"One to four?"
"One to five?"
...
"One to ten! Just put out ten thousand taels of silver, and in a blink, it turns into a million taels. If you put out a million, itâll be ten million in no time. Where else could you find such a great opportunity? Just treat it as buying some fun. Ten thousand taels, a million taels, itâs not a big deal for you. You canât lose money or get scammed, but act fast, or youâll be too late!" Ling Baobao shouted in an extremely emotional tone.
His emotional persuasion wasnât wasted. Looking at those peopleâs eyes, they seemed to really be hesitating.
Nie Fangsheng was so angry that his entire body trembled slightly. No one was willing to bet even with one to ten odds. Did outsiders really think that Mu Hanyan, who had learned sword casting technique for less than a day, had such a level of skill? Wasnât his ten years of hard work, compared to Mu Hanyan, simply worthless?
"Iâll bet!" Nie Fangsheng, unable to contain his fury, directly threw out a stack of silver notes.
Ling Baobao took the silver notes, his hands trembling with excitement. Ten million, this was more than ten million! How many cases of infertility would he have to treat to earn so much money?
Indeed, to him, this wasnât gambling; it was simpler than finding money.
"Right, and you, didnât you just bet a million before? Bet some more this time, look at how Nie Heilian placed a bet," Ling Baobao said to Qiu Zizhong, and in his excitement, he accidentally used the nickname for Nie Fangsheng.
Nie Heilian! Everyone looked at Nie Fangshengâs face, wanting to laugh but not daring to laugh out loud.
Nie Fangsheng clenched his fists, his face, already dark, turned even darker.
"Two million, I just canât believe itâno matter how good Mu Hanyanâs talent is, it canât surpass Lord Nieâs." Qiu Zizhong really didnât want to bet more, but he was left with no choice by Ling Baobao, so he had to throw another two hundred thousand taels of silver notes to Ling Baobao.
This was also his last property. Although the Qiu family was one of the three great families in East State County, and could be called wealthy, the qualifications of the younger members werenât bad, with dozens of them remaining in Long Yan Academy. Hence, Qiu Zizhongâs allowance wasnât very high.
"Mr. Qiu bet another two million, who else, who else?" Ling Baobao couldnât be bothered to argue with him, so he took the silver notes and shouted loudly.
Perhaps influenced by Nie Fangsheng and Qiu Zizhong, or maybe it was Ling Baobaoâs one-to-ten odds and his poignant persuasion that worked, some others placed bets, though not as generously, and with more caution.
Ling Baobao continued to laugh heartily. Mu Hanyan didnât mind the small sums, and neither did he.
Watching Ling Baobao "pocket" enough money, Mu Hanyan didnât delay any longer and went back to the sword casting furnace.
"Ignite, open the furnace!" With a light shout from Mu Hanyan, Tan Yu and the others started pulling the bellows, and a ghostly blue flame gracefully ignited, solidifying like a tangible substance.
The elegant hammer in Ling Han Yanâs hand once again swung in a series of beautiful arcs.
"This... how is this possible?" Everyone was astonished, watching Mu Hanyanâs movements.
Even Nie Fangsheng was full of surprise, subconsciously taking a step forward.
In everyoneâs mind, even if Mu Hanyan had looked over the Nie familyâs ancestral sword casting secret books, it was still too briefâless than a quarter of an hour altogetherâand with no guidance, surely it would be awkward and error-filled when performed.
But now, there wasnât a hint of awkwardness or stiltedness in Mu Hanyanâs sword casting technique; it was as smooth and free-flowing as if he had practiced it countless times.
Impossible, impossible! Nie Fangshengâs mouth was slightly open, unable to close for a long time.
As a descendant of the Nie family, considered a sword casting prodigy appearing once in a thousand years, of course, he understood the difficulty of the twenty-four methods of tempering and nourishing the spirit better than anyone else.
Donât be fooled into thinking there are only twelve more methods than the previous shape casting and bone forging, but each of these methods is full of profound mysteries, allowing no room for error. It is no exaggeration to say that the smallest mistake could lead to disastrous results. It took him seven entire years to barely learn these twenty-four methods, and decades more to finally grasp their essence for smooth execution.
Mu Hanyan had only glanced briefly and remarkably learned them all. Even with Nie Fangshengâs critical eye, intent on finding fault, he couldnât spot a single mistake.
How did he do it? Nie Fangsheng couldnât believe someone could possess such heaven-defying talent in this world.
Could it be that he had already learned this set of techniques? Nie Fangsheng couldnât help but speculate.
But he quickly dismissed his own guess.
Recalling Mu Hanyanâs arrival at the War Dragon Branch yesterday, it was evident he sincerely came to learn. If he had long mastered this sword casting technique, there was no need for such redundant actions. Moreover, at the time, even he was unaware of Qiu Yongchengâs beast soul hall trial failure; Mu Hanyan had just joined and couldnât have known the relationship between him and Qiu Yongcheng, and thereâs no reason he would deliberately come to cause trouble because of Qiu Yongcheng.
If that werenât the case, how could he possibly master the tempering and nourishing twenty-four methods so skillfully just from a few glances?
Nie Fangsheng watched with increasing skepticism, closely observing Mu Hanyanâs smooth and effortless techniques.
Suddenly, Nie Fangshengâs thick eyebrows raised.
Sword Intent! He actually sensed a mysterious, majestic sword intent within Mu Hanyanâs sword casting technique.
Could it be... could the legend be true? Nie Fangsheng was shocked.
Itâs worth mentioning that Nie Fangshengâs strength wasnât particularly outstanding among the instructors at Long Yan Academy, but as the academyâs top Sword Casting Master, his eye power was unquestionably sharp.
Mu Hanyanâs rendition of the twenty-four methods of tempering and nourishing the spirit seemed superficially like the Nie familyâs ancestral sword casting technique. Yet, it was actually performed through the Sword Dao method.
Previously practicing it over and over in his mind, Mu Hanyan had already discovered that this so-called sword casting technique actually originated from Swordsmanship, sharing a semblance of origin with the Nine Heavens Star Falling Sword.
Though he couldnât fully comprehend this sword casting technique at once, with his understanding of the Nine Heavens Star Falling Sword, performing this sword casting technique through the Sword Dao method posed no difficulty.
Of course, if that were all, he wouldnât dare proceed with the assessment rashly. After all, Sword Dao is Sword Dao and sword casting is sword casting, two completely different things. If it was just the Sword Dao method performing the sword casting technique, even without a single error in technique, it would be all form and no spirit, utterly incapable of forging the Blood Gall Sword.
But donât forget, Mu Hanyan also had the Chaos Heavenly Fire. Not without reason was it called the Source of Ten Thousand Flames by Ling Baobao. This Chaos Heavenly Fire, though lacking spiritual sense, possessed remarkable spirituality, rivaling any legendary Divine Beast. It recognized its master and instantly assimilated into the Holy Court Continentâs Heaven and Earth Rules.