Betting Ring

"So, you have a way to help me avoid Bens?"

Ailin smiled casually.

Ek's expression turned serious, and he shook his head. "If it's only a few fights, I can keep you from him. But if you truly start racking up consecutive victories, that will be beyond my influence. The Blood Battle Stage arranging a match between you and Bens will be almost inevitable."

That's precisely why I wanted to know whether you would keep challenging. Only if you continue can we earn Nether Stones.

To be cautious, Ek continued speaking through divine sense.

I'm rather curious. How exactly do you earn Nether Stones?

Ailin had no interest in fixing matches, but he was genuinely curious about Ek's methods.

Ek's gaze shifted as though he were weighing something. Only after a while did he briefly explain, It's difficult to explain the specifics to you, but you should have heard that there are betting rings for fights in the Blood Battle Stage. We rely on those betting rings.

"Oh."

Ailin immediately understood.

It reminded him of certain competitions from his previous life. Sure enough, wherever there was profit to be made, such things could not be avoided. Even in a Divine Plane where strength reigned supreme, it was the same.

It was understandable when he thought about it. After all, not everyone in a Divine Plane was powerful. For most living beings, survival still meant making money.

I understand that you're powerful, Ailin, and Bens may very well be no match for you. But Bens is no weakling either. Beating him will likely carry some danger.

Ek directly laid out his plan. Since that's the case, when you fight him, surrender at the last moment while ensuring your safety. That way, you won't need to risk your life, and we'll have a chance to earn a large number of Nether Stones. Of course, I'll give you at least half. What do you think?

"Haha, then how many Nether Stones would I get?"

Ailin laughed.

"That depends on when the Blood Battle Stage arranges your fight with Bens. The more consecutive victories the two of you have, the more people will certainly place bets."

Seeing hope, Ek hurriedly continued, "Though I can't help you avoid Bens, I can make sure you meet him only after a few more consecutive wins. Still, even if you meet Bens right now, I'm confident you can earn at least a million Nether Stones."

"A million Nether Stones?"

Ailin gave a dumbfounded laugh and shook his head.

Ek thought Ailin was dissatisfied and hurriedly said, "A million Nether Stones is already quite a lot—"

Ailin waved a hand, stopping Ek's explanation with a smile. "You want me to lose for a million Nether Stones? That hardly seems worth it."

Though he only had seven thousand Nether Stones on him at the moment, a million Nether Stones would not change his plans. He had no intention of changing them either. He had spoken with Ek partly to learn more about the situation and partly because he had nothing better to do.

"Ah?"

Ek did not understand what Ailin meant at first. Then he studied Ailin with a measuring look. What did Ailin mean? From the sound of it, he seemed utterly certain he could deal with Bens.

Perhaps Ailin was even stronger than Ek had imagined?

Could this fellow actually be a Seven-star Demon? A Seven-star Demon had come to Blood Nether City and was even challenging the Blood Battle Stage?

However, compared to that possibility, Ek felt it was more likely that Ailin did not know Bens's strength and was simply overconfident. Any peerless expert who had cultivated for hundreds of millions of years had immense confidence in himself.

Without such a mindset, he could not have come this far.

After considering this, Ek helplessly shook his head. "If you get the chance, go watch one of Bens's fights at the Blood Battle Stage. That fellow is very strong."

"What Law does Bens cultivate?"

Ailin suddenly thought of something and asked.

"He also cultivates Water Law, but his body is extremely strong. He likely possesses some kind of Divine Beast Bloodline, so his attacks are much stronger than those of ordinary Water Law experts."

Ek clearly knew Bens very well. "His offense and defense have almost no weaknesses. Both are extremely strong."

"Water Law..."

Ailin felt somewhat disappointed.

His main purpose in coming to the Netherworld was to fight experts who cultivated Death Law, thereby helping his Death God Avatar achieve a breakthrough. Yet since arriving in the Netherworld, even counting the Overgod soldiers he had seen at the Teleportation Array, he had not encountered a single expert who cultivated Death Law.

The Netherworld had the most cultivators of Death Law among all the planes. Yet even here, it was difficult to encounter one. This showed just how few living beings cultivated Death Law.

Cultivating the Four Edicts was somewhat more difficult than cultivating the Seven Laws. Even in the four Higher Planes, there were fewer cultivators of the Four Edicts than cultivators of the Seven Laws.

After hearing that Bens cultivated Water Law, Ailin no longer wished to say anything more. He waved a hand to stop Ek. "I will continue challenging the Blood Battle Stage. As for losing? If Bens has the ability to defeat me, then it will simply mean I am inferior to him."

"As for anything else..."

Ailin smiled and shook his head.

Though he had not met Bens, the descriptions he had heard were enough for him to conclude that even if Bens was concealing his strength, he could not possibly be an Asura-level expert.

Ek had not expected Ailin to refuse so directly. Could he only bet on the outcome of their fight? Even if he won such a bet, he would earn very few Nether Stones.

Ailin looked at Ek and smiled. "If I can earn Nether Stones by surrendering, can't I also earn them by winning? Why not bet on me to win? I guarantee I'll defeat Bens. You can still earn Nether Stones, and everyone will be happy."

Though he did not care much about a million Nether Stones, Ailin naturally would not turn them away if he had the chance to obtain them.

Hearing Ailin's confident words, Ek could only laugh dryly. "That is true."

To be honest, it was not that he did not want to do that. He could be certain that Ailin would lose if he surrendered, but how could he be certain that Ailin would win? In the end, he simply could not fully trust Ailin's strength.

He could not just believe Ailin because Ailin claimed he could win. To Ek, that was still gambling.

Seeing that Ailin had no intention of voluntarily surrendering during the match, Ek did not linger any longer. After chatting idly for a while, he left. Whether he could earn Nether Stones through Ailin was something he still needed to consider carefully.

He knew very well that it was impossible to earn Nether Stones through gambling alone. He would rather earn nothing than take risks.

Watching Ek leave, Ailin began to think. Had he known there were such hidden betting rings at the Blood Battle Stage, he would have spent some Nether Stones placing bets and earned himself a little wealth.

However, it was not too late now.

Before long, Ek returned to his residence.

Seeing Ek return, Glass stepped forward and asked, "How did it go?"

Ek shook his head. "That Ailin does not want to surrender outright. It's difficult to determine the outcome of his fight with Bens."

"Oh? You think Ailin and Bens are roughly evenly matched?"

Glass was somewhat surprised.

After fighting Ek, he had returned immediately and had not watched Ailin's later matches, so he naturally did not know Ailin's strength. However, he had seen Bens fight before.

"Even if there is a gap between them, it probably won't be too great."

Ek continued, "And after speaking with him today, he may have some hidden trump card. The outcome of a fight with Bens is uncertain."

"Then what do we do?"

Glass frowned slightly as well. "If that's the case, not only is the risk enormous, but even if we win the bet, the profits will probably be small."

"Exactly."

Ek sighed softly. "Perhaps we can only give up on this betting ring."

As he spoke, Ailin's earlier confident words unconsciously surfaced in Ek's mind again. Bet on his victory?

"What a pity."

Glass also found it regrettable. It was rare for two experts on winning streaks to appear at the Blood Battle Stage at the same time. Only at times like this did they have a chance to earn a large number of Nether Stones.

When only one expert on a winning streak appeared normally, they could not earn much even if they wanted to bet. Although the Blood Battle Stage would also arrange for its own experts to step in, with the Blood Battle Stage involved, even if they could earn Nether Stones, the Blood Battle Stage would earn the most.

"Let's wait and see. I'll go find Uvaldo and see whether I can delay Ailin's match with Bens. We can observe Ailin's strength a little longer."

Ek still did not want to give up on this betting ring so easily.