The farm manager didn’t give others any more chance to refute and clapped his hands.

  "Alright, alright. Let’s move onto the next round. We don’t want to go around in circles until Brother Mo is done, right?"

  A chorus of agreement washed the suspicions under the bridge, and the dice cage was passed around again.

  This round, the poor sap who’d cried wolf was “lucky” enough to roll the dreaded “1, 1, 1”, yet he didn’t dare make a single peep in protest.

  Soon enough, the dice cage was back in Bubai’s hands while a gleeful chuckle came from the grandpa next door.

  “Gahaha! Seems rubbing off a bit of little friend’s luck truly did these old bones some good! Come! Time for these old bones to teach that little dollie how to play goldfish!”

  The niece of the loser strongly resisted the walk over to the beast in human skin old enough to be called her great grandpa.

  Alas… no matter how much defiance she had in her bones, what can she do against a foundation-realm old devil?

  "Hey, hey. What a naughty little dollie. Good thing these bones have long cultivated a golden rod through the Monkey Denies Peaches technique. Gahahaha!"

  A broad, ingratiating smile spread across Jia Liang face.

  "Keke, yes, that nasty biting habit of hers still needs some fixing. Senior Tai, there’s no need to hold back. Teach her a deep lesson or two!"

  The old senior rocked the dice happily.

  "Looks like these old bones will have to work my old waist hard today! Gahaha!"

  The lively banters went back and forth, just like the dice.

  The self-proclaimed “lucky” baldy soon lost his sister.

  The stern-faced “saintess twin” ended up dancing to the laps of Mo Tianhe.

  “Saint Son Tian, please baptize Qiqi...”

  Everyone in the room was well aware of the unspoken fantasy being staged here.

  But when Bubai compared this fake replica to the memory of a certain bathing ponytail officer… he could only say: incomparable.

  It’s just that… while others only chase after their goddess like dogs, some are happy with artificial swan meat.

  Like right here. The once-lazy brother was now very much awake and all too eager to leave strawberries on the swan’s neck.

  Clearly, a happy man.

  It became pretty apparent that every important guest seemed to have wind up with who they wanted.

  What a coincidence. Not rigged at all.

  Now, it was time to assign the leftovers. All eyes settled on the rose in black.

  The dice cage rolled its way back to the last player.

  Bubai shook the dice in his hands over and over…

  What are the chances he will flat out lose instead of winning another round or ending up in the middle grounds?

  That’s right. A 100 percent.

  The bearded Jia Liang let loose a low, wolfish laugh.

  "And here I thought I'd never win! But looks like I picked up the thorniest prize of them all!"

  The rose in black shot Bubai a passing glare, yet she stilled held her head high and went forward to meet her fate.

  With that, everybody was assigned a partner. Well... almost everyone.

  Watching everyone else have fun, Jia Hu clutched his bald head and sulked, "How did I, Lucky Seven, end up the most unlucky?"

  Haha. That’s a good joke.

  Bubai almost leaked tears laughing inside! Still, he managed to hold it in.

  Alas... by this time, the electric anticipation thrumming through his veins already hinted at what was to come.

  It was… inevitable.

  Since he didn’t exactly want to double down, Bubai took the chance and magnanimously made an offer to the baldy.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  “Brother Hu, you’re in luck. Madam Keiko just so happens to be free. How about helping me share the burden?”

  Jia Hu blinked back at him a few times. Then, the bald egghead cracked a goofy grin and waved off his offer.

  “Em, thanks, Senior Brother Bubai, but it’s fine. I don’t particularly enjoy bathing in the luck of others. Doing so might just earn the ire of Lady Luck herself.”

  Bubai’s smile faded into a dull stare. What kind of nonsense is this bald egghead spouting?

  Cultivation was all about plundering the quintessence and fortune of the heavens.

  Most cultivators has no qualms in taking the fortune of others.

  Did this guy truly have a pure heart or... were there other reasons?

  Just when Bubai’s train of thought arrived at this point, the host clapped his shoulder.

  “Brother Mo, I told you, my cousin here’s got a weird temper. Pay him no mind and just enjoy yourself to your heart’s content!”

  Bubai’s gaze hopped back and forth between the pair of cousins, catching the underlying message beneath the surface.

  Yes, it made sense now. No wonder the baldy doesn’t dare.

  It’s pretty apparent that somebody wanted to avoid ruining the plans of the person truly pulling the strings and risk earning his ire.

  The happy-go-lucky bald egghead really knew his place better than his other snobby cousin.

  It wasn’t without reason that he sat next to the host to act as the wingman.

  Alas, the cleverness of others only makes it all the harder for Bubai to pass the buck.

  Eh, not like he needed to.

  Though unloading here was as good as telling the other two old hands that he was a carrier of golden nuggets, it matters little since he was throwing his physique card out in the open, anyway.

  If Bubai really wanted to hide the uniqueness of his essence, he could’ve simply not come.

  However, an extra friend was better than another enemy. A smart person always leaves a back road.

  After all, he’ll never know when he might need this lifeline, especially with the attention his physique will soon draw.

  Who’s to say when some brute beyond his power rating might come knocking on his door?

  What if the elders decided to leave the final ownership decision up to a battle royale?

  Bubai is always thinking about “just in case”.

  So, for now, keeping the “farmer” and “crop” roles as they were was his best insurance.

  In a way, this also kept the devil on a leash, lest the muscle-brain pulled any rash, insidious moves against him.

  And the best part?

  Keeping the fish strung along could yield unexpected surprises, just like this time.

  Don’t think this was a simple gathering just for playing around.

  This was essentially a circle of connections, and he was now introduced into it!

  Bubai still can’t fathom why Jia Shizi changed his plan to keep the secret goldmine to himself all of a sudden.

  Was it just the natural course of that “sharing is caring” mindset?

  Or did this guy catch wind of his schemes somehow?

  Who knows.

  Bubai only knew his “lucky rolls” ending up being the partners brought by the other two inner disciples was probably no coincidence.

  After these hot rounds at this firing range, he will gain at least two more “customers”!

  The best part? The backgrounds of those present were anything but simple.

  Just the fact that everybody in this room is at least the late stage of Qi refinement says a lot!

  This was the perfect place for those at the bottom of the food chain to build connections with those reigning at the top.

  Any clever fella would take advantage of this golden opportunity.

  As for what’s his place in this? Hehe.

  Bubai swept his eyes around and read the lively atmosphere.

  At the head of it all, the broad-shouldered host was just relaxing in his seat like a lion among the lesser beasts and enjoying his spot at the top of the food chain.

  The odds were always stacked in the house’s favor.

  So, there was no need for the host to play any extra cards.

  He simply let his daughter harmoniously brew father-worshiping tea and left the opportunity to his cousins.

  Unfortunately or not, the disgust and arrogance on a certain rose’s face was like aphrodisiac for a bushy-bearded flatterer.

  His instinct for domination has reared its ugly head, and he only had eyes for the poisonous rose on her knees.

  “Yes. Yes! Get wrecked by my elephant stampede! Kehaha!”

  Domination was achieved, but his chance? Wasted.

  This only made the truly slick shoe shiner stand out.

  To the host: “Em, elder cousin Shizi, golden silk for hair is truly a rare breed! I bet the other three senior brothers can’t wait to test the waters of her cultivation talent!”

  Once somebody showed a sliver of boredom, a little more salt was poured in for flavor.

  “Em, how is Senior Brother Tian liking the Jade Saintess? Everybody knows she’s a floating cloud just waiting be baptized, but in the end, this holy woman still ended up being toyed around in your hands!”

  “Un. Un… Lord Tian, Qi’er wants…”

  Even the grandpa was not left out.

  "Seems like even age can’t dull certain charms. Senior Tai, you’ve been hiding a real treasure! I’m afraid any women will become obedient dollies under you!"

  "Hey, hey, you boy—don’t judge too soon! This one might take seven days, seven nights! My old waist might not keep up! Gahaha!"

  Pure flattery alone wasn’t enough to get through to everyone.

  A good host must know what to say, the right moment to do so, and even how to let the tension stretch like a bowstring pulled taut.

  Bubai had to admit, this bald cousin of the host did a fine job of livening up the atmosphere, enough to bring the symphony to its literal climax…

  Feeling the bowstring pulling taut over and over, Bubai feasted his eyes on the fallen goddess.

  Compared to his numerous past… jobs, this one wasn’t even close to heavenly.

  But just watching a goddess like her defiling herself was enough to drag any men into the abyss!

  Can Bubai resist? Merlin’s beard. He’s been doing it all along!

  Perhaps the foundation stage’s innate control could suppress it for far longer, but…

  Since he’s playing a Qi refiner, the time... has come.

  She wants the arrow to fire? Hehe. Fine. He is… inevitable.

  The sound of swallowing was soft like mosquito hums, but it was enough to earn knowing glances from the trio that were mixing together.

  Soon, everything went to where they belonged. The high-grade memory orb. The se- ahem.

  But everything was just the beginning...

  From behind, the alluring oriental widow hooked her arms around his neck and breathed into his ears, “Ara… it’s time for me to come.”

  Across from him, the sharp as ever Jia Hu caught onto the subtle change and rubbed his hands together.

  “Em, time really does fly like an arrow. Seems the time has come to start another round.”

  Birthing a devilish grin on his face, Jia Shizi petted his daughter’s head. “Indeed, the time has come. The real event should be starting now.”

  Starting? Bubai looked out the window, and his breath caught in his throat.

  Beams of colorful light rose into the heavens from each of the grand, golden thrones!

  There was no need to guess. It was finally time.

  The Inner Sect Exchange begins!