novelraw Chapter 306: Zhu Yue's Plan
Chapter 306: Zhu Yue's Plan
“Do you still want to bet with me?” the God of Gambling asked again.
“I’ll bet!” Long Xuan replied confidently, having won two rounds in a row, his confidence soaring. Without hesitation, he accepted the next round.
So what if the previous two methods were banned?
He had plenty of ways to play.
If there was one thing he had in abundance, it was novel gameplay.
He could guarantee that each method would be something the God of Gambling had never seen before.
Long Xuan had already figured out the key to defeating the God of Gambling—presenting him with something unfamiliar.
The less the God of Gambling understood, the more likely he was to lose.
Not to mention, just the various board games from his previous life would be enough to keep him busy.
However, for the other board games, he only knew the rules and wasn’t particularly skilled, so he decided not to take any more risks with board games.After thinking for a moment, Long Xuan brought out a second item that he had prepared beforehand.
During his recent time away, he had prepared more than one game, plenty to give the God of Gambling a headache.
This time, he brought out the famous item from his previous life—a Rubik’s Cube.
He took out two Rubik’s Cubes, threw one toward the God of Gambling, and sneered, “I’m sure you can guess how to play with this thing once you hold it.”
“The rules of my third game are simple: I’ll scramble your cube, and you’ll scramble mine.”
“Then we’ll see who can solve their cube the fastest!”
“And, we can’t use any special abilities, we can’t forcefully disassemble the cube, and we can’t interfere with each other!”
Hearing Long Xuan’s game rules, the God of Gambling’s mouth twitched.
Once this thing is scrambled, can a normal person even solve it? Just looking at it made his head hurt.
With his intelligence, he quickly realized the nature of this challenge—it involved too many variations to solve once scrambled, making it virtually impossible for him to restore it.
What’s the point of even competing? He was bound to lose!
His face grew darker.
“Enough!”
The God of Gambling slammed the table again, growling with a dark expression, “I’m a fool for playing these games with you!”
“You set the rules every time. It’s not fair! This time, I get to set the rules. Do you dare to accept?”
By now, he’d realized he couldn’t let this kid keep setting the rules; otherwise, he’d lose every single round.
This kid had a stomach full of strange and unusual things he’d never seen before. Playing games he’d never encountered made losing inevitable.
Long Xuan was taken aback. Was he getting angry?
Was he unable to accept defeat?
First, he banned his play methods, and now he was even banning the right to set the rules—this God of Gambling was really refusing to play fair.
If he took away the right to set the rules, Long Xuan would be foolish to keep playing with him.
Long Xuan shook his head quickly, backing down and saying, “No, no, I’ll just play these two rounds.”
With that, Long Xuan walked away briskly, fearing the God of Gambling might try to force him to keep betting.
The God of Gambling was furious.
He wanted to clear his reputation, but under the restrictions of the Gambling Gu, he couldn’t force anyone to gamble.
“Who else wants to bet with me now?”
The God of Gambling’s face turned dark as he looked around.
Having lost two rounds in a row, his face was unsightly, with none of the previous humor.
As soon as he spoke, the crowd scattered, not daring to bet with him.
Anyone who dared to bet with him would be foolish!
“Fine!”
The God of Gambling shouted angrily, “In the past, entrants to the island would hold out at least a day before refusing to gamble with me.”
“How many rounds have you played? You’re the worst batch I’ve ever seen.”
“Now we’ll move on to the second phase!”
“Everyone can find a partner and bet. You can bet on anything, including lifespan, talent, abilities…”
“I will be the referee.”
“But the winner must pay me ten percent of the winnings as a usage fee for my abilities.”
“For example, if someone wins a hundred years of lifespan, they must pay me ten years as compensation.”
“The power of my Gambling Gu isn’t free to use.”
“Of course, this is entirely voluntary.”
“No one is forced to gamble; you can choose not to.”
“Starting now, the betting phase will continue until the ruins of Sky Island open.”
Upon hearing this, everyone’s eyes brightened.
They couldn’t be sure of winning against the God of Gambling, but they felt much more confident about winning against each other.
The eyes of the surrounding Gu cultivators turned green, and they looked at each other like sheep waiting to be slaughtered.
They could hardly wait to pounce and win everyone else’s lifespan, racking up thousands of years in winnings.
The temptation of extending one’s lifespan was too great; no one could resist such allure.
So, at this moment, regardless of whether they liked gambling or not, or whether they were skilled at it or not, everyone stayed; no one chose to leave.
As soon as the God of Gambling finished speaking, the crowd quickly fell into chaos, scrambling to find opponents. Most people chose adversaries with whom they already had grievances. For example, a group of Gu cultivators from the Shui clan sat together after picking their opponents from the Zhu clan, while the Qian clan did the same with the Cai clan.
Tension ran high, and sparks of battle intent flashed in their eyes.
Long Xuan was shocked. He had thought that no one would gamble with the God of Gambling, and they could leave early, ending their journey to Sky Island. He hadn’t expected the God of Gambling to pull such a move—letting everyone gamble against each other while he collected a commission. How could he be so cunning?
How many rounds could each person gamble in a day? How many in a month? With so many people here, the amount of commission collected would be staggering.
Many people were betting against enemies, so it was bound to get heated; they’d bet big, unable to hold back. Eventually, anything could be put on the table. And the more valuable the bets, the happier the God of Gambling would be.
If this crowd gambled here for a month, wouldn’t the God of Gambling make an incredible fortune? Even if he only took a ten-percent commission per round, the accumulated sum after a month would be astronomical.
The more wealth he seized, the less there would be for the Gu cultivators as a whole. And as time passed, the collective wealth of the Gu cultivators would dwindle. In other words, there were no winners among those who entered here—only losers.
There was only one winner here: the God of Gambling, who was wearing a sinister grin. Within this month, he would make a fortune.
And he had held similar gambling events countless times already.
Long Xuan could barely imagine the immense wealth the God of Gambling had amassed over time. With a sigh, he looked at the frenzied crowd before him, feeling as if a sea of green onions was swaying over their heads—they were all like sheep to the slaughter.
No one here was foolish. There were many who could see through the God of Gambling’s scheme. And yet, they willingly jumped into his trap, knowingly leaping into this bottomless pit.
Because everyone believed they were clever enough to win, and yet, everyone thought the same.
At this moment, the entire arena of Gu cultivators had already begun gambling. To Long Xuan's surprise, the majority of them chose to gamble using his game of chess.
Most of the Gu cultivators were unfamiliar with traditional gambling, as no ordinary Gu cultivators spends all day in casinos instead of cultivating. And since they didn’t know the rules themselves, they feared their opponents might know them, giving them an unfair advantage. So, they all chose chess instead.
Chess was something none of them had encountered before, so both sides were starting from the same point. This made it naturally fair. Since no one had the upper hand, winning depended solely on who was smarter. And everyone believed they were intelligent, so many opted for this game.
"Shall we have a game? Just betting one Spirit Stone," Di Xin asked as Long Xuan was lost in thought.
Long Xuan looked at her and sighed, thinking she was truly crafty; knowing she would lose, she only bet one Spirit Stone. How stingy could she get!
“Alright, since we’re stuck here until the Sky Island ruins close, I’ll gamble a Spirit Stone with you.”
“I won’t bully you. I’ll let you have my rook, knight, and cannon!” Long Xuan boasted arrogantly.
Upon hearing this, a sly smile spread across Di Xin’s face.
Afterward, including Long Xuan, everyone plunged into a long round of gambling. Some tables were filled with hostility, with people red-eyed from losses, occasionally shouting curses. Others remained peaceful, like the dozen sailors with Long Xuan and the group of Qi clan Gu cultivators engrossed in studying chess.
Qi Huan had long awakened and seemed wholly captivated by chess, forgetting everything else as he studied tirelessly, playing through the night without rest.
Amidst the intense gambling, no one noticed Zhu Yue secretly finding the God of Gambling, who was hiding in a corner studying chess. No one wanted to play with him, so he played alone, switching between his left hand and right hand or between his main body and a clone, utterly absorbed in his game.
When he saw someone approaching, he perked up and looked at the young woman who had come over. “Do you want to gamble with me?”
“Shall we play chess?”
Zhu Yue shook her head, smiling, “I wouldn’t dare gamble with you. Apart from the Founder of Chess, I doubt anyone in the world could beat you.”
“If you’re not here to gamble, then what are you here for?” the God of Gambling asked, looking annoyed.
“I know that I could never beat you in any game. The best way to obtain your treasure is by not gambling. I’m here to make a trade with you…”
“That’s enough! My treasures are only for gambling, never for trade. If that’s your plan, then leave.”
“Trying to take shortcuts through trading—what wishful thinking!”
Before Zhu Yue could finish, the God of Gambling impatiently cut her off.
However, Zhu Yue’s expression remained unchanged, still smiling with unwavering confidence in her eyes.
“Don’t be so quick to dismiss it, Senior. What if I told you I have a way for you to leave this place?”
At these words, the God of Gambling's eyes lit up, and he quickly turned to Zhu Yue with a look of intense excitement, disbelief written all over his face.
“What did you say? You have a way for me to leave? Are you serious?”
His eyes fixed on hers, filled with excitement, his expression losing all composure.