"No name, no problem. Everything comes down to winning or losing." Jack Young looked at Fiona Fang. "So, which bowl do you think the egg is in?"
They call it a nameless technique, but this so-called nameless technique is seriously something else. When I compliment people, it’s from the heart—like when I praised Sword King Feiyu and the others, calling them dragons and phoenixes among men, I really meant it. Perfect for having some dragon liver and phoenix marrow with my rice. But when it comes to gambling or sleight of hand, that move just now was borderline divine. Normally, even someone with Fiona Fang’s sharp eyes wouldn’t be able to see through it.
But since King Gamble keeps losing, and has never won, that means Fiona Fang must have something going on that's way beyond normal.
Sure enough, Fiona didn’t even look. She just confidently took a sniff, jabbed her chin at the bowl on the left, and said, "That one."
Oh?
Jack Young’s eyes flickered—she really saw through it? How did she do that?
The bowl was flipped. King Gamble played fair—none of that nonsense with two empty bowls. Sure enough, the gold-and-jade egg was just quietly sitting there under the bowl.
"Mwahaha, you think you can beat me?" Fiona Fang cackled, striking a pose and laughing with zero regard for her image. "Keep working for me!"
Looking at that quietly resting egg, King Gamble didn’t seem the least bit discouraged. He simply bowed to Jack Young again. "Sorry for the poor show." Then, unhurriedly, he packed up the gambling gear and walked out, even politely closing the door behind him. The whole routine was smooth as silk—clearly something he does every day.
Jack Young nodded. "So that’s how it is. When you gamble with King Gamble, if you win, he’ll fight for you and help you with strategy. With his integrity, he always accepts defeat gracefully. The South Wasteland is tough, and there are plenty of martial artists just scraping by, but not many good ones. With King Gamble’s help, it’s a lot easier for you to become the second-generation Sand Pirate King. Must’ve been rough starting out, huh? Bet you ran into a ton of trouble."
"Honestly, it wasn’t that bad." Fiona Fang wanted to scratch her head but couldn’t change her pose, so she just grinned. "Little Mosquito—that’s Wen Hanlong—once secretly gave me a token. I waited and waited for you in Daicheng but couldn’t find you, so I took the token and went to the Three Rivers Gang. I told them Wind Wushang got taken out by you, showed them Little Mosquito’s token, and they all started following me."
I took those guys back to the South Wasteland, stopped by Eight Directions City for supplies, and just happened to run into King Gamble setting up a table. Figured I’d try to earn some funds for the crew, so I played a few rounds with him. Next thing I know, I’d cleaned him out! Funny thing is, King Gamble used to win every bet, but he was always just a little off. Losing to me wiped him out, but it actually pushed him to break through to Innate. After that, he followed me to the South Wasteland, gambled with me every day, and lost every time. He went from Innate to Heavenly King, now he’s almost Sixfold Heaven, and he’s never won once.
Honestly, I barely have to do anything. With Blind Doc and King Gamble around, my life’s pretty easy, hahaha!
That smooth, huh? Must be the Destiny Buff at work!
Speaking of which, I’ve got to ask you something." Jack Young couldn’t hold back his curiosity. "How do you make King Gamble lose every time? How did you know the gold-and-jade egg was under that bowl?"
Fiona Fang looked totally matter-of-fact. "I smelled it."
"Smelled it?" That answer caught Jack Young off guard. Sure, every object technically has its own scent, and that gold-and-jade egg would too. But the smell is so faint—even a dog probably couldn’t sniff it out, let alone a person. By any normal standard, it’s basically odorless. How could Fiona possibly tell?
"Yep, I just smelled it. I take a whiff and can pick out the scent of treasure." Fiona glanced around, making sure King Gamble was gone, then lowered her voice and winked at Jack Young. "Me and King Gamble made a deal—if he wants to bet with me, he’s gotta use treasures. I can’t smell regular junk, but if it’s treasure, I can sniff it out from three miles away!"
Whoa, now that’s a superpower!
Wait a sec—thinking back, I’d already noticed Fiona’s treasure-sniffer skills ages ago. It wasn’t that obvious back then, but now, whether it’s her age or her cultivation, she’s basically turned it into a full-blown superpower! King Gamble’s been getting the short end of the stick—he’s not just gambling against a person, he’s gambling against fate itself. Skill can’t beat destiny; looks like King Gamble’s working for Fiona is gonna be a long-term gig.
Such a smooth growth trajectory, such a bizarre and extraordinary talent, and such flawless looks and figure—Fiona Fang is basically the Chosen One, the child of destiny. As her mentor, I really lucked out with this disciple.
"So what’s with that Yin-Yang face?" Jack Young pointed at the fading swirl of Yin and Yang energies. "How’d you end up like this? I never taught you the Great Shift technique."
"Obviously it’s because of you!" Fiona Fang put on a tragic face. "I’m Sand Pirate King, but I can’t just rely on King Gamble to hold things together, right? But you never taught me any advanced techniques. I couldn’t reach Innate with Bright Jade Technique, and the Wedding Dress Divine Skill was right there, so…"
"So you practiced Bright Jade Technique and Wedding Dress Divine Skill at the same time?" Jack Young gave a thumbs-up. "Tough! Kid, you’re really not afraid of dying."
"It’s not like I wanted to! But Bright Jade Technique is what you taught me—I can’t just ditch it and betray my master, so I kept practicing. But Wedding Dress Divine Skill is so awesome, it’s called the number one martial arts technique now. Would’ve been a waste not to learn it, so I practiced both." Fiona Fang shook the jade amulets hanging from her neck. "See these? South Wasteland specialty. You think I want to wear them? It’s just that they help balance Yin and Yang energies. I searched all over the Wasteland, and before I knew it, people started calling me Jade Demoness."
Just four years ago, she barely had any internal energy. Now she’s mastered both ice and fire, and her combat skills rival those at the Innate level. Fiona Fang’s talent is off the charts. Sure, I left her some herbs from Herb House, but even with that, what she’s achieved is dragon-phoenix level—wait, dragon-phoenix? My disciple can’t be lumped in with those guys!
But honestly, Fiona’s dual cultivation is just reckless—huge risks involved. Forget about Yin-Yang harmony; it’s a miracle she hasn’t blown herself up, all thanks to those jade amulets. But even those are reaching their limit. If she wants to fix the hidden dangers, she’ll need help from a real expert.
"Whew... feels great, it really worked!" The internal energy conflict subsided, and Fiona Fang finished her practice, looking at her hands in delight. "It doesn’t hurt anymore, seriously doesn’t hurt—Master, your method is amazing!"
"Internal energy clash, excruciating pain—and you still held out this long. You’ve got real willpower. But this stance only treats the symptoms, not the cause. It’s a temporary fix, not a cure. When noon hits, you’ll still blow up like fireworks." Jack Young patted his disciple’s head. "If a peerless beauty explodes, it’s gotta be the prettiest firework ever."