Gambling on Magic Cores

Xiao Le used his cheat ability around the market, but he found no chance to snag a bargain. After all, there weren't that many bargains lying around waiting to be picked up.

Just then, the crowded gathering ahead caught Xiao Le's attention.

"Fresh first-rank magic beast corpses! Fifty gold coins each! Whether there's a magic core depends entirely on luck! Fifty to win four hundred—take a gamble, take a chance!"

The novel sales pitch caught Xiao Le's attention, and he squeezed into the crowd.

A pungent stench of blood hit him head-on. Six magic beast corpses of varying sizes lay on the ground. Judging from their lingering auras, they had likely been first-rank magic beasts.

At the stall, a woman in a black robe with her face covered lounged lazily in a reclining chair. From her exposed hands, clothing, and figure, one could tell she was a young woman. Her captivating eyes were currently half-lidded with languor, while a man dressed like a servant busied himself nearby.

What truly drew Xiao Le's attention was the woman who seemed utterly detached from worldly affairs. A golden label floated above her: [Attract Wealth]. What a talent!

Xiao Le stared at the magic beast corpses, and his eyes suddenly lit up.

His chance to pick up a bargain had arrived!

"This one, and that one—I'll take them!" While everyone else was still hesitating and watching, Xiao Le directly pointed at two magic beast corpses and spoke to the servant.

"Well, if it isn't the Xiao Family's Fourth Young Master?"

An unwelcome voice sounded.

Following the voice, Xiao Le saw a young man dressed like a refined noble, leisurely waving a paper fan. He looked quite dashing, save for his pale complexion, which invited speculation. He was Jia Lie Ao, the young master of the Jia Lie Clan, one of the three great clans.

Xiao Le had seen him in the Xiao Family Market more than once before, though he had no idea what he was doing here.

Xiao Le had no interest whatsoever in this early-game experience fodder and ignored him.

But things did not go as he wished.

"Hmph! Do you still think you're the genius you were three years ago?" Jia Lie Ao shouted furiously.

"This is the Xiao Family Market. If you don't want to be thrown out, stop spouting nonsense!" Xiao Le had no time to play with him.

At those words, Jia Lie Ao hesitated.

Then, as he looked at the stall before him, Jia Lie Ao's eyes brightened.

"Xiao Le, if you've got guts, don't hide behind your clan! Dare to compete with me? We'll gamble on magic cores—what do you say?" Jia Lie Ao stared at Xiao Le.

By now, the two had drawn everyone's attention.

Xiao Le smiled meaningfully and nodded in agreement. "Sure, but we need to raise the stakes. Otherwise, what's the fun? Don't you agree, Young Master Jia Lie?"

What Xiao Le did not notice was that his meaningful smile had been fully observed by the languid woman.

Jia Lie Ao had been afraid Xiao Le would refuse. He sneered. "Fine. I wonder what good things Fourth Young Master has on him?"

He deliberately emphasized the words "Fourth Young Master."

"How about we wager one thousand gold coins? Do you dare?" Apart from the thousand gold coins Xiao Zhan had given him, Xiao Le only had a little over a hundred gold coins he had saved since childhood.

"Fine!" Afraid that Xiao Le might refuse to pay after losing, Jia Lie Ao raised his hand toward the surrounding crowd. "I hope everyone here can bear witness today, so no one refuses to honor the bet afterward!"

Xiao Le did not care. "Three corpses each. I'll give you a handicap—I'll only choose two."

Those words nearly made Jia Lie Ao jump in rage.

Jia Lie Ao snorted and selected two magic beast corpses as well.

"In that case, let me serve as the referee today. Do either of you have any objections?" the masked woman, who had been reclining all this time, said as she rose to her feet.

"Whatever. Someone's giving me money, after all." Xiao Le was indifferent.

"Which of you will go first?" The woman neither agreed nor disagreed, merely asking the two of them.

"Let him go first." Xiao Le understood the art of showing off; he had to go last.

The woman signaled the servant with her eyes.

The servant pulled a short knife from behind his back and walked over to the magic beast corpses Jia Lie Ao had selected. He stabbed the blade into one of them.

Unfazed by the mess, the servant reached inside and searched around. Before long, he shook his head. "Nothing!"

Jia Lie Ao's face turned livid as he looked toward the other magic beast corpse.

Soon, the servant finished with that one as well and shook his head. "Nothing!"

"Impossible! You, go search it!" Jia Lie Ao pointed at the servant he had brought with him and ordered him to check.

But the facts proved that the stall servant had not cheated.

"How was that, Young Master Jia Lie?" Xiao Le looked at Jia Lie Ao mockingly, as if he were watching a clown jumping about.

"You..." Enraged by Xiao Le's gaze, killing intent flashed through Jia Lie Ao's eyes.

"You haven't won yet!"

Xiao Le shook his head. "You really won't give up until you see the coffin. Open them up. Young Master Jia Lie can't wait anymore!"

The servant nodded and walked over to begin working on Xiao Le's corpses.

Very quickly, a pale green magic core, stained with blood, was pulled out. The outcome was obvious.

Xiao Le was in no hurry and gestured for the servant to continue.

Before long, another light red magic core was extracted.

This scene drew gasps of surprise from the surrounding crowd.

"Willing to accept your loss?" Xiao Le took the cleaned magic cores and looked at Jia Lie Ao.

Under the crowd's watchful gazes, Jia Lie Ao had no choice but to pull out a silver card with a pained expression.

"There are one thousand gold coins in here!" With that, Jia Lie Ao threw it to Xiao Le and slunk away with his servants.

The masked woman nearby studied Xiao Le with great curiosity.

"Young Master Xiao Le, I still have some stock here. Not just first-rank ones—there are even seven second-rank magic beasts. What do you think? Interested?" the woman asked with a seductive expression.

Xiao Le inwardly sighed. What a vixen.

"Of course." Holding to the principle that only fools turned down free bargains, Xiao Le continued picking up bargains.

Taking three storage rings, Xiao Le found a total of one hundred and thirty-four magic beast corpses. He secretly marveled at the woman's mystery. To hunt third-rank magic beasts, she needed at least the strength of a Grand Dou Master. That was already the highest level of strength in Wutan City.

"Three second-rank ones and sixteen first-rank ones." As he spoke, Xiao Le took out the magic beast corpses he had selected and tossed them onto the open ground.

Magic beasts could produce magic cores, but killing them could cause their cores to explode. That was why some magic beasts had no magic cores. The higher a magic beast's rank, the harder it was for its core to explode. Fourth-rank magic beasts could almost always yield magic cores.

"Young Master Xiao Le, let's be friends. Two thousand gold coins for the magic beast corpses and one storage ring. How about it?" The woman looked at Xiao Le.

"Oh? You're quite generous! How about joining our Xiao Family? I'll support you with everything I have." Xiao Le coveted the woman's golden label.

She was giving away a storage ring worth over ten thousand gold coins just like that.

"Young Master Xiao Le jests. How could a mere woman like me live up to your regard?" The woman gently declined, which was within Xiao Le's expectations.

After all, anyone capable of selling such a large number of magic beast corpses could not have an ordinary force behind them.

The money he had just received was gone again.

Xiao Le did not fuss over it. Taking the storage ring, he stored away the magic beast corpses on the ground, including the four corpses that had already been processed.

Watching Xiao Le's departing back, the masked woman chuckled softly. "We will meet again."