Nighttime.

The betting pool closed.

In a hidden location.

Su Yuan met with Senior Brother Gu.

Su Yuan looked somewhat nervous, while Gu Qingzhu appeared completely calm.

Su Yuan swallowed hard and said, "Senior Brother Gu, I'm afraid we can't keep this matter under wraps anymore. You must have connections with Golden Core elders, right? Maybe we should share some profits to spread the risk?"

Gu Qingzhu remained as calm as a still lake, a faint smile appearing on his face. "Why so anxious, junior brother? It's just some spirit stones. Do you really think anyone would dare commit murder for wealth within the sect?"

"Even so, with this many spirit stones, I'm genuinely scared! If people learn the exact amount, I wouldn't dare go out even during daytime, let alone at night," Su Yuan said with a bitter smile.

Sect Leader Gu patted Su Yuan's shoulder. "Small matter, just a small matter!"

As a Nascent Soul expert, what kind of situation hadn't Sect Leader Gu encountered? This betting business didn't concern him at all. He'd only gotten involved because he found it amusing and was looking forward to Su Yuan's reaction when the truth came out - that would surely be entertaining.

"By the way, what's the total amount in the betting pool?" Sect Leader Gu asked casually.

"It's... quite substantial. I really think we should find some Golden Core elders. If possible, Nascent Soul elders would be even better," Su Yuan replied, his voice trembling with shock.

"Just tell me," Sect Leader Gu waved his hand.

"One billion three hundred eighty million spirit stones!" Su Yuan blurted out.

Sect Leader Gu, who had been standing calmly, suddenly staggered. He swayed before steadying himself with his profound cultivation, though his body still trembled slightly!

His eyes widened as he gripped Su Yuan's shoulders, breathing slightly faster. "How much did you say?"

Su Yuan's face turned red from the pressure. "Senior Brother... that hurts!"

Coming to his senses, Sect Leader Gu quickly released his grip and even smoothed out the wrinkles on Su Yuan's robe at the shoulders, smiling warmly. "Ah, I didn't hear clearly just now. Junior Brother Su, how much was it again?"

"Um, one billion three hundred eighty million spirit stones!" Su Yuan repeated.

Though he'd calmed down somewhat, Sect Leader Gu was still astonished. "How did it get this big?"

Su Yuan explained, "Some disciples asked if they could use contribution points instead of spirit stones for betting. I thought it was reasonable and agreed. I never expected it to grow this much! Also, this is the first time betting has been allowed for the competition - everyone wants to participate, so the amount isn't that surprising."

Not surprising? Sect Leader Gu drew in a sharp breath of spiritual energy as he started calculating how to spend this fortune. The important thing was, this money was his profit! Even after giving half to the sect, the other half was his!

"How much profit do we expect?" Sect Leader Gu asked, his voice slightly hurried.

"Not much, maybe just one or two hundred million!" Su Yuan said.

Hearing this reduced figure, Sect Leader Gu's expression changed. "Why so little?"

"That's already a huge amount!" Su Yuan coughed. "Weren't we originally just hoping to make a few million?"

Sect Leader Gu took a deep breath. "That was then, this is now. Since we have the opportunity to make this much, we should maximize our profits!"

Su Yuan sighed. "No choice. Too many people are involved now, and information has become transparent. Everyone's betting rationally, so the success rates are high. If not for the competition between different peaks keeping things unpredictable, we might not have made any profit at all - we could have lost money instead! We're actually quite lucky!"

"Oh? Which peak is most likely to win?" Sect Leader Gu recalled some information. "Spiritual Extremes Peak?"

"Exactly!" Su Yuan confirmed. "Although Spiritual Extremes Peak doesn't have any top five contestants, they have three in the top ten! Their disciples excel in spiritual energy - both quality and quantity. Especially in arena battles where many fights become endurance tests, their chances increase significantly! Many disciples from other peaks have placed bets on Spiritual Extremes Peak!"

Hearing this, Sect Leader Gu fell into thought.

His gaze unconsciously settled on Su Yuan.

Feeling uncomfortable under the stare, Su Yuan coughed and said, "Maybe we really should ask Golden Core elders to step in. This amount of spirit stones is beyond our control."

Sect Leader Gu nodded with a smile. "You're right. I'll find someone to back us up. We may need to share some profits - just be mentally prepared. Of course, your share won't be reduced. At least three million is guaranteed."

Su Yuan relaxed slightly. Even three million would satisfy him greatly.

Suddenly, Sect Leader Gu said, "There are restrictions on talismans and elixirs during the competition, but fewer limitations on magical instruments since wielding them is part of one's ability. As I recall, you don't have any good magical instruments, do you?"

Su Yuan was startled. "Senior Brother Gu means...? I'm not participating in this competition!"

Sect Leader Gu gave Su Yuan a strange look. He'd already checked - Su Yuan had registered. Was he trying to deceive him?

Sect Leader Gu continued, "I'll give you a magical instrument in advance as a reward. After all, you've contributed so much."

"Oh? Really?" Su Yuan was surprised.

"Of course. What type of magical instrument do you need?"

"Um, do you have any complete sets of sword-type magical instruments? Preferably seven or more swords!" Su Yuan said hopefully.

"Seven?" Sect Leader Gu was taken aback. "At Qi Refining Stage, controlling two swords is already impressive!"

"Uh, they're just backups in case some get damaged?" Su Yuan offered.

"Fine, let me look!"

Sect Leader Gu's consciousness entered his storage ring to search.

Su Yuan scratched his head. Senior Brother Gu's words carried an air of great wealth - truly befitting a core disciple!

Though he was a core disciple candidate, until now, Su Yuan hadn't felt any difference between himself and ordinary inner disciples.

'Three hundred years ago, I think I collected a set of top-grade sword magical instruments. Where did I put them?'

Sect Leader Gu's spiritual sense swept through his massive storage ring until it locked onto a sword case.

His eyes lit up. "Found it!"

With a wave of his hand, a huge sword case appeared before them.

Su Yuan was startled. The case was as tall as a person and extremely wide, resembling a thick door panel.

"This..." Su Yuan was dumbfounded.

Sect Leader Gu patted the case and smiled. "One of my collections! What do you think?"

Su Yuan examined the case curiously but couldn't discern anything special. "I can't tell anything from just looking."

With a faint smile, Sect Leader Gu waved his hand and opened the case.

A dense sword energy immediately shot skyward!

The tremendous sword energy surged outward like a storm. When it reached Gu Qingzhu, it felt like a gentle breeze, but when it touched Su Yuan, his body absorbed the dispersed energy effortlessly like a bottomless pit.

Far from being harmed, Su Yuan actually felt comfortable.

"Hmm?" Gu Qingzhu was genuinely surprised now. He'd expected to see Su Yuan embarrassed, but instead found the young man behaving strangely.

Looking inside the case, Su Yuan saw nine flying swords, each emitting different colored auras - green, red, white, purple, yellow, black, gray, blue, and more!

Each blade was wrapped in sharp sword energy, seemingly able to connect with the others, their auras synchronized, vibrating the air intimidatingly!

Sect Leader Gu explained, "Each of these nine flying swords is a top-grade magical instrument! Forged together by a master craftsman, they share an incredibly close connection. Combined with the sword case, they form a complete set that's easier to control - truly the best of the best. I believe they're called the Nine Stars Linked Pearl Sword!"

Looking at these swords, Su Yuan began doubting Gu Qingzhu's claimed identity. A mere core disciple wouldn't suffice - he must be at least a true disciple or Golden Core elder.

This set was too perfect. Top-grade magical instruments were notoriously difficult to forge, requiring flawless craftsmanship. Even first-grade top-quality instruments weren't easy to produce.

Yet here were nine, forming a complete set - their value was incalculable, reaching collector's item status!

This Senior Brother Gu was definitely unusual!

Swallowing hard, Su Yuan asked hoarsely, "Senior Brother Gu, you're really giving these to me?"

"They're yours! If you don't want them, I'll take them back!" Gu Qingzhu reached out.

Su Yuan quickly placed his hand on the case, covering it entirely with his spiritual sense before storing it in his bag, which immediately became packed full.

Su Yuan was overjoyed.

Sect Leader Gu nodded with a smile. "Good. If this cooperation goes smoothly, I'll give you a great opportunity!"

Su Yuan shrugged. "Those spirit stones are enough - sufficient for my cultivation until Foundation Establishment! I don't need any special opportunities."

"Hmm?"

Sect Leader Gu looked at Su Yuan suspiciously, wondering if the young man misunderstood the value of three million spirit stones. That amount could support cultivation until late Foundation Establishment!

"Ahem, alright. I have matters to attend to. You should go back and refine your new instruments. Top-grade magical instruments aren't easy to refine or control - it'll take time! You might actually use them," Sect Leader Gu said meaningfully.

"Mm," Su Yuan nodded absently.

He was indeed looking forward to testing his self-created "Seven Stars Mystic Truth Sword Canon" with these top-grade instruments.

They parted ways, each returning discreetly to their residences. As for the spirit stones from the betting pool? They were temporarily sealed at the main peak's martial arts plaza.

Back in his room, Su Yuan eagerly took out the sword case to examine the flying swords.

"Good swords, excellent swords!"

Su Yuan was thrilled. When he extended his spiritual sense into a sword, he unexpectedly detected a faint spiritual nature!

"This is..." Su Yuan was astonished.

"This is on the verge of becoming a spirit artifact!"

This was incredible. Foundation Establishment cultivators used spirit artifacts, which differed from magical instruments precisely in their spiritual nature!

With spiritual nature, an artifact gained a "soul" and autonomy, reducing the cultivator's consumption, lowering control difficulty, and increasing power.

And this flying sword contained a trace of spiritual nature!

He hurriedly checked the other swords - each contained a trace too!

Examining the case, he found sword-nurturing spiritual patterns inside. These patterns had low efficiency - how long had these swords been nurtured to develop spiritual nature?

"Just what is Senior Brother Gu's true identity? To casually gift such valuable instruments worth at least a million spirit stones combined!"

Growing fonder by the minute, Su Yuan immediately began channeling his Mystic Truth Qi and spiritual sense to refine them. As for the competition? Who cared - just wait for the money!