Chapter 457: How About a Bet?

"If you really want to participate, I'll show you around!" Seeing the other's persistence, Sai Xiaoyu said.

Although the young man before him could spot problems that even he couldn't see, deep down he still felt it was impossible to pass, so he didn't take the words about double repayment seriously at all, already planning to let those 100 spirit stones go down the drain.

Putting away the purchased items, the group walked out of Yipin Pavilion and headed upstairs.

The lower two floors of the Treasure Appraisal Pavilion were a marketplace, while the upper floors served as their branch. Entering the hall, they saw dozens of people lined up in two rows, each holding various treasures.

These items were of low value, likely from the scattered stalls on the first floor, costing just a few spirit stones.

At the front were two young men carefully appraising items. After examining each one, they would mark it and create an appraisal form.

Among those who had been appraised, some were excited, others dejected.

Items on the first floor were a mix of genuine and fake. Buying right meant a profit; buying wrong meant accepting the loss. Judging by the expressions, clearly more had been unlucky.

"Many people buy items and, feeling uneasy, come here to have them appraised. Those doing the appraisals are newly certified one-star appraisers!" Sai Xiaoyu said.

"Mm!" Zhang Xuan nodded.

He also noticed the badges on the two young men's chests, each embroidered with a golden star that shone brightly.

One-star appraisers could already handle simple treasure appraisals, and the items brought here clearly fell within their scope.

"The Flowing Wine Winding Water is ahead. Let's go!"

Without lingering long in the hall, under Sai Xiaoyu's lead, they soon arrived at a room.

"Pavilion Master Sai!"

"Teacher!"

As soon as they entered the room, several elders came forward, all showing respect.

As the pavilion master, Sai Xiaoyu commanded high authority. Many three-star appraisers were his students, bound by the grace of teaching.

"How many appraisers does the Treasure Appraisal Pavilion have in total?"

Looking around, Zhao Feiwu noticed only six or seven people in the room and couldn't help asking curiously.

Hearing the question, Sai Xiaoyu shook his head with a bitter smile: "The Treasure Appraisal Pavilion sounds impressive, but including me, there are only three four-star and eight three-star appraisers. The rest are all two-star or one-star."

"So few?" The group was startled.

For such a magnificent establishment as the Treasure Appraisal Pavilion, they had assumed there would be at least a dozen four-star appraisers, but there were only three.

No wonder it was said that the appraiser rank was hard to obtain; the numbers were indeed pitifully small.

"Indeed!" Shaking his head, Sai Xiaoyu didn't dwell on the matter and turned to the two three-star appraisers: "Go summon Elder Chen and Elder Lu, and tell them someone wants to challenge the Flowing Wine Winding Water."

"Challenge the Flowing Wine Winding Water?"

The two were startled and quickly turned to leave.

As appraisers, they knew full well the difficulty of the Flowing Wine Winding Water. No one had succeeded in years, and someone still wanted to try—clearly they had more money than sense.

Before long, two white-bearded elders approached. Before they drew near, a gruff voice rang out: "Pavilion Master Sai, someone wants to challenge the Flowing Wine Winding Water? Is it Old Ghost Hu or Old Ghost Du? Haven't those two given up yet?"

The Old Ghost Hu and Old Ghost Du he mentioned were not from the Honghai City branch; they were four-star appraisers of similar skill.

They had come several times before but had never managed to pass.

In recent years, only those two had attempted it. Others, knowing the difficulty, hadn't even considered it, so when he heard someone wanted to challenge, he immediately thought of them.

"Huh? Where is he?"

Looking around and not seeing any familiar faces, the gruff-voiced elder was puzzled.

"Alright, Elder Chen. This time it's not those two challenging, but this young brother, Zhang Xuan!"

Seeing the elder still searching everywhere, Sai Xiaoyu shook his head and interrupted him.

"Him?"

Not only the two newly arrived elders were stunned, but the other appraisers who had been in the room also looked bewildered.

They had thought whoever was challenging the Flowing Wine Winding Water would be someone formidable, but it turned out to be a wet-behind-the-ears youth under twenty.

Ignoring everyone's reactions, Sai Xiaoyu introduced with a smile: "Brother Zhang, this is Elder Chen Yu, and the other is Elder Lu Xi. They are the other two four-star appraisers I mentioned."

Zhang Xuan nodded.

He had guessed as much without the introduction. Although these two elders weren't wearing the distinctive robes of appraisers, their internal energy was profound, clearly indicating high cultivation, no weaker than Jin Conghai.

With such strength and the audacity to speak loudly in front of Sai Xiaoyu, they could only be the other two four-star appraisers.

"Pavilion Master, what did you call him? Little brother?"

Elder Chen was the first to react, looking confused.

Sai Xiaoyu, as the pavilion master, held a very high status. Almost everyone except them called him 'teacher,' yet now he was calling a youth under twenty 'little brother'... What kind of background did this guy have?

"Mm, don't be fooled by Brother Zhang's youth. In the field of appraisal, he is no weaker than me!" Sai Xiaoyu laughed.

"No weaker than you... That's a bit exaggerated!" Elder Chen shook his head, and the others also looked incredulous.

The appraisal profession relied not on talent but on knowledge.

One needed vast knowledge and experience to grow more seasoned and skilled over time.

This guy looked eighteen or nineteen. Even if he started learning in the womb, that was only a little over a decade. How could he compare to Pavilion Master Sai, a four-star appraiser who had studied all his life?

"It's true. Just now, Teacher appraised a jadeite bead, but there was a problem..." Seeing the doubt, Liu Chang recounted what had happened.

"You say... with just one look, he could tell that the jadeite bamboo contained a deadly poison and was unsuitable for alchemy?"

"That's not an appraiser's method, is it?"

After hearing the explanation, instead of being impressed, the crowd grew even more puzzled.

An appraiser needed to observe carefully, even take samples for testing. To judge with just a glance... that felt more like fortune-telling.

"Alright, Brother Zhang. We'll now open the Flowing Wine Winding Water room for you. You'll go in alone. There are ten treasures in total. If you identify just one, you pass!"

Seeing the widespread doubt, Sai Xiaoyu waved his hand to interrupt everyone.

"Mm!" Zhang Xuan responded.

Identifying just one to pass seemed not too difficult.

"Let's begin!"

Sai Xiaoyu called Elder Chen and Elder Lu to the wall. Each took out a key and inserted it gently.

Creak!

The wall split open, revealing a large door.

The Flowing Wine Winding Water chamber contained priceless treasures that couldn't be appraised. Unlike chambers like the Master Teacher Hall, it required three keys to be turned simultaneously to open.

Otherwise, even experts at the Mortal Deification Third or Fourth Layer couldn't enter.

With a flick of his wrist, Sai Xiaoyu produced a pile of spirit stones and placed them inside. The previously dull gray wall suddenly seemed to activate a formation, emitting a dazzling light.

"Go on in!"

Sai Xiaoyu gestured.

As Zhang Xuan stepped forward to enter, Elder Chen blocked him.

"Do you know the difficulty of the Flowing Wine Winding Water?"

Although Pavilion Master Sai had praised him, Elder Chen still had no faith in this youth.

If the Flowing Wine Winding Water were that easy, someone would have succeeded long ago. How could it still be unbreached?

"No!" Zhang Xuan shook his head. "I just heard about it. They say if you pass, you get a reward of five thousand spirit stones, so I wanted to give it a try."

"Just heard about it... and you dare to challenge?"

Elder Chen's vision went dark.

He had thought this was some genius who had prepared for a long time before troubling Pavilion Master Sai. Instead, he had just heard about it and came running...

And what did he mean by 'five thousand spirit stones reward'? Was he only here for the reward?

Elder Chen grew furious.

The Flowing Wine Winding Water was not just a difficult trial; it was also the checkpoint for the five-star appraiser exam. Only those who had reached four-star were qualified to attempt it. To rush in just because of a reward—how frivolous could he be?

"Pavilion Master Sai, letting someone who wants to challenge just for a reward enter the Flowing Wine Winding Water—wouldn't that desecrate the dignity of the Treasure Appraisal Pavilion?"

Unable to hold back, Elder Chen turned to look at Sai Xiaoyu.

To challenge a five-star appraiser's checkpoint just for a reward—this was too disrespectful to the appraisal profession.

"Elder Chen, you're being too harsh. Brother Zhang, although... although his goal is the spirit stones, he does have real skill!"

Sai Xiaoyu wanted to say something good for Zhang Xuan, but after hesitating, he had to admit that this guy really was here for the spirit stones.

"Real skill? The Flowing Wine Winding Water is also called the Flowing Leaf Winding Water. It means in the time it takes water to flow, you must identify the type, name, origin, and value of the treasure... To challenge it for spirit stones, this..."

Elder Chen was getting anxious.

"Alright, the checkpoint is already activated. There's no point in saying more. Let him try. Maybe Brother Zhang will create a miracle?"

Interrupting him, Sai Xiaoyu said.

Although he didn't hold much hope for Zhang Xuan, since he had agreed, he had to let him try. If he failed, he would give up.

Otherwise, after helping so much, if he couldn't even fulfill this small request, how could he save face?

"Mm!"

Seeing Sai Xiaoyu stop Elder Chen, Zhang Xuan couldn't be bothered to waste words. He stepped into the room.

Buzz!

As soon as he entered, the room's door slammed shut.

"Nonsense, absolute nonsense!"

Elder Chen flicked his sleeve.

"Elder, do you mean that our young master definitely cannot pass this Flowing Wine Winding Water?"

Just as he felt Pavilion Master Sai's actions were somewhat improper, a calm voice sounded. Elder Chen turned to see a fat man standing not far away, his obese body quivering.

"Exactly. The Flowing Wine Winding Water requires an extremely profound understanding of appraisal to pass. Even Old Ghost Hu and Old Ghost Du couldn't do it. How could an eighteen- or nineteen-year-old succeed?"

Elder Chen snorted.

"Since you're so sure, then... how about a bet?"

The fat man said.

"A bet?" Elder Chen was taken aback.

"That's right. I bet our young master will definitely pass. You bet he won't succeed. The stakes... let's not go big. How about three thousand spirit stones?"

The fat man looked over with a grin.