Ascension of the immortal Asura

"How much are you going to wager?" John asked Zuri as they followed the attendant through the busy main floor, moving towards the back of the room.

"Not nearly as much as you," Zuri sighed, defeat in her voice.

The attendant led them to a guarded door in the back of the main room. After being let through by the guards, he saw dozens of transportation formation platforms in the room. The attendant stepped onto one, and after John and Zuri did so as well, it activated.

They instantly appeared in another room and followed the attendant out. An expansive garden, almost closer to a vibrant forest came into view, although they were still definitely in the building, as the walls and ceiling were of the same type as the first floor.

A pathway led through the forest, which the attendant led them on. They followed behind, moving through the garden. Tranquil rivers flowed by on both sides, while the chirping of birds and other animals added to the serenity of it all.

A short while later, they appeared on the other side of the garden. An expansive open area came into view, one filled with luxurious furniture, statues, fountains, and more. At the far end of the room was a massive windowpane, which overlooked the entire Yang-Dao City. The sight was breathtaking.

John noticed a middle-aged woman sitting on one of the chairs near the window, looking out over the city.

"Vice-Leader Shai," the attendant said, bowing his head respectfully. "These two have come to place a wager."

"Hmmm?" the woman said, standing up and turning to look at John and Zuri. The woman had long brown hair which was tied up in a fashionable bun, and wore a silky red and yellow dress. The dress clung tightly to her curves, which were quite prominent. Her face was attractive and alluring, giving her a mature charm. She had a pipe in her hand, and was smoking something that had a sweet and intoxicating aroma.

Lastly, her cultivation was in the Late World Expansion Realm, seemingly on the cusp of reaching the Half-Step Holy Manifestation Realm.

"How much are you wagering?" the woman asked as the attendant gestured for John and Zuri to give him the spatial rings. He accepted them, then walked over to the woman, handing her the rings. She inspected them, raised an eyebrow, then looked back at them.

"What are your wagers?" she asked, voice silky and smooth.

"We'd like to bet on the Three-Dao Tournament," Zuri said.

The woman took a puff of her pipe, eyes glued to the two of them. She breathed out, exhaling the smoke, then sighed ever so softly.

"How unexpected," she said, as if bored by the topic. "What is your wager then? Ji'Han to win? Or perhaps Jaxus? Or do you want to wager on the other cultivation brackets?"

"None of those," Zuri said, shaking her head lightly. "We want to bet on someone else."

…

John and Zuri left the Nirvana Gambling Hall and continued back towards the Yang-Dao Sect. A calm expression was on John's face, while Zuri looked slightly uneasy.

"I know you're strong, but Ji'Han and the others are also monstrous freaks," Zuri said as they walked. "And there's also the rules of the tournament. I haven't explained them to you, but you're going to be at more of a disadvantage than you realize. You should have made a safer bet. You should have made the bet I wanted to make, and only bet on you placing in the top ten."

John looked flatly at Zuri, then smirked.

"It doesn't matter what my disadvantages are," John said, shrugging nonchalantly. "I will win regardless of what's thrown at me. You spoke of pride a few weeks ago, and my lack of having it. Isn't this what you wanted?"

"That was different," Zuri grumbled. "That was regarding women, not combat."

John shrugged again.

"You'll thank me when I win this tournament," he said, then shook his head. "It's just a shame I wasn't able to bet on myself directly. Still, the bet we have in place should earn us mountains of high-quality spirit crystals nonetheless."

"It's just the way the Nirvana Gambling Hall operates," Zuri said. "No one knows who you are, so if a massive bet was placed on an unknown person, and then that unknown person won, everyone would feel cheated by the Nirvana Gambling Hall, feeling as though they colluded with you, which would be a blow to their reputation. However, with the bet we placed, it's essentially the same thing without naming you as the victor directly.

The amount we wagered is so great that the Nirvana Gambling Hall will create a separate betting pool for it, with other gamblers able to take the opposite side of your bet, hoping to win a piece of what we wagered. Countless people will see our bet and think it is completely stupid, so the amount of people taking the opposite bet will not be small. As long as you win the tournament, we'll both win a staggering amount of wealth."

John nodded his head, smiling at the wealth he already considered to be his in the near future. Vice-Leader Shai had not been willing to accept his wager to bet on himself to win the tournament. This had surprised John, as he figured she would think it to be impossible for him, a complete nobody, to win the tournament.

However, she was apparently more discerning than she let on, and had refused the bet. She had however agreed to establish a new betting pool for a similar bet, of which they would take a small percentage of the total spirit crystals bet on the pool.

Vice-Leader Shai had agreed to establish a new pool where the bet was that none of the top ten ranked Dao Transformation participants would end up winning the tournament. This included names like Ji'Han and Jaxus, which were the two geniuses almost everyone thought would be the victor in the end.

As a result, the odds of this pool were greatly in his favor. With the skewed odds, as well as the staggering amount of spirit crystals he had placed on his side of this bet, there would be no shortage of gamblers taking the opposite side of his bet. They would consider his wager to be nonsensical and would throw countless spirit crystals at this betting pool to get a share of the spirit crystals he had wagered.

John inspected the formation disk Vice-Leader Shai had given him, which contained details within that would automatically update. Things such as betting amounts, shifting odds, and so on were recorded within, allowing him to get a real-time update on his bet.

John put the formation disk away, then followed Zuri back towards the Yang-Dao Sect. Now that his bet was placed, all that remained was to win the most important bet of all; Lilian's bet with the Sword-Saint.

The two arrived back where they had been originally and walked past the long line of cultivators trying to enter the Yang-Dao Sect for the tournament. John heard grumbling voices as he passed them by, voices protesting their ability to cut the line, but paid them no heed.

They quickly arrived at the base of the dome of fire, which was even more overwhelming and awe-inspiring up close. The dome roiled overhead and to both sides, burning with a star-like intensity. However, that intensity was contained by some sort of formation, making both the heat and brightness of the dome manageable.

Zuri spoke with several of the guards for a moment, then presented a metallic seal. The guards inspected the seal, then nodded, gesturing for them to enter. John followed Zuri through the arched opening in the dome of fire, which was thicker than he imagined, at least one hundred yards thick.

After walking through the fiery entranceway, the Yang-Dao Sect came into view as they appeared on the other side. John's eyes went wide with awe as he looked at the view before him.

"Impressive, huh?" Zuri said, smiling at his expression. "Welcome to the Yang-Dao Sect. One of the three strongest sects on the continent, and the place where you will make your name known throughout the world!"