2861 Two wins in three rounds

'Huh?

Ling Han was a little surprised. Did this old man really just want to compete with him in skills?

Grandmaster Xuanlai turned his head, and shouted to Bao Fengyu and Niu Buqun behind him, "Quickly apologize to Grandmaster Ling now!"

Although the duo of Bao and Niu were not very willing, they had no choice but to bow their heads. They knelt down, and said, "We have previously offended Grandmaster Ling. We hope that Grandmaster Ling will be generous and forgive us this once."

The two of them spoke in such an orderly manner that it was obvious that they had discussed it a long time ago, and it was definitely not a sudden decision made by Grandmaster Xuanlai.

Ling Han suddenly came to his senses. Just earlier, he had said that Grandmaster Xuanlai was an enlightened character—this was precisely the wisdom of the other party.

…Even if he were to win against Ling Han, it wouldn't matter, as he wasn't able to kill Ling Han. One day, grandmasters of raw stones would retire from the stage of history, and if Ling Han was to settle accounts at that time, then who would protect them in the future?

Therefore, it would be better to take this opportunity to resolve any grievances.

Offend a Heavenly Venerate? Wouldn't that be suicidal?

Ling Han nodded. Since Grandmaster Xuanlai saw it so clearly and gave him enough face, he would let the duo of Niu and Bao go, as long as these two refrain from any evil schemes in the future.

"Okay, I'll let it pass." Ling Han waved his hand.

Both Bao and Niu were upset. In fact, Ling Han didn't suffer anything at all, so why were they required to bow their heads? But since their master had asked, how could they have the right to refuse?

"Grandmaster Xuanlai, how are we going to compete?" Ling Han asked. He completely didn't pay any heed to the duo of Niu and Bao.

Since Grandmaster Xuanlai was the one to issue a challenge, he had naturally thought about it long ago. Therefore, after hearing such words, he smiled, and said, "Then we will use three raw stones to determine the outcome."

"Agreed." Ling Han nodded.

"However, we won't be using the total value of the three raw stones to determine the outcome, but rather each raw stone will be counted as a single round. The victor will be the one who wins two out of three rounds, how about it?"

"That's fine."

"In the first round, the selection of raw stones is limited to two hours, while in the second round, it is limited to six hours, and finally in the third round, it is limited to one day."

Ling Han couldn't help but cast another glance at Grandmaster Xuanlai. This old man was skilled indeed.

In two hours, the number of raw stones that Ling Han could explore was quite limited, and it was impossible to even know what was in the raw stones selected by Grandmaster Xuanlai, which made the game really suspenseful.

Not only true ability was needed, but the result also depended on luck.

Ling Han nodded. "That's fine."

He also found it boring to always win without a doubt.

"Does Grandmaster Ling need to take a break, or should we start immediately?" Grandmaster Xuanlai asked with a smile.

"No need to waste time, let's start," Ling Han said casually.

"Agreed."

Master Xuanlai invited the shopkeeper of Sever Void Lane over to act as the umpire of the competition.

All around, there were countless people watching.

"This kind of stone gambling is quite novel. I have never seen it before."

"It's fair."

"Yes."

"No, no, don't you think that Grandmaster Xuanlai might have come here a long time ago, and perhaps had already explored all the raw stones here? If time is limited, it will be too unfavorable to Ling Han."

"Well, that's true also."

Grandmaster Xuanlai also listened to everyone's words, and he smiled. "Since this old man have put forward so many restrictions, Grandmaster Ling can also make demands on this old man.

"Here, divide this place into 10 areas. Grandmaster Ling can limit the area where this old man chooses the raw stones, while Grandmaster Ling can choose any area at will."

As soon as these words came out, everyone around had nothing further to say.

There was no absolute fairness in this world. Grandmaster Xuanlai has acted in a very transparent and righteous manner.

Ling Han smiled, and said, "Okay, let's do it like this."

He randomly pointed to an area, which would be Grandmaster Xuanlai's area, while he chose the adjacent area.

"Are you both ready?" The shopkeeper of Sever Void Lane was a one-eyed man of broad build, a Fourth Tier Heavenly Venerate named "Fiery Silk."

As a dignified Fourth Tier, couldn't he regrow his one eye?

He obviously could, but didn't. There was a deep scar on his left eye, which was obviously intentional. Perhaps, it was to remind himself whom he had lost it to back then, and if this shame could not be erased, then he would not heal the wound and regain sight in his left eye.

Both Ling Han and Master Xuan Lai nodded. The Fiery Silk Heavenly Venerate threw an hourglass, which floated in the sky, and sand began dripping.

For the first round, it was only two hours.

Ling Han didn't dare to waste time, and immediately started to move around.

His current stone gambling ability has been greatly improved, and he could "see" the inside as long as he touched the raw stone with his hand. The speed was naturally astonishing, akin to observing the passing lights on a galloping horse, making swift judgment without stopping at all.

Grandmaster Xuanlai was the opposite. He would stand still and watch carefully, but once he cast a glance, he would have seen hundreds of raw stones with a single look, and he would leave after careful comparison. He was unexpectedly not much slower than Ling Han.

But whether he truly saw through them, or he was just pretending, only he himself would know.

Ling Han walked steadily, his face calm, but he was secretly surprised. As expected of the well-known Sever Void Lane indeed. The quality of the raw stones here was quite high. Almost one out of every 10 raw stones contained treasure, which was far from what the other raw stone lanes could compare to.

But in fact, a large amount of treasure didn't mean that one could make money, because most of them were Divine Metal, and there was also a small amount of Great Herbs, but the quantity was extremely low, and Ling Han only saw one green-colored Great Herb; there wasn't anything else of higher grade than this.

Was it because there were powerful characters overseeing this place that this had happened?

If it was true, then such a grandmaster of raw stones ought not to be underestimated.

Ling Han's footsteps were getting faster and faster. It was really difficult for him to sweep through this whole area in under two hours. After all, Sever Void Lane was jointly run by six major forces, so even though the area had been divided into 10 sections, it was still astonishingly massive.

Everyone held their breath, and no one made a sound, not daring to disturb the two grandmasters of raw stone, or they would definitely be cast out.

Yue Chengwang also came, and he sat down at one side with a haughty expression.

He was also very curious about Ling Han's stone gambling ability, but it didn't matter whether Ling Han would win or lose—he would never let Ling Han go. Who was he? The son of a Sixth Tier Heavenly Venerate; there was absolutely no one who could refuse him.

The Great Clouds Heavenly Venerate also rushed over on purpose. There was another Fourth Tier beside him. He was Leng Dao, Leng Xiuran's father, and kept staring at Ling Han with killing intent in his eyes.

Both of them wanted to kill Ling Han, but one coveted the Heavenly Venerable Seals in Ling Han's possession, while the other wanted to avenge the murder of his son.

The sand in the hourglass was getting less and less as the two hours was about to pass.

"Stop!" the Fiery Silk Heavenly Venerate declared softly when all the sand had already emptied.

Ling Han and Grandmaster Xuanlai stopped in their tracks at the same time, and returned to their original places.

"Both of you, make your choice," Fiery Silk Heavenly Venerate said.

Ling Han and Grandmaster Xuanlai nodded at the same time, stretched out their hands, and a raw stone flew over and fell into their hands respectively.

"Are you two going to cut open the stone yourselves, or let the stonecutters in this lane open up the stone for you?" the Fiery Silk Heavenly Venerate enquired.

"This old man will do it himself," Grandmaster Xuanlai said.

"I'll open it by myself too."

"Understood." Fiery Silk Heavenly Venerate nodded.

Both Ling Han and Grandmaster Xuanlai stepped forward to personally open up their raw stones.

Immediately, everyone involuntarily took a few steps forward, and began chatting excitedly. Now that the process of stone selection was over, they naturally were not afraid of disturbing these two people.