Chapter 183: Letting Things Settle

At first, the crowd had been skeptical about the whole affair.

Ordinary Appraisers either came from a lineage of famous masters, were old and renowned for having seen countless antiques, or had the Court’s official recognition.

Lu Bai was tall and well-built, and he was an Evil Exterminator Guard, but he was only a teenager. It was hard for people to find him convincing in this field.

But now, Lu Bai had actually accepted one of the Five Emperors Coins, and the *Tiger Subduing Posture* he had given the short-haired young man was genuinely effective.

Everyone had seen it with their own eyes; it couldn’t be faked.

For just a single one of the Five Emperors Coins, one could break through a bottleneck to reach the Third Level of the Root Bone Stage and have a chance to step into the Inner Strength Realm. That was more than worth it!

If the Earth Tier *Tiger Subduing Posture* had such an effect, then the other Cultivation Techniques were probably reliable too.

"Could the Celestial Tier *Dragon Elephant Skill* be real too? Would someone really be willing to part with it?"

"I heard the conditions to practice the *Dragon Elephant Skill* are extremely demanding. It’s almost impossible to master."

One person said, "You guys are just ignorant. Here in Bluestone City, while he was still in the Inner Strength Realm, this Lord Lu defeated a Qi Refiner on the Martial Arts Discussion Platform!"

"Ah!"

The crowd gasped in amazement.

It was common knowledge that before the Golden Core Realm, a Martial Artist was no match for a Cultivator.

"And what did this Lord Lu rely on to beat that Qi Refiner so badly that he couldn’t even fight back?"

Before anyone could ask, the man declared with conviction, "He relied on his *Dragon Elephant Skill*!"

These words made everyone’s hearts race.

’If Lu Bai can master the *Dragon Elephant Skill*, why can’t we?’

’The Cultivation Technique is right in front of us. How will we know if we don’t try?’

The thought of mastering the *Dragon Elephant Skill* and being able to defeat Cultivators made everyone extremely excited.

Seeing that he’d achieved the desired effect, Lu Bai decided to pack up and leave.

"Lord Lu, will you be back tomorrow?"

"Lord Lu, will you be here again tomorrow? Around what time? I have several Mother Coins at home, I’ll bring them for you to look at tomorrow."

The crowd was at the peak of their excitement. Seeing Lu Bai packing up his things to leave, they all swarmed forward to ask questions.

"I’ll be here again tomorrow."

Lu Bai said, "If I’m not busy, I’ll come in the morning. I can’t say for sure what time."

"Alright, Lord Lu, I’ll come early to wait for you tomorrow."

"Lord Lu, please remember to come tomorrow! I have lots of old items at home."

The crowd bid Lu Bai farewell, full of anticipation.

The short-haired young man was delighted. He helped Lu Bai carry the table and chair and walked with him towards the Evil Extermination Bureau.

After escorting Lu Bai all the way to the entrance of the Evil Extermination Bureau, the short-haired young man bowed deeply and said, "Thank you for your guidance, my lord. I, Chu Cheng, will never forget it."

He was nineteen this year. If he couldn’t reach the Third Level of the Root Bone Stage before he turned twenty, he would lose his eligibility to train at the Martial Arts Academy.

His future path would have been set in stone.

But today, Lu Bai’s seemingly casual guidance had completely changed his destiny!

"Go back and practice diligently."

Lu Bai nodded and entered the Evil Extermination Bureau.

He Liangzhi was just walking out. "Brother Lu, where have you been today? I haven’t seen you all day. I was just about to go looking for you."

"I set up a stall in the city to collect some things like the Five Emperors Coins."

Lu Bai smiled and asked, "What did you need me for?"

"Nothing much."

He Liangzhi said, "It’s getting late, after all. I was worried something might have happened to you, so I came out to look. Besides, everything is in place. When are you planning to make your move?"

Lu Bai said, "We’ll wait a few more days. The time isn’t right yet."

-----------------

「The next day.」

Lu Bai made a round at the Evil Extermination Bureau. Finding nothing to do, he picked up his table and chair as usual and headed to Wangjiang Tower to set up his appraisal stall.

Yesterday was the first day, just a small test of the waters, and he had already obtained one of the Five Emperors Coins.

Besides, the word was already out. There would only be more people today.

He just wondered if he would be able to find anything good.

Lu Bai had just arrived near Wangjiang Tower, still carrying his table and chair, when a crowd rushed over to help him set them up in yesterday’s spot.

"Lord Lu, you’re finally here! We’ve been waiting for so long."

"My lord, please take a look at my Five Emperors Coin."

"Lord Lu just arrived! Let the man catch his breath! What’s the rush!"

A person to the side chided the others, then turned to Lu Bai with a smile. "My lord, you rest for a bit. When you’re ready, take a look at my item first."

Lu Bai had just sat down when a crowd surrounded him, their noise giving him a headache.

"Form a line. One at a time. I’m going to Wangjiang Tower to buy something to eat."

Lu Bai waved his hand.

’At this rate, I could start a paid appraisal business.’

Lu Bai walked towards the nearby Wangjiang Tower.

Upon reaching Wangjiang Tower, Lu Bai ordered a few random dishes. He sat in the main hall to wait, looking around and listening to the conversations of the other diners.

As he was leaving Wangjiang Tower with his food, Lu Bai felt something. He glanced over and saw a disheveled man in a distant corner, who had just shouldered two buckets of swill, looking in his direction.

When Lu Bai looked at him, the man lowered his head and limped away into the distance.

Lu Bai carried his food back to his stall across the street.

After a good deal of pushing and shoving, the crowd had formed a line.

Lu Bai shared some of the food with Black Dog and Ah Ming, who were beside him, and then quickly finished his own simple meal.

"My lord, please take a look."

The first person handed over a copper coin.

Lu Bai shone the Ancient Mirror on it.

The mirror’s surface displayed the three words: ’Red Emperor Coin’.

Not bad, a good start.

Lu Bai said, "A Red Emperor Coin. Not bad."

"My lord has a keen eye."

The man said with a chuckle, "I bought this Red Emperor Coin from an auction house. A famous master appraised it, but I didn’t expect you to recognize it instantly, my lord."

This statement made the crowd trust Lu Bai’s abilities even more.

"Selling it?"

Lu Bai asked.

"Yes, yes!"

The man quickly said, "Can I see yesterday’s *Tiger Subduing Posture*?"

"No."

Lu Bai shook his head. "Yesterday was a special case. A single one of the Five Emperors Coins is only of average value. You can only view a Profound Tier Technique, like the *Fierce Tiger Stance* or the *Breath-Holding Skill*."

After a pause, Lu Bai added, "If you have ten or more of the Five Emperors Coins, you can see the *Tiger Subduing Posture*."

The man hesitated for a long time. Urged on by the crowd, he gritted his teeth and said, "Then I’ll look at the *Fierce Tiger Stance*."

With that, he handed the Red Emperor Coin to Lu Bai and picked up the *Fierce Tiger Stance* to read.

Unfortunately, among the items brought by the next dozen or so people, not a single one was genuine.

All sorts of weird and bizarre things started to show up.

One man brought over a copper mirror the size of a washbasin and declared with great confidence, "Lord Lu, this peerless treasure mirror of mine is a rare wonder from ancient times! It can reveal demons, exterminate ghosts, suppress devils, and connect heaven and earth. It is omni—"

Before the man could finish, Lu Bai cut him off directly. "It’s new."

The man argued for a bit before leaving resentfully.

"Lord Lu, look at my Red Emperor Mother Coin. It’s undeniably genuine, and incredibly old."

"Go back and let it age a bit."

"What do you mean, ’let it age a bit’?"

"Let it age for a few thousand or tens of thousands of years, and then it’ll be old."

A burst of laughter went through the crowd.

The man sneered, "Heh, the Appraisers from the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion, Senior Lai Yang and Old Senior Hu, both looked at it and said it was old. How come it’s new when you look at it?"

"Next."

Lu Bai couldn’t be bothered to explain.

Someone in the crowd asked, "They already appraised it for you, so why did you bring it to Lord Lu for another appraisal?"

The man was speechless for a moment, then became angry out of embarrassment and shouted, "I wasn’t planning on selling it anyway! I came here today specifically to test him! Hmph, his skills are nothing special after all."

"Stop wasting time, it’s my turn."

Before Lu Bai could say anything, the people waiting in line behind him had already shooed the man away.