grim expression, "But there's no need. We all saw your actions just now. You ran away after winning ill-gotten gains!"
"If I ran away, then who am I now?" Xu Mu shrugged, smiled faintly, and turned to look at the others, saying, "Everyone, think about it. If I had the ability to escape, why would I stay here and deliberately expose myself?"
"The reason, of course, is that I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid of your doubts, because I haven't done what Young Master Jialan claims!"
"All the money was won through my own judgment. I just saw that someone was throwing the match, so I bet on Lu Fei!"
Yun, the young guardian from the Mo clan of Zhongtian, looked at Xu Mu and asked, "What do you mean by throwing the match?"
Xu Mu looked at him and replied,
"This all started with this person in front of me, selling information about the match outcomes..."
For the next hour, Xu Mu recounted the entire incident and the fake match-fixing methods used by Xiao Yao Feng. Every detail was incredibly accurate, causing everyone in the venue to become enraged. Even the middle-aged man in the Domain Lord realm from the Mo clan stared coldly at Xiao Yao Feng.
"I... this, what he's saying is false! I didn't arrange any fake matches!" Under the gaze of so many hostile eyes, Xiao Yao Feng instinctively began to fear, his speech becoming stammering.
He looked at the two Tianjiao on the stage who had stopped fighting, swallowed, and began to explain, "Everyone, think about it. I, Xiao Yao Feng, have no strength, no background, no talent. Even if I wanted to arrange fake matches, someone would have to listen to me!"
"Let alone the two Tianjiao fighting on the stage now. Just think about the geniuses from various families who have fought before. Aren't their statuses a hundred times higher than mine? How could I possibly get them to cooperate with me!"
"You can't command them, but the people from the Jialan clan can." Xu Mu said, looking at Jialan Lou with a half-smile.
Jialan Lou's heart tightened, his expression turning unpleasant. "What do you mean?"
The Qilao of the Jialan clan also said in a hoarse voice, "Even though Sacred City forbids martial arts, I will definitely punish anyone who slanders my Jialan clan."
"Consider your words carefully."
"I've considered them very carefully." Xu Mu nodded and earnestly questioned Jialan Lou, "Among everyone here, only you are suspicious, because you were the first to speak in favor of this Xiao Yao Feng, and you were the first to send a Domain Lord to capture me."
"I'll say it again, I saw you throwing the match and wanted to question you!" Jialan Lou said sternly.
"I'll say it again, I did not throw any matches. The ones who were actually throwing matches were you. The reason I could win money was entirely due to my own judgment!" Xu Mu retorted sharply.
"Ridiculous. You, a mere child, how much insight could you possibly have to win so many bets? Do you think we're all fools!" The Qilao also shouted.
Xiao Yao Feng took the opportunity to stir up the crowd's emotions, pointing at Xu Mu and shouting, "That's right, he claims he saw it with his judgment, but everyone, think about it, how is that possible!"
"If it was just betting on one match, it could be luck. But I know that before this, he consecutively won nearly ten bets! Even I occasionally lose a bet. If this isn't throwing matches, what is it!"
"Hmm, indeed."
The crowd nodded, their suspicious gazes turning back to Xu Mu. However, they didn't jump to conclusions, wanting to hear his explanation.
"If you want to accuse me, you can always find a reason." Unexpectedly, Xu Mu simply shrugged, no longer bothering to argue. "If you don't believe me, there's nothing I can do."
"Unless you can prove yourself!" Jialan Lou seemed to have thought of something and said.
"How do I prove myself?" Xu Mu asked, narrowing his eyes.
"It's simple. You just need to bet one more game," Jialan Lou said, pointing at the arena, and smiled slightly. "For the next match, let's two of us guess the winner."
"As long as you guess correctly, I will admit that all your previous bets were won through judgment and not match-fixing. If I lose, you can say whatever you want about me."
"What do you say, is that fair?"
Jialan Lou looked at Xu Mu and smiled faintly.
He was confident because the people who would be fighting next were all his subordinates or friends. As long as Xu Mu dared to accept the bet, he couldn't possibly win.
Xu Mu heard this and nodded in agreement, "Alright."
"But I have a condition, which is that one of the combatants must be chosen by me."
Jialan Lou sneered upon hearing this, "Fine, but the person you choose, you must bet on them to win. Otherwise, if you arbitrarily pick an insider to concede, I won't honor it."
"Of course, I'll bet on them to win," Xu Mu said, stepping onto the stage, then looked at Jialan Lou and said, "Come on."
Jialan Lou froze for a moment and instinctively asked, "What?"
"I mean, you choose the person," Xu Mu said, taking out all his gold notes, putting them into a spatial pouch, and then tossing the pouch to the young man at the betting stall. "There are a total of seventeen million five hundred thousand taels of gold here. I'm betting it all."
"Bet on myself to win!"