Chapter 100: The Daily Life of a Gambler (Extra Chapter for 1,000 Monthly Votes)

"Whoosh~"

Inside the central building of the military camp, Lu Ran was marching with the soldiers when he suddenly heard a sound from behind.

He turned his head and saw Chang Ying holding a great axe in one hand and a phantom divination tube in the other.

Divine Art: Spirit Lot!

This Divine Art shares its name with the Deity Spirit Lot and is also the most basic Divine Art of the Spirit Lot sect.

It is suited for daily life, not combat techniques.

Anything can be asked!

Marriage, education, wealth, career, and so on—whatever you can think to ask, a Spirit Lot devotee can calculate for you!

The tube contains five lots in total: the top-top lot, the top lot, the middle lot, the bottom lot, and the bottom-bottom lot.

"Whoosh~"

Before long, a lot shot out from the tube.

Written on it in large characters was a single word: Middle!

"Middle means auspicious, auspicious and satisfactory!" Chang Ying shook her head and swayed, chanting, "Not bad, not bad~"

She really had the air of a charlatan.

If one swapped the great axe in her hand for a fortune-telling banner, she would look even more the part.

Lu Ran smiled: "Does middle mean auspicious?"

"Yes!" Chang Ying looked serious. "Whenever facing obstacles or difficulties, Tai. Tai."

Chang Ying suddenly frowned and muttered softly, "What was that phrase again?"

Lu Ran: "..."

The female soldier leading the way sighed inwardly, thinking, As expected!

No matter how she re-examined this squad, a gambler is a gambler; they cannot transform into a true deity who grants all requests.

"Oh, right!" Chang Ying shook her head and swayed again, chanting, "Whenever facing obstacles or difficulties, one can handle them calmly.

One will naturally turn bad luck into good and danger into safety."

Lu Ran stepped onto the spiral staircase, walking down around the Shi Zhu, and asked casually, "Have you ever drawn a top-top lot?"

"Of course I have!" Chang Ying replied immediately.

Lu Ran asked with a smile, "Did the things you calculated all come true?"

The divination tube in Chang Ying's hand vanished, and her expression turned somewhat strange.

Lu Ran received no response for a long time and couldn't help but ask, "Chang Ying?"

"Strange," Chang Ying looked at Lu Ran's back. "The few times I drew top-top lots, they all seemed to be related to you."

Lu Ran: "Huh?"

Chang Ying pondered, "The first two days after we became devotees, I wanted to ask how the future would be for teaming up with you."

As she spoke, she placed one hand on Tian Tian's head, using her like a human crutch, and walked down the steps step by step:

"That was my first time!"

Lu Ran: "..."

What kind of tiger-and-wolf words are these again?

Deng Yutang asked, "What first time?"

Chang Ying confirmed, "That was the first time in my life I drew a top-top lot!"

Hearing this, Lu Ran also recalled what Chang Ying had said when she came to apply to team up while he was standing in punishment on the playground back then.

Lu Ran had always thought Chang Ying was just making things up.

So she really did calculate it?

Chang Ying continued recalling and said, "In the following few months, I never drew such a good lot again.

Until one morning a few days ago, a top-top lot appeared again.

It left me stunned; I forgot what I had asked.

It was on that night..."

Lu Ran suddenly spoke up: "The homeroom teacher set up a small group chat for us?"

"Yes~" Chang Ying nodded with a smile. "So it seems you are indeed a lucky star!"

The group chatted idly while spiraling downward.

Tian Tian gathered her courage, raised her small hands, and pushed the large hand off her head.

She had thought Chang Ying would feel displeased or say something.

But unexpectedly, Chang Ying didn't care at all, as if she hadn't even noticed, and continued chatting with Lu Ran:

"Things related to you tend to yield good lots!"

As she spoke, Chang Ying casually raised her hand and placed it on Tian Tian's head again.

Tian Tian: "..."

So annoying!

This person is so barbaric; when will Sister Jiang Ruyi return...

When commanding the battle later, I must keep this female savage far away from me.

"Huff~"

The group walked into the starry curtain, and the night wind blew in gusts.

Lu Ran's short hair danced wildly; he strained his eyes, gazing at the mysterious demon cave beneath the night sky.

A stone city stood beneath their feet, with torches forming a long dragon winding in all directions, stretching to the end of the night.

Lu Ran had once been to Vicious Dog Village, a place of endless wilderness with barren land.

He had also been to the Soul-Splitting Demon Lair, where giant black soul-wood forests stood, and humans wandering within them seemed like tiny ants.

But here in the Black Lantern Demon Lair, the terrain consisted of undulating hills.

It was said that within this region, strange stones might stand in dense clusters atop various hills.

The strangest part was that most of these stones were rectangular, looking exactly like tombstones in a graveyard.

And the Black Lantern clan happened to favor gathering in such places.

This resulted in the torch paths set up by the military piercing through one "graveyard" after another.

"This is as far as I go," the female soldier said, leading the group to the surface. "You will exit through the Beimen and proceed northward for your trial."

"Take note: you must not leave the torch paths."

"Furthermore, you must calculate carefully; you may cross at most nine Black Tomb Mounds."

"When you see the tenth, you are not permitted to go any further."

The so-called "Black Tomb Mounds" were hills where tombstones stood in dense clusters, and those would be the gathering spots of the Black Lantern clan.

Thus, this Black Lantern Demon Lair also had an alternative name—the Black Tomb Mounds.

The female soldier continued, "Keep track of time; you must report to the nearest Shitoucheng every day."

"Before the tenth day of the next lunar month, you must exit the demon lair; otherwise, we will deduct your believer points."

"Understood," Lu Ran nodded.

Apart from the daily check-in and the clear restrictions on the activity area, the other rules were no different from those of other demon lairs.

"Good luck," the female soldier said, turning to leave.

Lu Ran looked at Tian Tian. "What do you say, Commander my lord?"

Tian Tian: "Shall we go too, then?"

Lu Ran smiled encouragingly. "You are the commander; most of the time, you need not seek others' opinions."

"You must issue orders decisively, and everyone will follow your arrangements."

Before leaving, Jiangjiang Ruyi had entrusted Lu Ran to look after Tian Tian.

Now, Lu Ran was putting that into action.

Tian Tian reached out her small hand and poked Deng Yutang's back with her finger. "Go."

Deng Yutang: "."

The four-person group quickly rushed to the Beimen and stood before the familiar torch path.

Lu Ran also pulled a red scarf from his pocket and covered his eyes with it.

Chang Ying looked at Lu Ran curiously but said nothing more.

After all, on the night when the ghosts traveled, she had already witnessed Lu Ran's powerful battlefield intuition.

"Shall I go ahead?" Lu Ran, with the red cloth blindfolding his eyes, picked up his dual blades again and looked back.

"Be careful," Tian Tian whispered.

Lu Ran naturally heard every word clearly and stepped forward into the darkness.

Chang Ying really couldn't hold back and whispered, "Has he always hunted so wildly?"

Tian Tian tilted her head up, looking at Chang Ying. "Stand behind me... one meter... three meters!"

Chang Ying, holding her great axe, obediently stepped back two paces.

"Move out!"

Tian Tian waved her small hand, very satisfied with her decision.

Chang Ying felt utterly miserable!

In the past, she had fiercely led the charge.

Now, she stood at the very end of the formation, and even had to take smaller steps; otherwise, she might easily catch up to Tian Tian.

Tian Tian suddenly said, "When we encounter a demon shortly, you try first."

"Alright!" Chang Ying's eyes lit up; the great axe in her hand was already itching for action.

But unexpectedly, Tian Tian added, "Make more use of the Five-Treasure Lots and Six-Treasure Lots, so we can familiarize ourselves with the strength of your divine arts."

At this moment, Chang Ying was at Stream Realm, Stage Two, and had learned three divine arts.

The First Divine Art, Spirit Lots, was the life-skill technique she had just used.

The Second Divine Art, Five-Treasure Lots, was a divine art that integrated five major types of abilities into one.

The Third Divine Art, Six-Treasure Lots, was an advanced version of the Five-Treasure Lots, with each lot possessing higher spell power.

What gave people a headache was that within the Six-Treasure Lots, there was one "Rotten Lot"!

Once drawn, Chang Ying would immediately misfire.

The energy required for her to cast spells would triple, and the skill cooldown time would also triple!

That Rotten Lot would also stay right beside Chang Ying, flying around erratically like an annoying fly.

As everyone knew, after a Spirit Lots believer drew lots, they would enter a three-minute cooldown period.

It was not a cooldown for a single skill, but all divine arts would cool down simultaneously.

Why was this so?

This was a sect rule established by the deity, Lord Spirit Lots.

According to Lord Spirit Lots himself: "The Spirit Lots sect's divine arts are too powerful; if used recklessly, they would violate the harmony of heaven."

As the saying goes: "To violate the harmony of heaven is to invite great calamity!"

Therefore, if you cast spells consecutively, Lord Spirit Lots will not grant approval.

Regarding this, Lu Ran believed... this was pure bullshit!

Not a single word from that old charlatan can be trusted.

If you truly had such great ability, you would first change the probability-based mechanics into fixed mechanics!

Who doesn't understand the principle that nine out of ten gamblers lose?

And don't give me that nonsense about "Yong Shen Fa being too powerful and violating heavenly harmony," please!

Why did Lu Ran think this way?

Because the Spirit Tally believers cannot let those three minutes of skill cooldown go to waste.

Waiting foolishly is not an option!

You must pray devoutly to my lord Spirit Tally for the skill's cooldown duration to be calculated.

If you do not pray and do not give faith power to Spirit Tally, your skill will remain on cooldown for a lifetime!

To put it plainly, isn't this just a method to fish for faith?

If you openly fish for it, no one will say anything.

This is just like making money; there is nothing shameful about it.

Yet Spirit Tally spouts one set of grand principles and petty philosophies after another, packaging itself very well.

As for the Spirit Tally believers... well, one can only say it is a case of the willing victim and the willing striker.

"Demon detected!" Deng Yutang's voice suddenly came from ahead, "A lone one."

Tian Tian immediately said, "Let Chang Ying demonstrate her strength?"

Deng Yutang lowered the long spear he had raised: "Very well."

"Good luck." Tian Tian turned her head to look at Chang Ying.

"Just watch me~" Chang Ying strode forward on her long legs, hefting a great axe as she charged.

"Use more Yong Shen Fa," Tian Tian shouted loudly.

"Rustle~"

Chang Ying immediately grasped a tally tube and rushed straight toward a black lantern: "Spirit Tally bless me, bless me!"

Don't give me another support tally; I don't need to restore divine power!

A damage tally, a control tally, a summoning tally—anything will do.

"Whoosh~"

Inside the tally tube, a spirit tally flew high up and suddenly grew huge!

This time, what was drawn was indeed not a support tally, but was it a defense tally?

Chang Ying looked up, slightly bewildered.

"Chang Ying?" Lu Ran's reminding voice came from the darkness in the distance.

"Oh, oh!" Chang Ying hurriedly snapped back to her senses.

She raised her hand high, then slammed it down fiercely.

So what if it's a defense tally?

It can still smash someone to death!

Under Chang Ying's control, the defense tally, like a giant fly swatter, smashed down upon the black lantern.

The bonus chapter for monthly votes is complete; continuing to beg for monthly votes—one extra chapter for every additional thousand votes!

(End of Chapter)