Chapter 1661: Royce

Garrison spoke urgently, fearing Xu Jingming might act on impulse:

"And most importantly, if you add leverage and ultimately fail the mission,

you'll face a penalty of up to ten million Starfire Points, proportional to the leverage multiplier!

That's no small amount.

I suggest you start with two- or threefold leverage—it's safer."

"Extra rewards come with corresponding penalties—that's only fair."

Xu Jingming smiled, his expression unchanged: "No need to persuade me—I still choose tenfold leverage."

Garrison opened his mouth to argue again.

But seeing the confidence on Xu Jingming's face, he swallowed his words.

"Very well, as you wish, Prince."

He manipulated the holographic screen, setting the mission leverage to tenfold.

Whoosh—!!

At the instant the mission was confirmed complete,

a brilliant golden pillar erupted skyward from the Starfire Hall.

It rapidly unfurled in the high air, transforming into a massive holographic projection screen.

The screen clearly displayed:

Executor: Xu Jingming

Mission: First Stage (Kill one hundred alien Immortal Gods within ten years)

Progress: 0%

Countdown: 9 years 364 days 23 hours 59 minutes...

Xu Jingming's mission progress had been publicly displayed in the sky!

"Hmm?" Xu Jingming raised an eyebrow and glanced at his guide, Garrison.

Garrison's face wore a helpless smile as he quickly explained:

"Prince, tenfold leverage is an extremely rare case in Starfire Program history.

By rule, such ultra-high-leverage mission progress is automatically made public.

Until the entire chain mission is fully completed.

This is to inspire later participants and serve as public oversight."

"I see."

Xu Jingming nodded, his expression calm: "Publicize it if you must—it doesn't matter."

But while he remained composed, the surrounding prodigies erupted in chaos.

"What the hell! Tenfold leverage! He actually dared to pick it!"

"Too arrogant—he'll pay dearly."

Murmurs rose in waves, countless eyes fixed on Xu Jingming.

Most shook their heads in pity or waited for a show.

The Starfire Program teemed with geniuses; many were arrogant.

But no one had ever dared to choose tenfold leverage from the start—Xu Jingming was the first.

Many already foresaw his eventual mission failure.

The scene of Xu Jingming facing a penalty of millions of Starfire Points.

Of course, a very few regarded Xu Jingming with a hint of admiration.

"Whether he succeeds or not, the audacity to choose tenfold leverage isn't something just anyone has."

"Yeah, I wouldn't dare."

Just as the atmosphere grew heated,

a lazy voice suddenly drifted over from afar:

"Oh? Who's making such a commotion here?

Turns out it's you, Xu Jingming."

A tall figure walked over slowly, accompanied by several companions.

It was Royce.

Today he wore a dark red robe embroidered with golden patterns.

The flame mark on his forehead glowed faintly; his face bore that condescending smile.

He glanced at Xu Jingming first.

Then looked up at the massive holographic screen, clicking his tongue twice:

"Tenfold leverage? You really think big."

He shook his head, his disdain unmistakable:

"Break a record in the Starfire Hall and think you can dominate the Outer War Zones? Naive."

Again, this guy.

Why won't he just disappear?

Xu Jingming frowned.

Seeing Xu Jingming offer no reply,

Royce didn't care—he continued on his own:

"But since you're so confident, how about we make this interesting?"

He snapped his fingers, and a companion beside him immediately understood, raising a hand to point into the air.

A semi-transparent betting interface instantly materialized, clearly divided into two columns:

【Xu Jingming completes the chain quest, odds: 1.32】

【Xu Jingming fails to complete the chain quest, odds: 1.10】

"I'll run the book. Let's open the bets."

Roys grinned, his gaze sweeping over all the prodigies around him:

"Let's bet on whether our new recruit can finish this chain quest!"

"I'm betting five million Starfire Points he fails."

As he spoke, he placed his bet directly on the "fails" column.

"Whoa!"

"The book's open! The book's open!"

"Five million Starfire Points! Roys is serious!"

The prodigies around him instantly grew excited.

Although the Starfire Program was fiercely competitive,

daily life saw everyone training and undertaking missions separately—public betting like this was rare.

Roys's several companions immediately began echoing him:

"Come on, come on! Rare opportunity! Such obvious odds—aren't you going to place a bet?"

"A tenfold leverage quest? No one in history has ever completed it! A guaranteed win!"

Under Roys's lead and incitement, many prodigies nearby were tempted and began placing bets.

"I put fifty thousand—I bet he loses!"

"I'm betting eighty thousand!"

"Two million! I'm in!"

"......"

The amounts on the betting interface scrolled rapidly.

Almost all bets were placed on the "fails" column.

Bets on "completes" were few and pitifully small.

In an instant, the cumulative wager on "fails" surpassed forty million Starfire Points.

The "completes" side remained under three million.

Roys, seeing the lopsided odds, smiled in satisfaction.

He turned to Xu Jingming: "Looks like no one believes in you."

"What about you? Are you placing a bet?"

Before Xu Jingming could answer, he feigned sudden realization:

"Almost forgot—you're new. You don't have any Starfire Points to bet with."

His mocking tone was unmistakable.

So what if you're a Perfect Divine Body?

So what if you gained dual primordial recognition the moment you broke through?

So what if you're an Eternal Stage cultivator under forty?

Do you have a father who's a Supreme Sovereign? A Patriarch of World Lord rank?

No matter how talented you are,

cross Roys, and you'll be crushed beneath his feet!

He didn't speak these words aloud, but Xu Jingming saw them clearly.

They say he's arrogant.

But Roys is far more arrogant than he is!

His eyes grew cold, and he was about to speak—

when a crisp, cold female voice cut through the crowd from outside:

"I'll bet for him."

Walking toward them was a tall, elegant, icy beauty.

She wore a black battle suit, her jet-black hair tied into a high ponytail, revealing her Bai Xi neck.

Her features were painted like a masterpiece, yet radiated an aura of cold detachment.

It was Ye Li.

She didn't even glance at Roys, walking straight to the betting interface.

She raised her hand and tapped the "completes" column.

"Ten million Starfire Points—I bet on my younger brother winning."

"Ssshh—"

The crowd fell silent for an instant, then erupted in a chorus of sharp intakes of breath.

Ten million Starfire Points!

That was no small sum!

Even for prodigies ranked near the top of the Starfire List, it was a fortune!

It would take over a decade to save up.

Yet Ye Li tossed it out without blinking?

Roys's smile slightly froze.

But he quickly recovered, raising an eyebrow at Yeli:

"Yeli, are you really determined to back your junior brother?"

Only then did Yeli turn her gaze, her dark, beautiful eyes glancing coldly at him:

"Roys, that's all the grit you've got? Bullying newcomers is that entertaining?"

Her tone was flat, yet each word cut like a blade:

"I bet ten million. Are you in? If you're too scared, shut up."

Roys's eyelid twitched.

He had already wagered five million.

If he matched another ten million, it would mean fifteen million Starfire Points sunk in.

Though he had plenty of Starfire Points, this sum was by no means small.

But thinking of the terrifying difficulty of a tenfold leverage,

he steadied himself and sneered:

"Fine, I'm in! Do you think I'm afraid of you?"

He raised his hand and added another ten million Starfire Points to the "Incomplete" column.

Thus, the betting interface displayed:

【Incomplete: 54.32 million Starfire Points】

【Complete: 12.83 million Starfire Points】

The total wager reached an astonishing 67.15 million Starfire Points!

A murmur swept through the entire Starfire Hall entrance.

All the prodigies watched this scene with excitement.

This was the largest bet in the Starfire Program in years!

"Good, bold of you—just hope you don't crawl back when you lose."

As her words faded, Yeli no longer looked at Roys; she turned to Garrison: "Is the registration complete?"

Garrison nodded quickly: "Yes, Princess Yeli."

"Hmm." Yeli turned to Xu Jingming. "Junior brother, let's go."

Xu Jingming nodded and followed Yeli away.

"Damn bastard!

You think you can complete a tenfold leverage mission? Dream on!

I'll see how long you can keep bluffing!"

Roys snorted and turned away as well.