Most people present only had one or two Life Artifacts. Only a very few had more than three. Someone like White Deer Head, who directly produced nine Life Artifacts, was completely unheard of.
Li Qingxian performed his Divination for a while longer, then shook his head. He had only officially begun his journey two months ago; divining a Fate Grid and Life Mansion of this level was still a significant challenge for him.
"Celestial Destiny Instrument!"
A Qi Fortune Fish leaped into the void, and the Celestial Destiny Instrument rumbled to life, beginning to turn.
The Life Mansion above the Stone Man’s head burst open with a BOOM, revealing the Life Land and Life Pillars within.
On the Year Pillar of the Youth Life Land, within the Destiny Star, a massive golden basin gleamed brightly. The edge of the golden basin was carved with patterns of birds and beasts. Inside the basin, pearls, jade, and gold were piled into a small mountain, overflowing with a treasured light.
Celestial Destiny Star: Treasure Basin.
The Fate Technique says: Seek wealth and find wealth, seek treasure and obtain treasure. Amass great treasure, and attract great thieves.
Li Qingxian thought, ’This is a typical high-quality noble Fate Grid, but not supremely noble; it has its flaws. If it were combined with my Sunlight on Golden Mountain and Earth-Born Gold... and since Sunlight on Golden Mountain can also dispel calamities and neutralize the "great thieves" part, it would be absolutely perfect.’
Li Qingxian then looked at the Human Destiny Star of the Youth Life Land.
Within the Destiny Star, an iron rod as thick as a wrist was slowly rolling on a whetstone. One end was thick, while the other had already been ground down to the thickness of a finger.
Human Destiny Star: Iron Pestle Grinding Needle.
The Fate Technique says: The day the iron pestle becomes a needle is the day the sharp awl pierces the sack.
"This Destiny Star can’t compare to Ye Han’s Ten Thousand Grinds into a Vessel, but as a Middle-Grade Human Destiny Star, it’s not bad."
Having glimpsed the Destiny Stars, Li Qingxian used his Divination Skill for Inference and quickly deduced a probable outcome.
Looking at the top of the Stone Man’s head again, he saw more than a dozen Destiny Images appear.
Unlike ordinary Destiny Images, these were more illusory and transparent.
Li Qingxian examined them carefully, then placed his finger on the light screen in front of the Stone Man and began to write quickly.
"This person’s Celestial Fate is to amass treasure, their Human Fate is to grind a needle; joy and hardship are intertwined."
"As a child, this person surely faced a water-related disaster, perhaps falling into a pond or a creek."
"In his youth, he will be successful and proud, but after unexpectedly obtaining a treasure, he will encounter a great calamity that implicates his parents and family."
"After reaching adulthood and undergoing tempering, his Flowing Years will be auspicious, and his Approaching Officer will rise."
"This year, he is destined to find a treasure that will aid his Cultivation, but it will also attract the covetous eyes of enemies, a situation that must be resolved."
"This person’s future fate is fraught with hardship; it is difficult to draw a definite conclusion."
"If he can calm his mind, control his temperament, and act with precision, he will surely accomplish great things. Unfortunately, his fate is a ceaseless cycle of fortune and calamity. Without another Fate Grid, he will face a great disaster in middle age. As for whether he can overcome it, he’ll either need a heaven-sent Fate Grid to descend upon him, or he’ll have to forge a new Human Fate Grid through his own trials..."
Li Qingxian slowly finished writing, seemingly having come to some realization.
After finishing, Li Qingxian looked at the others.
He saw that White Deer Head and Panda Head had already finished. In front of the fourth Stone Man with a magnificent Life Mansion, another person had appeared—a Black Lion Head.
Looking around, he saw that most people were deep in thought, their brows furrowed with worry.
Lower-Grade Fate Masters entered to perform in the Life Play, and the Beast Bridge grew lively.
A large man with a Red Fox Head mask sat not far from the Fate Box. A large white cloth was spread out before him. With a wave of his right hand, four squares appeared on it, each containing the drawing of an animal head.
They were White Deer Head, Panda Head, Black Lion Head, and Cross-Eyed Dog Head.
The Red Fox Head shouted, "Heavy gambling harms the body, a little wager is just for fun! Place your bets on which Fate Master you think will enter the third round. A ten-tael bet on White Deer Head pays out ten taels and one qian. A ten-tael bet on Panda Head pays out eleven taels. For Black Lion Head and Cross-Eyed Dog Head, a ten-tael bet pays out twelve taels. Each person can only bet ten taels, and you can only bet on one person—no multiple bets. If any two of you have a grudge, you can make a direct wager against each other. The winner just has to give me a ten-tael tip."
"Liu Laohu, you pull this same stunt every Life Play. Can’t you come up with something new?"
"Makes no difference whether you wear that animal head or not."
The crowd didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Guo Xiang laughed as well. This Liu Laohu was a fairly well-known Seventh-Grade Fate Master in Divine Capital City. He was unruly by nature and had no interest in studying Fate Skills, preferring to carouse in the city streets. He often accumulated Qi Fortune from wealthy families, and whatever silver coins he earned, he would split in two: half to help the poor, and half to squander in gambling dens.
He hadn’t managed to enter the Fate Box this time, probably because the Flower-Seeking Master Liuu looked down on him.
But no one underestimated him. All the Middle-Grade Fate Masters present could see that those four contestants were clearly extraordinary. Even if they had entered themselves, they might not have been able to find the four Stone Men with the best Fate Grids so quickly.
A few fun-loving Fate Masters walked over with grins, placing their bets one after another. Most of them bet on Panda Head.
Guo Xiang thought for a moment, took out ten taels of silver, and bet on Cross-Eyed Dog Head.
"And now, let’s start the betting for Play Leader!" Liu Laohu said with a smile. "Let’s see which of the four will win the grand prize. If someone else wins it, I’ll refund all bets in full. For White Deer Head to become Play Leader, a hundred-tael bet pays out one hundred and five taels. For Panda Head, a hundred-tael bet pays out one hundred and thirty taels. For Black Lion Head, one hundred and fifty. And for Cross-Eyed Dog Head, a hundred-tael bet pays out two hundred taels. The minimum bet is one hundred taels, the maximum is one thousand."
Someone laughed and jeered, "You’re just using the bet for the third round as bait to make the real money on the Play Leader bet!"
Guo Xiang asked, "Why are the odds for Cross-Eyed Dog Head so high?"
"Do I even need to say it?" Liu Laohu analyzed. "Who here can’t see it? He’s just a newly initiated Young Independent Cultivator. His fundamentals as a Fate Master aren’t solid at all. Whether it’s Observing, Recalling, Traversing, or Applying, his methods are a complete mess. He’s probably had some kind of fortuitous encounter, or maybe he’s just a person with strong luck. But his luck can’t compare to Panda Head’s."
Everyone nodded lightly, secretly praising Liu Laohu. His own luck at gambling was poor, but his judgment of people was spot-on.
Guo Xiang thought for a moment, took out a one thousand-tael silver note, and placed it on Cross-Eyed Dog Head.
Everyone’s gazes turned toward Guo Xiang.
"What generosity, sir! May your accumulated Qi Fortune prosper and your noble fate endure!" Liu Laohu said with a hearty laugh.
"There are results!" said a man with a chicken head mask.
The crowd looked toward the light screens.
"A pity. A quarter hour is still too short."
Within the training grounds enclosed by black walls, the Stone Man who had spoken earlier announced, "Time is up!"
The small light screens in front of everyone disappeared.
"I was so close..."
"Wait, just a little longer..."
Some of the younger Fate Masters complained in low voices.
SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!
Beams of white light descended, enveloping one Fate Master after another. When the white light dissipated, the Fate Masters were gone.
After a short while, only thirty-four people remained in the vast training grounds.
"Young Master, I passed too," a person with a bright green parrot head said cheerfully.
The White Deer Head turned to glance at Li Qingxian and said, "You have good luck."
"And you have good Life Artifacts," Li Qingxian replied calmly.
The Stone Man bent over and bowed. "Congratulations to the thirty-four Fate Masters. Each of you will receive a Life-Seeking Sect Fate Skill: the ’Tracking Technique.’ After you swear an oath not to pass it on, you may receive this Skill."
Everyone swore the oath.
The Stone Man waved its stiff right hand, and thirty-four golden pages condensed from Magical Power fell from the sky, each landing on a person’s forehead between their eyebrows.
Li Qingxian performed Mind Guarding Spirit Platform and saw an additional page of Magic Text within his Spirit Platform, recording the Tracking Technique.
Li Qingxian gave it a brief glance and nodded lightly. The Continuous Fire Transport Technique he had used before was also a type of Life-Seeking Skill, but it was a world away from this Tracking Technique.
KRAK! KRAK!
The bluestone floor of the training grounds flipped open. The remaining Stone Men all fell in, leaving only the thirty-four who had been successfully divined and the Stone Giant Leader.
RUMBLE...
The eastern wall suddenly boomed. The crowd looked over as the high, black stone wall on the eastern side slowly descended, revealing a field of mist.