The Dice

Qin Yue?

For the disciples of the Mystic Maiden Palace, this name was far from unfamiliar. Even those who had never met him in person knew of his antics and troublemaking reputation. Yet, no one could have imagined associating this name with the dazzling light on the nineteenth level of the Rebirth Tower.

After all, he was just an outsider. It was his first time entering the tower. And, above all, he was just a man with low status in the Mystic Maiden Palace.

Gu Caihe’s face paled, her delicate shoulders trembling. She turned to Chen Keshua, her voice sharp. “What proof do you have that the light belongs to Qin Yue? If you can’t explain yourself, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”

Chen Keshua glared back at her, his voice unwavering. “And what proof does the Saintess of Cherished Flowers have to insist that the light belongs to Sister Jiang Qiu?”

“How dare you! Speaking so insolently in front of the Palace Master, relying on sharp words and bravado!” Gu Caihe’s voice rose with anger as she raised her hand. A gust of wind swept through, stinging Chen Keshua’s face.

The chubby disciple stood firm, his face ashen but his resolve unshaken. He refused to kneel or beg for mercy. He knew that if he faltered now, Qin Gou’s reputation would suffer as well.

“Enough,” Ye Qishuang’s calm voice cut through the tension, her tone laced with amusement. “Isn’t this rather entertaining?”

Gu Caihe froze, unsure of how to proceed.

Ye Qishuang’s deep, bright eyes sparkled with intrigue. “If it really is Qin Yue, wouldn’t that make things even more interesting?”

Gu Caihe fell silent.

Yi Chengying, meanwhile, was screaming internally, Palace Master, please use your brilliance to realize that Qin Yue is actually the Heavenly Master!

—

Inside the tower.

“System, what’s my current aptitude?” Qin Gou asked with a smirk.

“Black Bamboo, low-grade.”

“Oh? I’ve finally broken free from the lowest tier of the four-element grades and entered the Plum, Orchid, Bamboo, and Chrysanthemum rankings at Black Bamboo. How wonderful,” Qin Gou said, his eyes lighting up. “When I leave the tower, Little Box will lose one of her favorite insults. How will she keep up her verbal sparring with me now?”

Turning his attention to the current challenge, Qin Gou prepared himself.

—

The twenty-third level.

Once again, the record was shattered.

No one could definitively identify the extraordinary individual behind the glowing light. But they had lost count of how many times this person had left them in awe today.

The challenges posed by the Rebirth Tower were as varied as they were profound. The questions ranged from obscure to impossibly complex. How could a cultivator at the Hidden Artifact Realm possess such vast, ocean-like knowledge? It was as if this person had retained memories from countless past lives, reborn as an ancient monster.

Many challengers had already failed and been ejected. No one dared to enter the tower now, unwilling to serve as a mere backdrop to this unparalleled genius.

At the towering heights of the Rebirth Tower, only two lights remained. One belonged to a determined individual still struggling on the third level, having barely advanced from the second. The other was Qin Gou, who had ascended to the twenty-third level.

Was Qin Yue a dragon or a worm? The answer would only be revealed when one of these two was ejected from the tower.

—

A raspy, grating laugh echoed through the air, sending chills down everyone’s spines.

The sky darkened as thick black clouds rolled in, blotting out the sun. Upon closer inspection, one could see countless figures writhing within the ominous mist.

Those with higher cultivation, like Gu Caihe, could discern that the figures were not living beings but an army of skeletal remains. Each skeleton wielded weapons, some playing mournful tunes, creating an eerie and terrifying atmosphere.

“Damn it, why now?” Ye Qishuang cursed, her tone cold and commanding. “Little Box, Little Chair, activate the Mountain Guarding Formation and protect the disciples! I’ll deal with this myself.”

“Yes!” Gu Caihe and Yi Chengying responded in unison.

Ye Qishuang extended her hand toward the Rebirth Tower. In an instant, Qin Gou was pulled from the tower and deposited in the square, his expression bewildered. The light on the twenty-third level vanished.

“It really was him,” Gu Caihe muttered, her eyes trembling as she exchanged a bitter smile with Yi Chengying. The two began channeling their spiritual energy to activate the Mountain Guarding Formation.

Without hesitation, Ye Qishuang retrieved another disciple from the tower and then waved her hand. The towering Rebirth Tower shrank rapidly, disappearing into her crimson sleeve.

“Old Ghost of the Nine Hells, you’ve got some nerve to cause trouble in my Mystic Maiden Palace!” Ye Qishuang’s voice rang out as she shot into the sky like an arrow, confronting the skeletal cloud.

—

“What’s going on?” Qin Gou muttered, still dazed. He had been making rapid progress in the tower, racing against time, only to be abruptly ejected.

“Brother Qin, are you okay?” Chen Keshua asked, his face lighting up with relief. “Don’t worry, you didn’t fail. The Palace Master pulled you out because of an emergency.”

Hearing this, Qin Gou infused his eyes with spiritual energy, focusing on Ye Qishuang’s figure in the sky.

“Let’s see how strong you’ve become, my dear disciple,” he murmured.

“What did you say, Brother Qin?” Chen Keshua asked.

“I said, isn’t the Palace Master worried about her skirt flying up while she’s that high in the air?”

“Really? I can’t see anything with my weak spiritual energy. Brother Qin, don’t let her beauty distract you. Looking under the Palace Master’s skirt might cost you your life!”

“Pathetic.”

—

“Old Ghost of the Nine Hells, are you declaring war on my Mystic Maiden Palace?” Ye Qishuang demanded.

A harsh, grating voice replied from the black cloud. “If that were the case, I’d summon my avatar immediately. I’m merely here to spar with you, Palace Master. Just a friendly exchange, heh heh. They say your life-bound spiritual tool is unparalleled. I’d love to see it for myself.”

“You’ve already seen it,” Ye Qishuang said, her voice icy.

She slowly opened her right hand, revealing two ordinary dice, identical to those used in gambling dens.

They were known as the Dice of Fate Manipulation.