As Zhang Keren spoke those words, Ye Xin and others by Lin Qian’s side all tensed up.
Following this, Zhang Keren’s face revealed a smug expression as he looked ahead at Lin Qian, "Indeed, you are as smart as you seem, but I guess you wouldn’t have expected that this was also a trap set for you?"
"Youngsters like you are always so impulsive, seeing me crazily bidding here, you’d definitely want to spitefully outbid me like I did." As Zhang Keren spoke, three breaths of time had passed, and the shattered sword now belonged to Lin Qian.
Additionally, as Zhang Keren spoke, the Eight-Armed Sea Clan, who had been fiercely bidding against him before, also stopped talking and looked over here with grinning faces.
"I mean, a broken sword worth two million Mid Grade Soul Crystals, what was the Clan Leader of the Northern Division thinking, bidding so high - turns out it was deliberately trapping Lin Qian."
"Do they have some kind of feud?"
"That Human Clan Lin Qian proclaimed he would slaughter the ally of the Eastern Division Clan Leader, isn’t that a feud?"
Many of the spectators around were buzzing with discussion, some schadenfreude glancing over at Lin Qian.
"Damn it, I didn’t expect this Zhang Keren to set up another trap so swiftly!" Seeing Zhang Keren regaining his smug smile, Zhang Zide spoke with resentment.
Beside him, Li Yunfeng shook his head helplessly and said, "Who would have thought, just a moment ago he was so enraged by Brother Lin, and in less than the time of half an incense stick, he’s scheming to trap Brother Lin again."
Twenty-three million High Grade Soul Crystals. That was already one-fifth of the funds for participating in the Gambling Treasure Conference, not a small amount at all, and it was just squandered because of Zhang Keren’s plot.
Despite having sharply irritated the opponent earlier, clearly the opponent had turned the tables. Read exclusive adventures at NovelHub.Côm
"I’ve been careless." Ye Xin’s eyebrows were tightly furrowed as she gazed across at Zhang Keren, thinking to herself, "In the following time, I must carefully observe the surroundings to see if there are people from Zhang Keren or the Bloodthirsty Hall. I definitely can’t let myself be trapped again."
Zhang Keren smiled triumphantly, feeling extremely thrilled inside. Previously, he had lost ten million High Grade Soul Crystals to a trap. Now, causing the other side to lose twenty million High Grade Soul Crystals felt extremely satisfying.
However, gradually, Zhang Keren’s smile faded as he noticed that Lin Qian’s face showed no sign of distress. Instead, Lin Qian looked at him as if he were looking at a fool.
This feel made him very uncomfortable.
Even though he had won this round, why did Lin Qian’s gaze carry the stance of a victor?
"Clan Leader Zhang, so your bidding was deliberately to trap me, and not because you noticed that the hilt was embedded with Space Stone?" Immediately after, Lin Qian asked with a tone of surprise.
As soon as Lin Qian finished speaking, gasps of astonishment erupted around them, eyes widening in shock.
Space Stone, any material related to space would need such a material.
For instance, a high-quality Storage Ring, just a thin layer of Space Stone powder would be enough to enhance the stability of the space.
But a piece of Space Stone the size of a fingernail would cost fifty million High Grade Soul Crystals.
The semi-transparent crystal at the bottom of the hilt was Space Stone?
"If what Lin Qian said is true, that thumb-sized translucent crystal is indeed a Space Stone, it would be worth at least sixty million high-grade Soul Crystals."
"It’s impossible, Space Stone is crystal clear, completely transparent. How could that kind of translucent crystal be a Space Stone?" After hearing Lin Qian’s words, Zhang Keren immediately spoke up, clearly not believing him.
"I think you’re just saying this to save some face." Zhang Keren said with a magnanimous look, "If you sincerely apologize and also apologies to Vice Sect Master Wu, I wouldn’t mind giving you back half of those twenty million high-grade Soul Crystals."
Lin Qian scoffed at Zhang Keren’s proposal, "Why would I need to lie to you? If you don’t believe me, you might as well come down with me. I was planning to sell this Space Stone to gather more funds to participate in the Gambling Treasure Conference."
Saying this, Lin Qian turned and left, heading towards the counter on the first floor.
Ye Xin and the others hurriedly followed Lin Qian; they too were curious to find out whether the translucent crystal on the rusty sword blade was indeed a Space Stone.
Not just them, but other onlookers, driven by curiosity, also followed to see whether the translucent crystal at the base of the broken sword was really a Space Stone or if Lin Qian was just making things up.
Seeing a crowd eagerly following, a member of the Eight-Armed Sea Clan who had earlier pretended to bid alongside Zhang Keren approached and asked, "Clan Leader, should we also take a look?"
Watching the crowd leave, Zhang Keren thought for a moment then gritted his teeth, "Go, why not? I want to see what this kid can do to turn an ordinary crystal into a precious Space Stone."
After he finished, Zhang Keren stayed with this clan member and followed to see for himself.
Meanwhile, on the screen formed by the Array at the center of the Treasure Hall, the news displayed that Lin Qian spent twenty-three million five hundred thousand high-grade Soul Crystals to buy the broken sword.
The Treasure Hall had not been open even half a day, and most people were still observing and not hurrying to buy.
Thus, this price was the highest transaction in the Treasure Hall, attracting the attention of many.
Curious people also gathered around the counter, wanting to see what item fetched such a price.
When they crowded around the counter and saw Lin Qian handing over Soul Crystals only to take out a severely damaged rusty sword, they burst into laughter.
Following, from those who had come down with Lin Qian, many learned about the incident.
Regarding Lin Qian’s claims, many shook their heads repeatedly, and some Artifact Refiners even said, "As everyone knows, Space Stones continuously release space fluctuations, so they’re usually ground into powder for use. Directly embedding it beneath a sword handle? Such a Soul Device sword, let alone harming an enemy, the violent space fluctuations with Soul Power infused might hurt the user themselves first."
Ignoring the crowd’s discussions, Lin Qian handed the broken sword to the best treasure appraiser at the counter in front of everyone.
This treasure appraiser was the same one who had handled the items Lin Qian and others found at Houhai Street.
Recognizing Lin Qian, the treasure appraiser smiled kindly and, with a thin layer of Soul Power covering his hands, held the broken sword up to examine it closely.
After scrutinizing it for a long time, the treasure appraiser put down the broken sword with a look of regret and said to Lin Qian, "I’m afraid you’ve made a mistake this time, my young friend. Even if this broken sword were repaired, it would only be worth about one million mid-grade Soul Crystals."
"Hahaha, that’s utterly ridiculous, claiming the hilt was embedded with a Space Stone." Hearing the treasure appraiser’s words, Zhang Keren burst into loud laughter.
Standing beside Lin Qian, Ye Xin gently patted his shoulder, "Little Qian, it’s okay."
Lin Qian gave Ye Xin a light smile and slowly shook his head to indicate he was fine.
Then, Lin Qian ignored Zhang Keren and just looked at the treasure appraiser in front of him, smiling lightly, "Master, you can’t rely solely on Soul Power and eyesight, you also need to use your imagination."