Talented Martial Hero
Chapter 1239 A Bet

"You aroused my curiosity, boy. I don't want you to die.” The Gambling King's eyes lit up. He cocked his head to the side and continued, "I'll take care of this round. I'm offering odds of one to ten for you, and one to one for that old man.” The Gambling King's rules were always simple.

"Well, sir, it seems as though you don't have confidence in me. Is that why you make such an offer?" Darren furrowed his brows and questioned.

If the Gambling King were serious, upon winning, Darren's ten thousand points would multiply to one hundred thousand.

"With all due respect, you're only at the middle-level of the Domain God Realm. How does that inspire confidence?" the Gambling King pointed out.

"Darren, it appears as though he isn't aware of your real strength," Murphy stated with a shake of his head.

"No, he knows.” Darren's face fell. "I'm afraid I'm in trouble this time," he said to Murphy through his spiritual sense.

"What? What do you mean?" Murphy was utterly confused.

"Think about it. The Gambling King is addicted to gambling. He must have investigated both sides’ background thoroughly to calculate his odds of winning. I believe he already knows about my real strength," Darren explained.

"Then why did he make such odds?" Murphy was unable to figure it out.

"It's simple. He deliberately created such high odds to encourage more people to bet. I speculate that he will make a plot to let Caleb win. In this way, he will make a good fortune here.” Darren sighed somewhat worriedly.

"Oh, now that makes sense. He bears no good intention toward you.” Murphy's eyes widened with surprise when he understood. He hurriedly suggested, "Let's stop here. We will quit.”

"No, I won't." Darren shook his head before he continued, "This is the only way to get rid of Caleb and not get others involved. I have no choice but to agree.

As for the wager, as long as sufficient people bet on Caleb, the Gambling King won't hurt me. In fact, he may even secretly help me," Darren speculated

"But the problem is that anyone who wants to participate will investigate Caleb and you. If that happens, most people will bet on you. After all, the strength you can display is a whole realm higher than your cultivation base level, and I don't believe that Caleb could have accomplished that had he been in your shoes,” Murphy analyzed.

"Let's not worry about all that. I think I know how to turn this around. Perhaps I can make a fortune as well,” Darren answered with a confident grin.

"Really? I can't wait to hear the details!"

"Okay, but later.” Darren then ended their conversation.

"Murphy, aren't you going to bet one million on your little buddy?" the Gambling King raised his eyebrows and questioned.

"While I'm confident that Darren will win, I won't bet. I'm not interested.” Now that Murphy had learned how the game would work, he didn't want to increase Darren's risk. He knew that if too many people bet on him, things would get complicated, and the Gambling King would do something sneaky to earn more points.

"Master Murphy, how many points do you have? Bet them all on me!" Darren prompted. He sounded confident of himself.

"Are you sure? Darren?" Murphy frowned and asked. He couldn't figure out what Darren was up to. "Come on. You need to believe in my strength. Don't need to worry about the rest.” Darren smiled mischievously as he prompted Murphy.

"Well, okay. Don't let me down.” Although he didn't know what was going on in Darren's mind, Murphy trusted him enough to follow.

"I have one million and five hundred thousand points. All for Darren!" Murphy exclaimed.

"Well, since you're the first to place the bet, I have a surprise. Let's register two million points for you," the Gambling King said generously. But, the broad smile on his face told a different story. It was clear that he regarded Murphy's one and a half million points as something he had already earned.

"Wait a moment,” Murphy shouted after he took out his points.

"I'm sorry, but a deal is a deal. You can't take back your points now,” the Gambling King growled. "No, no. I want to raise my bet,” Murphy said lightly. He removed many pieces of divine pattern fragments from his spatial treasures as he spoke.

"Level-four runic fragments!" King Winfred exclaimed. Even the Gambling King found it hard to tear his gaze from the dazzling runic fragments. Soon, the greed disappeared from his expression, and he peered at Murphy.

"You're right. I want to add these level-four runic fragments to my bet. I suppose this won't change the odds, right?” Murphy asked.

"Of course, not!" the Gambling King agreed. "I didn't expect you to be a gambler. I like you!" "Master Murphy,” Darren looked at Murphy and whispered. "You don't need to do that. What if the Gambling King breaks his words when he loses?”

It was too risky. What if the Gambling King reneged? He wouldn't be surprised as there were too many points and precious treasures at stake. Besides, the Gambling King was more powerful than them and could do as he pleased.

"Don’t worry. He considers his credibility more important than his life. He will never cheat that way. Besides, he has a huge fortune. Even the loss of a billion points won't affect him." It was well known to all that the Gambling King was a man of honor. If he didn't keep his promise, who would risk betting on him? His reputation would have been lost long ago.

"That's a relief to know. But, I don't know if he can afford so many runic fragments,” Darren added. "It won't be a problem. This level-four fragment is worth five million points. If he loses, even if he doesn't have fragments of the same level with which to repay me, he can give me points. I'm okay with that,” Murphy replied.

"Okay, then I can rest my concerns," Darren said with a nod.

"All right. All right. I'm going to catch up with my old friends now. I'll make a fortune this time. Ha- ha." The Gambling King accepted the bets and left with a happy heart.

On the other side, Caleb, who had been silent all the time, also left with King Winfred. The game would take place a month later.

Later that day, Darren and Murphy were walking in the sect, shoulder by shoulder.

"Darren, I alone have bet so much on you. I'm certain that the others would do the same when they hear about the bet. It will be an enormous figure,” Murphy stated worriedly.

"It doesn't matter. In half a month, news will spread that I am seriously injured and might die. Then, people will bet on Caleb instead of on me,” Darren replied calmly.

"Darren, it's not that easy. Gamblers are good at gathering information. They will investigate when they hear of your injury. If you're feigning it, they will find out.”

"Who says that I will feign the injuries?" A fierce light flashed through Darren's eyes.

"What? Are you going to hurt yourself? Seriously?" This was beyond Murphy's understanding. If Darren were severely injured half a month before the duel, how would he fight Caleb?

Caleb was a powerful cultivator at the Celestial God Realm. Even when healthy and strong, Darren would find it challenging to defeat him.

After all, the martial arts skills his opponent had mastered were much stronger than Darren's. "Don't worry. I have a plan,” Darren said reassuringly.

Soon, half a month went by.

Because of the Gambling King's reputation, tens of thousands of people had ventured to bet on Darren or Caleb.

Darren's name became well-known to many people in the Ninth Precipitous Mountain overnight. "Have you heard of this guy called Darren, who dares to duel with a cultivator at the Celestial God Realm?"

"It's hard to say. It's said that he can kill someone whose cultivation level is higher than his. Besides, with the Realm-equalizing Arena, who knows what he's capable of? Let's wait and see!”

"Don't be naive. Have you ever seen anyone at the Domain God Realm who can kill someone at the Star God Realm? Perhaps, this is a deliberate plot set up by the Gambling King."

Many people voiced varying opinions during their discussion.