Sovereign of the Ashes

"Bring over that little guy who had screwed over our friend. I'll head somewhere else first," said the penguin in a tailcoat to the bone-armored man beside him.

"Yes, my lord," the bone-armored man replied respectfully.

A tarot card flew out from the penguin's flippers. As it hit the ground, a portal came into existence.

Under the respectful gaze of those around it, the penguin slowly walked through.

Its massive, rounded body gave it a somewhat comical appearance, but there was undeniable poise in the way it carried itself.

Appearances should fool no one—this penguin was the strongest being in all of Reyno Star City.

The portal led to a golden VIP private room that was even more extravagant and dazzling.

And surprisingly, the powerful penguin lowered its head slightly in deference to the old man seated at the center of the room, despite the latter's far weaker aura.

This man had silver-gray hair, and while age had clearly left deep marks on his features, he exuded the refined air of someone who had lived well and taken good care of himself.

Despite that, the mustache on his upper lip slightly ruined the carefully curated image.

Instead of looking dignified, it made him seem... sleazy.

"Life's meant to be enjoyed," the old man said, lifting his crystal goblet and taking a small, satisfied sip, eyes half-lidded.

Since its construction, only a handful of people had ever set foot in this golden room.

Despite having a relatively modest life level, this old man's connections and reputation in the Magus Alliance allowed him to move in circles most could not dream of.

Not to mention, he had personally trained the penguin standing before him—a powerhouse in its own right.

Even the overlords of the Magus Alliance would have to show this old man some respect.

Although his life level was lower than the penguin, he was still a Rank Five being.

And in terms of age, he was nearly three times older than Feylis—making him a true "fossil"by any measure.

He had even once reached Rank Six, but due to his advanced age and poor cultivation foundation, he eventually regressed.

That regression made it clear that his advancement back then had relied heavily on external aids and clever tricks, not pure strength.

Still, the drop in life level did not bother him. He hardly ever needed to fight anyway.

On the contrary, the downgrade actually restored some of his life essence, extending his lifespan.

Without that, he would have kicked the bucket long ago!

After all, there were peak Rank Six or Rank Six beings who had not lived nearly as long as he had.

"What do you want from me today?" the old man asked, crossing his legs as he looked at the penguin in front of him.

Across the entire Magus Alliance, this old man was probably the only person who could talk to that penguin like this.

The penguin was not annoyed. He smiled and said, "That dragon boy is back again, and you'll never guess who he brought with him this time."

"Black Oblivion is here again?"

The old man's expression changed instantly. "He didn't bring his little sister too, did he?!"

Beads of sweat formed on his forehead, and the composure he had so carefully maintained crumbled in a second.

Not long ago, the Immortal Realm Civilization had sent an envoy to visit the Magus Civilization. This old man had been involved in most of the events and knew exactly how spoiled and protected Black Oblivion's little sister was.

If Black Oblivion had really dared to bring Tourmaline here, that flood dragon would not only face the wrath of his own family—he would drag the old man down with him too!

The last time Black Oblivion got scammed by some foreign goddess, it was this old man who pulled the strings to have her captured.

He had even borrowed help from nearby star pirates.

If Tourmaline were reall here, her father might just sit on him and crush every last bone in his old body.

"Of course not. It's another little guy. Told you—you'd never guess," the penguin replied with a grin.

Black Oblivion might be wild, but he still knew where the line was.

He understood that indulging in a star casino was already pushing things. There was no way he would bring his younger sister here.

Hearing that, the old man let out a long sigh of relief.

Just as he looked up, about to ask who it was, the penguin stretched out its jet-black flipper. A square light screen appeared in the room.

The image that flickered to life showed Sein, casually wandering through the casino.

He was holding a few chips, each one worth tens of thousands of magicoins.

Since it was his first time here, he was just testing the waters with a small bet.

The Faceless Mask he wore could block the perception of most beings below Rank Six.

However, when the penguin activated the screen, Sein paused. He frowned slightly and glanced around, though he did not notice anything unusual.

"Oh? Is that the Faceless Mask? This kid is Jorces' successor?!" the old man exclaimed.

At his age, not much could shake him anymore, but this did.

The penguin smiled and nodded. He knew how nostalgic the old man could get. These past few years, he had been living more in memory than in the present.

Seeing the successor to the Faceless Mask was bound to stir something deep inside him.

"How nostalgic... So Jorces' Faceless Mask finally found a successor. I was starting to think no one could pass his test. I even considered adding that world-class secret treasure to my private collection," the old man said, smacking his lips.

Although it was just a joke, it showed how close he and Jorces once were.

After sitting in silence for a while, lost in his memories, the old man suddenly asked, "Gorskin, how long have you been with me now?"

"Almost two hundred thousand years," the penguin replied.

"Two hundred thousand years? It's been that long, huh..." the old man murmured, voice trailing off.

***

Meanwhile, on the third floor of the casino lobby...

Sein paused, sensing something strange. He scanned the area, but after confirming there was nothing out of the ordinary, he turned his focus back to the massive roulette wheel in front of him.

Black Oblivion was right—this place just might be where he could scrape together the magicoins he needed.

Sein was not exactly a seasoned gambler, and he certainly did not have any prophetic skills to predict outcomes... But he did have the Faceless Mask!

With its powerful analysis and data-parsing capabilities, Sein had discovered that some of the games in this casino actually had exploitable loopholes.

Of course, gambling odds were still against him.

Even with the Faceless Mask crunching the numbers, the odds of winning were only about 69.17%—that was the best it could give him.

Sein was unsure if he was the first person to ever use a world-class secret treasure to cheat at a casino.

"I'll go with this one!" Sein said, placing two chips down on the number "30" on the roulette wheel.