Reborn as the General's Useless Daughter-Chapter 134: A Bet

The words struck straight at Clarissa’s most sensitive wound.

Her face stiffened, frost spreading across her features. A flicker of panic and bitterness flashed through her eyes before she could suppress it.

This was the truth she hated most.

She was willing to be Gabriel’s woman for life, and while Gabriel was indeed intimate with her, he had never taken her home to introduce her to his family, never acknowledged her openly, never even given her a proper status. In the academy, no one dared to point it out because of Gabriel’s power and influence.

But Zora had said it out loud. That too, in front of everyone.

"We’ll be married soon," Clarissa forced out, her tone stiff and defensive, anger barely masking her insecurity.

"I see," Zora replied with a polite smile. "Then congratulations in advance."

The words sounded gentle, but to Clarissa, they were laced with naked sarcasm. She knew better than anyone how empty that promise was, yet she clung to it all the same.

By now, several academy students had gathered nearby, whispering among themselves as they watched the confrontation unfold.

"Did you hear that? Zora killed Serestia? Is that true?"

"Seems like it happened before she entered the academy. No wonder Serestia never showed up this year."

"But Serestia wasn’t weak. How could Zora have killed her back then?"

Speculation spread like wildfire, eyes flicking between the two women as the tension thickened. In the noisy marketplace, this clash between names already well-known in the academy had quickly become the center of attention.

A ripple of shock spread through the crowd.

For cultivators, killing was not unheard of, but what truly stunned them was the implication behind it. If Zora had really killed Serestia, then her strength was far beyond what most people had imagined.

"I heard something else," someone suddenly spoke up, lowering his voice as if sharing a secret. "When Tutor Sebastian and Tutor Miel invited Zora to enter the academy, she actually refused."

The moment those words fell, the surrounding chatter exploded.

"What? That’s real or fake?"

"Are you kidding me? She rejected the academy’s invitation?"

For countless cultivators, an invitation letter from the Imperial Academy was a lifelong dream, something they would never dare to turn down. Yet Zora had refused it outright?

"Of course it’s real," the man said confidently. "Why would I make something like that up?"

Gasps echoed around them. Even those who had only been watching for entertainment now looked at Zora with completely different eyes.

"No wonder she could kill Serestia."

"To be the first person in history to refuse the academy and still be treated like a treasure... she must really have the ability to back it up."

They all knew how highly Tutor Sebastian and Tutor Miel regarded Zora. Even after being rejected, the two had still personally escorted her into the academy. That alone spoke volumes about her value.

Clarissa’s face darkened further.

The mocking calm in Zora’s expression made her feel as though every word she had thrown out earlier had rebounded straight back into her own face. She wanted to retort, but for once, she found no opening.

Her gaze flicked sharply toward the stall beside them, and a flash of calculation crossed her eyes.

"Since you’re so confident," Clarissa said coldly, seizing the opportunity, "then try buying something from this stall. Unless you can produce something that interests the owner, everything here is simply not for sale."

Her eyes gleamed with certainty.

This stall was infamous throughout Heavenly City.

The owner was eccentric and clearly not short of money. He didn’t trade for gold, nor did he care for ordinary treasures. Over the years, countless cultivators had tried their luck here, only to leave empty-handed.

Only a handful of people had ever succeeded in exchanging items, and those few cases were talked about like legends.

"That’s right," Clarissa continued, her lips curling in a sharp smile. "People like you probably don’t have anything rare enough anyway. You might as well give up."

Her provocation was blatant. She wanted to force Zora into making bold claims, only to be humiliated when she inevitably failed.

But Zora merely looked at her with faint amusement, as though she were watching a child’s clumsy performance.

"Whether I give up or not is my business," she replied lazily. "If you have so much spare energy, you’d be better off thinking about how to make Gabriel take you home sooner. Or you will forever be his self-proclaimed woman."

Clarissa’s face stiffened. This woman really had a talent for stabbing exactly where it hurt most.

"Afraid?" Zora suddenly said, folding her arms and sweeping Clarissa with a slow, measuring glance. "How about we make it interesting? Care to gamble with me?"

Clarissa frowned. "What kind of gamble?"

"If I fail," Zora said casually, "I’ll give you one hundred thousand gold coins and fifty demon crystals. If I succeed, you pay the same. Do you dare to accept?"

Her tone was light and teasing, as though she had already decided Clarissa wouldn’t dare accept. She lifted her chin slightly, a playful glint flashing in her eyes.

A perfect gift had just walked right up to her door. If she didn’t take advantage of it, wouldn’t that be a waste?

Hearing the terms of the bet, Clarissa’s breath caught, her pupils shrinking as shock and hesitation surged through her eyes.

One hundred thousand gold coins, plus fifty demon crystals. The moment those numbers were spoken aloud, a sharp intake of breath rippled through the crowd.

Even for cultivators with decent backgrounds, that was an astonishing sum. Either item alone was enough to make many people hesitate for years, yet Zora had casually placed both on the table, as if she were talking about spare change. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Shock flickered through countless eyes, followed by complicated emotions. Awe, envy, disbelief. Regardless of whether she won or lost, one thing was now beyond doubt. Zora was wealthy. Very wealthy.

But wealth alone did not guarantee victory here.

Everyone knew the stall owner’s eccentricity. He sat here day after day, laid-back and indifferent, turning away one would-be buyer after another. No matter how precious the item, if it failed to catch his interest, it was worthless in his eyes. Many talented cultivators had left this stall with nothing but frustration.

So was Zora truly confident, or was she simply bluffing to pressure Clarissa?

No one could tell.

Clarissa stood frozen in place, her pretty face tight with hesitation and humiliation. She had been the one to provoke first, and now, in front of so many onlookers, backing down would be nothing short of public disgrace. Her gaze locked onto Zora’s face, searching desperately for a crack, a trace of uncertainty she could seize upon.

But Zora’s expression remained calm and unhurried. A faint smile rested on her lips, shallow yet unreadable, revealing nothing of what she truly thought.

"Why?" Zora said lightly, repeating her earlier words with deliberate precision. "No courage?"

The sentence struck like a slap.

A few people in the crowd couldn’t help but laugh under their breath. Among cultivators, confrontations were common, but this kind of sharp reversal, where the instigator was cornered and humiliated so cleanly, was rare and strangely satisfying to watch.

"This Zora really has character. Clarissa picked the wrong person to provoke."

"I heard she saved Marcus yesterday. Even the vice president was helpless, yet she stepped in."

"That’s right. She’s not just talented in cultivation. Her medical skills are terrifying, too."

The murmurs grew louder, feeding into one another like sparks catching dry grass.