Chapter 474: Making a Bet?

“If you really want to participate, I’ll take you to see it!” Sai Xiaoyu said, seeing the other party’s persistence.

Although this young man could identify problems even he couldn't see, deep down, Sai Xiaoyu still believed it was impossible to pass. Therefore, he didn't care about the talk of double repayment, having already resigned himself to losing the 100 spirit stones.

After putting away their purchases, the group exited the First-Grade Pavilion and ascended the stairs.

The first two floors of the Treasure Appraisal Pavilion were a market, while the upper floors served as their branch office. Upon entering the main hall, they saw dozens of people lined up in two rows, each holding various treasures.

These items were not highly valuable, likely common goods from the first-floor stalls, purchasable for just a few spirit stones.

In front of them, two young men were carefully appraising items. After examining each one, they would mark it and complete an appraisal form.

Among those whose items had been appraised, some were excited, while others were disheartened.

The items on the first floor included both genuine and fake goods. Those who bought correctly profited, while those who bought incorrectly could only accept their bad luck. Judging by the expressions of the crowd, more people seemed to have experienced misfortune.

“Many people buy items and aren’t quite sure, so they come here to have them appraised. The appraisers here are all one-star appraisers who have just passed their exams!” Sai Xiaoyu explained.

“Understood,” Zhang Xuan nodded.

He also noticed that the badges on the chests of the two young men each displayed a shining golden star.

One-star appraisers could already handle the appraisal of simple treasures, and the items brought to them clearly fell within their scope.

“The Flowing Goblet Challenge is up ahead. Let’s go!”

Without lingering long in the main hall, Sai Xiaoyu led them to a room shortly after.

“Pavilion Master Sai!”“Teacher!”As soon as they entered the room, several elders approached, all with respectful expressions.

As Pavilion Master, Sai Xiaoyu commanded great prestige. Many three-star appraisers were his students, owing him the kindness of instruction.

“How many appraisers does the Treasure Appraisal Pavilion have in total?”After looking around the room, which only contained six or seven people, Zhao Feiwu felt curious and couldn’t help but ask.

Hearing the question, Sai Xiaoyu shook his head with a bitter smile. “The Treasure Appraisal Pavilion sounds impressive, but including myself, we only have three four-star and eight three-star appraisers. The rest are all two-star and one-star!”

“So few?” Everyone was surprised.

For such a grand and imposing Treasure Appraisal Pavilion, they had expected at least a dozen four-star appraisers, not just three.

No wonder it was said that appraiser ranks were difficult to achieve; now it seemed their numbers were indeed pitifully small.

“Indeed!” Sai Xiaoyu shook his head, not dwelling on the topic. He looked at the two three-star appraisers before him and said, “Go call Elder Chen and Elder Lu. Tell them someone wants to attempt the Flowing Goblet Challenge!”

“Attempt the Flowing Goblet Challenge?”The two were startled and quickly turned to leave.

As appraisers, they knew the difficulty of the Flowing Goblet Challenge intimately. No one had succeeded for so many years, and for someone to attempt it now was surely a sign of too much money to burn.

It wasn’t long before two white-bearded elders approached. Before they even got close, a booming voice rang out: “Pavilion Master Sai, someone wants to attempt the Flowing Goblet Challenge? Is it Old Ghost Hu or Old Ghost Du? Haven’t those two given up yet?”

The “Old Ghost Hu” and “Old Ghost Du” he referred to were not from the Honghai City branch. They were also four-star appraisers, with similar strength to them.

They had come several times before but had always failed to pass.

Over the years, only these two had attempted the challenge. Others knew of its difficulty and didn't even consider it, so upon hearing of a new challenger, they immediately thought of them.

“Hmm? Where are they?”Looking around, the elder with the booming voice saw no familiar figures and was filled with doubt.

“Alright, Elder Chen, it’s not those two attempting it this time, but this young brother here, Zhang Xuan!”Seeing the elder still searching frantically, Sai Xiaoyu shook his head and interrupted him.

“Him?”Not only were the two newly arrived elders stunned, but the other appraisers already in the room also looked puzzled.

They had expected a formidable figure to attempt the Flowing Goblet Challenge, but it turned out to be a mere youth, barely twenty years old.

Ignoring everyone’s reactions, Sai Xiaoyu smiled and introduced, “Brother Zhang, this is Elder Chen Yu, and the other is Elder Lu Xi. They are the remaining two four-star appraisers I told you about!”

Zhang Xuan nodded.He could have guessed without the introduction. Although these two elders weren't wearing the unique robes of an appraiser, their internal aura was incredibly profound. It was clear their cultivation was deep, no weaker than Jin Conghai’s. Given such strength, and their boldness to speak freely in front of Sai Xiaoyu, they were undoubtedly the remaining two four-star appraisers.

“Pavilion Master, what did you call him? Young brother?”Elder Chen was the first to react, his face full of doubt.

As the Pavilion Master of the Treasure Appraisal Pavilion, Sai Xiaoyu held an extremely high status. Apart from them, almost everyone addressed him as “Teacher.” Yet, he was now calling a youth under twenty “young brother”... What was this person’s background?

“Indeed, don’t let young Brother Zhang’s age fool you. In the art of appraisal, he’s no weaker than me!” Sai Xiaoyu chuckled.

“No weaker than you... Isn’t that a bit of an exaggeration?” Elder Chen shook his head, and the others also looked utterly disbelieving.

The art of appraisal emphasizes not talent, but the breadth of knowledge. One needs endless knowledge and practice to grow in experience and skill. This fellow looked eighteen or nineteen; even if he had started learning from the womb, it would only have been a little over a decade. How could he possibly compare to Pavilion Master Sai, a four-star appraiser who had dedicated his life to research?

“It’s true. Just now, Teacher appraised a jade bead, but there was a problem...” Seeing everyone’s skepticism, Liu Chang recounted what had just happened.

“You said... he took one look and discovered the jade bamboo contained potent poison, making it unsuitable for alchemy?”“That doesn’t sound like an appraiser’s method, does it?”After hearing the explanation, instead of being impressed, everyone grew even more puzzled.

Appraisers need to observe carefully, even take samples for testing. To judge something with just one glance... how did that feel like fortune-telling?

“Alright, young Brother Zhang, we’ll open the Flowing Goblet Challenge room for you now. You’ll go in alone. There are ten treasures in total. Successfully appraising even one counts as a pass!”Seeing the general skepticism, Sai Xiaoyu waved his hand, cutting off their remarks.

“Okay!” Zhang Xuan responded.Successfully appraising just one item to pass didn’t seem difficult.

“Let’s begin!”Sai Xiaoyu beckoned Elders Chen and Lu to the wall. Each took out a key and inserted it gently.*Creak!*The wall parted, revealing a large door.

The Flowing Goblet Challenge contained priceless treasures that could not be appraised normally. Unlike challenges in places like the Master Teacher Pavilion, it required three keys to be turned simultaneously to open. Otherwise, even cultivators at the third or fourth stage of the Transcendent Mortal realm would be unable to enter.

With a flick of his wrist, he produced a pile of spirit stones and placed them inside. The previously dark gray wall instantly glowed with dazzling light, as if a formation had been activated.

“Go on in!”Sai Xiaoyu gestured.

As he lifted his foot to walk in, Zhang Xuan was stopped by Elder Chen before he even reached the door.

“Do you know the difficulty of the Flowing Goblet Challenge?”Although Pavilion Master Sai had just praised him, Elder Chen still didn’t have high hopes for the young man. If the Flowing Goblet Challenge were so simple, someone would have succeeded long ago. How could it be that no one had passed it yet?

“No idea!” Zhang Xuan shook his head. “I just heard about it, and apparently, if you pass, there’s a reward of five thousand spirit stones. So, I want to give it a try!”

“Just heard about it... and you dare to attempt it?”Elder Chen’s vision went dark. He had thought this was some genius who had emerged from nowhere, having prepared for an unknown length of time before bothering Pavilion Master Sai. He never expected him to come right after merely hearing about it...And what was this about a five-thousand-spirit-stone reward? He wasn’t here just for the reward, was he?

Elder Chen felt a surge of anger. The Flowing Goblet Challenge was not just a difficult trial; it was also a test for five-star appraisers. Only those who had reached four-star rank were qualified to attempt it. To rush over just because he heard there was a reward—was he taking this as a joke?

“Pavilion Master Sai, allowing someone who’s only attempting the challenge for a reward to enter the Flowing Goblet Challenge, wouldn’t that profane the dignity of the Treasure Appraisal Pavilion?”Unable to hold back, Elder Chen turned his head to look. To attempt a five-star appraiser’s challenge just for a reward was truly disrespectful to the appraisal profession.

“Elder Chen, you’re overthinking it. Young Brother Zhang, although... although his goal is indeed spirit stones, he truly has genuine skill!”Sai Xiaoyu wanted to speak well of Zhang Xuan but hesitated twice, finally realizing with resignation that this fellow... really was attempting it for the spirit stones.

“Genuine skill? The Flowing Goblet Challenge is also known as the Flowing Leaf Challenge. This means that with the skill of flowing water, one must identify the type, name, origin, and value of the treasure... To attempt it just for spirit stones, this...”Elder Chen grew anxious.

“Alright, the challenge has been activated. There’s no point in saying more. Let him try. Perhaps young Brother Zhang can create a miracle?”Sai Xiaoyu interrupted him. Although he didn’t hold much hope for Zhang Xuan, since he had already agreed, he had to let him try. If he failed, they could all put the matter to rest. Otherwise, after providing such significant help, failing to even meet this small request would cause him to lose face in the future.

“Understood!”Seeing Sai Xiaoyu stop Elder Chen, Zhang Xuan didn’t bother to argue further. He lifted his foot and entered the room.As soon as he stepped inside, the room’s large door closed with a bang.

“Nonsense! Absolutely ridiculous!”Elder Chen flicked his sleeve.

“Elder, are you implying that our young master definitely won’t pass this Flowing Goblet Challenge?”Just as he was thinking that Pavilion Master Sai’s actions were somewhat improper, a faint voice sounded. Elder Chen turned to see a stout man standing nearby, his body shaking continuously.

“That’s right. The Flowing Goblet Challenge requires an extremely profound understanding of appraisal to pass. Even Old Ghost Hu and Old Ghost Du couldn’t do it. How could a mere ten-year-old fellow succeed?”Elder Chen scoffed.

“Since you’re so certain, then... how about we make a bet?”The stout man said.

“A bet?” Elder Chen was startled.

“Indeed. I bet our young master will definitely pass, and you bet he won’t succeed. The stakes... let’s not go too high, how about three thousand spirit stones?”The stout man looked over with a smile.