Back at the Third Prince's Mansion.
Jiang Chen returned to his room to cultivate alone.
The Third Prince had gone to the Royal Palace to report his achievements.
Around dusk, the Third Prince returned.
He was positively beaming.
He immediately ordered another grand banquet to be prepared.
That evening, everyone was invited to the main hall.
Jiang Chen was, of course, among them.
The Third Prince sat in the seat of honor and said with a smile, "Everyone, by eradicating the bandits of Nanming Mountain, we have performed a great service. There are no longer any bandits within three hundred li of Gambling City."
"This banquet is to celebrate our success, and also to fulfill a promise I made."
"Whoever was first to take Xuan Zhiyong's head would be rewarded with ten million essence crystals and one Third-Grade Qi Enhancement Pill."
"This time, Jiang the Military Advisor took the lead, killed Xuan Zhiyong, captured numerous bandits, and earned the highest merit."
"Present the reward to Jiang the Military Advisor."
A serving girl quickly approached Jiang Chen, carrying a tray.
On it was a Qiankun Bag and a porcelain vial, which clearly contained the ten million essence crystals and the Qi Enhancement Pill.
He reached out and took them directly.
"Thank you, Your Highness."
He offered a polite word of thanks after receiving his items.
The Third Prince smiled. "You've earned it. And inside, there is an additional reward from my royal father: five million essence crystals."
Jiang Chen glanced inside and saw it was indeed fifteen million essence crystals. A decent haul.
The Third Prince didn't neglect the others, either; Yiyi also received a handsome reward.
Just then, a guard walked in.
"Your Highness, a letter has arrived."
The Third Prince took it and read it.
His brows furrowed slightly as he scanned the contents.
Huo Wu asked, "Your Highness, is there some kind of trouble?"
The Third Prince shook his head. "No. My two older brothers have invited me to Gambling City tomorrow for a few games."
'He had a bad feeling, sensing that his two brothers were looking to cause trouble for him.'
In the past, the strongest expert by his side was Huo Wu, so he usually didn't dare accept his brothers' invitations.
He worried that while he himself might be fine, the people with him would suffer for it.
And there was nothing he could do about it.
Hearing this, Da Pao said angrily, "Your Highness, the Crown Prince and the Second Prince must be plotting against you! I say you should just refuse."
But Huo Wu said, "What's there to be afraid of? Worst case, we just fight their men."
The Third Prince could only force a bitter smile. "The problem is, none of you can beat their people."
"The Crown Prince's man, Grand General Ming Zhe, may be dead, but his younger brother, Ming Chang, is a Martial King Seventh Heaven. Who among you is his match?"
"And then there's the Second Prince's entourage. That Mr. Gu is unfathomably powerful, and there's also the National Preceptor's disciple, Jue Wu, who is another Martial King Seventh Heaven."
Although he'd had a taste of triumph today, he was still no match for his two older brothers.
This was a sore spot for the Third Prince.
But for now, there was nothing he could do to change it.
'Jiang Chen had shown extraordinary strength, but he was ultimately only a Martial King Third Heaven. Compared to his brothers' Martial King Seventh Heaven experts, the gap was still significant.'
He had no confidence at all.
Cao Ming asked in a low voice, "So, are we going tomorrow or not?"
The Third Prince fell silent for a moment.
If he went, nothing good would come of it. He would be humiliated by his two brothers, and his subordinates would be humiliated as well. It was even possible they would use it as an excuse to attack and kill his men.
But if he didn't go, he would lose face.
After all, they had already sent a formal invitation.
Huo Wu spoke up again. "Your Highness, they're inviting you to Gambling City. They'll just want to gamble with you for money or something. What is there to fear?"
"Gambling is just about luck. It's not about who has the higher Cultivation."
The capital of the Fire Sparrow Kingdom was Gambling City, a city that was true to its name.
Here, gambling was simply everywhere.
And the stakes were enormous.
It wasn't unheard of for people to even wager an entire Kingdom.
Gambling City even attracted high rollers from the Six Great Dukedoms and the Three Great Empires.
This was the true nature of Gambling City.
Now, with the Crown Prince and the Second Prince inviting the Third Prince to Gambling City, they naturally wanted to engage in some high-stakes gambling with him.
The Third Prince was not nearly as wealthy as his two older brothers.
Finally, he sighed. "Forget it. We'll go."
"Jiang the Military Advisor, you've probably never been to the casinos in our Gambling City, have you?"
"I'll take you to see them this time."
Jiang Chen nodded slightly.
"Very well."
'He knew that Gambling City's defining characteristic was gambling.'
'The stakes were incredibly high.'
'You could even bet a person's life, and it wasn't against the law.'
'That was Gambling City.'
In fact, the casinos in Gambling City were also collectively known as "Gambling City," which was how the capital got its name.
「The banquet came to an end.」
After returning to his quarters, Jiang Chen gave all the essence crystals he had received to the guards under his command, with an extra five million for Xiao Jun.
He even gave the Qi Enhancement Pill to Xiao Jun.
"Thank you, Young Master."
Xiao Jun was extremely grateful to Jiang Chen.
Although the Qi Enhancement Pill was only of Silver Quality, it was still a Third-Grade Elixir and very precious.
「The night passed without incident. The next morning...」
The Third Prince invited Jiang Chen to the council hall.
It was clearly time to head to the casinos.
The Third Prince seemed to have made considerable preparations for this.
"Let's be on our way."
At the Third Prince's call, Jiang Chen, Huo Wu, Da Pao, Cao Yang, Xiao Jun, and the others followed him, their group heading straight for the casinos.
There were a great many casinos in Gambling City.
Several entire streets were lined with them.
The atmosphere was electric.
Watching the Martial Cultivators hurry to and fro, Jiang Chen saw some who looked ecstatic, having apparently won big.
Others were ashen-faced, clearly having suffered devastating losses.
There were even a fair number of people who killed themselves on the spot.
The gambling here felt almost out of control.
When Jiang Chen and his group appeared in front of an exceptionally luxurious and massive casino...
...two groups of people immediately rushed over from a distance.
"Haha, Third Brother, you finally made it."
It was the Crown Prince, Wen Shixuan, and the Second Prince, Wen Shixi.
Each of them had brought their own entourage and were imposing in number.
"I thought you'd be too cowardly to show up. Since you're here, please, come in."
Wen Shixi said with a hearty laugh.
However, when his eyes fell on Jiang Chen, a hint of hatred flashed within them.
Beside Wen Shixi was Qin Muxue, the fiancée Jiang Chen had broken up with.
Seeing Jiang Chen now, her body trembled instinctively.
However, neither side made a move.
On the surface, everything was perfectly amicable.
The Third Prince also forced a smile.
"With both of my elder brothers here, wouldn't I become a laughingstock if I didn't come?"
Wen Shixuan and Wen Shixi led the way, with Wen Shiren following behind.
The entire group filed into the casino.
Because of their status as Princes, the three of them could go anywhere they pleased within the casino.
"Legend has it that this casino was founded by a Martial Emperor Peak expert."
"That's why for so many years, no one has dared to cause trouble here."
"Even if the Sovereign or a Prince comes, they still have to follow the rules."
Da Pao sidled up to Jiang Chen and began telling him about the casino.
He was clearly very familiar with the place.
Jiang Chen just nodded.
He listened to Da Pao's explanation of the casino.
Following along, he entered the casino as well.
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