Starting as a stray dog, I embarked on a journey of cultivation.

"Rules explained. Trial begins!"

Seeing that the two had no more questions, the remnant soul made its announcement.

Gou An and Lao Yang stood facing each other, their eyes fixed on the spirit stone in the center of the arena and the hourglass flowing backward.

At this moment, Old Sheep spoke up: "Fellow Daoist Gou, this trial should be the easiest one so far, from the first level."

"I think so too!" Gou An nodded.

"How about this!" Old Sheep continued, "We'll all refrain from accusing each other of stealing, let the number of spirit stones rise to ten thousand, and then wait to divide them equally!"

"In this way, after three rounds, we will not only each receive 15,000 spirit stones, but we will also be able to ascend to the sixth level together!"

But upon hearing Old Sheep's words, Gou An did not rush to agree.

The last words of the remnant soul made Gou An think a lot.

I now understand why he said that!

Although no one should clamor for the plunder, allowing the spirit stones to be divided equally should theoretically be the optimal solution.

But the human heart is the most unpredictable thing!

Furthermore, the price of passing the level together is that the other party will compete with you in other ways on the next level!

And how can you guarantee that the other party will actually wait as agreed?

Just as Gou An hesitated, the spirit stone in the center of the arena changed.

From a single, solitary spirit stone, it became ten!

Seeing that Gou An did not answer, the old sheep continued, "Fellow Daoist, I should have been eliminated in the last round, but you helped me and allowed me to go a little further!"

"Though I am a demon, I still understand the principle of repaying kindness!"

"I will definitely not call for a fight and let the spirit stones increase to an equal split."

"Once we reach the next floor together, if only one of us can go up, I will definitely let you go first!"

At this point, Old Sheep let out a long sigh.

Then he continued, "Although being eliminated will result in a loss of cultivation, with these ten thousand spirit stones, I can slowly replenish it over time."

"I hope you can believe me, fellow Daoist!"

Faced with Lao Yang's sincere request, Gou An still hesitated.

After all, if you fall behind in any one round of this trial, you will fail the entire trial!

At the same time, the hourglass shone once more.

The number of spirit stones on the field has increased from ten to thirty!

Seeing that Gou An remained unmoved, Old Sheep continued, "I understand your concerns, fellow Daoist, but why don't you consider this?"

"If you eliminate me in this round, you will face four more rounds of solitary trials!"

"But we can do as I said, go upstairs together, and then I'll lose to you on the sixth floor!"

"Wouldn't that mean you'd face one less layer of solitary trial, giving you a better chance of escaping?"

Old Sheep feared that Gou An wouldn't believe him, so he had no choice but to continue.

"Fellow Daoist, I assure you!"

"I will definitely not go back on my word. If I do, may I be struck by lightning!"

Gou An's gaze remained fixed on the spirit stones on the ground.

As the hourglass shone once more, the number of spirit stones increased from thirty to fifty!

Only then did Gou An slowly speak: "I believe you can choose not to fight for it, but I'm sorry, I can't guarantee I won't!"

"Hmm?" Old Sheep looked puzzled.

Gou An calmly replied, "You just said you understand the principle of repaying kindness!"

"In that case, whether it's this round of trials or the possible sixth level, you cannot take the initiative to win, otherwise you will be breaking your promise!"

"So... you can assure me you won't compete for spirit stones on this floor, but I can do so anytime!"

"Because you should have been eliminated in the previous round; I saved you!"

"Otherwise, you would have already had your cultivation drained and been sent out of the tower, and you wouldn't have a single spirit stone on this floor!"

"Therefore, I have the power to decide, and you only have the right to passively accept it!"

Finally, Gou An asked one last question: "So, do you understand now?"

The old sheep was furious upon hearing this!

He hadn't expected Gou An to express such thoughts so directly!

Logically speaking, even if he thought so, shouldn't he have kept it a secret? Why would he tell me directly?

At the same time, the number of spirit stones increased from fifty to seventy!

As the number of spirit stones increased, neither Gou An nor Lao Yang took any action, quietly waiting for the spirit stones to accumulate.

The remnant soul simply continued to float in mid-air, patiently waiting.

As the hourglass timer ran out once more, the number of spirit stones increased from eighty to one hundred!

It went from one hundred to three hundred!

Then it went from three hundred to five hundred!

It went from five hundred to seven hundred!

It went from seven hundred to one thousand!

Gou An observed the changes in the spirit stone over several cycles and had already discerned the correct pattern.

Except for the first time when one spirit stone turned into ten.

The remaining additions and changes are in the order of: one, three, five, seven, ten.

That is to say, after one thousand, there is three thousand, then five thousand, seven thousand, and finally ten thousand!

This raises a crucial question!

When the number of spirit stones reaches 10,000, they will be automatically split equally, and the two of them will only receive 5,000 spirit stones each!

You can call out "compete" when you reach 7,000, and you can directly obtain 7,000!

And there is a time interval of almost one minute between each change.

When the number of spirit stones increases to seven thousand, even a pig should know that shouting for them now will maximize its own benefits!

Moreover, if the number of spirit stones increases to ten thousand, one can only receive five thousand.

You must also be wary of the other party shouting for a fight at this time, which could leave you with nothing.

Therefore, a more reliable approach is to call out the competition before the accumulated spirit stones reach seven thousand, that is, when there are five thousand spirit stones.

In this way, I can reliably get five thousand spirit stones, which is no different from when I accumulate ten thousand!

However, if we continue to consider this, we should actually have called for a fight when we had three thousand spirit stones.

After repeated calculations, Gou An realized that he should have immediately called for a contest when the number of spirit stones first increased to ten.

Because this would give him a ten-stone lead, he would call for battle when he only had one spirit stone left in the next two rounds.

Even if the other party also shouts that the spirit stones have disappeared, I will still have an absolute advantage!

So this is the only way to guarantee a 100% success rate!

But people are greedy; who would be willing to give up thousands of spirit stones for a few?

This can easily lead to a gambler's mentality. Even if the two have agreed on it, their mentality will change as the spirit stones gradually accumulate.

This trial looks simple, but it is more dangerous than any of the previous levels!

Just after Gou An figured out the cause and effect, the number of spirit stones increased from one thousand to three thousand!

Gou An glanced at the old sheep opposite him, but he still didn't react.

They seem genuinely willing to keep their promises and won't actually raise any objections.

But what if the spirit stones continue to accumulate, reaching five thousand, and then seven thousand?

What if the other side suddenly calls for a takeover halfway through?

Not only will they not get a single spirit stone, but they will also face the possibility of being eliminated and having their cultivation drained!

Therefore, calling for a fight now that the number has increased to three thousand seems to be the safest approach!

But just as Gou An was about to lose his temper and shout it out...

The old sheep stuck out its tongue, reached out and grabbed it tightly, pulling it as far as it could go.

It made it impossible for me to speak!