Chapter 58: All or Nothing (Thanks to all friends for your support—five updates this weekend!)

“Why change it?!” Shen Xiang held the dice with evident dissatisfaction, glancing at Miao Renyu. “You already said you could win—why bother with this extra step?”

Miao Renyu ignored Shen Xiang, turning the smooth purple sandalwood prayer beads in his hand as he spoke to me.

“We’re both practitioners in this field; there’s no need for falsehoods between us. I won’t conceal anything. Originally, he sat in the White Tiger’s position, spreading fierce energy in all directions. But you broke the arrangement, turning it into the Azure Dragon overcoming the White Tiger. No matter how he gambles tonight, loss is inevitable. So, for this round, I’ll wager with you.”

With that, Miao Renyu gestured for Shen Xiang to remove his jacket.

I nodded calmly, responding with measured composure, “What would you like to bet?”

Miao Renyu picked up a chip from the table, examining it absentmindedly. “You’re clearly no ordinary person. When masters duel, the outcome hangs by a thread. Let’s keep it simple: this chip has two sides. We each choose one. For fairness, we’ll have someone present toss it for us. Whoever chooses correctly wins.”

A chip with two sides—each of us has a fifty percent chance. Miao Renyu’s proposal seemed perfectly fair to Yue Leiting: no skill involved, pure luck, fate deciding the winner.

“You’re the guest—please choose first,” I said, extending my hand with polite humility.

“Guests follow the host’s lead. Since we’re on your turf, you should start,” Miao Renyu replied steadily.

One side of the chip was white, the other blue-green.

Without hesitation, I glanced at the chip on the table—the white side was up. I replied, calmly, “White.”

“Very well. I choose blue-green.”

Yue Leiting, seated, casually pointed out a gambler to toss the chip.

Those who gambled here weren’t wealthy; they came for small stakes, entertainment. Never had they witnessed such high-stakes betting—the casino itself and two men’s hands on the line. Gamblers thrive on excitement; the outcome wasn’t important to them. It was the moment of revelation that drew them in.

As the gambler picked up the chip, I suddenly realized I might have underestimated Miao Renyu. His wager appeared simple and fair. Yet, judging by the feng shui arrangements he’d taught Shen Xiang, his abilities were deep and concealed.

A chip with two sides—leaving it to fate is the common man’s way. Miao Renyu was not one to let destiny decide for him.

Dressed in black, prayer beads of purple sandalwood on his wrist, I paused, realizing I’d overlooked a detail: black corresponds to water in the Five Elements.

The purple sandalwood beads—also known as Azure Dragon wood—represent wood in the Five Elements.

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Looking closely at Miao Renyu’s beads, they were fine and lustrous, golden in hue, each bead’s eye shimmering with golden flecks—clearly crafted from precious golden-starred purple sandalwood. In the Five Elements, earth sits at the center, and gold-yellow signifies earth.

On each bead, phoenixes were intricately carved—phoenixes are Vermilion Birds, which represent fire.

I reassessed Miao Renyu before me: short, long hair masking his features—and upon closer inspection, his appearance was oddly amusing.

Rarely do you see a mouth so large on a man; when he spoke, it was with a sweeping, overwhelming presence. His face was as round as a ball, almost lacking any contours—his nose and eyes equally round, giving him a comical look. From a distance, he resembled a basketball wearing a wig.

Yet, I felt no amusement now—rather, I regretted agreeing to this bet.

Miao Renyu’s features were the archetype of the water element. Though his attire was ordinary, he quietly embodied all five elements—metal, wood, water, fire, earth—not only outwardly but also inwardly. The elements interacted harmoniously, giving rise to each other endlessly. Compared to the feng shui arrangements he’d taught Shen Xiang earlier, Miao Renyu’s mastery of the Five Elements was far more profound.

Tonight, Miao Renyu possessed the advantage of time, place, and people. No matter where he sat, whatever he bet, he would not lose!

I was shocked by the depth of his abilities—utterly unforeseen. As the gambler tossed the chip into the air, I was seized with an unprecedented sense of panic, watching the chip rise to its zenith. Miao Renyu, confident, played with his prayer beads, as if the outcome was already within his grasp.

In the Five Elements, the cycle goes: wood produces fire, fire produces earth, earth produces metal, metal produces water, water produces wood—endless, seamless. But the elements also restrain one another. Ordinary practitioners cannot control this; a single misstep brings disaster. Watching Miao Renyu’s relaxed demeanor, it was clear he could command the Five Elements effortlessly.

The chip began its descent, and my heart sank with it. There are ways to break the Five Elements arrangement—extremes lead to reversal. But balance between yin and yang is essential; no element must be too strong or too weak. If this balance is lost, the Five Elements arrangement collapses. Yet, this requires time—and time was what I lacked most.

This was Miao Renyu’s cunning: proposing a seemingly simple and fair wager, leaving me no time to react. Only now did I realize he meant to give me no chance whatsoever.

The chip was nearly at the table. Despair washed over me. Losing the casino could be recouped; even losing my hand was bearable. But Xiao Lianshan’s hand was also at stake—must he pay for my carelessness?

Anxiously, I watched the falling chip, searching for any way to salvage the situation. Suddenly, I thought of Qin Yishou. My eyes lit up—I formed the Three Pure Ones gesture, stepped the Seven Stars stride, and chanted aloud:

“My left bears the Sun Lord, my right the Moon Lord, thunder ahead, clouds behind, shaking heaven and earth, commanding the dragon spirits, with true command, stars gather left and right, clouds rush front and back, yin and yang and the Five Elements obey my will—let it be so!”

As soon as I finished the chant—words incomprehensible to the others—the chip landed on the table. The gambler who tossed it pressed his hand atop, more nervous than anyone.

“You actually thought of using the Sun Moon Star Lords’ incantation to break my arrangement? The Five Elements cycle is sequential, I dominate, you submit. You want to invert heaven and earth, seize control of the elements, turning the cycle so you dominate, I submit. To think of this in such a short time—you are indeed remarkable,” Miao Renyu sneered coldly. “But unfortunately, the Sun Moon Star Lords’ incantation is among the highest nine incantations in the Supreme Three Caverns. Unless a true master grants permission, no ordinary person can wield it!”

“Why waste words on him? This shabby casino is beneath me—what I want are their hands. Daring to disgrace me—they must be tired of living!” Shen Xiang, seeing Miao Renyu’s confidence, boasted loudly.

“Reveal the result!” I ignored Miao Renyu and Shen Xiang, my gaze sternly fixed on the gambler’s hand.

Gamblers are always seized by the anxiety and anticipation of the reveal, so his hand slowly lifted, inch by inch, under everyone’s eyes.

Xiao Lianshan still sat with his back to the table. Though there was no longer any need, I’d forgotten to tell him otherwise, so he hadn’t turned around. For him, whatever I said, he would carry out without hesitation, never asking why.

That is trust.

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But when he heard the cheers erupting behind him, he couldn’t help wanting to turn and see—he had no idea for whom the crowd was cheering.

Shen Xiang stumbled backward several steps, collapsing into a chair, staring wide-eyed at the chip on the table.

Suddenly, Miao Renyu felt a burning in his chest, an unbearable internal pain. Blood spurted from his mouth, splattering onto the chip.

Even stained with blood, the color was unmistakable.

White!

Only now, Miao Renyu’s blood covered it—red as a wound.

I found myself laughing—not the smug laughter of victory, but one of surprise and astonishment.

Miao Renyu collapsed to the ground. The Five Elements arrangement, though ingenious, is perilous. Only when yin and yang are balanced, mutually restraining, can the elements nourish each other. Many know its mysteries, but few use it—most lack the ability.

But the most crucial point: to wield the Five Elements, one must contain them within. The practitioner must exist within the Five Elements, and the Five Elements within them—outer and inner harmony.

The outer Five Elements are like Miao Renyu’s attire and prayer beads—arranged artificially. But to truly drive the Five Elements arrangement requires the inner elements: in Chinese medicine, these are the lungs, liver, kidneys, heart, and spleen, corresponding to metal, wood, water, fire, earth. Balance and harmony among these organs is the foundation of health and vitality; weakness in the Five Elements means severe internal illness.

To activate the Five Elements arrangement, one must combine the strength of the organs within with the elements outside—when one thrives, the other thrives; when one suffers, all suffer. If the arrangement is broken, the practitioner’s organs are gravely hurt, as with Miao Renyu now.

He hadn’t risked everything with such a dangerous arrangement—only, in such a short span, no one could possibly break it.

“No…Impossible!” Miao Renyu clutched his chest, pale as death, struggling to speak. “You have no name, no title, not a true master—how could you possibly wield the Sun Moon Star Lords’ incantation? You…you cannot…break my Five Elements arrangement!”

Xiao Lianshan, hearing this, realized I’d won. He turned, surprised to see Miao Renyu lying on the ground, barely conscious. “What…what happened? It was just a coin toss—how did it end in such severe blood loss?”

I shrugged, half-smiling. “You’re right. I honestly had no confidence breaking his arrangement—I simply gambled with myself.”

Miao Renyu’s organs were devastated; blood poured from his mouth as he gasped for breath. “What…what method did you use to break my Five Elements arrangement?”