"Holy crap! He picked such a huge stone!"
"Bigger isn't always better when it comes to stone gambling. Does this kid even know how this works? Does he think the bigger the stone, the better the odds?"
"Usually, the bigger the stone, the lower the odds of getting something good. And that big chunk looks like leftover scrap from processing, doesn't it?"
Everyone followed Evan Lin's pointing finger. When they saw that stone, taller than a person, they all clicked their tongues in surprise and shook their heads in Major disappointment.
"Are you sure that's your final pick? I can give you one more chance—I don't want people saying I'm bullying you!" Manager Ren glanced at the giant stone and continued, "To be honest, this block was supposed to be sent to the dump, but someone probably forgot about it. It's not even part of this pile, and the odds of getting anything good out of it are basically zero!"
After Manager Ren finished speaking, Irene Xu's heart sank and her face filled with despair.
The onlookers couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Knew it. This kid just picked a piece of trash."
The group shook their heads and sighed, as if they could already see how this was going to end.
"No need. That's my pick."
Evan Lin spoke calmly.
"Alright then, let's cut the stones. Start with mine."
Manager Ren didn't say anything more. He waved his hand, and someone immediately rushed over, took the stone from him, and began cutting with great care.
Everyone's eyes were glued to the stonecutter's hands.
Soon, the stone skin was peeled away, revealing a patch of dazzling, crystal-clear luster within.
"Wait, is that..."
"Emperor Jade!"
"It's actually Emperor Jade!"
Someone who knew jade couldn't help but cry out in amazement when they saw the brilliant sheen inside the stone.
A piece of Chancellor Jade is worth ten million yuan—Emperor Jade is worth at least twenty million!
"What's Emperor Jade?" Irene Xu asked, feeling a sense of foreboding.
Someone knowledgeable nearby explained, "Emperor Jade means the jade is naturally flawless, crystal-clear, and its surface is as smooth as a mirror. There aren't any blemishes inside at all—just a little polishing and it becomes a one-of-a-kind masterpiece."
"With a piece like this, if a famous artist carves it, even the simplest design would fetch a sky-high price at auction."
Hearing this, Irene Xu felt even more hopeless. Her face was full of regret—she shouldn't have brought Evan Lin here, and now she'd dragged him into big trouble.
"Emperor Jade is already the best of the best. Unless you cut out a Law Seed, nothing else can compare. You might as well admit defeat," Manager Ren said coldly, hands clasped behind his back.
He looked smug, but in truth, he'd never actually seen a Law Seed himself—he'd only heard rumors.
Supposedly, that Master Baiyun has legendary powers. Experts like him don't care about ordinary top-grade jade—they're obsessed with something called a Law Seed.
Rumor has it, after a bit of tempering, Law Seeds gain all sorts of mysterious powers. As for what exactly those powers are, Manager Ren had no clue.
"By the way, has Master Baiyun arrived yet?" Harold Zhou suddenly remembered and asked.
"He should be here soon—probably still on the way," Manager Ren replied respectfully.
"Mm." Harold Zhou nodded.
This time, he'd intercepted the Wei family's stones not for profit, but mainly to curry favor with Master Baiyun.
Wade Wei came here partly to make some money from the jade yard, but also, most likely, to win Master Baiyun's approval.
"We'd better hurry up and get ready then." Harold Zhou looked at Evan Lin, frowning. "Your stone is huge—if we really cut it, it's going to waste a ton of time."
"And honestly, it's pointless. Why don't you just admit defeat now? It'll save everyone a lot of trouble. If you join me, I promise I won't make things hard for you. How about it?"
"Cut the stone," Evan Lin said calmly, his expression unchanged.
Evan's refusal to back down made Harold Zhou's face shift through several expressions. Finally, he snorted coldly and waved to the workers: "Cut!"
The workers all looked miserable as they walked over to the giant stone.
Cutting jade is delicate work. With small stones, it's slow but manageable. But something this big? It's a massive pain.
They grabbed all sorts of tools and started chipping away at the outer layers. Even after peeling off several layers, all they saw inside was more stone.
While the workers toiled away, Harold Zhou had Wade Wei and Lei Zi carried off to the side. He even called in a private doctor from the jade yard to treat them, just in case they died here.
Half an hour passed, and only a small part of the stone had been cut. Harold Zhou was starting to lose his patience.
"Trying to stall for time? Even if you drag it out, trash stone is still trash stone. If there's nothing inside, there's nothing inside. What, you think it'll magically turn into something?" Manager Ren grumbled.
"You're too slow—your guys are useless and wasting my time." Evan Lin sneered, stepping forward and glancing at the workers. "Move aside!"
"Cutting jade isn't that easy. Don't think this stone is soft!"
"You wanna do it? Fine, go ahead!"
"Guy's nuts, picking a stone this big. Making us work for nothing."
The workers muttered and cursed. One of them stepped forward, ready to hand Evan his tools.
"No need."
Evan Lin shook his head.
"Oh? So you're finally giving up? That's more like it—no need to waste everyone's time." Harold Zhou relaxed a little.
But then, his expression suddenly froze.
"What's he doing now?"
"Is he planning to split the stone open with his bare hands?"
"Is this kid out of his mind?"
Everyone watched as Evan Lin calmly walked up to the stone and stood right in front of it.
Even after all that work, the stone still stood at least 1.8 meters tall. It was heavy, and the material was extra tough.
Seeing Evan standing there, a lot of people looked puzzled, full of questions.
"Maybe just let it go, don't do anything crazy!" Irene Xu worried Evan might do something reckless and felt even more guilty.
Evan didn't say a word. His eyes scanned the surface of the stone, then locked onto a spot right in the center.
"This should be the spot."
Evan thought to himself, "If that's the case, then the rest of the stone can all be stripped away!"