Chapter Eighty-Six: The Bet
The names on the light screen must be the cultivators taking part in the grand competition.
Su Yizhao followed the list downward.
There were actually five favorites to win?
Yet the list Gou Jiancheng had given him contained only four.
“The last one must be a rogue cultivator recommended only yesterday.” Gou Jiancheng stared at the light screen. “Look, your name isn’t among the favorites!”
Su Yizhao nodded.
He only needed to make the top three.
The lower the profile, the better.
“By rights, with your reputation as the brothel swordsman, you should have made the list of favorites.” Gou Jiancheng sounded uncertain.
Su Yizhao found that odd. “Then why didn’t I?”
“Because they know the auction house never uses magical combat treasures.”
Su Yizhao fell silent.
Could it be that the more prosperous a place was, the more it understood the importance of magical combat treasures?
Back in the remote southwest, in Gravel Sand City, even an ordinary mystical weapon had been precious enough. In battle, nearly everyone used flying swords. Where would there be any other treasures?
At last, Su Yizhao found his own name in the middle of the display.
If the list was arranged by strength, then he truly had no chance of making the top three.
“Fellow Daoist Gou, the betting board is open!” Han Anning, standing beside Gou Jiancheng, said.
Gou Jiancheng frowned slightly. “Yes, it is open.”
Su Yizhao did not understand.
So what if it was open? No fighting had started yet. What was the problem?
Han Anning asked, “So, who are we betting on?”
Who to bet on?
Su Yizhao was surprised.
Could there really be a betting house here?
“Bet on Huang Qizheng to take first, Kong Buming second, and as for third—” Gou Jiancheng turned and glanced at Su Yizhao.
Su Yizhao looked back at him.
“Then let’s bet on that newly risen rogue cultivator for third!” Gou Jiancheng said with certainty. “Young friend Su, I don’t mean to discourage you, but the issue is simply overall strength.”
Su Yizhao was astonished. “But I represent the auction house!”
Han Anning smiled. “The auction house has never entered the top three before, but its bets are always remarkably accurate!”
Su Yizhao was speechless.
Then he suddenly asked, “Can I place a bet?”
Gou Jiancheng looked at him. “Of course. But do you even have any mystic stones? Want to borrow you a few tens of thousands?”
Su Yizhao smiled.
Mystic stones? Of course he had them.
The old tortoise at the peak of the Ninth Void Realm had given him over eighty million top-grade mystic stones.
Ning Yuhe was far poorer, with only a little over one million.
Su Yizhao grinned darkly. “What’s the maximum bet? And what are the odds?”
Han Anning handled the household affairs, and knew these matters well. He answered succinctly, “There’s no upper limit on bets. There are five favorites for the championship: bet on one of them to take first, and the payout is five to one; second, four to one; third, three to one.”
“Can’t you bet on anyone else?” Su Yizhao asked in surprise.
Gou Jiancheng laughed. “By years of experience, no one else has ever had a history of reaching the top three!”
“And the odds?”
“The odds are calculated by headcount!”
Su Yizhao’s heart gave a jolt.
His gaze swept over the light screen above.
Apart from the five favorites, there were a full thirty-seven others!
Thirty-seven to one?
Keeping his expression unreadable, he said calmly, “Where do I place the bet?”
Han Anning lifted a hand and pointed. In the center of the arena stood a long table, where forty or fifty young female cultivators were busily recording something.
One after another, cultivators flew up from below the platform, handed over mystic stones, received jade tokens, and flew back down.
So that was the betting station.
Su Yizhao cupped his fists toward the two of them. “I’ll be back shortly.”
As Han Anning watched his retreating figure, he asked, “He really doesn’t have any mystic stones?”
Gou Jiancheng said, “No more than one hundred thousand.”
Han Anning was surprised. “How do you know that so clearly?”
Gou Jiancheng smiled. “He went to the Yellow Dragon Prefecture auction house and, for reasons known only to him, borrowed fifty million to buy the Golden Stone Puppet, then spent thirty million to enter the Eternal Cultivation Chamber. Nearly all the mystic stones on him were used to purchase soul medicines.”
“In other words, he owes our auction house a total of eighty million?” Han Anning winced in pain.
Gou Jiancheng said awkwardly, “If we gave him a few combat treasures, he might well give us a surprise!”
Han Anning said, “We must not forget the rules of headquarters. What use was that Golden Stone Puppet to him anyway? What a spendthrift!”
On the arena, Su Yizhao casually picked a young female cultivator and asked, “May I ask, fellow Daoist, who is running the books here?”
The young woman looked up at him, and was struck by his bearing. She hurriedly replied, “Fellow Daoist, this is the continent’s only joint wagering organization—absolutely fair to both young and old!”
Su Yizhao nodded.
Fair to both young and old was excellent.
He was only afraid you would not be able to pay.
“I’ll bet on Su Yizhao to win first place, one hundred million top-grade mystic stones.”
“What?” The young female cultivator thought she had misheard. “One hundred million? Su Yizhao?”
Su Yizhao nodded firmly. “Yes.”
“But, b-but—”
“No buts. Hurry and register it. These are the mystic stones for the bet.” Su Yizhao directly handed her the storage ring.
The old tortoise’s ring had a vast space, packed to the brim with top-grade mystic stones.
The corpses of the old tortoise and Ning Yuhe had already been dealt with, and the tortoise shell had also been put away.
The female cultivator took the ring in confusion and swept it with her spiritual sense. She could not help freezing once more.
One hundred million!
Everyone else had only tossed in scattered amounts of mystic stones.
A hundred thousand was already considered a lot!
And this young man actually had one hundred million!
More importantly, who was he betting on?
Su Yizhao?
Who was that?
He could win first place?
What a fine young man, practically here to give away mystic stones!
Still dazed, the female cultivator transferred the mystic stones, then carved the jade token in a daze as well, and handed it back together with the storage ring.
Su Yizhao took them and scanned the token with his spiritual sense. A string of numbers was engraved within; presumably, it was the token’s code, making forgery impossible.
In the center were the large characters: Bet on Su Yizhao to win first place, wager one hundred million.
He tossed the token into his storage ring and flew down from the platform.
Since there was such a good thing, he had to fight for it.
Being poor was fine.
But accepting poverty and refusing to strive was another matter entirely.
“Done?” Han Anning asked.
Su Yizhao nodded, his face calm.
Gou Jiancheng could not help asking, “Who did you bet on to win? Was it the same as us—Huang Qizheng?”
Su Yizhao did not answer, only shook his head.
“You brat, you still owe the auction house eighty million top-grade mystic stones and haven’t repaid them. We’re not forcing you, but do you have to keep even this a secret?” Han Anning, as the one in charge of finances, was very sensitive to unpaid debts.
Su Yizhao was helpless.
That was the truth. Owing someone mystic stones and not repaying them, then taking them to gamble on a bet—such conduct was truly not good.
He said, “I bet on myself to take first place.”
“What?” Han Anning and Gou Jiancheng asked at the same time.
They looked at him with expressions that plainly said he was nothing but a spendthrift.
The five favorites had already been chosen for him, and he still refused to listen?
It was fine for young people to be confident.
But this was not confidence. This was simply handing over mystic stones!
Han Anning asked, “How much did you bet?”
Su Yizhao held up one finger.
The two of them let out a breath of relief. Good—ten thousand mystic stones was nothing much.
Su Yizhao’s lips curved. To the two of them, he said, “It looks like it’s about to start. I’ll go over first.”