Among everyone Jack Young had met so far, aside from innate masters, the most intimidating were Madam Dai and The Four Vagabond Knights. He still couldn’t see through their exact cultivation; after all, no one can see through everyone—there’s always a limit.
Innate masters are impossible to read, both in terms of internal power and outward aura—if they want to hide, Jack can’t spot a thing unless he’s really paying attention. But anyone below innate is basically within his observation range. Back when he didn’t have internal power, he could barely sense the true energy of someone with forty years’ worth of cultivation, which is why he could go toe-to-toe with the Golden Fan Young Master. Now that he’s cultivated internal power himself, his senses have gotten sharper.
Still, for those with more than fifty years of postnatal cultivation, he can sense them but not see through everything. In other words, even if they’re hiding something, he’ll notice they’re special, but he can’t dissect them like he did with that young gang master.
Fifty years of cultivation—under innate level, that’s already top-tier. How many innate masters are out there, really? But people with fifty-plus years of power are all over the place. When the innate masters are too lazy to play house, these folks are the top fighters in the martial world.
The Four Vagabond Knights standing above him right now are just that kind of experts—though, let’s be real, jokers usually don’t live long in the martial world. But if you meet a joker who’s survived for ages, you know he’s got serious skills. And if that joker levels up, he’s basically a madman.
Jack Young loves sparring with people like that. It’s kind of like how Queen Jill loves a good adventure. Geminis—they’re always chasing something new.
“How are we competing?”
“Wine, lust, wealth, rage—let’s start with wine.” The one answering is that baby-faced teen, probably fifteen or sixteen tops. He floats down from the second-floor terrace and lands in front of Jack. “I’ll challenge you to a drinking contest. Doesn’t matter which of you steps up, I’ll use the same amount of power.”
“A drinking contest? You mean, who gets drunk first?” Jack Young grins. “If that’s the game, you’d better use all your power, or it’ll look like I’m bullying you.” With Dragon Elephant Level Seven, even Jack doesn’t know his own alcohol tolerance.
“Hahaha, bold words! Looks like you can hold your liquor.” The teen shakes his head. “Too bad, it’s not about who stays sober—it’s about who drinks the most.”
"Who drinks the most?" There’s obviously a trick to this, but Jack Young hasn’t figured it out yet.
"Madam Dai, you’ve got the highest cultivation. How about you be the judge again?" The northern teen flashed a sweet, cutesy smile at Madam Dai—he’s honestly prettier than most modern child stars, the kind of guy who could cosplay a loli at an anime con and no one would suspect a thing. Absolute lady-killer.
But Madam Dai is immune. She lazily leans back in her chair, coolly replies, "You’ve booked the place, so go ahead and make a fuss. Bring out the wine."
With a wave of Madam Dai’s hand, all the ladies and servants get busy, though it’s not clear what they’re up to. Rachel Luo glances up and spots a bamboo raft hanging from the ceiling—no clue what it’s for.
The northern teen starts warming up with some exaggerated calisthenics. The eastern youth, sitting on the terrace, explains: "Soon, these ladies will each hold a wine cup, but no one knows in advance which cup actually has wine. The challenger and my fourth brother will start at the same time, and whoever drinks the most wins."
Rachel Luo and Fiona Fang exchange glances, getting the gist of the contest. Sure, it’s called a drinking bout, but in the martial world, it’s always about skill. The main hall is circular, five floors stacked like rings—standing at the bottom looking up, it’s basically a giant well. Each ring is packed 360 degrees with brothel girls, all holding cups. It’s dizzying just to look; if you actually drink, who knows how cross-eyed you’ll get.
"So... what’s with those bamboo rods up top?" More than ten bamboo poles are crisscrossed to form a square platform, suspended four stories high. Each pair of rods is about half a meter apart—must be some special trick.
"That’s for the wine, of course. It’s something special my brothers and I made—wherever two bamboos cross, there’s a cup of wine. So if you’re losing, you can turn things around up there." The eastern youth strokes his chin. "But you guys aren’t that strong—ten years of cultivation at most. I doubt you’ll even reach the platform."
"Don’t worry about me!" Fiona Fang retorts, though she’s a bit stumped. This contest looks tough—if it were up to her, she’s not sure what she’d do.
"Oh!" Suddenly, the teen doing warm-ups twitches his nose and his eyes light up. "That’s... Jade Shard Wine!" He’s clearly caught a whiff of the booze. But Fiona Fang and Rachel Luo exchange looks—they can’t smell a thing. This kid’s nose is incredible. "Madam Dai, you really get me. Come on, who’s stepping up? I can’t wait any longer!"
"I’ll go." Jack Young steps up without hesitation. "To keep things fair, I won’t use more power than you."
"Deal. I won’t go over ten years of cultivation either." They share a smile and get ready.
"Ready—" a servant shouts, and all the ladies take their places at the railings. "Go!"
Whoosh! Both of them leap out at the same time, and the whole brothel erupts in cheers and applause. Jack Young and the northern teen turn into blurs, racing halfway around the first floor. Their sudden movement makes the crowd gasp in surprise.
Fiona Fang and Rachel Luo are shocked—the northern teen is way faster than they expected. They’ve seen the Swallow Gang’s young master’s lightness skill before, and that was already the limit for twenty years of cultivation. But this northern teen, using no more than ten years of power, is just as quick, and his smooth, effortless moves are on a whole other level.
(This chapter isn’t finished yet~.~ Click next page to keep reading the good stuff!)
They’re surprised, but so is everyone else. The other three jokers from east, south, and west react with their own "ohs" and "ahs," staring at Jack Young. South Elder Qi even grins, "Finally, someone who’s not a pushover! I knew he had sharp eyes, but I didn’t expect his nose and lightness skill to be top-notch too!"
Jack Young’s speed matches the northern teen’s perfectly, his mysterious footwork letting him weave through the crowd. It’s like he doesn’t even need time to pick out the wine—he grabs cup after cup and downs them, passing the empty ones to the next person. Even with the crowd packed tight, he slips through without touching a soul. Spectacular.
"Great wine, great wine!" the northern teen shouts, flipping up to the second floor. At the same time, Jack Young uses the pillar for a boost and leaps up too.
Madam Dai’s voice rings out calmly over the crowd: "First floor—seven cups each, same speed."
"Whew, that packs a punch." Jack Young wipes wine from his lips, getting fired up. This Jade Shard Wine is something else—barely any smell, looks like plain water, but as soon as it hits your gut, it’s hotter than the strongest baijiu he’s ever had. A wine that’s odorless yet so intoxicating definitely makes the contest tougher.
But if it’s tough, it’s tough for both. Jack Young doesn’t suspect any cheating. That northern teen really has skills—matching Jack’s speed makes this contest way more interesting. Jack’s in high spirits now, pouring all his Swallow Flash Technique insights into his footwork as he races through the second floor and heads for the third.
"Second floor—nine cups each, same speed."
Second floor—still neck and neck, and the number of cups keeps climbing. These aren’t small cups, and the wine packs a punch—an ordinary person would be down after one, but these two have already knocked back sixteen.
"Third floor—twelve cups each, challenger slightly faster."
By the third floor, Jack Young’s lightness skill and footwork are working in perfect harmony, and his speed keeps climbing. Meanwhile, the northern teen is starting to stagger—he’s had too much to drink, and without using power to suppress it, he’s feeling it.
"Whoa, he’s actually faster than Little North! Haven’t seen that in years—I always thought Little North was the fastest below innate." West Uncle Zhuan says, sounding worried but actually kind of gleeful. "Are we gonna lose the first round? That’d be embarrassing."
"Relax," says the eastern youth, the current big brother, cool as ever. "Little North hasn’t been drunk in years. Most previous challengers had thirty or forty years of cultivation, plenty to help Little North burn off the booze. But today, he’s holding back at under ten years, and he’s drinking Jade Shard Wine. No way he’s staying sober. Drunk Little North is the real Little North."
As they’re talking, Madam Dai announces: "Fourth floor—challenger sixteen cups, defender fifteen cups, challenger ahead by two finger snaps."
The contest is heating up—Jack Young is starting to pull ahead.
On one hand, his lightness skill keeps getting sharper. After mastering the Swallow Flash Technique, some distant memory sent him a new insight—how to pair supreme martial arts with lightness skill—making him even faster.
On the other hand, even though Jade Shard Wine is strong, Jack Young just can’t get drunk. He’s holding back his power, but he can’t limit how tough his organs are. Meanwhile, the northern teen is already staggering, which obviously affects his performance.
"Looks like we’re gonna win the first round!" Fiona Fang squeals with joy. "Go, Master!"
But just then, the northern teen bursts out laughing. "Great wine, really great wine—let’s drink! Hahaha!" He flips onto the fifth-floor railing, but doesn’t squeeze through the crowd. Before the contest, his super nose—which only works for wine—already told him there’s not much booze on the fifth floor. If he wants more, there’s only one place to go.
"Whoa—!" The ladies scream as the northern teen leaps toward the hanging bamboo platform. The building is huge, so the platform’s far from the railing. Even with twenty years of lightness skill, nobody would dare jump—if you miss, you’re toast.
But the northern teen, buzzed and bold, laughs and leaps anyway. The platform’s just hanging there, and when he lands, it tilts like a seesaw, sending a bunch of wine cups flying. He laughs, hooks his legs around a bamboo pole, and reaches for the airborne cups—got one, got two... Wait, why didn’t he get them?
The wine cups are suddenly out of reach—no, he’s the one moving away from them!
He looks down—the bamboo platform is spinning! The crowd cries out, "Whoa!" Turns out Jack Young jumped up just a moment later, timing it perfectly.
"If you won’t let me drink, I won’t let you drink!" The northern teen springs up, reaching for Jack Young.
Jack Young shifts his feet and dodges just in time—so fast it’s almost shocking. In a flash, the two of them are darting around the bamboo platform, not quite fighting head-on but moving so fast it’s dizzying: snatching wine cups, drinking, dodging interference, and trying to mess each other up. It’s enough to make your head spin.
Everyone’s glued to the action. The three jokers stand up to watch, and even Madam Dai looks interested. "Didn’t expect anyone could go toe-to-toe with Drunk Little North."
"Drunken Fist?!" Jack Young is amazed—the northern teen’s moves are bizarre and unpredictable, attacking east while aiming west, impossible to read, even with energy sensing. It’s the first time Jack’s encountered such a wild martial art.
They’re blocking and dodging, feet shifting, and the whole bamboo raft swings like a pirate ship at an amusement park, flipping and spinning. Empty wine cups rain down, and the three jokers dart around, catching them with ease.
"It’s neck and neck—one cup left!" Madam Dai’s voice sends the crowd into a frenzy.