Is the new betting line open yet

Wang Hao then looked at Lu Chenzhou: "Chenzhou, what about you?"

Lu Chenzhou grinned, revealing two rows of white teeth: "Your Majesty, my task is very simple—follow the people from the Central Province and the Demon Race. When they are both heavily injured, I will go and collect the corpses. The storage rings on the corpses will belong to me, and the corpses themselves will be chopped to pieces and fed to the dogs."

"Vulgar," Wang Hao frowned. "What do you mean 'chopped to pieces and fed to the dogs'? There are no dogs in the secret realm, so what are you going to feed them to? Remember, when you kill someone, you must clean up the traces. There is a special corpse-dissolving powder in the Eastern Wasteland. It melts in water and leaves no trace. I have prepared ten catties for you. That should be enough, right?"

Lu Chenzhou's eyes widened: "Ten catties? Your Majesty, are you asking me to dissolve everyone in the entire secret realm?"

"I am leaving a way out for you," Wang Hao said earnestly. "In case you get too excited killing and cannot stop, ten catties of corpse-dissolving powder is always easier to deal with than ten catties of human heads, right?"

Lu Chenzhou was speechless.

Wang Hao then gave instructions to Wanyan Gu, Su Lie, and the other prodigies one by one. Everyone's task was different, but they had one thing in common—they were all underhanded tactics. Poisoning, setting traps, framing, baiting, sowing discord, forging, extortion, and more extortion after extortion... As the ten great prodigies listened, they suddenly had an illusion—they were not the pillars of the Great Zhou Dynasty, but the top ten gold-medal thugs trained by an underworld emperor.

"There is one most important rule." Wang Hao swept his gaze over the ten people, his expression uncharacteristically serious. "The ten of you are the top prodigies of the Eastern Wasteland, the backbone of the Great Zhou for the next hundred years. I am sending you into the secret realm not to let you die. If you encounter real danger, do not try to brave it out. Crush the teleportation talisman I gave you and exit the secret realm immediately. Opportunities can be found again, but you only have one life. Do you understand?"

The ten people answered in unison: "Understood!"

Wang Hao waved his hand: "Go, get a good rest. Tomorrow, after entering the secret realm, let the people of the Central Province and the Demon Race have a good look at what Eastern Wasteland-style friendliness is."

He revealed eight white teeth, smiling as brightly as the boy next door.

But all ten prodigies read a sentence from this smile—someone was going to be in big trouble.

The next day, at the hour of Chen.

On the white jade plaza of Tianxu Peak, the Kunlun Secret Realm officially opened.

The location of the opening was right in front of the ninety-nine-zhang-tall Kunlun Stone Stele. Sixteen sect masters formed hand seals simultaneously. Sixteen rays of light shot out from their fingertips and poured into the stone stele. The four ancient characters on the Kunlun Stone Stele—"Kunlun Dao Discussion"—lit up one by one, each stroke emitting a faint golden light. When all four characters were lit, the space in front of the stone stele suddenly distorted. The void seemed to be slowly torn open by an invisible hand, revealing a gate of light ten zhang high.

Inside the gate of light was a world completely different from the outside. Blue skies, white clouds, green hills, and clear waters. The spiritual energy was so dense that it almost turned into mist, shrouding the distant mountains and forests. Just a wisp of spiritual energy leaking from the crack of the door doubled the spiritual energy concentration of the entire Tianxu Peak.

This was the Kunlun Secret Realm—an independent space jointly opened by Martial Gods ten thousand years ago. It was said that there were Dao rhymes left by Martial Gods inside, divine materials above the Heaven Tier, and even legendary divine medicines that had gone extinct.

Everyone's eyes turned fiery.

Jiang Tianchen walked up to the gate of light, his voice steady: "The Kunlun Secret Realm will be open for thirty days. Thirty days later, the gate of light will close on its own. Those who have not exited by then will sink into the void along with the secret realm and will be unable to return. The secret realm is a world of its own, with many forbidden areas. Do not step into them lightly. After entering the secret realm, life and death are up to fate. No one is allowed to seek revenge outside the secret realm."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the representatives of the four regions and the demon race formation, his tone carrying a bit of warning.

"According to the results of the four-party consultation last night, the quota allocation for the secret realm is as follows: Central Province's sixteen sacred lands, one hundred and ninety quotas. Eastern Wasteland, Southern Border, Western Frontier, and Northern Region, ten quotas each, totaling forty. The Demon Race, ten quotas. A total of two hundred and forty people. Now, please enter the venue in order, prodigies of all parties."

The Holy Sons and Holy Maidens of the sixteen sacred lands in the Central Province entered first. Two hundred white-clothed, imposing prodigies walked toward the gate of light, each with a confident smile on their face. They were the top younger generation in the Central Province, and every one of them had the cultivation base of the Skysoaring Realm. Many of them were already at the peak of the Skysoaring Realm or even half-step Martial Gods. In their eyes, the opportunities in the secret realm were prepared for them, and everyone else was just a foil.

Then came the ten prodigies of the Demon Race. As they walked toward the gate of light, the atmosphere of the entire venue visibly became oppressive. The ten demon prodigies all had deep auras. Three of them were already half-step Martial Gods, and the remaining seven were all at the peak of the Skysoaring Realm. Their eyes carried a wild indifference, looking at the surrounding human cultivators as if looking at prey.

Leading them was a demon youth wearing a black robe. He had a handsome face, a pair of curved dragon horns on his forehead, and ghost-green flames burning in his vertical pupils. He was the legitimate grandson of Holy King Canglong—Cang Ming. It was said that this demon had cultivated for over two hundred years and had already touched the threshold of the Martial God Realm. He was one of the most outstanding prodigies of the Demon Race in ten thousand years.

When Cang Ming walked to the gate of light, he suddenly stopped and turned to look in the direction of the Eastern Wasteland. His gaze fell on Xiao Chen, and a trace of battle intent flashed in his vertical pupils.

"Are you Xiao Chen of the Eastern Wasteland?" His voice was low and hoarse. "I heard that your sword dao is transparent, and you are the strongest among the younger generation in the Eastern Wasteland. I hope to meet you in the secret realm."

Xiao Chen returned the greeting with his sword, his tone flat: "I hope so too."

Cang Ming smiled, turned around, and stepped into the gate of light.

Finally, it was the prodigies of the four regions. When the ten great prodigies of the Eastern Wasteland walked toward the gate of light, Wang Hao sat on the green jade mat without getting up. He simply used voice transmission to send one last sentence into everyone's ears.

"Remember, the highest realm of scheming against someone is not to let them die, but to make them feel that you helped them even after they died. I will wait for your good news outside."

Xiao Chen's footsteps paused, the base of his ears turning slightly red, but he did not look back.

Ye Guyun cursed "tyrant" in a low voice, Lu Chenzhou chuckled twice, Wanyan Gu clenched his fists, and Su Lie silently touched the corpse-dissolving powder in his sleeve.

Ten figures disappeared into the gate of light.

The gate of light slowly closed, but it did not close completely. It merely shrank to a size of three zhang so that it could reopen thirty days later. The sixteen sect masters sat cross-legged in front of the stone stele, personally standing guard.

The five Demon Gods did not leave either. Instead, they occupied a platform on the east side of Tianxu Peak and set up camp on the spot. They had said they would wait outside the secret realm for the demon prodigies to come out, and they kept their word. Jiang Canghai and Patriarch Chiyan also did not return to their slumber. Instead, they stood on either side of the stone stele, resting with their eyes closed. The entire Tianxu Peak fell into a fragile balance—the Demon Race, Central Province, and the four regions. The three factions each occupied an area, guarding against each other, and no one dared to act rashly.

As for Wang Hao, he was doing what he did best.

"Old Wei," he lowered his voice.

"Master."

"Has the new betting pool opened yet?"

Wei Zhongxian pulled out a jade slip, his mouth twitching slightly. The thirteen casinos in Jieyin City have jointly opened a betting pool on the number of people who will come out of this mystic realm alive. Out of two hundred and forty people, if no more than one hundred and fifty survive, the odds are one to one; no more than one hundred, one to three; no more than fifty, one to five.

Bet on no more than fifty people, Wang Hao said without hesitation. Wager two hundred million spirit stones.

Wei Zhongxian's eyelids twitched violently. Your Majesty, are you sure? Although the mystic realm is dangerous, the survival rate in previous years has always been above seventy percent. Betting on no more than fifty people is almost impossible—

Old Wei, Wang Hao interrupted him. Do you know what is currently inside the mystic realm?

What is it?

The ten great paragons whom I have personally trained in underhanded tactics for three days. Wang Hao smiled. I gave each of them ten catties of Corpse-Dissolving Powder. Do the math, ten people means one hundred catties. How many people can one hundred catties of Corpse-Dissolving Powder melt away? My math isn't great, so calculate it for me.

Wei Zhongxian's face turned green.

He silently recorded a line of text on the jade slip: His Majesty wagers two hundred million spirit stones on the survival of no more than fifty people. It is recommended that all casinos immediately add to their security deposits to avoid bankruptcy.

When the news of the bet reached Jieyin City, the owners of the thirteen casinos collectively suffered from insomnia. Some overnight changed the odds for no more than fifty survivors to one to ten, attempting to cut their losses. But bettors swarmed in, because everyone felt this option was simply too absurd—with previous mystic realm survival rates as high as seventy percent, how could it possibly drop below twenty percent?

Only one person knew the answer.

That person was currently peeling his tenth Fire Spirit Fruit.

Time passed day by day.

The wait outside the mystic realm was long and tedious. But for Wang Hao, this period was not boring at all. His daily routine was very regular—waking up in the morning to see if there was any unusual movement at the light gate outside the mystic realm, then going to the demon camp to chat with Holy King Canglong, then visiting the Central State camp to ask for cultivation advice from Jiang Canghai, finally returning to the Eastern Wasteland camp for a briefing, and reviewing the day's intelligence at night.

He called this friendly exchange.

But everyone could see that he was playing both sides. With the demons, he talked and laughed cheerfully, occasionally throwing out a few pieces of intelligence about Central State—half true and half false—making the demons increasingly wary of Central State. With Central State, he would put on a sincere face and declare, I stand on the side of the human race, and then casually reveal some information about the demon paragons, making Central State increasingly vigilant against the demons.

Elder Wugu watched from the sidelines for three days and privately said to Zen Master Du'e, This emperor has enough schemes to weave a bolt of cloth.

Zen Master Du'e pressed his palms together. Amitabha. This poor monk believes it is not a bolt of cloth, but an entire textile factory.

And just on the seventh day after the mystic realm opened, an unexpected event occurred.

That night, while Wang Hao was cultivating in his tent, he suddenly felt the Martial God Barrier-Breaking Pill in his sleeve vibrate slightly. He took out the pill and found that the nine-colored light on its surface had become even brighter, as if responding to some external stimulus.

The system's cold voice echoed in his mind: Intelligence Update: Three Martial Gods of Central State and five Demon Gods of the demon race plan to join forces to suppress the host on the day the mystic realm closes. The reason is that the host has infringed upon the interests of both sides, so they have decided to temporarily set aside their differences and join hands to eliminate you.

Wang Hao's movements paused for a moment.

Then, he smiled.

Finally here, he muttered to himself. I was wondering why neither side made a move after beating around the bush for seven days. It turns out you're waiting for the mystic realm to close before striking. Out of the thirty-day limit, twenty-three days remain. By then, the demon paragons will return fully loaded, Central State will free up their hands, and both sides will join forces to strangle me—it's a pretty good plan indeed.

He rested the Martial God Barrier-Breaking Pill on his palm, watching the flowing nine-colored light on its surface, the smile in his eyes growing deeper.

System, you previously said that my heavenly tribulation is the strongest in history, right?

Yes. Because the host has repeatedly disrupted the heavenly secrets, the Heavenly Dao has locked onto the host's aura. The power of the heavenly tribulation will reach the absolute limit of what the Martial God realm can endure.

Which means, if I swallow this pill right in front of the three Martial Gods and five Demon Gods, the heavenly tribulation will descend—

...Yes. The system's voice carried a hint of wariness.

Does the heavenly tribulation recognize people and only strike the one undergoing the tribulation, or will it implicate everyone in the surrounding area?