Seeing all eyes turn to him, awaiting his answer, Ye Fan simply smiled.
The matter of his divine eye was his greatest secret, something he would never reveal to others.
"This is a secret. If you all don't believe me, feel free to bring your instruments for verification. If I, Ye, am wrong, then this round will count as my loss."
Ye Fan was full of confidence.
At this moment, Liu Piaoxu stared intently at Ye Fan, her eyes shining with brilliance. This man, when serious, truly made her heart flutter.
That confidence made her feel safe, as if any problem could be solved as long as he was there.
In stark contrast, naturally, was Young Master Feng. He knew everything about this porcelain bottle better than anyone. Hearing Ye Fan describe the internal details, his face grew deeply somber.
Simultaneously, Feng Xiao was equally shocked. How did Ye Fan know all this? Could there be a traitor within his own family?
If someone with inside knowledge hadn't leaked the information to Ye Fan, how could he possibly know?
Elder Lei nodded indifferently. Since Ye Fan was unwilling to speak, he naturally wouldn't force him. However, verification was still necessary, as so many people were present. Without verification, he couldn't announce the result of the competition.
Soon, several staff members brought out professional instruments.
Elder Lei personally operated them, and under everyone's watchful eyes, the internal details of the porcelain bottle were clearly revealed.
Indeed, within the neck of the bottle, two large characters were written vertically: Longquan!
Upon seeing these two clearly visible characters, almost everyone gasped.
What Ye Fan had said was true; it was truly miraculous.
He had seen people with strong abilities, but never someone with such formidable power.
Ye Fan had long since surpassed the understanding of an antique appraiser; he had reached a new height, a height he had never touched before.
After verifying Ye Fan's words, Elder Lei waved his hand, signaling Ye Fan to continue.
Ye Fan nodded, then continued, "The exterior of this Chenghua porcelain bottle is inlaid with more than a dozen pearls. These pearls are of excellent quality, round, with good translucency, and possess skin-beautifying effects. They are truly rare treasures. As for the other embellishments, they are crafted with inlaid gold and silver."
Here, Ye Fan introduced another novel term: cuojinyin.
Cuojinyin, as it was called, was the fusion of gold and silver in different proportions to form a unique metal alloy.
Because the melting points and densities of the two metals differed, fusing them together was extremely difficult.
Yet, the decoration on the porcelain bottle before them utilized a large amount of cuojinyin, indicating truly remarkable craftsmanship.
The fact that Ye Fan praised it so highly demonstrated the porcelain bottle's unparalleled artistry.
After all, Ye Fan had lived two lives and seen countless wonderful things.
Therefore, he rarely commented on people, and even famous masters were not easily praised by Ye Fan.
But today, he was sparing no words of praise, which showed how meticulously the item was made.
After detailing the information about the porcelain bottle, Ye Fan finally delivered his concluding statement.
"This cuojinyin inlaid pearl open-mouthed porcelain bottle should be from the mid-Ming Dynasty, Chenghua period. The cuojinyin on the exterior is from the mid-Qing Dynasty. Judging by the craftsmanship, this is an imperial palace artifact, thus its value is immeasurable."
After speaking, Ye Fan sighed and slowly raised his head, his gaze fixed on Feng Xiao.
He had completed his appraisal without any mistakes. Now, it was up to Feng Xiao to respond.
Elder Lei's gaze also shifted to Feng Xiao.
At the same time, he couldn't help but sigh, thinking, what is skill? This is skill.
No matter how arrogant you are, I will use my skill to slap your face, leaving you speechless and forcing you to shut up.
Ye Fan had achieved this, successfully silencing everyone present.
Even Elder Lei, after so many years in the antique industry, had never witnessed such a breathtaking scene.
After an unknown period, someone finally couldn't bear the suspense and nudged Feng Xiao.
"Young Master Feng, is what Ye Fan said true? You brought this item, so you have the most authority among everyone present."
He had already placed his bet and naturally hoped for Feng Xiao's victory.
Therefore, he was so eager to ask Feng Xiao at this moment.
But Feng Xiao gritted his teeth tightly.
He didn't want to admit Ye Fan was right, but faced with irrefutable facts, he had no choice but to nod.
Boom~
The scene completely erupted. Everyone began discussing heatedly.
This was only the first match, and Feng Xiao had been utterly defeated. He absolutely could not afford any mistakes in the remaining two rounds.
Seeing Feng Xiao nod and acknowledge Ye Fan's appraisal results,
Elder Lei's face finally showed the joy of seeing the sun after a long period of hardship.
He smiled slightly, then stood in the center of the stage and spoke loudly to the crowd below.
"In the first round of the competition, Ye Fan takes the lead, securing the ultimate victory. Please congratulate Ye Fan with the most enthusiastic applause."
A sparse and hesitant applause followed from below, and it wasn't for Ye Fan, but out of respect for Elder Lei.
Ye Fan had anticipated this. After all, this was not his territory, and he was filled with animosity towards these antique industry peers from Jiangnan. It was normal for them not to side with him.
If he were in their shoes, he likely wouldn't side with an outsider either.
Perhaps some people here had grievances with Feng Xiao, but now, with the great enemy at hand, it was a time for them to stand together against a common foe, putting aside personal differences.
However, Ye Fan was completely unfazed by this.
Elder Lei glanced at Ye Fan with a look of embarrassment and helplessness.
Fortunately, Ye Fan seemed unconcerned with these external matters.
Elder Lei felt somewhat relieved and then announced again.
"Next, the second round of the competition officially begins. This time, Ye Fan will appraise first."
The first item was appraised by Elder Zheng. It was only natural that Ye Fan would go first this time.
Having learned his lesson from the first round, Elder Zheng no longer dared to play any tricks. Instead, he signaled the people from the Feng family to come forward, remove the mechanism, and open the box.
A servant from the Feng family promptly came onstage, removed the mechanism, and opened the box.
This time, the item in the box was not gold, silver, or porcelain, but a wooden cosmetic box.
Upon seeing the wooden cosmetic box, everyone was stunned, and disappointment appeared on their faces.
After all, cosmetic boxes were not considered valuable items in ancient times.
Many had survived to the present day, so they were not rare. For a prominent family like the Fengs to present such an item was truly rather petty.
However, Feng Xiao let out a cold snort, his eyes filled with confidence.
This cosmetic box was no simple object. The reason this item was chosen was that, among the Feng family's numerous collections, it was one of the best.