The Unfortunate Duo

"Brother Shen, are you feeling unwell?"

After Yun Zhilan spoke, he noticed Shen Yunfei's face twitching uncontrollably, his expression oddly distorted—almost grotesque. Yun Zhilan even began to worry: Could Shen Yunfei be showing signs of qi deviation from rushing his cultivation too recklessly?

Seeing Yun Zhilan’s concerned gaze, Shen Yunfei forced himself to calm down.

"Thank you for your concern, Brother Yun. I’m fine. Perfectly fine."

"Ahem… Brother Yun, perhaps you should… worry more about yourself."

Huh?

Worry more about myself? What does that mean?

Yun Zhilan was puzzled, but Chen Chang'an understood the hidden meaning in Shen Yunfei’s words. Knowing Chen Chang'an as well as he did, Shen Yunfei was certain that whatever Yun Zhilan had received from him couldn’t have been more than a tenth of what he truly deserved.

That bastard’s heart is pitch black.

Only someone like Yun Zhilan, who didn’t know Chen Chang'an well, could sincerely call him such a good person.

"You two didn’t wait here just for me, did you?" Yun Zhilan asked curiously.

"Of course not. We just arrived."

"I see. So, Brother Chen, lately—"

"Brother Chen, what’s your current cultivation level?"

It was only then that Yun Zhilan noticed Chen Chang'an’s aura had changed. Peak True Immortal realm?

A little over a year ago, when he entered the Heavenly Pride Tower, hadn’t Chen Chang'an been at the first level of the True Immortal realm?

Reaching the peak in just a year?

As expected!

This only confirmed Yun Zhilan’s belief that Chen Chang'an had been concealing his true strength all along. Whether he preferred to keep a low profile or enjoyed playing the fool before revealing his power, Yun Zhilan couldn’t quite figure out.

"I trained for a year, but my progress was a bit slow. Forgive my inadequacy," Chen Chang'an said with a self-deprecating smile.

At these words, Yun Zhilan’s smile froze. Forgive your inadequacy? Who dares to laugh at you? What inadequacy?

Are you even giving the rest of us a chance to live?

You can’t just flex like this!

"Look, he’s looking down on me now."

"Ah, my heart is broken," Chen Chang'an said mournfully to Shen Yunfei.

Shen Yunfei glanced at him, then turned away, unable to stand the sight of Chen Chang'an’s shameless face.

"Ahem!"

"So, what brings you two here?" Yun Zhilan swiftly changed the subject. He couldn’t take any more of Chen Chang'an’s bragging.

"Nothing much. I just plan to enter the Heavenly Pride Tower and test its difficulty," Chen Chang'an replied casually.

Enter the Heavenly Pride Tower?

Yun Zhilan’s eyes lit up. With Chen Chang'an’s strength, first place was undoubtedly his. But how far would he go? How long would it take? These were unknowns that excited Yun Zhilan.

"When?" Yun Zhilan asked eagerly.

"Now."

Now?

Chen Chang'an nodded at the two of them, then turned and strode into the Heavenly Pride Tower.

His entrance stirred excitement among the onlookers. This was the man even the City Lord’s Manor had invested in!

"Do you think Chen Chang'an will knock Meng Xiaohui off the top spot?"

"Is that even a question? First place belongs to Chen Chang'an."

"I agree. The City Lord’s Manor wouldn’t back someone inferior to Meng Xiaohui."

"Fifty-five floors? Do you think that’s possible?"

"I’d say he might even reach sixty."

"That high? The Heavenly Pride Tower gets harder the further you go. Sixty seems unlikely."

"Hmph! Of course it’s impossible!"

Meng Xiaohui, who hadn’t left yet, overheard the chatter. Having cleared fifty floors himself, he knew better than anyone how terrifying the tower was.

Sixty floors? Not a chance. I doubt he’ll even reach fifty-five.

"After five thousand years of relentless effort, I’ve only just broken through to the Heavenly Immortal realm."

"And even then, I barely cleared fifty floors. The fifty-first floor crushed me instantly."

"You people have no idea how brutal the Heavenly Pride Tower truly is," Meng Xiaohui said coldly.

Heavenly Immortal realm?

So, Meng Xiaohui had indeed reached it. No one was surprised—this had long been assumed.

Amid the discussions, Shen Yunfei’s eyes suddenly gleamed as he turned to Yun Zhilan.

"Got any spirit stones?"

"Huh? Yeah, why?"

"A lot?"

"Well… I’ve got some savings."

"Let’s open a betting pool."

"I think we can clean up here."

"Brother Yun, this is pure profit!" Shen Yunfei said excitedly.

A betting pool?

Yun Zhilan was momentarily lost.

Seeing his confusion, Shen Yunfei raised an eyebrow. "You’ve never gambled before?"

"Uh… no," Yun Zhilan admitted with a wry smile. His focus had always been on cultivation.

"Damn, your life’s too dull."

"Here, let me explain."

Shen Yunfei laid out his plan. Given his understanding of Chen Chang'an, the man’s final result would be shockingly high—but no one else would believe it.

Meaning, most bets would lose.

"Brother Shen, are you really that confident Chen Chang'an can reach seventy floors? Or even eighty?"

Both Yun Zhilan and Shen Yunfei had entered the tower before. Yun Zhilan couldn’t believe Shen Yunfei would underestimate its difficulty.

Yet his unwavering confidence was baffling.

"Still… Brother Chen’s strength is unfathomable."

"You’re right. Brother Shen, you’re more worldly than I am."

"Eh, I learned it all from Chen Chang'an. That guy’s full of schemes."

Shen Yunfei’s idea was just an imitation of Chen Chang'an’s usual tactics.

"Alright, let’s do it!"

Yun Zhilan gritted his teeth. He sent Shen Yunfei to set up the betting pool while he hurried to gather more spirit stones from his clan—just in case.

"Betting’s open?"

"Wagering on Chen Chang'an’s final score?"

"Whoa, what’s with these odds? Nothing below fifty floors?"

"And the payout for fifty-five to sixty is tenfold? That seems reasonable."

"Holy crap, there’s even a ninety-ninth-floor option? With a ten-thousand-fold payout?"

"Nah, that’s just a scam. No one’s clearing ninety-nine. If it were ninety to ninety-nine with ten-thousand-fold odds, I might throw in a stone. But just ninety-nine? Impossible."

"But ten thousand times return… Even a single low-grade spirit stone could win big."

"Hmm… fair point. Maybe one bet for fun?"

"Just one. Not much to lose."

Seeing many people placing bets on the ninety-ninth floor, Yun Zhilan panicked.

If Chen Chang'an actually clears it, how much will we owe?!

"Brother Shen, what… what do we do?"

"You've got decent talent and high cultivation, but your mind is average, and you lack steadiness."

"This is a sure win for us."

"Oh? How so?"

"Look at the bets placed on the other options. When you offset them, we still come out ahead. These people wouldn’t dare stake heavy bets on the 99th floor."

"Makes sense."

Just as the two were gloating, the city lord's men arrived at the scene.

"Clearing the 99th floor—bet placed... 10,000 top-grade immortal spirit stones!"

"Holy shit!"

"How much?!"