What Crime Should They Be Punished For?

A deathly silence fell over the Gambling Pavilion once more.

Six-Line Ghost Diviner's lips moved as though he wanted to say something more, but when his gaze fell upon the portion of the body that had already been reduced to charred remains, he swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue.

Before the final round, they had considered relying on their home-field advantage to renege on this gamble, then joining forces with the Ghost Market to swallow up the treasures on Shen Yuan's person.

But after witnessing the Book Immortal's furious rebuke, they had completely abandoned that absurd notion.

They realized that Shen Yuan must possess an even greater backing. This gamble had long since slipped far beyond their control.

Suppressing the terror in his heart, the Gambling Pavilion Master seated at the head lowered his head.

"We lost this round. We are willing to do everything in our power to compensate you!"

"Any treasure from the four pavilions may be chosen at your pleasure."

As they spoke those words, the hearts of the four Pavilion Masters bled.

The foundations of the four pavilions had taken the Ghost Market thousands of years to amass. This single gamble had cost them more than half of it. Even if the spiritual energy tide returned to its peak in the future, the four pavilions might remain unable to recover for a long time.

Should that happen, the other ghosts within the Ghost Market would very likely seize the opportunity to rise up and challenge their positions.

This gamble had already dealt a grievous blow to their foundations.

But at this point, they had no other choice.

Yet just as the four Pavilion Masters braced themselves for a massive loss, Shen Yuan suddenly spoke.

"I never said I intended to take the treasures stored in your four pavilions."

The moment those words fell, astonishment appeared on all four Pavilion Masters' faces.

"You mean you do not require these treasures as compensation for winning the gamble?"

"Is that true?"

"You are truly willing to give up these treasures?"

Ecstatic delight filled the four Pavilion Masters' faces as they urgently pressed Shen Yuan for an answer, afraid that he might go back on his word.

On their faces, Shen Yuan saw the greed of misers guarding their hoards.

"Of course!"

Shen Yuan spoke in an unhurried tone.

"You did not stake those treasures, so naturally I will not take the scraps of copper and iron that you cherish as precious treasures.

After all, I am a man who keeps his word."

The thoughts of the four Pavilion Masters seemed to stall for a moment. The Treasure Pavilion Master instinctively asked,

"Then what do you want?"

"Very simple!"

Shen Yuan's index finger lightly brushed across the rust-speckled scabbard of the Dark-Bright Sword as he said calmly,

"Since what you sought was something on my person, you merely need to produce stakes of equivalent value."

"That is a reasonable request, is it not?"

Shen Yuan's calm words exploded like thunder in the minds of the four Pavilion Masters.

The expressions of the four Pavilion Masters changed drastically, and they refused without hesitation.

"Impossible!"

"Absolutely impossible!"

"That was never a condition of the gamble!"

When they had first set up this gamble to seek the treasures on Shen Yuan's person, they might have been able to agree to produce matching stakes.

But after Shen Yuan had openly displayed the two Earthly Fiend divine abilities and the remnant immortal sword, everything had become entirely different.

Even if the Arts Pavilion Master emptied the entire Arts Pavilion, he could not produce stakes comparable to two Earthly Fiend divine abilities.

The remnant immortal sword before the Treasure Pavilion Master was worth far more than the entirety of the Treasure Pavilion. Even selling himself would not be enough to make up the difference.

As for the Divination Pavilion Master, the stake he sought appeared to be merely that inconspicuous little black cat, seemingly of little value.

Yet only the Divination Pavilion Master himself knew that if his secret divinations were correct, the little black cat's worth might be immeasurable. Even emptying the Divination Pavilion would not suffice as compensation.

As the dealer, the Gambling Pavilion Master seemed to have staked only Shen Yuan's flesh and skin. Yet behind that flesh and skin lay the identity possessed by Shen Yuan's body, as well as the karma connected to it.

The Gambling Pavilion Master's defeat had already proven Shen Yuan's extraordinary nature. It was a stake she could never make up for.

The Gambling Pavilion Master's delicate body trembled as her eyes reddened. "You are not asking for stakes. You want our lives!"

"And what if I am?" The smile on Shen Yuan's face gradually faded, his gaze turning cold and indifferent.

"When you set this gamble before, were you not also seeking my life?

I am willing to gamble my life against yours, yet when it comes to you, you want to go back on your word? How could there be such a good deal in this world?"

The Treasure Pavilion Master rose angrily to his feet. His enormous mountain of flesh made the entire Gambling Pavilion tremble, and the oppressive force of Spirit Transformation burst forth in full.

"You are deliberately setting us up!"

The Arts Pavilion Master abruptly stood as well. Broken bamboo slips transformed into streams of divine ability formulas that circled his body, each one capable of easily killing a Qi Transformation realm cultivator.

"We do not acknowledge this gamble!"

The Divination Pavilion Master raised the fishing rod in his hand high. Behind him, the phantom of a massive black tortoise appeared. Its transparent fishing line merged into the void, transforming into invisible soul-chasing chains that coiled toward Shen Yuan.

"How could there be anyone in this world who cannot be recorded? You must be cheating!"

The Gambling Pavilion Master finally tore apart her beautiful fleshly body, revealing the bloody, mangled form beneath. A huge branded character for "Gamble" on her forehead shone with scarlet light.

"This gamble never had any stakes set. In my capacity as the dealer, I declare this gamble void!"

The four Pavilion Masters chose to tear away all pretense.

In their eyes, Shen Yuan's target had been the four of them from the very beginning. Since that was the case, there was no need to abide by any so-called gamble.

The four Pavilion Masters attacked together, and the entire Gambling Pavilion crumbled beneath the might of their divine abilities.

The earth collapsed, and leaking violent spiritual energy swept in every direction. Even the skies over the Ghost Market shifted endlessly as countless ghosts wailed in unison.

An immense oppressive force swept over Shen Yuan's entire body, yet Shen Yuan remained calm as he said,

"You ghosts who cling to the Ghost Market have harmed countless living beings over the past several thousand years and amassed boundless wealth.

Yet now that you are trapped in the game, all you can do is rage helplessly like homeless dogs."

"Immortality? In the end, you are nothing more than ghosts squatting in stolen high places."

The instant his words fell, the Treasure Pavilion Master's massive palm came crashing down upon Shen Yuan. Its force blotted out the sky like an overturned mountain.

The Maine Coon was cowed by that overwhelming pressure. Even with its Copper Head and Iron Arms talent manifesting, it struggled to break free from the oppression.

"Die!"

The Treasure Pavilion Master looked utterly deranged.

The next moment, the Candle Dragon inscription on the Dark-Bright Sword, which had kept its eyes closed, opened its mouth. The ghost mist it had devoured reappeared, transforming the area within dozens of meters into a netherworld ghost domain.

Standing within the ghost domain, Shen Yuan said indifferently,

"In the Ghost Market, what crime should those who betray a wager and attack a guest be punished for?"

Time seemed to freeze. As Shen Yuan's words rang out, an invisible will enveloping the entire Ghost Market began to awaken in the unseen depths.

Within the void, a boundless giant mouth appeared and swallowed that mountain of flesh.

The blood-red maw opened and closed, its dense teeth grinding every inch of fat on the flesh mountain to pulp. The scalp-numbing sound of chewing echoed throughout the entire Ghost Market.