Chapter 44

"Time's up, please come to the front, all three of you." As soon as the time was up, Gu Tian called out.

"Finally, the time is up. That young man took so long to choose a piece of raw stone; this stone gambling isn't about who takes the longest time."

"That young man looks very confident, maybe he really has a chance to win."

"Hmph, if he wins, I'll never gamble on stones again."

"I'll bet too."

"The betting has started, the betting has started. Long Dou wins, odds 3:2; Liu Sanbian wins, odds 5:3; the unknown young man wins, odds 1:10. Place your bets quickly."

"I bet on Long Dou winning, one low-grade spirit stone."

"Liu Sanbian, three low-grade spirit stones."

"Liu Sanbian, one low-grade spirit stone."

"Long Dou wins, two low-grade spirit stones."

Huang Yu watched the betting, and saw that everyone was betting on Long Dou and Liu Sanbian winning, with the most bets on Liu Sanbian. No one seemed to have any faith in him.

However, since there was such a betting opportunity, it would be foolish not to bet on himself winning. If he was sure to win, it would be foolish to miss out on this opportunity to gain wealth.

However, the problem now was that he had nothing left to pledge. The Black Peak Sword could not be taken out, as Heiyanzi had once instructed him not to take out his things until his strength was sufficient, indicating that Heiyanzi had many enemies. His current strength was still weak, and attracting too many enemies would not be a good thing.

After hesitating for a moment, Huang Yu decided to approach the Spirit Stone Pavilion. He looked at the pavilion owner, Gu Tian, and said, "Senior, could you lend me some spirit stones?"

"How much, little brother?" Gu Tian was pleasantly surprised. He was considering how to befriend this young man who practiced the Golden Ancient Pupil Technique, and now he had a chance to do so.

"How much can Senior lend me?" For Huang Yu, the more spirit stones, the better. With a 1:10 payout, it was a great opportunity. One low-grade spirit stone could earn him ten, which was astonishing. Not betting would be against reason.

"One hundred."

"One hundred low-grade spirit stones, that's fine." Being able to borrow one hundred low-grade spirit stones satisfied Huang Yu, as he was new and had no background.

Of course, for Huang Yu, one hundred low-grade spirit stones were not much, but if he won, he would gain a thousand, which was not bad.

"No, little brother, you misunderstood." Gu Tian shook his head.

Hearing Gu Tian's words, Huang Yu's face turned dark, feeling a bit awkward. Did he not even have one hundred low-grade spirit stones? This would be a missed opportunity.

"It's me..."

Before Huang Yu could finish speaking, Gu Tian said, "I can lend you one hundred medium-grade spirit stones, little brother."

"One hundred medium-grade spirit stones?" Huang Yu was surprised. He did not expect this old man to trust him, a stranger, so much. It made him feel a bit embarrassed, but since the old man had agreed to lend him the stones, there was no reason to refuse. Besides, he could repay the debt immediately after winning the bet, though it would mean he owed the old man a favor.

"Thank you, Senior."

"No problem, I look forward to your performance." Gu Tian smiled, took out a bag, and handed it to Huang Yu.

"Senior, rest assured, I will return these one hundred medium-grade spirit stones to you shortly." Huang Yu said after receiving the spirit stones.

"There's no rush. These one hundred medium-grade spirit stones are my personal property and do not belong to the Spirit Stone Pavilion. So, little brother, you can return them whenever you want. I trust your character."

"Thank you for your trust, Senior. I do have some credibility." After saying this, Huang Yu took the spirit stones and went to the betting area, looking at the middle-aged man who was running the bet, "One hundred medium-grade spirit stones, betting on myself winning."

"Are you sure, little brother? This is not a small amount." The middle-aged man looked at Huang Yu in surprise. Was this young man crazy or just overly confident?

"Not accepting? You run a betting area, can't you afford to lose? If you can't afford it, don't run a betting area." Huang Yu was a bit annoyed. He felt that he was being underestimated, especially since the odds were 1:10. This made him very uncomfortable, and he felt he had to make a big profit.

"Accepting, why not? A mere thousand medium-grade spirit stones, I, Ye Feng, can afford to lose." The middle-aged man replied.

"That's best. I don't want you to be unable to pay me so many spirit stones." Huang Yu said.

"Ha ha, little brother, your worries are unnecessary. I, Ye Feng, am a major steward of the Flying Eagle Gang, which is well-known in Qishui City. A mere thousand medium-grade spirit stones is nothing to me. Little brother, rest assured." At this moment, Gu Tian walked over, "Ye Feng, I'll bet too. One hundred medium-grade spirit stones, betting on this young man winning."

Ye Feng's face turned green, and he looked miserable. He thought to himself, "Who is this Gu Tian? He is the owner of the Spirit Stone Pavilion, with eyes as sharp as a hawk. If he sees someone as a good bet, he is usually right. Moreover, Gu Tian is betting on this young man winning, which means the young man has an 80% chance of winning. Gu Tian is a stone gambling expert, and without any special skills, how could he be the owner of the Spirit Stone Pavilion?"

"Senior Gu, you don't need to join in the fun."

"What, Ye Feng, do you look down on my spirit stones? If so, I'll add a thousand more. Or..."

"One hundred medium-grade spirit stones, then one hundred medium-grade spirit stones." Ye Feng had no choice but to accept Gu Tian's bet. This time, he was really losing a lot. Fortunately, only Gu Tian and Huang Yu were betting on Huang Yu winning. Others were betting on Long Dou and Liu Sanbian. Even so, he would still lose a lot. If the young man won, he would lose at least a thousand medium-grade spirit stones, which was a significant amount.

"I want to change my bet to the young man in purple winning."

"Me too."

"I bet on the young man in purple winning, ten medium-grade spirit stones."

"Sorry, we are no longer accepting bets on the young man in purple. Those who have already placed bets cannot change them." Ye Feng, sweating, refused and took a deep breath. If they were allowed to bet on Huang Yu again, and if Huang Yu won, he would be left penniless.

At this moment, Ye Feng hoped that Huang Yu would fail in this competition. Only if he failed could Ye Feng make a profit.

Huang Yu remained calm, his face showing no emotion, while Long Dou and Liu Sanbian had different expressions, especially Liu Sanbian, whose face was dark and frightening.

As the young master of the Liu family and the son of Liu Yuan from the Zhongyuan Sword Sect, Liu Sanbian was well aware of Gu Tian's status in the Spirit Stone Pavilion. Although he did not practice the Pupil Technique, he was extremely skilled in stone gambling, even surpassing his father, Liu Yuan. His reputation in the stone gambling world was very high.

"I bet one thousand medium-grade spirit stones on Liu Sanbian winning." At this moment, a loud voice echoed, and everyone turned to see Liu Guangming, a core disciple of the Zhongyuan Sword Sect and Liu Sanbian's cousin.

"That's Liu Guangming, a core disciple of the Zhongyuan Sword Sect, a genius of the highest level. It is said that his Green Wood Pupil Technique has reached a level of perfection, and his stone gambling skills are probably not much weaker than Gu Tian's."

"Liu Guangming is here, it's getting interesting."

Ye Feng's face changed slightly. Although he was a major steward of the Flying Eagle Gang, he was still far inferior to a core disciple of the Zhongyuan Sword Sect. Their cultivation levels were similar, but their statuses were vastly different. A core disciple of the Zhongyuan Sword Sect was not comparable to a steward of the Flying Eagle Gang.

Now, Ye Feng was in a difficult position.

"I want to see what kind of skills the person who dared to challenge my brother has." Liu Guangming looked at Huang Yu coldly.

That gaze was like a sharp sword, piercing into Huang Yu's heart, making him break out in a cold sweat. Liu Guangming's cultivation had reached an incredible level, at least the Yuan Shen realm.

It was terrifying, truly terrifying. He was no more than twenty-five or twenty-six years old, yet he had already reached the Yuan Shen realm. The Zhongyuan Sword Sect was indeed formidable.

...

...

First, Long Dou opened his stone.

The raw stone, in Gu Tian's hands, kept rotating, and bits of stone were cut off, gradually revealing the jade inside. Gu Tian's hand trembled slightly, and the contents of the raw stone were instantly revealed, shining with a spiritual light.

"One medium-grade spirit stone."

Hearing Gu Tian's words, Long Dou smiled. The first stone was not bad, a medium-grade spirit stone, which satisfied him.

However, the second stone was a low-grade spirit stone, which was disappointing. Now, Long Dou could only hope for the last raw stone.

When half of the stone was opened, Gu Tian was slightly surprised and continued, "This is a Deyuan Stone, worth ninety low-grade spirit stones."

The second person to open his stone was Liu Sanbian.

The first stone also revealed a medium-grade spirit stone, and the second stone revealed a spirit jade, though only a low-grade spirit jade, its value was astonishing, equivalent to two medium-grade spirit stones.

"Ha ha, Long Dou, this time I win." With one spirit jade and one medium-grade spirit stone, Liu Sanbian was already sure to win over Long Dou. The last stone, no matter what it revealed, would still make him the winner.

"Don't be too happy. There's still this young man. You might not be the final winner." Long Dou's face was not good, and he spoke coldly.

"You're too naive. Even if he reveals three medium-grade spirit stones, I still win." Liu Sanbian was extremely pleased.

"Hmph." Long Dou coldly snorted and said no more.

Liu Sanbian's last raw stone revealed only a high-quality white jade, worth ten thousand gold.

Finally, it was Huang Yu's turn.

The first raw stone revealed a medium-grade spirit stone.

When opening the second raw stone, Gu Tian was extremely careful.

"It's green, this isn't a spirit stone."

"What a dense spiritual energy."

"How beautiful, what kind of jade is this?"

"I feel so refreshed, can this... this jade calm the mind and soothe the spirit?"

"Is... is this a thousand-year jade heart?" Looking at the object in his hands, Gu Tian's hands trembled. A thousand-year jade heart was the essence of jade, more precious than jade marrow.