Chapter 110: Coaxing Ling Ruoxue, Placing Bets

After Tianyuan Sect’s victory was announced, Qin Xiao walked down in his tattered clothes. There was not a mark on him, and his skin even had a faint sheen.

He had fully activated the fourth layer of Body Refinement, pushing his body’s toughness to its limit. That was what produced the sheen.

After leaving the arena, Qin Xiao changed his clothes, then headed toward the Immortal Dao Merchant Association’s preparation area.

“What trick is this kid up to again?”

“Could it be because Qin Xiao borrowed some protective treasure from the Immortal Dao Merchant Association and is now returning it?”

“Very likely. I heard Qin Xiao was the fourth-floor guest at yesterday’s auction. He must have made some deal with the Immortal Dao Merchant Association.”

“So it was him! No wonder. With that kind of wealth, he must have countless treasures.”

Seeing Qin Xiao heading toward the Immortal Dao Merchant Association, others began speculating again.

“Why have you come over here?”

Ling Ruoxue was exasperated. She had heard plenty of the rumors too.

“Nothing much. I wanted to ask whether your Immortal Dao Merchant Association runs the outside betting pool.”

That was what Qin Xiao had come to find out. If the association ran it, he had better not take advantage of it. His Black Tortoise Armor was still in its hands, after all.

“No. Other factions run it. Our Merchant Association doesn’t do that sort of business.”

She had wondered what he wanted. So he was only asking about the betting pool.

“Is that so? Then why don’t we cooperate?”

Seeing it wasn’t the Immortal Dao Merchant Association’s, Qin Xiao had some mischievous thoughts.

“What do you mean?”

Ling Ruoxue didn’t quite understand Qin Xiao’s meaning.

“We share information, then place our bets. We’ll make money for certain. Who’d turn down more Spirit Stones? What do you say? Your brother asked me to look after you. Now that I’ve found a way to make money, here I am, looking after you.” This chapter was taken from novеlping.com without permission.

Qin Xiao wanted Ling Ruoxue involved because he could hardly bet himself. He was a contestant. If he placed a bet, people would suspect match-fixing, and the bookmaker would not dare accept it.

“How would we exchange information?”

Ling Ruoxue’s interest was piqued. Her family forbade her to gamble, but if Qin Xiao had a way to win, she could try it. She trusted him.

“There are two matches left: you against the Mysterious Yin Sect, and us against Pure Yang Sect. If we know who’ll win, we make money regardless of the odds. So I need to know whether you can beat the Mysterious Yin Sect.”

Qin Xiao said this.

“We could have afforded to win or lose. Based on our earlier expectations, we only needed the top three. Now that you’ve won, though, we have to win to keep that place. How about your chances against Pure Yang Sect? If you concede, the odds won’t pay much. We can only make a big profit if you beat them.”

Ling Ruoxue was interested. The Immortal Dao Merchant Association never tried for first place, but not for lack of strength. It was a matter of diplomacy. Finishing in the top three allowed the local factions to save face without costing the association many places in Spirit Medicine Valley. She was confident they could beat the Mysterious Yin Sect.

“We’ll win. But can we trust the bookmaker? How much can we bet?”

With the Immortal Dao Merchant Association sure of winning, and his own rough grasp of late-stage Nascent Soul strength, Qin Xiao was sure of his victory too. All that remained was to check the bookmaker’s reliability and the betting limit.

“The City Lord Manor backs the bookmaker. Is that reliable enough for you? I heard the limit is a hundred million. I don’t know the odds, but the new ones should be out. I’ll send someone to check.”

After saying this, Ling Ruoxue sent someone to investigate the odds.

“Only a hundred million? Fine. Every little bit counts.”

Hearing the limit was only 100 million, Qin Xiao was a bit disappointed.

Fortunately, they were speaking quietly. Anyone who heard would have called him a rich bastard.

Qin Xiao stayed where he was to wait. The contestants had a two-hour break to rest and recover, which also gave the bookmaker time to calculate the new odds and settle bets on the previous match.

Not long after, someone delivered a note with the odds for the next two matches.

The odds were 1:1.5 for an Immortal Dao Merchant Association victory and 1:2.1 for a Mysterious Yin Sect victory.

Both sides had three mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators, but the Immortal Dao Merchant Association had never finished outside the top three since it began competing. That record explained the shorter odds. The Mysterious Yin Sect was formidable too, but two of its competitors had already taken Spirit-Burst Pills and could not take another within a day. If the merchant association also had such pills, it would have a strong advantage.

Still, the Mysterious Yin Sect had conceded its previous match before Su Lin needed to fight, leaving him fresh. He was no weakling. With a Spirit-Burst Pill and a few trump cards, he might be able to defeat all three opponents. Sects and merchant associations had different priorities, after all; sects ought to have an edge in combat.

Even so, odds of 1:2.1 on the Mysterious Yin Sect showed that the bookmaker favored the Immortal Dao Merchant Association.

Pure Yang Sect against Tianyuan Sect was another matter. A Pure Yang Sect victory paid at odds of only 1:1.1; a Tianyuan Sect victory paid 1:8. Follow the newest chapters on nоvelping.com.

Yun Man had exceeded expectations, and Qin Xiao had stood immovable. Even so, Pure Yang Sect was Qingzhou’s leading Sect, with resources few could match. More importantly, it had a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator. A Spirit-Burst Pill or similar Pill could raise him to the peak of Nascent Soul.

“Good, good! You’ll make only a small profit on your side. I can make seven hundred million on mine.”

Qin Xiao almost jumped for joy at his odds. One to eight—at last he could make some money!

“Are you really sure? If they’re offering odds like that, they must have inside information. Be careful you don’t lose.”

Ling Ruoxue had not expected such high odds on Tianyuan Sect. She was worried.

“What are you afraid of? If we lose, it’s only a hundred million. If we win, we get eight hundred million back. Seven hundred million in pure profit!”

He knew the other side had trump cards, but he was not afraid. Unless they could reach Soul Formation outright, they could not kill him. Peak Nascent Soul strength might hurt him, but with Spirit Liquid to keep replenishing him, he could make countless mistakes. His opponent could only make one.

“Then let’s do it. Bring the Spirit Stones, I’ll send someone to place the bet.”

Qin Xiao had talked Ling Ruoxue into gambling. She trusted him, after all.

“Well… could you put up the Spirit Stones for me? I don’t have that much on me. Lend me two hundred million for now. Take it out of my winnings, or if I lose, I’ll repay you in Spirit Liquid.”

Qin Xiao could not produce two hundred million Spirit Stones. He needed Ling Ruoxue to advance them.

“You really don’t have it?”

Ling Ruoxue was doubtful. He had no Spirit Stones? Who was he trying to fool?

“Not that much, no. Don’t you trust me? Would I fail to repay a few Spirit Stones? Besides, my Black Tortoise Armor is still with you.”

Qin Xiao quickly added this when she seemed doubtful. He still had items worth several billion in their hands, yet she worried he might cheat her out of two hundred million Spirit Stones?

“I suppose that makes sense. All right, I’ll put it up for you. But let’s be clear: if you lose, you have to pay me back.”

He had a point, Ling Ruoxue thought. She had the Black Tortoise Armor, so she agreed readily.

Two people then arrived to place bets. Each staked two hundred million in all, split between victories for the Immortal Dao Merchant Association and Tianyuan Sect.

The bookmaker’s manager was delighted. Someone had really placed large bets! He could understand backing the Immortal Dao Merchant Association, but anyone betting on Tianyuan Sect must have more money than sense.