Jian Liulei looked at Li Taishi, only to find the latter still looked quite nervous, and immediately thought disdainfully in his heart—what a novice in the Way of Gambling.
Jian Liulei truly looked down on such a novice.
It seemed this one had come to deliver spirit stones to him; five hundred spirit stones were quite generous, so he considered this a small windfall.
Here, an introduction to the gambling in the Central Celestial Dynasty is necessary. Gambling in the Central Celestial Dynasty, naturally, involves people employing schemes.
If schemes are not used, it is entirely reliant on luck.
When schemes are employed, most methods involve integrating a part of one's cultivated Heart Sutra into the universe's destiny—this is what is called Fate.
Fate, being the foremost of the Ten Great Iron Laws, has never truly manifested.
However, Minor Fate Arts have appeared.
And countless variations of Minor Fate Arts have circulated throughout the ages. For instance, Jian Yunchou’s Heart Sutra of the Gambling Ghost is a branch evolved from a fragment of the Minor Fate Arts. Now, Jian Liulei was activating the Heart Sutra of the Gambling Ghost, attempting to alter his luck, swap his destiny, and surpass Lu Yuan. Indeed, for some practitioners, gambling serves as a venue to cultivate the Minor Fate Arts.
Yet, even the Minor Fate Arts are incomplete; many have only grasped a tiny corner of the whole.
This round was a contest of the dice total.
There was an Immortal Barrier Cage present. Much of the gambling on Gambler’s Isle takes place within these Cages, as they prevent the use of divine sense, magical power, or other cheating techniques.
Jian Liulei tossed the dice casually: five, six, six, a total of seventeen points.
Jian Liulei muttered inwardly, It seems my cultivation of the Heart Sutra of the Gambling Ghost has achieved success. I am already faintly aligning with the Dao of Destiny. Hahahaha, beating my opponent will be absurdly simple.
It was Lu Yuan’s turn; he also cast the dice.
With the throw, one, two, three... What? That was so low? Wait, just as the dice were about to land, with a sudden bang, they transformed into six, six, six! How was this possible! Eighteen points! In the Immortal Barrier Cage, one cannot use magic or divine sense to cheat—how could they suddenly manifest six, six, six!
That was the win!
Lu Yuan hadn't even reacted yet.
This was a Heavenly Venerate Elixir worth five hundred Heavenly-grade spirit stones. He genuinely hadn't grasped it. His entire net worth was about that amount. Previously, to earn a Heavenly Venerate Elixir, he would have to fight tooth and nail—check Baidu Huashan Immortal Sect updates. It was never this simple or effortless. Lu Yuan was truly stunned. No wonder so many people enjoyed gambling; this instant thrill was too potent, and it was unearned wealth.
Jian Liulei felt a wave of frustration. What was that? This person called Li Taishi was clearly a novice just now, yet he threw a straight flush (a 'leopard' in dice terms). Was this person feigning weakness? Had he secretly practiced a fragment derived from the Minor Fate Arts, and was his attainment even deeper than Jian Liulei’s own? This Li Taishi truly could not be underestimated.
Lu Yuan paid no mind to Jian Liulei’s thoughts. Now that the priceless Heavenly Venerate Elixir was in hand, he intended to use it to break through to the Seventh Heaven of the World Realm.
This was proving to be the most marvelous breakthrough.
In the past, let alone the World Realm, even advancing one level in the lesser realms like the Longevity Realm or the Great Dao Realm was arduous.
Yet, now, he had won the necessary resources for advancement through such a bizarre gamble.
Profit!
Lu Yuan moved to the side, sat cross-legged, and swallowed the Heavenly Venerate Elixir. Instantly, he felt a dense surge of Primordial Chaos Qi condensing around him. Simultaneously, it seemed a colossal gateway was opening towards him in the void—that massive gate represented the rules of heaven and earth.
The Gate of Heaven and Earth’s Rules!
Lu Yuan perceived a light appearing. This light originated from the cosmos and projected toward his Sword Space.
The existence of the Sword Space was not actually within the Central Celestial Dynasty but resided in an alternate dimension. However, the owner of the space could summon their space into the Central Celestial Dynasty at will. In reality, this personal space was not fully connected to the vast expanse of the Central Celestial Dynasty.
Now, Lu Yuan could distinctly feel that this light was the channel connecting the heavens and earth of the Central Celestial Dynasty with his Sword Space. From this point forward, his Sword Space could communicate without relying solely on him, but through this beam of light.
This offered immense benefits. Simply put, if the alternate dimension housing the Sword Space relied only on Lu Yuan as the sole link, any significant loss of energy within the Sword Space would be extremely slow to replenish. But if it could connect directly through this light, replenishment would be incredibly rapid.
Simultaneously, a second beam of light emerged.
For this kind of light, the more the better.
What Lu Yuan was currently undergoing was the Heavenly Certification required to break through to the Heavenly Venerate Realm. The so-called Heavenly Certification was the acknowledgment of an individual's personal space by heaven and earth. This radiance was the essence of that acknowledgment. Generally, the more profound the foundation, the greater the number of light beams, and the more light beams, the greater the acknowledgment from heaven and earth. This resulted in an ever-tightening bond between the personal space and the cosmos.
Do not underestimate this Heavenly Certification. It was rumored to be incredibly useful when attempting to ascend to the Civilization Realm.
Therefore, anyone who reached the Seventh Heaven of the World Realm was titled a Heavenly Venerate.
Those who passed the Heavenly Certification were Heavenly Venerates.
At this moment, Lu Yuan had obtained two beams of light from the Heavenly Certification, which materialized as two light bridges, visible only to Lu Yuan, spanning the gap between the Central Celestial Dynasty and the Sword Space.
And then, a third beam of light appeared.
“Someone is attempting to break through to the Seventh Heaven of the World Realm,” someone pointed at Lu Yuan and remarked.
“Even those at the Tenth Heaven of the World Realm are not uncommon on Gambler’s Isle; a mere Seventh Heaven is nothing to fuss about,” scoffed the person beside him.
A fourth beam of light emerged!
The tenth beam of light appeared!
“Does this person have a decent foundation?” someone nearby commented. The maximum number of light beams for this Heavenly Certification was fifty—the number of the Great Evolution (Fifty), but no one had ever achieved fifty. The absolute peak was recorded as forty-nine beams, belonging to the Son of the Desolation, the Child of this Epoch. Even the Son of the Sword only managed forty beams of light.
The more of these light beams one possessed, the higher the recognition from heaven and earth, and the greater the probability of successfully advancing to the Civilization Realm later on.
The twentieth beam of light appeared!
“This person’s foundation is quite deep,” someone exclaimed in awe. Not everyone was a Son of the Sword. Do not assume that because Lu Yuan had surpassed the Son of the Sword a few times, the latter was inept. The Son of the Sword was, after all, the sixth of the Seven Sons of Destiny, a supreme prodigy towering above countless beings. A normal person usually achieved around twenty light beams.
The thirtieth beam of light manifested! These thirty beams represented many profound mysteries between heaven and earth.
“This person’s foundation is incredibly deep.” This level surpassed the talents seen halfway through the process. Could a non-prodigy manifest thirty light beams?
The thirty-first light beam appeared!
The thirty-second light beam appeared!
Beam after beam materialized, causing a growing sense of bewilderment. Who exactly was this person? How could thirty-odd light beams appear? When had such a genius emerged in the world?
“Who is this person?”
“It seems his name is Li Taishi.”
“Li Taishi? I have never heard of him before.”
“Could he be in disguise?” someone wondered doubtfully.
“Unlikely. I used my True Sight just now, and it is authentic.” The True Sight was indeed a useful artifact, but alas, the disguise employed by the Vice-Lord of the Confucian Civilization was far more sophisticated.
The thirty-fifth beam of light appeared!
The thirty-sixth light beam appeared!
Who could this be? What was his limit? Could he possibly catch up to the Son of the Sword? Impossible. If potential could so easily match the Son of the Sword, then the Son of the Sword would not deserve the title of the Sixth Son of Destiny.
The thirty-seventh, thirty-eighth, thirty-ninth, fortieth, and forty-first beams of light appeared! Forty-one beams radiated out from the Central Celestial Dynasty, stretching toward the distant alternate dimension, leaving everyone utterly speechless.
It was real! It truly appeared! Forty-one beams of light.
This not only matched the Son of the Sword but completely eclipsed him.
Who on earth was this? How could such a figure with such profound potential emerge? Even within the Central Celestial Dynasty, though countless experts were truly hidden in every corner, someone this formidable was exceedingly rare. No one knew where this person had sprung from. Most terrifyingly, the count of light beams was still increasing.
The forty-second beam of light appeared!
The forty-third beam of light appeared!
The forty-fourth beam of light appeared! What was the limit for this person named Li Taishi? Quite a few people began to discuss Li Taishi. In an instant, many who had been deeply engrossed in their own gambling ceased their activities and turned to watch this spectacle—an astonishing figure appearing out of nowhere.
“Do you think it could be Lu Yuan in disguise? Perhaps Lu Yuan is capable of disguise?” one person speculated. This guess was actually quite close to the truth.
“Impossible,” Ling Qingyun sneered from the side. “Lu Yuan only mastered one hundred elements in the test for mastering the elements of heaven and earth.”
“What? Lu Yuan only mastered one hundred elements in that test?” Several people nearby were immediately startled. For a normal person, mastering one hundred elements was certainly impressive, but for someone on the level of Lu Yuan, the Son of the Sword, mastering only one hundred elements was far below standard.
Moreover, mastering only one hundred elements would severely limit potential. Relatively speaking, this meant that even with the utmost effort this time, he could communicate at most thirty-odd light beams, making it impossible to reach forty or more.
“Is that information certain?” Many people immediately converged near Ling Qingyun. This was extremely crucial intelligence.
“Of course it’s certain. Don’t be fooled by Lu Yuan’s current smugness; Lu Yuan is finished,” Ling Qingyun sneered. He glanced at several figures beside him, including Jian Yunchou. Ling Qingyun mused inwardly that by leaking this tidbit, he could establish some connections. He aspired to be a powerful figure and naturally needed to lay his groundwork early.