Volume Four: Renowned Far and Wide Chapter 139: The Northern Saint and Southern King, Di Qinyang (1)

The news that the Northern Sage and the Southern King were coming out of retirement once again to hold a contest spread far and wide, driving countless people into a frenzy of cheers and shouts. Even those who had previously intended to leave now rushed back in droves, eager to witness a showdown between legendary figures.

These two titans had not made a move in a long time, and given their advanced age, opportunities to see them in action would be exceedingly rare.

The Jade Festival, which was originally drawing to a close, was surprisingly extended because of these two legends. What astonished the onlookers even more was that standing right between them was a young man—a completely unfamiliar face whose identity was a total mystery to everyone.

Ye Mei'er and Zhang Mengqi stood in the audience, content to watch the man they loved in such a setting, letting him radiate his brilliance.

Neither the Northern Sage nor the Jade King could keep their hearts entirely calm. Although both had spent a lifetime in the jadeite industry, they had never actually competed against each other.

"Jianghu rules: whoever wins takes the jade, and they can simply take it away with them when the time comes," the Jade King said with a hearty laugh, caring nothing for such worldly possessions.

A commotion instantly broke out in the crowd as soon as his words fell. This was an outright high-stakes gamble!

Now that the Jade Festival was essentially over, selecting stones from these rejected leftovers vastly increased the difficulty, making this a true test of pure skill.

"Let's begin!" Sun Tianmu said. He nodded toward Qin Yang and the Jade King, and the three of them set into motion, walking around the venue to survey the area.

Zhang Mengqi and Ye Mei'er followed closely behind him, their faces free of any worry because they firmly believed that Qin Yang would win.

They strolled around the perimeter, inspecting several shops, but regrettably, none of them had any promising raw stones.

Sweeping the area with his divine sense, the condition of various rough stones was instantly fed back into his mind. This zone was vast; just walking through it would take nearly a whole day, and factoring in the time needed for close inspection and searching would take even longer.

Oh?

Among the numerous rough stones, he spotted one with rather mediocre exterior features. He frowned slightly, a look of uncertainty crossing his face.

"Boss, how much for this one?"

The shop owner was just getting ready to pack up for the day. Hearing someone asking about a rough stone, he glanced over lazily. "Take it for a thousand bucks."

This response took him by surprise. The jadeite inside was worth at least several million, yet it could be bought for a mere thousand. He nodded, handed over the money, and took the rough stone with him.

Along the way, Ye Mei'er and Zhang Mengqi asked with faces full of curiosity, "Qin Yang, what kind of jadeite is inside this?"

"Just some glazed ice-type."

"Gasp! Glazed ice-type? That's worth at least several hundred thousand, and we spent less than a thousand for it?" Hearing this, Zhang Mengqi was utterly speechless, overwhelmed by the sudden feeling of instant wealth.

Besides, money like this was simply too easy to make!

Hearing Qin Yang's words, the two women cheered up and decided to try their hand at it as well, scattering to search on their own.

Since both of them practiced martial arts, he felt quite at ease regarding their safety.

At that moment, Ma Sanshou walked up to Qin Yang, clicking his tongue in secret. He had visited this very shop before and hadn't noticed any ice-type jade, yet Qin Yang had spotted it with just a single glance right after arriving.

Just thinking about it felt terrifying.

Ma Sanshou acted as an assistant, helping Qin Yang carry things, though his primary motive was to observe how Qin Yang made his selections.

Regrettably, he was destined to come away empty-handed. Qin Yang did not choose stones based on theory or practice, but rather by utilizing his divine sense to probe directly into the core of the raw stones.

Compared to the Jade King and the Northern Sage, who were trailed by massive entourages, Qin Yang's group appeared extremely low-key, with only Ma Sanshou tagging along and no one else.

"As expected, this place has been thoroughly picked clean," Qin Yang said with a wry smile and a shake of his head.

Hearing this, Ma Sanshou felt a secret wave of delight. It seemed there were still things that could stump Qin Yang.

"Master Qin, there is another place ahead where the odds of finding jadeite are very high. Entering requires a million-dollar admission fee. If you pick a rough stone, the first one is free, the second costs eight hundred thousand, and the third costs six hundred thousand. In other words, the more you buy, the cheaper it gets. However, it is extremely dim inside, and there is a strict one-hour time limit. No matter whether you finish selecting or not, you must come out when the time is up."

"Oh? There's a place like that? Let's go take a look."

This place instantly piqued Qin Yang's interest. After all, with a million-dollar entry fee, the proprietor must have absolute confidence in the quality of their rough stones, otherwise they wouldn't dare charge such an exorbitant price.

Ma Sanshou continued, "This is run by a local overlord of Ruili, but he is known for keeping his word, which has caused his business to grow larger and larger. Many people love to buy rough stones here because his stones have a very high yield rate."

This was a massive warehouse, and a crowd had already gathered outside the entrance. Listening to their murmurs, Qin Yang learned that the Northern Sage and the Jade King had already gone inside.

After swiping his bank card, he was just about to step inside when someone blocked his path. "Buddy, the Jade King and the Northern Sage are having a high-stakes duel in there. What are you sticking your nose in for?"

"Yeah, yeah! I think you'd better just wait out here. Besides, going in to watch the Northern Sage and the Southern King pick stones is way too expensive—it costs a million!"

At this, Qin Yang finally understood. The others had mistaken him for a spectator willing to shell out a million just to watch Sun Tianmu and the Jade King at work.

"Haha, thanks, big guy. I just happen to need to go in and study a bit. If I can pick up even a little technique, a million is really nothing."

Hearing this, the middle-aged man shook his head. Rich people nowadays really knew how to throw money around. Since that was the case, he didn't try to stop him any further.

Ma Sanshou, standing to the side, held back his laughter and kept quiet.

Inside the dim warehouse, spanning several thousand square meters, the space felt immensely vast. Ten-meter-high lightbulbs cast a faint glow through the darkness, barely allowing people to make out the pathways.

In the pitch-black corners, one had to walk right up close to see anything at all.

Two shadowy figures moved about in the distance—clearly the Jade King and the Northern Sage.

Qin Yang did not go over to greet them; time was limited, so he immediately began his search.

Every rough stone was neatly arranged and numbered. When the time came, one simply had to note down the number and flip a marker tag to indicate that the stone had been selected and purchased.

To be honest, he really had no idea how the Jade King and the Northern Sage went about choosing their stones. As for the concept of divine sense, he didn't know if it was his unique ability or if any martial artist could perceive it.

He had previously asked Ye Mei'er and Zhang Mengqi, and neither of them possessed such a capability.

Suddenly, he was drawn to an enormous rough stone. This piece was exceptionally large, and if an ordinary person bought it, they would undoubtedly suffer a heavy loss because hidden deep inside this massive boulder was merely a fist-sized, circular piece of red jadeite.

Of course, that wasn't the main point. The crucial detail was that right inside the center of that circular red jadeite was the natural formation of a phoenix spreading its wings in flight.

This was an absolute treasure, one that could command a sky-high price without requiring any carving or modification whatsoever.

Such a marvel was a matter of destiny rather than mere effort, possessing immense collection value.

Although his personal fortune was already in the hundreds of billions, seeing something so extraordinary still stirred a wave of excitement within him.

He took a deep breath. Amidst the stale air, there was a trace of spiritual vitality that made his heart leap with joy.

Spirit stone!

This was the aura of a spirit stone! He never expected to discover a spirit stone here, and how could he not be overjoyed?

The milky-white crystal appeared impeccably pure. He noticed the Jade King lingering beside a rough stone, studying it intently while tracing his youthful-looking fingers over its surface, clearly still undecided.

Hearing footsteps, the Jade King raised his head slightly. Wearing reading glasses and holding a magnifying glass, a benevolent smile graced his face.

"Hahaha, Qin Yang, you've come at the right time. Have a look at this rough stone. What do you think?"

His heart skipped a beat, and a bad preening feeling washed over him. What was he supposed to do now? If he had to choose, was he supposed to say, "Old man, this stone is no good, don't buy it, let me have it instead"?

"The exterior quality of the rough stone is quite good. Judging solely by its appearance, this piece should definitely yield jadeite. However, there is a very deep fracture running into the interior, yet I don't see any green at all. The situation isn't looking too favorable."

Hearing this, the Jade King nodded in agreement, his assessment matching Qin Yang's verdict almost entirely. He stepped back slightly, signaling his abandonment of the stone and yielding the spot to Qin Yang.

The Jade King asked once more, "If it were you, would you buy this rough stone?"

Hearing this, Qin Yang smiled and said, "I would buy it. After all, the exterior is decent. Although the chances of finding jadeite inside might not be high, in our line of work, no one ever has a hundred percent certainty."

The Jade King nodded upon hearing this and chuckled, "Haha, interesting."

Watching the Jade King's retreating figure, Qin Yang nearly jumped for joy. Damn it, this was a spirit stone! Compared to ordinary jadeite, spirit stones were what he truly needed most.

In a flash, he flipped down the marker tag on the rough stone and memorized its number. Right now, he wanted nothing more than to rush out of this place—forget about the competition, none of that mattered anymore! But seeing Sun Tianmu and the Jade King still searching with utmost concentration, he forcefully suppressed the urge to leave and decided to carry on.

Taking a deep breath, he resumed his search, flipping the tags on every single rough stone that promised a profit. Since he had made this trip, he was either going to make nothing or make a massive fortune.

The deeper he ventured into the warehouse, the more high-quality rough stones he encountered. A year ago, he would have been beside himself with joy, but now, his composure remained completely undisturbed.

Suddenly, as he looked toward the far depths of the room, his eyes widened. Earlier, he had encountered a red jadeite containing a phoenix motif, but he never expected to find a piece of Imperial Green right here.

The Imperial Green formed the shape of a ferocious, clawing dragon, exuding an overwhelming aura of dominance that seemed to harbor supreme dao intent in every breath.

What an incredible find!

Staring at the rough stone before him, he found himself utterly unable to tear his eyes away. When he saw the price tag attached to it, he couldn't help but gasp.

Eighty million.

It was worth it. It was absolute worth every single penny of that price tag.