"What? The Golden Eye got all the appraisals wrong?"
Upon hearing the result, Situ Jue thought he had misheard. How could this be possible?
The Golden Eye was also bewildered, looking at the referee in surprise and asking, "Are you sure you're not mistaken? How could I possibly get all the appraisals wrong? I am the Golden Eye of Jiang Province, and my appraisals carry authority."
"Mr. Golden Eye, the treasures at the Spring and Autumn Brawl大会 today have all been appraised by appraisers from the Kyoto Appraisal Association. Even if your appraisal carries authority, is it more powerful than the Kyoto Appraisal Association?" the referee questioned with a faint smile.
"I..."
The Golden Eye was instantly stunned in place!
He only possessed appraisal authority within Jiang Province, but his fame was not as great across the entire Huaxia.
Wang Zhongsheng looked at him contemptuously and said, "Golden Eye, it seems you are all talk and no substance. You couldn't even appraise one of the three antiques I selected correctly, and you still have the nerve to call yourself the Golden Eye? I think 'Blind as a Bat' would be a more fitting name."
"Hahaha!"
The audience present couldn't help but burst into laughter.
The Golden Eye's face turned red with anger. He wanted to retort but couldn't find any excuse.
Wang Zhongsheng shrugged and continued, "You've lost now. Do you have any other experts? Feel free to bring them all out."
"Let me challenge you."
As soon as the words fell, a thin old man behind Situ Jue walked up from the audience, unwilling to accept defeat.
This person was also an appraiser from Jiang Province. He was the Golden Eye's senior disciple, the Diamond Eye!
His name alone indicated that his eyesight was superior to the Golden Eye's.
He stepped forward this time to avenge his junior disciple.
Before going on stage, he comforted the Golden Eye, "Junior disciple, I will avenge you immediately. Just wait and see."
"Alright, senior disciple. I've truly lost face today. You must give me a good thrashing to vent my anger," the Golden Eye gritted his teeth and said.
"Don't worry, I'll handle this Wang fellow!"
The Diamond Eye walked onto the stage, glaring at Wang Zhongsheng with conviction and declaring, "Wang, today I will make sure you are ruined."
"Very well, as long as you have the strength, I welcome it!"
Wang Zhongsheng said dismissively and immediately began the contest with him.
This time, Li Yang watched the antiques that the Diamond Eye had selected for Wang Zhongsheng carefully from below and quickly analyzed his strengths.
Li Yang deliberately avoided his strong points and helped Wang Zhongsheng select three obscure antiques that were not his specialties.
However, as he was secretly giving hints to Wang Zhongsheng, Master Bai beside Situ Jue saw through the trick. A cold glint flashed in his eyes, and he thought to himself, "No wonder this Wang Zhongsheng has been winning repeatedly; it turns out a master is giving him pointers!"
But by the time he realized it, it was already too late!
Before he could communicate with the Diamond Eye on stage, the Diamond Eye had already presented the antiques he had chosen to Wang Zhongsheng.
After ten minutes of careful appraisal, Wang Zhongsheng's appraisal results for the three antiques were all released. Unfortunately, the difficulty of this appraisal was quite high, and Wang Zhongsheng only got one antique correct.
Seeing this result, the crowd below felt that Wang Zhongsheng was doomed to lose.
The Diamond Eye held a very high status in the provincial capital. Everyone had heard of his reputation and had absolute confidence in him.
If Wang Zhongsheng had gotten all three correct, it would have been uncertain who would win or lose this match. But now, with Wang Zhongsheng only getting one correct, it was equivalent to him having forfeited the competition.
"Hmph, Wang, today I will let you witness the prowess of my Diamond Eye!"
The Diamond Eye's appraisal result was within his expectations, and he was very confident in the antiques he had chosen.
He felt even more so that with Wang Zhongsheng's level, one appraisal would be enough to crush him.
However, a few minutes later, as his appraisal concluded, the announced result once again shocked everyone present.
"The Diamond Eye's three antiques were all appraised incorrectly. The winner is still Master Wang," the referee announced loudly to everyone on stage.
Wow!
The entire venue fell silent!
Everyone looked at each other, unable to believe the result!
Was Master Wang this formidable? He had consecutively defeated two provincial appraisal masters from Jiang Province!
It seemed that Master Wang was on his way to claiming the championship today!
"Impossible, how could I have appraised them all incorrectly? You must be in cahoots with this Wang fellow! I want to report you!" the Diamond Eye declared furiously.
"Master Diamond Eye, our Spring and Autumn Brawl大会 is a fair competition sponsored by the three major families of Kyoto. Are you questioning the impartiality of the three major families? If you continue to slander us, do not blame us for being impolite." The referee said sternly.
"I, the Diamond Eye, have never made a mistake in my life of appraisal. How could I have consecutively misjudged three antiques? You are being unfair, and you won't even let others speak?" the Diamond Eye said indignantly.
"Someone, drag the Diamond Eye out of here, throw him out of the venue, and disqualify him from the competition!" Upon hearing his repeated nonsensical claims, the referee immediately ordered, having security personnel take action and drag the Diamond Eye away.
The entire venue was instantly silent!
At this moment, Master Bai slowly walked onto the stage. As the last appraiser invited by Situ Jue, the outcome of the competition now depended entirely on him.
Situ Jue was also very nervous. He had spent a full three hundred million to win today. If everyone was defeated, the reputation of the Situ family would be ruined.
Master Bai approached Wang Zhongsheng and said with a condescending smile, "Master Wang, you have indeed been very valiant today, having consecutively defeated three appraisal masters. Now it's time for you to bleed a little."
"So it's Master Bai from Kyoto. I didn't expect a renowned appraisal master like Master Bai to associate with these scoundrels. I, Wang Zhongsheng, am willing to learn from Master Bai today." Wang Zhongsheng said fearlessly.
This time, Wang Zhongsheng still adopted the method of having Li Yang help him. Li Yang observed Master Bai carefully and, as before, selected antiques for Wang Zhongsheng.
However, when Wang Zhongsheng first selected the antiques and presented them to Master Bai, Master Bai suddenly smiled calmly, put down the antiques he had already chosen, and selected three new ones.
This startled Li Yang!
This old fox saw through my strategy. He deliberately exposed his weakness just now.
"Master Wang, please proceed!"
Master Bai confidently handed the three antiques to Wang Zhongsheng. Seeing the three dark and unremarkable antiques before him, Wang Zhongsheng's brow furrowed.
The appraisal difficulty of these three antiques was extremely high, far exceeding his current level.
After about ten minutes, he announced the appraisal results in public. As expected, all three were appraised incorrectly.
He could now only rely on the antiques selected by Li Yang for him, hoping to achieve a draw.
After another three minutes, Master Bai smiled faintly and raised his hand, signaling, "I've finished my appraisal as well!"