InvincibleConnoisseur

Chapter 86 Before the Announcement of the Winner

In the spacious but crowded street, there had been thousands of onlookers keeping discussing this. All the people were waiting for the evaluation result of the judges.

"I think that young man named Xu Jingkai will win. He does have a good family background and was brought up in a world of antiques and magic weapons. Having grown up in such an environment, how could he be incompetent?"

"I agree with you. That young man does have a good family background. I've heard that his father is a big businessman in the world of antiques. I'm afraid that even if he were an i***t, he would learn a lot from his father since childhood. As for that man named Wang Ke, I don't think that he has any real learning. Even though he has some skills, he is not on a par with a man with such a great family background!"

"You are right! I've heard about the appearance of a middle-level magic weapon in the market, and it was that Xu Jingkai who finally found it. I don't know why people said that the undervalued treasure he found was a fake one, but I think there must be some hidden facts about it. Maybe he released the news intentionally because people always want to hide the treasures they have."

"It's almost impossible for a clerk of an antique shop to win! Do you see it? That young man named Xu Jingkai is wearing a confident smile all the time. However, the other young man named Wang Ke seemed to have great unsureness in his words."

"Xu Jingkai is a promising young man! I hear that he has been learning about Fengshui in recent years and has reached the stage of Qi Master..."

"..."

People's discussions came from all the directions of Wang Ke and Xu Jingkai. Those people looked at Xu Jingkai with admiration and praise. In particular, they were in high praise for Xu Jingkai as they heard the news that he was the son of a big boss in the business of antiques. However, they looked at Wang Ke with contempt. After all, he was just a clerk of an antique shop, so he could not be very competent, could he?

Standing in the crowd and hearing the compliments from the surrounding people, Xu Jingkai gradually put on a smile of contentment. He felt as if he had been the winner, triumphantly looking at Wang Ke who was poker-faced.

"Wang Ke, the masses have sharp eyes. Did you hear that? Do you want to beat me? What a wishful thinking! Previously, it was alright for you to gain some petty advantages with your petty tricks. However, when it comes to real skills, you still have a long way to go! Remember our bet. As I'm really kind, if you lose but don't want to kneel in front of me and call me master, it's OK for you to just piss off as far as you can and not let me see you again."

Xu Jingkai said that smilingly, raising his chin slowly and looking up quite a bit.

Wang Ke shrugged and said tonelessly, "We still don't know who the winner will be. The more arrogant you are at present, the more disgraced you will be later. I believe you can understand this unless you are a f*cking idiot."

"You... You are so vulgar."

Hearing Wang Ke's words, Xu Jingkai blushed with his eyes full of flashes of hatred and thundered at Wang Ke.

Wang Ke sneered and said, "Vulgar? I believe it's better than the yaps of a mad dog, isn't it?"

Having said that, he suddenly had an idea in his mind. He immediately took his eyes off Xu Jingkai and then shouted at Bai Ruochen and the twelve judges in the human wall, "Bai Ruochen and all the twelve judges, I believe that it's better for you to expose yourselves to the crowd and comment on the items one by one rather than evaluate those twenty items in the human wall. In this way, people could better feel how impartial and knowledgeable you are."

Hardly had Wang Ke's voice faded away, the surrounding people started to second the motion one after another. They all wanted to hear the judges' evaluation because only by watching the evaluation process personally could they thoroughly understand the value of each item and know who won and who lost.

The twelve judges who were Yinyang Masters had just had a look at the first item together and discovered that it could not be regarded as an antique, let alone a magic weapon. When they felt quite disappointed, they heard the shout of Wang Ke and immediately stared speechlessly at the other, finally directing their eyes at Bai Ruochen.

Bai Ruochen's eyes kindled with joy. In fact, he was in favor of what Wang Ke had said because only the items being dissected in front of the public one by one could the surprise he wanted to bring to the public be bigger.

Bai Ruochen laughed and asked, "Everyone, I think Wang Ke's proposal is pretty good. Masters, now that all the people want to hear the evaluation of each item, why not comment on the items in front of the public to satisfy their thirst for knowledge?"

Having discussed it for a while, the twelve Yinyang Master judges finally decided to accept Wang Ke's suggestion.

After the human wall of fifty onlookers had quickly dissolved, the public could see the twenty antiques and the twelve judges.

A hoary-haired old man with presbyopic glasses, who was over his sixtieth, glanced over the crowd with a smile and spoke loudly, "Since everyone wants to have a look, then we'll comment on the items one by one so that you can witness and hear the announcement of the winner personally."

"This bronze statue is in the shape of a lifelike horse. However, according to our identification just now, it is only a replica rather than an antique, let alone a magic weapon. It isn't worth much. I'm afraid that all the people here could afford it. One hundred yuan is enough for it."

Having finished his words, the hoary-haired old man shifted his gaze to Bai Ruochen.

Bai Ruochen said knowingly, "Both the two competitors did not choose this bronze statue. Good. This means that both of them could tell that this item is worthless."

...

Eight minutes later, another two items had been identified worthless, turning out to be neither antiques nor magic weapons. Both Xu Jingkai and Wang Ke had not chosen these two items.

Another three minutes later, that hoary-haired old man smiled again and said, "I can finally feel that a good show will start. The next item is a double-mouthed copper pot. According to our evaluation, it is a magic weapon whose price is about eighty thousand yuan."

"A magic weapon finally appears! Though its price is not very high, it's better than other items. I wonder which of them has a keen eye to pick out this double-mouthed copper pot?"

"A good show will indeed start as there appears the first magic weapon. Who has a keen eye to pick it out?"

"I'm afraid that the one who selected this magic weapon stands a much better chance of winning the game!"

"..."

Amidst the discussion of the crowd, Bai Ruochen glanced at the two slips of paper in his hand and said with a smile, "Everybody, the two competitors have written down what they selected on the two slips of paper in my hand. It was Xu Jingkai who selected this item."

Hardly had Bai Ruochen's voice faded away, the surrounding people started to talk about it louder.

"You see? I said that Xu Jingkai is the one with true skills. He just picked out a magic weapon! He is indeed a talent who has lived in a family of antiques since childhood."

"Xu Jingkai did have a keen eye as he can recognize a magic weapon. It seems that he is more likely to win!"

"How could a shop clerk defeat a young master of a family of antiques? It seems that there is no suspense about this game. I'm afraid that Xu Jingkai will win for sure!"

"Wang Ke is stewing in his own juice! How dare he, a man without true skill and genuine knowledge, accept Xu Jingkai's challenge? I'm so speechless. How can he not be able to pick out a magic weapon? I feel ashamed for him."

"Xu Jingkai is so competent!"

Hearing people's discussions and gossip, Xu Jingkai smiled more brightly. As he had managed to pick out a magic weapon, he was more confident that he would win this game.

He glanced at Wang Ke disdainfully. Then, he laughed and said to the murmuring crowd with his hands arched, "Thank you for your favor and support. I firmly believe that I, Xu Jingkai, will be the eventual winner."

Wang Ke sneered inwardly and ignored Xu Jingkai who was complacent and arrogant.

As the old saying went: The higher the height one stood, the greater the fall he would suffer.

The more arrogant he was now, the more disgraced he would be later.

The twelve Yinyang Master judges did not stop identifying the items. Looking at the items one by one, they found that only one among the following five items was an antique while the other four were all fakes whose prices were quite low.

"Next, it's a jade peach. According to our evaluation, this is a magic weapon. It's also a magic weapon of good quality. It's worth about two hundred thousand yuan." That hoary-haired old man spoke loudly after evaluating it with other judges.

Bai Ruochen had a look at the slips of paper in his hand and then turned to the surrounding people. He laughed and said, "Everybody, it was Xu Jingkai of the two competitors who selected this magic weapon of good quality. Since Xu Jingkai had selected a magic weapon worth about eighty thousand yuan, together with this one, the two items he selected are worth about two hundred and eighty thousand yuan in total."

Xu Jingkai was a little excited as there were only two magic weapons among all the identified items, and he had picked out both. This made him extraordinarily content and delighted.

Xu Shichang had somehow been at Xu Jingkai's side. He praised Xu Jingkai with a beaming face, "My boy, you did a good job. It seems that what I thought before was right. My son is the one who has true skills and genuine knowledge. Great!"

Xu Jingkai said with a smile, "Dad. I'm your son. As an old saying goes: A wise goose never lays a tame egg. Of course, I got a dose of your good genes, which enables me to learn true skills and defeat a villain."

Xu Shichang nodded with a smile, glancing at Wang Ke with his eyes full of sarcasm.

Bai Ruochen's words made the crowd more restless. More and more people were talking about this.

"What an amazing person Xu Jingkai is! The two items he selected are both magic weapons. How great he is! What a talented young man! His prospect is beyond measure. Beyond Measure!"

"Xu Shichang has a good son who has such a sophisticated insight at such a young age. I'm afraid that he will excel his father in the future. There are only two magic weapons among the evaluated items, and they are both selected by Xu Jingkai. It seems that the young man named Wang Ke will be certain to lose."

"How dare he, a man without any true skill, accept the challenge under the watchful eyes of the people? What a reckless man he is! There will be a good show here. Will he kneel in front of Xu Jingkai and call him master?"

"There's no suspense. Even if Wang Ke is lucky enough to have selected a magic weapon, it could not be worth two hundred and eighty thousand yuan, could it? Well, it's the consequence resulting from his arrogance. Though Xu Jingkai is that competent, he spent ten minutes selecting magic weapons carefully. However, Wang Ke only spent six to seven minutes. He does have an exaggerated opinion of his abilities."

"..."