The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan!
More than sixty percent of the Soul Masters were up in arms.
The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had taken a heavy loss in this round of betting, too.
Since Yu Yuanzhen hadn't dared to take a chance, he'd let every clan member willing to try it have a go, without limiting the number of participants at all.
As a result, the gamble-once-and-turn-your-bicycle-into-a-motorcycle mindset had spread to quite a few people.
Who didn't want to get rich overnight and grow stronger overnight?
Now that a shortcut lay right in front of them, naturally plenty of people had rushed to take it.
But the outcome had left many of them so badly in the red that they wanted to hang themselves.
They'd lost years of painstaking cultivation on this bet.
No one could accept such a devastating loss.
Some had even staked everything they owned, all for the chance to overtake others on the bend.
Yet they hadn't waited for wealth beyond the heavens to come their way.
They'd only gotten a bolt-from-the-blue disaster.
"How could this happen? Didn't the elders say this was an opportunity?"
"Why didn't things turn out the way we expected?"
"Come on, let's demand justice from an elder!"
Sixty percent of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's Soul Masters had spontaneously gathered together.
They'd suffered a crushing loss this time.
They had to find someone to take the blame.
And the clan elder who'd taken the lead in encouraging everyone to bet had become their target.
If the elders hadn't led the way and proclaimed that this was an opportunity,
how could so many people in the clan have blindly followed suit?
True Dragon Mountain, main hall...
The elders were at their wits' end, hoping Yu Yuanzhen would come up with a plan.
They'd taken heavy losses in this round of betting, too.
They were victims as well!
The clan disciples were demanding an explanation from them.
This was pure sore-loser behavior.
Under normal circumstances, those elders would have slapped them across the face without a second thought.
As high-ranking elders of the clan, their status was exalted.
How dare a mere disciple defy their superiors? That was practically asking for death.
But right now, far too many disciples couldn't accept their losses.
Even if the elders wanted to suppress them by force, they had to consider the consequences.
After all, whoever stepped forward would become the villain in the eyes of sixty percent of the clan's disciples.
No one wanted to stick their neck out.
So they all went to Yu Yuanzhen to complain.
They were all getting at the same thing.
They wanted Yu Yuanzhen to step in, calm everyone down, and put an end to the unrest.
Yu Yuanzhen could see at a glance that these old fellows had ulterior motives, and he refused to take the bait!
Too many of the clan's disciples had lost out this time. Their combined resentment was even more terrifying than Evil Sword Immortal.
Yu Yuanzhen couldn't think of any good way to soothe their anger.
Unless he opened the clan's treasury and used some of its resources to compensate everyone.
Otherwise, the resentment in their hearts would never be dispelled easily.
But that was a completely unrealistic fantasy.
The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan wasn't a charity!
How could they possibly do something so foolish?
Every resource the clan possessed had to be spent where it mattered most, nurturing the pillars of the clan.
Ordinary disciples simply weren't entitled to enjoy those resources.
If they didn't concentrate their resources, how would the clan's future powerhouses grow?
Handing them out to ordinary disciples would be like cutting off the clan's roots.
As clan master, Yu Yuanzhen would never do something so foolish.
Besides, the disciples were merely upset this time.
If they just pushed some elder out to take the blame, the matter would blow over.
"Enough. This matter ends here!"
"Make sure you go back and calm the disciples on your respective peaks."
Yu Yuanzhen rapped his knuckles on the table and sent everyone away!
At his words, the elders' faces turned bitter.
"Damn it!"
"He's tossed this hot potato right back to us!"
Since Yu Yuanzhen refused to get involved,
they had to find someone to take the brunt of the blame.
As the saying went, better your friend die than you.
One person taking the scolding was better than a whole group of them.
They exchanged glances, each privately calculating who to shove forward as the scapegoat.
"Clan master, did you spot a problem from the very beginning?"
"Is that why you didn't take part in this bet?"
Yu Luomian fixed his eyes on Yu Yuanzhen, his voice cold enough to freeze.
He'd suffered a huge loss this time.
It would take ten years of painstaking cultivation just to make up for the lost Soul Power.
Yu Luomian had planned to use this opportunity to break into the ranks of the Titled Douluo in one fell swoop.
Who could have guessed the outcome would be so cruel?
At that moment, Yu Luomian could have killed someone.
They'd all lost money.
When they saw such an opportunity right in front of them, no one could resist the temptation.
And yet Yu Yuanzhen hadn't taken part.
At first, Yu Luomian had mocked Yu Yuanzhen for being a coward.
But thinking it over now, Yu Luomian suddenly felt that something wasn't right.
Yu Yuanzhen must have seen something.
That was why he hadn't joined the bet.
If that was really the case, then Yu Yuanzhen was downright despicable!
As clan master, Yu Yuanzhen had seen through the scheme but hadn't warned anyone.
That was a clear case of being unworthy of his position.
Yu Yuanzhen had to compensate everyone for their losses.
Yu Luomian's accusation was like a sharp blade pointed straight at Yu Yuanzhen.
The elders all turned their eyes toward Yu Yuanzhen.
If Yu Luomian hadn't brought it up, none of them would have thought of that.
Now that he had mentioned it, they too felt something was off.
Almost every high-ranking member of the clan had taken a gamble.
Only Yu Yuanzhen had remained as steady as a mountain.
"Clan master, you're being downright unfair."
"If you saw something fishy, why didn't you warn everyone?"
"Do you know how much the clan lost this time?"
"As clan master, you should be leading the clan toward a better future."
"But now you've failed to fulfill your duty as clan master."
"Can you really face the trust everyone placed in you?"
One after another, they turned their accusations on Yu Yuanzhen.
They didn't care whether Yu Yuanzhen was truly innocent.
First, they'd pin this black pot on him.
Yu Yuanzhen had a strong back; carrying the blame wasn't a big deal.
Even if those clan disciples were given a hundred times the courage, they wouldn't dare come after Yu Yuanzhen to settle the score.
Yu Yuanzhen's face darkened as he retorted,
"Baseless nonsense!"
"I didn't join the bet because I didn't want to rely on outside help to grow stronger."
"I, Yu Yuanzhen, have my own pride."
"I'll rely on my own efforts and talent to climb toward the heavenly path, one step at a time."
Yu Yuanzhen would never admit that he'd had an ulterior motive.
His dignity as clan master couldn't have a single blemish.
With that,
a terrifying pressure radiated from Yu Yuanzhen's body.
His meaning was clear: anyone who kept pointing the finger at him would face his wrath.
He was no softhearted clan master.
Yu Luomian gave a cold snort.
He didn't believe Yu Yuanzhen's high-minded lies for a second.
But now that things had come to this, Yu Yuanzhen was adamant in his denial, and Yu Luomian couldn't force the blame onto him.
All they could do was accept their bad luck.
Yu Luomian didn't want to waste any more time. Without looking back, he left the main hall.
He'd lost this time, but next time he would win it all back.
He refused to believe that his luck could be this bad—that he, Yu Luomian, could keep losing forever.