Alchemy Emperor of the Divine Dao

2849 Stone gambling

Feeling a person come too close to him, Ling Han instinctively moved, and struck out with his palm.

Niu Buqun immediately grunted, and took a few steps back. His face turned from red to white, and then he suddenly spluttered out a mouthful of blood, feeling such pain that he could not speak.

He was only a Ninth Heaven Celestial King. If it were not for the fact that Ling Han had realized something had been off, and withdrawn some part of his power in the nick of time, this palm strike would have been enough to kill him several hundred times over.

Ling Han frowned. A puny Ninth Heaven actually dared to disturb him?

“Grandmaster Niu, are you all right?” That Young Master Leng hurriedly raced over. His name was Leng Xiuran, and he was a First Tier Heavenly Venerate.

Niu Buqun felt a stuffy feeling in his chest, and couldn’t even speak. Even his eyes looked to be in danger of popping out.

“How dare you!! You actually dared to wound Grandmaster Niu!” Leng Xiuran looked towards Ling Han, his expression arrogant.

At present, what was the most popular profession?

It was not alchemists or weaponsmiths, and not formation masters, either, but rather grandmasters of raw stone. But it was not anyone that could become a grandmaster of raw stone. One would have to have an extremely strong spirit and be well-versed in analysis to be able to distinguish whether treasure could be produced from a raw stone.

Of course, even the most amazing grandmaster of stone gambling could not possibly pick accurately every single time.

Ling Han also looked towards Leng Xiuran. “What Grandmaster Niu? Scram!” With the height that he was at now, there was already no need for him to make any explanations. Moreover, it was indeed he who had chosen that raw stone first. According to the rules, once someone had chosen a stone, others were not allowed to contend for it, and had to wait until the first person gave it up.

“How dare you!!” Leng Xiuran said menacingly. “You dare attack a grandmaster of raw stone, and speak so disrespectfully.”

Ling Han waved a hand at him dismissively, showing that he couldn’t be bothered to give them any regard, and telling them to scram quickly.

Niu Buqun finally got his breath back, and said, “Don’t think that you are above everything else just because you are a Heavenly Venerate. It should be known that there will always be someone stronger than you. I don’t believe that I can’t deal with you!”

Grandmasters of raw stone were incredibly popular now, and were respected guests of various great forces. Everyone wanted to sell off the useless raw stones in their possession and keep the most valuable raw stones for themselves.

In this manner, grandmasters of raw stone had become exceptionally important.

To make a rough comparison, a grandmaster of raw stone was equivalent to an alchemist in the Ancient Realm, possessing outstanding status.

Ling Han shook his head. No matter how popular a grandmaster of raw stone stone was, they were just using their status to bully others. Wasn’t it the support of a Heavenly Venerate that they relied on?

Previously, though his attention had been focused, concentrating on finding valuable raw stones, it did not mean that he had been completely unaware of things happening around him. He had only been ignoring them for the moment. He looked towards those five subordinates of Leng Xiuran, and glanced again at Niu Buqun, his eyes becoming increasingly menacing.

He possessed powerful battle prowess of the Fourth Tier. Merely with a glance, those five lackeys of Leng Xiuran immediately exploded into a shower of blood.

Culmination City had its rules, forbidding battle. That was because battle could very possibly shatter raw stones. However, Ling Han had turned these five people into a shower of blood with just a single thought. This indeed did not comply with the rules of Culmination City, but Ling Han had Fourth-Tier battle prowess, so it couldn’t be helped. Who would really call him to a serious accounting because of this kind of trifling matter?

…It was just a few Celestial Kings that had died, so what did it matter?

They dared speak so cheekily to his daughter, even if they died, no one would pity them. Didn’t they know he was a protective maniac?

“You…!!” Leng Xiuran was outraged. The other party actually dared kill in front of him?

Ling Han ignored Leng Xiuran. Was there a need for any reason for a Heavenly Venerate to kill a few Celestial Kings? Of course, he was not one to kill easily, but would only move if they deserved to die.

Instead, he looked towards Niu Buqun. “You refuse to yield?”

“I refuse. What is it? Do you dare to kill me as well?” Niu Buqun was not afraid. As a grandmaster of raw stone, he had prominent status, and was the respected guest of various forces. Even a Heavenly Venerate would not dare to touch him.

Ling Han smiles faintly. “All right then, let’s compete.”

Niu Buqun sneered. Could it be that this brute wanted to battle him? What a joke; that would be too demeaning to his status.

“We will compete in stone gambling,” Ling Han continued.

“What?” Niu Buqun was shocked. Ling Han wanted to compete with him in stone gambling? Had he taken the wrong medicine?

“You do not dare?” Ling Han asked smilingly.

Niu Buqun sneered. “Why would I not dare? I am worried that you will refuse to admit defeat!”

Ling Han shook his head. At times like these, even a Ninth Heaven Celestial King would dare to act so insolent in front of a Heavenly Venerate? However, a so-called grandmaster of raw stones could only be arrogant for a while because there ultimately would come a day when the Heavenly Venerable Stones in this dimension were mined completely. By then, grandmasters of raw stone would be no different from trash.

“Sure, then let’s gamble. We will each choose 10 raw stones, and see who obtains the highest value,” Ling Han said.

“Haha, sure,” Niu Buqun sneered. In a fight, he was definitely no match for Ling Han, but in terms of stone gambling, then even 100 Ling Hans added together were no competition for him.

“What are the stakes?” the grandmaster asked.

Ling Han grinned. “If you lose, then you, and this brat, have to kowtow to me 10 times.”

Leng Xiuran immediately wanted to object, but Niu Buqun raised a hand to stop him. Turning his head, he asked, “Young Master Leng, could it be that you do not trust me?” This caused Leng Xiuran to hesitate for a moment. He thought seriously, ‘That’s right, what is there to doubt?’

“Agreed!” Leng Xiuran declared. “But if you lose, you, too, have to kowtow 10 times to each of us!”

He was slightly expectant and excited. That was because Ling Han’s cultivation level was clearly superior to his, so how pleasurable would it be to have a high-level Heavenly Venerate actually kowtow to him?

Niu Buqun also sneered. This man actually dared to treat him disrespectfully. Humph, did he really think that he was all that impressive just because he was a Heavenly Venerate?

Niu Buqun was a grandmaster of raw stone!

“We have to have a time limit,” Niu Buqun said. “One day.”

“Sure.” Ling Han nodded casually. He was getting more and more proficient at scanning stones. At the beginning, he had needed 30 minutes to complete a full scan, and now he only needed around 15 minutes or so. He was certain that this time would continue to shorten.

“Then let’s begin,” Niu Buqun said.

The two of them then began walking around in this area. Everyone knew that it would definitely be easier to discover treasures at the mid-grade and high-grade areas, but if they went there, there would not be much meaning to this competition.

A confrontation and murder had occurred here, which naturally attracted the attention of many people. Some were asking their fellows as they made their way over. Leng Xiuran had the intention to make Ling Han and his group even more embarrassed later, so he naturally made public the matter of their gamble.

“No way, he actually dares to challenge Grandmaster Niu to stone gambling?”

“That is Grandmaster Niu we’re talking about here.”

“Hehe, I know who this is. His name is Ling Han.”

“Ling Han? That guy who has broken records at the Realm Battlefield?”

“Sigh, he’s too arrogant. This is stone gambling, which has completely nothing to do with battle prowess.”

“Haha, I heard that this guy is extraordinarily arrogant. I really anticipate seeing him kneel down in full public.”

Ling Han was a famous person, so it was natural that there would be those who recognized him. Once they heard about it, everyone shook their head.

To say nothing of them, even Ling Xi and Fu Tianxing were worried. They knew that Ling Han’s freakish talent in cultivation was indescribable, but this was stone gambling.

There were more and more spectators gathered around them. Many people were no longer picking through the raw stones. They were just standing on the sidelines to watch, filled with anticipation.

A prodigy of his era, a freakish genius. If he was really to kneel and kowtow in full public…

Just the thought of that happening was exciting.

Niu Buqun picked up one raw stone after another, studying them closely, but a while later, he would put them back. There was a whole day’s time. He would not make his move rashly, but was taking note mentally. When it was about time, he would pick out those 10 raw stones that he considered the best of the lot.