Li Yang let out a cold laugh and stepped forward, saying, "Are you sure the carving marks on this stone are fake? I say they're real. Your Sakura Country is not only a small land, but it also has so many traitors."
"I don't know if what you brought before coming here is real or fake, but this item is definitely fake!"
As his words fell, Li Yang immediately hurled the jade ram's head from a high altitude!
With a crisp crack!
The jade ram's head shattered instantly!
All the spectators were astonished, staring at the jade ram's head on the ground in a collective daze!
The jade ram's head lay shattered on the ground, half jade and half stone.
Kuteng, who had been so confident moments before, instantly changed his expression. He stared at the stone ram's head on the ground, dumbfounded, thinking his eyes were playing tricks on him.
He quickly ran forward to inspect it and discovered that the ram's head was indeed made of stone.
He distinctly remembered that the ram's head was a jade artifact when he came from Sakura Country. How could it have turned into a piece of stone?
Could there really be a traitor who swapped it out in secret?
"Haha, so it really was made of stone. Mr. Li's appraisal was spot on."
"Sakura Country is indeed Sakura Country, unable to produce even one genuine item, how laughable."
"What is this? Even the appraisers can't appraise their own items. This way of testing people is a first."
The Chinese antique magnates present couldn't help but laugh, surprised that a top appraiser from Sakura Country would misjudge a fake as genuine and boast about it.
Hearing the insults, Kuteng was filled with rage!
He instantly shifted his anger to his subordinates, turning back and glaring fiercely at the samurai behind him, "You useless lot, didn't I tell you to watch the antiques carefully? You didn't even know when they were swapped?"
"Master Kuteng, we were watching the entire time. We don't know when it was swapped," one subordinate stepped forward to explain.
*Smack!*
Kuteng slapped him hard across the face, his anger blazing. "You don't know and you still have the nerve to speak? If you can't even handle this small matter, you will commit seppuku upon your return."
"I was wrong, Master Kuteng!"
The samurai, knowing Kuteng was furious, quickly apologized and retreated to the side.
Following this, Kuteng regained his composure and pulled back the second red cloth. Beneath it lay a ceramic sculpture, vibrant in color, resembling a Tang Sancai artifact.
After carefully appraising it, he confirmed that the ceramic sculpture was indeed the one he had brought. He then looked at Li Yang and said, "Kid, the previous item was an accident. You can now come and appraise the second antique."
"Alright!"
Li Yang indifferently picked his nose and lazily walked forward. He carefully examined the ceramic sculpture and shook his head, saying, "Fake. This ceramic is not made of Tang Sancai, but is a modern imitation."
"True Tang Sancai is not made from kaolin clay, but from a unique Chinese clay. This clay is a material that cannot be found in Sakura Country. Therefore, no matter how exquisite the imitation shape is, or how complex the mixed clay, it cannot achieve the feel of Tang Sancai."
"Kid, you've misjudged this time. This Tang Sancai sculpture was acquired by me from an auction in your China before it was circulated to Sakura Country, it was not made in Sakura Country."
"I not only have the complete auction video, but also various appraisal certificates that can prove its authenticity. Therefore, this is absolutely a genuine item, not a fake," Kuteng said confidently, stroking his short mustache.
"Is that so? Do you want me to expose Sakura Country's conspiracy again? I can tell you clearly that this item is definitely not from China. It's your own appraisal ability that is insufficient, causing you to misjudge it. You can't even tell the difference between real and fake Tang Sancai."
"If it was indeed an item you acquired at an auction, and you have certificates and videos, then I won't deny it's real. But there's another possibility: this item might have been swapped too, but your current skill level can't discern its authenticity because its imitation technique is very skillful."
"Apart from slight differences in the clay composition compared to the genuine product, the rest of the modeling is quite spirited, and the glaze colors are so well-matched that they can pass for the real thing. It indeed requires a certain level of skill and someone with a deep understanding of Tang Sancai to discern its authenticity."
Li Yang directly shook his head, denying Kuteng's words, then raised his hand and threw it directly to the ground!
"No!"
Kuteng was heartbroken!
He had just appraised the treasure and found no issues. If Li Yang had misjudged, the value of this item would be at least tens of millions.
But now, Li Yang had smashed it like this.
Li Yang walked over, picked up a shard, and handed it to Kuteng, saying, "As an appraiser, it shouldn't be difficult for you to distinguish whether the clay composition here is the kaolin clay from your Sakura Country."
"If you can't even see this, then don't call yourself an appraiser."
"I..."
Kuteng suppressed his anger and carefully examined the shard Li Yang handed him. He actually found that the shard had significant problems.
This shard was indeed made from kaolin clay from Sakura Country. The thickness of the clay and its internal structure were completely different from genuine Tang Sancai.
He never expected Chinese appraisers to be so formidable, able to discern the internal clay composition without breaking the antique.
This Tang Sancai was fully colored, and the internal clay composition was completely invisible from the outside.
Li Yang smiled calmly and asked, "Are you willing to admit that this item is fake now?"
"I, I admit it!"
Kuteng thought for a long time but couldn't find any excuses, so he could only sigh deeply and voluntarily admit that the item was fake.
"Excellent, Mr. Li has won another round. Mr. Li's appraisal skills are truly divine. We were questioning Mr. Li's appraisal skills earlier, but now it seems it was completely unnecessary."
"Mr. Li's appraisal level is at least that of a Grandmaster, perhaps even higher. We rarely see such skill in the provincial capital. It seems President Xu's recommendation was indeed correct!"
Seeing Kuteng concede, the Chinese magnates present were completely shocked by Li Yang's appraisal skills, their previous opinions overturned.
Xu Shenglong watched Li Yang's performance and was also deeply surprised by his appraisal skills. If he had been the one to appraise the setup Kuteng had prepared today, he would likely have lost twice already.
Li Yang's appraisal skills were countless times superior to his.
Regaining his senses, Li Yang looked at the three antiques before him and said dismissively, "You've lost now. Honor your bets."
"Seeing how badly you've lost, I can give you a little bonus. There's one last antique remaining, and it's also a fake. Your subordinates have swapped out all three of your antiques."