An Understated Dominance by Marina Vittori

After the second round of betting concluded, there was a mix of joy and frustration at Abigail's betting table.

Winners were on cloud nine, feeling like they had struck gold, while losers were kicking themselves for their choices.

"Damn it! I didn't think that guy would lose so badly. I should've gone with Number 36 from the start!" "I only have myself to blame! I lost a whole bottle of Zen Pellets for nothing!"

"Same here. I lost all my loot in one fell swoop!"

"Hmph! I told you to bet on Number 36, but no one listened. Now we've got to pay the price!"

Amidst the collective groans, a jarring voice broke through the noise. All heads turned toward a man dressed in gray.

He strode arrogantly with a longsword strapped to his back. In his hand, he tightly gripped a fistful of celestial stones he had just won from his bets.

"Hey! Looks like you made quite a haul earlier," someone piped up.

have gone all in. I could've won even more!" the man

his response grabbed

a single bet was irresistible. They could sustain their cultivation for years with the abundant spiritual energy stored within those

36 would win?" the

action was fast-paced and intense. Unless one fighter was utterly dominating, certainty about the

got a keen eye, and I know my stuff," the man in gray boasted, "Truth be told,

who's tough, who's skilled in what, and who's likely to come out on top. No exaggeration, today's betting pool

crowd immediately got pumped upon

freaking amazing! It's like you've got some kind of

no more. I'm riding with you on this bet. I hope you'll make

yeah, count me in too! We'll follow your

They showered him with compliments and treated him like

martial world, if the man in gray