Chapter 1339: Intentional

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Heichi Gu instantly froze. Not just him, even Banka was in the same state. The more confident they had been moments ago, the more panicked they were now.

The others were also incredibly dejected. They had initially hoped to snatch a great bargain, but instead, they ended up losing badly. If the next stone revealed something else, many of them would be ruined.

Seeing a string of rage points appear in the background, Zu An almost burst out laughing. "Don't be afraid, everyone," he said. "The probability of anything being inside these stones is very small."

The group wore strange expressions. That was exactly what they had thought, which had made them so confident in gambling with him. They never expected him to turn around and say the same thing. What goes around truly comes around.

"How about this," Zu An suggested. "The previous bet remains in effect. If this stone contains nothing, we'll compensate you with one thousand elemental stones. If it does contain something, you still compensate us with an equivalent amount of elemental stones, as per our agreement."

Everyone paused, feeling a stir of temptation.

They knew that according to the previous agreement, their opponent had already won. Regardless of whether the remaining stone contained anything or not, he was not obligated to compensate them with 1,000 elemental stones. Yet, they were still bound to compensate him for whatever was revealed in the stone.

It was unclear if it was the sudden wealth of a poor man, but he had actually proposed such a condition.

There was no reason for them not to agree. The 2,000 elemental stones from earlier had cost many of them dearly. If they could get 1,000 back to stop the bleeding, it would be a relief. "This young man is generous," they praised.

"The Snake Tribe truly is benevolent."

A chorus of praises filled the air, but inwardly, they cursed him as an idiot.

Zu An naturally saw through their hidden motives and chuckled to himself. He would see who the real idiot was soon enough.

He walked up to Banka and Heichi Gu. "Your mouths must be dry right now, gentlemen. Would you like some water first?"

As he spoke, he casually picked up a teacup from the table, one that someone had clearly already used, and offered it to them.

Both men felt a wave of nausea. "No need!"

As they spoke, stone chips flew from their mouths, and even Heichi Gu's teeth turned white.

Rage points from Banka: 555,555,555...

Rage points from Heichi Gu: 555,555,555...

Zu An then looked towards Prince Shi Min and the others. "If the princes have no objections, shall we proceed with cutting the last raw stone?"

Shi Rong and Shi Gong instinctively looked at their third brother. Shi Min smiled and nodded. "Our Lion Tribe prides itself on chivalry. How could we go back on an agreed contract?"

"Very well then, esteemed sir, you may begin." Zu An politely addressed the Green Garden steward, though he was inwardly puzzled. Was Shi Min truly so magnanimous?

The Green Garden steward cast an surprised glance at Zu An. He had initially thought the young man was arrogant and cocky, but now it seemed he was simply playing the pig to eat the tiger.

He smiled and nodded, then began cutting the last raw stone.

Shi Rong sneered, "That was just a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse. I refuse to believe anything else will come out of this one."

Banka strongly agreed. "Prince Seven is absolutely right. That kid is truly hateful."

Heichi Gu spat, the spittle mixed with stone fragments. "Hmph, later, we'll let him taste what it's like to eat stone."

However, no sooner had they finished speaking than their eyes were dazzled by a flash of red light.

This time, the steward didn't cut for long; with just one slice, something was revealed.

Everyone was instantly dumbfounded. It was over, completely over. A grape-sized Earth-grade elemental stone had already made their hearts ache. Now, this one was clearly much larger; wouldn't they be utterly ruined?

Heichi Gu swallowed hard, ignoring the stone chips scraping his throat. "Don't panic, everyone. This could just be superficial. We've seen it before: looks great on the outside, but it's all stone inside."

"That's right, that's right!" The group seemed to find solace in his words, letting out collective sighs of relief.

That makes sense. How could such a good item come from the 'Yellow' section, especially from the cheapest tier?

It must only be a superficial layer; the inside must be solid stone. Yes, that's definitely it.

Even Shi Rong and Shi Gong secretly prayed.

Only Shi Min, who had always seemed to hold all the cards, showed a change in his expression for the first time.

At this moment, the steward's expression also grew solemn. His movements were no longer broad and sweeping; instead, he began cutting with extreme caution. As the outer layer of stone was peeled away, the red glow emanating from within grew brighter, while the faces of those around grew paler.

Finally, a fist-sized lump of red crystal appeared at the center, radiating an intense heat. The entire room was instantly filled with an incredibly dense vital energy, far purer than that of the earlier Earth-grade elemental stone.

"This aura... is it Heaven-grade?" someone in the crowd stammered, their voice trembling.

Yan Xuehen, who had been somewhat worried for Zu An, secretly breathed a sigh of relief at the sight.

"That kid's just lucky," Yun Jianyue scoffed. Although she claimed to be disappointed that she wouldn't see him "eat stone," there wasn't a hint of disappointment in her eyes.

"This is Heaven-grade Fiery Glaze!" The steward's voice trembled. Although he had uncovered more valuable items over the years, finding this in a low-priced stone from the 'Yellow' section was unprecedented. It was enough to make him a legend in the industry.

"How many elemental stones is this worth?" Zu An asked. His confidante, Da Manman, was a fire-element practitioner, and he wondered if she could use this.

However, Biyue Palace was a major sect, so they probably weren't short on such resources.

The steward replied, "It's worth at least one hundred Heaven-grade elemental stones."

"Only a hundred?" Zu An seemed somewhat displeased. He recalled that back in the Misty Forest outside the Tomb of Marquis Sui, when they gathered elemental stones to power a formation to help Wu Liang dispel the fog, individuals like Solon Shi and Kong Nanjin could casually produce a hundred Heaven-grade elemental stones each.

However, he then reconsidered, realizing that those were top-tier second-generation members of the demon race, and the resources they could command were certainly extraordinary.

Even the Demon Tribe's princess and the Peacock Royal Clan's princess carried only about a hundred Heaven-grade elemental stones with them. It seemed this item was indeed worth a significant amount.

Upon hearing his words, the surrounding people grew indignant. Listen, was this guy even speaking human language?

One hundred Heaven-grade elemental stones were equivalent to one hundred thousand Earth-grade elemental stones, or ten million ordinary elemental stones!

If they had ten million elemental stones, would they be here in the 'Yellow' section, trying their luck?

As a result, in their greed for 1,000 elemental stones, they ended up losing 10 million!

Thump, thump...

A series of thudding sounds echoed as many people in the room went weak, unable to stand, and collapsed to the ground.

Heichi Gu felt a wave of dizziness. While the Heichi family, as imperial relatives, could certainly produce ten million elemental stones, he was only a descendant from a minor branch of the family. How could he possibly have the authority to use so many elemental stones?

Banka was even more dejected. The Hyena Tribe was already poor, and they possessed an unusually strong sense of crisis. Thus, whenever they acquired elemental stones, they immediately used them to refine their cultivation. They had no reserves left.

Zu An didn't approach them first; instead, he walked directly to Prince Shi Min and the others. "Princes, isn't it time to settle the bill?"

"Brat, don't go too far!" Shi Gong and Shi Rong roared in fury. This guy was practically rubbing it in their faces.

Rage points from Shi Gong: 444,444,444...

Rage points from Shi Rong: 444,444,444...

Zu An's expression turned cold. "What, who was it just now bragging about their chivalry, only to turn around and deny their debts now?"

Shi Gong and Shi Rong were about to lash out, but Shi Min stopped them. "We lost. Here are three hundred Heaven-grade elemental stones; I'll pay for my brothers as well."

As he spoke, he produced a heavy brocade bag. Even from a distance, one could feel the dense vital energy emanating from within.

The surrounding people clicked their tongues in amazement. The Lion Tribe was indeed powerful; any prince could easily hand out 300 Heaven-grade elemental stones.

Shi Gong and Shi Rong grew anxious. While this was a considerable sum of Heaven-grade elemental stones, for their status, it wasn't an insurmountable amount. However, being publicly humiliated this way was deeply unpleasant.

"Third Brother, aren't you always good at appraising stones? Why did you pick such valuable raw stones for them?" Shi Rong couldn't help but complain via vital energy transmission.

"Seventh Brother, stone gambling is never 100% accurate. You can't blame Third Brother for this," Shi Gong quickly interjected.

Shi Min's expression was indeed quite strange. "Actually... I knew there were things inside both of those raw stones."

"What?! You knew, and you still recommended them to them?" Shi Rong almost shouted. Even Shi Gong stared at his brother, his face full of shock.