Golden Crocodile Douluo made a brief analysis.
His regard for Xuan Zi grew threefold.
"Strong, and good at playing people."
"It looks like this battle will be a bloodbath."
In Golden Crocodile Douluo's view, Soul Masters in the world fell into three categories: upper, middle, and lower.
The first, the lower-class Soul Masters, were fools with neither strength nor brains.
The second, the middle-class Soul Masters, were brawny fools with strength but no brains.
The third, the upper-class Soul Masters, were those who had strength and knew how to use their heads.
Only people like them deserved to be called strong.
In Golden Crocodile Douluo's eyes, Xuan Zi was now—
an upper-class Soul Master!
Golden Crocodile Douluo wasn't the only one who thought so.
The various forces watching the battle also thought Xuan Zi was no simple man.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect!
Ning Fengzhi was holding another private meeting with Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo.
After misjudging things last time, Ning Fengzhi had decided to be extremely cautious with his wager this time.
"Uncle Sword, Uncle Bone, what do you make of Xuan Zi?"
"Fengzhi, he's deliberately showing weakness to his enemy!"
Sword Douluo spoke as if he'd seen right through Xuan Zi.
"He's pretending to be drunk!"
"That's to make people lower their guard."
"Once Golden Crocodile Douluo is taken in by the act..."
"Then he'll have fallen right into Xuan Zi's trap."
In the Soul Master World, plenty of powerful figures liked to play the pig to eat the tiger.
People like that were all called scheming bastards.
Sword Douluo had lived long enough to see every kind of monster and demon.
Xuan Zi's little tricks couldn't fool his discerning eyes.
Bone Douluo nodded in agreement.
He shared Sword Douluo's view.
In his eyes, there was no way Xuan Zi was really drunk.
Clearly, he wanted Golden Crocodile Douluo to let his guard down.
How could a powerful figure who'd cultivated to such a level make such a fatal mistake?
"Fengzhi, don't you think this is another trick by the house to fleece us?"
"If Xuan Zi fools us into betting on Golden Crocodile Douluo, the result might turn around, and we'll lose everything all over again."
After Qian Xunji's example, everyone had learned their lesson.
The Soul Master with the worst odds was often the one most likely to win.
"Uncle Sword, Uncle Bone, you're right."
"This time, we'll bet on Taotie Douluo, Xuan Zi."
Ning Fengzhi completely agreed with Sword and Bone Douluo's analysis.
This time, to win back the Soul Power he'd lost earlier, Ning Fengzhi bet two levels of Soul Power.
If his bet paid off, he could make up for his previous losses.
That was how smart people played.
"Uncle Sword, Uncle Bone, this is a golden opportunity to win our losses back."
"You should bet two levels of Soul Power as well."
After placing his bet, Ning Fengzhi remembered to remind the two Douluo.
But after a moment's thought, Sword and Bone Douluo shook their heads.
"Fengzhi, I'll pass."
"Once you step onto the gambling road, it's like sinking into a bottomless sea. If we get hooked and rely on this outside force to improve ourselves, we'll be putting the cart before the horse."
"Cultivation gained through outside help can never compare to cultivation earned on your own."
"If it isn't absolutely necessary, we'd rather reach the peak of the Soul Master path one step at a time through our own efforts."
Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo had resolved not to become gambling addicts.
If they gambled too often,
they might never be able to quit.
They didn't want to get hooked and lose themselves in it.
Besides, the saying that nine out of ten gamblers lose wasn't a joke.
If they lost a few more times, they might fall below the Titled Douluo rank.
Even if they were ninety percent sure before placing a bet,
it was always the one-in-ten chance that got you.
Neither of them wanted to entrust their fate to some nebulous thing like luck.
If they had to step into the arena and defeat their opponent through their own strength to claim the reward, that was no problem.
But Sword and Bone Douluo wouldn't agree to become gambling addicts.
Seeing how firm they were, Ning Fengzhi said no more.
Sword and Bone Douluo had a choice. They could cultivate on their own, step by step, and break through to a higher realm.
But Ning Fengzhi couldn't!
The restrictions of the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda Martial Soul held him back.
There was no way he could break through to Soul Douluo through his own efforts, not in a million years.
He could only pin his hopes on outside help.
It was his only choice!
So Ning Fengzhi had to go all the way down this road.
He couldn't stop.
The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.
Yu Yuanzhen stayed as steady as an old dog and once again chose to watch from the sidelines.
Last time, quite a few people from the clan had lost everything and ended up with their families ruined.
Yu Yuanzhen remembered it as if it were yesterday!
Without absolute certainty, he wouldn't place a bet lightly.
He was the clan's only Titled Douluo.
He couldn't afford any mishap.
Otherwise, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan would be doomed beyond all hope.
As for whether anyone else placed a bet, Yu Yuanzhen still didn't interfere.
As the saying went, life and death were fated; riches and honors were up to Heaven.
Some people would lose, and others would win.
Yu Yuanzhen didn't care how many people in the clan lost.
He only cared whether anyone could keep winning until they stood out from the crowd.
Yu Yuanzhen's plan was basically to raise Gu.
With so many disciples in the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, it was impossible for every last one of them to lose.
As long as a small number of them won and continued to grow,
then it wouldn't be a loss!
If the clan could nurture even one Titled Douluo this way,
then even sacrificing the interests of ninety percent of its disciples would be worth it.
That was why Yu Yuanzhen didn't step in to restrict them.
It wasn't that he didn't care about the clan.
On the contrary, he was doing this because he had the clan's interests in mind.
Douluo Continent was a cruel world.
If you wanted to climb higher, step by step, you naturally had to take certain risks.
Who would rise above the rest, and who would fade into obscurity—that was each person's fate.
Yu Yuanzhen had reached his current heights by fighting his way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood, step by step.
"Gangzi, I hope you can stand out in the face of this great opportunity."
Yu Yuanzhen suddenly thought of his good-for-nothing son.
He hadn't completely ignored Yu Xiaogang all these years.
He knew Yu Xiaogang had always called himself a Grandmaster of theory, claiming to possess wisdom beyond everyone in the world.
If Yu Xiaogang hadn't just been shooting his mouth off,
then this was his chance to defy fate.
Yu Yuanzhen naturally hoped Yu Xiaogang hadn't been boasting.
After all, he was his son.
How could the dignified head of a clan want his own son to be a good-for-nothing?
If Yu Xiaogang could defy fate,
then Yu Yuanzhen wouldn't just have something to be proud of; the clan would gain another fighter as well.
"Gangzi, I hope you don't disappoint me."
Yu Yuanzhen murmured to himself.
At the same time...
Yu Xiaogang, whom Yu Yuanzhen was thinking about, was explaining his keen insight to Tang San.
"Xiao San, your master has come up with a theory of certain victory."
"As long as you grasp what I'm telling you, you'll be unstoppable."
"Remember this: when placing a bet, you must bet against what seems obvious."
"The person who looks most likely to win will often end up losing."
"This is the house's usual trick."
"Those who win are usually in the minority."
"So as long as we choose the side with the worse odds, we can sit back and win for sure."