The Supreme God of Gamblers and the Art of Not Gambling

The official Grand Wager was scheduled to commence at nine o’clock. Du Chen waited until eight fifty-nine when Betty, brimming with eagerness, rushed in, plonking herself opposite him. "Let's start! What are we betting?" she demanded, slapping the table.

Guests unfamiliar with Betty in the spectator seats gasped. "This is the Lady of the Batuoke household? The millennia-old Batuoke family, renowned for their noble etiquette—how can she not exhibit even a shred of it?" However, those who knew Betty simply smiled, a look that said, "Finally, the Gambler gets her fix!"

Du Chen offered a serene smile. "Lady Betty, you're a little too impatient. The casino dealer, the rules, the gambling implements—none of these have been clarified yet!"

Betty chuckled, a blush rising to her cheeks, then called out to the spectators, "Sword Slave Senior, you are the host of this event, so all rules are yours to decide. We'll simply gamble according to them, does that work?"

This was remarkably fair. Sword Slave even felt a subtle partiality in her words towards himself. He rose, chuckling. "Excellent! The purpose today is to verify Francis's identity. If the gamble is too simple, it would be difficult to assess his skill! Therefore, I suggest you wager in three rounds—dice, roulette, and stud poker! It's a best-of-three, and you may decide the detailed rules yourselves. However, there is only one cardinal rule: no using battle qi or any other method of cheating. It must be purely based on skill! The ideal referee would be Dragonfinch, but to avoid suspicion and ensure fairness, Lady Betty and this 'fake Francis' may confer to decide on the casino dealer and referee!"

Betty burst out laughing. "No problem! Roulette and stud poker won't need a casino dealer, we can discuss that later! As for the referee, let's invite everyone present to serve. If anyone catches either of us cheating red-handed, they're immediately disqualified!" She turned, her eyes twinkling as she gazed at Du Chen. "What do you say?"

Du Chen simply made a 'please' gesture, his expression composed, indicating he had no objections whatsoever.

"Good!" *Clap! Clap!* Betty raised her hands and clapped twice sharply. "Enough with the pleasantries! For the first round of dice, are we betting high or low? You set the specifics for this first round!"

Du Chen glanced at his daughter in the observation seats. Little Beibei's Spiritual Power had greatly evolved, and with their Battle Soul connection, the little one no longer needed to be held in Du Chen's arms to assist with cheating; she could simply watch from the stands. "Beibei, what do you think?"

The little one giggled. "Beibei's just a child, so let's bet small!"

Betty's brow furrowed. If they bet small, both had the strength to shatter dice, meaning this round would at most be a draw...

Du Chen turned back to Betty. "Small, but with a giant dice cup..."

Betty paused, bewildered. "A giant dice cup?"

"Yes, a giant dice cup! I want to gamble with eighteen dice!"

"Alright, eighteen dice it is!" Betty declared fiercely. 'Damn it, shattering eighteen dice requires no small amount of wrist strength and skill, but I can do it!'

Du Chen meticulously wiped his fingertips, then slowly and deliberately spoke, his gaze fixed on his digits. "Furthermore, no dice can be damaged. If any dice show even the slightest wear, regardless of its value, it's an automatic loss!"

'Cannot damage the dice?' Betty's fingertips trembled slightly. She gritted her teeth, a wry smile playing on her lips. "I understand what you mean. Excellent! This way, there's not a shred of luck involved; it's purely a test of skill, truly exhilarating! Someone, bring the dice cups!"

Soon, the dice cups were brought. The two gently began to shake them, and murmurs faintly arose from the spectator seats.

"Earl, I don't quite understand Francis's meaning. Eighteen dice, betting small, and no damage to the dice? Are they trying to stack the dice to form the smallest possible value?"

"It must be something like that. Stacking eighteen dice perfectly—that's pure technique!"

Sword Slave shared this thought, but Dragonfinch listened carefully for a moment, using her superhuman perception. Suddenly, her face paled, and she whispered, "Sword Slave, something is amiss! This Francis might be the real deal!"

"What's wrong?"

"I hear Betty attempting to spin all eighteen dice obliquely to stand on their edges, which would result in zero points. But Francis is doing the exact same thing! He possesses gambling prowess not inferior to Betty's!"

Sword Slave was startled, staring blankly at Du Chen.

The dice clattered and collided. Du Chen's expression remained calm, seemingly unchanged from the moment The Grand Wager began, and his heart was filled with unwavering confidence!

Gambling prowess, in the hands of the mediocre, is a competition of luck. In the eyes of The Master, it's a contest of skill. But for pinnacle experts like him and Betty, who had already reached or were on the verge of reaching the limits of human ability, it was a battle of psychology and wisdom!

Betty's skill was indeed not much worse than Du Chen's; in a pure contest of technique, the outcome would still be unknown. However, she rushed into the gamble with impatience, immediately losing a step psychologically. By following Du Chen's demand to bet small, yet slowly and deliberately stating harsh conditions one by one, Du Chen systematically caused Betty's emotions to fluctuate wildly...

Thus, the outcome was determined before they even picked up their dice cups!

*Thud.* Du Chen set down his dice cup, looking at Betty with a faint smile. Betty gritted her teeth, also slamming her dice cup down with a *thud*. Both opened their lids simultaneously...

"Wow, my eyes have truly been opened today!"

"Unbelievable, simply unbelievable! Even with battle qi, I doubt I could achieve such precise control, yet they did it with mere wrist strength..."

The crowd marveled. A few astute individuals even felt a jolt in their hearts. 'I used to look down on gambling prowess, but... if their techniques were combined with battle qi, wouldn't that be an absolutely exquisite Secret Technique for battle!?'

On the table, eighteen dice for each, a total of thirty-six dice, were all spinning, perfectly balanced on their edges, all showing zero!

A draw? Of course not! In such a situation, there was still a way to determine victory!

Soon, the rotational force of the dice dissipated, but they did not fall as expected, revealing their values. Instead, they remained perfectly still, balanced obliquely on the tabletop. All thirty-six dice were still, all standing on edge!

*Whew!* Betty wiped a bead of cold sweat from her forehead, laughing in relief. "It seems the first round is a draw—" Her words died in her throat, her face contorting in shock, because... one of her dice wobbled and then fell!

Du Chen smiled placidly. "Shall we begin the second round?"

Betty fiercely clutched a handful of her long hair, then nodded. "I am utterly convinced of my loss in the dice round. Those of you watching, does anyone disagree?"

This was genuine skill, utterly beyond fabrication. Not even Sword Slave or Dragonfinch could find the slightest fault. Du Chen had won, a clean, fair, and honorable victory!

"Bring the roulette!" Betty waved, instructing the servants to prepare for the next round. Seizing the interval, she asked Du Chen, "This is truly exhilarating! Since mastering gambling prowess, I've never lost, but today's loss feels entirely justified! Francis, you are the true God of Gamblers. Can you tell me where I went wrong?"

Du Chen bowed slightly, a smile playing on his lips. "Lady Betty, the art of gambling essentially comprises three things: skill, wisdom, and psychology! You possess the first two, and indeed, few across the Three Continents could hope to defeat you with them. However, to gamble against me, you must achieve one more thing: remain outside the gamble, yet win within it!"

"Remain outside the gamble, yet win within it?" Betty pondered these words in confusion. "Do you mean, if I don't think about gambling, if I forget about winning or losing, then I can truly contend with you?"

Du Chen nodded. "Precisely. You once asked me why I haven't engaged in a gamble for many years, and why so few in my family are influenced by me to enjoy gambling prowess... Now I tell you, the true God of Gamblers practices 'The Art of Not Gambling'!"

Confusion still lingered in Betty's eyes. At that moment, the roulette wheel was brought out. She could only laugh, "Thank you for your guidance. Let us begin the second—"

"Hmph!"

A heavy,怒h怒ry snort suddenly echoed from the crowd. Alert guards parted like a tide, and Old Master Yonker of the Batuoke family strode into the casino. Guests hastily rose to greet him.

Yonker walked directly to Betty, glaring coldly at her. "Thanking him for what? Do you truly believe Francis is giving you guidance?"

Betty stammered, "Father, do you mean... Francis is deceiving me?"

Yonker cast aside his royal purple-gold cloak, waved for Betty to stand, and then sat himself opposite Du Chen. He scrutinized Du Chen, but his words were for Betty. "Francis's words are not wrong; the true God of Gamblers indeed practices 'The Art of Not Gambling'! But you must also remember this: when God of Gamblers cross paths, the true battle is in their minds! Francis has already unsettled your emotions. His 'guidance' is actually an insinuation—that you, Betty, are only fit to be his student, and will never defeat him!"

Betty's eyes widened in sudden realization. She glared fiercely at Du Chen. "Father, I understand now. Francis is applying psychological pressure on me, and the second round, roulette, is the most intense form of direct gambling. With this pressure on my mind, I absolutely cannot contend with him!"

Yonker snorted through his nose. "Don't blame Francis. Psychology is inherently part of gambling prowess. You are not up to par; losing is only natural!" He subtly pointed a finger at Du Chen. "Look at him. Has his expression changed even once since the gamble began? Has the smile in his eyes ever vanished? Based on that alone, you... can go sit in the spectator seats!"

Betty exclaimed urgently, "Father, there are still two rounds left to gamble! If I go to the spectator seats, who will gamble against Francis?"

At this, Du Chen took a deep breath and spread his hands. "Old Master, I set the details for the first round. So, for the rules of the second round of roulette, I invite your esteemed guidance!"

Betty looked at Du Chen, then at Yonker, and gasped, "Father, you're going to gamble against him?"

Yonker ignored Betty, his gaze sharply interlocking with Du Chen's. "A true God of Gamblers never loses. If you wish to prove you are Francis, first defeat this old man!"