Chapter 681

The pitch-black infinite void, inside the crystal stone hall, You Zu's complexion was extremely grim.

His whole body flickered with silver-blue ghostly light; beneath his form, snowflake-shaped six-pointed light halos spread outward in rings, icy winds wailed throughout the hall, and bright ice crystals continually drifted down from the ceiling.

You Zu's mood dropped like the temperature in the hall at that moment.

If it weren't for maintaining his image, he would have already exploded in rage and cursing.

If You Ruo weren't his half-brother sharing the same father, he would have already brandished the Ice Spirit Divine Clan's supreme artifact, the trident, and cleaved You Ruo down with a single strike.

We've been tricked!

These damned ones, who have long guarded the Observation Outpost… are a treacherous lot.

They knew that Prince An Huo Xiong had the ability to challenge beyond his rank, so they deliberately set a trap for themselves and for Xuan Wu and the others, causing them to suffer a crushing defeat as soon as they arrived.

Those damned, supposed-to-be-exterminated foreign divine spirits managed to escape with their lives, which is fine; their lives were of no concern to You Zu and the others.

But they lost so much in the wager.

Ordinary cultivation resources aside, they lost so many soul crystals, so much bloodline essence… these things are extremely precious and rare; losing so much made their hearts ache fiercely.

"You Ruo." You Zu glared fiercely at You Ruo, slamming the trident hard into the floor with a booming 'dong'; the vast crystal hall trembled violently, layers of Cold Qi rapidly spread, freezing everyone inside into shivering.

Yi Zun roared, spewing vast sheets of magma and flame from his whole body, barely managing to resist the terrifying Cold Qi emitted by the trident.

"You Zu… watch your behavior… I despise you ice ghosts." Yi Zun's eyes spewed flame and smoke; he raised his hand and slapped his massive head, a mass of fire light gathering slowly above his head, quickly condensing into an ornate flame crown.

The flame crown, shaped like a nine-tiered tower, spewed firelight, swiftly neutralizing the trident's terrifying power, and the hall's temperature began to recover bit by bit.

The Nine Hell Flame Crown, the supreme divine artifact of the Molten Giant Divine Clan, possesses tremendous and fearsome power—it can transform an entire world into a lava hell in a short time, and also has the potent effect of converting acquired traits into innate ones, nurturing flame spirits.

Such a supreme divine artifact almost holds the supreme power to reopen earth, water, fire, and wind, and to recreate an entire world.

You Zu let out a cold snort, withdrew the terrifying Cold Qi around him, and said slowly: "You lowly things… congratulations… you guessed right, you can survive… as slaves of our Five Great Divine Clans, survive."

Inside the hall, the many foreign divine spirits who had just placed bets on Wu Tie all drew a breath at once, each bowing reverently to You Zu—having personally experienced the trident's terrifying power, which is enough to instantly annihilate their souls.

These foreign divine spirits respect might but not virtue; as long as one's fist is big enough, they will grant awe and reverence.

As for talk of lineage and bloodline… the big fist is the boss; clan interests and bloodline distinctions mean little to them.

You Zu looked satisfiedly at these foreign divine spirits bowing in submission, then narrowed his eyes at You Ruo, who stood in the hall smiling.

"My dear brother, you've won a round—congratulations. Ten thousand standard soul crystals—what a huge sum…"

You Ruo smiled and nodded. "Exactly, ten thousand standard soul crystals—that's indeed a huge number." You Zu had just arrived; being able to give him a show of force and win such a vast amount of resources made You Ruo feel quite pleased.

You Zu said leisurely: "However, I believe we are now the supreme leaders of the Observation Outpost; we have plenty of time to harvest these pitiful Pangu descendants… ten thousand, a hundred thousand, a million—none of that is a problem."

You Ruo's complexion suddenly twisted into a knot, his whole body continually flashing with cold light.

He glared hatefully at You Zu, his body trembling slightly.

You Zu spoke truly: the sole crystal bridge on the Crystal Stone Star has been destroyed, cutting off the road to the Ancestral Land; now You Zu and company are the supreme leaders of the Observation Outpost. Their authority is limitless—they may freely harvest all resources on Mu Dalu.

Furthermore, the severance of the road to the Ancestral Land means… they need not submit to supervision by clan superiors, need not fear the arrival of an 'audit team' at any moment, and need not pay tribute to their own clan's superiors…

You Zu and company may recklessly harvest, recklessly embezzle, recklessly profiteer.

And these benefits originally belonged to You Ruo and his lot.

You Ruo looked toward the hall, at those standing beside him. They were senior figures of the Heaven Crystal Divine Clan, Dark Soul Divine Clan, Molten Giant Divine Clan, and Barbarian God Clan… and their faces were all grim.

The benefits that were originally theirs have been stripped away. They went from lofty rulers to pawns at others' mercy. This sudden shift in status and power left them unable to accept it at once, a fire burning in their hearts.

You Zu let out a cold chuckle, glanced at Xuan Wu and the others, lightly waved his trident, and a mass of Cold Qi enveloped the five clan leaders seated on the throne. They exchanged a few low words; Xuan Wu, Chi Chan, Yi Zun, and Xu Po all burst out laughing, doubling over with mirth, then nodded in agreement.

You Ruo and the others felt as if countless tiny mice were scratching inside their hearts; they glared angrily at You Zu and company, but the flickering undulations of Cold Qi from the trident prevented them from reading lips to discern what was being said.

Especially, Xu Po is merely a wisp of black shadow; you cannot see what he says, nor can you make out his mouth at all.

After a while, the Cold Qi dissipated; Xuan Wu, seated centrally, snapped his fingers crisply, shaking the entire Crystal Stone Star slightly.

"So, the previous wager was won by you brothers… you accept the loss, we will absolutely not renege on the debt." Xuan Wu sat squarely on the throne, his towering thousand-zhang height looking down on the myriad divine spirits in the hall, and he chuckled 'keke'.

"Now then, we begin the second round." Xuan Wu pointed fiercely at Wu Tie's image in the treasure mirror, his voice grim: "This time we're not betting on this brat's life or death… he is definitely going to die; he must die."

"Let's bet on who will ultimately prevail. Three nations—who will finally win?" Xuan Wu's crystal‑radiant finger hammered the throne's armrest, each word ringing with force: "Great Martial God State!"

Xuan Wu burst into laughter; as he laughed, the black‑and‑white light clusters within his body flickered violently.

"Because of my strong recommendation, the Great Martial God State is the object of our five‑person wager." Xuan Wu chuckled as he looked toward the several crystal‑stone giants standing in the hall—those who had governed the Crystal Stone Star before his arrival, the senior members of the Heaven Crystal Divine Clan.

Now Xuan Wu has taken their place; he knows they, like You Ruo, feel resentful in their hearts.

So we must suppress them heavily.

In the previous round, You Zu and Xuan Wu had bet wrongly, still believing Ou Yezi could kill Wu Tie; but they never expected Wu Tie to actually win, and even gain the allegiance of the thirteen great clans of Great Wei…

Having failed to suppress them, they instead received a show of force from You Ruo and company…

This won't do; we must definitely crush the arrogant spirit of these 'native faction' Observation Outpost members.

Xuan Wu said in a deep voice: "We five believe the Great Martial God State will surely win the final victory… what do you think? Great Wei? Green Hill? Well, we're brothers, so you could even bet on both nations at once."

You Ruo and the others' faces turned extremely solemn.

The five clans' senior leaders, who had originally been stationed to oversee the Observation Outpost, glanced at one another, gathered together, were shrouded in a vast divine light, and began an urgent discussion.

You Zu and company smiled as they watched You Ruo and the others' futile struggle.

In the first round, they misjudged Wu Tie's strength, causing them to back the wrong person.

But this time, they will definitely win.

It's not merely because the Great Martial God State itself is strong—it is indeed strong, but not so overwhelming as to let You Zu and company rest completely at ease.

They certainly have other tricks; certainly, as the current supreme leaders of the Observation Outpost, they control the highest authority over all facilities of the great divine clans there, which gives them considerable room to maneuver.

After a while, the divine light released jointly by You Ruo and company faded; You Ruo, as the representative of the five clans' senior leaders, stepped forward two paces.

"Must we bet on the second round?" You Ruo asked cautiously of You Zu, Xuan Wu, and the others.

"We must bet… otherwise, if you win a round, take the benefits and leave, wouldn't that be too bullying?" Yi Zun said in a gruff tone: "The advantages of our Molten Giant Divine Clan aren't so easily taken."

Yi Zun having said that, Yan Hao, the former Molten Giant Divine Clan leader of the Observation Post standing behind You Ruo, flushed with shame and rage, roared and spat a viscous stream of lava at Yi Zun.

"Bastard, what qualifications do you have to represent the Molten Giant Divine Clan?" Yan Hao shouted angrily; they share the same father and mother, are brothers of equal noble bloodline, yet Yi Zun, in and out of his words, acts as if he represents the Molten Giant Divine Clan, leaving Yan Hao feeling deeply unsettled.

Yizun slapped, shattering the molten spray Yanhao had spat out, like an enraged beast, he roared at Yanhao: "My age is greater than yours, my strength surpasses yours, I command the Nine Hell Flame Crown, therefore I can represent the Molten Rock Giant God Clan—do you not accept that?"

Yanhao's eyes blazed fire; he immediately shouted, bringing up how Yizun, shortly after reaching adulthood years ago, led a large army to attack the foreign tribe, only to have the entire force annihilated and himself captured, until the Molten Rock Giant God Clan spent heavily to ransom him back from the enemy.

Yizun trembled with rage, shot to his feet, pointed at Yanhao, and began exposing his past misdeeds just the same.

Yanhao's first military campaign was to strangle a Void Giant Beast threatening the Molten Rock Giant God's colonial territory—just a mindless giant void beast—but the three thousand divine soldiers and generals he led were swallowed whole by the beast, while he himself fled in terror, hiding abroad for over a year, too ashamed to return home.

This too was an embarrassing matter; Yanhao instantly flew into a rage, jumping and shouting, publicly airing several more embarrassing incidents involving Yizun.

The two brothers, born of the same parents, exchanged angry shouts, loudly berating each other, while the myriad foreign gods and spirits in the hall widened their eyes, avidly listening to the Molten Rock Giant God Clan's two princes tearing at each other like dogs.

After hurling insults at each other for a long time, when they finally could find no more dirt on one another, they could only spew magma and begin cursing each other's parents……

Such a splendid greeting left everyone in the hall dumbfounded.

Too bad the boys' parents—the current God King and God Queen of the Molten Rock Giant God Clan—were not present; otherwise, hearing their precious sons' splendid quarrel, they would have been overjoyed to step in personally and beat the two idiots to death.

When the two had exhausted their insults and were rolling up their sleeves to fight, Xuanwu and the others finally spoke up, using a mix of soft and hard tactics to calm the brothers down.

After a brief unexpected interlude, Youzhuo took over speaking in place of Yizun.

"The second round is the final showdown." Youzhuo narrowed his eyes and said, "The life or death of a single person doesn't affect the overall situation… so we should still base our wager on the whole situation."

"We five have unanimously decided to support the Great Martial God State's unification of the three nations… for this, we will put up all the resources we brought." Youzhuo said solemnly, "Converted into standard soul crystals, after deducting the bets we previously lost, each of us can still wager about one hundred thousand standard soul crystals."

Youzhuo smiled at Youruo and said, "Do you still have enough chips to put up?"

Youruo fell silent for a moment, then smiled and nodded: "But the Great Martial God State's chance of winning is huge, so you bet one hundred thousand, and we can only call……"

Youzhuo interrupted Youruo: "We are wagering a total of five hundred thousand standard soul crystals; you need to put in at least…… well, at least two hundred thousand standard soul crystals, or resources of equivalent value……"

Youruo and Yanhao, among others, exchanged a glance and quickly communicated with a look.

"Besides resources, perhaps we should add some other stakes." Youruo said solemnly, "We need definite command authority, definite resource allocation…… Youzhuo, that would make it fair."

Youzhuo and the others likewise exchanged a strange glance, then began to haggle with Youruo and company.

The 'Air-drop Faction' that rushed from the ancestral lands, and the 'Native Faction' that had long managed the forward outpost—resources and power, various interests entangled—this must be settled through a non‑bloodshed method to determine certain power frameworks.

The wager is undoubtedly the most suitable method.

Both sides clearly understand that everyone will use any means to let the side they bet on win the final victory.

Time passed slowly; in the midst of the duel battlefield, surrounded by several Divine Realm elders guarding the center, the Great Martial God Emperor Wuba suddenly lifted his head and muttered to himself: "I heard the gods' decree…… Barbarian God Clan, Lord Chichi? Wasn't it Lord Wutou? It is Lord Chichi."

"Hmm, will the gods give their full aid to help our Great Martial God State win?"

"In this duel, the Great Martial God State needs to expend no sacrifices and can freely draw on the power of the Heavenly Divine Artifact?"

"Thanks to the gods!"

Wuba's face lit with joy as he sprang to his feet, shouting hoarsely: "Pass the order—full‑scale attack…… and first, try drawing unlimited power from the Heavenly Divine Artifact? Hmm……"

Wuba lifted his head and gazed toward the heavenly vault.

He murmured a few incantations, a speck of spiritual light flickering at his brow.

A strong beam of light fell from the sky, and a set of mighty, domineering, blood‑tinged heavy armor 'Boom!' clad his body.

The Barbarian God Clan's projection of the supreme divine artifact, the Ten Directions Slaughter Armor, descended; Wuba's aura, from the half‑step Divine Realm peak, instantly broke through to the seventh heaven of the Divine Realm.

"This is…… supreme divine power!"

"Our Great Martial…… will win!" Wuba and the myriad Divine Realm elders roared in unison.