Within the Original Dawn Palace, prominent talent and extraordinary cultivators mixed surrounded by grade three Utmost Purity Mist that swirled on the walls and ceiling of the room like an omniscience serpent. This all-knowing misty serpent observed a large jade table exuding a soft, gentle, and rich glow, which sat characters of paramount origins and exceptional, galaxy-shocking feats.
They consisted of seven characters.
Among them was the one initially challenged; the mysterious, overtly talented, supremely powerful, and convention-defying swordsman youth—Su Yi. He took the 4th seat, opposite the main host. His bearing was serene, unfettered by worldly worries, detached from irrelevant affairs, and completely within his natural element. He sipped from a jug of wine, enjoying its aroma and taste slowly.
At his left, seated at the 3rd seat, was a handsome, middle-aged man exuding an abundant aura of vigorous vitality, fit and sturdy, yet his eyes contained a deadly, sinister toxic light within, containing enough toxicity to taint worlds with a mere glance—Guo Heng, otherwise renowned as Alchemic Saint Inversetoxin. He was dressed in green alchemical robes, exuding a demeanor of bone-deep pride and open-hearted friendliness. Those who knew him, however, were aware of his deeply entrenched pettiness empowered by a spirit that was perfectly at ease with waiting for tens of thousands of years for revenge. A genuinely sinister fellow.
He held the galaxy-wide accomplishment of currently possessing the fifth-ranked position on the Seven Rising Heavens Alchemic Rankings, containing only seven names, each was involved with the successful concoction of a Mystic-Heaven grade alchemical product! Additionally, his status was extraordinary as the 4th Floor Tower Master of the Zenith Refinement Tower! He was no slouch as a cultivator either, possessing a cultivation base at the Heavenly Saint Phase, the sixth stage of the Mystic Ascendant Realm, no less than Su Yi. However, he stood out, not by having an absurdly high comprehensive combat power, but by his Alchemic Soul!
In truth, not only were all the Tower Masters of the Seven Utmost Towers cultivators those who pursued the deepest truths of the Alchemic Dao, but they were almost exclusively cultivators who strove to traverse the path of the purest Alchemic Dao—the Alchemic Spirit of Cultivation! The exceptions were mostly the older generation, the highest Tower Masters. A consistent phenomenon where the top were often cultivators of high cultivation and no Alchemic Souls.
At Su Yi's right, seated at the 5th seat, the excessively beautiful woman with voluminous platinum blonde hair from Shadow Veil. She had earlier introduced her, exposing a smoky voice that was unnaturally alluring, it was the type that could narrate an enticing story that would fold one's mind into it with little effort. She referred to herself as Qi Yinying, and while those at this table were skeptical, there was no challenge to her introduction.
She cut a fatally attractive figure, exuding a soft deadly aura that enhanced her charm, capable of luring others into her folds of mystery, drawing curiosity from men and women alike with every bat of her eyelashes and sway of her hips. She was a Sage, but her foundation was difficult to discern at a glance.
Su Yi was unmoved by Qi Yinying's soul-charming spells that were infused within her skin, bones, blood, and organs, as subtle as they were, before Soul Perception, they were all exposed. However, Guo Heng's eyes would often drift over, enjoying every moment of drinking in her lethal charm. He was unafraid, especially given his status and protections within the Utmost Purity Galaxy.
Next to Qi Yinying was Grand Seer Rippledark, seated at the 6th seat. His ghostly pale skin and skinny appearance alongside his entirely inky black eyes divided by golden circles emulating ripples was an unsettling sight, genuinely frightful and devilish.
7th seat, directly beside the host at his left, was Yue Baoyue! The seventh ranker of the Seven Rising Heavens Alchemic Rankings known by the galaxy as the Dazzling Jewel Alchemic Saint, and the most notable outlier of those present, as she was relatively uninvolved in the Knightly Dao Calamity, and had no extraordinary backers such as Shadow Veil, Seers of the Night, or the Zenith Refinement Tower. She didn't even have a Supreme Sage at her back! And her cultivation was only at the Heavenly Saint Phase! The difference between her and Guo Heng's cultivation was only the status behind them!
She did, however, have a Sage-level Dao Protector! At the very least, she wielded paramount power amongst Ascended beings. Simply that little was not enough to win against anyone present. Not a single one...
The 2nd seat belonged to none other than Tianshi Ya—the Angelic Peach Alchemic Saint, the third ranker on the Seventh Rising Heavens Alchemic Rankings! She was also the 3rd Floor Tower Master of the Zenith Creation Tower! Her origins were extraordinary, especially as she was a bloodline relative to the lineage of the Zenith Creation Alchemic Saint!!! Her cultivation was equally as impressive, possessing a soul-astonishing Ascended Saint Phase cultivation base, the illustrious seventh stage of the Ascendant Realm, and the title of Mystic Overlord!
She was one of those exceptions; she was an alchemist who didn't pursue an Alchemic Soul unlike Guo Heng and Yue Baoyue.
Last, but certainly never least, was the host of this event sitting in the 1st seat, the mysterious foreigner with a fledgling empire that had already conquered three separate galaxies, including one that was thought to be impossible due to its Divine Guardian! While they hadn't yet fully integrated, there was no question that they were his vassals, especially the newly named Resolute Dusk Galaxy as he currently traveled with not one, or two, or even three, but four of their eight ruling Sages!
Wei Wuyin, the Ascendant Emperor of Neo-Dawn! Wei Wuyin, the Neo-Dawn Alchemic Saint!!
Wei Wuyin, the believed-to-be Supreme Sage!!!
While Nepit wasn't a part of the soul-connected eight, Sage Shattered Sphinx was mysteriously elusive, not controlling any part of the galaxy as his territory, and after Sage Nepit split from Sage Nepri, forming her territory due to certain conflicts, she was regarded as one of the eight ruling Sages of the galaxy!
Excluding Yao Baoyue, this group was heavily stacked in terms of talent, status, and strength.
Up above was a gigantic circular mirror, reflecting the image of those beneath in their entirety, covering nearly half the ceiling. The mirror was embedded within the ceiling, skirted by Utmost Purity Mist, releasing spiritually enriched lunar light from its edges. This was a Spiritual Mirror-type tool. It was connected to a few Spiritual Nodes across the Armored Boon Stellar Region, and any Spiritual Sense that can link with these nodes can observe the state of affairs within the room with flawless clarity.
This was generally customary for games of Mystics, especially those executed in a public setting, but there was seldom a public-casted game of such high profile!
Nepri as a Spiritual Cultivator was tasked with regulating, editing, highlighting, and slowing down the spiritual depictions projected. Nepit was by his side. Imentet and Hao Chengxue, the Hall Master of the Utmost Purity Hall within the Northwestern Growth Zone, were casting the event. They were respectively a Sage and a Worldly Saint Alchemist. While the latter wasn't overly prominent, he had sufficient knowledge to talk on topics, and refused to give up the opportunity to do so!
The two shockingly had a rather crisp dynamic as they introduced each participant, using more-or-less similar introductions earlier, relying on an intimate knowledge of their galaxy or of general cultivation. The hype grew with each passing second as new spectators joined. Already there were nearly eighty-two billion observers, almost all were Ascended beings. An unprecedented number, especially with Spiritual Nodes solely located outside the Armored Boon Stellar Region.
However, countless found out that as long as they could visibly locate these Spiritual Nodes that shone with the brilliance of Solar Stars, they could link their Spiritual Sense as aid pulsed from the nodes themselves! Even those in other Galactic Zones began to realize that they could observe without much expenditure of Spiritual Force or Spiritual Power.
This spiritual aid was truly indescribable and left countless souls stunned. Those who newly entered would receive the introduction, including the general circumstances of events that played on repeat as images of the utterly gorgeous Imentet and mostly ordinary Hao Chengxue were at the corner. Just Imentet alone inspired viewers as word-of-mouth spread regarding her immense beauty.
Su Yi glanced at the mirror above as he took a sip, sensing the myriad of spiritual auras that was incalculable, and growing rapidly, forcing him to withdraw his externally-cultivated Soul Perception-esque spell from the mirror. He couldn't help but be somewhat shaken by Wei Wuyin's means. He briefly sensed that the range of these spiritual auras was extending to the furthest galactic zones.
This wasn't just excessive, this was unimaginably unbelievable. Did he want the entire galaxy to witness this event? Instantly, he felt somewhat exposed by the many eyes, but he kept his composure of outward serenity.
Imentet and Hao Chengxue were hitting their stride together.
"As many of you know," Hao Chengxue said.
"And some of you may not know," Imentet added seamlessly.
"The games of Mystics have a roughly optional rule to select Mystical Judges to oversee the fairness of the events, ensuring no foul play, and to decide any arguments among participants." Hao Chengxue explained.
Similar to the incident of the Knightly Dao Calamity, an obvious game of Mystics: Cataclysm, there was an argument between participants regarding whether one of them had won or lost like the rest, forced into a deadlock. They didn't select Mystical Judges! If they had, those judges would have debated upon the circumstances and voted on the decision, regardless of affiliation. They often consisted of three judges to a maximum of seven, but seven was a little excessive and rarely used.
This was why Su Yi was unable to accept that headless idiot who sought death earlier because any arguments would almost always place him at a negate vote at the start, forcing him to need the other two judges to agree with his position on any deadlock or contentious argument. That was a harsh setback. Fortunately, the foreigner seemed to want a fair game, and this allowed him to feel some admiration for his strength of character.
Imentet began, "This game will be preceded by three incredible characters, all of which are neutral to all participants, with their status, power, or authority unable to be questioned.
"Our first Mystic Judge is a character with great seniority, exceeding many of the top figures across your planet, starfield, stellar region, and galactic zone! He represents the power of true neutrality, benefiting the social connectivity of the world by forming bridges that allow us to connect via great and immeasurable distances! The former Vice-Palace Lord of the Incandescent Star Palace, having retired long ago— SUN JIAZHEN!
"Our second Mystic Judge had been shrouded in mystery for ages, known by some of you since her younger days as a Qi Condensation Realm cultivator that the Blessed Sentinel felt extremely hopeful of. She's a sitting elder of the Arachnids! One of its greatest talents! Lady Missulena!
"Lastly, this Mystical Judge had just reached a great milestone, and while certain setbacks have caused him to suffer, he's as strong as ever! Those within the Armored Boon Stellar Region would notice this person even if he was turned to ash, entirely unforgettable, and a prominent character of your flourishing community! The still-standing, unyielding, and forthright Knightly Dao Pavilion's Shang Liu!"
When the third judge was announced, the expressions of the participants all changed!
Su Yi's admiration dissipated into thin air. Wasn't this almost fixing the judges?! Shang Liu suffered a recent calamity that almost brought his entire legacy to an end, and only an idiot wouldn't realize that the majority of those here represented the responsible parties!
Excluding perhaps Yue Baoyue, Shang Liu would be horrifically biased against all of them!
Sun Jiazhen, Lady Missulena, and Shang Liu sat at the edges of the room, floating on throne-like chairs of various colors and designs representing their respective forces, forming a triangle with their positions. The center of this triangle was the jade table and the participants were seated around it!
However, while they hoped for fairness, none of them were expecting it. They could only pray that Wei Wuyin respected the game to insist on fairness, not placing them at a disadvantage. After all, as host, within the game of Mystics, they almost always had a slight advantage! Just the fact they often issued the challenges meant they had a game plan intended!
With the introductions completed, the ten cultivators present could start the initial proceedings of the game, including the first task: Deciding Variant or Original!
The game of Mystics had a base game with rule sets and simple victory conditions, but within a greater galaxy such as Utmost Purity Galaxy, especially one who relied on these games as a galactically sanctioned foundation of their society, they would rarely push through with the most standard version.
"To explain to our viewers," Imentet narrated, "Deciding the Variant or Original will be a matter of majority voting. They'll each be given three Spiritual Jades. On these Jades, the participants will select three of the numerous variants out there or the original for a total of twenty-one votes! These votes will be counted fairly by the three Mystic Judges. The top three variants will then be selected unless each participant chooses the same variant or the original, and then another round of voting will begin! This will dictate the type of game!"
The number of spectators had just reached 92 billion, an astonishingly vast number!
"While I'm interested in the voting decision, given the table of four Alchemists, I believe that Mystics: Cultivation will be the selection! What I'm really excited to know is what each participant will wager! This is probably the most vicious part of the game! Especially with our rules. But will the Neo-Dawn Alchemic Saint go by our rules?" Hao Chrngxue energetically speculated.
"Oh?! Your rules?" Imentet batted her lashes in curiosity, causing countless hearts to swoon, and she leaned closer to Hao Chengxue with an expression of interest. "What type of wagering rules does the Utmost Purity Galaxy have? Apologies for my ignorance, everyone!"
While most knew she was only saying this due to most not knowing, she still elevated everyone's interest with a few gestures.
Hao Chengxue, despite internally wanting to burst into flames and do unspeakable things to the woman beside him, even if it meant dying to a crushing blow the next second, acted with peak professionalism and answered: "Oh? You don't know! Well, let me tell you: Since we have more than two participants, the wager is a brutal bid! You see, each participant makes a bid. This bid? It's not like a typical auction, as we're bidding on the total of the wager that each participant must match upon loss!
"Moreover, the most brutal aspect of this bid is that it can cause an instant loss!" Hao Chengxue explained with fiery eyes.
"An instant loss? What do you mean?" Imentet asked innocently.
"To give an example, let's say we have three participants, and the minimum bid increase is one qi-grade essence stone! The first participant bids a single qi-grade essence stone, and then the second participant can either choose to accept this bid or raise the bid to two qi-grade essence stones! If they choose to stay on the former bid, then the second participant can no longer issue a bid."
"They can't? But what if the third participant increases the bid?" Imentet's words were the words in countless hearts.
"Glad you asked! The third participant decides to raise the bid to two qi-grade essence stones. Then, the first can choose to stay or raise the bid! If they stay, then the wager becomes just that—two qi-grade essence stones!"
"And if they choose to bid?"
"If the second participant decides to raise the bid to three qi-grade essence stones, then the wager becomes three! This will continue."
"And the second participant can no longer bid?"
"That's right! Moreover, this bidding war between the first and third can continue. Let's say that the bid reaches 1,000 qi-grade essence stones. Then, the wager of any loser is 1,000 qi-grade essence stones! This includes the second participant's wager!"
"But that's not fair, right? They withdrew earlier, and what if they can't afford such an absurdly high wager? After all, they didn't set the wager! They stayed at one qi-grade essence stone!" Imentet pouted her lips as if this was incomprehensible, tugging on endless heartstrings.
"Indeed! So they lose. They will sign an oath to repay the winner the wager within a number of years and surrender. An instant-loss!"
"In the words of the Zenith Fusion Alchemic Saint: 'The fortune of heavens begins at inception, and not every soul can afford to acquire it!'" Hao Chengxue's words were utterly brutal but to Seers and those observing who felt as if fortune was far from their hands while others were born with silver, golden, and diamond spoons with extraordinary looks, great backgrounds, and incredible innate talents.
It was unfair.
"But can't one of them bid their entire wealth or far exceed their wealth, thereby causing all the participants to just lose?" Imentet touched her lips with her finger as she looked askance at these rules, trying to pinpoint a flaw that others would certainly notice.
"Haha! That's impossible. Because not only is there a minimum bid, there's a maximum bid. Moreover, as long as all but one participant decides to stay, the bidding ends. But that's not just it, the last bidder has to produce proof of their wealth! If they're unable to do so: INSTANT-LOSS!
"And there's no wait, the wealth must be present at the bid! So you can only bid what you carry, albeit some carry deeds to entire regions of space, secret realms, world realms, or various celestial bodies like planets and the sort. Those work!" Hao Chengxue eliminated that flaw immediately. There was no bluffing possible, and exaggerated bidding would result in an immediate loss.
"Additionally, each participant has to show proof of their 'stayed' bid. Only fair, right?" Hao Chengxue Asked with shining eyes.
"Additionally, each participant has to show proof of their 'stayed' bid. Only fair, right?" Hao Chengxue Asked with shining eyes.
"That is fair!" Imentet exclaimed excitedly. "With the group of participants that we have here, including four Worldly Saint Alchemists, the wagers are bound to be extraordinary!"
It was notoriously known that Alchemical Products were grossly inflated in value, largely due to their scarcity and excessive demand, which only ballooned to truly unreasonable levels after a certain plateau was reached in the Alchemic Dao!
For example, the value of Mystic-Earth grade products, even low-tier, low-quality ones, and even some impure-quality products, in the Ancient Sealed Regions could purchase entire planets and realms. A small-sized, astral-graded planet was valued at ten Mystic-Earth grade essence stones back then! Meanwhile, the high-tier, low-quality Mystic-Earth graded Mystic-Will Convergence Pills were valued at 300 Mystic-Earth grade essence stones!
"Indeed, Lady Imentet! The bidding process has always been exceedingly intense when Alchemists are involved! There have been stories of them bidding absurd levels of wealth that could dwarf entire forces that rule Stellar Regions!"
"Fortunately, there's a maximum bid," Imentet pitifully said as she communicated with Nepri to highlight Su Yi, "otherwise, some of our participants might not have a chance."
"..." The corner of Su Yi's upper lip twitched by an unnoticeable degree.
"Oh! Is it winner-takes-all?" Imentet once again acted innocent and ignorant, causing those who didn't even ask this question to perk up.
"It depends on the variant or original game they choose! This Is why game selection is first and foremost in the process. For games such as the original Mystics, such as the base game—Mystics: Original, or the commonly known variants like Mystics: Cultivation, Mystics: Royale, and Mystics: Ascension, the format of winner-takes-all is clear-cut and easily enforceable. But for extreme games like Mystics: Cataclysm, Mystics: Source, and Mystics: Shatter, these are very difficult to decide and often have unique rules to dole out specific rewards. For example, Mystics: Cataclysm rewards are determined by milestones reached or goals achieved. The total wager is often piled together, divided by a joint decision on what goal is most valued via percentages."
Hao Chengxue's words caused Shang Liu's expression to darken.
Then, it darkened even further after Hao Chengxue gave an example: "Such as who achieved that goal first, second, or third, etcetera. In some ways, you can walk away with a portion of your wager, stymying your losses somewhat. Or you can walk away with everything, being a big winner! Mostly, winners just leave with a little bit more of the wager."
How could Shang Liu not figure out that there was a bet on which of his students would die first?!
"What if the goal isn't achieved by any participant?" Imentet asked.
"Well, Lady Imentet, then the ultimate decision is usually determined by the Mystical Judges. But there was a story that circulated across the stars once. I can't confirm its veracity, but it's said that there was once a young woman who was given everything randomly after an all-failed game. She rose to prominence at unsettling speeds, ascending to the heavens by leaps and bounds, and is said to have become an Enlightened Sage on the rankings!"
What was a lucky blessing?! THIS WAS A LUCKY BLESSING! Su Yi grew emotional after hearing that story told as a nostalgic light flashed in his eyes and a warm smile tugged at his lips. 'She did grow up incredibly well, didn't she?'
At the table, only those with Soul Perception could hear the two casters' voices behind the isolation formation.
"They're voting!"
Wei Wuyin cast his votes—Mystics: Cultivation, Mystics: Royale, and Mystics: Shatter.
Tianshi Ya voted—Mystics: Royale, Mystics: Cultivation, and Mystics: Original.
Guo Heng voted—Mystics: Cultivation, Mystics: Shatter, and Mystics: Royale.
Su Yi voted—Mystics: Original, Mystics: Source, and Mystics: Royale. Qi Yinying voted—Mystics: Cataclysm, Mystics: Royale, and Mystics: Shatter.
Grand Seer Rippledark voted—Mystics: Cataclysm, Mystics: Cultivation, and Mystics: Royale.
Yue Baoyue voted—Mystics: Original, Mystics: Source, and Mystics: Royale.
When every last vote was counted, Hao Chengxue couldn't help but exclaim! All the votes were unanimous and simultaneous, so there was no chance to take advantage and decide on your specific game without prior discussion. However, the votes were quite expected! It aligned heavily with their respective paths, yet unprecedentedly, there was a single game that everyone chose!
MYSTICS: ROYALE!!!

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