No hope for eternal life

Mu Changsheng raised his eyebrows when he heard this. Could there be some other explanation for this?

Song Zhi was the first to answer this question: "This is a ranking made by the county government on the general level of the martial arts practitioners in our counties."

Bai Xuanyu clapped his hands and said with a smile: "That's right."

"There is such a thing." Mu Changsheng said in surprise: "In this case, we have to take a closer look at the intelligence of those people in Guiyang County."

Mu Changsheng never expected that even though their Qihua County had figures like Mu Xun, Bai Xuanyu, and Guan Yunbei, they were still only ranked third.

……

Not long after, Mu Changsheng and his three companions heard children selling information about the county examination on the street.

"Take a look, take a look, here is the latest information on the top ten in the martial arts exams in each county. The Jindan realm cultivators and the foundation building realm cultivators are divided into two volumes, each taking what they need."

Mu Changsheng took the initiative to stop the child, and the four of them each bought a copy of the information about the Foundation Establishment Realm martial arts test cultivators.

Mu Changsheng opened the intelligence booklet and first found his own information to take a look, wanting to confirm whether the information was accurate enough. In case it was false information, it would harm himself.

"The third place in the Qihua County Foundation Establishment Realm Martial Arts Test: Mu Changsheng, 18 years old, won the third place in the county test with a cultivation base of the middle stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm. He has now broken through to the late stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm. He is a body refiner and a talisman master. His body is strong enough to compete with the peak Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators. He also made special talismans that can enhance his cultivation base and body in a short period of time, and can even enhance it twice in a row. The specific duration is unknown. The talismans he often uses are: Breaking Mountain Talisman, Golden Arrow Talisman..."

After reading his own intelligence, Mu Changsheng couldn't help but be a little surprised. He even knew that he had broken through to the late stage of foundation building. The information was recorded in great detail, which made him completely believe the authenticity of the information.

Afterwards, Mu Changsheng looked through the information about the people in Guiyang County:

"The first place in the foundation building martial arts test in Guiyang County: Huang Cheng, 21 years old, at the peak of foundation building, a sword cultivator, and has already comprehended the sword intent..."

"The second place in Guiyang County's foundation building martial arts test: Xu Lingxi, 20 years old, at the peak of foundation building, an alchemist..."

"The third place in the Guiyang County Foundation Establishment Martial Arts Test: Yu Yangwan, 23 years old, at the peak of the Foundation Establishment, a cultivator who is proficient in both magic and talismans..."

……

Mu Changsheng carefully read the information of each person, especially the top three in each county. These people could be his biggest enemies in advancing to the top ten. At their level, the gap in strength is actually not that big. A slight carelessness may ruin the victory of a competition. In this regard, he can refer to the example of Guan Yunbei.

After reading it, Mu Changsheng couldn't help but sigh and said: "They should not be underestimated."

The person who impressed Mu Changsheng the most was the female alchemist Xu Lingxi. It was really eye-opening for him that an alchemist could have such strong combat power.

"This county exam is indeed full of talented people." Bai Xuanyu also sighed: "In previous foundation-building county exams, it was already very good to have one or two people who comprehended the artistic conception. This time, there are five."

"Mr. Bai is right." Song Zhi echoed in a crisp voice: "In the county examination, I am afraid that I am just going through the motions and just running for company. The three gentlemen are the protagonists."

"Don't underestimate yourself." Mu Changsheng said to Song Zhi, "If you can comprehend the artistic conception of magic in the county exam, you will have great potential. You should know that everything is possible."

Hearing this, Song Zhi pursed her lips and smiled: "Thank you for your kind words, Master Mu. If I can really understand the meaning of the technique, I will definitely thank you very much."

Bai Xuanyu slapped his forehead with his folding fan and said quickly: "Brother Mu's words reminded me. Now that I have read the intelligence, I will go back to the villa first and try to comprehend the artistic conception as soon as possible."

"Hahaha." Mu Changsheng laughed repeatedly and said, "Brother Bai, go quickly. I hope we can meet in the palace examination in the future."

Bai Xuanyu clasped his fists, bowed, and turned to leave. Song Zhi was calm and composed, and didn't seem to have any intention of going back to practice.

Song Zhi saw Mu Changsheng's doubtful gaze and smiled: "Family members know their own business. The comprehension of artistic conception requires the right time, right place and right people. It cannot be forced."

Mu Changsheng nodded in approval after hearing this. He and Mu Xun were in the same situation. It was not realistic to comprehend the artistic conception in a short period of time, so he continued to ask: "Miss Song, do you have any suggestions on where to go next?"

Before Song Zhi could speak, Mu Xun suddenly interrupted and pointed to the distance and said, "It looks good there."

Mu Changsheng looked in the direction of Mu Xun's finger. There was a gambling den over there. It was extremely lively and people were betting on the hot candidates for advancement in the county examination.

Seeing this, Song Zhi nodded slightly and said very considerately: "That's right. Through the odds set by the bookmaker, we can also get a glimpse of the rankings of those who are popular in the county exams."

"Miss Song is right." Mu Changsheng said in agreement.

So, the three people who reached an agreement walked to the gambling den and found the betting odds for the Foundation Establishment Realm County Examination. The bets here were divided into three levels, betting on whether someone could enter the top ten, top three, and first place. The odds would be different for different levels.

Take Huang Cheng, who is ranked first in the Foundation Establishment Realm in Guiyang County, for example. The odds of betting on him to get into the top ten of the county examination are 1:1.01, the odds of betting on him to get into the top three are 1:1.05, and the odds of betting on him to get first are 1:1.1. This is also the lowest odds among all the popular cultivators.

The person second only to Huang Cheng is Zhang Yuxu, the first in the foundation-building realm in Fengyin County. The odds for the first place in the county exam are 1:1.15.

The odds for Mu Xun to win first place are 1:1.2. In comparison, the bookmaker is obviously more optimistic about Huang Cheng and Zhang Yuxu winning the first place in the county examination.

"I bet two thousand middle-grade spirit stones, and I hope you'll be in the top three in the Muxun County exam." Muxun said, choosing to bet on himself. He had previously been rewarded with three thousand middle-grade spirit stones for being the first in the county exam, so there was no pressure at all in betting two thousand middle-grade spirit stones.

After the waiter of the gambling den took the spirit stone that Muxun had bet, he gave Muxun a special jade token as proof of his bet.

Mu Changsheng took another look at his odds. The odds set by the bookmaker for him to get into the top ten were 1:1.2, the odds for getting into the top three were 1:3, and the odds for first place were a staggering 1:5. The dealer obviously did not think he would win first place or the top three.

"I bet on Mu Changsheng to be in the top three, two thousand medium-grade spirit stones." Mu Changsheng said as he made his bet. Betting on others to win requires guessing all the time, which is meaningless. It is more interesting to bet on yourself to win, and it can also be considered as creating some pressure and motivation for yourself.

Song Zhi heard Mu Changsheng's bet and smiled softly, "Since Master Mu is so confident, I will 'lay my life for you' this time."

Afterwards, Song Zhi also placed a bet and said, "I also bet on Mu Changsheng to be in the top three, one thousand middle-grade spirit stones."