Chapter 329: 1 Spirit Stone
Everyone had seen it with their own eyes. After Huang Junchang finished his set of fist techniques, its power was clearly a cut above what it was before.
And this was all thanks to Qin Tuo!
Seeing that Huang Junchang had truly grasped his teachings, a look of relief appeared in Qin Tuo’s eyes.
Huang Zhen nodded excitedly, unable to stop himself from cupping his hands in a respectful gesture.
"Mr. Qin, thanks to your guidance today, my son has been completely transformed. I don’t know how I can ever thank you!"
Qin Tuo simply waved his hand and said casually,
"Mr. Huang, there’s no need for such formalities. It was a simple matter."
Hearing Qin Tuo’s humble words only deepened Huang Zhen’s immense respect for him.
The members of the Huang Family all began to admire Qin Tuo from the bottom of their hearts.
Huang Junchang looked at Qin Tuo, an intense desire to become his disciple welling up within him.
However, his status as a disciple of the Martial Extreme Sect made things awkward, and for a moment, he hesitated.
Just then, Huang Junkai rushed in from outside.
He walked up to Qin Tuo and said in a low voice,
"Mr. Qin, that shipment of raw stones has arrived. Would you like to go and take a look?"
Qin Tuo nodded at once.
"Alright, I’ll go with you now."
Seeing that Qin Tuo had business to attend to, the others, though reluctant to see him go, felt it wasn’t their place to hold him back.
Huang Junchang, however, watched Qin Tuo leave with a longing gaze, his mouth opening and closing as if he wanted to say something but couldn’t find the words.
Meanwhile, Qin Tuo and Huang Junkai took a car to a warehouse on the outskirts of the city.
After waiting at the warehouse for a little while, a small car pulled up. A white-haired, elderly man leaning on a cane stepped out.
Huang Junkai explained,
"Mr. Qin, this is Elder Cheng. He’s a highly respected senior in the world of stone gambling with an exceptionally sharp eye. We have him appraise every shipment of raw stones we bring in, just to be safe."
Qin Tuo nodded. He figured Elder Cheng must have been immersed in the world of raw stones for decades to have earned such authority on the subject.
Sure enough, as soon as Elder Cheng arrived, Huang Junkai put on a wide smile and went to greet him respectfully.
"Oh, Elder Cheng... I’m so glad you’re here! I really wouldn’t dare accept this shipment without you!"
Boss Cheng’s expression turned serious. "Young Master Huang, out of respect for the Patriarch of the Huang Family, this is the last time I’ll be appraising for you!"
Huang Junkai was a bit disappointed, but he figured one last time was better than nothing. He nodded.
"Very well, Elder Cheng. This is a top-quality shipment, so please be extra thorough."
Elder Cheng snorted.
"Goes without saying. But let’s agree on the price beforehand. This time, I want ten million!"
"What? Ten million?"
Huang Junkai’s face was a mask of astonishment.
Based on their previous dealings, the usual fee for Elder Cheng’s appraisal was three million at most. This time, he’d more than tripled the price.
Huang Junkai couldn’t help but force a bitter smile.
"Elder Cheng, why such a high price this time?"
Elder Cheng jabbed his cane into the ground and snapped,
"This is an entire shipment of top-grade Hongshan Stone. A haul like this will make you a fortune, and appraising it is no small challenge for me. You still think the price is too high?"
Seeing that Elder Cheng was getting annoyed, Huang Junkai knew better than to argue further.
Qin Tuo, meanwhile, waited silently to the side without a word.
A short while later, a large truck slowly pulled into the open area in front of the warehouse.
A middle-aged man with a cold, indifferent expression stepped out of the passenger seat.
He was followed by a group of bodyguards, who vigilantly watched over the truckload of raw stones.
This was clearly President Zheng, the raw stone merchant Huang Junkai had spoken with on the phone.
"President Zheng, you’ve arrived!"
Huang Junkai hurried over to greet him.
President Zheng nodded and said nonchalantly,
"Young Master Huang, the goods are here. As is customary, you should inspect them."
Huang Junkai nodded and then gestured for Elder Cheng to proceed.
Elder Cheng calmly stepped forward and began his meticulous inspection, while Qin Tuo remained standing at a distance.
The truck was loaded with stones, so President Zheng casually picked out a dozen or so for Elder Cheng to inspect thoroughly.
This was standard practice in the business. Inspecting every single stone would take forever.
As Elder Cheng conducted his examination, Huang Junkai stood by, watching intently with a slight frown.
President Zheng smoked a cigarette with an air of indifference, though he would occasionally glance over at the inspection, his thoughts unreadable.
Qin Tuo stood off to the side, feeling a bit bored, his gaze sweeping across the truckload of raw stones.
Suddenly, his eyes fixed on one particular, ordinary-looking stone.
The stone was utterly plain and unremarkable.
But the moment his gaze swept over it, he felt something peculiar—a faint fluctuation of Spiritual Qi emanating from it.
Unable to resist, Qin Tuo walked right over, picked up the stone, and examined it closely.
It was a pebble-shaped stone, yet the Spiritual Qi within it was surprisingly abundant!
Without a second thought, Qin Tuo instantly absorbed every last wisp of Spiritual Qi from the pebble, feeling an indescribable sense of refreshment wash over him.
A curious theory formed in Qin Tuo’s mind. ’Could this be a so-called Spirit Stone?’
At this thought, he could no longer contain himself. He took the stone and walked over to President Zheng.
"Excuse me, where did you get this stone?"
But President Zheng merely gave Qin Tuo a passing glance before ignoring him and continuing to smoke his cigarette.
President Zheng clearly saw Qin Tuo as nothing more than an underling Huang Junkai had brought along, and paid him no mind.
The bodyguards behind President Zheng didn’t even give Qin Tuo a proper glance, their disdain for him obvious.
Seeing the man ignore him, Qin Tuo grew impatient and pressed him again.
"Can you tell me where this stone came from?"
Qin Tuo was anxious because if he could find a place with a large supply of these Spirit Stones, his cultivation progress would be assured.
Therefore, this matter was of the utmost importance to him; he had to find out the stone’s origin.
However, President Zheng continued to treat Qin Tuo’s words as if they were wind, this time not even bothering to look at him.
Qin Tuo was furious. He hadn’t expected the man to be so shameless.
He strode forward, grabbed President Zheng by the sleeve, and said coldly,
"I’m asking you a question. Are you deaf?"