Lin Mu knew if he was always betting and winning, it might get suspicious after a while.
After all, he intended to get the highest possible profits from it. And something like that was only possible when the winners were the underdogs.
For example, if it was a battle between a second tribulation stage immortal and a third tribulation stage immortal, if the people bet on the second tribulation stage immortal, who then won, the winnings they will obtain will be a lot higher than if the third tribulation stage immortal won.
This was just the simple logic of odds in betting, whether it be on fights or something else.
Thus Lin Mu's plan was to observe those who had a lower chance of winning and make sure they were winning by the use of the Nine Diving Heart Sutras. Of course, there was no guarantee if it would work or not.
After all, there was always a chance that the fight would go in a different way than Lin Mu had intended.
'Still, I should be able to alter it in my favor.' Lin Mu thought about how he could do it optimally.
Several thoughts went through his mind as he started to plan it.
'I'll have to look for matches in different rings. If the stunning wins only happen in my own ring, suspicions will certainly rise. Even if the elders of the temple don't interfere, the nobles and people betting certainly will.
I need to keep the wins distributed so that it just looks like the wins are black horses.' Lin Mu pondered deeply.
The next thing he needed to do was to have detailed information about the contestants after their initial few wins. The bets would only start after the initial qualifying rounds were finished.
This time was taken so that the people could observe and assess their contestants. It also allowed them to analyze the contestants and guess how well they could fare against others in the future.
'I can't bet it all myself either. It will certainly be suspicious if I'm the one always winning. Not to mention, I won't be able to bet in the other fights if it involves me leaving the ring.' Lin Mu thought next.
As long as Lin Mu was fighting and had a fight scheduled, leaving the ring to go somewhere else could get problematic. Especially since he couldn't fly and the crowd was massive. He didn't wish for some misfortune to delay him.
'I'll need someone else to bet on my behalf, and it can't just be one person. There will have to be at least a couple of them.' Lin Mu reckoned.
Thankfully Lin Mu already had a few people in his mind. The first person was none other than an acquaintance who had been recently defeated.
'Luo Liqin might be up for help, as long as he is healed. If he's still unwell, I can help him get better soon.' Lin Mu had plenty of healing pills in his storage and giving a few would barely affect him.
Especially when he'll be making several times in value.
Lin Mu's plan was to make use of the acquaintances he had made to make bets. After all, if there were several people doing it, the suspicion would be low. Not to mention, it would prevent any interruption in the fights, as there would at least be one person that was free.
It would allow them to continue to bet even if most of them were in a fight. Other than Luo Liqin of course who was now out of the competition. Even if Lin Mu could pity the man, there wasn't much he could do there.
Luo Liqin was simply unfortunate to have gotten a match with Yao Changying this early one.
Even if they had the mission of defeating her, it didn't seem it would be possible that easily. At the very least, Lin Mu had doubts about whether the others even had the means to do so.
"Wait a second… Perhaps that can be done too…" Another thought presented to Lin Mu.
They had been given the mission by Princess Shan to get rid of Yao Changying. By normal means, it was almost impossible, especially since her cultivation base was also high and they would be under the scrutiny of the temple elders.
Even the item they had been given to weaken Yao Changying wouldn't be enough if they couldn't even touch her in a fight. Perhaps only Lin Mu had the capability of going against her openly.
'But if I can make use of the Sutras… It might just be possible.' Lin Mu thought about the scenarios that might be viable.
But the more he thought, the more he realized the control that was needed for the sutras.
'I need to make sure they work on someone at the Fifth Tribulation Stage of the Immortal realm first. Plus even if they work, I need to see how long they work.' Lin Mu determined the tasks he needed to do.
One thing was for sure though, Lin Mu needed more test subjects to use his Nine Divine Heart Sutras on.
"Guess I may as well use what's given to me right now…" Lin Mu muttered as he looked at the ring.
Another new fight had started and it meant more chances for Lin Mu to test his sutras.
He continued to do so and fights went by like a blur. Eight hours had passed and Lin Mu had been using the Nine Divine Heart sutras for most of it. Surprisingly though, he didn't feel tired at all, and his mind still felt normal.
'The more I use, the better I find the control to be.' Lin Mu had noted several things in this time.
The first was that, he could actually increase the duration of the effect as his proficiency with the sutras was rising.
He didn't forget that the Sutra's had their own proficiency levels too.
'I hadn't been able to raise it since then. It has been so many years.' Lin Mu recalled.
The Nine divine Heart sutras were said to have four proficiency levels that only Lin Mu knew about. He was currently in the Second stage of external comprehension which allowed him to use the sutras on others.
But this was only the case for the Calming Heart Sutra, Severing Heart Sutra, Burning Heart Sutra and the Nurturing Heart Sutra. In the case of the Murdering Heart Sutra, Lin Mu hadn't practiced it enough to reach the second level.
Though he didn't think that it would take him that much effort to do so.
After having raised the others to the second stage of external comprehension, Lin Mu didn't think it would be that difficult to do so for the Murdering Heart Sutra either.
'But the Murdering heart sutra's effects are… drastic.' Lin Mu recalled the devilish aura that appeared whenever he used it.
Using it in an orthodox competition such as the tournament of the Guardian Beasts was the same as shouting out loud that a devilish cultivator was here.
'Perhaps if I use it on others, the devilish aura won't appear on me. But to reach that point, I still need to practice more with it.' Lin Mu wondered if he could do so during the course of the tournament.
'Once these qualifying rounds are over, we'll know when our matches will be, that will allow me to plan better.' Lin Mu reckoned.
Still, one thing was on Lin Mu's mind: he wondered what the third stage of proficiency will be for the sutras.
'I should be able to reach it for the Calming Heart Sutra and the Severing Heart Sutra at least. I've used them the most among all.' Lin Mu hoped.
He was unaware if there were specific conditions he needed to fulfill for them or if it was just a matter of practice and time.
'The altar only told me that I'll know more about it when I reached it. Guessing won't be of much help.' Lin Mu thought.
~CLANG~
His thoughts were interrupted by the start of another fight, needing him to focus on it. He observed the two contestants fight fiercely while he used the different sutra bringing changes to their mindsets and styles.
The people in the audience had now become used to it, but there were still a few that were confused about the sudden changes in the fights. Thankfully, with Lin Mu's improved control, the transition between the different styles wasn't too drastic now.
It only seemed like people were either getting angry over time or getting calm and composed after some duration of the fight.
Another six hours passed like this, while Lin Mu continued his practice.
~HUMM~
After that though, the registration token suddenly hummed, catching Lin Mu's attention.
"Oh? They finally decided on my fight." Lin Mu saw that he had gotten a notice for his next fight. "Right on time too, just after this one."
