C14 Unbelievable

"Haha! How about that? My appraisal skills are absolutely top-notch among these folks. With this level of expertise, if the Golden Stone Token isn't mine, then whose could it possibly be?"

The man was overjoyed when he saw that his rough stone had indeed yielded a Wood Spirit Stone, and he excitedly shared the news with the others.

The onlookers felt a pang of envy at his words, and his smug expression did little to lift their spirits.

"What's the hurry? There are still two more pieces! What good is one Wood Spirit Stone?"

"Exactly! It's only been cut twice, and it's not even fully opened yet. We don't know the final outcome! It could be as small as a fingernail for all we know!"

While the crowd debated, the Stone Cutting Master remained focused on his task, making another cut.

This time, the previously self-assured man couldn't find any joy in the situation.

The next cut revealed nothing. The Stone Cutting Master didn't hesitate and made another slice. To his surprise, the fourth cut also turned up empty, so he continued without pause.

The young man, who had just been boasting about his stone appraisal skills, now had a flushed face.

He didn't need to look around to know that the surrounding crowd was likely reveling in his misfortune.

As more than half of the rough stone was cut away to no avail, it became clear that the earlier prediction was correct—the Wood Spirit Stone was indeed quite small.

Unable to watch any longer, someone from the crowd called out, "Master, don't bother with it anymore. Just give it to him and move on! Start cutting my double Spirit Stone."

The Stone Cutting Master made a few more cuts and, with great effort, extracted a Wood Spirit Stone the size of a pigeon's egg from the fist-sized stone.

The man's face turned crimson with shame. He snatched the Wood Spirit Stone and bolted, too embarrassed to remain any longer.

The Stone Cutting Master then took the next rough stone handed to him and began to cut it with meticulous care.

This individual had previously assured everyone that his Spirit Stone was definitely a double. Now, with all eyes on him, he felt the pressure. Despite his earlier confidence, deep down, he wasn't quite as sure.

"Now you're afraid to make bold claims, huh? Soon you won't have anywhere to hide your face."

"What do you mean 'not dare'? I simply don't have the inclination. What's there to discuss with you? You're bound to be defeated by me!" The person shot back irritably, thinking to himself that this was a deliberate attempt to provoke him.

Everyone held their breath as they watched the Stone Cutting Master work on the raw stone. With a single slice, a black crystal emerged.

The young man who had selected this stone couldn't help but feel a surge of elation at the sight. One side had been revealed with just a gentle cut, exposing a very pure Water Attribute Spirit Stone. Now, he was eager to see if the remaining part held another attribute.

As the Stone Cutting Master made his second cut, the onlookers gasped in astonishment! Beside the black Water Attribute, a yellow radiance shone through, indicating the Earth Attribute. Indeed, the stone was a rare Double Attribute Spirit Stone.

"Haha! How about that! Still want to mock me? You don't even know who I am! I'm the renowned Stone Gambling Young Master back home. If I didn't have the skills, I wouldn't dare come here and embarrass myself."

His arrogance was not unfounded; after all, he had successfully cut a Double Attribute Spirit Stone, which was quite a valuable find.

Those who had previously mocked the young man fell silent upon witnessing this spectacle.

Huah Yunfei observed from the sidelines, marveling at the young man's fortune.

"His luck is incredible! He's actually found a Three-attribute Spirit Stone!"

Huah Yunfei couldn't contain his comment. The bystanders, taken aback, turned to look at him.

Upon recognizing Huah Yunfei, they sneered, "Do you think you have a say here? I'm amazed at your audacity, showing your face here after paying your way in. If I were you, I'd have hidden away long ago."

"Exactly! A Three-attribute Spirit Stone, no less. Double Attribute is already a rarity! Don't even dream of a Three-attribute. If that were true, I'd toss the stone aside and walk away on the spot."

"Enough already! Why waste words on him? Just watch and see."

Upon hearing Huah Yunfei's words, the crowd was filled with contempt. They thought to themselves, "Who does Huah Yunfei think he is? Someone who bought his way in here, trying to act important? They had nothing but scorn for people like Huah Yunfei who got ahead through connections."

"Pfft! I knew it was too good to be true. A Three-attribute, really?" The young man who had earlier boasted that if he cut a Three-attribute stone, he'd leave the original stone behind, watched as the third cut revealed yet another yellow slice, clearly another Earth Attribute, and he scoffed dismissively.

But while he reacted with scorn, the rest of the onlookers sharply inhaled in shock.

Even the Stone Cutting Master couldn't help but glance at Huah Yunfei with a look of bewilderment.

"Water, Earth, Gold—Three-attribute Spirit Stone!"

As soon as the Stone Cutting Master announced this, the guy who had just been sneering at Huah Yunfei was taken aback. He couldn't believe his eyes and moved closer to inspect the stone. To his astonishment, the Spirit Stone revealed by the third cut wasn't yellow with the Earth Attribute, but white with the Gold Attribute. It had been overlooked initially because the glow from the Earth Attribute was more intense.

Suddenly, the color drained from the guy's face. Clutching his three original stones, he seemed unsure of what to do next.

The onlookers, witnessing this turn of events, began to taunt him, "Weren't you going to leave immediately?"

Hearing the jeers from the crowd, the man quickly pushed his way out and fled. But he didn't leave his stones behind; he clutched them tightly as he left. The chance to claim the Golden Stone Token was no laughing matter. Even faced with ridicule, he couldn't forsake such an opportunity.

As he slunk away to the sound of hisses and boos, the crowd's perception of Huah Yunfei shifted dramatically.

The Spirit Stone, hidden beneath its rocky exterior, was a mystery to all. Yet Huah Yunfei had confidently identified it as a Three-attribute stone. With such discernment, they could no longer afford to underestimate him.

The most elated of all was the young man who owned the original stone. He gazed at it with delight, almost certain the Golden Stone Token was as good as his.

"I must admit, I didn't see your keen eye coming. I clearly underestimated you! With my blessings, that Spirit Stone is indeed a Three-attribute Spirit Stone. Unfortunately for you, this means you stand even less of a chance to compete with me for it." The young man clutching the Three-attribute Spirit Stone turned back to Huah Yunfei with a grin.

Huah Yunfei offered a slight smile in return, choosing to remain silent.

"A Three-attribute Spirit Stone? Big deal. It's not even a premium one! Does it hold a candle to my two top-grade single-attribute Spirit Stones?" Lau Suifeng's voice rang out with a sneer, belittling the youth who had just acquired the Three-attribute Spirit Stone.

All eyes turned to him. As they caught sight of the two Spirit Stones in Lau Suifeng's possession, their gazes locked in awe.

"An Upper-grade Wind Attribute Spirit Stone and an Upper-grade Yang Attribute Spirit Stone! Those are among the rarest of Spirit Stones!"

Next to Lau Suifeng's stones, the newly cut Three-attribute Spirit Stone suddenly seemed less impressive. After all, both of his were special attribute Spirit Stones, inherently more valuable.

"Anyone else want to give cutting a try?" The Stone Cutting Master asked, his patience wearing thin. He thought to himself that these youngsters were all talk and no action, not even mindful of the time.

Listening to the Master's words, Lau Suifeng fiddled with the last uncut raw stone in his hand and turned to Huah Yunfei. "Young Master Huah, you haven't cut a single stone all this time! Now that we have a moment to ourselves, why don't you show us your luck? Let's see if you can match my good fortune."

Lau Suifeng's smirk was full of pride. Huah Yunfei recognized that the last raw stone in Lau Suifeng's hand was the very one he had first chosen.

He hadn't anticipated Lau Suifeng's stroke of luck today, stumbling upon two high-grade special attribute Spirit Stones.

Lau Suifeng's challenge sparked curiosity among the onlookers. They were eager to see what kind of raw stone Huah Yunfei, who had accurately predicted the Three-attribute raw stone, could identify.

"Indeed, why not cut one out? You seemed quite skilled earlier, didn't you?"

"Come on, make some room, let him through."

The crowd, eager for a spectacle, quickly cleared a path for Huah Yunfei.

Without hesitation, Huah Yunfei stepped forward.

The raw stones he carried were quite peculiar compared to the others'.

One was merely the size of an egg—a size most would overlook. After all, even if it yielded a Spirit Stone, it would be too light to hold significant value. It would have to possess an exceptional attribute to be worth keeping.

The other two stones were larger than a human head.

The sight of these three Spirit Stones sent the onlookers into fits of laughter.

"Are you serious about appraising that raw stone? An egg-sized stone is worthless unless you're incredibly lucky. And those two larger ones—have you not seen the size of raw stones that typically contain Spirit Stones? It's common knowledge that fist-sized stones are the most likely to contain them. Surely you're not vying for the Golden Stone Token without even knowing that?"

Before he even started, Huah Yunfei's raw stones were the subject of ridicule. He merely smiled at the comments, choosing to ignore them. He thought to himself, "What do they know? They don't even realize that most of the stones they hold are nothing special."

"Let's start with this one," Huah Yunfei said, placing the largest stone forward.

The Stone Cutting Master, who had previously been impressed with Huah Yunfei's knack for identifying a Three-attribute Spirit Stone, now shook his head in disbelief.

"This is practically just a rock!"

"Ha! Did you hear that? The Stone Cutting Master himself says it's a rock! Why bother cutting it? Just throw it away already!"

The surrounding crowd jeered following the Stone Cutting Master's remarks.

Huah Yunfei gestured for the Stone Cutting Master to proceed, ignoring the bystanders.

"Please take care to cut it slowly, to avoid damaging the raw stone inside."

The Stone Cutting Master, still smiling, nodded and carefully sliced off a thin layer as Huah Yunfei had requested.

"What! What is this?"