Chapter 290: Careless

Chapter 290 Careless

As an establishment that sold raw gemstones, it was only natural that they would hire stone-cracking masters as well.

Once Shao Hongyi had officially completed his purchase, a burly man walked out from the back, dispersed the watching onlookers, and began discussing with Shao Hongyi on how he wanted the raw gemstone to be cracked.

Since no one could be certain that the raw gemstone would contain gems within it, if the stone-cracking master were to slash down the gemstone without hesitation and crush the gems during the process, huge losses would be incurred. However, with a raw gemstone this huge, no sane person would take their time to chip away the gemstone bit by bit. As such, discussing where the first strike should land was a matter of huge importance. After a long and thorough discussion, the stone-cracking master set off to work.

The fact that he was qualified to be a stone-cracking master, and one that was hired for such a momentous occasion at that, had meant that not only was he highly experienced, but his skills as a martial artist was also rated rather highly.

As predicted, the stone-cracking master was indeed a martial artist, and he was at the peak of the Yin Grade. His sharp stone-cracking blades ran across the raw gemstone at breakneck speed, and his speedy movements had left the onlookers in a daze. Despite how fast he chipped at the raw gemstone, however, his unblinking eyes were constantly glued to the gemstone, as he needed to halt the moment some special marks could be seen on the stone.

Ou Yangming watched silently at the side. Although he was certain that the raw gemstone had contained gems within it, he could not predict when it would appear.

He turned his gaze towards Shao Hongyi, and although there was a hint of nervousness on his face, his eyes were brimming with vigor, and he did not bat his eyes at all. It was obvious that Shao Hongyi was confident in the raw gemstone he had selected.

Upon noticing this, Ou Yangming mused to himself, ‘The world is truly filled with capable people.’

‘The head shopkeeper of Huangsha County is also rather impressive. To think that they were capable of locating and recommending such a person to participate in the Myriad Treasure Meet!’

Around fifteen minutes later, the stone-cracking master finally rested his hands. With a smile on his face, he stated, “Congratulations, it’s a gem!”

Clamors of envy instantly shook the room as the lone travelers from various regions began to discuss what they had just seen. Nevertheless, they understood that as a respected guest of the Yi Pavilion, Shao Hongyi was not someone to be trifled with. As such, despite the greed and envy festering within their hearts, no one had dared to make a move at him.

A smug grin formed on Shao Hongyi’s face as he stated to the stone-cracking master, “Thank you, good sir. Please carry on with your work.”

The stone-cracking master nodded and set off to chip at the raw gemstone once more. The only difference this time, was that he was chipping away at it at a much slower pace and with painstaking detail.

An hour soon passed, and the stone-cracking master was able to chip out an emerald gem that was around the size of a pebble. The stone-cracking master had continued to toil away at the raw gemstone after that, but even after he had carved the raw gemstone into several pieces, no other surprises were contained within it. Nevertheless, the gem itself was worth more than what Shao Hongyi had paid for, and it could even be considered as a huge steal.

Shao Hongyi retrieved the gem with a smile and said, “Brother Ou, it’s your turn now.”

Ou Yangming gently nodded and handed the three small rocks in his hand over to the stone-cracking master. “Please continue, good sir.”

The stone-cracking master swept his gaze across the two men before him before chuckling and responding, “Alright.”

Although Ou Yangming’s three raw gemstones were a far cry in size when compared to Shao Hongyi’s raw gemstone, the stone-cracking master did not look down on Ou Yangming because of it. He picked up one of the stones and began chipping away at it, and before long, flakes of debris were littered around him.

Although the stone-cracking master’s abilities were nothing special, the intricacies of his craftsmanship were a pleasing sight for the onlookers.

Not long after, the raw gemstone had been reduced to rubble, but even so, no gems had been found.

Shao Hongyi laughed out loud. “Brother Ou, it seems that your luck is rather terrible!”

Ou Yangming responded with a smile, “It’s alright. It’s a cheap rock anyway, I won’t be hurt even if it yields me nothing.” He then continued in a snarky tone, “On the other hand, Brother Shao needs to be careful every time you select a raw gemstone, since you’re always choosing medium-sized ones.”

Shao Hongyi’s expression stiffened. He dryly responded, “I appreciate your advice, Brother Ou.” With that, he then turned around and told the stone-cracking master, “There’s still two more to go. Please continue with your work.”

Naturally, the stone-cracking master could tell that there was bad blood among the two, but since disputes were commonplace within the Myriad Treasure Meet, he was unfazed by the two’s actions.

After carving a few random strokes of his blade onto the second rock, the stone-cracking master’s expression changed slightly as he solemnly declared, “Congratulations, you’ve found a gem!”

Every purchase of a raw gemstone was like a round of gambling, and as such, if one were to obtain gems from their purchased raw gemstone, the stone-cracking master would always congratulate the buyer.

Since the stone-cracking master had opened up several gem-containing raw gemstones before this, he was associated with having good luck, and as a result, plenty of people had come to him for his services. Due to this, the stone-cracking master would like nothing more than to crack open more raw gemstones as it would also indirectly raise his chances of obtaining gems. In contrast, Shao Hongyi looked much more embarrassed than before. While gawking at Ou Yangming, he mentally spat, ‘This punk’s luck is really good! To think that he’s able to locate a gem from such a small raw gemstone!’

Although there was no direct relation between the existence of gems and the size of the raw gemstones on paper, it was generally acknowledged that the larger the size of a raw gemstone, the greater its chances of containing gems were.

Moreover, since the cost of Ou Yangming’s three small raw gemstones was less than a fifth of what Shao Hongyi had paid for his one medium-sized raw gemstone, there was no harm even if he failed to obtain any gems. However, should his raw gemstones result in actual gems, he would profit more than Shao Hongyi, even if they were of inferior quality.

Under the masterful hands of the stone-cracking master, pieces and chunks of raw gemstones flew apart and fell onto the ground, and soon after, all that remained in his hand was a shining gem.

Shao Hongyi mentally sighed in relief. After all, in terms of both size and quality, Ou Yangming’s gem was inferior to the one he had just obtained. As such, if they were to compare their yields, it was not a complete loss on Shao Hongyi’s end.

Although he was from Huangsha County, ever since he had laid eyes on Bai Shixue, he was completely and thoroughly mesmerized by her. As such, no matter how short Bai Shixue’s moment of visual contact with Ou Yangming was, it had not escaped his observation.

Naturally, Shao Hongyi would never dare to disrespect the young pavilion master of the Yi Pavilion, and as such, he had diverted his gutful of anger to Ou Yangming instead.

While it was true that Ou Yangming had already explained himself to Shao Hongyi, now that they had come across one another, how could Shao Hongyi just let Ou Yangming go scot-free?

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“Hehe, it seems that Brother Ou’s luck has improved this time.” With a forced smile, he then continued, “Since there’s only one more raw gemstone left, why don’t we just crack it open for the sake of it?”

Ou Yangming shrugged and said, “Sure.”

For some reason, an ominous feeling enveloped Shao Hongyi when he saw the smile on Ou Yangming’s face. Within the span of several seconds, Shao Hongyi had considered giving up, but in the end, he gritted his teeth and said, “Crack it open.”

Although a flurry of stone-cracking blade strikes was unleashed, only a few pieces of debris had dropped down. It was obvious that the stone-cracking master was operating much more slowly than before.

After cracking open countless raw gemstones in his lifetime, the stone-cracking master had developed a sense of understanding towards the raw gemstones of his own. Although he was not entirely certain that Ou Yangming’s final raw gemstone had housed a gem within it, he had a vague feeling that his acclaimed luck was about to kick in once again.

Just as he had expected, around the tenth strike of his blade, the stone-cracking master paused once again. After carefully inspecting the gemstone for a while, he then stated with utmost certainty, “Congratulations! You’ve got a gem once again!”

The crowd around them had broken into an uproar, and although most of them were whispering to one another, they had all shared their envious sentiment towards the Yi Pavilion.

Regardless of the quality of the final gem, the fact alone that three out of the four raw gemstones the Yi Pavilion’s candidates had chosen had ended up being actual gems was already an incredibly unimaginable feat.

Although Shao Hongyi had managed to squeeze out a smile, his expression was so stiff that it was scary.

“This lil punk has managed to guess it correctly again! How is this possible!’

The stone-cracking master continued to chip down the raw gemstone, and slowly, but surely, the true form of the gem was revealed for all to see.

At the same time, the faces of the onlookers had gradually shifted from amazement to bewilderment. As for Shao Hongyi, who, despite his efforts to hide his inner emotions, the frustration and shock that he was experiencing had still leaked out in the end.

Ou Yangming’s gem was a brand-new type that had never been discovered before, and worse still, be it in terms of size, quality, or mass, it was in no way inferior to the one that Shao Hongyi had found.

Moreover, if they were to compare their yields on the mass of the gems alone, even though their difference was minute, Ou Yangming was still the victor.

Ou Yangming chuckled softly before saying, “Brother Shao, it seems that my luck is even better this time!”

Shao Hongyi forced out a smile and responded, “Congratulations.” A moment later, he then fixed his eyes at Ou Yangming and said, “Brother Ou, the Myriad Treasure Meet has just begun. Let’s see which one of us will have the last laugh when the meet is over.”

With that, Shao Hongyi then handed the gem in his hand to the Hall of Gem’s courier. After informing the courier to deliver it to the Yi Pavilion, Shao Hongyi then left the crowd in search of more gems.

Ou Yangming could not help but stifle a laugh. “This guy’s confidence is nothing to scoff at.’

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Just like Shao Hongyi, Ou Yangming had handed his gems to the courier to be delivered to the Yi Pavilion as well. This was a standard service in all venues, as not only would doing so reduce the burden on the participants, it would also improve the reputation of their faction. It was a service that everyone welcomed and appreciated.

The moment he left the crowd, Ou Yangming instantly noticed that wherever he went within the Hall of Gems, the people’s eyes seemed to be trained on him.

However, it was to be expected. After all, two out of the three raw gemstones he chose had resulted in gems, and better yet, one of those gems was of excellent quality. Nevertheless, as Ou Yangming had already experienced an even larger audience in the past, he had paid no mind to the prying and covetous eyes that were pinned on him. Just like before, he returned to the area with small raw gemstones and began moving from table to table in search of gems.

Perhaps, the goddess of luck had finally smiled on him, as it did not take long for him to make his next find.

While brushing his hands across a piece of raw gemstone, his consciousness was suddenly filled with a blazing crimson glow.

It was an intense fiery light, and it felt as if it had a ball of flame contained within it. Although the gem was surrounded by layers of rock, Ou Yangming could still sense the intense energy that was trapped within it.

Ou Yangming’s eyelids twitched, and as he inspected the raw gemstone more closely, he noticed that the stone was only around the size of a fist, but with protrusions on each end.

He immediately retracted his moving palm, and just as he was about to pick up the gemstone, a huge hand suddenly appeared beside him and grabbed hold of the raw gemstone’s protrusion. Ou Yangming was slightly angered at this. Showing no signs of weakness, he then grabbed the other end of the gemstone as well. As a result, the two had ended up in a stalemate, and neither side was willing to back down.

Ou Yangming raised his head, only to be greeted by the glare of a fierce-looking hulk who was twice his size. The man shouted, “PUT IT DOWN!”

In response, Ou Yangming scoffed and said, “The one that should put it down is you, not me.”

“Hmph, and why should I?!” The man’s eyes had become even more furious.

Ou Yangming calmly stated, “You bozo! You’ve been keeping tabs on me all this time, and just as I was about to pick out a stone, you barged your hand in! It’s clear that you have ulterior motives!”

He had already noticed long ago that the hulking man was one of those prying eyes on him. However, he had never expected the man’s observation to be keen.

Ever since his bout with Shao Hongyi, Ou Yangming had shown no particular interest in any of the raw gemstones. As such, his watchers had remained in hiding back then. However, the moment he showed his intention of taking the stone, his watcher instantly barged in. It was truly a vile and ruthless act.

Ou Yangming cursed himself. He had gotten careless.

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