On the same day that the Dragon Country's Martial Arts Department released the list of members participating in the Global Martial Arts Convention, the Divine Net published three pieces of news that caused a huge sensation.
These three pieces of news were all related to the Global Martial Arts Convention, and were announcements issued by the organizing committee of the Global Martial Arts Convention!
"After deliberation by the organizing committee of the Global Martial Arts Convention, the martial arts practical combat competition for the Genius Group of this convention will be changed from a ring battle to a points-based competition. All participating contestants will be arranged by the organizing committee to go to an isolated island.
There are hundreds of criminals on the island, with strengths ranging from nine-star martial artists to two-star War Gods.
Participating contestants will obtain points by hunting criminals.
The organizing committee will rank participating contestants based on the points they obtain.
Note 1: Those criminals are all death row inmates who have committed serious crimes and should have been executed, and this does not violate humanitarian principles.
Note 2: The change in the rules for the Genius Group's martial arts practical combat competition this year is to better temper the martial arts geniuses from all over the world and increase their practical combat and even life-and-death fighting experience.
Note 3: The island where the Genius Group's martial arts practical combat competition will be held this year is equipped with monitoring equipment installed in advance by the organizing committee. The entire process of the competition is under the monitoring of the organizing committee and will be broadcast globally.
Note 4: Participating contestants are at risk of injury or even death during the competition."
This was the first announcement released by the organizing committee of the Global Martial Arts Competition.
This announcement changed the method and rules of the Genius Group's martial arts practical combat competition, causing heated discussions.
"The War God Hall Council will undergo personnel changes during the meeting of this Global Martial Arts Convention."
"After the personnel changes, the War God Hall Council will elect a new Senate."
These were the other two announcements from the Global Martial Arts Convention Committee.
Compared to the change in the rules for the Genius Group's martial arts practical combat sparring, these two announcements caused almost no controversy, but they made many people feel a sense of impending storm.
The War God Hall is about to experience a change!
This was the speculation in some people's minds.
...
London is the administrative, economic, and cultural center of the Oron Country, as well as the most important city in the European Union, and even one of the largest cities in the world.
The headquarters of Crown Company, the world's largest betting company, is located in London, but not in the towering CBD, but in an old-fashioned building.
This was the decision of the owner of Crown Company, who believed that this would highlight Crown Company's heritage and differentiate it from newly emerging betting companies.
With the arrival of the Global Martial Arts Convention, the bosses and senior executives of major global betting companies, including Crown Company, were busy.
This is because as the status and position of martial artists continue to rise, the influence of the Global Martial Arts Convention's martial arts practical combat competitions has surpassed that of the previous Football World Cup.
Betting companies use the influence of this event to set up betting pools and harvest wealth.
Now that the list of members of the national delegations has been released, and the list of participating contestants at all levels is about to be unveiled.
In this situation, betting companies, including Crown Company, also have to set odds.
The odds not only require repeated research and discussion within each company, but the bosses of major companies also need to communicate.
This is also the reason why the odds of all events are not significantly different among major betting companies.
Just as the owner of Crown Company, Phili, finished communicating with the owners of various betting companies and was about to launch the betting pools, he received a mysterious phone call that afternoon.
"Mr. Phili, I am entrusted by Lord Anthony to discuss some matters with you."
"Where are you?"
Hearing the name Anthony, Phili's heart trembled, and his tone was extremely respectful.
Ordinary people might not know Anthony @ Roman, but as a giant in the global betting industry and being in Oron, he naturally knew.
In his eyes, Anthony @ Roman, a core member of the Roman family and holding a high position in the War God Hall, was far more powerful and awe-inspiring than the high-level officials of Oron!
"I am in your villa. I hope you can come back as soon as possible," said the mysterious caller.
"Alright, please wait,"
Phili responded immediately, but did not dare to hang up. He wanted to wait for the other party to hang up.
"Also, before I talk to you, tell your people not to launch the betting pools for the Global Martial Arts Convention's martial arts practical combat competition," the mysterious caller added.
"Yes, sir."
Phili agreed readily, then put away his phone after the other party hung up and asked his bodyguard to accompany him back to the villa.
Although he dared not offend Anthony @ Roman, he needed to confirm that the mysterious caller was indeed Anthony @ Roman's subordinate, so he asked his bodyguard to accompany him.
Thirty minutes later, Phili returned to the villa and met a man in black.
The man in black was sitting in the living room, enjoying Phili's prized Lafite red wine, as if he were at home.
Phili was somewhat surprised by this discovery, and his bodyguard's face changed upon seeing the man in black, becoming respectful and fearful.
Because he recognized the man in black!
"You recognize me?"
The man in black looked at Phili's bodyguard.
"Yes... yes, Master Tyler. I had the honor of meeting you once. You are one of the strong figures in the European martial arts world!"
Phili's bodyguard said nervously.
Tyler?
At the same time, Phili's expression also changed.
He had heard of Tyler's name.
Tyler was once one of the most outstanding students of the Roman family patriarch, Laurent @ Roman, and served in the War God Hall.
Later, for some unknown reason, Tyler left the War God Hall and went into seclusion for several years, with no news emerging.
"Oh."
Tyler smiled slightly, then vigorously shook the wine glass. The expensive red wine spilled out of the glass, and a few drops suddenly turned black.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Immediately, a sound of breaking through the air occurred.
Those three drops of black wine, containing Tyler's true qi, suddenly shot towards Phili's bodyguard at an extremely high speed.
"Puff--"
Phili's bodyguard had no time to react before being hit by the three drops of wine containing black true qi. His protective true qi was like paper, instantly broken through. Blood gushed from his heart, the space between his eyebrows, and his neck.
Thump!
Then, with a muffled sound, Phili's bodyguard fell to the ground, convulsed for a moment, and then lay still, completely departed from this world.
"Mas... Master Tyler, what... what are your instructions?"
The sudden scene caused Phili's face to change drastically. He immediately bowed to Tyler, his heart pounding as if it were about to jump out of his throat, and his whole body trembled uncontrollably.
"Have you set the odds for the Genius Group's martial arts practical combat competition for your betting pools this time?"
Tyler drank the remaining red wine in his glass as if nothing had happened, and then asked Phili slowly.
During the entire process, he did not look at Phili's bodyguard.
It seemed that to him, killing Phili's bodyguard was no different from crushing an ant.
"To Master Tyler, the odds are basically set."
Phili looked up and replied respectfully, but with a hint of doubt in his eyes.
"What are the odds for Long Guo's Jiang Wuming winning the championship?" Tyler asked.
"Master Tyler, Long Guo's Jiang Wuming is the biggest favorite to win the Genius Group's martial arts practical combat competition.
Based on the intelligence information we have collected and analyzed, if the competition method and rules were the same as before, his probability of winning the championship would be over ninety percent.
Now, the competition rules have changed, and his probability of winning has decreased, but it still exceeds fifty percent.
Therefore, after discussing with the bosses of other betting companies, we have set the odds for him to win at 2. That is to say, if Long Guo's Jiang Wuming wins the championship, a bettor who wagers ten thousand euros can win ten thousand euros."
Although Phili did not know why Tyler was asking about Jiang Wuming's odds, he quickly answered.
"Change his odds to 3.0, and do not set a betting limit,"
Tyler said lightly. He knew that all betting pools had betting limits, which was to prevent betting from being too uniform and causing the bookmaker to go bankrupt.
After all, for betting companies, their real profit came from long-term commission, not from the profit of one or two matches.
Flash!
Phili's face changed drastically, and he looked at Tyler in disbelief, "Mas... Master Tyler, if this is the case, Long Guo will definitely bet crazily on Jiang Wuming to win the championship, and the betting amount will be an astronomical figure..."
"If we don't do this, how can we harvest Long Guo's wealth?"
Tyler interrupted Phili with a cold laugh.
"You... you mean?"
Phili's heart stirred, and he found it hard to believe - was Tyler trying to manipulate the competition?
"Long Guo's Jiang Wuming cannot win the championship this time!"
Tyler's words confirmed Phili's judgment. "Do as I say. For the funds, the Roman family will provide support and backstop for Crown Company, and Crown Company will get one-tenth of the profit."
"I understand, Master Tyler!"
Phili was somewhat excited.
If things really turned out as Tyler said, even if Crown Company only got one-tenth of the profit, it would be an astronomical figure!
And this betting pool would create a legend in the global betting industry!
...