Meng Chao’s words were like a series of slaps that nearly caused Liao Feijun’s face to become swollen.
The others did not say anything. Even some of Liao Feijun’s friends could not help but laugh.
Liao Feijun flew into rage. “You’re just boasting shamelessly, boy. You don’t have proof, so you can weave the wildest tales as you like. But this is clearly an Aquatic Dragon’s Eye!”
“It’s indeed very difficult to differentiate between an Aquatic Dragon’s Eye and Monster Dragon’s Eye. That is, unless, we conduct a destructive test. Every Monster Dragon’s Eye contains a faint bit of poison. If we can drill a hole into it, get some powder out, and put it into a poison testing fluid, we should be able to get a reaction.”
“And after all that yakking, you finally revealed your true colors, huh? If you drill a hole into the crystal core, the material will be useless. You know that it’s impossible for us to conduct a test like this here, that’s why you spoke so fearlessly, right?”
Liao Feijun was so angry that he started laughing. He shook his head repeatedly, as if he was regretting his act of arguing with Meng Chao. Truly, he had reduced his own status by doing this.
“If we don’t conduct a destructive test now, are we supposed to wait for Young Master Nie to turn this Monster Dragon’s Eye into a gene medicine? When he eats it and tries to reach higher heights, his energy will deviate, and he will start bleeding from all seven orifices. He will die on the spot, if being factual. Are you going to only acknowledge your mistake by then?” Meng Chao was very serious.
As he spoke, he cast Young Master Nie a pitying look.
Young Master Nie’s expression changed.
“Nie Laosi, don’t you trust me?” Liao Feijun was so angry that he was boiling. “You’d rather trust a high school student in a public renting house?”
“Of course that’s not what I meant.” Young Master Nie frowned while thinking, ‘You’re not the one eating it, of course you’re fine with it. But what if you really made a misjudgment?’
They were just friends who had fun together. They had not reached the point where they would trust each other with their lives.
“Eight million!”
At that moment, Ning Shewo strode up the stage, and his voice was as great as a bell. “Young Nie, please show me some respect. I’ll pay you eight million and buy this unidentified material from you. We’ll identify it on the spot and see whether it has poison. We’ll know whether it’s the Aquatic Dragon’s Eye or Monster Dragon’s Eye then!”
“Gasp!”
When the people saw Ning Shewo going on stage to support Meng Chao, all of them cried out in surprise.
The trade fair was filled with twists and turns. There were a lot of unexpected changes.
“There’s no need for that. I won’t be bothered with just a few million. Since you’ve stepped forward, we can appraise the item now and see just what it is!” Young Master Nie handed over the unidentified material.
Liao Feijun’s expression was incredibly sour, but he could not go back now, so he had to brace himself and continue. “Then, we’ll appraise it. Hmph, we’re actually wasting an item worth a few million for a stupid brat’s stupid words?!”
“That’s right. While the Monster Dragon’s Eye is poisonous, if we use another method to adjust it, it will stimulate the potential of the human body, and its effects will be much better than those of the Aquatic Dragon’s Eye.
“It’s a pity though. Once we conduct the destructive test, its quality will drop, and you will be losing at least a few million from it.” Meng Chao shook his head. He found the entire situation regrettable.
Once things had progressed in this manner, there was no way it could end on a friendly note. Since the trade fair was equipped with all sorts of identification devices and testing fluids, Ning Shewo personally took action. Soon, he fixed the unidentified item on a device and used an incredibly small drill to gently drill a small hole that was the breadth of a strand of hair on the item. Then, he pushed an exploratory needle that was as thin as a hair into the item.
At the moment the drill drilled through the item, a seven-colored light shot out, and the hall instantly filled with a fragrance.
The crowd sighed. They knew that this meant that the spirit energy sealed in the crystal core had spilled out. The crystal core could already be considered to be wasted.
The expressions of some veteran harvesters changed then. They were filled with puzzlement and shock.
They could sniff a few strange things in the incredibly strong fragrance.
Usually, only poisonous materials would have such a sweet smelling fragrance.
It was just as Meng Chao said.
Ning Shewo brought out powder from the core of the unidentified item. Soon after he placed it into the poison testing fluid, pink bubbles appeared. They tumbled out as if the fluid was boiling.
It was poisonous!
The poison was light, but it was enough to prove that the item was not an Aquatic Dragon’s Eye!
It was aMonster Dragon’s Eye, an item no one had ever seen or heard about before, but Meng Chao knew about!
“This is…”
In an instant, all the harvesters, buyers, and sellers had complicated looks on their faces. When they looked at Meng Chao, their gazes were filled with respect and puzzlement.
Liao Feijun was dumbfounded, and in an instant, he broke out in cold sweat.
Mr. Zhao of Bloody Wolf’s idolizing gaze went from Liao Feijun to Meng Chao, and it was five times stronger.
Young Master Nie, who had nearly refined a poisonous item into a medicine and ate it, turned red with rage. In great dissatisfaction, he glared at Liao Feijun.
Ning Shewo sighed in relief. When he looked at Meng Chao, his gaze was full of admiration.
Ning Xueshi covered her mouth, but her giggles could be heard spilling from behind her hand.
And Meng Chao saw new notifications jumping up in his field of vision.
[Elite citizen Ning Shewo received your guidance and came to understand a new item. His knowledge has increased. Increased contribution by 18.]
[Normal citizen Ning Xueshi received your guidance and came to understand a new item. Her knowledge has increased. Increased contribution by 9.]
[Normal citizen Liao Feijun received your guidance and came to understand a new item. His knowledge has increased. Increased contribution by 11.]
[Elite citizen…]
[Normal citizen…]
He received more than ten notifications, and practically all of them were about people receiving guidance from him and their knowledge increasing. In one breath, Meng Chao farmed more than five hundred contribution points.
‘Oh wow, this is pretty good!’
Meng Chao’s eyes lit up.
He seemed to have found another way to obtain contribution points.
Liao Feijun was so angry that he gritted his teeth. He was just about to get off the stage when Meng Chao suddenly called out to him.
“Wait. It’s impolite not to reciprocate when you’re given something. You said a few words to me just now, so I should also give you a few words, right?”
Meng Chao thought about it for a while. He was not just looking for revenge when he got himself into this situation.
He truly wanted to give some guidance to Liao Feijun and see whether he could get more contribution points.
“I’m friends with Elder Ning, so if he’s of your grandfather’s generation, ranking wise, I should be someone in your grandfather’s generation as well,” Meng Chao said sincerely.
“But since we’re all of similar age, it wouldn’t be too good if I take advantage of you. Since you called me martial uncle, I might as well reduce my status by a rank and be your martial uncle. My dear nephew, let me teach you some principles of becoming a harvester.
“You have to be brave in admitting what you know and what you don’t know. With how treacherous and unpredictable the fog is and how wide the Other World is, there will definitely be an endless number of mutated monsters and extraordinary creatures. There will also be an uncountable number of valuable materials around. There is simply no way for us to be able to identify all the items in the world.
“No matter how great a harvester is, it’s fine for him to admit that he knows nothing of an item. If he doesn’t know it, he can just learn. It won’t be embarrassing at all.
“But you should be worried about those who only know some details and pretend that they know everything about an item. You treated a Monster Dragon’s Eye as an Aquatic Dragon’s Eye and managed to show off, but when someone ate it, they would have died!”
Liao Feijun found himself speechless. His face alternated between shades of red and white, and the corners of his lips twitched nonstop, making him look as if he was about to suffer from epilepsy the next second.
“This is the way a harvester should be, and it’s also the attitude you should have as a person. That includes the strategies toward the world beyond Dragon City.”
Meng Chao spoke with utmost sincerity. “Right now, we know nothing about the world beyond the fog, and yet we’re talking unrealistically about sending our army outside to march forward like a hurricane and conquer the Other World. That’s just too arrogant. Civilizations aren’t destroyed because of how weak the people are, but by how arrogant they are. My dear nephew, I’m not trying to lecture you here, but I think that you’ve been a little too arrogant lately.”
Liao Feijun was so angry that he nearly exploded from rage.
Young Master Nie, who was from a family about as rich as that of Liao Feijun and the one to whom Liao Feijun had nearly harmed, laughed without bothering to preserve Liao Feijun’s dignity.
Meng Chao blinked. He had been really kind and compassionate when trying to give Liao Feijun advice, so why didn’t he receive even a single contribution point?
Was Liao Feijun really that stubborn?
He fell into contemplation for a while and could only guess that Liao Feijun must have misunderstood things.
“Don’t misunderstand me, my good nephew, I’m not interested in humiliating you. I’m truly trying to give you some pointers on how to be a good person. Calm down and think about what I said when you go back,” Meng Chao said extra sincerely. “Your life and the world in the future might go through an incredible change. If you’re going to remain this arrogant, you might end up dead.”
“You…” Liao Feijun was absolutely livid. “You dare threaten me?”
Meng Chao felt wronged. Why did this person simply not understand human language? “No, no, no. I’m definitely not trying to threaten you. I’m saying this for your own good. Even if you don’t understand me right now, it’s fine. Just remember what I said and what happened today.
“When you’re free, you can think about it carefully and try as much as you can to change your life so that you can be a better Liao Feijun. Sooner or later, you’ll thank—”
Before Meng Chao could finish speaking, Ning Shewo took him by the hand and Ning Xueshi covered his mouth. They dragged him down the stage.
“I’m sorry, everyone, my friend here is a… is a really skilled person. He has a good heart, but is not very good with words. He doesn’t know how to form connections with others.” Ning Shewo helped him mediate the situation.
“Ning Shewo!” Liao Feijun was mad. “How dare you let this mad dog loose and allow him to cause trouble? Are you seriously not paying my grandfather any respect?”
“Liao Feijun, are you even someone worthy of calling me by my name?”
Liao Feijun’s words infuriated Ning Shewo, who was prepared to gloss things over and let this end on a friendly note. His expression instantly changed, and his voice turned fierce. “My young friend was right. Your grandfather only taught you harvesting skills, but he forgot to teach you any skills to be a proper human being!
“I was the one who brought my young friend here. Whosoever doesn’t show him respect today is not showing respect to me, White-haired Ghostly Hands! You might have not shown me any respect, but you’re a junior, so I couldn’t be bothered to argue with you. I’ll go and settle scores with Liao Santong!”
When White-haired Ghostly Hands became angry, the entire hall fell silent.
Liao Feijun gritted his teeth. “What do you want to do?”
“I’ve been competing against my junior brother for decades, and I know what sort of plan he’s trying to cook up even when he remains silent. Hmph, he wants to step over my head while I’m poisoned, is it? Then, I’ll let him get his wish!” Ning Shewo said in a strong voice.
“One month later, Ghostly Hands will have a public competition against Poisonous Hands. We’ll settle the conflict we had today. Will Liao Santong dare take up the challenge?”
“Of course he will!”
Liao Feijun had been waiting for this. He glared at Meng Chao and said, “Then this is a promise. Everyone in the hall are witnesses. One month later, Ghostly Hands will compete against Poisonous Hands, and we’ll see just who has inherited the true legacy of Jade Assessment Skill. At that time, don’t you dare say that my grandfather bullied you. You’re just someone whose hands tremble so much that you’re practically a cripple!”
Ning Shewo narrowed his eyes, and his beard trembled because of his rage. “I can deal with Liao Santong even with crippled hands!”
Once White-haired Ghostly Hands decided to take action, a mighty uproar instantly broke out.
“Ghostly Hands actually challenged Poisonous Hands?!”
“Could it be that Ghostly Hands Ning has recovered from his injuries? But that doesn’t make sense. It’s impossible for him to win against Poisonous Hands Liao with his current condition.”
“Just who is that teenager? He has such extensive knowledge, and Ghostly Hands Ning is protecting him. If Ghostly Hands Ning isn’t his master, then who is his master? He must definitely be someone with extraordinary skills!”
“Meng Chao? I’ll remember that name!”