He was a man dressed in clean, pristine white robes. His face was somewhat handsome, his expression leisurely. He didn't seem particularly vibrant, giving off a lazy, indolent feeling. Even the comfortable smile at the corner of his mouth carried a sense of languor. Forget vibrancy, he even seemed somewhat listless, as if in a daze, like the setting sun in the west.
When he sat down, a short, stout man wearing loose robes hurried over, placed a wine cup, and poured a drink from a wine pot.
No one knew who this man in white was.
However, Bai Yuanrui, Jin Jun, and the group of second-generation rich kids behind them recognized this stout man. Not exactly recognized—they had encountered him once when they first arrived. Seeing the stout man show such respect to the man in white, they seemed to understand something, guessing that the stout man might be this man's servant or house slave.
"Quite the airs," Jin Jun sneered, a malicious smile playing on his lips as he held a beauty in his arms, his gaze fixed on Gu Qingfeng with disdain. "Where do you hang out? What's your name?"
They were all second-generation rich kids from the Gilded Realm and were familiar with the disciples of the major sects, great families, and large gangs in the surrounding regions. Seeing Gu Qingfeng put on such airs, they felt both curious and displeased.
"What's the matter?" Gu Qingfeng crossed his legs, picked up the wine cup, and took a small sip, smiling. "Do I have to explain my identity just to play a few rounds with you?"
"Daring to call yourself 'Master' in front of this Young Master!" Jin Jun's eyes turned venomous, his voice cold with a sneer. "You really have no idea what death is!"
"To tell you the truth, Master really doesn't know what death or life is."
"You're looking for death!"
With a slap, Jin Jun stood up, glaring furiously at Gu Qingfeng.
"Young Master Jin, sit down."
Bai Yuanrui, who had been silent until now, spoke calmly. Playing with the chips in his hand, he looked at Gu Qingfeng and smiled. "Crimson-Letter Manor strictly forbids private fights. That's why some dare to act recklessly here. There are too many people like that. Why bother lowering yourself to their level?"
"Hmph!" Jin Jun snorted coldly and sat back down, continuing to hold the beauty in his arms.
"I have no interest in knowing who you are," Bai Yuanrui said indifferently, also picking up his wine cup for a sip. "But playing with us... can you afford it? Do you know how high our stakes are?"
Gu Qingfeng casually asked, "How high?"
"Ten thousand per hand." After saying this, Bai Yuanrui put down the chips in his hand, looked up at Gu Qingfeng, and smiled. "No upper limit."
Ten thousand per hand—this was indeed a high-stakes game. Ordinary people couldn't afford to play. In Taiji Transformation, a round could end in the blink of an eye. With bad luck, you could lose everything you owned in less than a day, even within an hour. Consider someone like Fei Kui, an outer sect steward who had worked hard for decades to accumulate only about two hundred thousand in savings. He didn't even dare to step through the gates of Crimson-Letter Manor, let alone play a game with stakes of ten thousand per hand.
Especially with the phrase "no upper limit," once the chips started piling up, there was no end to it. Bets of several hundred thousand or even millions per hand were common. Only second-generation rich kids like Bai Yuanrui, with his major sect background, and Jin Jun, from the top family in the Gilded Realm, dared to play such games. Ordinary young masters couldn't afford it.
Aside from these two, the others at the gambling table, though not second-generation rich kids, were all old hands who had cultivated for centuries—either grand elders of sects, family stewards, or gang leaders. Their status and wealth were not low.
"Ten thousand per hand, no upper limit," Gu Qingfeng chuckled. "The stakes aren't small."
"What? Don't dare to play? Or can't afford it?" After saying this, Bai Yuanrui looked at Gu Qingfeng with a smile, expecting the man in white to leave on his own. But he didn't. Not only did he not leave, but his leisurely face showed no sign of surprise. He didn't even blink, as if a game with ten thousand per hand and no upper limit was just a trivial matter to him.
"Then let's begin."
Gu Qingfeng's calmness surprised Bai Yuanrui, but it was only a mild surprise. "You should think it through clearly," he said slowly. "If you can't afford to play and try to withdraw midway, the consequences will be severe."
"Fine, no problem."
Seeing Gu Qingfeng reply so casually, as if he didn't care at all, Bai Yuanrui felt quite curious. He was about to say more when a burly man at the gambling table who had long grown impatient shouted, "I say, Young Master Bai, are we playing or not? I've lost over a hundred thousand! I'm furious!"
Everyone knew this burly man—he was the Deputy Gang Leader of the Great Luo Gang, one of the top-tier gangs in the Gilded Realm, with tens of thousands of members.
"Elder Yan, let's begin."
Bai Yuanrui snapped his fingers. An old man nearby walked over. He was the steward of the gambling house. When high-stakes games occurred, he would occasionally serve as the host. With the recent Great Nature Spiritual Shift outside, everyone was busy treasure hunting, so business at the gambling house wasn't great. Today, only this table had a high-stakes game, so he had been attending to it.
This steward, called Elder Yan, formed two spirit seals with his hands. Instantly, a foot-wide water mirror appeared in the center of the gambling table. This was the Array Eye of the Taiji Array. As the Array Eye shimmered with light, the Taiji Array gradually began to operate.
Then, Elder Yan distributed a gambling cup and a crystal-clear crystal to each person at the table.
The gambling cup was a spirit treasure used to prevent divine sense detection.
The crystal, also known as a Position Stone, was linked to the Array Eye of the Taiji Array. Later, when deducing the Profound Mysteries, this item would be used.
Once the Taiji Array began operating, the Position Stones also emitted a faint glow, with various colors alternating. This meant the Taiji Array was assigning positions. After the Array Eye flashed brightly, the Position Stone in front of each person displayed a different color.
When the Taiji Array Eye stopped flashing, it meant the positions had been assigned. Bai Yuanrui was assigned the Five Phases position, Jin Jun the Six Harmonies position, the Deputy Gang Leader of the Great Luo Gang from earlier the Nine Palaces position, and Gu Qingfeng the Three Powers position.
Whoosh!
The light from the Taiji Array Eye in the center of the gambling table changed again. This time, it meant the Taiji Array was randomly selecting the central Profound Mystery for this round.
Soon, three beams of light appeared from the Array Eye. Everyone knew that this round's Taiji Array was focusing on the Three Powers Profound Mystery.
"Damn it! Pisses me off! A whole day! I haven't gotten a single good array position!" The Deputy Gang Leader of the Great Luo Gang cursed angrily. He had been assigned the Nine Palaces array position, while this round focused on the Three Powers Profound Mystery. Later, when the Array Eye condensed and manifested the Profound Mystery image, he would need to deduce it in reverse, which was extremely difficult. Glancing at Gu Qingfeng beside him, the Deputy Gang Leader said irritably, "Kid, you've got good luck! Getting a king position on your first hand!"
Gu Qingfeng shrugged and smiled. "Sorry, my luck has always been good."
He picked up the Position Stone in front of him and weighed it in his palm. Since this thing was linked to the Taiji Array's Array Eye, whatever the Array Eye assigned, the Position Stone would contain that attribute. Earlier, the Taiji Array had assigned Gu Qingfeng the Three Powers array position, so now the Position Stone also contained the Three Powers attribute.
And since the Taiji Array was now focusing on the Three Powers Profound Mystery, it would inevitably manifest the Three Powers image later. With Gu Qingfeng's Position Stone having the Three Powers attribute, he would naturally have an innate advantage when deducing later. As the Deputy Gang Leader of the Great Luo Gang said, this was indeed a king position.
"Getting a king position isn't anything special. It's just a bit of good luck," Bai Yuanrui said. Although he had been assigned a Five Phases array position, which was also an unfavorable position, he didn't seem to care, appearing very confident. "Taiji Transformation has always been about three parts luck, three parts deduction, three parts technique, and one part comprehension. How much of the Profound Mystery you can actually deduce depends on your own ability."
Clearly, Bai Yuanrui had great confidence in his deduction skills and technique.
He felt this way, and Jin Jun, who had been assigned the Six Harmonies position—also an unfavorable position—didn't seem to care either. He sneered and directly tossed his ten-thousand chip forward.