"Let's go."
Cao Yi took the lead, stepping forward.
The sunlight in the afternoon was warm yet dignified, akin to a ripe woman. Three figures—one slim, two plump—navigated through the dense sea of jade stones.
It had a cinematic feel, reminiscent of a slow-motion scene before a showdown.
Many gazes turned towards them, and soon, someone recognized Cao Yi, who walked in front of Zheng Jiachun.
"What's going on?"
"I heard that Xiao Er Zheng lost thirty million dollars to the Saudis. It looks like he wants to reclaim his honor."
"Is that Daoist even reliable?"
"Reliable? I have a feeling that Daoist's last performance was a bit uncanny."
"I feel the same way."
"Let's go see..."
As Cao Yi, Zheng Jiachun, and Wang Kaixuan approached the lama Liu Zhizang and the Saudi representatives, they were surrounded by a crowd of nearly a hundred onlookers.
The advancing group resembled a powerful faction leading a charge.
The lama Liu Zhizang and the Saudi representatives, who were examining jade stones, were taken aback. What were these Chinese people planning? Were they going to gang up on them at this world-renowned jade auction?
They quickly closed the distance of a hundred meters.
Cao Yi and his entourage came to a stop in front of the bidding area.
"What do you want? We were engaging in fair betting before," Liu Zhizang questioned in broken Chinese, a hint of panic in his eyes.
Why was he so scared?
Cao Yi glanced back and realized that Liu Zhizang mistook the crowd for his allies.
"Everyone step back."
Upon hearing this, nearly a hundred people retreated several meters.
This created a standoff: on one side were Cao Yi and his companions; on the other, the lama Liu Zhizang and six Saudi representatives.
"Daoist."
"Lama."
The two spoke simultaneously from less than three meters apart.
Cao Yi, clad in a sky-blue robe, had an ethereal presence, his demeanor calm and collected.
Liu Zhizang, in a red monk's robe with a yellow crown, looked somewhat grim.
"I want to make a bet with you," Cao Yi stated matter-of-factly, as if discussing something trivial.
"How much?" Liu Zhizang's expression softened slightly.
With their numbers, they certainly weren't his match in a fight. Betting on jade stones was his forte, and he could easily wipe out his opponent.
"One hundred million dollars."
Cao Yi's words dropped like a bombshell.
Gasps erupted from the crowd—this was an unprecedented bet for a jade auction!
Heavy breaths escaped the excited onlookers.
"One hundred million dollars!" Liu Zhizang exclaimed in surprise.
He had thought the Daoist would only offer a few million.
"If you can't make the decision, just ask your Saudi representatives behind you."
Cao Yi spoke in a casual tone.
Liu Zhizang turned and whispered a few words in Arabic to the Saudi representatives.
Their eyes gleamed with greed, as if they wanted to swallow Cao Yi whole.
"It seems they are quite willing," Cao Yi remarked with a smile.
"Indeed," Liu Zhizang nodded.
"We'll have one round to determine the winner."
Cao Yi shared what he had discussed with Zheng Jiachun earlier.
Liu Zhizang turned back to the Saudi representatives and relayed a few more words before saying, "They have no objections."
"Mr. Zheng, draft a contract with them to prevent any future disputes," Cao Yi instructed Zheng Jiachun.
Zheng Jiachun stepped forward, gesturing for them to follow.
A group of Saudi representatives mumbled warnings to Liu Zhizang and then followed Zheng Jiachun.
"Then we'll each pick a piece of jade, and the one with the higher value wins."
Cao Yi declared as he entered the bidding area.
Liu Zhizang followed suit.
Amidst thousands of jade stones, Cao Yi searched for one that contained the most spiritual energy.
"Look! The lama's eyes are glowing?"
"Am I imagining things?"
As surprised voices rose, Cao Yi turned to see Liu Zhizang standing before a jade stone resembling a reclining Buddha, his eyes shimmering with a faint golden light, resembling flickering flames.
Even from a distance, Cao Yi could sense the jade's inner spiritual energy was restless.
This lama was indeed formidable.
"The Buddhist also possesses the five supernatural powers?"
Liu Zhizang suddenly spoke up.
What did that mean? Did he think he had some kind of clairvoyance?
Cao Yi couldn't help but chuckle.
"I have spent twenty-three years in Buda Lakan, studying the five supernatural powers for twenty years, and I had two encounters during that time."
Liu Zhizang said with a hint of pride.
"This lama actually hails from Buda Lakan!"
"The five supernatural powers—sounds familiar..."
The crowd buzzed with discussion.
Cao Yi smiled and continued his search.
As he moved past one jade stone after another, he found either too little spiritual energy or nothing at all.
Suddenly, a light snort caught his attention.
Turning around, he noticed Liu Zhizang had abandoned the reclining Buddha jade.
Without hesitation, he walked straight to the jade stone.
Liu Zhizang, who had moved ten meters away, saw Cao Yi approach the jade he had just rejected and said, "Daoist Priest, I've already looked at it; it's full of impurities."
"I'll choose this one."
Cao Yi said, patting the Buddha's head.
Liu Zhizang didn't take it seriously and continued searching.
The crowd began to murmur again.
"This Daoist really takes the leftovers of others."
"From what you all said, he's nothing special."
"In my view, he's definitely going to lose this time..."
Cao Yi ignored their comments and waved for the stone cutter he had met earlier to come over.
Coincidentally, it was Master Kang, who had cut stones for him at the Myanmar jewelry company headquarters in the morning.
"Daoist Priest, we meet again."
Master Kang greeted Cao Yi respectfully.
"Thank you."
Cao Yi replied politely.
Master Kang nodded and expertly began cutting the stone with a handheld machine, shards flying as dust rose in a familiar scene.
On the other side, Liu Zhizang had found a jade stone roughly the size of a bathtub.
A waiting stone cutter approached to start his work.
For the next ten to twenty minutes, both stone cutters worked, separated by several meters.
But the crowd grew anxious as neither had revealed any green.
Could it be that both experts had struck out?
Many thoughts swirled in their minds.
"It's red! A rare red jade!"
The stone cutter assisting Liu Zhizang exclaimed in surprise, halting his work.
"Continue."
Liu Zhizang could hardly hide his smug expression.
Meanwhile, Master Kang still hadn't found any green.
"It's over, Daoist is bound to lose this time."
"Not necessarily; in the morning, he always turned the tables at the last moment."
"That was because he hadn't faced a real opponent. This Buddhist master possesses the five supernatural powers."
Voices emerged from the crowd, increasingly favoring Liu Zhizang.
"It's green! Uh, just water type."
Master Kang paused, disappointment etched on his face.