Free Web NovelChapter 122: Chapter 91: Don’t Tell Me You Can’t Even Afford This
Hearing Gu Lin’s words, Yin Guang shot her an expressionless glance and offered no response.
Gu Lin didn’t seem to mind. With a grin, she said, "Besides, your cousin and Pei Ze are fellow apprentices now, with her as his senior. They get along great. You should be nicer to Pei Ze, if only for your cousin’s sake."
At these words, Yin Guang finally lost his composure. His cheek twitched, and his face took on a constipated look.
Gu Lin chuckled to herself.
The Gu Family and the Yin Family had always been on good terms, so their younger members were fairly familiar with one another and would interact from time to time.
As far as Gu Lin knew, ever since being outshone by Pei Ze in the new student trials, Yin Guang had secretly considered him a fierce rival. He had been dead set on surpassing Pei Ze, even going so far as to enter a family elder’s Wizard Tower for a period of secluded training.
But when he finally emerged from the Wizard Tower, he was met with the news that Pei Ze had slain a Legendary Knight.
Gu Lin could still remember Yin Guang’s expression at that moment. It had been absolutely priceless.
Still, she could understand. After all, the person you had trained so painstakingly to surpass had suddenly experienced a massive leap in power. The gap between them hadn’t just failed to shrink—it had grown even wider.
Anyone would be crushed by such a gap between ambition and reality.
What?
And how did she know what Yin Guang’s expression was at the time, you ask?
Well, that’s because she was the one who told him the news, of course!
On top of that, Gu Lin also knew that Yin Guang had a bit of a crush on his cousin, Yin Xue.
It was only natural, then, that Yin Guang would be annoyed with Pei Ze—a man whose talent and strength far surpassed his own, and who was also getting close to Yin Xue.
Just as Gu Lin was wondering whether she should tease Yin Guang a little more, she caught sight of several people approaching out of the corner of her eye.
When she got a clear look at the person in the lead, the girl silently pursed her lips in distaste.
Yin Guang noticed them too, and his brow furrowed in open disgust.
"Long time no see, Yin Guang. Heard you went into seclusion recently. How’d that go? Make any progress?"
The young man in the lead stopped in front of Yin Guang, greeting him with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
Yin Guang snorted. "If you want to know if I’ve made any progress, why don’t we have a match and you can see for yourself?"
"An excellent suggestion." The young man’s eyes narrowed, and he chuckled darkly. "Let’s set a time, then. We can have a little spar in the Dueling Arena."
Within just a few sentences, the animosity between them had grown so thick that everyone around could feel it.
The surrounding Wizard Apprentices all discreetly backed away, putting some distance between themselves and the pair.
A younger Wizard Apprentice curiously asked an upperclassman beside him, "Who’s that? He and Yin Guang seem to be on really bad terms."
"That’s Meng Kai from Shadow Academy. His older brother, Meng Wei, is a well-known rival of our academy’s Yin Xue." freewёbnoνel.com
The younger apprentice’s eyes widened in realization.
Meng Kai paid no mind to the surrounding chatter, turning to greet Gu Lin.
"Long time no see, Gu Lin."
Gu Lin gave a dismissive, noncommittal response.
The Meng Family was a Bloodline Clan on par with the Pei Family. They were like fire and water with the Yin Family, and their relationship with her Gu Family wasn’t much better.
Besides, Meng Kai was an arrogant person, so Gu Lin had never thought much of him.
Meng Kai wasn’t bothered by Gu Lin’s dismissiveness. He looked up at the light screen high above and said, "I hear your academy has an apprentice named Pei Ze participating in the competition this year?"
Yin Guang snorted. "As if you didn’t know."
Meng Kai smirked. "I hear Pei Ze is a first-year, just like you, yet he’s already slain a Legendary Knight. His power must be incredible. I suddenly find myself looking forward to his performance in this trial."
On the surface, his words were full of praise for Pei Ze, but anyone could hear the thick sarcasm in his tone.
Clearly, he didn’t believe the rumors were true.
Gu Lin’s eyes darted back and forth for a moment before she suddenly spoke. "From the sound of it, you don’t seem to believe Pei Ze can secure a spot in the competition?"
Meng Kai just smiled without answering, an expression of undisguised mockery on his face.
Seeing his reaction, Gu Lin laughed. "How about we make a bet? Let’s bet on whether or not Pei Ze can secure a spot!"
At her words, both Meng Kai and Yin Guang froze.
Meng Kai frowned slightly, studying Gu Lin’s expression for a moment, puzzled as to why she would suddenly propose a bet.
Yin Guang frowned as well, discreetly sending a message to Gu Lin with a Communication Skill.
"What are you planning?"
"Nothing much. Just making a little extra cash."
"...You have that much faith in Pei Ze?"
Yin Guang couldn’t understand Gu Lin’s plan at all.
’So what if Pei Ze has a Legendary Knight kill under his belt?’
’There were more people than you could count on two hands among the Wizard Apprentices in this trial who were just as strong, if not stronger.’
’And that wasn’t even counting the geniuses among geniuses like Sang Fan, Meng Wei, and Su Shouhai.’
’Pei Ze’s chances of securing a spot were slim indeed.’
’Where was all this confidence in Pei Ze coming from?’
Gu Lin didn’t answer Yin Guang’s question. She just looked at Meng Kai with a wry smile. "So? Are we making a bet?"
Meng Kai glanced at her, then over at Yin Guang. He seemed to see something in Yin Guang’s expression that solidified his decision. He narrowed his eyes. "What are the stakes?"
Gu Lin planted one hand on her hip and swept her other arm out wide. "Five hundred Magic Stone Coins!" she declared boldly.
HISS!
Gasps echoed from the crowd.
The Wizard Apprentices who had been eavesdropping on the conversation all sucked in a sharp, collective breath.
’Did we hear that right?’
’Five hundred Magic Stone Coins?’
’That’s enough to buy a lower-quality Tier One Witchcraft Artifact!’
’For many Wizard Apprentices, that was an astronomical sum!’
