Chapter 3726 Let’s bleed first

"Yes, there are," Ling Jianfeng said. "As one of the Seven Great Families, the Zhao Family has many shops in Yuangu City, including the most profitable gambling houses.

Normally, these gambling houses have substantial incomes, and now, with the Hundred Champions Competition, every major battle brings in a tremendous amount of money daily."

"Bringing in a tremendous amount of money daily, you say?" Ye Bufan's lips curled into a cold smile. Since the Zhao Family came looking for trouble, he might as well start by hitting their gambling houses.

"If we win our group and advance, what are the odds?"

Ling Jianfeng said, "In our group, only the Zhao Family has odds of one hundred to one. For the rest, the odds are ten to one for winning."

"Why so little?" Ye Bufan frowned slightly.

Logically speaking, the probability of a small Sect like Lingyun Sword Sect winning should be extremely low, and the odds should be much higher than this.

"It's like this…" Ling Jianfeng explained, "Because the uncertainty in this group is too high, besides the Zhao Family, who are certain to advance, the remaining nine Sects all have a chance.

Therefore, the major gambling houses don't dare to offer too high odds, otherwise, they would definitely lose money.

If there are two seeded teams within a group, then the odds for other small Sects are surprisingly high."

Ye Bufan nodded; that reasoning made sense.

"How many celestial crystals does the Sect currently have in total?"

Ling Jianfeng was momentarily stunned, then replied, "The Sect's expenses have been quite high recently; we have about 4.8 million celestial crystals left."

"A bit too little," Ye Bufan said, somewhat dissatisfied. At odds of ten to one, the money he had could only make the Zhao Family bleed a little.

But it didn't matter; it wasn't just one match anyway. They could take it little by little.

"Luo Bingyan still has some, and everyone should pool their resources. Then, go to the Zhao Family's gambling house and bet all of it on our Lingyun Sword Sect to win."

"This…" Ling Jianfeng hesitated, then bravely said, "Master, this is all of our Sect's assets. If we lose, we'll be completely finished."

He wasn't reluctant to part with the celestial crystals, but due to the master-servant contract, he was extremely loyal, which was why he offered this advice.

Fanqie. Ye Bufan said indifferently, "You don't need to worry about that. Just do as I say."

"Yes!" Ling Jianfeng dared not say anything more and quickly gathered all the celestial crystals from Ling Jianfei, Ling Jianyi, Ling Jiansi, and others.

Adding what Luo Bingyan and he had, they collected approximately five million middle-grade celestial crystals.

Afterward, he left and went to the Zhao Family's gambling house, placing all the money on Lingyun Sword Sect.

Five million celestial crystals was not a small sum, but the gambling house's business had been extremely brisk these past few days, so it didn't cause too much of a stir.

Early the next morning, it was the day the Hundred Sects Tournament officially began, and all the major Sects started making intensive preparations for today's matches.

At the Zhao Family, Zhao Xingyun, who was originally arrogant, had not intended to participate in the group stage. However, to completely crush the Lingyun Sword Sect and avenge himself, he directly chose to compete.

For large Sects like theirs, the group stage was usually just a formality, sending out some Immortal King Peak cultivators to fight.

Firstly, the power gap was too large, so there was no need to reveal all their trump cards.

Secondly, it was also to conceal their strength, allowing their Sect's Disciples to gain an advantage in the upcoming Hundred Champions Competition.

To be on the safe side, the Zhao Family set up a combat lineup of one Immortal Lord leading four Immortal King Peak cultivators.

Since Zhao Xingyun wanted to participate, he would take on the role of the Immortal Lord.

Under normal circumstances, the Immortal Lord who participates acts as a stabilizing force and doesn't even need to make a move; the Immortal King Peak cultivators can completely deal with those small Sects.

Compared to the Zhao Family's composure, the Han Family was in a bit of a mess.

After Han Lingkuang sent four people out, he returned to the inn to await good news.

However, after waiting for a whole day, he didn't see a single person, and he couldn't even contact Han Kuo and the others via communication jade slip.

Even this morning, with the competition about to begin, the four still hadn't returned.

At this point, the Elder leading the Han Family became completely anxious. These four individuals were all members of the competing team, after all.

Previously, their tactical arrangement was exactly the same as the Zhao Family's: one Immortal Lord entering the arena, accompanied by four Immortal King Peak level powerhouses.

This would ensure victory and advancement while also concealing the Family's strength, making it easier to achieve better results in the subsequent matches.

But now, the personnel were set, the list submitted, and these four people had suddenly vanished into thin air, disrupting all their plans.

Upon learning the full story, Han Lingkuang was severely reprimanded and even slapped, for causing trouble right before the major competition.

Subsequently, the Han Family mobilized all its resources to search, but still found nothing. The four people seemed to have evaporated into thin air, leaving no trace.

In desperation, the Han Family could only re-strategize, sending their Core Disciples to participate, barely managing to keep their strongest one hidden.

Although it didn't significantly impact their overall strength, such an incident at the very beginning left everyone feeling extremely displeased.

Especially Han Lingkuang, who was utterly stifled.

He had always been overbearing, bullying men and women, and had never failed before.

This time, however, he neither obtained the immortal spirit grass nor snatched the woman, lost four Core Disciples of the Sect, and was severely scolded by the Elder, leaving him seething with anger.

In the center of Yuangu City was a large training ground, where the Hundred Sects Tournament was held annually.

Ye Bufan arrived early with the people from Lingyun Sword Sect. Upon entering, he saw a grand arena in the center, ten zhang high and a hundred zhang in circumference.

Unlike the competitions he had participated in before, this high platform was not fixed; it was a specially refined Magic Treasure.

The spiritual energy fluctuations were extremely strong, and various protective Formations were carved upon it.

However, it was understandable. The Great Luo Immortals participating this time were weak, and there were even Immortal Lord level powerhouses present; ordinary arenas simply couldn't withstand them.

As for the layout of the training ground, it was largely similar: a high platform in the center, surrounded by circular spectator stands, which were already filled with powerhouses from various regions.

At the foremost position in the east, there was also an extremely luxuriously decorated viewing platform, prepared for the powerhouses of the Three Sects, Five Factions, and Seven Great Families.

Such a large-scale competition not only determined the one hundred spots to enter the Yuangu Secret Realm but also served as a great opportunity for various powers to actively recruit Genius Disciples for themselves.

Precisely because of this, all major Schools attached great importance to it, sending their most capable powerhouses to observe the matches.

Feeling the surging Aura here, Ling Jianfeng and the others were extremely excited. After so many years, this was their first time having the qualification to participate here.

At the entrance of the training ground, dozens of guards stood watch, each of them a Great Luo Immortal level powerhouse.

Upon arriving at the gate, Ye Bufan presented his participation token, and soon a guard led them towards Dile Heaven's seating area.

As soon as everyone was seated, a figure appeared in front of their seats: it was Han Lingkuang, his face ashen.

He glared fiercely at Ye Bufan, his eyes spitting fire.

His intuition told him that the disappearance of the Han Family members must be related to the person in front of him.

"Boy, tell me, where did Junior Brother Han Kuo and the others go?"

His shout immediately attracted the attention of countless people, and everyone's gaze turned towards them.