Chapter 188: A Cheater's Gamble—Good Luck to You All

The spatial trap rune shattered, rapidly generating a distorted black hole.

Song Hao was instantly swept into it by a powerful suction, feeling himself plummeting and tumbling at breakneck speed.

He had no idea how long this lasted before a blinding white light flashed before his eyes, and then everything fell silent.

He found himself already in a completely unfamiliar place.

Thick mist permeated the surroundings, with strange silhouettes faintly emerging through the haze—some resembling natural mountains and rivers, others man-made structures, as if he had entered a mysterious space of another dimension.

Looking up, he saw a massive rotating black hole.

Streams of light kept emerging from the black hole, landing beside him and coalescing into figures of foreign races.

But some of those streams of light were crushed into bloody mist by an invisible force before they even hit the ground, dissipating into the air.

One thing was certain—these streams of light were all beings who had triggered the trap and entered this rule-based game space, though they seemed to receive three different treatments.

"Guide, what's going on?"

Facing the question, the Guide avatar hovering beside Song Hao replied with a lazy expression:

【Very simple. A rule game clearly requires a certain level of intelligence to play. The beings transported here after triggering the trap are divided into three categories in the eyes of the You Lu Council: intelligent, unintelligent, and untouchable.】

【Intelligent beings, like you, are transported into the game space. Unintelligent beings are directly crushed into qi and blood energy to become game prizes. Untouchable beings are sent back to wherever they came from…】

As it spoke, the Guide pointed at a stream of light in the distance that had just entered the space and immediately turned back.

Instantly, a virtual image of a pale blue-skinned being appeared before Song Hao.

【Take this being, for example. The You Lu Council considers it untouchable—even if it were eliminated, they couldn't wipe out its entire clan, so the moment it entered the game space, it was sent back.】

"So what logic does this space actually run on?" Song Hao asked curiously.

At this moment, Qi Sheng and the Guide's consciousness also descended into the game space and began analyzing its contents.

After obtaining the relevant information, the Guide avatar looked at Song Hao and explained:

【This rule is called "Game Space." The underlying logic for producing energy is gambling. All participating beings will compete against members of the You Lu Council in game form. Whenever a participant is eliminated in the game, the You Lu Council obtains a Zu Qun Lao Yin related to the eliminated one. Once the target's clan is destroyed, a large amount of game energy and one life trait of the destroyed clan can be extracted from the imprint.】

【For example, if the eliminated being is a fish, once that fish's clan is destroyed, members of the You Lu Council will gain the swimming talent and obtain a large amount of game energy.】

【So the core of this game is: participants play alongside these You Lu Council members who serve as both referees and players. If the participants lose, their entire clan dies. If the You Lu Council loses, they give out rewards.】

"That's not fair."

【Young man, fairness is built on equal strength.】

"The game rules are set by them—won't it be too easy for them to make us lose?"

【Don't worry about that. The operation of Game Space has three underlying logics.】

【First logic: once the game begins, the rule controllers cannot directly kill participants to achieve victory.】

【Second logic: the rule controllers cannot set game traps that cannot be solved. There must be at least one way to clear it, and that way must conform to the game's setting.】

【Third logic: hidden rules modified by the rule controllers cannot be seen through by participants. If seen through, the participants are judged the winners.】

【Only by revolving around these three underlying logics can the You Lu Council obtain the Zu Qun Lao Yin generated by the eliminated. Otherwise, even if they eliminate their opponents, they gain nothing…】

After hearing the Guide's explanation, Song Hao nodded immediately.

He understood now.

This game also imposed mandatory requirements on the controllers—they had to create the game according to the underlying logic of the rules.

Then both sides would compete through the game rules.

The difference was that the You Lu Council could freely modify settings and set traps within the rules.

While the participants, apart from using their brains, had no other means to respond.

"Guide bro, what exactly is this Zu Qun Lao Yin?"

【You can understand it as a mission issued to the You Lu Council by the rules of Game Space. Completing it unlocks the follow-up mission "Clan Slaughter." Completing the secondary mission is equivalent to fulfilling the operational logic of Game Space, which can generate large amounts of energy resources and special rewards.】

"Got it."

After understanding the principle of Game Space, Song Hao immediately became interested.

He had no interest in mind-bending rule games.

But he was very interested in the rewards.

His gaze swept the surroundings—nine humanoid-shaped beings of foreign races had appeared beside him.

Their expressions were terrified, their eyes constantly scanning the area, clearly deeply worried about their predicament.

Just then, the surrounding space began to twist and change.

A round gambling table appeared at the center of the scene.

The table appeared to be crafted from dark solid wood, with ten dice cups neatly arranged on top. Colorful oil paintings hung on the surrounding walls, and light poured down from a uniquely shaped chandelier overhead, with warm yellow light focused on the gambling table, leaving the surrounding environment somewhat dim.

At the same time, a flood of information appeared in Song Hao's mind:

【Game Code: 2】

HP: 5 points (1 deducted per failure).

Round 1 Game Rules: Participants compete against the gods by rolling dice. If they see through the hidden rule the god created for themselves during the game, they are directly judged the winner. All participants are forbidden from using force within the game space, or they will be directly judged the loser.

Basic Rules:

Turn-based: The game has 8 rounds. Each round, the player and the god each roll five six-sided dice (5-30 points).

Win/Loss Judgment:

If the player's dice total is greater than the god's, the player wins and gains 1 point.

If the total is equal to or less than the god's dice total, the god wins and the player loses 1 HP.

Victory Conditions:

The player accumulates 5 points, and the game is cleared.

The player sees through the hidden rule, and the game is cleared.

The player's HP reaches zero, and they are eliminated.

……

This game seemed very simple to Song Hao.

It was just rolling dice; if you rolled a higher number than the damn gods, you won.

But what made him curious was what the hidden rules were.

Through the introduction of the guidance, he had already learned that the gods could set some hidden rules favorable to themselves for the game.

He was too lazy to reason out this problem.

Why burn his brain? Just rush in; the worst that could happen was returning to the small black room.

Just then, a floating card appeared before him; the image on the card kept switching before finally freezing.

The image on the card was a twisted blue vortex.

【Skill: Reversal】:

Skill Description: Forcefully reverse the point comparison of a round; for example, changing "compare high" to "compare low." It can be used after the result is revealed.

Song Hao reached out and grabbed the card, feeling somewhat puzzled in his heart.

In his view, the effect of this card was equivalent to directly securing victory in a round of gambling.

Turning his head to look beside him, a creature with gray-white skin looked terrified, staring at the card in its hand, its body trembling uncontrollably.

Focusing his gaze on the card in its hand, relevant information floated up.

【Skill: X-Ray Vision】:

Skill Description: Can see the points rolled by the gods in advance before the game result is announced.

In Song Hao's view, this skill effect was completely meaningless.

Seeing the points obviously could not affect the outcome of the game.

Just then, Song Hao saw a bone ring worn on the index finger of the gray-white-skinned creature; after analyzing it, he discovered it was actually a top-grade equipment of Quality 48.

"Hey, brother, how about trading your ring for my card?"

Song Hao took the initiative to greet him at this moment.

The gray-white-skinned creature turned its head to look at Song Hao, its gaze shifting to the card in his hand, then looking down at the ring on its finger.

Without even a shred of hesitation, it took off the ring and handed it to Song Hao.

Song Hao immediately beamed with joy and decisively exchanged the skill card for the ring.

He had already made a profit before the game even started, feeling very pleased in his heart.

As for the possibility of losing the card causing him to fail the game, this problem was completely meaningless.

The definition of death was simply spending an hour refreshing the forum.

Just then, the gambling table stretched out, and the scene began to split.

Every participant was separated by invisible barriers.

A vague, dark blue figure appeared before Song Hao and sat down on the opposite side of the gambling table.

After the Analysis ability was activated, the opponent's detailed information floated into his mind:

【Youka (Youlu Clan)】:

Hunting Rank: Level 139

Target Introduction: A member of the hegemonic power "Youlu Council" from the Youlu World, an elemental lifeform that acquires growth energy through gambling in the game space, skilled in various types of gambling games, and masters rule-level powers granted by the game space.

"Let's begin."

Youka's cold voice came through.

Song Hao casually walked over and sat down at the gambling table.

Youka moved first, pressing down on top of the dice cup; the dice inside were instantly activated, colliding with each other and emitting a crisp, dense sound.

Song Hao didn't hesitate either; mimicking the action, he pressed the button above the dice cup.

Before long, the two dice cups came to a stop.

Song Hao opened the lid and found his points were 11.

At this moment, the god also lifted the lid; the points were 12.

In the first round, he was deducted 1 Life Point, leaving him with 4 Life Points remaining.

Immediately, a strong sense of weakness surged over him, as if some force was extracting the vitality from his body.

The second round of gambling began immediately after.

This time, the god's points were 18, while the points Song Hao rolled were 13.

Song Hao was deducted another 1 Life Point.

In the third round, Song Hao's points were 12, the god's points were 9; he gained one point, still needing four points to reach victory.

In the fourth round, the points Song Hao rolled were 19, the god's points were 21; he was deducted another Life Point, leaving him with 2 Life Points remaining.

Having only played four rounds, he had already lost three; Song Hao was furious.

He knew this bastard who called himself a god was cheating, but he didn't know how the cheating was done.

In the fifth round, the points Song Hao rolled were 11, the god's points were 6; Score +1, still needing 3 points to win.

In the sixth round, the points Song Hao rolled were 24, and the points the god rolled were also 24; according to the rules, the god won.

Before the seventh round began, Song Hao had only 1 Life Point remaining.

He lay weakly on the gambling table, very much wanting to pull out a Spirit Bomb and throw it in the other's face for a self-destruct attack.

But thinking it over, he decided against it.

Spirit Bombs cost money to buy; if it didn't kill the other party, it would be a huge loss.

The seventh round began at this moment; Youka, who called himself a god, pressed the button on the dice cup first.

Listening to the sound of the dice colliding with the inner walls of the dice cup, Song Hao decided not to play along anymore and flipped the table.

His gaze turned to the Guidance Water Sphere floating beside him:

"Brother Guidance, then I'll trouble you."

Guidance glanced down at Song Hao, who was slumped on the gambling table, his expression cold:

【If you don't try to find the pattern yourself, perhaps you can break the game?】

"I hate brain-burning rule games the most. I just want to cheat. Since he cheats, it's reasonable for me to cheat along with him."

Hearing this, Guidance nodded indifferently:

【Reasonable.】

Just then, the God's cold voice came through.

"Your turn."

Song Hao ignored him, his gaze focusing on Guidance.

Guidance gave his answer at this moment.

【The way to clear this level is actually very simple. The first method relies purely on luck: suppress the points thrown by the You Card through luck plus the use of card skills; win five rounds to win. The second method is to find this guy's cheating method.】

【And this guy's cheating method is also very simple: he set a rule for himself that he can only throw multiples of 3, such as 6 points, 9 points, 12 points... 30 points.】

【So unless you win by luck, under the support of points and basic rules, the opponent's probability of winning will definitely be higher than yours.】

After listening to Guidance's explanation, a arrogant smile appeared on Song Hao's face, and then he suddenly slammed the table:

"You cheated! Disgusting!"

"Explain the principle of the cheating." The blurry indigo-blue figure spoke and asked.

"Why are all the points you throw multiples of 3? I suspect this is your hidden rule: you can only throw multiples of 3."

Hearing Song Hao's analysis, the pale-blue shadow fell silent.

Its figure slowly faded away at this moment, and then an exquisite box appeared in the center of the gambling table.

Song Hao reached out, picked it up, and opened it to find a blood-red gemstone inside.

【Refined Blood Stone】:

Item Description: A Refined Blood Stone made from the decomposition of unintelligent lifeforms that entered the game space. Members of the You Law Council cannot absorb or digest it, so they make it into a prize after winning the game (Sacrifice Value: 850 points of Shou Shou Jili).

"Heh, they can't even absorb blood energy. This faction is truly weak."

【Members of the You Law Council are elemental lifeforms. Blood and Qi energy is meaningless to them, so they simply recycle the collected blood and Qi energy as prizes.】

"Understood."

The first round of the game had been cleared, but the second round had not yet started.

Song Hao sat before the gambling table, waiting boredly.

Time passed, and soon the divided scenes merged.

Song Hao turned his head to look and found that, including himself, only three participants remained in the scene.

One of the participants was the gray-skinned creature he had exchanged cards with earlier.

Seeing the gray-skinned creature looking at him, Song Hao bared his white teeth in a grin:

"How did you win?"

"Won by points."

"So stupid. You need to learn to study the rules. Relying on luck won't get you far; you're doomed in the next round."

The gray-white creature's expression immediately became even more tense; it could be seen that although it had won, it still felt extremely anxious inside.

"Brother Guidance, why, when this is clearly a single-player game, does the You Law Association gather us together?"

【Psychological pressure. When normal lifeforms see that a large number of other participants are eliminated in the first round, their mindset becomes unbalanced, their emotions become tense, and their judgment in subsequent games is affected. This is actually one of the ways members of the You Law Council increase their win rate, and it does not violate the requirements of the game space.】

"I see. They even use psychological warfare."

Song Hao nodded in realization.

The second round of the rule game started at this moment.

After the scene was cut, an indigo-blue shadow appeared again on the gambling table in front of Song Hao, and a different member of the You Law Council engaged him in a game.

The props on the table were replaced, generating a pile of cards in a face-down state; a dice cup was placed in front of him and in front of the indigo-blue shadow respectively.

The game rules appeared in Song Hao's mind.

【Game Code: 2】

Health Points: 30 points (1 deducted per failure).

Second Round Game Rules: In each round, the player and the God each draw one card from the unordered deck and engage in a game.

Card Types (Four): Attack, Defense, Counter, Null.

Attack Card: After use, combined with the dice roll points; if a 6 is rolled, it deals 6 points of health damage to the target.

Defense Card: After use, combined with the dice roll points; if a 6 is rolled, it defends against all damage caused by the opponent's attack in the current round (if the opponent plays an Attack Card and rolls a 5, and the participant plays a Defense Card and rolls a 3, then Health Points -2).

Counter Card: Reflects the damage caused by the opponent's use of an Attack Card.

Null Card: Has no effect whatsoever.

Game Requirements: The God and the participant each possess 30 Health Points; when Health Points are exhausted, the other side wins. During the game process, one may choose not to play a card in the current round; the God makes decisions first in each round.

Cheating Countermeasure: One may accuse the opponent of cheating and provide an explanation. If the hidden cheating method of the God is guessed correctly, victory is directly determined; if guessed incorrectly, 10 Health Points are deducted.

Game Start.

The God drew a card from the pile first; Song Hao followed and drew a card. He picked it up to look and saw it was a blue-bordered card with a shield depicted on it.

The God placed the drawn card in the play area.

Seeing this, Song Hao also placed his card in the play area.

Both sides successively pressed down on their dice cups, and the cards automatically flipped open at this moment.

After the God's card flipped open, it was a red-bordered card with a blood-stained sword depicted on it, displaying as Attack.

After the deity opened the jar lid, the number displayed was 4; after Song Hao opened the lid, the number displayed was 5.

In the first round, neither side lost any health.

In this round's contest, Song Hao immediately understood the function of the Invalid Card.

It was clearly used to bait out the opponent's Counter Card and Defense Card.

In the second round, Song Hao drew an Attack Card, and the deity similarly drew an Attack Card.

The number Song Hao rolled was 2; the number the deity rolled was 5.

Song Hao had 5 health points deducted, leaving him with 25 points.

The deity had 2 health points deducted, leaving it with 28 points.

In the third round, Song Hao drew a Defense Card again; the deity followed by drawing a card and then placing it in the play area.

This made Song Hao fall into deep thought.

If the deity played an Attack Card, then playing a Defense Card this round would be the perfect counter.

But if it played an Invalid Card, playing a Defense Card would undoubtedly be a waste of a Defense Card.

Never mind, play it!

The result was exactly as Song Hao guessed: the deity indeed played an Invalid Card; any number he rolled was useless, wasting a Defense Card for nothing.

In the fourth round, Song Hao drew an Attack Card, and the deity similarly drew an Attack Card.

This time in the number judgment, Song Hao's number was 6, and the deity's number was 3.

His life points were at 22, and the deity's life points had also reached 22.

In the fifth round, the deity drew an Attack Card, and Song Hao also drew an Attack Card.

Both sides had 3 life points deducted.

In the sixth round, the deity drew a Counter Card and, after drawing the card, chose not to play it this turn.

Seeing this, Song Hao also chose not to play, because he had drawn a Defense Card, and playing it would be useless.

It seems the deity's priority decision-making mentioned in the rule introduction is clearly advantageous to him.

But he knew this bastard definitely had self-benefiting rules supporting it; he just didn't know what the hidden rule this time was.

Although he could directly ask the Guide, he still decided to continue playing with it for a while.

If he really couldn't win, he would just cheat on the spot.

Anyway, the game space had no anti-cheat system; he could cheat however he wanted.

In the seventh round, the deity drew an Attack Card, and Song Hao drew an Invalid Card.

After a brief hesitation, he placed the Invalid Card in the play area; seeing this, the deity also placed the drawn Attack Card in the play area.

The card automatically flipped, and the deity using the Attack Card rolled a 6.

Song Hao was instantly critically hit for 6 life points, leaving him with 16 points; the deity's life points remained at 22.

In the eighth round, Song Hao drew an Attack Card again and placed it in the play area; this time the deity also followed by placing a card.

The result was that the deity played a Counter Card instead, causing Song Hao's health to drop to 12 points, with 4 points deducted.

"Damn, I seriously suspect you're cheating!"

"Explain the cheating rule," the dim blue figure said in a cold tone.

"You used X-ray vision, right? First, you used an Invalid Card to neutralize my Defense Card, then used a Counter Card to expose my Attack Card."

"Incorrect."

As the dim blue figure's words fell, Song Hao's health had 10 points deducted, leaving him with 2 points.

"Big Brother Guide, save this kid."

Facing the plea for help, the Guide nodded:

【The opponent's hidden rule is that every 3 rounds, they can draw two Attack Cards: rounds 1 and 2 are Attack Cards, round 3 is an Invalid Card; rounds 4 and 5 are Attack Cards, round 6 is a Counter Card; rounds 7 and 8, they still draw Attack Cards.】

【Under normal circumstances, you only need to choose the most conservative strategy to gradually figure out the opponent's hidden rule.】

【The opponent chose to hide a card in round 6 not because they saw through your layout, but to disrupt your analysis; this round, you happened to draw a Defense Card as well.】

【But no matter how they hide it, the characteristic of 2 Attack Cards and 1 Invalid or Counter Card can be discovered simply by continuing to play.】

【Actually, the guaranteed-win setting could be that they draw an Attack Card every round; as long as you don't draw a Counter Card every round, you will undoubtedly lose.】

【After all, they are in output mode every round, while your probability of drawing a Counter Card is only one-fourth. However, doing so would be easily exposed, so they set up a 2-red-and-1-random configuration: every 3 rounds, they reliably get two Attack Cards, while your probability of drawing a valid card is one-half, and the other half is Defense Cards and Invalid Cards; statistically, this suppresses you.】

【So, putting luck aside, start from the direction of catching cheating right from the beginning: you must play a card every round, try to extend the number of game rounds, and find their card-drawing pattern.】

After hearing the Guide's analysis, Song Hao immediately understood what the hidden rule was.

He immediately stood up and slammed the table:

"Wang Ba, you're cheating, right... you're cheating."

"Explain the cheating," the pale blue figure said coldly.

"You can draw 2 Attack Cards every 3 rounds, right!"

After hearing Song Hao's explanation, a faint glint flashed through the pale blue figure's blurred eyes, and the blurred figure then faded away.

An exquisite treasure box reappeared in the center of the gambling table.

After opening it, they found the reward was still one Bloodstone.

"This is already two wins, yet it's still just one gemstone; so stingy, not even worth a single hair from an Ancient God."

【The provided reward should be calculated based on your life strength. The rules of the game space also apply to members of the Silent Rhythm Council; although they do not die upon failure, they must pay an equivalent price, calculated according to your life strength.】

【You can understand it as: once the game starts, there is an invisible scale; members of the Silent Rhythm Council must place resources of equivalent value on the other side as the reward for your victory.】

"Huh? My Star Pulse Set alone is worth tens of thousands of Shou Shou Jili, yet they only give me over 800 Shou Shou Jili."

【The Star Pulse Set, including the Painful Painful Minghun, is not within the calculation scope of the Silent Rhythm Council; even the rules of the game space cannot calculate it, so it can only be calculated according to your life strength.】

"So that's why; no wonder they're so stingy."

While complaining, Song Hao put away the Essence Blood Stone and began waiting for the next round of the game.

Next, he planned to speed up the game's pace.

The rewards given by the members of the Shadow Law Council were too poor; he might as well just cheat to speedrun it.

When the scene overlapped, he found that the gray-skinned players had also vanished; of the 10 participants who arrived together, only he remained.

While feeling a sense of sighing, the third round of the game began.

In this round, he and the deity each had three cards on the table, representing: Attack, Defense, and Nullify.

But this time, the effects of the cards were different.

Nullify counters Defense, Defense counters Attack, and Attack counters Nullify.

It can be understood as a game of Rock-Paper-Scissors; failure deducts 1 Health Point, and a tie results in a replay.

Both sides had 50 Health Points.

Having played only 12 rounds, Song Hao proposed cheating, then looked at the Shadow Law Council member and said arrogantly:

"I guess the hidden rule for this round is that you are guaranteed to win once every three turns."

This answer clearly stunned the Shadow Law Council member; the blurry figure then dissolved, directly ruling Song Hao the winner.

The fourth round of the game opened immediately after this.

A member of the Shadow Council appeared opposite him.

This time, the gambling table became a 5x5 grid resource board.

Both sides possessed three skills each: Occupy Node, Destroy Node, and Strengthen Node.

In the initial state, all nodes on the board were blank nodes, and both sides held 10 Energy points.

Using "Occupy Node" consumes 1 Energy.

Using "Destroy Node" consumes 2 Energy.

Using "Strengthen Node" consumes 1 Energy.

After occupying a node, 1 Energy point can be generated in the next turn.

Destroying a node can turn the opponent's node into your own node.

Strengthening a node can only be used on already occupied nodes, rendering the opponent's Destroy skill ineffective.

There are three conditions for player victory:

1. Win immediately upon controlling more than 50% of the nodes.

2. If no winner is decided after 50 turns, victory is determined by the number of nodes controlled.

3. Find the opponent's hidden cheating rule.

The core of the game lies in the collision between Destroy Node and Strengthen Node; this is more a matter of luck.

Using Destroy Node, if successful, grants 1 Energy point in the next turn; essentially, you paid 1 Energy to occupy one of the opponent's nodes.

If you use Strengthen Node and successfully resist the opponent's Destroy skill, you earn 2 Energy points.

This is a resource-control type of strategy game.

After a simple trial play, Song Hao arrogantly slammed the table again:

"Your Energy is suspicious; I suspect your cheating method is generating an extra 1 Energy point every turn. Besides resource control and production, by the 20th turn, you actually had 20 more Energy points in hand than me."

The shadow-blue figure did not answer, dissolved into nothingness directly, and ruled Song Hao the winner.

With four consecutive rounds of victory, Song Hao earned 3600 points of Shou Shou Jili revenue, feeling proud in his heart.

Yet, his livestream room was filled with curses.

"Shameful! As a player, you actually cheat in the game; I will report you!"

"How can such an inferior player qualify for the Monster World? I think his qualification should be given to me; I want to play too, ahhh!"

"You are truly awesome, playing a strategy game with a guide. The most awesome thing is that the Eclipse Clan officials actually allow the dungeon scene to use the guide for analysis. Why not just give out Shou Shou Jili directly? I'm so envious; hurry up and share the entry point."

"The game is actually quite fun. If I participated, I would definitely analyze it carefully instead of using the guide to cheat. Winning through wisdom brings a full sense of achievement; perhaps there could even be hidden rewards."

Facing the disdain of the players in the livestream room, Song Hao smiled even more happily.

An official cheat; how can that count as cheating?

It was never turned off; how can that count as being turned on?

Amidst the angry curses of the livestream players, the fifth round of the game opened.

At the start of this round, the setting content became complex.

At the beginning, everyone draws eight Race Cards; different cards have different effect manifestations, and some cards counter each other.

Having played only 7 turns, Song Hao's head was spinning.

So he decisively summoned "Guide Brother" for in-game assistance.

After stating the principle of the cheat, the blurry figure of the Shadow Law Council member fluctuated violently, but still said nothing, dissolving into nothingness.

The sixth round, the seventh round...

After the eighth round of the game ended, the Shadow Law Council member did not leave this time but revealed their true form.

Appearing before Song Hao's eyes was a humanoid elemental life form.

Its body was condensed from pure blue elements, presenting a flowing state on its surface; beneath the blue "skin," energy veins could be faintly seen flowing within the body. The head contour was similar to a human's, with eyes like two brilliant sapphires; it had no nose or mouth, replaced instead by blue air currents gently undulating in the center of the face, pulsing rhythmically like breathing.

It looked up at Song Hao:

"If I could understand the previous games as you having powerful judgment abilities, why in the last match, which only lasted 3 turns, before I even revealed the hidden rule, did you state the secret of the hidden rule?"

Facing the inquiry, Song Hao's expression was awkward.

The settings of the previous round of the game looked overly complex; too lazy to experience the details, he had let the Guide reveal the truth.

The result was that the other party became suspicious.

"I suspect you have some kind of cheating method."

Facing the doubt, Song Hao thought briefly before speaking:

"State the principle of the cheat."

Members of the Dark Law Council:...

At this moment, the players in the livestream room also burst out laughing.

On someone else's turf, reciting their lines—it is simply beastly behavior.

But the problem is, as long as the opponent cannot crack the cheating method, the rules of the game space do not even allow them to attack Song Hao.

The Guide had said that after the game starts, one of the three core logics of the rules is that the Rule Controller cannot directly attack and kill a participant.

So after a brief awkwardness, Song Hao began to act with impunity.

"Well, say it then?"

This time, the members of the Dark Law Association did not answer; their figures suddenly vanished.

A new figure appeared at this moment.

Round 9 of the game begins.

Eight small doors materialized on the table; Chongshanjunling rose from the tabletop, and white mist turned into clouds drifting overhead.

This round is a war game.

Each turn, one may select a random-tier troop type from one of the doors; different troop types counter each other.

The strength of different troop types is also affected by terrain and randomly changing weather.

There are three ways to win.

1. Crush the opponent's main city.

2. If no winner is decided after 200 turns, the side with more main city health points wins; if health points are equal, compare the combined levels of remaining troops.

3. Find the god's cheating method.

The complexity of this round of the game has climbed another level.

Too much needs to be calculated: weather, troop types, terrain, troop deployment, resource control, and so on.

After reading the rule introduction, only two words remained in Song Hao's mind: Cheat.

After trying to play 15 turns, Song Hao lost three resource points, and his main city was forcibly drained of 1 health point by a stealth suicide troop type.

At this point, the initiative was in the hands of the Dark Law Council members; as long as they adopted a defensive strategy and dragged it out to 200 turns, they could win.

Facing a certain defeat, he could only seek the Guide's help.

"Brother Guide, then I'll leave it to you."

But this time, the Guide did not answer with a cheating plan.

"Brother Guide?" Song Hao asked again.

【The opponent modified the rules of this round before the game started; this time, it did not use any hidden cheating methods.】

Hearing this, the smile on Song Hao's face froze.

The livestream room was filled with laughter.

It was evident that the Dark Law Council members had realized that while cheating could significantly increase their chances of winning, every round they lost against Song Hao was because their hidden cheating methods were found, so they had changed their strategy.

They would engage Song Hao in a contest using true strength and luck.

In other words, for Song Hao to win this round of the game, there was only one way: to defeat the opponent with strength within the game.

"Damn, you're actually not cheating?!"

Having learned the truth, Song Hao suddenly stood up, pointing at the Dark Law Council member, his expression furious as he spoke.

"You have 129 seconds of thinking time; if time runs out and you have not acted, it will be considered that you forfeit this turn's action."

Hearing this, Song Hao felt like crying but had no tears.

The opponent is playing the game without cheating now, using strength to crush instead; this is too much.

Not using technology is simply shameful!

He had intended to easily take this round of the game; now that the opponent isn't using it, he can't use it either.

At this moment, Song Hao could only choose to grit his teeth and play on.

In every round of the game, besides skill, there is a large amount of randomness.

He still had a chance to win through luck.

Ten minutes later, Song Hao watched as a vast army of troops surged forward to the front of his main city, his expression dejected.

Facing the fierce assault, the main city's health point number dropped at a visible speed, finally falling to 0.

The Dark Law Association member sitting opposite him also revealed his true form at this moment, nodding toward him:

"Your Clan Soul is now under our control."

To Song Hao and the players in the livestream room, this sentence could be translated as: From now on, I am going to exterminate your entire clan.

Having spoken, a streak of light suddenly descended from above, striking Song Hao's chest.

Without even feeling pain, Song Hao turned into a wisp of black mist and vanished.

At the same time, a Zu Qun Lao Yin materialized before the Dark Law Association member.

Its shape was circular, the edge outlined by a ring of fine silver lines; in the center of the circle was a burning scarlet red flame.

After flipping through the Zu Qun Lao Yin in his hand, the game scene suddenly collapsed; the Dark Law Council member looked up at the spatial vortex overhead.

Dozens of hazy, dark blue figures materialized beside him.

Subsequently, these figures simultaneously turned into streaks of light and flew toward the spatial vortex.

But during the process of traversing the space tunnel, the Dark Law Association members suddenly sensed something was wrong.

A powerful energy fluctuation appeared on the other end of space, so strong that it made them feel incredulous.

Boom!

A sphere of scarlet flame flashed through the tunnel and vanished.

In an instant, dozens of members of the Silent Law Council, their minds dazed, saw an Illusion arise in their minds.

A towering, indistinct figure appeared; His form was Gao Da beyond imagination, as if connecting heaven and earth, every inch of His skin radiating boundless majesty. That was a Primordial Power capable of making all things in the world willingly submit. His eyes were like two blazing suns hanging high, as if observing the laws governing the world. With just one glance, the members of the Silent Law Council were plunged into an uncontrollable fear.

The fear blooming within their hearts boiled over, like water brought to a rolling boil, striving to break the shackles of their bodies.

In that moment, they suddenly realized they were wrong; behind that cheater stood an existence they could not provoke.

Yet just as their consciousness was about to be swallowed by fear, the spatial tunnel ahead suddenly split into two, diverting them, and the Illusion in their minds vanished with it.

Before they could escape the shadow of death, a flood of information appeared in the minds of the Silent Law Council members.

The information appearing in the minds of the Silent Law Council members in the first spatial channel was:

【Welcome to the Death Arena. This is the ultimate trial ground of power. In this realm created by the Ancient Gods, you will face powerful opponents from all over the world, and even from different worlds. Every victory will bring you generous rewards; failure means paying with your life.】

Game introduction: Conduct 1v1 death duels arranged by the Barbarian Slaves.

Victory condition: Kill the opponent.

Game completion condition: Achieve 30 victories, successfully promote to Ancient God Champion Fighter, regain freedom, or choose to continue serving the Ancient Gods.

A flood of game introduction information also appeared in the minds of the Silent Law Council members in the other tunnel.

【Welcome to the Palace of Bliss. This is the ultimate trial ground for tempering desire. In this realm created by the Bliss Clan, you will face the deepest desires within your heart. Your ending has only two possibilities: fall into the abyss, or transcend yourself.】

Game introduction: The scenes within the Palace of Bliss are Illusions generated by the Power of Bliss, namely: the Gate of Evil Desire, the Gate of Greed, the Gate of Power, the Gate of Gluttony, and the Gate of Sloth. Five stages. Behind each gate hides your most intense inner desire. Only by passing through layer upon layer of trials can you find the true exit.

Victory condition: Endure the ravages of infinitely expanding desire and cross the Illusion scenes spawned by desire.

Game completion condition: Cross the five Gates of Desire.

【The game begins. Good luck to you all!】

As the guiding voice rang in the minds of the Silent Law Council members, the Ancient God Arena and the Palace of Bliss welcomed a new batch of guests.

(End of this chapter)