72. Game Regulations

Check out advanced chapters on P@treon: p@treon.com/CosmicKaminari

----------

Quan Yi felt a bit sensitive toward the word gambling.

"Huh? Mother, isn't this just betting?" he asked doubtfully.

Su Ling'er chuckled. "Well, technically, yes, it is gambling. And under normal circumstances, I wouldn't allow you to participate in any form of gambling."

"But," she continued, her tone turning serious, "gambling in the Great Spirit Arena is different. For spirit masters, it's actually a way to train your observational skills."

She leaned forward slightly, explaining, "If you want to win gold soul coins through betting, you must analyze the spirit masters, their Martial Souls, spirit power levels, combat history, and any other available information. Then, using these details, you must deduce the likely outcome of the fight."

"Additionally," she added, "because the Great Spirit Arena values its reputation, there are strict regulations to prevent match-fixing. This ensures that every battle maintains a basic level of fairness. That means you can participate with confidence."

Hearing her explanation, Quan Yi thought for a moment and realized that what his mother said made sense.

"So that's how it is… I understand now," he nodded. However, a problem immediately came to mind. "But, Mother, this is my first time at the Great Spirit Arena. I don't know anything about the contestants, so I wouldn't even know who to bet on."

Su Ling'er smiled. "Don't worry about that. The arena provides basic information about both fighters before the match. You can use that to make your deductions."

As she spoke, she called for the attendant waiting outside the door and requested an information sheet.

Quan Yi watched the attendant leave before turning back to his mother, still a little confused.

"Wait… the Great Spirit Arena provides contestant information before a match?" he asked curiously.

After all, in his one-on-one battle earlier, he hadn't received any details about Xiang Lei beforehand.

Su Ling'er nodded. "This is one of the privileges of the VIP room. You can receive basic player information before the match. However, this information is usually very general, and its accuracy isn't guaranteed. If a contestant is new, the arena can only provide their spirit power level and Martial Soul type at most."

Quan Yi was a little surprised. He hadn't expected the so-called "privileges" to be so limited.

With just those details, it would be difficult to accurately predict the outcome of a match.

But after thinking about it, it made sense. The Great Spirit Arena wasn't foolish—they wouldn't provide information detailed enough to allow VIP guests to guarantee wins.

If the betting system became too easy to manipulate, the arena itself would suffer massive financial losses.

The people in the VIP section were all wealthy and powerful. If they could easily predict outcomes, they'd simply bet large amounts, and the arena would take huge losses.

"So, they limit the information to keep things fair for themselves."

Before Quan Yi could say anything else, Su Ling'er smirked. "That's why you shouldn't rely too much on this information. It's just a reference."

Then, with a playful glint in her eyes, she added, "But just relying on the information wouldn't be fun, right? Let's play a little game."

Quan Yi blinked. "A game?"

"Yes," Su Ling'er nodded. "Here's the rule—after every match, you must participate in a betting round. But you can only invest ten gold soul coins each time."

"Until you earn the silver badge, if the total gold soul coins you win through betting exceed the amount you initially invested, then…"

She paused, her lips curving into a smile. "I'll prepare a special reward for you at the end."

Quan Yi immediately understood.

This wasn't just a game—it was training.

Su Ling'er wasn't doing this for money. She wanted to sharpen Quan Yi's ability to judge battles, helping him gain more combat experience and knowledge.

After witnessing his overwhelming strength earlier, she had realized something—ordinary fights at his level wouldn't provide him with much actual growth.

So, she decided to train his mind instead.

This method would force Quan Yi to analyze spirit battles, predict outcomes, and sharpen his judgment—all essential skills for a spirit master.

And to keep him motivated, she even set up a reward system.

For Quan Yi, Su Ling'er was going to great lengths.

Quan Yi smiled.

"Alright, then it's a deal."

This was more than just a simple game—it was a valuable learning experience.

And while he was definitely curious about the mystery reward, he also looked forward to seeing how much he could improve through this challenge.

Without hesitation, Quan Yi accepted the challenge.

Considering his current cultivation level, his original plan had been to participate in Great Spirit Arena every Saturday and Sunday.

If everything went smoothly, and he maintained a winning streak, it would take him about fifteen weeks—roughly four months—to earn the silver badge.

After his first victory, Quan Yi now felt confident in achieving this goal.

However, Su Ling'er's challenge added an extra layer of difficulty—

He only had 29 chances.

To win, he needed to not only win fights but also ensure that his earnings exceeded his initial investment.

If he succeeded, by the end of the challenge, he would have earned over 580 gold soul coins in profit.

However, there was a catch—

Even if he bet on a highly favored team, the payout wouldn't always be significant.

Su Ling'er's challenge seemed simple, but in reality, it required keen observation and strategic decision-making.

Yet, it was this very difficulty that made it interesting.

Otherwise, if he were only fighting in the arena, Quan Yi wouldn't have felt much motivation.

A short while later, the service staff arrived, delivering a detailed information booklet about the upcoming match.

Flipping it open, Quan Yi saw data on both competing teams, including:

Team names

Martial Souls

Soul Power levels

The upcoming match was a seven-on-seven team battle, featuring two teams with silver badges.

Every participant was at least a Spirit Grand Master, making this a high-level battle for this arena.

Because both teams had fought multiple matches in this Spirit Arena, the booklet contained more information than expected—even including some details about their Spirit Skills.

Although the descriptions of their abilities were somewhat vague, it was still invaluable for making a strategic bet.

Quan Yi immediately started analyzing.

He flipped to the back of the booklet and found additional data:

Registration dates

Winning percentages

Odds for each team

Within minutes, he had already built a rough understanding of both sides.

Beast Team vs. Libra Team

The two competing teams were:

Beast Team – As the name suggested, all members possessed Beast Martial Souls.

The team specialized in powerful offense, composed entirely of Power Attack and Agility Attack spirit masters. Their battle strategy relied on pure aggression—overwhelming their enemies with sheer strength and speed.

Libra Team – A balanced team with a variety of roles.

Their lineup included power Attack, Defense, Agility Attack, Control, and Support spirit masters. Their captain, a Control-type spirit master, possessed the Libra Martial Soul, which inspired the team's name.

In terms of Spirit Power levels, the two teams were roughly equal.

However, one detail stood out—

The Libra Team's odds were 2.5.

This meant that if Quan Yi bet 1 gold soul coin on them, he would receive 2.5 gold soul coins if they won.

More importantly—

The high odds indicated that most people were not confident in the Libra Team's victory.

Looking further into their history, the disparity between the two teams became clear:

Beast Team had been registered for over five years, participating in hundreds of battles.

They were an experienced, well-established team on the verge of obtaining a team silver badge.

Libra Team, on the other hand, was less than six months old.

While they had participated in dozens of battles, their early record was terrible. However, recently, they had shown improvement, securing three consecutive victories.

For most spectators, this was an easy bet—

The Beast Team, with their experience and raw power, seemed like the clear favorite.

However—

Quan Yi saw something different.

After carefully analyzing the data, Quan Yi closed the booklet and leaned back in thought.

Su Ling'er, who had been watching from the side, finally spoke.

"Well? Have you decided who to bet on?"

Although she had read the same information, she had intentionally refrained from giving any hints—this was Quan Yi's decision to make.

She knew that since he was a child, he had always been talented at analyzing situations—this was one of his greatest strengths.

So now, she was curious to see what he would choose.

Quan Yi smiled.

"I've made up my mind. I'm betting on the Libra Team."

His tone was firm, and a confident smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.