Chapter 47: Elder Lu’s Excitement

Chapter 47: Chapter 47: Elder Lu’s Excitement

"What can I do for you, Elder Chen?"

Jiang Fan looked at Chen Feng calmly, even though a threatening glint flashed in the man’s eyes.

"A young man shouldn’t be so full of himself. It’s best to think carefully about what you should and shouldn’t do."

"Otherwise, you might carelessly bring unnecessary trouble upon yourself and your family."

Hearing this, the expressions of everyone present turned grim. This was a blatant threat.

After all, while the Chen Family had not yet reached the status of a Noble Family, their own power was still formidable.

Getting on their wrong side never ended well. There would be dire consequences.

"This kid is done for. If he doesn’t have a powerful backer, he’ll probably never leave Yang City."

"Of all the people to provoke, he had to pick the Chen Family. Why try to act so tough?"

"Guess his little act blew up in his face, huh?"

The crowd broke into a flurry of discussion.

"If a young man isn’t fiery, can he still be called young?"

"I didn’t want to say anything more. You wanted to bet, so I played along. Now you’ve lost, and you refuse to accept it. Is this the honor of the Chen Family? Is this the measure of Elder Chen’s character? Is this how the future head of the Chen Family conducts himself?"

A cold smile touched Jiang Fan’s lips. The old man had started this, and Jiang Fan wasn’t about to humor him.

"Jiang Fan, that’s enough. Don’t say any more."

To be honest, Jiang Fan’s tirade had startled Yin Ruxue. She quickly grabbed his hand and whispered to him.

After all, those few sentences had just nailed the Chen Family’s efforts for the entire evening—and their decades of reputation—to the pillar of shame.

After all, who would want to cooperate with a family that goes back on its word?

"Grandpa, all he got was a gold seal! I haven’t lost yet!"

"So what if it’s an antique? It has no patterns, no ancient inscriptions. To be blunt, it’s just a lump of gold."

Though Chen Xuan was a vile and treacherous person, it was still remarkable that he could regain his composure so quickly under the circumstances.

"Our Chen Family has always prided itself on integrity, both in business and in life. If you had truly won, I wouldn’t have a single complaint. But as for winning now... I’m afraid that’s become a lot more difficult."

"Everyone here is a titan in their own right. Do you think you can sell that gold lump for ten million? Or a hundred million?"

Chen Xuan asked coldly, suppressing the rage in his heart.

He had a point. No one would be willing to spend that much on a lump of gold. Which of these families didn’t have a few pounds of it lying around?

"You dare run your mouth after cutting open a piece of junk? Do you really think luck will always be on your side?"

"One round left. For this one, I choose this stone. Come on, let me see the true strength of this so-called ’jade family’!"

Chen Xuan kicked a raw stone lying to the side.

The stone was about the size of a human head, its surface coarse and covered in cracks. At a glance, it looked to be of poor quality.

But Chen Xuan, having scanned it beforehand, knew it contained a piece of top-grade jadeite.

While the other stones might also contain jade and show some green, none of them could possibly compare to this one.

In this best-two-out-of-three match, he was determined to win at least two rounds!

With a single glance, Jiang Fan saw right through the raw stone and couldn’t help but snort inwardly.

’The value of all the other stones combined doesn’t even come close to this one.’

Everyone present was an old fox. Seeing Chen Xuan’s look of absolute confidence, they knew something was fishy.

Recalling the earlier mention of a scanner, many of them cast sympathetic glances toward Jiang Fan.

’The man’s basically cheating with technology. How can you compete with that?’

"Why don’t we just call it off?" Yin Ruxue whispered. "Knowing how shameless he is, that stone may look bad on the outside, but what’s inside must be extraordinary."

"It’s a 1-1 tie right now. Even if we stop the bet, it doesn’t matter if people gossip. It’s fine."

Jiang Fan raised an eyebrow. He leaned close to Yin Ruxue’s ear and whispered, "Are you worried about me?"

The warmth of his breath made Yin Ruxue’s ears flush red. To Chen Xuan, who was watching, this scene was the ultimate humiliation.

’You slut,’ Chen Xuan raged inwardly. ’Just wait until I get my hands on you! I’ll break you in 365 different ways!’

Chen Xuan cursed furiously in his heart.

At that moment, a nameless fire ignited in Jiang Fan’s heart as well. He would accept losing, but only if it was fair and square.

’But resorting to these dirty schemes and tricks? Is that how it’s going to be?’

A smile touched the corners of his lips. He walked over to the raw stone at Chen Xuan’s feet and kicked it casually.

"Doesn’t look like much. Just a piece of junk."

But as he did, Jiang Fan secretly channeled his True Qi, shooting it from the tip of his toe into the stone and shattering the jade within into a spiderweb of cracks.

"You sharp-tongued bastard, are you going to pick or not? Are you going to make all of us important people stand here and waste our time?"

Chen Xuan snapped.

"I’m choosing. Of course I’m choosing."

But before Jiang Fan could make a move, a cough echoed. "Ahem. Elder Rong, allow me to say a few words."

Elder Lu stood up, a flicker of astonishment in his eyes as he looked at Jiang Fan.

He had seen Jiang Fan’s every move just now, including that subtle pulse of True Qi.

For a young man who had just broken through to the Innate realm to be able to manipulate True Qi with such exquisite control was astounding.

Only the most seasoned masters could boast a comparable level of control over their True Qi.

The moment Elder Lu stepped forward, he captured everyone’s attention. All eyes on him were filled with respect.

Although the Lu Family was not based in Yang City, they were a bona fide Noble Family. None of the people present were in the same league.

"Young friend, may I have a look at that gold seal you just revealed?"

Jiang Fan was puzzled by Elder Lu’s request, but he nodded nonetheless.

In his eyes, the object was certainly ancient, but it was still just a lump of gold.

The dragon carved on it, however, was remarkably lifelike. Every scale, including the single reversed one, was clearly and precisely rendered.

Elder Lu hurriedly wiped his hands on his clothes before accepting the gold seal with the utmost care.

Seeing his reverent demeanor, a sense of foreboding rose in Chen Xuan’s heart.

Chen Feng frowned. He was furious, but he managed to restrain himself.

The venue fell into an absolute, pin-drop silence.

"Young friend, would you be willing to part with this gold seal? Please, name your price."

A smile spread across Elder Lu’s face as he spoke to Jiang Fan.

"Does this seal have a special origin?"

Jiang Fan asked curiously.

"Not particularly. It is, as you said, just an antique. However, it’s part of an incomplete set. As it happens, I have a Phoenix Seal in my personal collection."

Jiang Fan nodded in understanding.

"So, young friend. Name your price."

"Elder Lu, as you can see, I’m in the middle of a bet. My only goal is to win this, so it’s rather difficult for me to name a price."

Jiang Fan said, casting a meaningful glance at Chen Xuan.

"That’s easily settled. You, boy from the Chen family, I’ll buy that piece of jade of yours for three hundred million. What do you say?"

Elder Lu wasn’t speaking to Chen Xuan, however. His eyes were on Chen Feng.

"We... we’ll sell!"

Chen Feng hesitated for less than a second before nodding immediately. Forging even a minor connection with the Lu Family would be immensely beneficial for his own family’s future.

Elder Lu nodded and turned to Jiang Fan, but before he could speak, Jiang Fan’s voice rang out. "In that case, I’ll ask for three hundred million and one for this gold seal."

"What do you think, Elder Lu?"

The crowd erupted at his words, and most people turned to look at Chen Xuan with unconcealed glee.

This loss was a major one. He had been utterly humiliated.

That single extra dollar was like a heavy slap across his face.

Chen Xuan’s hands clenched into tight fists, his nails digging into his palms so deeply they drew blood, yet he seemed oblivious to the pain. His eyes were fixed on Jiang Fan, burning with hatred.

"Chen Xuan, are you still planning to weasel out of this?"