Chapter 70

The people at the gambling house didn't understand why Gongsun Murong had bet on three people to be given a bye.

Do they really think they can win?

If only one person gets a bye, they can get eight million gold coins after tax.

Thus, they would make a profit of one million.

Because the three million bet on the winner would be returned to them.

It's a good idea.

But could they not see that after dividing into two age groups, the probability of one person getting a bye is one in twenty-five.

The probability for the other two is one in twelve and a half.

Would they be that lucky?

The people at the gambling house were unwilling to believe it.

But they were uneasy.

No one knew how lucky the Sunflower Emblem family was.

One million gold coins seemed to be a manageable compensation, and His Majesty should hand over that part of the tax to the gambling house.

If not, it seemed that another analyst would have to resign.

Thinking this, the people at the gambling house became nervous.

They had never been so nervous before.

For them, this was a battle, even more intense than the battles on the stage.

******

Narasha was discussing with Lucia who would go up to the stage to compete.

One of them would get a bye.

"I'll go, I want to experience the battle again," Lucia decided to go out.

"I should go, we won't waste time. If you want to fight, we can train with you back in our team, it's safe and tailored to your needs," Narasha had her own thoughts.

Lucia nodded, "Alright, I'll practice more when we get back."

After the participants drew lots, the results came out.

In the two age groups, Gongsun Murong and Lucia both got byes.

Narasha chose the weakest opponent among the twenty-five.

In the audience of the Gers Principality,

"Great!"

"Another win!"

"Into the top thirteen!"

"Three people made it!"

The people from the Gers Principality went wild.

They felt like it was a holiday.

Perhaps even a holiday wouldn't make them this happy.

These were the contestants from their principality.

Three, all three made it.

A record-breaking achievement.

The most uncertain one, the Ninth Princess, got a bye.

She didn't have to participate in the competition and could directly enter the top thirteen.

Narasha was the one participating.

Come on, come on.

Contestants from all the principalities, face Narasha bravely.

The people of the Gers Principality felt proud.

More people from the Gers Principality came today.

In the past, only a few would come to watch.

Especially the elders, they always hoped their principality's contestants would advance.

But after the last competition, when Gongsun Murong and Narasha used the same Meteor Shower, the news spread.

They invited familiar and unfamiliar people from the same principality to drink and celebrate.

They drank, sang, shouted, laughed, and cried.

Many people got drunk that night.

Today, they spent a lot of money to buy tickets.

They booked the entire quarter of the audience seats.

They wanted to see the contestants from their principality in person.

But now, two of them got byes.

The remaining one, according to the competition records, couldn't beat Narasha.

They should have been disappointed.

But they were laughing.

They cheered for their principality and were proud to be from the principality.

They wouldn't curse the two who got byes for getting lucky.

They didn't think it was luck.

Or rather, it wasn't just luck.

They attributed everything to the overall strength of the Sunflower family.

Luck is also a kind of strength.

Who could find ten sunflowers without luck?

Why had no noble with a sunflower emblem appeared on the continent for so many years?

The sunflower, the sunflower of the Gers Principality.

They were advancing.

No one could stop them.

The drums, trumpets, and songs from the quarter of the audience seats shook the entire venue.

The other spectators fell silent.

Only the commentator spoke without pausing.

"Look, look at what I see and hear. It's the audience from the Gers Principality roaring with hope and glory. They came in large numbers today, taking up a quarter of the audience seats. We all know that some of them live in the capital and don't have much money, but they still spent the money to buy tickets to cheer for their principality's contestants.

I can understand their feelings. Think about it, how many years have they been waiting, how many years have they been dreaming. Some of them are already old, they waited for fifty years, then another fifty years, and finally, they waited for it.

This is honor, the honor of a collective. No matter what you do, as long as you belong to that principality, you will worry about everything for that principality.

Today, the audience from the Gers Principality is happy. I can imagine that what others see as luck, they see as strength. I believe that if our contestants from the Rexlar Empire compete against contestants from other empires, I would have the same excitement and concern.

Oh, let's look forward to it. Let's look forward to the Earl Gongsun, Miss Narasha, and Princess Lucia advancing further, and standing on the imperial competition stage, bringing us victory after victory.

Phew~ Phew~ Phew~"

The commentator was exhausted. If his words were written down, there would be no punctuation, and it would be hard to break into sentences.

But when he shouted with sweat on his forehead, everyone understood him clearly, even though his speed was so fast that it sounded like a tongue twister.

Emperor Rexlar smiled contentedly.

He already knew about the gambling house.

He didn't make things difficult for the people at the gambling house.

The analysts had a tough time, they encountered strong opponents.

How strong were their opponents?

Hmm! They could cheat by the forbidden magic and forbidden combat qi lottery box.

It wasn't luck at all.

Did they think he couldn't hear? Narasha and Lucia, you two were discussing who would go up and who would get a bye.

Hmph!

They could still use some special abilities under the forbidden magic.

No wonder they wanted to keep the forbidden magic field pendant group.

He thought it was just the long and short spears that took out the ambushers.

Now he understood that even without the long and short spears, they would still be the final victors.

They even fooled him.

It's normal for the gambling house to be cheated!

If they used the forbidden magic field pendant group now, who could stop their attack in the entire venue?

Perhaps he should provide them with better forbidden magic field pendants.

And replenish the crystal cores.

Let them take them to battle. Yes, Gongsun Murong definitely has a large storage space on him.

Otherwise, where would the candies and food he threw come from?

Hahaha, he was really looking forward to it.

When the continental competition comes.

The contestants from all over will use every means possible.

He looked forward to them using the forbidden magic field then.

******

The people at the gambling house looked gloomy.

They felt that Gongsun Murong and the other two were specifically targeting them.

They were definitely treating the gambling house bets as a way to make money.

It was completely unpreventable.

They used all kinds of means to make money from the gambling house.

They came with the goal of getting rich.

The gambling house used to make money.

Now, they couldn't expect to make much, just hope not to lose too much.

Almost all the money the gambling house made in recent days went to them.

They needed to adjust the odds.

They had to adjust.

There was still a round to get into the top seven, then the top four.

Two more byes.

If it wasn't just luck, and it happened again.

They would become the richest in the empire, and the gambling house would go bankrupt.

******

The results came out quickly.

Two people got byes, and Narasha's opponent was a little girl who didn't think she could fight Narasha, so she conceded.

The results of the three people's matches came out, and before they could go back, they were invited to the audience seats.

Emperor Rexlar was eating spicy stir-fried scallops.

Made by Gongsun Murong, a large bowl, with hot oil underneath, heated by a fire spell to keep it warm.

Spicy stir-fried scallops can still be eaten cold, like crabs, as long as they haven't been left overnight or exposed to dew.

But cold scallops don't taste good, they feel like chewing rubber.

"Once your Gers Principality's restaurants open, making money will be easy. In comparison, the empire's finances aren't so abundant."

Emperor Rexlar picked up a scallop with his hand, pinching it with two fingers, getting his hand oily, which was very unbecoming for an emperor.

Narasha and Lucia didn't know what politeness was and reached out to eat.

A drop of oil even fell from Narasha's mouth onto her white dress.

But the people watching saw the oil slide down her dress to the ground, and the dress remained pristine.

Even Emperor Rexlar opened his eyes wide, what kind of fabric was this?

"Um um! Big Brother Murong's food is the best," Narasha said, sucking her fingers, looking cute.

Gongsun Murong was used to it. Narasha's clothes had never been washed because they never got dirty, and he didn't know what material they were made of.

But he understood what Emperor Rexlar meant and said, "Our principality's restaurants will pay every copper coin in taxes, to help ease the empire's financial burden."

"The gambling house's money also comes from the treasury," Emperor Rexlar had to be clear.

He knew there were two more rounds of byes, then the top four, and the final.

If they kept betting like this, the gambling house's analysts would go crazy.

He had to help the proud and excellent analysts.

"In any society, corruption and political collusion are inevitable, and a lot of money is lost.

Narasha and I don't need a lot of money now. Many good things are very expensive to buy.

But we live in the Gers Principality, in the Rexlar Empire.

We have a sense of identity and belonging.

In return, we hope for more recognition and to hear praise.

One day, if we get into trouble, we hope more people will speak up for us."

Gongsun Murong spoke slowly, sipping his wine, not competing with the ministers for the scallops.

Emperor Rexlar also raised his glass, clinking it with Gongsun Murong's, under the disbelieving gaze of the ministers.

Then he said, "I am honored. I must thank the Duke of Gers and the Lord of Qishui City, Aurel. As you have seen and guessed, they are of the same kind, with the idea of strengthening this empire.

So, how will you use the money you earn?"

"Establish a fund for control, distribution, and investment. Narasha and I thought of a name, the Sunflower Fund, to help the children of the entire empire, starting with our principality," Gongsun Murong explained how they would use the money.

"Yes, yes, the sunflower blooms toward the sun. If we are good to