Chapter 526: Chapter 526: Worry

The woman clothed in black robes stood atop the disc as her gaze locked once more on the dice positioned in the middle of the abyss. As they all held their breath in anticipation of her next outcome, the dice began to rapidly spin once again.

After a while of tossing and turning, the dice gradually slowed to a stop.

One of the spectators gasped in wonder as the number that appeared on top of the cube was yet another success. “It's six again!”

“How is she so lucky?” another person wondered.

By this point, everyone watching the affair had more or less understood that they were engaging in a special game of Mist Celestial Tomb. As for why Mist had specifically designed this game, no one had a definite explanation. However, since everyone playing the game arrived at the same starting line, all they could think about was not falling behind the other participants.

Before the woman had started, the highest number of dots that a martial artist had thrown was a six. As luck would have it, this strange woman managed to obtain a second chance at throwing the dice right after throwing it once. It was indeed a subject of fascination to everyone who had witnessed the perplexing phenomena.

'Who would have thought that she would roll the dice and get another six?' an onlooker contemplated by himself as he scratched his chin absentmindedly.

Not a long moment had passed by when another six discs appeared in front of the nonchalant woman dressed in black. Moreover, the last disk that emerged seemingly still had a faint golden glow surrounding it, as if a halo of yellow light had encircled the object.

Glancing at the newly materialized disk, the woman casually strode towards it without preamble. Immediately after she had fully stood on it, that voice rang out again.

“Throw the dice again.”

Upon hearing this, almost everyone in the arena had groaned in great displeasure. “Really, again?” one of them grumbled in dissatisfaction and palmed his forehead. It seemed to be the case that they were having the same realization; this woman appeared to be even luckier than Letitia.

“Perhaps, is she cheating?” a member of the audience whispered conspiratorially to the person standing beside him.

“That would be impossible since this tomb was set up by an immortal. It is literally impossible to cheat here,” the martial artist near him confirmed as he tapped his foot impatiently.

“Maybe these people from the divine kingdom have grasped some trick that we do not know about! Otherwise, how else would they have such good luck?”

As his ears picked up on the doubtful conversations from the people around him, the elegant man scoffed and rolled his eyes. “She is our clan's Holy Maiden,” he snapped at them. “How can her luck even be compared to you ants'?” the man insulted, his face adorned with a confident sneer.

The admittedly handsome man's sudden assertions seemingly offended all the martial artists in the Central Region. As they all turned away from the self-assured male with disdain and annoyance, the fighters started to avoid speaking too loudly in his presence.

Zen covered his mouth bemusedly as he smiled faintly at the exchange. Such a typical conversation never failed to entertain him.

Perhaps it was unusual for the elders and heads of large sects to have a firsthand experience of being provoked and blatantly looked down upon just like the man had recently done. However, Zen knew more than anyone else at the tomb that it was pointless to give too much unnecessary attention to a bumbling overconfident idiot. After having encountered too many people who exhibited the exact same kind of behavior, he had almost completely grown insensitive to this kind of stupid provocation. When Perrin had deeply aggravated him before, Zen immediately became frustrated and found himself not being able to restrain his anger as much as he could now. However, meeting such like-minded fools for the past few years enabled him to let go feelings of ire and infuriation, as Zen now settled with mild exasperation when dealing with them.

The young man's experience for the past few years did not only help him strengthen his physical capabilities and power, but also help him grow with emotional and mental maturity.

Glancing briefly at the proud man amidst the scattered martial artists, he smirked at himself and shook his head. Every single guy that had the same attitude was one and the same through and through; they would be that sort of person who would only beg for mercy if they were suddenly slapped hard across the face. Until that moment when they had realized that they were worth close to nothing, their words would always be exceptionally sharp and close to being tyrannical.

Therefore, when Zen had heard the loud booming voice of the confident man's words, he did not bother to react at all.

While the commotion with the baseless dignified man was happening, the beam of light in the middle from the dice began its process of spinning again.

Apart from Letitia and the Holy Maiden from the divine kingdom, there were a couple of other individuals who had received good rewards. An exhibit of this would be the disciple of Ethereal Spirit Sect having obtained a golden page from the contest. Although no one was too certain of what the purpose of the golden page was, they had guessed that the page might be about some kind of special cultivation method, or maybe it might actually be a treasure in itself.

However fortunate Letitia, the woman in black, and some other people might have been, they could not deny that more warriors were being punished.

The Bloodwood Cliff, even the Black Mountain Sect, as well as the Mysterious Luna Hall had distressingly lost six people each in the first round itself. 𝙍𝓪𝐍օВΕȘ

Although Zen was lucky enough to be the second person to be pointed at, he had only taken two steps himself and was actually a bit behind, which slightly annoyed him.

While he observed the radiant light beam as it spun continuously, the cyan dragon hummed and started to speak. “Zen, I think I know what this is.”

Intrigued, Zen straightened his posture and uttered, “Tell me.”

The man had deeply contemplated by himself ever since the event had started about the possible reason why Mist would design such a game that resembled the act of gambling.

“This may look like a game, but strictly speaking, it should be a Wheel of Fortune,” the cyan dragon stated straightforwardly.

Zen tilted his head to one side, his confusion becoming apparent as he asked once more, “Wheel of Fortune? What does that mean?” The man inquired with a new sense of boundless curiosity.

The cyan dragon replied with a resolved tone, “Look at it this way, Zen. In the eyes of martial artists, fortune may appear to be a bit mysterious, but it really does exist. In the Central Region, martial artists are usually assessed in two aspects. The first is their talent; the second is their willpower.”

Zen nodded in understanding at what the cyan dragon had said. It was an accurate presumption that strengthening one's willpower was equally important if a martial artist wanted to get stronger. Otherwise, even if a martial artist had prodigious talent, he would only indulge in pleasure and meaningless desires if he had mediocre willpower. No matter how much potential a cultivator might have or how many battles he might go through, it would definitely be impossible to succeed if he didn't have a strong willpower.

With this inconceivable fact, all sects' first choice when recruiting disciples would be based on testing their individual talent, with the second being their willpower.

After Zen had pondered over the facts laid before him, the cyan dragon continued his spiel. “Strictly speaking, it is not wrong. With the usage of these two tests, the sects can easily cultivate Illuminating Soul Realm or Internal Elixir Realm disciples.” The man started to look up, seemingly having a profound thought at the dragon's words. “With just a bit of luck, the sects might even cultivate an elder in Virtual Tribulation Realm one day. However, in the Genuine Dragon World, if we are to only examine these two aspects realistically, we will not be able to select a true elite.” The cyan dragon finished while the game continued around them.

Practically speaking, it was relatively easy for sects to find themselves qualified disciples who were both persevering and good at utilizing their talents. However true this case might be, cultivating these disciples into the Internal Elixir Realm, or the Virtual Tribulation Realm, or even the Life and Death Realm, was never the ultimate goal. None of these accomplishments were enough as they all needed something greater to truly reach their goal.

In order to achieve this purpose, with the highest of ambitions, one needed to consider the third criterion: luck.

The scene that was currently happening on his line of sight acutely reminded the cyan dragon of the Genuine Dragon's Wheel of Fortune. It was vaguely similar to the game as of the moment. However, the difference remained at the fact that the martial artists who participated would not die. This was due to the fact that the unfortunate warriors would only end up being kicked out by the Wheel of Fortune.

It became crystal clear to him right at that moment. Obviously, the goal of Mist when imagining and creating this game akin to the Wheel of Fortune was one thing only: to be able to find the most fortunate martial artist.

Even if the martial artists present in the game had varying levels of skills, it was discernible that none of them were weak. Moreover, their own fortune was not too tragic, as far as Zen could tell. An example of this would be Brent, as he was quite fortunate on his own. More so, the fortune of the Holy Maiden from divine kingdom was beyond any of them could even fathom. With a single throw, she could consecutively proceed up to three times.

Reluctantly smiling, Zen shook his head before remarking, “It seems that I am not fortunate after all.”

“You are wrong. Rather, it's the opposite,�� the cyan dragon frowned before speaking with seriousness once again. “It is not the case that only the people with whom everything goes well can be called lucky. Some people have many misfortunes, and only after going through all sorts of trials can they reach the top of the pyramid,” the dragon wryly grinned, giving a subtle motivation which hung in the air. “You must remember that this is also a type of great luck. Just now, you took two steps. That should be a reflection of your old luck.”

Just two steps.

As the young master of the Luo Family, it was accurate to postulate that Zen had been doted on by everyone that knew him. At a young age, he was cherished by his family, his relatives; and the people surrounding his home could be said to be wrapped around his little finger. Regrettably, the good times did not last long, and before he could be given the chance to comfortably explore the world, he had been reduced to a poor servant. In the blink of an eye, he had lost value to his name.

“According to your conjecture, then, since I have taken two steps forward now, would I be put through a lot of trials and tribulations later on?” Zen inquired as he caught up on the implications the dragon had spewed earlier on.

“That is very possible,” the cyan dragon speculated as he observed the other players. Although it was true that he was vastly knowledgeable on humans being a dragon from a Genuine Dragon, he was not a hundred percent certain. This was due to the fact that this particular Wheel of Fortune was designed by Mist, so in the end, he remained to be not absolute in determining Zen's outcome in the game.

Just right after their short conversation, it was not long before the beam of light pointed at Zen once again.

Upon seeing the radiant gleam, Zen ultimately threw out a punch. While he was holding his breath in anticipation, the dice then subsequently rolled in a perfect circle before slowing to a stop, and out came the face of the dice showing number one.

The man instantaneously frowned in vexation. The number he had rolled was just too underwhelming. Just before that turn, Zen disappointingly threw out two dots, and now it dropped even lower to one. Comparing his throws with the other martial artists', the dots he had acquired from those two throws were not even as many as those the others had procured in one throw. 'What kind of rotten luck is this?' he infuriatingly thought as he pouted at his failure to add more steps in the game.

“Take your time and try not to be too impatient.” The voice of a woman, Letitia, suddenly spoke in front of him. An encouraging smile graced her features as she stood in front of Zen, raising her balled fists as a form of support.

The young man understood and appreciated the assurance as best as he could by nodding at Letitia. However, his expression drastically changed upon seeing a purple disk that gradually materialized in front of him. 'Is this going to be a punishment or perhaps, a reward?' his eyebrows furrowed as he deliberated with unease.

When everyone had witnessed Zen throw out a one, they collectively assumed that it was likely going to lead to a punishment. Many of them could not help but grin in satisfaction due to the fact that Zen's cultivation base was the weakest among them. In turn, if it did turn out to be a punishment, he would not be able to withstand anything that came his way. “Well, this could be interesting to watch,” some of them muttered under their breath as they hid a snicker behind their hands.

Despite the doubts of the people spectating what his fate would be, Zen did not bother saying anything. Through the words of the cyan dragon, he already fully understood that the destiny of the crowd lay within the abyss.

Although the young cultivator eventually became miserable and desolate in the Luo Family, ever since he came into contact with the mysterious furnace, his destiny had drastically changed. His fortune had never been bad since then. Zen was resolute in overcoming this obstacle as well. Gazing intently at the ominous disk, there was only one thing that triumphed in his mind: no matter what was in front of him, he had no choice but to cross over!

Just as Zen had stepped foot on the purple disc, a ball of glowing violet light instantly surrounded his frame.

Within the briefest of moments, his eyes frantically scanned his surroundings as the scenery around him distorted into warbled images before it finally changed. Terribly surprised at what he had just witnessed, he lifted his gaze above and spotted purple flames perpetually falling from the skies.

At the same moment of chaos, a faint voice could be heard which then promptly exclaimed, “Fiery Star Flame!”

When he heard the voice, Eddie's eyebrows twitched in mild amusement. He gave Zen's troubled frame a cold stare, and then a mocking smile started to form at the corner of his mouth. The man inaudibly pondered while leaning his head on his palm, 'This brat.. Lady Luck is not on his side today after all.'

Only those who had experienced the punishment could even fathom how difficult it was. In fact, up until that moment, the only person who had survived the merciless sentence was Eddie. It appeared to be the most challenging occurrence to ever befall them, as all the other warriors who had gone through the punishment inevitably died except him.

The man, full of mirth and satisfaction, crossed his arms against his chest and icily looked at him with a half-lidded gaze; he was definitely sure that Zen would not survive this encounter.

“I planned to kill you with my own hands, but you will die here as you turn into mere ashes scattered in the wind and at the bottom of our feet. This is the best you can hope for, right?” Despite his tone exuding indifference and callousness as he muttered to himself, Eddie was greatly satisfied deep down with the death of one of his enemies.

The two cultivators, Letitia and Imogen, glanced warily at each other. It seemed that they were both having the same concerns regarding the young man who was about to face his punishment. They did believe in Zen's luck, but at the same time, they were uncertain about him being able to withstand the burning of the Fiery Star Flame. Amidst the anxieties Letitia was harboring in her heart, she could not help but worry over Zen's fate.