Chaos Heavenly Emperor Art

"Round 1 is over."

Apollos's voice carried a hint of languor, seemingly not entirely satisfied with this somewhat lackluster start. "Then, for the second round, the rules need to be slightly changed. Starting from this round, the chips grabbed cannot be less than in the first round. Otherwise, the winner of this round will be automatically declared the loser."

"what?"

Quinn's expression suddenly changed drastically.

He put out five chips in the first round, which means that he can only put out five chips in the next round.

If he fails, his losses will undoubtedly be the greatest.

"How can you add rules on the spot! I protest!"

Quinn gritted his teeth in hatred; these damn rules were clearly targeting him!

"Protests are futile."

Apollos sneered, "Perhaps you want to lose this round outright? But as compensation, if the chips are of the same color and amount, your chip count will default to 6, which is higher than everyone else's 5. Of course, if you lose, you'll also lose six chips! How about that, fair enough?"

Quinn clenched his fists tightly, forced to swallow this bitter pill.

Ling Feng and Zi Ling exchanged a glance.

Quinn will now grab the default number of five chips.

The key lies in the color he chose.

From a rules perspective, this temporary rule addition is not specifically aimed at Quinn, but rather allows the chips to flow more quickly and directly to Apollos.

This bet was less a wager between the three of them and more a way for Apollos to manipulate them.

His ability to add rules at will means that, in Apollos's design, he will be the only winner in the end.

What kind of being is this damned gambling spirit?
An ancient evil god?
No, it's not that simple.

Both he and Quinn are among the best of the first-level clerics.

However, once inside this so-called gambling prison, they had absolutely no ability to resist.

The laws that Apollos possessed were completely beyond the reach of their divine power, representing a different dimension altogether.

Could he be the so-called Primordial Star Spirit?

But why does he exude such an evil and eerie aura?

His mind was a complete mess, making Ling Feng increasingly anxious and restless.

Ling Feng had no idea whether he could escape with his life this time.

"Let's get started! Show me more... more interesting options!"

The covers on the three stone platforms fell again, obscuring their choices.

The atmosphere grew even more somber.

Quinn stared intently at Ling Feng and Zi Ling, his eyes filled with malice.

He had already lost two bets previously.

We absolutely cannot lose again!

Although I just won 0.5 chips, that's far from enough!

He must win more and create a safe distance!

Being limited to only five chips isn't entirely bad news for him.

At least under the premise of having the advantage in color, no one can outnumber him.

However, he was worried that if the three people chose three different colors, he would lose five chips to Apollos in one go.

This is undoubtedly the worst possible outcome.

At the same time, Ling Feng's brain was working at lightning speed.

In the first round, he and Quinn both chose black, sharing one of Zi Ling's chips.

So what will Ziling think in the second round?

He stared intently at Zi Ling.

If he and Quinn choose the same color again, while Zi Ling chooses a different one, they can divide Zi Ling's chips again, but this will undoubtedly put Zi Ling in danger.

If I and Zi Ling choose the same color, then we can turn the tables on Quinn and take his chips!
Of course, this is the ideal situation!
But... how can I reach a tacit understanding with Ziling without communicating?
Ling Feng's gaze swept over Zi Ling, noticing her pale face and the panic in her eyes; she seemed completely at a loss.

No, we can't expect Ziling to make the most rational cooperation.

His gaze returned to Quinn.

Quinn is arrogant, impatient, and eager for victory.

He chose black in the last round, and the probability of him choosing black again in this round is...

Ling Feng's mind raced, and he suddenly said, half-jokingly, "Zi Ling, this round, I'll choose gray."

He reached out and slowly took out three chips from under the cover.

He took two chips in the last round, so in this round, he can only choose two or more.

"Humph!"

Quinn gave a cold laugh, turning to look at Apollos's huge, menacing eye. "I say, isn't what he did a foul?"

Apollos chuckled wickedly, "I only said we couldn't communicate in private, not face to face!"

"you!"

Quinn went berserk again, but could only glare fiercely at Ling Feng.

He was analyzing the probability that Ling Feng was telling the truth.

Do you want to distract yourself?
Hmph, it's not that simple!
He said that if you choose gray, it definitely can't be gray!
After all, if they all choose gray, and I put in five chips, even if they also put in five, I will still have six chips by default, giving me an edge over them.

Therefore, they wouldn't be foolish enough to tell themselves a situation of the same color that would guarantee their victory.

You're too naive to fool me!
At the same time, Ziling bit her lip, her brows furrowed in worry.

She glanced at Ling Feng, took a deep breath, and decided to stop thinking about it.
After a while.

"Beting is over... Let's see the results!"

Apollos's voice rang out.

The cover was lifted, and the light revealed:
Lingfeng: Black, 3 pieces.

Zi Ling: Gray, 1 piece.

Quinn: White, 5 pieces.

The result is: black, white, and gray, all three colors appearing simultaneously!
"Hehehe... Hahahaha!"

Apollos suddenly burst into wild, ecstatic laughter, “Three colors! All gone! All the chips… are mine!”

boom!
On the three stone platforms, Ling Feng placed 3 chips, Zi Ling placed 1 chip, and Quinn placed 5 chips—or rather, 6 chips (according to the supplementary rules, if Quinn loses, he will automatically lose 6 chips as compensation for his points being the highest).

All 10 chips vanished instantly, flying towards the giant tree.

"Do not!!!"

Quinn let out a desperate roar, his eyes instantly becoming bloodshot.

His chips, which started at 20.5 after the first round, were reduced by 6 to 14.5.

As for Ling Feng and Zi Ling, their scores are 17.5 and 18 respectively.

After the second round, Zi Ling, who originally had the fewest chips, ended up with the most.

Apollos also received a full 10 chips.

"You deliberately!"

Quinn stared wide-eyed at Ling Feng. If it weren't for the Soul Eater Thread still connecting his head to Ling Feng, he would have loved to skin Ling Feng alive.

I was just saying what I wanted to say, not asking you to listen!

Ling Feng shrugged, but secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

He was able to predict that Zi Ling, in her state of confusion, would still choose the conservative approach.

Ling Feng deliberately brought up gray to give Zi Ling a hint.

He needs Ziling to choose gray.

If you want to make Quinn suffer heavy losses this round, you can choose to be the same color as Zi Ling. If you are the dominant color, you can naturally take a share of Quinn's chips.

But he couldn't be sure what Quinn would choose.

He can only gamble on options with minimal losses.

Judging from the results, I was quite lucky this round.

However, Apollos's ten chips also put considerable pressure on Ling Feng.

If three colors appear again in the next round, the six chips Quinn lost alone will cause all three of them to lose this round.

This must be the result that Apollos was most satisfied with.

"Round Three! Start Round Three now!"

Quinn was completely panicked after his defeat in the second round.

He roared madly at Apollos, his eyes bloodshot. "Hehehe..."

Apollos seemed to thoroughly enjoy Quinn's despair and madness, his evil eyes filled with pleasure: "As you wish... greedy gambler... the third round... begins!"

The cover fell again.

The atmosphere was extremely tense during the final decisive round.

Quinn appeared frantic, panting heavily as he stared intently at the stone platform.

He can't lose! He must win!
"This round, I choose white!"

He glared fiercely at Ling Feng. "Kid, you think you're the only one who can influence other people's judgment? This time, you try to guess whether what I said is true or false! Come on, guess! You idiot, you moron!"

Perhaps because he was too emotional, Quinn's voice trembled slightly.

The Soul Eater's Thread hanging above his head flickered with an eerie blood-red light.

As the Ghost Line continues to evolve, it is unknowingly eroding his life essence every moment.

"Okay!"

Ling Feng narrowed his eyes and smiled, "Since you want to choose white, then this round, I'll also choose white. I'll give you a round of points, do you believe me?"

"hehe!"

Quinn glared coldly at Ling Feng, "Then thank you very much!"

Give points?

Quinn sneered inwardly, "No, that's impossible!"

But if he says that on purpose, it means he's certain that I don't believe him, and he's actually tricking me.

Zi Ling isn't a cunning opponent. If she says white, she might just choose white.

So, you only need to choose white, whether as the dominant color or if the three of you end up with the same color.

He will be the winner.

According to the rules, he must take at least three chips in this round.

Subtracting 3 from 17.5 will make him have the fewest chips of everyone.

So no matter what, we have to make this guy lose!

And we can only make this guy lose!

Zi Ling has a relatively large number of chips, and in the final round, she doesn't need to put up too many chips to guarantee a win.

Both Quinn and Ling Feng were engaged in a frantic brainstorming session.

As for Zi Ling, she would look at Ling Feng for a while, and then at Quinn.

"Are you really going to choose white?"

Zi Ling frowned and gritted her teeth as she looked at Ling Feng.

Ling Feng grinned, neither confirming nor denying.

Quinn gritted his teeth in hatred, and cold sweat poured down his forehead.

Time ticked by, and it was an agonizing time for Quinn.

"Beting closed!"

Finally, Apollos's voice rang out, "Now, reveal the results."

The cover was removed.

Quinn: Gray, 5 pieces.

Lingfeng: White, 3 pieces.

Zi Ling: Black, 1 piece.

Black, white, and gray—the three colors appear together again!

When Quinn saw the color Ling Feng had chosen, he completely broke down.

White!

It really is white!

Zi Ling's pretty face also turned deathly pale.

If she also chooses white, they can win this round together.

"Master, I'm sorry, I..."

Ziling lowered her head, tears welling up in her eyes.

Little did they know, this was exactly the result Ling Feng wanted to see.

Given Zi Ling's level of dislike for Quinn, she certainly wouldn't choose white directly.

Therefore, Ling Feng's hint, which was half-smile, meant that Zi Ling would most likely choose black, the opposite of white.

As for Quinn, he has absolutely no faith in himself, so he won't choose white.

He will choose between black or gray.

Ling Feng's goal is to lose this round.

Sitting idly by and waiting to be manipulated by others is not Ling Feng's style.

Now that it's clear that Apollos never intended for them to leave alive.

In other words, there were no winners in this bet.

Therefore, winning or losing in a betting game is not actually that important.

The real victory or defeat lies outside the game!

What he actually needed to do was two things: first, find out exactly what kind of being this Apollos was.

Since that Soul Eater Thread can absorb and devour one's own life essence.

At the same time, one's own life essence can also enter the body of the demon tree of Apollos through the Soul Eater Thread.

This might actually be an opportunity for Ling Feng.

Secondly, take advantage of Apollos to get rid of Quinn.

Of course, his choice of white was, to a greater extent, a move to strike at Quinn's heart.

This made Quinn even more confused about his own thoughts.

"Hahahaha! Three colors again! All lost! All the chips are mine!"

Apollos let out a deafening laugh, and the entire demon tree trembled!
In an instant, another ten chips were devoured by the demonic tree.

At this moment, the chips held by the three people are as follows: Ling Feng: 17.5 - 3 = 14.5.

Zi Ling: 18-1=17.

Quinn: 14.5 - 6 = 8.5.

Apollos's chip count jumped to 20.

He surpassed everyone on the field.

"Then, according to the rules, everyone involved will be punished!"

Apollos let out a sinister laugh.

This result clearly satisfied him greatly.

Om-!
The three "Ghoul Lines" emitted a bright light at the same time!

"No!"

Quinn let out a terrible wail, and the dark red thread above his head, which was already as thick as a wrist, suddenly expanded again, almost doubling in thickness. Its deep red color was almost black, frantically drawing out his life essence!

He screamed and collapsed to the ground, his body visibly shrunken, his armor lost its luster, and his breath weakened to the extreme.

This is the third evolution of the Soul Eater's Thread above his head.

He was just two failures away from becoming a "collectible".

The pale red threads on Ling Feng and Zi Ling's heads suddenly thickened and deepened in color.

In an instant, a strong sense of weakness and the pain of their souls being torn apart came over them, making them almost unable to stand.

So this is the pain of having one's life essence taken away?
No wonder Quinn has become so well-behaved.

They were already sealed away from the power of their divine origins, and now their life essence is being extracted and squeezed again and again.

Damn!

Ling Feng exhaled a breath of stale air, enduring the discomfort, and stared intently at the giant tree.

He felt his life essence being injected into the demon tree through the Soul Eater's Thread.

But his very essence of life cannot be so easily devoured.

Since we cannot defy Apollo's rules from the outside, then we will dismantle them completely from within! (End of Chapter)