165: Chapter 165 This Best Friend, Please Control Yourself! Turns Out She's Also a kept man.

"Tsk, she really knows how to play."

If it weren't for his God's-eye view and knowing these women had their own copies of the Diary, Xiao Ting would never have guessed that Huo Zhi was acting.

But even knowing she was just playing a part, the drama was indeed logical and well-reasoned, though it still made him quite unhappy.

Even Xun'er hasn't said anything, so who are you, a member of the Yan Clan, to come here and act so arrogant!?

Since you're acting, then I, Xiao Ting, won't be polite either.

If you can act, then naturally, so can I.

"Dou Zun?" Xiao Ting assumed a serious expression and then said solemnly, "I will naturally reach that level."

"Easier said than done." Huo Zhi shook her head gently. "Even if you were a Dou Zun now, you still wouldn't earn my recognition. The jump from a nine-star Dou Zun to a Peak Dou Zun is a threshold as wide as a chasm. Even in the families Xun'er and I belong to, one cannot break through without the cultivation of top-tier resources, Heaven Rank Cultivation Methods, sufficient talent, and other factors."

"If you can't reach the level of Peak Dou Zun, you won't even have the qualifications to be officially recognized by Xun'er's family. Do you still want to be with her?"

"The deep affection and love you speak of is nothing but a burden to her."

"Peak Dou Zun, and even Dou Sheng—I will reach them all in the near future!" Xiao Ting's tone was incredibly confident.

Huo Zhi laughed and shook her head. "Saying that only makes me think you're naive and inconsiderate of Xun'er. Who would believe you can reach Peak Dou Zun, let alone Dou Sheng?"

"I believe him!" Xun'er tightly gripped Xiao Ting's hand, her gaze exceptionally firm. "Huo Zhi, I enjoyed our conversation and thought we could become good friends. Seeing how you look down on Brother Xiao Ting, I think we aren't suited to be friends."

"Xun'er!" Huo Zhi's expression turned somewhat ugly. "I'm doing this for your own good, considering your future and prospects."

"I know you didn't grow up within the clan all these years and have seen too few geniuses, which is why you think Xiao Ting is decent."

"But once you return to the Gu Clan, you'll realize that Xiao Ting's performance is quite ordinary among true geniuses!"

Huo Zhi spoke with earnest concern, looking every bit like a best friend worried about her friend's future.

Xiao Ting felt the strength in Xun'er's hand and smiled. "Huo Zhi, I originally had no opinion of you, but your words have changed my view. Regardless, your starting point is indeed for Xun'er's sake, even if it makes me very unhappy."

"I don't care about your opinion." Huo Zhi raised her chin with a haughty look. "It won't be long before Xun'er returns to the Gu Clan. You have decent talent and a chance to make a name for yourself in the Central Plains, but then you'll realize you're nothing in front of real geniuses."

"I was just being impatient. Once Xun'er goes back, the two of you will eventually drift apart."

"I will use facts to tell you that you are wrong," Xiao Ting said decisively.

"You're acting like this makes me feel you don't know the heights of the heavens or the depths of the earth." Huo Zhi crossed her legs and suddenly gave a soft laugh. "It makes me want to teach you a lesson, but for Xun'er's sake, I'll let it go. Why don't we make a bet?"

"A bet?" Xiao Ting's brow twitched slightly.

So this was the method this woman came up with to get close to him?

"That's right, a bet." Huo Zhi's eyes were bright, as if she had thought of something fun. She said, "Xun'er is deeply in love with you, but as her best friend, I see no possibility of a future where you can be together."

"To be honest, and you might not want to hear this, as Xun'er's best friend, I'm not just all talk. I can provide you with help to give you a chance to be with her, but only if you win the bet against me."

"What kind of bet?" Xiao Ting became interested, wanting to hear what kind of plan this woman actually had.

Xun'er blinked her beautiful eyes, also showing a curious expression.

She only knew that Huo Zhi planned to take the route of the 'best friend who dislikes the best friend's boyfriend.'

But in reality, what Huo Zhi truly wanted was to become friends with Xiao Ting and have more interactions so her name would be written in the Diary more often, allowing her to gain more Plane Blessings.

She hadn't told her the specific details of how she would operate yet.

"You're not even sixteen yet." Huo Zhi rested her chin on one hand and held up four fingers. "I'll give you four years. If you can break through to Dou Zong before you turn twenty, this young lady will give you a Lightning-Fire attribute Quasi-Heaven Rank Dou Skill, a quasi-heaven rank Cultivation Method, and a quasi-heaven rank Secret Technique."

"There are ten years left until Xun'er's adulthood ceremony. If you can break through to the Dou Zun level by then, I'll give you a Lightning-Fire attribute Low-level Heaven Rank Cultivation Method, Dou Technique, and Secret Method."

"My family doesn't have much else, but we have the most Dou Techniques, Cultivation Methods, Secret Methods, and even Soul Secret Methods related to the Fire attribute."

"If you reach Peak Dou Zun before the age of thirty, I can even give you all kinds of Mid-level Heaven Rank Cultivation Methods and Dou Techniques."

"What do you think? I'm being sincere and generous enough, right? I'm saying all this in front of Xun'er, so it's absolutely reliable!"

Xiao Ting: !

Understood. This woman is also here to give him soft rice.

She went through such a long detour just to make him act angry first.

If I had known you were coming to be a gift-giving fairy, I could have had a better attitude toward you.

"Since it's a bet, there's also the possibility of me losing. You're giving me such good conditions; what do I need to pay if I lose?" Xiao Ting asked solemnly.

"Hahaha." Huo Zhi suddenly burst into laughter and said, "Xiao Ting, you're really confident. That's a necessary quality for the strong, but I don't even know what to say to you."

"To be honest, I don't think you can do it at all. Even if I offered conditions like giving you a Dou Di inheritance if you reached Peak Dou Zun before thirty, I could still make them."

"Because in my heart, the conditions I set will never be fulfilled, so it doesn't matter."

Speaking of this, Huo Zhi adjusted her sitting posture. "But since you asked what you'd have to pay, if you can't do it, then become my guard or a little lackey."

"Don't think this is a good thing. I can be very wicked. I want you to watch as Xun'er becomes more and more dazzling, seeing for yourself how much you don't deserve her and how excellent the people around her are."

Xun'er: "..."

Sister, please don't get too deep into the role.

"Do you think such a bet is fair to both parties?" Xiao Ting didn't show any displeasure at being looked down upon.

"I think it's fair," Huo Zhi nodded.

"Fine, then I have no objections either." Xiao Ting said seriously, "As long as I lose once, I'll be your guard. But I want to add an extra clause: if I break through to Dou Sheng before the age of thirty, you will become my maid. That would be fair."

"Since you look down on me so much, you surely dare to bet with me, right?"

"It's a bet!" Huo Zhi indicated she couldn't stand being provoked like this.

And so, both parties agreed to the wager.

Huo Zhi even took out a scroll and a jade slip to write the contract. She and Xiao Ting each signed their names and left their soul imprints, with Xun'er acting as the witness.

Afterward, Xiao Ting called Qing Lin and Xiao Yi Xian to the kitchen that came with the courtyard to cook personally.

"I'll personally make a delicious meal for you all. I wish you a flourishing and victorious Inner Academy Selection Tournament tomorrow."

Xiao Ting raised a glass filled with spiritual fruit juice.

"Cheers!"