Zhan Yushu chuckled smugly, "This fellow was originally just a penniless country bumpkin. If it comes to gambling money, his mental fortitude surely can't handle it! Even if he manages to scrape by somehow, there's still the final Beast Fight..." Cockfighting, dog fighting, cricket fighting—these might be the pastimes of dissolute young lords, but they are relatively common. To be absolutely sure, let's skip those and go straight for the deepest level! Xuan Beasts!"

"Two decisive rounds, gambling money and fighting Xuan Beasts? An excellent plan!" Zhan Qingfeng's spirit lifted.

Zhan Yushu's plan was truly malicious!

As everyone knew, things like zither, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, and song were all refined arts meant to cultivate one's character. In contrast, gambling and petty games like cockfighting or dog fighting were the pursuits of idle young wastrels. Those deeply engrossed in painting and calligraphy were usually quite self-important and came from strictly disciplined households, rarely having the chance to be exposed to such corrupting activities.

These were fundamentally two different worlds, two distinct categories of things!

Hearing that Mo Junye’s background was not wealthy, the things he had managed to learn must have already stretched him to his absolute limit. If he were now to surpass even the so-called dissolute young lords in the realm of gluttony and pleasure-seeking...

That was simply impossible!

Surely, in this world, one person couldn't perfectly blend fire and water, embody good and evil simultaneously—a complete hodgepodge of everything?

Having settled his mind, Zhan Qingfeng's smile relaxed once more.

He stepped forward and said with a smile, "Brother Mo is truly a heaven-blessed genius, winning every contest. I, Zhan, am completely impressed. Next, I don't intend to waste any more of Brother Mo's time. Let's settle the score with the final two rounds! We only contest the last two matches. If Brother Mo wins them both, we will hand over everything you desire and all the conditions you proposed. If Brother Mo loses, the gamble must also be honored, how about it?"

"And those two rounds? What exactly shall we compete in?" Jun Mo Xie tilted his head, eyeing the other man's unreadable expression, wondering what other dirty trick he had devised.

"The first round, we gamble on squatting!" The moment Zhan Qingfeng uttered this, everyone present felt a wave of dizziness. This Master Zhan, usually known for his elegant literary flair and steady demeanor, was actually proposing a gambling showdown today? Had he misheard? Or perhaps he was dreaming? How could everything he was witnessing today be so shocking?!

Miao Xiaomiao was surprised, but after a brief thought, she immediately grasped the calculation behind the Zhan brothers' scheme. Her delicate eyebrows furrowed, and she cursed hatefully, "Despicable!"

"Gambling?" Jun Mo Xie frowned. Had this fellow seen through his true identity and was now trying to flatter him? Why was he challenging him only in areas where he excelled? It seemed like every round was being tailored exactly to his strengths. He had just been worried this brat would ask him to compete in calligraphy; his own brushwork was merely superior, nowhere near master-level...

Damn it, you smart little devil. Next, he’ll find a male tailor to compete with me in embroidery, or perhaps find a woman to challenge me to childbirth... wouldn't I have conceded and run away long ago? Why is he deliberately challenging me in the very areas I'm best at? Is he being stupid, or is he putting on a show with me? I don't recall bribing this young man at all!

"Yes, gambling! The two of us will gamble against each other, with a starting stake of ten million taels of silver notes each, limited to twenty rounds. The winner will be determined by the final amount of silver held!" Zhan Qingfeng stared intently at Jun Mo Xie's face, not letting any expression escape, terrified that he might have inadvertently chosen another area where the opponent excelled...

Although that possibility seemed incredibly slim...

After observing thoroughly, Zhan Qingfeng finally felt a temporary sense of relief: the shock on the other party's face did not seem feigned. It appeared his proposal had genuinely caught him completely off guard...

If it was unexpected, then that was excellent. Zhan Qingfeng managed a subtle, hidden smile. He had already laid multiple layers of calculations, even having a separate strategy for the stakes. This round was his to win!

Little did he know, while Jun Mo Xie's surprise was genuine, it wasn't because he was unfamiliar with gambling... It was because he was too proficient in this particular area...

Just as Zhan Qingfeng suspected, the outcome of this round was indeed already sealed!

"How exactly do we gamble?" Jun Mo Xie acted the part of a novice, "One card each, turn them over to compare size?"

Zhan Qingfeng nearly burst out laughing. Damn it, just as I thought, he's a complete novice!

"No! We will use dice, determining the winner by the sum of the points rolled," Zhan Qingfeng said in a deep, solemn voice. "We will play a total of twenty rounds, with a base stake of one million per round, played until one person loses everything!"

"That's simple, isn't it just rolling dice? I know how," Jun Mo Xie rubbed his hands together eagerly. "But it's been many years since I played this. Oh, I should warn you, Young Master Zhan, I have the best luck with unexpected windfalls. I love these kinds of games where fortune strikes suddenly. Don't cry when I win later! So many people are watching; losing gracefully or winning magnanimously—either way, it’s a loss of face... Hmm, one million per round... I don't have the stake money. How about I go home and ask Cao Shenghuang for some?"

"I'll lend it to you!"

"I'll lend it to you!" The words were spoken simultaneously by two people: Zhan Qingfeng and Miao Xiaomiao. The difference was that Zhan Qingfeng's tone was filled with the genuine delight of a predator finally falling into his carefully set trap, while Miao Xiaomiao's tone was laden with unspeakable worry.

"Since Miss Miao trusts me so much, I will temporarily use your ten million taels. If I win later, I will naturally return it twofold." Having already incurred such a large favor from Miao Xiaomiao, Jun Mo Xie didn't mind owing a little more; after all, he intended to repay this favor doubly later. If I manage to solve the future potential crisis of the Illusionary Manor for them, consider it my return gift!

As the dusty dice cups were brought out, everyone present turned to stone.

After a long, long silence, Zhan Qingfeng stared blankly at the empty table before him, then at the massive pile of silver notes stacked before Mo Junye on the opposite side. Zhan Qingfeng was nearly driven mad! Just as Young Master Mo had "predicted," he was on the verge of tears!

He had absolutely no idea how he had lost!

In the last few rounds, he had been winning consistently, reducing the opponent to only two million taels left. After eight consecutive wins, victory seemed certain. He had even mocked the opponent's legendary luck with windfalls, thinking fortune wasn't shining on him today, but rather he was about to give away a fortune.

He was only two rounds away from a glorious victory, but why did the situation turn around drastically in the final two rounds!

The opponent swept two cities consecutively. He had even increased the stakes in the subsequent rounds, trying to win everything back in one go, but it was useless. He had somehow lost all the silver notes he brought, one by one! A full fifty million taels of silver notes!

Strangely enough, the two were sitting so close, and many esteemed judges were watching nearby! Any one of them, even a Saint Emperor using Xuan Qi to cheat, would have surely noticed!

There was absolutely no possibility of luck playing a role!

This meant that no one had cheated with Xuan Qi during the entire process!

Yet, the opponent had won overwhelmingly...

His dice-rolling movements were clearly not standard, even clumsy... yet, with a mere casual toss, his result always exceeded his own!

Once, he had rolled a six-six-five, which was almost the highest possible score! But with a slight loosening of his right wrist, after tumbling for a few turns, it landed as three sixes—a leopard face!

Was this... spectral? Or did the opponent truly possess some kind of luck with windfalls?

"You lost!" Mo Junye's excited voice rang out from the other side. Immediately, Mo Junye scurried over to Miao Xiaomiao, clutching the silver notes. "Miss Miao, thanks to your ten million taels, or I might have truly made a fool of myself... I said before that if I won, I would return it twofold. Here, this is three million taels, including the principal. Please check it, Miss Miao, haha..."

It was indeed a twofold return. Besides the principal of ten million taels, there were an additional twenty million in silver notes. Truly a grand gesture. Of course, this was only half of the total gambling sum. Young Master Zhan had ultimately lost a staggering fifty million taels of silver notes while trying to reverse the situation. Including the ten million lent by Miao Xiaomiao, half would be thirty million taels. Jun Mo Xie generously made it three times that amount, splitting it evenly between the two of them!

Thirty million taels—that was a terrifying figure. While everyone present gasped in astonishment, they also sighed in regret, wondering why they hadn't actively offered to lend money to this great genius Mo. In such a short time, that was a two-hundred-percent pure profit!

"Brother Mo"... you truly left me today..." Miao Xiaomiao managed a wry smile, her face displaying an expression of complex, indescribable astonishment.

"Actually, I was sweating bullets earlier. Didn't you see how close I was to losing everything at the start? But my luck with windfalls returned just in time, and naturally, I swept the floor clean... I'll tell you secretly, I'm actually not very good at gambling, but when luck strikes, any opponent can be beaten down..."

This statement from Jun Mo Xie almost made the dazed Zhan Qingfeng choke.

Facing a person like this, he simply couldn't comprehend how he had lost.

No matter how he looked at it, this fellow's technique showed no trace of skill; every move was that of a complete novice!

But he still managed to win!

Zhan Qingfeng, on the other hand, had refined his skill through a thousand trials. To temper his state of mind, he frequently visited casinos, even going in disguise, and always returned victorious! His gambling skills were certainly not far behind those of so-called gambling gods.

He believed that among everyone present today, no one was better at gambling than he was!

But the result was that he was completely defeated by sheer luck?

Luck with windfalls?! Did such a thing truly exist?

Regardless of how confused Zhan Qingfeng was, the result was that he had lost—and lost inexplicably! He had lost an astonishing sum of fifty million taels!

Ultimately, he had lost four-fifths of his hope!

Now, Zhan Zong could no longer afford to worry about the massive sum of money; all his hope was pinned on the final round!

The Xuan Beast Fight!