Neither of the Source Stones the two sides chose was large, but they cost quite a bit. The Source Stones in the workshop's innermost section were all expensive, naturally because they had a relatively higher chance of yielding Source.
“Source Master, cut the stone,” said the man named Wang Sheng.
"Very well. This old man will begin the blade ritual." A gray-haired elder stepped forward and first bowed to the Source Stone. This was a bow to the "Source God," a custom of the trade. Only afterward did he take up his blade to cut the stone.
Crack!
The Stone Skin was slowly peeled away, and the stone selected by the Divine Ring Gate disciples was quickly cut open. In the end, it was nothing but worthless rock.
"Consider yourself lucky, brat!" Wang Sheng, the Divine Ring Gate disciple, said reluctantly.
Soon, Lu Chen's chosen stone was also cut open. It likewise contained no Source, allowing the Divine Ring Gate disciples to breathe a sigh of relief.
As sect disciples, each of them only had a dozen or so jin of Source. Five jin was no small sum.
Since the first stones had produced no winner, they naturally chose more Source Stones. This time, Lu Chen once again selected a stone with "no Source."
Crack!
The Source Master cut open the stone Wang Sheng and his companions had chosen. A soft glow shone out, revealing a thumb-sized piece of Source that weighed a few liang.
"There's Source..." The spectators nearby cried out in surprise, as though they had chosen the stone themselves.
"Brat, it's time to cut yours." Wang Sheng and his fellow disciples smiled, urging him on with smug satisfaction.
The result naturally held no surprises. Lu Chen had chosen a stone with "no Source," so how could it possibly yield any?
"Ha ha..." The Divine Ring Gate disciples laughed smugly. "You country bumpkin, still want to gamble?"
"How can my luck be this bad?" Lu Chen frowned, looking distressed. "Again. This time, we wager ten jin."
"Ten jin!" Everyone immediately fell silent. The Divine Ring Gate disciples exchanged glances as well. At their level, that was truly a substantial amount of resources.
As disciples of the midsized Divine Ring Gate, they had only accumulated a dozen or so jin of Source over many years. If they lost, they would be back to square one in a single stroke.
But a moment later, excitement returned to their faces. From Lu Chen's behavior, he was clearly a gullible fool who knew nothing about Gambling on Stones!
"Then let's gamble again," Wang Sheng hurriedly said.
This time, the Divine Ring Gate disciples cut open a full five stones before obtaining a few liang of Source, but they were still delighted.
After all, in Gambling on Stones, cutting open ten or twenty Source Stones without finding a speck of Source was commonplace.
That they had found Source in just five stones was thanks to their experience in Gambling on Stones, along with a fair bit of luck.
The second round of Gambling on Stones held no surprises. Lu Chen lost again. On the surface, he looked as though his losses had driven him into a frenzy, his expression ugly. Deep in his eyes, however, there was a trace of mocking amusement.
"Again! Do you dare to wager?" With that, he waved his hand and brought out a pile of Source, a full seventy jin.
"Heavens! So much Source!"
Everyone in the stone gambling workshop was stunned. When had they ever seen so much Source? This was a fortune of astronomical value. Many people's breathing quickened, their eyes reddened, and the thought of snatching it arose in their hearts. Wang Sheng and his companions from the Divine Ring Gate were among them.
Although many were tempted, no one dared to actually make a move. After all, stone gambling workshops had powerful forces backing them! Otherwise, they would have been robbed eight hundred times over by now.
Anyone who dared to attack here would truly be courting death. Even the Divine Ring Gate disciples did not dare run wild here.
"We'll wager with you," Wang Shun and his fellow disciples said hastily, afraid Lu Chen might change his mind. In everyone's eyes, he was now a fool with more money than sense.
"Do you have that much Source?" Lu Chen looked at them questioningly.
"Of course!" Wang Sheng and his fellow disciples had already lost their heads over the seventy jin of Source, convinced that Lu Chen would certainly lose to them.
Yet the four of them only had around ten jin of Source each, accumulated over many years. Even with the fifteen jin they had just won, they only had fifty-five jin of Source.
In the end, they found several cultivators they knew in the workshop and borrowed fifteen jin, finally bringing their total to seventy jin of Source.
Gambling is gambling, no matter which world you're in. Their greed knows no bounds! Looking at their greedy eyes, Lu Chen could roughly guess what they were thinking.
Back in the modern world, he had occasionally played cards with others, so he understood a gambler's mindset. Winners always felt they could keep winning, while losers always wanted to turn things around and recoup their losses.
This time, the Divine Ring Gate disciples were very cautious. They scrutinized the Source Stones again and again before finally choosing one the size of a human head.
Unfortunately, all their efforts were futile. Against Lu Chen, who had learned Source Heaven Wonders, their past experience meant nothing.
"This one will do!" With a faint smile, Lu Chen carried over a Source Stone shaped like a rooster, which he had picked out long beforehand.
Crack!
The stone-cutting master once again cut open their stone first, but there was nothing inside.
"How can there be nothing at all?" Disappointment appeared on the Divine Ring Gate disciples' faces, and a faint sense of foreboding stirred in their hearts.
"Relax. If ours has no Source, this brat's stone definitely won't have any either," Wang Sheng said. Their previous two victories seemed to have given him confidence.
"Really? Perhaps this time, the wheel of fortune will turn my way." Lu Chen was smiling now, with none of the ugly expression he had worn when losing Source.
The Source Master worked swiftly, peeling away pieces of Stone Skin. Before long, the rooster-shaped Source Stone was cut open.
Whoosh! A streak of green light emerged from a crack, and everyone felt an essence brimming with vitality.
"There's Source, and it's green!"
The spectators cried out in surprise, but at those words, the Divine Ring Gate disciples' faces turned ashen, their expressions as ugly as could be.
“This is green leaf Source.” The piece of Source was the size of an ordinary tree leaf and radiated a soft green glow. Even the Source Master trembled with excitement.
"Green leaf Source, a variant Source! It's worth far more than ordinary Source. This piece is probably worth over a hundred jin of pure Source!" someone exclaimed. The appearance of variant Source in a place like Zhou's Gambling Stone Workshop would cause a sensation.
"It seems my luck is better. You've lost." Lu Chen took the green leaf Source and spoke to the Divine Ring Gate disciples with a smile.
"You... how could you possibly cut out variant Source!" Wang Sheng shouted, his face somewhat twisted. He could not accept this outcome, and neither could the others.
The ten jin of Source they had accumulated over many years had vanished in a single loss, leaving them on the verge of a breakdown. It was like an ordinary person gambling away ten years' worth of hard-earned savings in one night. They even felt like dying.
"Hand it over!" Lu Chen could not care less how ugly their expressions were. With a wave of his hand, he gathered up all the Source.
"You..."
The Divine Ring Gate disciples were furious. Thick killing intent filled their eyes as they stared fixedly at him, trembling all over. This was the wealth they had accumulated over many years, as well as the resources for their future cultivation. Just like that, it was all gone.
"Still want to gamble?" Lu Chen asked mildly, paying no attention to their expressions.
"Gamble..." They wanted to say they would gamble again, but where would they get any more Source? They already owed fifteen jin of Source. How could they wager?
"If not, I'm leaving." His small test of a mighty blade today had achieved its purpose of verifying his Source Arts. Lu Chen did not linger in the little stone workshop and strode away.
After he left, quite a few people quietly followed, each harboring their own designs.
Before you continue