Myriad Daos of the Heaven

Jiang Jichen did not complete the thrust!

Besides, even if he had, it certainly wouldn’t have harmed Ye Rou.

Had she truly sensed any killing intent from him, she would have unsealed her cultivation and counterattacked without a moment’s hesitation.

In that scenario, Jiang Jichen would have been no match for her.

But in terms of pure Spear Technique, Jiang Jichen was the clear victor.

Everyone was dumbfounded, their shock beyond words.

This outcome was something none of them could have possibly imagined.

The person hit hardest by this, however, was undoubtedly the casino manager.

He had been on the verge of seeing Jiang Jichen defeated, with ten billion Eighth-grade Spirit Stones about to fall into his coffers.

But this result made him want to spit a mouthful of blood at the heavens!

The plunge from ecstasy to agony, a gut-wrenching feeling, made it hard for him to even breathe.

In the center of the arena, Ye Rou also wore a look of disbelief.

She looked surprised, as if she still couldn’t comprehend how she had just been defeated.

But she wasn’t dejected. Instead, the expression on her stunning face was surprisingly cute.

"What Spear Technique was that?"

Far from being dejected, Ye Rou stared at Jiang Jichen with her beautiful phoenix eyes, which now held a hint of excitement and fervor.

Jiang Jichen put away his Nether Wheel Spear. As he faced Ye Rou, a faint sense of unease crept into his heart.

’But why do I feel so uneasy?’

"Mindless Self Spear. My technique is pretty amazing, isn’t it, Ye the Chick?"

Facing the absurdly beautiful Ye Rou with her perfect legs, Jiang Jichen couldn’t resist teasing her.

’I thought she’d get angry and give me the cold shoulder.’

But she didn’t. With a radiant smile, she said, "It really is. Even I lost to it, so of course it’s amazing. Hmm, I’ve decided! From now on, you’re my Spear Technique sparring partner!"

"What?"

Jiang Jichen was dumbfounded. He had no idea what she meant.

’When did I agree to be her sparring partner?’

But Goddess Ye just kept smiling, her previous aloof demeanor completely gone.

She spoke to Jiang Jichen in a gentle voice, "Sigh, Jichen, to be honest with you, my Spear Technique has hit a bottleneck. I haven’t improved at all in three years. But during our fight just now, you actually helped me make a breakthrough. I gained some insight into the Eighth Form of the Heavenly Dominating Spear Technique."

"Let me tell you, if I had fully grasped the Eighth Form of the Heavenly Dominating Spear Technique, the outcome of our match would’ve been up in the air!"

Jiang Jichen stood there, stunned. He felt like Ye Rou had suddenly become a completely different person.

She was no longer the aloof goddess from before, but a... chatterbox.

It reminded Jiang Jichen of Snowplum.

But with Snowplum, it was understandable. After all, she had been trapped for countless eons.

But Ye Rou...

’We barely know each other, so why is she telling me all this personal stuff?’

How could Jiang Jichen dare to keep joking around now?

He could only reply cautiously, "It’s great that you’ve gained some insight, Miss Ye Rou. Ahem, I’ve just arrived here and have some business to attend to, so... I should be on my way!"

Sensing things were getting strange, Jiang Jichen tried to make a swift exit.

He walked over to Hua Xiaoling and asked, "Hua Girl, how’d we do? What are our winnings?"

Hua Xiaoling was ecstatic. "I bet ten million Eighth-grade Spirit Stones on you to win," she said happily. "And the odds were a thousand to one! So, we won ten billion Eighth-grade Spirit Stones!"

With every word from Hua Xiaoling, the casino manager standing nearby trembled.

"Alright, let’s collect the Spirit Stones and get out of here!"

Jiang Jichen grinned.

He hadn’t expected to earn ten billion just from a single, casual match!

By now, the surrounding cultivators had snapped out of their shock.

All of them stared at Jiang Jichen’s group, their eyes red with envy.

The vast majority of them had bet on the match, and they had all lost. Now, their Spirit Stones were about to fall into Jiang Jichen’s hands.

Ten billion Eighth-grade Spirit Stones!

The casino manager’s voice was hoarse. "I was wondering, would Young Master like to convert these to Ninth Grade Spirit Stones? We can even do First Grade Holy Spirit Stones."

Jiang Jichen hadn’t realized he could exchange them. "What’s the exchange rate?" he asked.

"One Ninth Grade Spirit Stone is equivalent to one hundred Eighth Grade Spirit Stones, and one First Grade Holy Spirit Stone is equivalent to one hundred thousand Eighth Grade Spirit Stones!"

Although it pained him, the casino had its rules. Besides, with everyone watching, they wouldn’t dare try any tricks.

Once a casino lost its credibility, it would surely be crushed and absorbed by its rivals.

Besides, while ten billion Eighth-grade Spirit Stones seemed like a huge sum, it wasn’t an earth-shattering amount for the entire casino, let alone for the top-tier Noble Families of Human Emperor City.

Jiang Jichen thought for a moment. "Convert them all to First Grade Holy Spirit Stones!"

Finally, the casino manager handed a Storage Object to Jiang Jichen. "One hundred thousand First Grade Holy Spirit Stones. Please inspect them!"

Jiang Jichen swept his Divine Thought over it—the count was correct!

And just like that, he had obtained one hundred thousand First Grade Holy Spirit Stones.

He remembered a time when even a single Holy Spirit Stone was an incredible treasure that people would fight to the death for.

But now, he possessed a full one hundred thousand First Grade Holy Spirit Stones!

’I’ll never have to worry about Spirit Stones again!’

Jiang Jichen was thrilled, Hua Xiaoling was overjoyed, and even Yee Youmeng wore a rare smile instead of her usual cold expression.

It seemed Spirit Stones truly were a wonderful thing; no one could dislike them!

Jiang Jichen said in a low voice, "Alright, we should get out of here. Let’s find an inn to stay at first, then we can find out when the Extreme Celestial Tier is set to open!"

However, Ye Rou’s hearing was sharp. She’d overheard Jiang Jichen and immediately spoke up with enthusiasm, "Oh, Jichen, and you two ladies! You’re looking for a place to stay? That’s perfect! My home is right here in Human Emperor City. Just stay with me. It’ll save you the trouble of finding an inn, and inns aren’t very safe anyway!"

The moment she said this, everyone around them froze in a daze.

’Goddess Ye... was inviting Jiang Jichen to stay at her home?’

’But this was the first time they’d ever met! Were they really that close already?’

Every man in the crowd felt a pang of despair.

’We’re all men, so why is there such a huge difference between us and him?’

’Why would Ye Rou invite some kid from the Southern Continent in the Spirit Infant Realm and not even spare them a single glance?’

Many of the young prodigies from the Noble Families and Sects were admirers of Goddess Ye, and their hearts ached with grief.

And because of this, Jiang Jichen became their target.

Many of them even felt a surge of killing intent because of Ye Rou’s words.

Jiang Jichen had been about to refuse, but when he felt the murderous glares from the crowd, he simply smiled. "In that case, it would be rude to decline!"

’Hmph. I’ll do it just to spite all of you,’ he thought, quite pleased with himself.

In truth, Jiang Jichen had another reason: the principle of not flaunting one’s wealth.

His current situation had undoubtedly attracted a lot of covetous attention.

Staying at an inn wouldn’t be safe; it would only lead to constant trouble.

But by staying at Ye Rou’s home, he could avoid all of that.

After all, he doubted many people would dare cause trouble at the home of Goddess Ye.

As for Ye Rou wanting him to be her sparring partner, he could just consider it returning the favor.

Still, the thought of practicing the spear with Ye Rou gave Jiang Jichen a persistent sense of unease.

It was the same feeling he got when Elder Yao dragged him away to test new medicines.

Ye Rou was delighted to hear Jiang Jichen agree.

"Then follow me!"

Ye Rou, Jiang Jichen, Hua Xiaoling, and Yee Youmeng completely ignored the stares of the crowd and flew off toward the central district of Human Emperor City.