Dui Palace, Shuangyong Square.
"Today is the final day of the House Entrance Examination. You have all seen so many outstanding candidates through the Eye Illusory Spiritual Curtain. Now, let’s begin the final round of betting and guess who this year’s top candidates will be!"
As Gong Liansheng spoke, he once again took out the Mysterious White Paper and tossed it into the air.
Once the Mysterious White Paper was floating in the air, Gong Liansheng spoke again. "Seeing as some of the newer Elders and Chief Examiners are unfamiliar with the rules of this bet, I will restate the rules for this second round."
"There are two ways to wager in this second round. The first is to bet on the top ten examinees of the House Entrance Examination. If you believe a candidate will place in the top ten, you can place a bet on them. The odds are one-to-one."
"The second is to bet on the number one spot. If you believe a candidate will take first place in this House Entrance Examination, you can place a bet on them. The odds are one-to-one-hundred."
"Be advised, once you have placed a bet using the first method, you cannot use the second. You may only choose one of the two."
"Alright, those are the rules. Let the betting for the second round begin!"
Hearing this, the crowd began to buzz with discussion. Some huddled together, whispering about which candidates were a safe bet, while others who had already chosen their favorites placed their wagers directly. The atmosphere grew lively.
"That disciple who ranked second on the Outer Mansion’s leaderboard is impressive, but we haven’t seen any sign of him in the Little Extreme Sacred Land. He might already be... On the other hand, our East District’s own genius, Yuh Jili, has performed exceptionally well. Three days ago, we saw that he’d already obtained numerous Level 4 Demon Beast Crystals and even one Level 5 Demon Beast Crystal. First place in this House Entrance Examination is sure to be his! Therefore, for the second round of betting, I’m putting my money on Yuh Jili!"
Yane Bohou, the Elder in charge of the East District, brimming with confidence, raised his hand and tossed his wager forward.
At this moment, the Mysterious White Paper in mid-air seemed to be a different one from before. The original paper had four sections for East, South, West, and North, but the one floating there now only had two sections.
The first section had a large character for ’one’ in the middle, while the other had a ’two’.
One represented the first type of bet, and two represented the second.
Yane Bohou wanted to bet that Yuh Jili would take first place in the House Entrance Examination, which was the second type of bet.
Thus, his wager flew into the section marked ’two’.
Just like in the first round of betting, once Yane Bohou’s wager entered the ’two’ section, it merged into the paper. A circle then appeared on the Mysterious White Paper. The upper half of the circle displayed the name Yuh Jili, and the lower half showed Yane Bohou’s name and the number ’five’.
This represented that Yane Bohou had placed five stakes on Yuh Jili, betting that he would be this year’s individual first-place winner in the House Entrance Examination.
This was similar to the first round of betting, only the wagers were placed on individuals instead of districts.
"Elder Yane Bohou, you really are full of confidence! Alright, I’ll bet on Yuh Jili too. I’ll follow your lead. I have high hopes for him this year!"
"Heh, Yuh Jili? That’s not a sure thing. I recall there’s still that other candidate who ranked second on the leaderboard. Now *that* candidate is a true top-tier genius. If I knew who he was, I’d bet all my savings on him taking first place. As for now, I’ll just play it safe with the first type of bet. Five stakes on Yuh Jili to make the top ten."
"Haha, smart move, buddy. It’s true, betting on Yuh Jili with the second option is too risky. After all, there’s that unknown threat. The first option is much safer. I’ll also put five stakes on Yuh Jili for the top ten."
"Five stakes on Yuh Jili for the top ten for me too!"
"Me too!"
"Hehe, if you all bet on Yuh Jili and he doesn’t even make the top ten, wouldn’t that be a total bust? That ship’s getting too crowded. I think I’ll bet on Heng Yuan from the West District instead. His strength is impressive too."
"I think Wang Feixiang from the South District is a good bet. Three stakes on Wang Feixiang for the top ten."
"Four stakes on Heng Yuan for the top ten!"
Seeing Yane Bohou, the Elder in charge of the East District, place his bet, the others quickly began to place theirs as well.
Some followed Elder Yane Bohou’s lead and bet on Yuh Jili of the East District. Others, after watching the Illusory Spiritual Curtain, felt that candidates from other districts were promising and bet on them instead.
Some of the more cautious Elders and Hall Masters, not daring to bet on a definitive first-place winner, placed wagers on promising candidates to finish in the top ten.
Of course, the second type of bet was far too risky. Predicting the number one winner was extremely difficult, and the probability was low. Although Yuh Jili was currently the center of attention, one shouldn’t forget that there was still another candidate who had ranked second on the West Mansion’s leaderboard—someone even more formidable than Yuh Jili!
As long as this person remained unseen, who could say for certain who would be number one?
Besides, who knew if a dark horse might emerge and snatch first place?
In the House Entrance Examination, anything could happen! Therefore, unless they were absolutely certain, few people would risk the second type of bet.
The first type of bet, picking the top ten finishers of the House Entrance Examination, was much safer. As long as one had watched the images transmitted by the Eye Illusory Spiritual Curtain and seen the candidates’ performances, everyone had a general idea of who had a chance to make the top ten.
Besides, wasn’t Yuh Jili the clear frontrunner? They might not know if he would be first, but surely he would make the top ten, right?
For that reason, most people chose the first type of bet, and the majority of those wagers were placed on Yuh Jili.
If a genius candidate like him didn’t make the top ten, then who could?
With that line of reasoning, the first type of bet seemed even more secure.
However, while the first type of bet was safe, the odds were merely one-to-one; you had to bet a lot to win a lot. And... its safety was only relative to the second type of bet. Even if you watched their performance on the Eye Illusory Spiritual Curtain, what if the candidate you saw one second was dead the next? Who could predict something like that?
Yuh Jili was indeed powerful, but who’s to say he wouldn’t be surrounded by several Level 5 Demon Beasts? What if he died then?
In gambling, there’s no sure way to win. Good judgment, decisiveness, and luck were all essential.
And luck, above all, was the most critical element in gambling. Winning or losing... it all came down to luck.
Before long, almost everyone had finished placing their bets. The heads of each district, the Chief Examiners, and the upper echelons of the Outer Mansion Eight Palaces had all wagered. Only the people from Dui Palace and the North District had yet to do so.
"Elder Lu, why haven’t you placed your bets? What’s the matter? No confidence in your North District candidates? Think they can’t get first place? Or... maybe you think they can’t even make the top ten? Heh, you were so certain before that the North District’s candidates would have the best overall score. But now that it’s time to bet on individual results, you’ve chickened out. If your candidates can’t even make the top ten individually, how can you expect to have the best overall score? That’s ridiculous."

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