Staying Alive Cautiously in the Celestial Realm and Becoming the Strongest

And this gambling house, in particular, was a business run by the Three Rivers Association!

In the spacious hall, several hundred gamblers surrounded around a dozen gambling tables.

They were either tense, expectant, despondent, frustrated, or ecstatic.

The diversity of expressions seemed to be hooked away by the small dice on the tables.

Each time the croupier lifted the dice cup, different sounds would ring out—sighs, curses, hearty laughter!

All walks of life seemed to be condensed here.

The doors of the gambling house were pushed open once again as a young cultivator stepped inside.

Upon seeing this scene, everyone\'s eyes brightened.

Because the newcomer\'s appearance was extremely handsome, with red lips, white teeth, and beautiful features, and he exuded a carefree and uninhibited air.

In the precarious world of loose cultivators, it was hard to find such a debonair figure!

A few idlers sitting in a corner exchanged glances and then rose to greet the young cultivator.

The young cultivator paused in his stride and raised his eyebrows.

But he did not speak.

One of the loose cultivators greeted him obsequiously, "Young master, is this your first time at Happy Fang?"

He had spent years frequenting gambling houses and had seen countless gamblers.

Yet the one before him was very unfamiliar.

But the stranger\'s attire and the aura he emitted were clearly not something a penniless loose cultivator could possess.

He was obviously a big shot, or perhaps a fat sheep!

The young cultivator spoke languidly, "Is there a problem?"

"No, no problem!"

The loose cultivator replied with a forced smile, "My name is Zhao Si. Could I have the honor of following by your side to offer my modest services?"

Put plainly, he was offering to be a temporary sidekick, hoping to earn a tip.

The young cultivator gave him a glance and then suddenly pointed towards another loose cultivator, "You\'re the one!"

The designated loose cultivator hadn\'t expected the job to fall into his lap and was momentarily stunned.

However, he reacted quickly and bowed respectfully, "I\'m Zhang San, at your service, young master."

Zhang San, Zhao Si...

The young cultivator, who was Wang Chen, smiled to himself, wondering if there would also be someone named Wan Wu.

Anyway, they were all aliases!

He took out a Storage Bag from his sleeve and tossed it to the other, "Catch, let\'s test the waters tonight."

"Yes!"

Zhang San deftly caught the Storage Bag, his heart swelling with joy.

What\'s called a distinguished guest?

This right here is a distinguished guest!

Wang Chen strode boldly to the nearest gambling table.

About a dozen gamblers were gathered around this table.

Upon seeing Wang Chen\'s ostentatious display, many immediately offered up their seats.

Zhang San brought over a chair, attending to Wang Chen as he took his seat and then stood by with the Storage Bag in hand.

Puffing out his chest and strutting about, he staged the perfect sidekick pose!

The croupier hosting the table was a heavily made-up woman, fairly attractive though a bit on the garish side.

She winked flirtatiously at Wang Chen and asked coyly, "This Immortal Master seems unfamiliar, may I inquire your esteemed name?"

In the world of Immortal Cultivation, there\'s an accepted rule in gambling houses that croupiers must be mortals.

Even those on the verge of Shedding Mortality were not eligible!

This was to prevent croupiers from cheating with spells and to showcase the \'fairness\' of the gambling house.

In reality, in all the worlds and realms, the concept of \'fairness\' in a gambling house doesn\'t exist!

Of course, running a gambling house in the realm of Immortal Cultivation was unfeasible without strength and backing.

Without the ability to control the situation, any cultivator could swoop in to steal the winnings and run, leading to certain bankruptcy.

So, although this female croupier was a mortal, she didn\'t exhibit any servility in the face of a host of cultivator gamblers, including Wang Chen; rather, she was quite bold.

She opened with an attempt to probe the depths of Wang Chen!

"Yan Qing."

Wang Chen replied, "Yan from Yan Ge\'s Yan, Qing from Emperor Qing, the wanderer Yan Qing!"

"The wanderer Yan Qing?"

The female croupier blinked in surprise, then coquettishly smiled, "My name is Jin Niang, at your service, Immortal Master Yan."

She even gave Wang Chen a curtsy.

Wang Chen nodded, "A reward."

His words were simple, but they baffled everyone else.

Zhang San was quite clever, but still took a moment to understand.

He hurriedly took out a spirit stone from his storage bag.

However, Wang Chen\'s contemptuous gaze made him almost wish he could sink into the ground, and he quickly retracted his hand.

Dongwu Stockade was a gathering place for loose cultivators, who weren\'t wealthy. Although many people came to the gambling house, even if they won a big bet, the maximum tip for the croupier was just one spirit stone.

It was just to keep the good luck coming.

Wang Chen, however, was tipping the croupier before even placing a bet, and even one spirit stone seemed too little for him.

That was really a slap in the face for Zhang San!

Clenching his teeth, Zhang San took out nine more spirit stones to make it ten, and handed them over to Jin Niang, the croupier.

He anxiously looked towards Wang Chen.

Seeing no reaction from the latter, he finally relaxed.

In fact, Zhang San very much wanted to grab the storage bag full of spirit stones and flee.

He could live comfortably in another town, with spirit rice for every meal and meat at every turn.

Too bad he didn\'t have the guts to do it.

Otherwise, the first to not let him off would be the Happy Gambling House—how dare he try to embezzle their spirit stones?

They\'d flay him alive!

Originally, Zhang San had some ulterior motives.

Now seeing Wang Chen\'s generous hand, he instead wanted to sincerely become a dog-legged follower!

"Thank you, Immortal Master Yan!"

Jin Niang was overjoyed, her peach blossom eyes sparkling.

"Stop fawning already!"

A gambler who couldn\'t stand it anymore exclaimed, "Start the game!"

Jin Niang ignored him, sending Wang Chen one last flirty look before calmly lifting the dice cup.

She began shaking the dice.

At the same time, Zhang San explained the rules of the game to Wang Chen.

The dice cup Jin Niang shook contained five dice. Gamblers could bet on big or small, or guess the numbers.

Hitting big or small paid double, hitting the number paid ten times, and hitting a triplet paid fifty times!

Bang!

Jin Niang placed the dice cup firmly in the center of the betting table, shouting, "Place your bets!"

The surrounding gamblers began to place their bets in the corresponding areas.

They all bet on big or small, with no one choosing numbers.

Zhang San looked at Wang Chen for a cue.

Wang Chen said, "Big."

This time, Zhang San was quicker. He immediately took out fifty spirit stones from his storage bag and placed them on "Big."

This bet was more than the total stakes of all the other gamblers at the table!

At this moment, many gamblers crowded around to watch the excitement, packing the betting table so tightly that there wasn\'t room to move.

After all, a high roller like Wang Chen was a rare sight in Dongwu Stockade.

"All bets are final!"

Jin Niang called out one last time.

Confirming no one else was placing bets, she reached out to grab a thin rope hanging in front of her.

With a swift yank downwards.

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The first chapter delivered.