Chapter 81: Another Big Bet

Tongzhou Hall’s consecutive victories in taking on all the artifact-forging tasks had already aroused resentment among other branches of the Artificer Academy.

Hua Cheng’an and the other ten elders, due to their interest-related dealings with Fire Lord, felt compelled to speak up and advise him to let Tongzhou Hall hold back for now, so as to ease the anger of the other branches.

How could Fire Lord possibly allow Tongzhou Hall to pause its artifact-forging tasks? That would mean disrupting his own plans and killing off the enthusiasm of Tongzhou Hall’s disciples right away.

“Ten elders, to be honest, this time we intend to take on all the artifact-forging tasks at the Three-Star Human Soul Immortal level,” Fire Lord said with a faint smile.

Hearing this, Hua Cheng’an and the other ten elders immediately stood up, staring at Fire Lord in shock.

“Fire Lord, that’s not good. You’ll completely offend the other branches,” Hua Cheng’an exclaimed right away.

The other nine elders also looked at Fire Lord anxiously, their gazes filled with reproach, making them feel awkward.

Hua Hai also stared at Fire Lord in disbelief, thinking that such a decision would indeed make Tongzhou Hall offend all the other branches, making it difficult for them to find friends within the Youhan Sect in the future.

Fire Lord glanced at everyone without the slightest sign of concern and said with a smile, “Everyone, Tongzhou Hall is a branch of artificers. If we can’t forge artifacts, then we have no reason to exist. We don’t need to care about the opinions of other branches. Since we have the strength to take on all the Three-Star Human Soul Immortal level tasks, why should we accommodate them?”

Hua Cheng’an and the other ten elders glared at Fire Lord, unable to understand where he got such boldness. Was he really not afraid of the trouble from the other branches?

“Fire Lord, do you really plan to take on all the artifact-forging tasks again?” Hua Cheng’an asked slowly.

Fire Lord nodded.

At that moment, the ten elders fell silent, secretly exchanging thoughts through their spiritual senses to discuss strategies.

After a while, Hua Cheng’an said with a smile, “Fire Lord, how about this? Since you want to take on all the Three-Star Human Soul Immortal level tasks, the ten of us elders will arrange a bet for you. What do you think?”

“What kind of bet?” Fire Lord asked immediately.

Hua Cheng’an replied, “It’s simple. There are a total of 600 million immortal artifacts to be forged over a period of ten years. The bet is that Tongzhou Hall, on its own, challenges all the other branches. Each branch has five years to see who can forge 300 million immortal artifacts first.”

The other nine elders smiled as they looked at Fire Lord.
Hua Hai felt chilled upon hearing this, thinking that the plan of these ten elders was truly excessive. The Artificer Academy had nearly a thousand artificer branches, and no matter how fast Tongzhou Hall’s artificing skills were, they couldn’t surpass the combined efforts of those nearly nine hundred branches.
After hearing this, Fire Lord calmly looked at the ten elders. After a while, he said with a faint smile, “Gentlemen, don’t you think this wager is equivalent to forcing Tongzhou Hall to give its Origin Stones to the other artificer branches?”
It was obvious that Fire Lord already knew their plan—to make Tongzhou Hall lose through this wager, thereby transferring the task points earned from taking on artificing tasks to the other branches, thus calming their anger.
Yet inwardly, Fire Lord sneered.
“These ten elders want my Origin Stones but don’t want to offend the other artificer branches. They’re quite clever. But they still don’t truly understand Tongzhou Hall’s artificing efficiency or the power of the Pre-set Formation Method. Now, it’s time to truly demonstrate that.”
Hua Cheng’an and the other ten elders didn’t feel awkward at Fire Lord’s words and just laughed.
“Fire Lord, even Elder Han Lingqiu from the headquarters can’t help Tongzhou Hall under the current pressure. So, please accept this wager. If Tongzhou Hall wins, it can make the other artificer branches acknowledge its strength. If it loses, it can use this as an opportunity to quell their anger,” Hua Cheng’an said with a smile.
The other nine elders nodded in unison, smiling at Fire Lord.
At this moment, Fire Lord frowned deeply, seemingly troubled, before saying with a smile, “Gentle elders, since you’ve already decided on this wager, declare it here in the Vessel Hall right now and inform the other artificer branches of its terms. If they accept it, I’ll represent Tongzhou Hall in accepting this wager.”
Hua Hai was extremely anxious, constantly signaling to Fire Lord not to accept it. But Fire Lord ignored him.
Seeing that Fire Lord had agreed, Hua Cheng’an immediately asked, “Fire Lord, since you’ve agreed to the wager, how much are you planning to bet?”
Fire Lord immediately raised one finger and said with a smile, “How about this: if Tongzhou Hall wins, each of the other artificer branches must give us one hundred million Origin Stones. If we lose, we’ll also pay each of them one hundred million Origin Stones.”

The Origin Stones held no value in the eyes of the Fire Lord, as he already possessed an enormous amount of them. The main reason was that he had the Soul Devouring Bloodline, which allowed him to turn defective pills into precious ones. Moreover, by engaging in the business of selling these precious pills, the number of Origin Stones he acquired increased by 200 million per day. In the future, it might rise to 300 million, 400 million, or even more per day.

The Fire Lord accepted the bet to spread the reputation of Tongzhou Hall even faster. Imagine challenging all other pill-making factions alone—such fame would surely attract the attention of all forces in the Immortal Realm. Once Huang Xu noticed Tongzhou Hall, the Fire Lord would have the chance to meet him and use that opportunity to avenge Emperor Hao.

Upon hearing the Fire Lord’s words, the ten elders all showed expressions of shock, unable to understand how he could be so bold as to bet nearly 100 billion Origin Stones.

Hua Hai was so frightened that he sat on the ground, trembling, and stared at the Fire Lord in confusion.

“Very good. Since you’ve agreed to the bet, our Chengqi Hall will announce it. If all other pill-making factions agree, the bet will take effect officially,” said Hua Cheng’an with a smile.

The Fire Lord nodded.

※※※

At that moment, the most sensational news in the entire Diyou Star was the astonishing announcement from the Pill-Making Academy. Tongzhou Hall was challenging the other 988 pill-making factions alone, with a bet amount of 98.8 billion Origin Stones.

This news spread rapidly throughout Diyou Star. Whenever a disciple of the Youhan Sect passed by, people there would discuss this bet. In a short time, Tongzhou Hall’s reputation spread across the entire Diyou Star and even reached many planets in the Diyou Star Cluster.

It was absolutely insane!

“It seems Tongzhou Hall joined the Pill-Making Academy quite recently. How dare they be so bold?”

“I’ve heard too. Most of their disciples are at the Human Immortal level, with only the two hall leaders at the Earth Immortal level.”

“It’s unbelievable. Tongzhou Hall comes from a small planet. Do they really have the strength to deal with those array formations at the Three-Star Human Soul Immortal level? Those formations involve the combination of three types of primal forces and are extremely complex.”

“I’ve already found out that over the past twenty years, Tongzhou Hall has taken on refining tasks at the level of One-Star Human Soul Immortals and Two-Star Human Soul Immortals. This time, they dare to try to take on tasks at the level of Three-Star Human Soul Immortals. Due to the elders’ persuasion, Tongzhou Hall has decided to place a bet with other refining factions instead.”
“This bold gamble by the Refining Academy involves nearly a hundred billion Origin Stones—truly a grand spectacle.”
…
All sorts of people were discussing Tongzhou Hall. Meanwhile, the headquarters of Tongzhou Hall was also very lively, with countless people coming to gather news. Among them was Han Lingqiu, the elder who had originally introduced Tongzhou Hall to the Youhan Sect. Upon hearing about this bet, he immediately put aside his cultivation and came to Tongzhou Hall in person. However, Fire Lord remained in his cultivation cave, refusing to come out. So, it was Hall Master Yun Zhouzi who handled Han Lingqiu’s reception.
“Yun Zhouzi, isn’t Tongzhou Hall being too arrogant?” Han Lingqiu demanded. As the hall master, Yun Zhouzi was filled with resentment, but he had no choice. Since Fire Lord had already accepted the bet, there was no way to back out, so he could only brace himself to face it.
“Elder, I know you place great trust in Tongzhou Hall, but we can’t keep growing under your protection. Therefore, we must prove our strength. It’s just that what we did this time was indeed excessive, and I’m very sorry about it. Elder, since things have come to this, please don’t be angry. Just watch how Tongzhou Hall performs,” Yun Zhouzi said earnestly.
Han Lingqiu’s anger subsided somewhat. He glanced around and said indifferently, “That Fire Lord—if he tries to take on tasks in the future, you must stop him. If necessary, inform me so I can scold him myself.”
Yun Zhouzi’s face turned red as he could only nod repeatedly, too afraid to respond. It was then that he understood why Fire Lord hadn’t excluded him—so that he could handle such troublesome matters. After venting his frustration, Han Lingqiu calmed down and smiled. “Yun Zhouzi, since the bet is made, let’s take it seriously. I’m quite curious to see how powerful this Array Pre-setting Method invented by your hall really is.”
Previously, Han Lingqiu had only heard from Yu Wei that the Array Pre-setting Method was highly efficient. But with his own cultivation duties, he had never witnessed its power firsthand. So this time, he really wanted to see this miracle with his own eyes.