"Hall Master Murong Liu, Hall Master Pan Borong, Hall Master Guo Yangyun. It's one thing that the people from the North District have no confidence in their own examinees and haven't placed any bets, but why hasn't your Dui Palace placed any either? Don't tell me that after watching for so long, not a single examinee has caught your eye? Heh heh. Or perhaps you've all just gotten old and your Eye Power is failing you. You've watched all this time and still can't tell who has potential? I suppose that makes sense. If you weren't getting old and senile, how could Dui Palace have developed into its current state?"
A Hall Master from Qian Palace also spoke to the Hall Masters of Dui Palace in a passive-aggressive tone.
Including Quan Xinyuan, Qian Palace had a total of three Hall Masters. The one who spoke was named Cong Xingping. This Hall Master had incredibly high standards and had always looked down on the declining Dui Palace. He often put them down with his words, saying things like Dui Palace wasn't worthy of being counted among the Outer Mansion Seven Palaces and should be disbanded and expelled from the West Mansion. This greatly displeased the people of Dui Palace.
Now, hearing Yane Bohou mock the North District and Cong Xingping mock Dui Palace, the other unrelated people all crossed their arms, ready to watch the show. They wanted to see how the North District and Dui Palace would respond.
However, when the people from the North District heard Yane Bohou's taunts and Dui Palace heard Cong Xingping's, it was as if the two groups had a tacit understanding. Neither stepped forward to argue. Instead, they stood their ground, the corners of their mouths lifting into calm, confident smiles.
"Who said we aren't betting? Who said we don't have confidence in the North District's examinees? There were just too many people placing bets earlier. We were just waiting for everyone to finish before we placed ours. Now that everyone's done, it's the North District's turn."
Elder Lu Qiming of the North District, unfazed by Elder Yane Bohou's ridicule, stretched out his hand slightly. A host of items appeared—bottles and jars, Weapons and armor, all sorts of things.
He tossed these items, his wager, toward the White Paper in mid-air and said, "I'll play the second type of bet. I'm placing my wager on the pride of our North District, examinee Tang Yi. I'm betting he'll be first in this House Entrance Examination. I trust he won't let me down."
BUZZ. With a soft sound, the wager entered the White Paper, and behind Elder Lu Qiming's name, the number '17' appeared.
This meant he had bet the equivalent of seventeen drops of Holy Liquid on the examinee named Tang Yi! Including his previous thirteen-drop wager, Elder Lu Qiming had now bet items worth a total of thirty drops of Holy Liquid!
"Seventeen drops. Lu Qiming is quite confident!"
Seeing what Lu Qiming had done, Yane Bohou sneered inwardly and spoke again.
However, the moment his words fell, the other people from the North District stepped forward.
"It's just as Elder Lu said. There were too many people earlier, so we were just letting everyone else go first. Who said we don't have confidence in the North District's examinees? Though my savings aren't as much as Elder Lu's, I'll also bet seven drops on Tang Yi, wagering that he'll be first in this House Entrance Examination!"
"Me too! Tang Yi for first place, four drops."
"Five drops! Tang Yi from the North District for first place!"
"Four drops! Tang Yi from the North District for first place!"
"Tang Yi, five drops!"
... Every single one of the Chief Examiners from the North District, without exception, confidently placed their bets on an examinee named Tang Yi. Moreover, all of them chose the second type of bet!
The one with the highest risk and the highest reward—a payout of one hundred to one!
Were the people from the North District really this confident? Everyone was stunned by this scene. Even Gong Liansheng felt a faint sense of foreboding.
Don't be fooled by the fact that the people from the North District were only betting three, four, or five drops, with the highest being just over ten. You have to remember, this was a one-hundred-to-one payout!
If this examinee named Tang Yi really did take first place, then a one-drop bet would win one hundred drops of Holy Liquid. A seven-drop bet would win seven hundred drops. A seventeen-drop bet would win one thousand seven hundred drops. All told, the people from the North District stood to win at least several thousand drops of Holy Liquid!
This was an enormous fortune! If this examinee named Tang Yi really did take first, then no matter how wealthy Gong Liansheng was, or how much Holy Liquid he possessed, it might not be enough to cover the payout!
At this moment, Gong Liansheng was beginning to have his suspicions. 'There's definitely something strange going on with the North District. Otherwise, it's impossible for their Chief Examiners and leaders to be so confident. Every single one of them is betting on that examinee named Tang Yi as if they're guaranteed to win!'
'Could it be... Could the examinee who reached second place on the West Mansion Outer Mansion's rankings be this Tang Yi from the North District?'
The thought had just appeared in Gong Liansheng's mind, and before he even had time to consider if it was correct, the people from Dui Palace, after seeing the North District's bets, reacted with surprise and then sprang into action.
"It's just as we thought! Something really is up with the North District. The examinee who got second place on the rankings is exactly who we guessed it was—it really is Tang Yi!" Pan Borong said in astonishment.
Seeing that everyone from the North District had bet on Tang Yi—and not only that, but they had also chosen the riskiest option, betting that he would take first place in the House Entrance Examination—the Hall Masters of Dui Palace were now all convinced of their earlier speculation.
The reason they had hesitated to bet was that they wanted to see what the North District would do. And just as they expected, they had placed their bets on Tang Yi! This confirmed the speculation they'd had after receiving the news from Elder Wan Sibo!
"Quick, everyone, place your bets! Bet as much as you can! If we wait too long, Special Envoy Gong will realize what's happening, and we won't be able to bet anymore," Murong Liu said urgently.
Hearing this, the people of Dui Palace immediately sprang into action, each one looking incredibly impatient!
"Actually, we were just like Elder Lu from the North District. It was too crowded earlier, so we wanted to wait until everyone else had finished. Since it's just us now... let's place our bets! I have a very good feeling about this examinee Tang Yi from the North District. So, just like Elder Lu and the others, I'm betting he'll be first in this House Entrance Examination! Twenty drops!"
As Murong Liu spoke, his hand had already tossed his wager toward the magical White Paper.
And his bet was actually twenty drops! The highest single bet in the entire venue!
It looked like Murong Liu was betting his entire savings! And to use his entire savings on the riskiest option—the second type of bet, wagering that an examinee from the North District would be this year's champion—was truly shocking.
Whether it was the Hall Masters and Elders of the other Seven Palaces, the leaders of the various districts, or even Gong Liansheng himself, everyone stared at Murong Liu with wide eyes, finding it hard to believe.
However, that wasn't all! Murong Liu's massive bet was only the beginning. The other large wagers from Dui Palace followed one after another!
"I don't know what it is, but we at Dui Palace feel a special connection to that examinee Tang Yi. I'll also bet that this Tang Yi will be this year's champion. Twenty drops!"
That was Pan Borong's bet.
"Old Pan, you and I are really on the same wavelength! I also happen to have taken a liking to this examinee named Tang Yi and think he'll achieve extraordinary results. Twenty drops, betting on Tang Yi to take first place this year!"
That was Guo Yangyun's bet.
"Fifteen drops, Tang Yi for first!"
Fang Qingyang also placed his bet concisely.
"Tang Yi for me too. Nine drops!"
"Tang Yi! Eight drops!"
... Just like that, as if a pot had boiled over, the Elders of Dui Palace all began placing their bets.
"Stop! No more bets!"
Seeing Dui Palace place one massive bet after another, even the ever-composed Gong Liansheng felt his scalp tingle. With a loud shout, he put a stop to the betting.

Comments

Loading...