I flew on a sword at the magic academy

"What do you mean? I'm here to gamble on stones." Because of what he had been through and how much he had been traveling, Shi Daohan's clothes were now so tattered that they could barely cover his body. They were covered with dried blood and dirt, so it was no wonder that he was being looked down upon.

"Stone gambling? Do you have any spirit stones on you?" asked a middle-aged man guarding the stone gambling shop.

Shi Daohan took out a spirit stone the size of a fist and asked, "What is this?"

"You dare to show off such a small piece of spirit stone? You're such a country bumpkin who's never seen the world." A sneer came from behind.

The newcomer was a man dressed in a blue robe, who looked to be around twenty years old. He was holding a folding fan and glanced at Shi Daohan with disdain, saying, "This kind of place is not for a lowly commoner like you. Go back and stop making a fool of yourself here."

"So you're Young Master Lin from Cangyu Residence, please come in!" Several middle-aged men outside the gambling stone shop greeted him with fawning expressions.

As he passed by Shi Daohan, this young master Lin sneered, "There are always some lowly people who dream of making a fortune overnight. I've seen plenty of people like you. Go back to the slums and stop having unrealistic fantasies."

No matter where you are, there will always be people like this who look down on others and elevate themselves by humiliating and belittling them. Shi Daohan was too lazy to bother with them and looked at a middle-aged man, asking, "How many spirit stones do I need to enter and gamble on stones?"

"The rough stones here are all dug out from old mines, and the probability of getting a good one is very high. You need to pay one jin of spirit stones before you can gamble on stones inside."

The middle-aged man looked at him with disdain and said, "I advise you to go back to farming honestly. At least you can make a living if you work hard. Gambling on stones is something only the upper class can afford."

Although his words were harsh and offensive, they were indeed reasonable. Gambling on stones was something only the upper class could afford to do. Sometimes, losing hundreds or even thousands of spirit stones wouldn't bother them much. But for ordinary people, a few hundred spirit stones could plunge a family into despair and shatter them overnight.

Shi Daohan didn't say much, but simply took out a pound of low-grade spirit stones and handed them to the middle-aged man before stepping inside.

"Oh, so you actually followed us in?"

Ahead, the man in the blue robe from Cangyu Residence was somewhat surprised to see Shi Daohan enter as well. He said in a strange tone, "A pound of spirit stones, huh? You must have been saving up for a long time, right? That's really not easy. I hope you don't lose everything and end up jumping into the river to commit suicide, hahaha!"

"Tsk!"

This person's voice was like a fly, buzzing incessantly in his ear, and even Shi Daohan, with her good temper, was starting to get impatient.

This jade gambling market has several courtyards, with raw stones piled up on the ground. They vary in size, from about the size of an egg to as big as a small mountain, and are estimated to weigh at least tens of thousands of kilograms.

The raw stones in the first courtyard are undoubtedly the lowest grade. No one chooses to stay here. The raw stones here are basically just randomly taken from some mountain valley to make up the numbers, and the probability of them being sold is extremely low.

However, Shi Daohan did not rush to leave. He secretly activated the eyeball in his body and wandered around the first courtyard with a serious expression.

He wandered around the first courtyard, patting this piece and tapping that piece, looking very serious.

Laughter came from not far away. The middle-aged men guarding the gate were leaning against the door frame with their arms crossed, watching Shi Daohan make a fool of himself.

"If you guys have nothing better to do, go and pour me a bowl of tea," Shi Daohan said calmly.

"Tch, drinking tea, huh? You really think you're something special?" a burly man retorted irritably.

"I've paid, so I'm your customer now. Is this how you treat your customers?"

Shi Daohan tapped and patted a rough stone in front of him without even raising his head, casually talking to the middle-aged men.

"Alright, he's finally managed to save up some spirit stones, let's give him some face." A middle-aged man waved his hand and told someone to get some tea.

Shi Daohan walked around the courtyard several times. There were more than a thousand raw stones here, but they were basically all just there to make up the numbers.

It's not uncommon for them to contain spirit stones, but the quantity is pitifully small.

"What kind of loan is this raw stone in the courtyard?" Shi Daohan asked.

Because this courtyard is close to the gate, and there are basically no guests staying here, it is usually guarded by a few burly men.

One of them replied, "The raw stones here are cheap. Half a pound of spirit stones can buy a thousand pounds of raw stones, which is cheaper than cabbage at a street stall."

"I see." Shi Daohan nodded, then pointed to the boulder in front of him, which was more than three meters high and weighed about a thousand kilograms, and said, "You guys move this boulder out for me."

Upon hearing this, the faces of the middle-aged men immediately turned green. That stone weighed at least one or two thousand catties, and even if they, who were only at the early stage of Foundation Establishment, worked together, they would probably be exhausted.

"Young man, this stone weighs at least two thousand catties, which works out to one catty of spirit stones. Are you sure you want to buy it?"

"Such a big rock, I think it should be easy to sell." Shi Daohan smiled brightly, indicating that she wanted the rock.

"Fine, you win! If you can't cut anything out of the river, I'll see if you jump in and kill yourself!"

Several middle-aged men gritted their teeth and worked together to lift the boulder, which weighed more than two thousand kilograms, and place it on an open space.

Just as they were about to take a break, Shi Daohan had already chosen his targets and pointed ahead, saying, "Bring that piece and that piece over here too."

She sat on a rock, sipping hot tea while directing several people to move stones.

Before long, the middle-aged men were exhausted, lying on the ground panting, pleading, "Sir, please spare us! We were wrong, please don't torture us anymore..."

"You're a magnanimous person, please don't hold it against us, just spare us."

Shi Daohan jumped down from a rock and said, "I'm not deliberately messing with you. I really want to buy these rocks. I have a feeling that they will be sold."

She walked straight to the massive boulder she had initially chosen, weighing over a thousand pounds. A crystalline light flowed between her fingers as she began to cut the boulder, obtaining a spirit stone weighing approximately one pound.

The remaining stones were also sold, totaling about two jin of spirit stones. There was no extra profit, but at least the cost was broken even.

Amidst the stunned silence of the middle-aged men, Shi Daohan walked deeper into the inner courtyard, feeling that the ability of the double pupils within him was being used too lightly here, and that he could try his luck in a more advanced courtyard.

She went straight to the seventh courtyard and ran into Young Master Lin from the Cangyu Bureau once again.

"Oh, so you lowly commoner have come here too. You don't actually want to try your luck with a small investment, do you?" The young master Lin kept calling him a lowly commoner, which Shi Daohan ignored but was still very annoyed with.

"Since you want to gamble big with small bets, I'll give you a chance. How about we have a gamble within a gamble?" the man in the blue robe said with a sneer.

"A game of gambling within gambling? How do you want to play it?" Shi Daohan asked.

"It's very simple. It depends on how many spirit stones we can cut from the rough stones we've chosen. For example, if you cut out ten catties, but I cut out twenty catties, then you have to compensate me with twenty catties of spirit stones," the man in the blue robe explained.

"So, whatever the winner takes, the loser has to pay out the same amount?" Shi Daohan understood the rules.

"Not bad, how about it? Dare to bet?" The man in the blue robe had a sneer on his face.

His name was Lin Hong, and he came from a sect called Cangyuju. Although his family was not a famous clan, they owned some businesses and could be considered local gentry.

"I'm willing to bet with you, but I don't know how many spirit stones you have on you to wager against me?" Shi Daohan asked with a smile.

Lin Hong's face showed a mocking look, and he said, "You don't need to worry that I won't be able to produce spirit stones. I'm just afraid that you'll be unable to accept defeat and try to kill yourself, splattering my blood all over you."

Their conversation immediately attracted the attention of those around them, and many people looked over.

"Everyone here saw it. This lowly commoner was the one who didn't know his place and wanted to gamble with me. Don't say I'm bullying him." Lin Hong looked around.

"Okay, we'll be your witnesses!" Many people nearby chimed in.

Only the person in charge of the gambling stone shop looked rather grim, worried that Shi Daohan might try to commit suicide because he couldn't bear the losses. If that happened, with blood splattered everywhere, how could he continue doing business?

Lin Hong patted a rough stone he had already chosen and said, "I'll choose this one. You should choose one too."

Shi Daohan looked around and finally chose a rough stone the size of a watermelon, saying, "Then I'll choose this one."

Because the yield of raw stones in the seventh courtyard is high, the raw stones here are ridiculously expensive. The raw stones that the two of them chose were not very big, but the price reached the level of fifty catties of low-grade spirit stones, which is really not something that ordinary people can afford.

"Please have the stone cut by the master craftsman."

Unlike the first courtyard, the seventh courtyard has people specifically responsible for cutting stones.

"Alright, then this old man will begin the surgery."

An old man walked over, holding a specially made long knife, and peeled off the layers of stone skin as if he were peeling an apple.

The raw stone Lin Hong chose kept getting smaller and smaller, but unfortunately, no spirit stones appeared in the end.

"You got lucky this time," Lin Hong said somewhat resentfully.

Seeing that the old man in charge of cutting the stone didn't seem to intend to work on her rough stone, Shi Daohan couldn't help but ask, "Master, aren't you going to cut my rough stone?"

"That piece of junk is obviously worthless. Cutting it would be a waste of time." Lin Hong said with a look of disdain.

The old man in charge of cutting the stone also shook his head and said, "This is a useless stone; we won't waste time on it."

"How can you conclude that it's a piece of junk without actually cutting it open and taking a look? I think this stone could yield a great find."

Shi Daohan smiled brightly and, without troubling the old master, directly delivered a palm strike.

"Click"

The moment the raw stone was split in two, a soft radiance emanated from it, and a fist-sized spirit stone was embedded in the stone layer. It was a pure, high-grade spirit stone without any impurities!

"Holy crap! They actually shipped it?!"

"And it's a top-grade spirit stone without any impurities; it's worth at least a hundred low-grade spirit stones!"

The onlookers exclaimed in surprise.

Even the master craftsman in charge of cutting the stone was dumbfounded, muttering to himself, "How is this possible? This stone is impossible to produce a usable piece..."

He remembered that he had picked up this stone casually from a mountain gully to make up the numbers. It did not come from a spirit mine, so it should have been impossible for it to be a good product. How come it turned out to be a good product? And it was a high-grade spirit stone the size of a fist.

Shi Daohan peeled away layers of stone, revealing a fist-sized high-grade spirit stone in his hand. He turned to Lin Hong and said with a smile, "This weight of high-grade spirit stone is worth at least a hundred catties of low-grade spirit stones, right?"

"How is this possible? It's clearly just a piece of junk, how could it possibly yield a high-grade spirit stone?"

Lin Hong's face was rather grim. Although a hundred catties of spirit stones was nothing to him, he was extremely unwilling.

"A bet is a bet, and everyone can see that. Hurry up and pay up," Shi Daohan said lazily.

Lin Hong gritted his teeth, but ultimately couldn't bring himself to cheat in front of everyone, so he took out a cloth bag containing a hundred catties of spirit stones from his storage ring and threw it over.

Shi Daohan took the cloth bag, inspected it, and put it directly into his storage ring.

She was thrilled. The double pupil eye was indeed useful. She felt that she could go to the largest and most prosperous ancient city in the desolate state to make even greater profits. Getting rich was just around the corner!

However, in the following bets, the double-pupil eyeball failed to work, and Shi Daohan cut nine rough stones in a row without getting any goods.

Instead, Lin Hong managed to cut out a high-grade spirit stone the size of an egg, thus recovering his previous losses.

"A blind cat catching a dead mouse is just temporary good luck; it doesn't prove anything. When it's your turn to lose, you'll still lose," Lin Hong mocked.

Some of the onlookers also made sarcastic remarks.

"Those who try to make a fortune with a small investment and dream of getting rich overnight will only end up losing everything."

"This place is not for lowly commoners like you. Don't risk losing all the little bit of spirit stones your family has painstakingly saved up their whole lives."

Shi Daohan frowned. She couldn't understand why the double-pupil eyeball inside her would keep misjudging things.

She crouched down and carefully examined the nine pieces of raw stone that had just been cut open.

"What are you doing? Can't you accept reality?"

"They didn't have much to begin with, and losing so much all at once is bound to make them feel distraught and unable to accept reality."

"What a pitiful man. I bet he'll jump into the river as soon as he gets out."

Ignoring the chatter around him, Shi Daohan squatted down and stared intently at the nine pieces of cut-up waste stone for a long time. Suddenly, he realized something and cursed the people at the stone gambling shop for their cunning and deceit. (End of Chapter)