The atmosphere outside was still as lively as before. When someone shattered something even remotely good, cheers of oohs and aahs would rise from the crowd, though most people didn't manage to shatter anything worthwhile.

  To avoid suspicion, the trio quietly slipped toward the back of the crowd. Only after a few minutes, when Shopkeeper Feng finally came out of the pavilion with a new batch of Spirit Ores, did they move back to the front.

  "Come on, it's time for work," Sun Jing said in a low voice.

  Ning didn't say anything. He followed closely behind Sun Jing, with Xiao Fan at his side.

  The moment Sun Jing stepped onto the stage, people immediately recognized him.

  "It's Sun Jing!"

  "Last time I saw him shatter a first-tier mid-grade leather whip."

  "I heard he always gets a treasure whenever he comes, whether it's an artifact, a pill, a martial arts manual, or something like that."

  "You seem quite famous." Ning nudged Sun Jing.

  "Hm. This is just a trick." Sun Jing spoke sheepishly. "You will see it in a second."

  "?"

  At the same time, some people who were encountering Sun Jing for the first time began to voice their doubts. After all, how could someone be that lucky so many times?

  "Don't you think this guy might be hired by the pavilion to put on a show?" someone scoffed. "I've seen people like that before, shameless actors who trick others into buying fake products!"

  The informer immediately shook his head. "I thought so at first, too. But after I stalked him for a week, I found out he has a clean reputation in both the sect and the city. Someone like him wouldn't dare deceive us."

  As he praised Sun Jing, the listeners barely reacted. Instead, they fixated on the words stalked him for a week.

  Their expressions turned strange as they looked at the informer.

  You stalked him for a week, and you're proudly saying it in public?

  Stalking wasn't unheard of in this world. People usually did it for scouting or intelligence gathering, and they only talked about such information when money was involved.

  This guy, however, spoke as if it were an achievement.

  "I see this informer must also be in cahoots with you guys, right. In this way, you can effectively guarantee your character. You have given this shtick quite some thought." Ning was surprised by the well-preparedness of this guy

  "Just some basic maneuvering," Sun Jing said with a smile. "Of course, you might not know this, but he was the one who approached us first. He said something like, 'Since I lost, I want others to feel the same.' That's why he agreed to cooperate with us."

  Hearing this, Ning watched the scene speechlessly and quietly took a few steps farther away from the informer.

  Truly, there were all kinds of weirdos in this world.

  ...

  Sun Jing moved decisively. He had already memorized the shape and pattern of the prepared "special" ore. Without hesitation, he picked the one that matched perfectly.

  Crack.

  The spirit ore shattered.

  Fragments scattered across the platform.

  Nothing.

  Sun Jing's smile froze for half a second.

  Perhaps he had misjudged.

  He selected another, with the similar texture, same faint vein pattern. Another perfect match.

  Crack.

  Still nothing.

  The crowd began whispering.

  By the time the third ore shattered into useless debris, even Xiao Fan frowned.

  "This is the third one… and it's empty again," Shopkeeper Feng said, his voice strained as he stared at the fragments.

  Sun Jing didn't respond immediately. Instead, he slowly lifted his head.

  His gaze met Shopkeeper Feng's. The shopkeeper's smile was stiff.

  Sun Jing's expression was equally rigid.

  For a brief moment, the two of them simply looked at each other.

  Something went wrong.

  Meanwhile, Xiao Fan stepped closer and lowered his voice. "What's going on? Don't tell me you forgot the shape and pattern."

  "Not that," Sun Jing replied quietly. "I remember it clearly."

  "Then?"

  "These were the right ones."

  Xiao Fan blinked.

  "They match perfectly. The shape, the markings, even the faint grain lines." Sun Jing's voice grew heavier. "Which means… the ore isn't here."

  Realization dawned.

  Either the wrong batch had been brought out, or someone had made a very costly mistake.

  The murmurs in the crowd grew louder.

  "So even Sun Jing got nothing?"

  "As expected, this batch is terrible."

  "Three in a row and still empty…"

  Shopkeeper Feng shot Sun Jing a meaningful look, urging him silently to salvage the situation.

  Sun Jing noticed. His lips twitched slightly.

  But what could he say?

  It was the shopkeeper who had prepared everything. And clearly, something had gone wrong.

  He stepped back, rubbing his nose awkwardly. "Well… I guess even luck needs a day off."

  Sun Jing waved Ning over and quickly explained the situation.

  After hearing this, Ning was left speechless. He glanced at Xiao Fan, who looked surprised as well, and couldn't help thinking that this was probably the influence of the protagonist's luck.

  For a normal person, gambling spirit ores should have been simple: go to the shop, shatter some ores, maybe get a prize.

  Yet here they were.

  Not only had they been dragged into the shopkeeper's conspiracy, but they had now ended up stuck in an entirely unexpected situation as well.

  Ignoring the shopkeeper's increasingly panicked gaze, Sun Jing turned to Ning. "Brother Ning and Brother Fan, how about this, you don't use your chances. I'll explain the situation to the shopkeeper, and you can exchange your opportunities for spirit stones instead."

  Xiao Fan nodded in agreement. Before he could speak, Ning patted him lightly on the shoulder.

  "It's fine," Ning said calmly. "I came here just to try anyway. Who knows? Maybe my luck will be better."

  Ning walked toward the spirit ores and picked one at random. After all, they all looked quite similar to him.

  "Shopkeeper," he said evenly, "please shatter this one."

  Though clearly reluctant, since things had gone completely off the original plan, Shopkeeper Feng had no choice but to comply. Shattering a spirit ore was a delicate process. It required not only a specialized spirit-breaking hammer, but also the proper technique to wield it.

  This time, however, after the spirit ore was shattered, something appeared.

  Even Ning was taken aback. This attempt was only meant to give him a reasonable excuse to pass his final chance to Xiao Fan later; he hadn't expected any gain.

  Then again, considering that he had transmigrated into another world, perhaps his luck really wasn't that bad. With such thoughts, Ning also became interested.

  Shopkeeper Feng excitedly unraveled it.

  It was a sock.

  "A sock?"

  "Though it's said that a spirit ore can contain anything, I didn't expect to see someone pull out a sock, haha!"

  For a moment, everyone was stunned. Legends of spirit ores spoke of peerless techniques and exquisite weapons, but finding a single sock was probably beyond anyone's expectations.

  Xiao Fan watched the usually carefree and composed Ning become dumbfounded and couldn't help but comment, "Your luck is truly something. From the faint spiritual qi emanating from it, it might even be an artifact. Maybe you can use it to hit others after stuffing some rocks inside."

  "That does make sense," Ning, however, instead of replying to the jab, even nodded to it.

  Xiao Fan had just been joking, but seeing Ning's thoughtful expression, as if he were genuinely considering it, his lips twitched. "You're not actually thinking of doing that, are you?"

  "I've even thought of a name," Ning replied. "Sock of Doom."

  If the rock didn't kill them, the bacteria surely would.

  For a moment, Xiao Fan was speechless. He quickly changed the subject when he noticed Ning's eager expression to give it a try.

  "So, what are you going to do with your next chance?"

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  "How about you pick one for me?" Ning said, finally remembering his original purpose.

  "Me?" Xiao Fan's faint gloating turned into confusion. Without certainty, this was purely a game of chance.

  "Yes," Ning said. "I remember you and Sun Jing ran into a Foundation Building beast and still managed to escape safely, and you even improved your martial arts. Just from that, I'm sure you have good luck."

  After all, he couldn't exactly say you're the protagonist.

  "You call encountering a Foundation Building beast luck?" Xiao Fan retorted. If anything, he had always felt extremely unlucky. Otherwise, there was no reason he'd face trouble every other day.

  "But we still escaped a situation with a one hundred percent death rate," Sun Jing added brightly. "And Brother Fan even improved his martial skills."

  "Ugh… th-that…" Xiao Fan was left tongue-tied. That was undeniably true.

  Thinking about it, even though he faced trouble on a daily basis, it always seemed that he was the one who got the last laugh in the end.

  Xiao Fan let out a hollow laugh. Obviously, he couldn't be that lucky, but with Ning's encouragement, he still stepped forward and picked another random spirit ore.

  The moment Xiao Fan stepped up, the crowd went absolutely wild.

  "Look, another fool trying his luck."

  "Even an expert like Sun Jing couldn't pull anything out; this guy will probably be the same."

  "Yeah, this is just a fool's errand."

  Ning listened to the pessimistic chatter, and instead of feeling discouraged, he realized this wasn't it the perfect setup for face-slapping?

  Hearing the jeers, Xiao Fan, perhaps for the first time in his life, found himself agreeing with the crowd. Still, this was the first time someone had believed in him so earnestly, so he chose carefully.

  Then, the spirit ore shattered. Once again, something appeared inside the ore.

  A jade slip lay quietly amid the fragments, and the crowd froze.

  "That seems to be a jade talisman slip." The peanut gallery was as knowledgeable as always.

  A Jade Talisman Slip was an advanced method of transmitting dharma. It directly imprinted a technique into the host's mind, and its presence usually meant the accompanying technique was special or important.

  "See? I told you that you were lucky," Ning said happily, nudging Xiao Fan. A jade talisman slip, what a fortunate find.

  "Yeah… I didn't expect it either," Xiao Fan said.

  Such a jade talisman would be worth at least a thousand spirit stones. Even the weakest technique stored inside would be remembered like photographic memory, nearly impossible to forget once learned.

  The moment the jade slip appeared, the atmosphere changed.

  For a brief heartbeat, the pavilion fell silent.

  Then, "It's real!"

  "He actually got something!"

  "Did you see that? After all those failures, he really pulled something out!"

  The crowd erupted. Earlier doubt and pessimism were swept away in an instant, replaced by blazing excitement. Before Shopkeeper Feng could even react, people surged forward, spirit stones already in hand.

  "I'll take three Iron Grade ores!"

  "No, five!"

  "Move aside! I was here first!"

  The once-lukewarm pavilion instantly turned into chaos.

  Shopkeeper Feng stared at the jade slip as if it were salvation incarnate. His face flushed, his breathing uneven. He didn't even bother hiding his excitement as he shouted orders, directing attendants to bring out more spirit ores.

  The tables had turned.

  Xiao Fan looked down at the jade slip in his hand, still slightly stunned. He hadn't expected anything to come out, much less something tangible.

  "It seems I didn't fail your expectations. Take it," Xiao Fan said, tossing the jade slip to Ning.

  "Didn't I tell you that you were quite lucky?" Ning replied smugly. "I'll copy what's inside and give you both a version later. It's only fitting."

  Sun Jing's eyes lit up immediately. "Really? But I didn't even do anything."

  Even Xiao Fan was surprised. After all, in this world, it was common to monopolize such knowledge.

  "How can you say that?" Ning smiled. "You brought us here."

  Hearing this, Xiao Fan, who had been thinking of redeeming spirit stones instead, changed his mind.

  Maybe Ning was right. Maybe his luck with spirit ores really was good.

  After tasting that sweetness once, greed naturally followed.

  Xiao Fan walked forward again. "Please shatter this one."

  Shopkeeper Feng's attitude toward Xiao Fan had completely changed. He replied respectfully, "Alright."

  "It seems he's trying another one."

  "Maybe he's an expert too. No wonder he could be friends with Sun Jing."

  The spirit ore shattered once again. But there was nothing.

  "Eh, I expected him to find something again."

  "Maybe the previous one was just a fluke."

  Sun Jing tried to comfort him. "Maybe this one was just a bad ore."

  Xiao Fan nodded. Yes, maybe that was it.

  Watching the crowd scramble for spirit ores, Xiao Fan hesitated only briefly before stepping forward again.

  "I'll try once more," he said.

  Sun Jing blinked. "Again?"

  Ning, remembering something, advised him, "Didn't you say you felt something last time? Just follow your instinct."

  "Instinct?" Xiao Fan nodded slowly, his eyes suddenly brightening. "I think… I understand something now."

  The moment he said those words, Ning knew this guy was about to clutch.

  Xiao Fan closed his eyes, letting the noise fade away. This time, he didn't choose randomly.

  That peculiar feeling, like a thin thread tugging at his perception, surfaced once more. He followed it carefully, step by step, until his gaze settled on a spirit ore resting at the very edge of the display.

  It was unremarkable. No one had touched it. No one had even looked at it twice.

  Naturally, the crowd noticed.

  "Why that one?"

  "That ore's been sitting there the whole time."

  The spirit-breaking hammer fell.

  Crack.

  The shell split apart.

  Something metallic clinked against the table.

  A small object rolled free, a dull metal token, no larger than a palm, with a single ancient character carved into its surface.

  The crowd leaned in.

  "…That's it?"

  "A token?"

  Disappointment rippled outward.

  Even Shopkeeper Feng's expression stiffened slightly.

  Xiao Fan picked it up, turning it over in his hand. It felt cold and carried a surprising amount of weight.

  "…Is this it?" he murmured.

  Finding tokens inside spirit ores wasn't particularly rare. Most spirit ores originated from the distant past, sometimes hundreds or even thousands of years ago. Tokens related to vanished sects or forgotten sites were naturally preserved along with those remnants of history.

  Precisely because of that, such tokens rarely held much value. First, it was difficult to determine which sect they originally belonged to. Second, even if their origin was identified, the sect in question had often long since perished.

  In most cases, the token ended up being nothing more than a keepsake with no practical use.

  Before the disappointment could fully settle, Ning spoke.

  "Don't be too upset. Maybe it'll be useful to you."

  For most people, finding something like this would indeed be considered a loss. But remembering Xiao Fan's earlier words about that strange feeling, Ning was certain this item was tied to his future in some way.

  As for coveting it? Ning didn't have such thoughts. Usage of such things could only be found by those who were extremely lucky. So, instead of being greedy, it was better to just give this guy a heads-up.

  "If you say so," Xiao Fan replied, accepting it a little reluctantly.

  Alas. Why was it that when he helped others choose, they ended up pulling out talismans worth thousands, yet when it came to himself, he was left with something seemingly useless?

  Truly, his luck continued to surprise him. Xiao Fan couldn't help but think so.

  ...

  Thanks for reading~