"Come one, come all! The New Blood Tournament lines are open!"
"Elder Chen Hai's newly taken head disciple—Zhuge Long—hit the third layer of Qi Refining after only a month of cultivation, and now, a year on, he's already half a step into Foundation Establishment!"
"Nishang Peak's peak master's own disciple—Zuo Fenghua—has polished the Nishang Sword Art to perfection. Ninth layer of Qi Refining. The absolute favorite to take the crown!"
"Cloudsea Hall's hall master's personal disciple—Xiao Yan—picked up an ancient legacy out on a training venture, the 'Alien Flame' sword art. Every time he absorbs another alien flame, his strength jumps a whole grade. Six months of cultivation and he's at the seventh layer of Qi Refining, but he can absolutely kill across realms!"
"Cloud Dragon Peak's peak master's son—Nan Wen—his thunderfire sword art is a work of art..."
Dragon Spring Town, at the very heart of the Dragon Spring Sword Sect.
As the New Blood Tournament drew nearer, the big gambling houses all started shouting their offers, luring the Dragon Spring Sword Sect's disciples in to place their bets.
And when you placed a bet, these houses would sell you information on the contestants too, so you'd bet with more confidence—so confident you'd even start to feel like you were the one running the game.
What you never realize is that whatever intel you've got, everybody else has got it too.
You think you're the bookmaker; in reality you're just a sucker waiting to be harvested.
That day, Xiao Mo walked into the biggest gambling den in the Dragon Spring Sword Sect.
The den had a whole area set aside for the New Blood Tournament.
The names of some of the contestants were written on boards hung along the wall, with the odds written underneath, refreshed once every two hours so the Dragon Spring Sword Sect's disciples could place bets whenever they liked.
Xiao Mo searched and searched, but the name he wanted wasn't anywhere.
"Fellow Daoist, might I ask why the name I'm after isn't up here?" Xiao Mo asked a staff member nearby.
"Ah, you must be a cultivator who joined the sect not long ago, Fellow Daoist. If the name you're after isn't on the wall, that just means the person you're looking for isn't a favorite for the title." The deacon, whose name was Xu Xin, went on, "Which name is it? I can dig it out for you."
"Lingqian Peak—Jiang Qingyi." Xiao Mo spoke slowly.
"Jiang Qingyi of Lingqian Peak, let me see." Xu Xin pulled out a box and probed it with his spiritual sense.
"Found her."
Xu Xin drew a board out of the box.
"Jiang Qingyi, Lingqian Peak. Seventh layer of Qi Refining. For the longest time at the start she simply couldn't get through the door, but afterward she must have come into some kind of lucky chance, because within this one year she's made it to the seventh layer. Her strength isn't bad. She's got a hope of reaching the top fifty. But as for the championship—she's a long way off."
"What are the odds?" Xiao Mo asked mildly.
"Odds would be one to two for the top fifty, one to three for the top thirty-two, one to ten for the top sixteen, and the top eight—"
"Just tell me the odds on her taking the whole thing." Xiao Mo cut him off.
"Hahaha, Fellow Daoist, nobody's betting on Jiang Qingyi to win."
"Let me walk you through our house rules, Fellow Daoist."
"We run several kinds of pools."
"One of them is called the championship pool—champion only."
"And you can only put money in before the New Blood Tournament starts."
"If your Jiang Qingyi wins and you're the only soul who bet on her, we take a one-percent cut for the house, and every spirit stone in the pool goes to you."
"But mind you, Fellow Daoist, our minimum stake is five high-grade spirit stones."
"That's not a small sum."
"I know you're just trying to back a friend, but friends are friends and money is money. Nobody wants to pick a fight with money."
"Isn't that right, Fellow Daoist?"
Xiao Mo gave the deacon a flat look and, without wasting a word on him, tossed over a pouch of high-grade spirit stones. "Fifty high-grade spirit stones in all. Every one of them on Jiang Qingyi to win the championship."
By the time Xiao Mo returned to Lingqian Peak, it was already midday, and the smell of cooking came drifting out of the courtyard.
Xiao Mo walked in just as Jiang Qingyi came out of the kitchen with the dishes.
Ever since Jiang Qingyi had come to Lingqian Peak, she had swept and cleaned Xiao Mo's courtyard and rooms, and cooked all three meals a day.
At the beginning, her cooking really hadn't been much good.
But she learned fast, and bit by bit her cooking got better and better.
Nearly a year on, her skill was no longer beneath that of the cooks in some of Dragon Spring Town's restaurants.
"Master, you're back! The food's just ready—sit down and eat." Jiang Qingyi's eyes lit up at the sight of her master.
"Good." Xiao Mo nodded and sat down on the stone bench.
The dishes on the table were of course not made from ordinary mortal fare, but from the flesh and blood of spirit beasts and from vegetables rich in spiritual power—all of it very beneficial to one's cultivation.
Last of all, Jiang Qingyi brought out a plate of water spinach and filled a bowl of rice to the brim for Xiao Mo.
Master and disciple sat facing each other and ate.
Before long, a crow came flying up to the summit of Lingqian Peak, calling as it flew: "Elder Xiao, there's a letter for you."
With that, the crow dropped a letter out of the air.
Xiao Mo caught it, opened it, read it, and put it away.
"Master, what does the letter say?" Jiang Qingyi asked.
"Nothing much. Just my betting receipt."
"Betting? Receipt?" Jiang Qingyi blinked, and then it all clicked. "A bet on the New Blood Tournament? Lots of people seem to be betting lately. Who do you like to take the title, Master?"
Xiao Mo smiled, gazing warmly at his own disciple. "What do you think?"
"Huh?" Jiang Qingyi froze.
"No, no... Master, how can you bet on me? I can't do it..." Jiang Qingyi waved her hands in a flurry.
To be sure, for her master's sake, she would put on a good showing at this New Blood Tournament.
But I really have no confidence at all about winning the championship...
"You're my disciple. If I don't bet on you, who would I bet on?" Xiao Mo laughed.
"Then... Master, how much did you bet?" Jiang Qingyi looked at her master nervously.
"Not much." Xiao Mo picked up his rice bowl and took a bite.
"That's good, then."
"Just fifty high-grade spirit stones, that's all."
"What?" Jiang Qingyi jumped in fright and shot to her feet. "Master, your monthly stipend is only twenty high-grade spirit stones..."
"That's true enough." Xiao Mo smiled at Jiang Qingyi. "But how could my disciple have nobody betting on her?"
"But Master... that's... that's way too much..." Jiang Qingyi was already developing the instincts of a household steward.
"It's fine, it's fine." Xiao Mo patted her lightly on the head. "In ten days my monthly stipend comes in. We won't starve. Though when it does, I'll have to put a month and a half's stipend on my disciple again."
"Master..." Jiang Qingyi's helpless voice carried out across the mountains. "You really can't bet any more..."