Chapter 1335: Little Man's Rise

Lion Min sighed, "Do you believe they only have a little over a hundred primeval stones on them?"

"Of course not," Lion Gong and Lion Rong replied in unison. As the dignified Medusa Queen, even if the Serpent race was down on its luck, they wouldn't be this poor.

"I don't believe it either. They're saying this on purpose because they're extremely wary of us. They probably won't fall for anything we try," Lion Min replied. "As the saying goes, 'to take, you must first give.' So, I planned to let them have a taste of success first, which is why I recommended those rough stones to them. Once you get addicted to stone gambling, it's hard to get out. But I never expected there to be Heaven-tier primeval stones inside."

Thinking of this, he felt a bit dejected. If he had known, he would have bought that rough stone himself for a few hundred primeval stones. A 100,000-fold return!

"They made a killing!" Lion Rong said resentfully. One hundred Heaven-tier primeval stones—even he felt a pang of regret.

"It's fine. In this Yellow-tier room, wins and losses are within a controllable range; we can't truly hurt them," Lion Min sneered. "Later, I'll invite them to the Heaven-tier or even Immortal-tier rooms. They just won so much, they definitely won't be willing to stop now. My initial goal has also been achieved."

Hearing him say this, Lion Gong and Lion Rong felt somewhat relieved. In their hearts, they still admired their Third Brother, thinking that he truly lived up to his reputation and had everything perfectly calculated.

After collecting the Heaven-tier primeval stones from Lion Min and the others, Zu An approached Ban Ka and Heichi Gu. "It's your turn, gentlemen. The Lion princes set a good example; you should learn from them."

"Hmph, I don't have that many primeval stones," Ban Ka said bluntly.

Heichi Gu followed suit, "Neither do I."

"Oh, trying to default on a debt?" Zu An looked at the steward nearby. "What does the Azure Garden usually do in such situations?"

The steward smiled slightly. "Generally, if a contract is made here at Azure Garden and we've witnessed it, the defaulting party will have a hand cut off as punishment. Of course, this time it's worth 100 Heaven-tier primeval stones, so one hand might not be enough."

Although he spoke with a smile, those around felt a chill down their spines.

Zu An was a bit surprised, not expecting the Azure Garden to be so formidable. It seemed he had misunderstood before; the Fox Commerce Guild and Tu Shan Yu behind it probably had nothing to do with this place. She didn't have that much power.

Ban Ka was furious. He was, after all, a prince of his race; when had he ever been threatened like this?

Just as he was about to erupt, Heichi Gu's expression changed, and he hurriedly said, "I genuinely don't have that many Heaven-tier primeval stones on me, but I recently acquired 10 pieces of Rainbow Glow Secret Ore. Their value should be similar to this Blazing Glass; I'll use them to settle the debt."

Unlike Ban Ka, Heichi Gu had resided in the royal court for a long time and naturally knew the Azure Garden's influence.

As he spoke, he took out an exquisite pouch containing ten gems, each seemingly enveloped in a rainbow glow, explaining their name.

"Rainbow Glow Secret Ore?" The steward frowned. "This item is indeed quite rare and precious. Legend has it that it can be used to forge weapons above the Heaven-tier, but it's only an auxiliary material, not a primary one. Besides that, no other particularly valuable uses have been discovered. If this distinguished guest understands artifact forging, then this item is indeed very valuable. If not... please judge for yourself."

Zu An was a little surprised; the steward's words implicitly helped him. It seemed being polite earlier had paid off.

He said casually, "Never mind. This fellow looks so poor; he probably can't produce anything anyway. Our Medusa Queen has always been magnanimous, so we won't make things difficult for you."

Yu Yanluo's face flushed slightly. She thought, *Ah Zu takes all the blame, yet he always ensures I maintain a good reputation. He's so good to me.*

As Zu An spoke, he took the pouch of Rainbow Glow Secret Ore, still with a dismissive expression, but inwardly he was overjoyed.

While the Rainbow Glow Secret Ore might only be useful for artifact forging to others, it was of great use to him.

One of the crucial materials needed for Valkyrie Meixi to break through at higher levels, which he had summoned earlier, was precisely this Rainbow Glow Secret Ore. He had been getting headaches thinking about how rare the materials needed for these Valkyries' breakthroughs were and where to find them, only for them to be delivered right to his doorstep.

Heichi Gu almost fainted from anger. Just a short while ago, he had mocked the other party for looking poor with only a little over a hundred primeval stones. He never expected the tables to turn so quickly.

Rage points from Heichi Gu +888+888+888...

After stripping him of his valuables, Zu An didn't even glance at Heichi Gu again and approached Ban Ka. "Your turn, Hyena Prince."

"Hyena Prince?" Ban Ka's face twitched. The brown and black spots on his body seemed to tremble. While the title wasn't technically wrong, why did it sound so insulting?

Rage points from Ban Ka +555+555+555...

He glanced at Heichi Gu, then at Lion Min and the others nearby. Finally, he gritted his teeth and took out a gem. "This is a piece of Bedrock Topaz I recently acquired. Its value should be similar to your Blazing Glass."

The Azure Garden steward nodded. "This item is indeed roughly equivalent to Blazing Glass in value and can help rock elemental cultivators in their breakthroughs."

Zu An took the Bedrock Topaz, indicating his acceptance, and then directly gave it to Yu Yanluo. Medusa's bloodline power is related to rock elements, so this item would perfectly assist her in breaking through to the Grandmaster level soon.

Yu Yanluo gave him a tender glance. "Thank you~"

Seeing this, Yun Jianyue couldn't help but feel a little envious. "Even watching stone gambling, I accidentally get force-fed public displays of affection... Hmph, that boy never forgets to flirt."

Yan Xuehen didn't reply to him but frowned slightly, wondering why her emotions were so complicated. Could it be true...?

Ban Ka watched as the other man used his treasure to flirt, his heart seething with hatred. However, it wasn't a good place to act out in the Azure Garden. He thought to himself that once they left, he would gather his men and find a place to ambush the Serpent race party. He wouldn't just reclaim his Bedrock Topaz; he would also seize their Blazing Glass and all the Heaven-tier primeval stones they won today.

The Hyena clan was no stranger to robbery and murder. He had obtained this Bedrock Topaz himself by ambushing and robbing a merchant caravan.

With that thought, he immediately felt relieved. He was merely letting them hold onto the items for a while; he would get even more back when he seized them later.

At the thought of those Heaven-tier primeval stones, his breathing quickened. *I'm going to be rich! Rich!* With these resources, his strength could advance significantly, helping him stand out among his many brothers and perhaps making him a strong candidate for the next clan leader.

Besides these primeval stones, there was also the Medusa Queen, a peerless beauty. And the other two women with her, though ordinary-looking, had truly excellent physiques—they'd all be the same once the lights were out.

Thinking of these things, his mood grew increasingly pleasant, and he even cracked a smile.

Those around him simply thought he had lost his mind from the defeat, but only Zu An roughly guessed his intentions. He sneered inwardly, *If this fellow wants to die, I'll grant his wish.*

Next, Zu An went to collect payment from the other participants in the wager. However, none of them had that many primeval stones or treasures like Bedrock Topaz.

This was expected. Zu An made them hand over all their valuables—they were practically stripped naked—and then had each person write an IOU, which he then gave to Xing Nu.

These individuals were from different races. Even if they couldn't repay the debts in the future, the Serpent race could use these IOUs to negotiate with their clansmen, perhaps buying their votes.

Heichi Gu and Ban Ka watched, secretly regretting it. They wished they had written IOUs too, wondering why that scoundrel treated others differently.

Rage points from Heichi Gu +444+444+444...

Rage points from Ban Ka +444+444+444...

The two exchanged a knowing glance, then secretly communicated something via spiritual energy transmission.

Lion Min, who had silently observed everything from the side, finally spoke, "Congratulations, Medusa Queen, you've had a bountiful harvest today."

"I must also thank Third Prince for your generosity," Yu Yanluo said with a slight smile.

Lion Min's breath hitched. This woman's words were as cutting as that fellow named Zu An's.

However, he quickly composed himself. "Since the Queen is on such a winning streak today, how about a few more rounds?"

"Well..." Yu Yanluo hesitated.

Someone else already shouted, "There's no rule saying you leave when you've won!"

"Exactly, let us be amazed some more!"

...

Zu An glared at those who seemed to thrive on chaos. "Do you even have any primeval stones left to gamble with us? What are you yelling about?"

Those people's faces turned beet red, but they couldn't refute him. They could only curse him silently in their hearts, contributing another large wave of rage points to Zu An.

Only then did Zu An turn to Lion Min and the others. "Alright, but this Yellow-tier room isn't befitting our Queen's status. If we're going to gamble, let's go to the Immortal-tier building."

The surrounding crowd cursed inwardly. *This fellow barely had enough money for stone gambling in the Yellow-tier room just now, got lucky and made a fortune, and now he immediately shows such arrogance. He's truly an upstart.*