Chapter 200: Gambling Battle

The entire hall was gradually forming small circles one after another.

And between these circles, people constantly shuttled back and forth, flattering and smiling obsequiously.

Greeting, exchanging pleasantries, probing, or trying to curry favor.

Yang Fan stood in a corner, quietly watching all of this.

Most of those who could come here were direct descendants of the Five Great Giants.

Outsiders like him were extremely rare; only those evaluated as a Peerless Prodigy and invested in by the Five Great Giants were qualified to enter here.

As for genuine powerhouse gods, such as Gu Jiuheng and Sima Tianci, there were only five or six people in the entire hall.

More of them were demigods like Yang Fan who had not yet graduated from the Primordial Academy.

The gathering before them was actually vaguely divided into five factions, corresponding to the families of the Five Great Giants respectively.

Although the Five Great Families intermarried with each other and were already inextricably intertwined,

when facing threats from alien races, they would join hands to resist external enemies together. However, apart from cooperation, competition equally existed.

Just like Gu Jiuheng, he basically gave priority to recruiting people from the Gu Family into his own legion.

Yang Fan slowly raised his wine glass and drained the red wine inside in one gulp.

Among these so-called proud sons of heaven in the hall, some were talking loudly, some were toasting each other, and some lowered their posture just to be able to enter the other's legion in the future.

This scene unexpectedly gave rise to a trace of boredom in Yang Fan's heart.

He suddenly understood that no matter what height a person reached, they were merely stepping from one circle into another.

Figures who were once out of reach were still shrouded by larger rules within their own worlds.

Some looked up at the starry sky, while others lowered their heads to make a living.

And so-called growth was nothing more than changing from being pushed along by life to proactively stepping into a larger chessboard.

People always thought that climbing higher could detach them from the secular world, but after truly standing on high, they would discover it was merely walking from one cage into another larger world.

Everyone in the world envied travelers on the clouds. Yet they did not know that the foot of the mountain had the hardships of the foot of the mountain, and above the clouds, there were also the trials of the clouds.

…

"Hubby, do you feel a bit bored?" Gu Le walked over with a wine glass, and casually refilled Yang Fan's red wine.

"A little." Yang Fan did not hide it either.

In the past, Yang Fan lived in a small place like Yang County.

For survival, his parents commanded believers every day to mine, sell resources, and earn Faith Points, just to pay rent and buy daily necessities.

As for Yang Fan, he stayed in his room every day, logging into the Virtual World, attending classes, studying, and then returning to the real world to eat and sleep.

After Awakening his Divine Kingdom, he basically developed alone with the help of the virtual Mall, and at most gathered news in group chats.

This was his first time attending such a truly top-tier circle gathering.

The scene was luxurious and lively. Although boring, it allowed Yang Fan's tense spirit, strained from long-term study, to relax a little.

Gu Le gently shook her wine glass. "Actually, the development of a Divine Kingdom inherently requires Time Evolution. Especially after Intelligent Life appears, we, as gods, do not need to stare at the Divine Kingdom all the time."

"And this style of gathering before us was actually set by the High-tier Gods of the Five Great Families."

"Set by High-tier Gods?" Yang Fan was a bit surprised.

"That's right." Gu Le gently nodded. "With the continuous development of the Divine Kingdom, gods will possess increasingly incredible powers."

"The Physical Body, mind, and Soul will all continuously strengthen, and this kind of power… will make gods increasingly rational."

"Divinity will gradually outweigh humanity."

Hearing this, Yang Fan frowned slightly, doubt appearing in his eyes.

Gu Le continued, "Actually, I don't know what's bad about this either, but my mother once said a sentence."

"Gods also evolve from humans, experiencing joy, anger, sorrow, joy, greed, anger, obsession, and hatred. If all of this is completely discarded… then what remains in the end is still yourself?"

Speaking to the end, Gu Le herself was slightly dazed, seemingly recalling what her mother looked like when she said these words.

Yang Fan lowered his head to ponder, feeling it made some sense, yet unable to articulate it clearly for a moment.

"If you can't figure it out, don't think about it." Gu Le stretched out her left hand and rested it on Yang Fan's shoulder very naturally.

Then she asked with a smile, "Later on, after three rounds of drinks, there will be gambling battles. Do you want to try?"

"Gambling battles?" Yang Fan raised his eyebrows slightly.

"It's just Geniuses competing against each other. At that time, we will enter the Virtual World, and the competition method will be decided by both parties themselves. Fighting in person, or a Divine Kingdom War, the stakes can be resources, Wonders, or buildings. Anyway, it's just finding some fun."

"However, a small wager is for pleasure, don't play too big." Gu Le specifically reminded him.

Hearing this, Yang Fan gently shook his head; he did not have much interest in this kind of gambling battle.

Compared to vying for supremacy and fighting fiercely with others, he now wanted to end the gathering sooner and then take Gu Le home.

Since he had decided to indulge once, he might as well indulge to the end tonight.

He kept a low profile and did not want to act arrogant in front of these disciples of major families; he just wanted to go home for some 'intimate collisions'.

As the banquet atmosphere grew increasingly lively, a staff member suddenly walked up to the high platform, holding a microphone and saying, "Everyone, the virtual helmets are ready. If anyone wants to conduct gambling battles or go to the Virtual World to watch the battles, you may put on the helmets and enter yourselves."

"The coordinates of these helmets have been fixed. The Martial Arts Arena, Divine Kingdom Simulation Battle battlefield, and multiplayer confrontation zones are all open."

"I wish you all a pleasant time."

…

As this person's voice fell, the entire hall instantly became even more lively.

"Brother Lu, you won a Wonder from me last month. Let's compare again this time, and I will definitely make you spit it back out!"

"Brother, we are from the same cohort, why don't we go play?"

"Not playing big, how about a Spiritual Vein?"

"A Spiritual Vein??? Are you brat trying to scam me?"

…

All kinds of complaints, banters, and wryly amused voices continuously sounded, and the atmosphere on-site was very relaxed.

Even those high-and-mighty Prodigies looked no different from ordinary young people at this moment.

"Let's go."

Gu Le handed a virtual helmet to Yang Fan, then blinked. "After the event ends, we can open a room here, or we can go home."

Finished speaking, she took the lead in putting on the helmet.

After a brief trance in his consciousness, Yang Fan slowly opened his eyes.

What came into view was an extremely vast special space, which seemed to be between reality and illusion. The ground beneath his feet, the flow of air, and even the tactile perception were terrifyingly realistic, with almost no difference from the real world.

All around stood towering giant arenas, and quite a few gods were already exchanging blows within them.

Close-quarters combat, mental secret techniques—the aftermath of the battles continuously spread.

As for above the sky, massive battlefields were floating.

That was the Divine Kingdom Simulation Battle battlefield, which could directly project the consciousness of believers in.

The most crucial thing was that there was no limit on the number of people here; even if the believers were completely wiped out, they would not truly die. It belonged to a high-specification entertainment venue.