After I stopped trying, a rich woman trained me into a demon emperor.

Inside the Jade Pavilion.

Zhao Tao and Su Xiaoxiao followed them in like flies.

They wanted to see what tricks Zhou Ran, this nouveau riche who had just struck it rich, could pull.

Su Xiaoxiao's mind was in complete turmoil.

She was jealous of Zhou Ran's good fortune, yet clung to the last shred of unrealistic fantasy.

Can he really just end a three-year relationship so easily?

Perhaps, he still has feelings for me?

If I just lower my stance a little more and whisper sweet nothings in her ear, wouldn't it be possible to get her to swipe that black gold card that I've been dreaming of?

Thinking of this, her gaze towards Zhou Ran was once again tinged with a deliberately crafted tenderness.

Zhou Ran ignored the two tagalongs.

As soon as he entered the store, Ye Futian's voice rang in his mind.

"Hey kid, see that pile of junk in the corner?"

I bought that dark, unremarkable rock in the bottom left corner, which looked like a lump of cow dung!

Following the directions, Zhou Ran indeed found a pile of scraps being treated as garbage in an inconspicuous corner.

He walked over and fixed his gaze on the unremarkable black stone.

Following Ye Futian's instructions, Zhou Ran focused the nascent spiritual energy within his body into his eyes.

hum!

The world before my eyes instantly changed.

The stone's thick outer shell appeared translucent, like a thin veil, in his view.

He vaguely saw that beneath that thick layer of stone skin, there was a fist-sized mass of dense, almost impenetrable green!

"Holy crap! This is the Demon Eye?"

Zhou Ran was deeply shocked.

perspective!

This "Yin Yang Manual" even has a built-in X-ray vision function!

If this were taken to gamble on jade... no, if this were taken to Macau, even Stanley Ho would have to stand up and light a cigarette for him!

"Hmph, this is merely the rudimentary form of the Demon Eye, possessing less than one ten-thousandth of its power. The true Demon Eye can see through the nine heavens and ten earths, and pierce through the cycle of reincarnation!"

Ye Futian's voice was full of arrogance.

Just as Zhou Ran was about to speak, Zhao Tao's harsh mocking voice rang out again.

"What? Tired of wearing suits? Want to try your hand at gambling on jade?"

Zhao Tao crossed his arms and curled his lips into an exaggerated smile, looking like a clown jumping around.

"It's like a dung beetle lying on the highway, pretending to be an off-road jeep."

A poor loser, having just acquired a little money, actually thinks he can squeeze into high society?

Su Xiaoxiao quickly joined in the banter: "Zhou Ran, don't pretend you know what you're talking about. The jade gambling business is very complicated. Don't waste your money."

If you really want to play, you can ask Brother Tao to teach you.

She thought that her words made her seem generous and considerate, and that she was thinking of Zhou Ran.

Zhou Ran was too lazy to pay them any attention.

He waved directly at the shop assistant.

"How much for this stone?"

The shop assistant glanced at it.

"Oh, that's scrap material from cutting it up. If you really like it, just give me two thousand dollars and you can take it."

Without saying a word, Zhou Ran scanned the code to pay.

Upon seeing this, Zhao Tao laughed so hard he almost fell over, his voice full of schadenfreude.

"Haha! You spend two thousand dollars on a piece of poorly prepared black-boned chicken, and you expect it to produce some kind of imperial green jade?"

"Zhou Ran, you're a fucking genius!"

The surrounding customers were also attracted by the commotion, and shook their heads as they looked at the dark stone in Zhou Ran's hand.

"The outer layer of this stone is almost completely worn away; it's obviously waste material, there's no way there's anything inside."

"Another young person who's obsessed with getting rich overnight, time to pay the price."

Ignoring everyone's comments, Zhou Ran said to the shop assistant, "Excuse me, could you please cut this stone open for me?"

"Solution? Sir, there's no solution to this..."

"Untie it."

"Oh well."

The shop assistant had no choice but to fix the stone to the stone-cutting machine.

A piercing cutting sound rang out.

Zhao Tao crossed his arms, looking on with amusement.

He had already decided that once he cut it open, he would use the most vicious language to humiliate Zhou Ran severely.

Let's make up for the loss of face we suffered at the suit shop, and doubly so!

laugh--

One slash.

The stone-cutting master exclaimed "Eh!"

"Is it foggy?"

He quickly scooped up a ladle of water and splashed it on.

On the smooth cut surface, beneath a blanket of white mist, a refreshing green hue could be faintly seen!

"It went up! Holy crap, it turned green, a huge surge!"

Those in the know exclaimed in surprise!

The stone cutter's expression also turned serious. He dared not use the machine anymore and switched to a fine small grinding wheel to polish the cut surface.

The stone skin was gradually worn away.

That green hue grew larger and thicker!

"Wait a minute! Young man!"

Suddenly, a greasy-faced middle-aged man rushed out, grabbed the master's hand, and looked at Zhou Ran with shining eyes, trying to snag a bargain.

"I'll pay 100,000 for this stone! Sell it to me!"

He urged her with great enthusiasm, his spittle flying everywhere.

"Think it over carefully, selling now guarantees a profit!"

If it gets soggy after grinding, it won't be worth the price!

"Tsk, two thousand yuan has increased fiftyfold in the blink of an eye. If it were me, I would definitely sell and quit gambling!"

More and more people gathered around, and discussions arose one after another.

Zhou Ran simply shook his head slightly.

"Master, please continue."

The middle-aged man sighed heavily and retreated to the side, his eyes filled with resentment.

He knew this kid was betting something bigger.

If you can polish it to a high level of translucency, this piece of material will be worth at least 500,000!

But if it gets worn out, it's worth at most 100,000.

As the grinding wheel turned, everyone's hearts were in their throats.

The chatter inside the shop gradually faded away, leaving only the hissing sound of machines rubbing against stones.

at last!

A crystal-clear, lush, and full-bodied icy green jadeite was presented to everyone!

Everyone stared wide-eyed at the piece of jade that contained a pool of spring water!

What shocked them was not the value of the jade, but the way it was created!

It's a bit small, but damn it.

It was pulled out of a pile of dog shit-like waste!

"Ice... the ice crystals are completely green! This quality... it's worth at least 500,000!"

An incredulous gasp erupted from the crowd!

The expressions on Zhao Tao and Su Xiaoxiao's faces froze completely.

Zhao Tao, in particular, felt as if his face had been slapped hundreds of times with the sole of a shoe, burning with pain.

How is this possible?!

How could this guy's luck be this good?!

Just then, a clear, cold voice, like an icy spring, came from behind the crowd.

"I'll offer 600,000 for this jade."

Everyone turned around and automatically made way for them.

There stood a woman with an exceptional figure, dressed in a white haute couture suit.

Surrounded by a group of bodyguards in black, they walked slowly in.

The moment she appeared, the air in the entire Jade Pavilion seemed to drop several degrees.

Her beauty carried a sharp edge, as if keeping strangers at bay; her long, narrow phoenix eyes swept indifferently over the entire room.

Finally, it landed precisely on Zhou Ran and the jade in his hand.

The master of Guihe City.

The eldest daughter of the Xiao family, one of the most prestigious and wealthy families in Jiangcheng.

Xiao Hongli!

"Mr. Xiao... Mr. Xiao!"

The manager of Cuiyuxuan jogged over and bowed respectfully.

"What brings you here?"

Zhao Tao recognized Xiao Hongli, and his heart pounded.

This woman is a true prodigy of Jiangcheng. The Xiao family's business empire is many orders of magnitude larger than her father's Hongyuan Group.

He quickly straightened his collar, forced out what he thought was his most dashing smile, and eagerly stepped forward.

"Hello, Mr. Xiao, I am Zhao Tao from Hongyuan Group. My father is Zhao Shijiang. Last time at..."

Before he could finish speaking, he was stopped by a bodyguard as tall as an iron tower next to Xiao Hongli.

Zhao Tao's face turned a deep purplish-red once again.

Xiao Hongli didn't even glance at him once from beginning to end.

Her gaze remained fixed on Zhou Ran, with a hint of inquiry in it.

"Handsome young man, 600,000, are you selling?"

She spoke again, her tone cold.

Su Xiaoxiao stared blankly at the radiant woman, then looked at herself.

A strong sense of inferiority and shame almost overwhelmed her.

Why is there such a huge difference between women?

She gripped Zhao Tao's arm tightly, as if only then could she find a sense of security.

However, Zhou Ran's answer surprised everyone.

"Not for sale."

He said lightly.

Crazy!

Six hundred thousand! And this kid actually refused?

He rejected the eldest daughter of the Xiao family!

Jiangcheng has countless wealthy and powerful people who can't even find a way to talk to her, yet this kid dares to embarrass her to her face.

Their emotional intelligence is so low!

Xiao Hongli's eyebrows furrowed slightly.

Why?

This was the first time she had been rejected to her face.