Top-Tier Superpower Student

Just the entrance gate alone was guarded by at least ten Mirror Condensing experts, which spoke volumes about how much Li Linglong valued Gambling Stone City.

Ordinary people needed to show a pass to enter, and this pass was personally issued by Li Linglong, only granted to those who truly intended to gamble on stones and understood the art, intended to prevent idlers from entering just to watch the crowds.

Lin Tian and Wang Yuan didn't have a pass, but with Feiyan here, they went straight in.

Gambling Stone City was divided into four areas: Area A, Area B, Area C, and Area D.

The raw stones in Area A were generally priced between ten and fifty million, making them the most expensive.

Area B's raw stones ranged from one to ten million.

Area C's raw stones varied from a hundred thousand to one million.

Area D's raw stones were priced from a thousand to a hundred thousand.

The raw stones in Area A were transported from Myanmar and had been selected by experts as Juren, meaning they had the highest chance of yielding jade.

However, the raw stones in Area A were so expensive that one would not dare to gamble there without a certain net worth, sometimes costing tens of millions.

The raw stones in Area D were the cheapest, but they were also selected by experts, offering the lowest chance of yielding jade. Therefore, real gamblers wouldn't come to Area D. Those who did were small vendors or tourists, casually gambling for fun and trying their luck.

Consequently, Areas B and C had the most people, where they could accept the prices and the chances of striking jade were not low, allowing them to take a gamble.

Knowing Lin Tian's net worth, Feiyan led him directly towards Area A.

"Hey, Feiyan, let's not go to Area A just yet. Let's warm up in Area B first," Lin Tian said.

Feiyan was briefly stunned, but quickly nodded and walked through the gates of Area B.

Area B was a three-story, cone-shaped building with the ground floor being the largest and the top floor the smallest.

In terms of the quality of the raw stones, the higher one went, the better the quality and, of course, the more expensive the stones became.

Upon entering, I saw that the first floor had around forty to fifty people. Raw stones were displayed in front of the counters, with a waiter standing every three meters to provide the utmost service to the customers.

Lin Tian scanned the area with his Subdue the Heavens ability and noticed a few raw stones contained top-quality jade that would surely increase their gamble value if purchased and cut open.

Yet these top-quality jade stones clearly did not catch Lin Tian's eye; he was interested in those of the premium ice varieties.

"Handsome, have you taken a liking to any of the raw stones? We can take a closer look," Feiyan advised him.

The gamblers examining the stones were using magnifying glasses and flashlights to inspect the veins detailedly. They were so intent that they almost wanted to stick their eyes to the stones, while Lin Tian stood in the middle, quickly scanning the surroundings, his behavior starkly contrasting with the rest. Feiyan, watching anxiously from the side, gave him a reminder.

"Let's take a look upstairs!" Lin Tian stated indifferently.

Afterward, a few people walked upstairs together.

There were more than a dozen people on the second floor, among whom one man was extremely upset, practically on the verge of rage.

Four people around him were all smiling gleefully, looking indifferent and self-satisfied, as if it was none of their business.

The angry man was surnamed Fan, named Fan Jin, coincidentally sharing the name with someone who passed the Juren imperial examination in his fifties.

However, that man's life was quite a failure, as he was worthless before fifty, unable to even feed himself and constantly ridiculed by his father-in-law.

This Fan Jin, on the other hand, was rather successful. At forty-eight years old, he had been renowned for over a decade.

Not because of any formidable strength, but because he possessed a gambling insight far beyond the ordinary, placing him as a master gambler and a jewelry tycoon. The quality and the chances of yielding jade from the raw stones he bought were among the highest in Huaxia, earning him a great reputation.

By his thirties, he had become a multimillionaire. After more than a decade of hard work, he owned three jewelry stores, with total assets exceeding one billion. Countless people sought him out to select raw stones for them, so when others saw Fan Jin, they respectfully addressed him as Master Fan.

But the essence of stone gambling lies in the word "gamble." Apart from someone like Lin Tian with extraordinary luck, even someone of Master Fan's level couldn't ensure every cut would lead to profit.

Today, he felt close to death by anger, having spent twenty million on six raw stones. Five had already been cut: three were waste material, and the remaining two yielded only a speck of jade, almost a complete financial loss. In an instant, he had lost over ten million.

All his hopes now rested on the last raw stone.

This raw stone was massive, weighing over twenty pounds and the size of a basin. Such large raw stones were rarely purchased because they seldom contained jade, and most ordinary people didn't dare to buy them.

And this large raw stone had been on display for nearly six months, priced at a steep five million.

From its outer veins and coloration, this stone was definitely one that could yield jade. However, its sheer size and cost meant it had few takers.

Fan Jin, however, had been eyeing this stone for over a month. Initially hesitant, he had made a tidy profit yesterday, and today, in a fit of excitement and flush with funds, he had bought six raw stones, including this large one.

Fan Jin placed the large stone in front of the stone cutting machine. His eyes fixed on the stone, his heart pounding, he held his breath in anxious anticipation.

If this large stone failed to yield high-quality jade, he would face a total financial loss.

Although his assets exceeded one billion, the thought of losing twenty million at once still pained him.

More importantly, his reputation.

If he couldn't even cut out top-grade jade from six raw stones, then Master Fan's reputation would be ruined.

His net worth of one billion was all because of his Gambling Stone skills; his jewelry business stood out among so many others precisely because of his reputation.

Some people would splurge on his jewelry just to have him handle their stones, and this was exactly why he had been so successful.

No matter what, he had to cut jade out of this large raw stone; it concerned his reputation, his career.

"This time, it must yield jade, it must, it has to."

He clenched his fists, staring at the raw stone with such intensity that his fingernails dug into his flesh.

Meanwhile, the people nearby, hearing that Master Fan was going to cut open this large raw stone, crowded around, fixated on the stone and buzzing with conversation.

"This large raw stone doesn't look bad, but I just don't dare to buy it. It seems only masters like Fan could dare to make the purchase."

"Hmph!"

One person scoffed disdainfully, "A master my ass. Fan was a master when he was young, but in recent years, his chances of winning bets have greatly decreased. Didn't you see just now? The first five raw stones, all wasted."

"Yeah, Master Fan is getting a bit old; his eyesight is failing. Old age just doesn't cut it."

"If he doesn't cut anything good this time, he is going to weep over his losses."

"No way, Master Fan is a jewelry tycoon, twenty million isn't much to him."

"Who says? Look at how tense Fan is, his face is as purple as an eggplant."

"Twenty million! If it were me, that would bankrupt my entire household."

..., ...

The tones of the crowd were filled with schadenfreude, scorn, and anticipation.

Shortly after, a stone-cutting master placed the large raw stone at the edge of the stone-cutting machine and asked, "Where should I cut it from?"

Master Fan took a pen out of his pocket and drew a trajectory on the stone, saying, "Cut along this mark."

The grating noise of cutting rose, and everyone's expression grew more tense. Initially, only a small piece was cut off—a window to heaven.

Master Fan approached to inspect it and felt like a deflated balloon; he was extremely disheartened.

The color wasn't very good; it was likely another piece of waste material.

"Where should I continue cutting from?" the stone cutter asked.

"Continue cutting from the mark I made just now."

Master Fan said somberly, his heartbeat quickened, his face flushed.

In the gaze of the crowd, the blade continued downward, slicing off one-fifth of the raw stone.

At that moment, Fan Jin no longer held any hope; he felt utterly dejected.

As expected, it was waste material. A fifth of the raw stone had been cut off with not a hint of green in sight. Everyone was immensely disappointed; Fan Jin had lost today, a disastrous loss, and incidentally, he had gambled away his reputation as well.

"Old age just doesn't cut it. Age catches up with everyone, it's unavoidable!"

Fan Jin, staring at the ceiling, suddenly sighed to himself.

In recent years, his Gambling Stone skills had gradually declined, his eyesight worsening, and the industry began to regard him skeptically, which is why he seldom participated in stone gambling anymore. However, after making a bit of money yesterday, he thought to gamble again, but now he had lost his money and his reputation along with it.

After all, this was the B zone, where raw stones cost millions, and cutting six pieces all turned out to be waste; this was simply not up to even a mediocre standard.

Let alone the standard of a master.

The few people around him unanimously stepped back, looking at Fan Jin in twos and threes, displaying a hint of disdain.

Fan Jin looked like a defeated rooster, disheartened and ready to leave.

Just then, a voice suddenly rang out.

"Master Fan, do you still want that 'waste material'?"

The speaker was Lin Tian, who had been heading for the third floor with Feiyan and Wang Yuan and had chanced upon Master Fan gambling on stones when they reached the second floor. What caught Lin Tian's eye was the very piece of 'waste material' Master Fan had deemed worthless.

Fan Jin frowned, realizing that Lin Tian was referring to the one-fifth piece he had just cut. His mood was very low, and without the desire to waste words with Lin Tian, he said weakly, "It's just waste material, not worth anything. If you want it, just take it!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Tian was delighted and immediately scurried over to the "waste material."