What a Pity

In Li Hua's calculations, it was highly likely that the "Emperor" would discard his card.

After all, given the "Emperor's" nature, Li Hua guessed that after he activated the "Heart Domain" and "the House Always Wins," the "Emperor" would certainly not act according to his wishes.

Therefore, the probability of him folding is almost inevitable.

What appears to be one game at the poker table is actually two separate games.

Two rounds of three-player card games.

The reason Li Hua omitted the process of dealing cards to others and only dealt cards to the "Emperor" was to conceal the "Gambling Record" on the card table constructed by his "Heart Domain".

In the short period of time just now, Li Hua used his "dealer" privileges to skip the first round of the game.

In the first game, "Prisoner" and "Director" lost to "Magician" Qianhuan.

In the second game, the participants were himself, the "Emperor," and the previous winner Qianhuan.

After the Emperor folds... he becomes the winner.

In the first game, the "Prisoner" and the "Director" lost control of their bodies and souls to the "Magician" Qianhuan.

In the second gamble, "Magician" Qianhuan and "Emperor" briefly lost control of their "exclusive space" and "Private Territory" to themselves.

This is also the "The House Always Wins" Rule —the "bets" collected by the house from everyone must be of the same type.

In the second round of the "betting game"...

The exclusive control over one's own and the "emperor's" personal space refers, of course, to the "Heart Domain."

And Qianhuan lost to himself...

It is his "Magic Space" as a "Magician"—somewhat similar to the second [Item Space], a special space exclusively for the "Profession" of "Magician".

During the emperor's brief loss of control, what Li Hua sent out was not a specific object or person...

Rather, it was the entire "Magic Space" that belonged to him.

After all... depending on the attributes and rarity of the space, the amount Li Hua collected varied.

Because he bet on "Heart Domain," while "Emperor" bet on "Heart Domain" plus the Divine Kingdom Projection, and also on the element of "Emperor" discarding cards beforehand, Li Hua only gained a little control over "Emperor's" "Heart Domain" for a short period of time.

But Li Hua accepted almost everything about Qianhuan's "Magic Space".

He could even temporarily detach this entire "Magic Space" from Qianhuan and throw it out of the current space.

This action was certainly not intended to weaken Qianhuan.

It's because...

In the "Magic Space," there are a "Director" and a "Prisoner" who were turned into "Magic Item" because of the first bet!

In the first bet, because of Qianhuan's "Magician" Profession, when he won the bet... the "Death game" would automatically match the bet result with his "Profession"!

"I'm sorry to trouble you, Li Hua... But how did you know that after Old Zhou and Lin Yu established a connection with me, they would become my [Magic Item]... This must be the 'Heart Domain' you just acquired, right?"

Li Hua sighed.

"Because I'm a 'Gambler,' I can see the 'probability' of this event—especially since [God Does Not Roll Dice] is still in effect; what I see is a definite, locked-in probability."

"This is a very important matter, and I only have this one chance... so I won't gamble on a 'low-probability' event."

Qianhuan let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh, so that means... Old Zhou and Lin Yu are safe?"

Li Hua nodded slightly. "Yes, they have already left this place—thanks to this 'emperor's' 'Domination' Authority, treating the surrounding 'seals' as an extension of his domain and kingdom, I could even directly throw them out of the seal."

"Don't worry, after that, the 'Director' will naturally find a way... The 'Grandmaster' should have already realized what's going on with us; I've already informed her—she'll be in the 'Prison Mountain Realm' very soon."

The emperor's cold voice rang out.

"Do you think that by doing this I won't be able to do anything to them?"

Li Hua looked at the emperor and said softly, "Otherwise what? As Deity, you are not only excluded by the World Will, but now you also have to consider the 'Wall of Rules' of the Divine Realm... Stop bluffing. If you step out of the seal beneath these two mountains, you'll probably be directly expelled from the Prison Mountain Realm, let alone continue to attack the 'Director'."

"Even if you have agents of your will, other members of the 'Copper Furnace'... none of them will be a match for a 'Grandmaster'."

"Moreover, the 'Director' himself is capable of handling most situations—didn't you already know that? In order to deal with the 'Director,' you even imposed 'Authority' on him without reservation from the very beginning."

As the emperor listened to Li Hua's logical analysis, his expression grew increasingly grave.

Because...

Everything Li Hua said was correct.

This "Gambler" who was only at the "Tier 3" understood the current situation better than the emperor had imagined.

The emperor didn't even know when Li Hua had figured these things out.

But just as Li Hua said... it was absolutely impossible for him to leave this "Sealed Space".

Once he leaves, his avatar, Divine Kingdom Projection, and personal will will be immediately sealed off by the World Will and Dao Ancestor of the Prison Mountain Realm and sent back to the Divine Realm.

"But... so what if you sent the 'Director' away? So what if you sent both of them away?" The emperor straightened up from his dragon throne. "What about you and the magicians over there? Can you... escape again?"

Li Hua didn't reply, but Qianhuan snapped her fingers and spoke.

"You seem a bit too hasty—Emperor... We all know perfectly well that you're here entirely for the 'Director' purpose."

"The Director ran away... leaving me and Li Hua behind. Ha, doesn't that mean your goal has completely failed?"

The emperor said coldly, "Yes, my goal has failed... Do you really think you can survive?"

As he spoke, the emperor raised his hand, and Qianhuan was instantly forced to the ground.

"Crack!"

He bled profusely from the wounds he had accumulated on his body and collapsed instantly into a pool of blood.

The emperor glanced at Li Hua beside him and raised his other hand.

Li Hua's wound was also gushing blood, and he was knocked to the ground.

However, unlike Qianhuan who was instantly forced to prostrate herself, Li Hua was forced to his knees inch by inch.

"Trading your two lives for theirs... do you think you've won? Gambler?"

Li Hua tilted his head back and opened his mouth, blood mixed with saliva slowly flowing down his lips and the corners of his mouth, making him look extremely disheveled.

He shook his head.

"Human life... there's no such thing as 'worth it' or 'not worth it'."

With that, Li Hua stopped trying to look up at the emperor and turned to look at Qianhuan.

"I'm so sorry... I couldn't get you out of here too... It was simply too late."

Qianhuan was facing downwards, and it was unknown whether she was still conscious.

He did not respond to Li Hua, nor was he able to respond to Li Hua, but the left hand pressed to the ground tapped the ground twice.

Li Hua couldn't even be sure whether Qianhuan was responding to him or if it was just a muscle twitch on the other's part.

He remained silent for a long time, blood slowly dripping down his cheek, lost in thought.

"Feel sorry..."

As Li Hua spoke again, he slowly stood up—his "Heart Domain" was empowering him, temporarily offsetting some of the effects of his serious injuries.

At least, it allowed him to stand up again.

Then, Li Hua raised his head and looked at the emperor, placing his hands on the card table next to him.

Would you like to play another round, Your Majesty?

His blood flowed down his arm, and Li Hua spoke with bloodshot eyes and a hoarse voice.

"Someone as esteemed as you, who uses 'Emperor' as his code name, must find it hard to accept losing to me... You can choose not to play, but you cannot lose."

"So, I can play with you one more time—this time, you have a chance to win."

The emperor began to speak with great interest.

"I'd like to know, 'Gambler'... what are you going to bet on this time?"

Li Hua pointed to Qianhuan on the ground. "His life."

"If you win, I'll let him go—if you lose, I'll hand over my 'Heart Domain' to you."

"The nature of my 'Heart Domain' dictates that if you win it, it will truly belong to you—it will not dissipate."

As Li Hua spoke, the emperor tapped the armrest of the dragon throne.

"A very good suggestion, I'm somewhat tempted... but I'm not that interested."

"Even if the 'Heart Domain' is preserved, it cannot be easily used by 'others'... Your 'Heart Domain' is very useful in your hands, and you can even 'defeat' me, but... in my hands, it might be useless."

The emperor paused for a moment as he spoke.

"Besides, I already won before the gamble even began— 'Gambler,' the person you're trying to save is already dead."

He's beyond saving.

"Therefore, even if I wanted to gamble with you... I couldn't fulfill your bet."

"However... I'm willing to accept your own life as collateral."

The emperor spoke, but Li Hua did not respond.

There was no response for a long time.

The emperor frowned and rose from his dragon throne.

The Black-Gold Scepter in his hand materialized once more, and the emperor stepped down from the dragon throne and Palanquin, walking to Li Hua's side.

The cane poked Li Hua's body...

Then, the Gambler, dressed in Tang Suit and covered in blood, collapsed to the ground with a thud, his breath completely gone.

After saying those words...

He was already dead.

The emperor watched this scene, remaining silent and stunned for a long time.

Then, he sighed and spoke.

"If only... you and I were in the same era, in the same version, entering the 'Death game'."

"If only... you could understand my position and stand on my side."

"It's just... such a pity! It's such a... such a pity!"

The emperor said this, then turned and left.

His "Heart Domain" and Divine Kingdom Projection dissipated.

Only Li Hua and Qianhuan remained, lying quietly in the deepest part of the Prison Mountain Realm.