Chapter 289 - Hall Of Gems (1/2)

Chapter 289 Hall Of Gems

Despite the building complex’s gargantuan structure, there was still a surprising abundance of empty s.p.a.ce. At its very center, laid a plaza that was by no means small, and within the plaza, ten fighting rings could be seen alongside two towering platforms. All it took was a single glance at the arrangement of platforms for Ou Yangming to realize that he was looking at the venue of the Martial Arts Battles.

Alas, as the Myriad Treasure Meet had only just started, there was no one present on the rings just yet.

There was ample s.p.a.ce between each building block, and at that moment, most of the corners of the buildings were occupied with people who had set up stalls. A variety of rare and weird items could be found piled up on top of these stalls.

The moment a person enters the building complex, their fight for supremacy, be it in the light of day or the dead of night, would instantly begin.

The stall owners were all independent cultivators who came from various regions, and usually, the products they sold were items that they had personally collected over the years. Moreover, the stalls were also the best place for the appraisers to show people what they were made of, as they would be instantly thrust into the limelight should they procure any rare items from these stalls.

Naturally, carrying out covert deals was strictly not allowed, and if anyone were to be caught performing such deeds, the imperial family’s powerhouses would unleash their full wrath on them.

Ou Yangming continued wandering around the building complex. He had not entered the building just yet, and instead, he was looking through the stalls that had been set up.

Ou Yangming internally understood that the chances of him locating a rare item within the stalls were not high. However, the fact that this was his first time partic.i.p.ating in such an event had inspired a great deal of curiosity within him. Nevertheless, his excitement was misplaced, as he was left disappointed after wandering around for a while. Although he had learned appraisal art, as he was not a true appraiser, he was unable to discern the items’ true worth without holding the items in hand.

In this regard, there was indeed a large gap between Ou Yangming and the traditional appraisers.

Suddenly, he halted his steps and looked towards a certain direction.

In front of that stall, stood to middle-aged men glaring down at one another. It was clear that they had gotten themselves into an argument, and worse still, from the way they acted, it appeared as if tensions were rising.

Ou Yangming’s curiosity was piqued, and since their argument had taken place right before a stall, he was certain that it was related to the items on sale in one way or another.

In a flash, Ou Yangming had appeared before the stall.

Some herbs and minerals had been put on display. Since Ou Yangming was not too familiar with herbs, he was unable to tell their value from a glance. Minerals, on the other hand, were his strong suit. Despite that, even after giving them a rough glance, he was unable to detect anything special from them.

In truth, there were all sorts of minerals to be found in the world, but not all of them were valued highly.

On the other hand, while some minerals were scarce, in the eyes of a blacksmith, those minerals could hold limitless potential.

After listening to some of the words they exchanged, Ou Yangming had soon gotten a gist of the duo’s argument.

Turns out, they had both laid eyes on the same herb at the same time, and they were arguing on who had priority over the other.

Despite sounding comical, obtaining priority for the transaction was actually a major deal. According to the rules, so long as a person was viewing the goods and haggling prices with the stall owner, no bystander was allowed to interrupt them. In other words, obtaining the viewing priority was akin to obtaining the initiative over the transaction. As such, they were fighting tooth and nail for the viewing priority, and neither side was willing to relent.

The stall owner had a helpless expression on his face. When the surrounding people had asked him regarding the matter, he could only shrug his shoulders as he was clueless as well.

After all, the two of them had appeared at nearly the same time and had chosen the herb simultaneously. Although situations like this were rare, they were not completely unheard of.

The two began to raise voices at one another, and before long, they had attracted the attention of an imperial guard. The imperial guard was a large and burly man, and when he heard of the men’s quarrel, he furrowed his brows and stated, “I see. In that case, you two should follow the rules and partic.i.p.ate in a Martial Arts Battle. Whichever one of you who wins the match should obtain the viewing priority.” After a brief pause, he then continued, “In the case that none of you are skilled in martial arts, you are allowed to recruit someone to fight in your stead. Please meet up at one of the rings within the next two hours.”

The two men nodded and left, whereas the imperial guard confiscated the herb and left a receipt behind.

The crowd had treated the situation as if it were a common occurrence, and even the stall owner had taken it in stride.

On the other hand, Ou Yangming was amazed at what he had seen. ‘So, this is another function of the Martial Arts Battle, huh!’

His ears twitched, and he had picked up on the conversation of one of the bystanders.

“Brother Zhang, the Hall of Gems has opened! Let’s go and take a look!”

“Alright, if we’re lucky enough to obtain a gem from it, this trip would’ve been worthwhile.”

As the Myriad Treasure Meet was a public event, it was only natural that the major powers would dominate the event. Despite that, most of the partic.i.p.ants were unaffiliated with any of the major forces, and instead, they had hailed from all sorts of places.

Upon hearing their words, Ou Yangming immediately turned around and quietly followed them.

Since there was nothing interesting in the stalls around, Ou Yangming would rather head to somewhere else where he could display his talents.

Before long, the two men that Ou Yangming was following had reached a tall building. After taking a quick glance at it, he then proceeded onward without an ounce of hesitation.

The three huge glittering golden words, “Hall of Gems” could be seen on top of the building.

As expected, the establishment was filled with gems and raw gemstones of all shapes and sizes, and naturally, the number of raw gemstones had far surpa.s.sed that of the gems, with a ratio of around hundred to one. This was especially true at the entrance, as there were three boulders located there that had weighed up to half-a-tonne each, and they were the main attraction for visitors.