Chu Chen looked at the black card in his hand. He thought he had grown accustomed to it long ago, but now he realized he was mistaken. People's jealousy is hard to overcome.

Chu Chen patted Lu Hongfei's shoulder and said with a smile, "Master Jia, right? With your level, you're not worthy of our headmaster's hand. How about we play a little?"

"Chu Chen, don't be impulsive," Lu Hongfei said sternly.

"Don't worry, headmaster. I have confidence," Chu Chen replied.

Upon hearing this, Lu Hongfei turned to look at Chu Chen. Seeing his resolute gaze and confident demeanor, he nodded, saying, "Alright, go ahead. If anything happens, I've got your back."

Upon hearing this, Chu Chen felt deeply moved. Li Dehai was targeting him, never expecting Lu Hongfei to back him up.

At this time, Master Jia was incredibly angry. He pointed at Chu Chen and said coldly, "Where did this brat come from? Truly ignorant of his own depth. Since you're courting death, I'll grant you that."

Chu Chen waved his hand and said, "No rush. The mental distress fee you mentioned earlier is too little."

"What do you want?"

Chu Chen raised the black card in his hand and said, "All other conditions remain unchanged. The mental distress fee goes up to fifty million."

With Chu Chen's words, everyone instantly went into an uproar.

"Fifty million? My god, how much money is this? This kid's gone mad."

"What fifty million? Clearly, it's sixty million."

"I remember someone visiting the fifth floor three months ago, right?"

"Yes, to carry sixty million on hand, yet they said he's from a small border town."

While everyone was discussing, Master Jia and Li Dehai's expressions turned extremely grim.

"Patriarch Li, I'm handling this for your Li Family. I can't afford sixty million," Master Jia said softly.

Li Dehai replied solemnly, "You don't need to pay."

Upon hearing this, Master Jia's expression somewhat relaxed. However, he didn't agree immediately; he waited for further instructions from Li Dehai.

After a short contemplation, it seemed Li Dehai thought of something. He stepped forward, saying in a firm voice, "You little brat nearly tricked me with your scheme. You want to scare me off with a fifty million bet, but your methods are too crude and full of loopholes. How could someone of your background have fifty million? Steward, I demand a financial check."

The middle-aged steward quickly walked over, looked at Chu Chen, and said in a low voice, "Sir, do you agree to the financial verification?"

This steward served the City Lord, with no need to curry favor with the Li Family. However, with the request for verification, he went through the formalities, querying Chu Chen's agreement.

Chu Chen handed over the black card, saying, "Here you go."

The middle-aged steward took the black card and stood there, stunned.

He examined the card carefully, seemingly trying to verify something.

A moment later, he returned the black card with both hands.

Chu Chen took the black card, somewhat bewildered, and asked, "You're done verifying?"

The middle-aged steward replied respectfully, "No need; our Gambling Egg Pavilion can vouch for you."

Upon hearing this, everyone displayed a look of shock.

Hidden within the steward's words was a deeper meaning: the City Lord was willing to back the young man before them.

Everyone began to speculate about Chu Chen's identity.

Li Dehai pointed at the middle-aged steward and said with a harsh voice, "Steward Sun, do you know what you're doing?"

Steward Sun answered coldly, "No need for Patriarch Li to worry; I'm fully aware of my actions."

Only then did Li Dehai come to his senses, realizing his impatience. He quickly attempted to remedy, "I was too anxious earlier, my apologies. I hope Steward Sun will enlighten us."

Steward Sun's expression eased slightly, as he pointed at the black card in Chu Chen's hand, saying, "This black card is issued by the Alliance Bank, and only those with assets exceeding one billion can possess one."

Upon hearing this, everyone displayed looks of shock; assets above one billion—what a fortune!

Compared to the lively discussions among the crowd, the Li Family remained unusually silent.

Their expressions turned iron, realizing that someone of such wealth was not to be trifled with.

Seeing this, Chu Chen inwardly noted with concern that the intimidation from the black card was too great, potentially impacting his subsequent plans, possibly causing both the Vermilion Bird Daoist School and the Li Family to tread cautiously.

After a moment of pondering, Chu Chen addressed the Li Family, saying, "My funds aren't a problem. Can your Li Family manage fifty million?"

Li Dehai fell into silence at these words. Fifty million wasn't a small amount for the Li Family, but he still could muster it with grit. However, the other party's identity was not as simple as they imagined; should anything go wrong, the Li Family would pay dearly.

Chu Chen sensed Li Dehai's hesitation and quickly took out a ring from his Space Belt, toying with it in his hand.

Upon seeing the ring in Chu Chen's hand, Li Dehai's eyes turned bloodshot, and his aura exploded outward, exerting a powerful pressure on Chu Chen.

Chu Chen felt as if a giant mountain weighed on his body, making it difficult to breathe.

Then Lu Hongfei stepped forward, standing in front of Chu Chen, and the pressure dissipated instantly.

Chu Chen quickly put the ring away upon observing this.

"Chu Chen, it's indeed you— that Spatial Ring belongs to Hongfei," Li Dehai roared.

Chu Chen spread his hands and said, "What ring? I don't know what you're talking about."

Li Dehai, enraged, knew the Spatial Ring was in the other party's hand but was powerless, as he lacked the authority to search, and even if found, Chu Chen could claim he picked it up, offering no substantial evidence.

A fierce internal conflict raged within Li Dehai, his anger triumphing over rationality, as he stared coldly at Chu Chen and said, "Fine, I'll bet with you. Steward Sun, please verify funds." With that, Li Dehai took out a Golden Card from his Spatial Ring and handed it over.

Steward Sun accepted the Golden Card and promptly went off to verify funds.

The observing crowd took out their Communication Bracelets, contacting friends and family, aware such stakes are rare, perhaps seen once in several years or even decades—missing it would be eternally regrettable.

The majority of Black Mist City erupted with excitement, masses converging on Lamp Street, rendering the Black Mist Gambling Egg Pavilion utterly crowded.

Chu Chen felt quite helpless, but at this point, he had to forge ahead.

After pondering briefly, he suddenly smiled—more people meant safer from those targeting him, turning out to be a good protective measure.

With this realization, Chu Chen conceived a bold idea—since he couldn't conceal it, why not make a grand play and invite the City Lord?

This way, others wouldn't dare make a move on him, given Zhang Yuyan's incredibly enigmatic identity, which even the Black Mist City Lord must handle cautiously.

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