Chapter 6: Master, You Really Can't Bet Anymore…
"Come, come, come, the New Blood Tournament is open for betting!"
"Chen Hai Elder's newly accepted Personal Disciple—Zhuge Long, reached the third level of Qi Refinement after only one month of cultivation, and now, after a year, he's already at the Half-Step Foundation Establishment Realm!"
"The Personal Disciple of Neishang Peak's Peak Master—Zuo Fenghua, has cultivated Neishang Sword Art to perfection, at the ninth level of Qi Refinement, an absolute favorite to win the championship!"
"Yunhaitang's Hall Master's Personal Disciple—Xiao Yan, once obtained an ancient Legacy 'Exotic Fire' Sword Art during an outdoor training. For every Exotic Fire absorbed, his strength increases by a tier. He reached the seventh level of Qi Refinement in half a year, and definitely has the strength to kill enemies across realms!"
"Yunlong Peak's Peak Master's son—Nan Wen, his Thunderfire Sword Art is cultivated to perfection…"
Longquan Town, the center of Dragon Spring Sword Sect.
As the New Blood Tournament approached, various gambling houses began to shout, attracting the Disciples of Dragon Spring Sword Sect to place bets.
When you place a bet, these gambling houses will also sell you information about the contestants, giving you more confidence when betting, even making you feel like a market manipulator.
Little did they know, the information you knew, others also knew.
You thought you were a market manipulator, but in reality, you were just a leek.
On this day, Xiao Mo walked into the largest casino in Dragon Spring Sword Sect.
Inside the casino, there was a special area dedicated to this New Blood Tournament.
The names of some contestants were written on signs and hung on the wall, with the odds written below, updated every hour to facilitate Disciples of Dragon Spring Sword Sect to place bets at any time.
Xiao Mo searched and searched but couldn't find the name he was looking for.
"Fellow Daoist, why isn't the name I'm looking for here?" Xiao Mo asked a staff member nearby.
"Oh, Fellow Daoist, you must be a Cultivator who just joined not long ago, right? If the name you're looking for isn't on the wall, it means the person you're looking for isn't a favorite to win the championship." The attendant named Xu Xin said, "May I know which name you're looking for, Fellow Daoist? I can look it up for you."
"Lingqian Peak—Jiang Qingyi," Xiao Mo slowly said.
"Lingqian Peak Jiang Qingyi, ah, let me check." Xu Xin took out a box and probed it with his Divine Sense.
"Found it."
Xu Xin took out a sign from the box.
"Lingqian Peak Jiang Qingyi, seventh level of Qi Refinement. She couldn't get started for a long time at first, but she must have obtained some Opportunitylater, reaching the seventh level of Qi Refinement within this year. Her strength is quite good, and she has a chance to enter the top fifty, but to say she'll win the championship, that's still far off."
"What are the odds?" Xiao Mo said indifferently.
"As for the odds, the odds for entering the top fifty are one to two, for the top thirty-two, one to three, for the top sixteen, one to ten, for the top eight…"
"Just tell me the odds for winning the championship," Xiao Mo interrupted him.
"Hahaha, Fellow Daoist, no one has bet on Jiang Qingyi to win the championship.
Let me tell you our casino's rules.
Our prize pools are divided into several types.
One of them is called the Championship Pool, where you only bet on the champion.
And you can only place bets before the New Blood Tournament begins.
If you bet on this Jiang Qingyi to win the championship, and you're the only one who bets on her, our casino will deduct one point as a fee, and all the Spirit Stones in the prize pool will be yours.
But Fellow Daoist, you also need to know that our pool is very large. If you want to bet on such an unpopular contestant, you need to bet at least fifty High-Grade Spirit Stones.
That's a lot, a lot of money.
I know you want to support your friend, but friends are friends, and money is money. No one wants to go against money.
Fellow Daoist, don't you agree?"
Xiao Mo gave the attendant a faint glance, didn't waste any more words with him, and directly threw out a bag of High-Grade Spirit Stones: "Fifty High-Grade Spirit Stones in total, all on Jiang Qingyi to win the championship."
When Xiao Mo returned to Lingqian Peak, it was already noon, and the aroma of food wafted from the courtyard.
Xiao Mo walked into the courtyard, and Jiang Qingyijust happened to come out of the kitchen, carrying dishes.
Ever since Jiang Qingyi came to Lingqian Peak, Xiao Mo's courtyard and room were cleaned by Jiang Qingyi, and his three meals a day were also prepared by her.
At first, the food Jiang Qingyi made was indeed not very good.
But she learned very quickly, and gradually, Jiang Qingyi's cooking skills became better and better.
After nearly a year, Jiang Qingyi's culinary skills were already comparable to those of some chefs in Longquan Town's restaurants.
"Master, you're back! The food is ready, please sit down and eat quickly." Seeing her Master return, Jiang Qingyi's eyes lit up.
"Good." Xiao Mo nodded and sat on the stone stool.
The ingredients used for the dishes on the table were naturally not ordinary food from the mortal world, but the flesh and blood of Spirit Beasts and vegetables rich in spiritual energy, which had many benefits for cultivation.
Jiang Qingyi finally brought out a plate of water spinach and filled a bowl of rice for Xiao Mo.
Master and Disciple sat facing each other, eating their meal.
After a while, a crow arrived at the top of Lingqian Peak, flying and shouting: "Elder Xiao, you have a letter."
Saying that, the crow dropped a letter from the air.
Xiao Mo took it, opened it, read it, and then put it away.
"Master, what's in the letter?" Jiang Qingyi asked.
"Nothing much, just my betting receipt."
"Betting? Receipt?" Jiang Qingyi blinked her eyes and immediately understood, "Is it for the New Blood Tournament betting? It seems a lot of people are betting recently. Master, who do you think will win the championship?"
Xiao Mo smiled, looking at his Disciple with a gentle smile: "What do you think?"
"Eh?" Jiang Qingyi was stunned.
"No, no, no. Master, how can you bet on me? I can't do it." Jiang Qingyi quickly waved her hands.
Although she would definitely perform well in this New Blood Tournament for her Master.
But she really had no confidence in winning the championship.
"You are my Disciple, who else would I bet on if not you?" Xiao Mo smiled.
"Then how much did you bet, Master?" Jiang Qingyilooked at her Master nervously.
"Not much." Xiao Mo picked up his rice bowl and took a bite.
"That's good."
"Only fifty High-Grade Spirit Stones."
"Ah?" Jiang Qingyi was startled, standing up abruptly, "Master, your monthly Spirit Stone stipend is only twenty High-Grade Spirit Stones!"
"That's true." Xiao Mo smiled as he looked at Jiang Qingyi, "But how can my Disciple not have anyone supporting her?"
"But Master… that's too much…" Jiang Qingyi already had some housekeeper-like attributes.
"It's fine, it's fine." Xiao Mo gently patted her head, "In ten days, my stipend for this month will come down. We won't starve, but when the tournament starts, I'll have to go to other pools and bet half a month's stipend to support my Disciple."
"Master…" Jiang Qingyi's helpless voice echoed through the mountains, "You really can't bet anymore!"