Chapter 741

Chapter 741: Shock the Whole Crowd

At this moment, Wang Laosan awkwardly said, "VIP Sir, since you want to crack so many Stone Orbs, we’ll give you twenty percent off. But… shouldn’t you pay first?"

"Who carries that much money?" Fang Lie scoffed.

"We know people don’t carry cash, but you can use items as payment. For someone of your status, this should be easy!" Wang Laosan grinned.

"If items are acceptable, why not wait until the Immortal Crystals appear?" Fang Lie retorted coldly. "This amount equals one small Immortal Crystal, right?"

"True, but what if—just saying—there’s no Immortal Crystal in this pile?" Wang Laosan grimaced. "What then?"

"No Immortal Crystal? I’ll pay with spirit pills!" Fang Lie snorted. "One ninth-rank spirit pill should cover it, no?"

"Yes, but our rule is—" Wang Laosan hesitated, "payment first before cracking stones."

"Hm?" Fang Lie glared, displeasure written across his face as if ready to abandon the deal.

Wang Laosan feared losing this whale who spent more than a thousand regular customers. But rules were rules—he couldn’t bend them.

The Semi-Immortal Deputy City Lord intervened, "Let him crack the stones first. Spending this much deserves an exception as courtesy!"

Though phrased politely, everyone understood the deputy doubted Fang Lie and aimed to humiliate him. With so many spirit pills at stake, he’d profit greatly if Fang Lie lost.

This single deal’s commission would make even a Semi-Immortal jealous.

The scholar was Star Fragments City’s sole Semi-Immortal Deputy City Lord, personally invited by the City Lord to maintain order. Such a massive city required a Semi-Immortal’s presence.

Other deputy city lords were the City Lord’s disciples, all at late-stage Thunder Tribulation cultivation, needing only Dao career accumulation to reach Semi-Immortal.

With the City Lord absent, the Semi-Immortal deputy held absolute authority.

Relieved, Wang Laosan bowed. "As ordered! Please wait, Sir—I’ll start immediately!"

He summoned Magic to lift the stone pile and flew inward. Others followed eagerly.

They soon arrived at a hundred-mile-wide domed hall housing a special Formation for stone processing.

Wang Laosan set aside the main pile, selecting about a thousand Stone Orbs. After placing them in the Formation, he performed secret techniques to activate it.

Soft light enveloped the Formation, levitating the stones one zhang above ground. Their rocky shells crumbled into gray ash, shrinking visibly as powder rained down.

Within twenty breaths, all thousand stones had dissolved into dust.

Wang Laosan dispersed the powder with a wave. "My apologies—nothing inside these."

"Huh?" Fang Lie scratched his head. "That’s a billion gone?"

"Yes…" Wang Laosan shrugged helplessly.

"HA!" The crowd erupted in laughter.

Some whispered mockingly, "What a fool! Think Immortal Crystals grow on trees?"

"Does he believe he’s history’s genius? Countless experts over millennia never cracked this—were they all fools?"

The Arrogant Old Man smirked triumphantly, already tasting victory.

Ignoring them, Fang Lie barked, "Keep going!"

"At once!" Wang Laosan hurriedly fed another thousand stones into the Formation.

After a while, another pile of dust accumulated on the ground with no results.

Fang Lie didn’t even blink this time. He ordered flatly, "Continue!"

Wang Laosan stopped hesitating and proceeded with the third wave, then the fourth, continuing until the sixth wave – still nothing.

Despite six hundred million small spirit pearls turning to dust, Fang Lie’s expression remained unchanged. He casually smiled, "Keep going!"

Wang Laosan was drenched in sweat. This wasn’t petty cash but hundreds of millions in pearls – the largest gamble he’d witnessed in centuries.

Some bystanders finally intervened: "Young man, quit while you’re ahead. Don’t open the rest."

"You could save hundreds of millions! Stone gambling ruins those who get greedy!"

Fang Lie chuckled, "No need for concern. Even total loss means nothing – mere pocket change!"

The crowd rolled their eyes, mentally branding him an idiot.

Realizing Fang Lie’s determination, Wang Laosan activated the Formation again.

This time, when the thousand Stone Orbs shattered, two gleaming Immortal Crystals hovered in the air instead of emptiness.

The crowd erupted: "Immortal Crystals! Two of them!"

"The smaller one’s decent, but that large one’s egg-sized!"

"A large Immortal Crystal equals three mediums!"

"He’s profiting! The small one covers debts, the big’s pure gain!"

The Arrogant Old Man paled but sneered, "Blind luck! You’ll never break my record!"

"Who says?" Fang Lie retorted. "This large crystal counts as three. I’ve got four equivalents already. Four more and I surpass your seven-century record!"

"Dream on!" the old man scoffed. "Daily limit’s one crystal. Multiple finds are impossible!"

"Watch and learn, frog-in-a-well!" Fang Lie commanded Wang Laosan, "Continue!"

The eighth wave produced three more crystals – two medium, one small.

"Heaven’s mercy! Three more?"

"What witchcraft is this?"

Fang Lie pocketed them, grinning at the old man. "Your rebuttal?"

"Stinking luck!" the old man spat. "It ends here!"

"Prove it!" Fang Lie ordered the ninth wave.

Before dust settled, four crystals materialized – including a duck egg-sized giant.

The crowd gaped. "Four? This must be fraud!"

"Would the Deputy City Lord help cheat his ally?" someone countered. "The Master once supplied his divine skill herb!"

As arguments erupted, the speechless Master finally croaked, "You’re cheating!"

"How?" Fang Lie mocked. "Bribing Star Fragments City to sell crystals cheap? Planting fakes?"

The Deputy City Lord interjected sternly, "No cheating occurred. His cultivation prevents trickery under my watch. This spectacle’s too costly for pretense."

Under public pressure, the old man surrendered three crystals. "You win, Junior! But your luck’s spent!"

"Really?" Fang Lie stored his winnings. "One final batch remains. Let’s see who’s right."

He nodded at Wang Laosan to resume.