Just as Mu Chen was lost in thought, he heard a sudden sigh from the crowd. Soone lanted, "Ah, my five hundred thousand! I only got a single Spirit Crystal. That’s a total loss!"
The words gave Mu Chen a start. He looked toward the source of the lant and saw a portly man. Judging by his brocade robes, he was clearly from a wealthy family. The man’s brow was tightly furrowed, his expression sour. "I’ve already lost over three and a half million today," he muttered. "One last try. If it’s another bust, I’m calling it quits!" With that, he turned and headed back toward the Original Stones.
An older man in the crowd glanced at the rchant with pity before turning to Mu Chen. "That’s a famous local tycoon, Tufei Yuan. He’s in the silk trade and has a fortune to his na. But lately, he’s gotten obsessed with stone gambling. Cos here every day, and every day he loses several million Purple Elental Crystals. At this rate, his entire business is going to be ruined by this."
Mu Chen was stunned. "But he’s been at it for so long. Surely he finds a Spirit Crystal now and then?"
The older man shook his head. "It’s not that he doesn’t find Spirit Crystals. It’s that even when he does, it’s not enough to cover his costs. He only picks Original Stones that have a chance of containing Attribute Spirit Crystals, and those are incredibly expensive—hundreds of thousands each. So even if he finds a regular Spirit Crystal, he’s still out hundreds of thousands. That’s stone gambling for you. It can make you, or it can break you!"
Hearing this, Mu Chen finally realized how naive he had been. ’If it’s gambling, then losses are bound to be more common than wins,’ he thought. He sighed and said, "So it’s all just a ga of chance, then."
But as soon as the words left his mouth, the older man corrected him. "That’s where you’re mistaken, young man. Take a look at the center of the high platform. *That* is where the real stone gambling happens."
"Real stone gambling?" Mu Chen raised his head and looked toward the center of the distant platform. Two young n, both around twenty-one or twenty-two, stood there. One wore a blue robe, its cuffs elegantly inlaid with a two-feather emblem made of Crystal Stone Fragnts that shimred under the sun. The other wore green. Despite the different attire, his cuffs bore the exact sa two-feather emblem. ’It must be a symbol of their status,’ Mu Chen thought instantly.
"Song Ren, how about it? Only one Original Stone left. Do you dare open it?" the green-robed man taunted, his eyes brimming with confidence as he looked at his blue-robed counterpart.
Beads of sweat dotted the blue-robed man’s forehead, but his expression was firm. He gritted his teeth. "Of course I’ll open it. I can still turn this around. Don’t forget, I’ve found two Spirit Crystals, while you, Jiang Tao, have only found a single Earth Spirit Crystal. If I find an Attribute Spirit Crystal in this last one, the tables will be turned."
Mu Chen glanced at the table in front of them. Before Jiang Tao lay a diamond-shaped crystal pulsing with an earthy-yellow halo. ’That must be the Earth Spirit Crystal Song Ren ntioned,’ he thought. It did bear a striking resemblance to the Extre Ice Attribute Spirit, though the Extre Ice Attribute Spirit was larger, had stronger Primordial Power fluctuations, and was suffused with a faint Life Aura.
And before Song Ren sat two white, diamond-shaped crystals. Aside from lacking an elental glow, they were identical to the Earth Spirit Crystal. These must be his two Spirit Crystals.
Mu Chen kept watching. Song Ren and Jiang Tao walked over to a pile of Original Stones at the side of the platform and began to choose carefully. Nearby, Tufei Yuan was also hunched over, posterior in the air, groping at the stones, trying to determine their contents by weight and texture.
But Song Ren and Jiang Tao’s thods were completely different from Tufei Yuan’s. They both stood with their hands clasped behind their backs, doing nothing but slowly scanning the stones with their eyes. It was obvious they were making their selections with sight alone. Standing to their side, Mu Chen quickly noticed sothing peculiar: he could see faint traces of blue light within their eyes.
The blue glow was clearly the effect of so Pupil Technique. Realization dawned on Mu Chen. He nodded and said, "So *this* is real stone gambling."
The older man turned his head. "See? You get it now, young man. Those three are a perfect contrast. Soone like Tufei Yuan can only rely on luck and experience. But that’s not what true stone gambling is about. It’s about using a Pupil Technique. This involves a rare power on the continent: the Spirit Selectors. As the na suggests, they are masters at selecting stones with Spirit Crystals inside. That diamond feather emblem on Song Ren’s and Jiang Tao’s cuffs is their mark. They’re both Second-Grade Spirit Selectors, which is a pretty high rank in this field."
"’So there’s a whole profession of Spirit Selectors. I learn sothing new every day,’ Mu Chen said aloud. ’My Purple Sky Demon Pupils are a type of Pupil Technique, too,’ he thought, ’I wonder if I could use them for stone gambling?’"
"’I’ll give it a try in secret later.’ The mont the idea took root, it shot up like a bamboo sprout after a spring rain, filling Mu Chen with anticipation.
Just then, Song Ren and Jiang Tao finished selecting their final Original Stones. It all ca down to this. Both looked grave; neither wanted to lose. Although Song Ren’s odds were slim, they weren’t zero. It was important to understand that even a Pupil Technique couldn’t let one see *through* the stone. It only allowed them to judge the contents based on the Original Stone’s quality and other subtle signs imperceptible to the average person. The fact that Song Ren had found an Attribute Spirit Crystal before made Jiang Tao wary. After all, even a blind squirrel finds a nut sotis. Jiang Tao himself hadn’t expected to find an Attribute Spirit Crystal in the previous round.
They placed their chosen Original Stones on the table in front of them and locked eyes. Song Ren spoke first. "Brother Jiang, you won the last round. As per the rules, you open yours first."
Jiang Tao caressed the Original Stone on the table, a self-mocking smile playing on his lips. "No matter what’s in this stone, I’m ninety-nine percent sure I’ve already won. If you’re so eager, you can go first."
With that, Jiang Tao placed his hands on either side of his Original Stone and began to slowly channel Primordial Power into it. It was actually a rather clever way to open the stone.
While everyone’s attention was glued to the platform, Mu Chen quietly opened his eyes. His bizarre purple Snake Pupils glinted with a cold, ruthless light. Black markings materialized around his eye sockets with a WHOOSH, creating a truly strange sight. The only one who noticed anything was Wan Xian’Er, who stood beside him.
Wan Xian’Er turned her head. It was the first ti she had seen Mu Chen activate his Purple Sky Demon Pupils from this close. Though he had already suppressed the Barbaric Evil Qi, she couldn’t help but feel a twinge of fear as she gazed into his terrifying, soul-shaking eyes.
Six blue snowflake imprints spun rapidly within Mu Chen’s pupils. The image of the Original Stone magnified again and again in his vision until, with his complete focus, the stone itself seed to turn transparent. Monts later, the image of a crystal emitting a faint white glow appeared reflected in his eyes.
A slight smile touched Mu Chen’s lips. ’As expected of the Purple Sky Demon Pupils from my Master,’ he thought. ’They’re incredible.’
He then shifted his gaze to the untouched Original Stone in front of the grim-faced Song Ren. His Purple Sky Demon Pupils spun, and the stone’s true nature was gradually revealed to his sight. But it wasn’t what he’d hoped for. After his vision pierced through the rock, all he saw was another white crystal. Clearly, Song Ren’s stone only held a regular Spirit Crystal.
"’Looks like Song Ren has lost,’ Mu Chen sighed to himself. He was about to look away when his eyes caught a flash of pale green in the main pile of Original Stones. It was a green hue that was incredibly rich with Spiritual Qi. Spotting this, Mu Chen imdiately reactivated his Purple Sky Demon Pupils and began to rapidly scan the area where he had seen it."
"’Not this one... not this one... Spirit Crystal... Spirit Crystal... another Spirit Crystal...’ He scanned several dozen Original Stones one by one, but besides three that held Spirit Crystals, the rest were just ordinary rock. Just as he was about to dismiss it as a trick of the light and give up, he sensed that pale green dot again. This ti, Mu Chen pushed his Purple Sky Demon Pupils to their absolute limit and scanned the entire pile at once. And there it was. In a small, inconspicuous corner, he finally found the Original Stone that was glowing with that faint green light."
"’That’s...’"
A pale green, diamond-shaped crystal lay quietly within. Before the look of astonishnt could fully form on Mu Chen’s face, he was snapped back to reality by a sudden gasp from the crowd. It turned out Jiang Tao had broken open his Original Stone, revealing a white Spirit Crystal. This didn’t surprise Mu Chen in the slightest, since he had already foreseen it. But the crystal’s appearance served as confirmation: his Purple Sky Demon Pupils’ observations were accurate.
"’Heh heh, one Spirit Crystal. Eldest Young Master Song, now it’s up to you,’ Jiang Tao chuckled, his victory all but assured. ’If you don’t find an Attribute Spirit Crystal, then I’m the winner. And as for the wager, you’ll be handing over an Attribute Spirit Crystal to .’"
A drop of cold sweat trickled down Song Ren’s temple. His face was grim, but he puffed out his chest, took a deep breath, and declared, "Fine, I’ll open it! I refuse to believe I’ve lost just like that!"
Gritting his teeth, Song Ren swiftly shattered the Original Stone in front of him. Inside was a clear, sparkling white crystal. A Spirit Crystal.
"A Spirit Crystal! HAHAHA! I knew it! You really thought you’d find an Attribute Spirit Crystal that easily? You’ve lost!" Jiang Tao pointed at Song Ren, his face beaming with delight.
Getting his hands on an Attribute Spirit Crystal was certainly cause for celebration. Song Ren’s face went pale. He collapsed into the chair behind him and brooded for a mont. Then, he placed the Storage Ring from his finger on the table. His gaze fixed on Jiang Tao, hard and determined. "Jiang Tao," he said in a low voice, "I’ll let you hold on to that Attribute Spirit Crystal for now. But give so ti. Once I have enough to wager, I swear I’ll co back and wipe the floor with you."
Jiang Tao beckoned with his power, and the Storage Ring flew from the table into his hand. He grinned. "I’m always ready for a rematch!"
A bystander piped up. "Well, the show’s over. Hey, Tufei Yuan, are you still picking? Hurry up and open one if you’ve made your choice!"
"Yeah!" another chid in. "Maybe you’ll win back your losses!"
"An Attribute Spirit Crystal is just waiting for you!" a third person jeered.
The crowd continued to tease Tufei Yuan. Sweating buckets, the rchant hastily grabbed a random Original Stone—from the expensive section, of course. Mu Chen had already scanned that particular stone; it did indeed contain a Spirit Crystal. But its price tag was a hundred thousand. Shaking his head, Mu Chen suddenly turned to the older man who had spoken to him earlier. "Sir," he said, "I’d like to try my luck as well, but I don’t know the rules. Would you mind showing how it’s done? If I’m fortunate enough to find anything good, I’ll give you a tenth of the profits. What do you say?"
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