"Such audacity, to trespass into Chongtian Tower! Your crimes are unforgivable!"
The leader of the black-clad bodyguards, upon hearing that the intruder was there to cause trouble, was instantly enraged. He drew his sword and advanced.
Li Yang gave a slight curl of his lips. Before the bodyguard could even draw his blade, Li Yang had already acted. With a flick of his arm, he sent the black-clad bodyguard flying two meters away. The bodyguard landed on the ground, unconscious.
What?
Seeing that the situation was dire, another guard immediately drew his sword and ferociously slashed at Li Yang.
Li Yang dodged twice, then pinched the blade with two fingers. With a snap, he shattered the opponent's sword and flicked the broken blade from his palm. It flew true, striking the bodyguard in the throat.
"Ah!"
The bodyguard let out a scream as he fell to the ground, bleeding to death.
After dispatching them, Li Yang stepped forward, pushed open the main door, and calmly walked in.
As soon as he entered, he saw the opulent and magnificent decoration within. The first-floor hall appeared to be about a thousand square meters. Huge dragon pillars stood around the hall, carved with four majestic, soaring dragons, exuding immense power.
The chandeliers in the hall, the gold leaf on the walls, the antique calligraphy and paintings – all were of immense value.
A single chandelier alone was inlaid with tens of thousands of diamonds.
This exceedingly luxurious Chongtian Tower, it was likely that few halls in the entire provincial capital could rival it.
"Hey, have you conceded defeat yet? Your so-called Chinese jade appraisal masters are all just for show. You can't even compare to me, yet you dare call yourselves masters? It's laughable!"
Just then, Li Yang saw a crowd gathered in the distance. They appeared to be of various types, with peculiar clothing. Among them, a man wearing a white veil was pointing at a Chinese Tang suit-clad jade appraiser, humiliating him.
"Who's all for show? I don't accept that. If you have the guts, let's have another match."
The Chinese appraiser thumped his chest, his expression fierce and determined, and declared confidently.
"Heh, you want another match? If you lose this time, what will you use to accompany us?" the veiled man sneered.
"If I lose again, I will forfeit my life to you," the Chinese appraiser stated with a resolute expression.
"Alright, you said it yourself. Then let's have another match."
The veiled man stroked his chin in thought, then pointed at several rough jade stones on the table and said with a faint smile, "Why don't you try guessing again, which of these rough stones can yield yellow jade?"
"Hmph, these stones are from different mines. The one most likely to yield yellow jade is naturally this one from the Moxisha mine. Rough stones from this mine are generally small to medium in size, and the chance of producing green is high. Among them, yellow jade is the variety with the highest yield of green. I choose this one."
"Good, cut it open for him!"
The veiled man smiled faintly. A burly man beside him suddenly stepped forward, gathered his strength in his palm, and with a cold shout, split the rough stone in half with a single palm strike.
Li Yang was startled by this. What a master of internal energy.
This palm strike was at least equivalent to the power of a martial arts grandmaster.
Looking at the rough stone, it was cut in half, and the cross-section was very clean, without any excess rough edges.
However, the jade layer that appeared on the cross-section was not as expected.
Not only was there no yellow jade inside the stone, but there wasn't even a hint of green. The outcome of the gamble was clearly evident.
"Haha, you lost again! The stone you chose has no yellow jade at all. What else do you have to say, you Chinese jade appraisal master?"
The veiled man picked up the stone, presented it to the crowd, and said to the Chinese appraiser.
"This... this isn't right. You must have cheated."
The Chinese appraiser frowned and said coldly, "You must have tampered with this stone beforehand. This rough stone shouldn't be without green."
"Old man, a bet is a bet. Why so many excuses?"
At this moment, a foreigner couldn't help but speak up, looking at the Chinese appraiser sarcastically. "Are all your Chinese jade appraisal masters just fame-seekers?"
"Doesn't your China have an old saying, 'He who understands the times is a hero'? You've already lost, so you must accept defeat and keep your promise. If you refuse to comply, you will be an enemy to all of us."
"Hmph, I will be your enemy. What can you do? I'll tell you, China also has an old saying, 'Heaven and earth will destroy anyone who doesn't act for themselves.' You bunch of petty scoundrels think you can threaten me? Daydreaming."
"I think this treasure hunt assembly is not worth participating in. I shall not accompany you further. Goodbye!"
As soon as the Chinese appraiser finished speaking, he turned to leave.
However, before he could take two steps, the expert who had split the stone earlier suddenly appeared before him, reaching out to block him. "Where do you think you're going? If you don't keep your promise, you're not going anywhere."
"Mind your own business! I advise you to let me go. My bodyguards are not to be trifled with," the Chinese appraiser said with a stern expression.
"Hmph, you're still arrogant when death is at your doorstep. I'd like to see what you're capable of."
As soon as the burly man finished speaking, he placed a hand on the Chinese appraiser's shoulder. With a slight squeeze, the Chinese appraiser's shoulder blade was almost crushed.
Just as he was about to beg for mercy, the burly man kicked him in the face. With a smack, his back of the head hit the ground, and he fell heavily.
"Hahaha!"
A burst of boisterous laughter erupted from the crowd!
Li Yang, standing in the distance, couldn't help but shake his head and sigh, "Truly useless. Only knows how to disgrace China. Such a scumbag deserves to die."
"Who's there?"
Hearing Li Yang's words, everyone present turned to look at him simultaneously.
They saw another Chinese person arrive, and their gazes simultaneously showed disdain.
The veiled man who had been gambling with the Chinese appraiser stepped forward and asked, "Kid, who are you? Are you perhaps also participating in today's treasure hunt assembly?"
"That's right. As soon as I came in, I saw you all playing some gambling game. I'm quite interested. May I join you?"
Li Yang walked forward with a cold smile, looking at the people around him.
"This... of course, no problem!"
The veiled man hesitated for two seconds, then looked around. Everyone wanted to watch the show, so he nodded in agreement.
After all, one Chinese appraiser had already been sacrificed. Sacrificing one more now made no difference.
Regaining his composure, the veiled man put his hands on his hips and sneered, "What can you appraise, kid? Can you gamble on stones? How about you play a game of stone gambling with me?"
"Alright, but my stakes are quite high. If you lose, you must admit that your skills are inferior to our Chinese appraisers, and you must apologize to the Chinese people," Li Yang said coldly.
The reason he participated in this gamble was to defend the honor of the Chinese appraisers. He absolutely would not allow anyone to speak ill of them.
"Heh, apologize? No problem, as long as you have the ability. But if you lose, you must kneel down and lick our shoes, and admit that all Chinese are worse than pigs and dogs!" the veiled man said arrogantly.