Trap of Unknown Materials

Five minutes later, Liao Feijun returned with a gloomy face, his teeth gnashing.

His chest was soaked with red wine, making him look extremely disheveled.

"Ning Xueshi!"

He viciously chewed on the name, "I originally thought it was better to resolve enmity than to create it, hoping to dissolve the grudges of the older generation through interactions between us younger ones. I didn't expect you to be so uncooperative! And that Meng kid, living in public housing, probably never even seen an elevator, yet he dares to fight me, Liao Feijun?"

"Jun Shao! Jun Shao!"

Several colourfully dressed men and women who had come with him saw the conflict and hurriedly tried to dissuade him, "Today's guests are all influential figures, we can't openly fight. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future."

Liao Feijun took a deep breath, "Don't worry, getting physical with this kid would only dirty my hands. Isn't he Ning Shewo's newly accepted disciple? There will be plenty of ways to make him lose face later!"

On the other side of the trade fair, Ning Xueshi apologized to Meng Chao in a flustered manner, "I'm sorry, this Liao Feijun is just a madman, don't pay him any attention."

Meng Chao said, "I'm fine, but you were quite fierce, throwing red wine all over him."

Ning Xueshi's face flushed red. She hadn't originally intended to go so far. After all, they were all in the Harvester circle, and no matter how big the private grudges, it was never good to completely fall out.

But having just discussed noble topics like contributing to society with an extraordinary man like Meng Chao, who was indifferent to fame and fortune, she suddenly encountered a wankuzidi like Liao Feijun pestering her. Ning Xueshi felt that even her own evaluation in Meng Chao's eyes had been lowered.

She was both angry and anxious, which was why she threw the wine.

Fortunately, the trade fair officially began, diverting everyone's attention.

Various bizarre and rare materials opened Meng Chao's eyes and stimulated the restless fragments of his past life's memories.

With his current physical fitness, there was no need to buy too high-end rare materials for refining medicine, just feast his eyes.

On the other hand, the Crystallized Nerve Ball, which Ning Shewo had tried his best to sell, actually fetched 1.33 million, two or three times higher than the market price, much to Meng Chao's delight.

With a large sum of money in hand, he also had the idea of finding a bargain.

However, everyone present was discerning, and the prices of each material were fair, so there was no such melodramatic event as "a material clearly worth five million being bought for fifty thousand by an unremarkable high school student with a discerning eye."

Unconsciously, two hours passed, and the trade fair entered its most lively segment.

"Esteemed experts, three days ago, our 'Blood Wolf Squad' collected an unknown material deep in the mist. We don't know its properties, uses, or how to price it, so we brought it here to ask for your expert opinions and find a buyer. If anyone can really identify it, the appraisal fee will definitely be generous."

A strong man walked to the front desk, holding a wooden tray, and said loudly.

There are countless monsters, constantly evolving and mutating. No matter how skilled a hunter is, it is impossible to recognize all the materials from the Monster Mountain Range.

Harvesters, who deal with various materials year after year, are more discerning than hunters.

Excellent harvesters are often excellent appraisers, and the trade fair gathers relatively powerful buyers and sellers. Once the value of rare materials is identified, someone often buys them on the spot.

Over time, unknown material appraisal has become the highlight of high-end trade fairs.

Of course, this is also a risky business that stakes one's reputation.

Identifying a rare material that no one knows about is certainly an opportunity to rise to fame.

But if you misjudge, it is also easy to suffer a big setback.

For a time, many harvesters and big buyers gathered around, everyone waiting with interest to see the style of the unknown material.

"Wait!"

Just then, Liao Feijun suddenly stood up, glanced at Ning Shewo with ill intentions, and raised his voice, "I know that Old Man Ning has recently taken in a disciple who will inherit his mantle, who is technically my junior uncle. I just had a few words with 'Uncle Meng' and was very inspired. Why don't we ask Uncle Meng to appraise this material, let everyone see his skills, and also see Old Man Ning's vision in choosing disciples, what do you think?"

Everyone was stunned and became interested.

"Liao Feijun, don't talk nonsense."

Ning Xueshi blushed and stood up to retort, "Mr. Meng is not my grandfather's disciple, but a friend of my grandfather's despite their age difference. He has nothing to do with the affairs of your family and mine, don't bite people indiscriminately!"

"A friend despite their age difference?"

Liao Feijun laughed, "Old Man Ning has been poisoned by snake venom, but his realm is becoming more and more transparent. He can become friends with anyone despite their age difference. This spirit of retiring bravely and being content with mediocrity is worth learning from for us younger generations."

Ning Shewo's face was as dark as water, unable to lash out.

With his identity as "White-Haired Ghost Hand," wouldn't directly confronting Liao Feijun lower his status?

Ning Xueshi was so angry that her eyebrows stood on end, and she was about to step forward to say, "What material is it? I'll appraise it."

Meng Chao had already taken a step forward: "Okay, let me take a look at this material."

He was not one to swallow his anger in the first place. This morning, the matter of Ripple Force had already filled him with anger. Since Liao Feijun was in cahoots with Gu Ming, he was certainly not a good person. Now that he was provoking him, it was just right to use this kid to vent his anger.

Besides, he would awaken many future harvesting techniques in the future, or remember the structure of future monster evolution, and he would have to make many contributions in the Harvester circle.

That would require a certain amount of fame, and a loud enough voice, for people to believe him.

"Jun Shao, right? Sorry, since you took the initiative to offer your face, it would be too impolite of me not to step on it a couple of times," Meng Chao thought.

Ning Xueshi couldn't stop him. Meng Chao strode onto the stage, calmly accepting the baptism of gazes from many experts.

His confidence moved the strong man from the Blood Wolf Squad. This monster hunter lifted the light gauze and respectfully said, "Mr. Meng, please take a look."

A ray of light shot straight to the ceiling, and after being refracted by the glass chandelier, the room was filled with colorful light, like shimmering seven-colored water waves.

Even the well-informed Harvesters couldn't help but gasp and tiptoe to look.

In the fluffy red velvet, lay quietly an egg-sized gem, crystal clear, layer upon layer of immersion, like a dozen rich and colorful landscape paintings, condensed into a square inch, showing different halos with different angles.

"What is this?"

"What a beautiful treasure, like the crystal nucleus of some Super Beast, but I don't know which Super Beast it is."

"The spiritual energy is so rich, it must have been condensed by a Super Beast for decades or even hundreds of years, it's very beneficial for cultivation!"

Everyone's eyes fell on Meng Chao.

Everyone was curious, what was so amazing about this little guy wearing a wrinkled high school uniform?

Meng Chao glanced at it and immediately knew what it was, and was about to speak.

But the demonic light that flashed in the depths of the crystal nucleus made his pupils shrink suddenly, and he let out a sound of "Eh."

"Could this actually be..."

Meng Chao held his breath and observed carefully, his face becoming more and more solemn.

He circled the unknown material three times, then leaned over and studied it for three minutes, and also asked Ning Xueshi to borrow a magnifying glass dedicated to appraising materials.

The more focused he looked, the more engrossed he became, it was as if he wanted to burrow into the material.

For a full five minutes, everyone grew impatient and noisy before he finally sighed and shook his head, saying, "I don't know."

A clamor erupted from the crowd. If he didn't know, why did he put on such a show, studying it for so long? Did he think the time of experts like them was worthless?

Liao Feijun even laughed out loud.

"Do you know, then?" Meng Chao glanced sideways and snorted coldly.

It wasn't him boasting.

If even he couldn't be 100% certain about this unknown material, there was no way anyone in Dragon City could know.

"I know a thing or two."

Liao Feijun was radiant with confidence as he strode onto the stage, rudely pushing Meng Chao aside. "In the depths of the mist south of Dragon City, there grows a spiritual plant called 'Single-Eyed Grass,' which is the favorite food of the local monster, the 'Golden Bristle Hyena Pig.' The Single-Eyed Grass bears fruit once every three years, and after hundreds of fruiting cycles, it produces a mutated 'Ghost Eye Fruit.' This mutated fruit is eaten by the Golden Bristle Hyena Pig but cannot be digested, so it remains in its body, becoming something like a stone.

"Originally, the Ghost Eye Fruit is mild in nature and can coexist peacefully with the digestive system. However, the Golden Bristle Hyena Pig is the favorite food of the Level 3 Super Beast, the 'Red-Tailed Golden Python.' Once the Red-Tailed Golden Python swallows a Golden Bristle Hyena Pig containing the Ghost Eye Fruit, the hyena pig is digested and absorbed, but the Ghost Eye Fruit is stimulated by the Red-Tailed Golden Python's digestive fluids, producing a new shell.

"After decades or even centuries, the Ghost Eye Fruit is refined into the Red-Tailed Golden Python's crystallized core—to use a term from Earth era mythology novels, it could be called the Red-Tailed Golden Python's inner core. At this point, it has a new name: 'Flood Dragon Eye'!

"Deputy Captain Zhao, may I ask, was this 'Flood Dragon Eye' dissected from the body of a Red-Tailed Golden Python?"

Liao Feijun asked the burly man from the Blood Wolf Squad with a smile.

The man surnamed Zhao was filled with shock and admiration, nodding repeatedly. "Jun Shao is absolutely correct, not a single word is wrong. This crystallized core was indeed obtained when we hunted a Red-Tailed Golden Python. Near its nest, we also found many remnants of Golden Bristle Hyena Pig fur, and even large patches of 'Single-Eyed Grass'!"

Many colleagues, buyers, and sellers were greatly impressed upon hearing this.

Many had guessed that it was a python's crystallized core.

But what kind of python it was and under what circumstances it was formed, naturally no one could explain as clearly as Liao Feijun, with every detail as if he had seen it with his own eyes.

"Jun Shao is indeed Jun Shao, knowledgeable and with discerning eyes!"

"Unlike that kid, ha, not being able to identify the Red-Tailed Golden Python is one thing, but not even knowing that this is a crystallized core of a python-type Super Beast? What kind of Harvester is he?"

"Old Man Ning is really grasping at straws in his desperation, how could he find such a successor?"

"Not a successor, didn't you hear just now? They're 'old friends,' hahaha!"

Noise arose from the surroundings.

It was Liao Feijun's gang of cronies stirring up trouble.

The Ning family, grandfather and granddaughter, were so angered that their hands trembled, and they felt even more sorry for Meng Chao.

Ning Shewo glared fiercely at Ning Xueshi and said in a deep voice, "It's all because you were too impulsive, breaking ties with Liao Feijun, but dragging Little Friend Meng into this—he's just a high school student, even with all the guidance from the Fire-Passing Old Man, how could he identify all the materials in the depths of the mist? This is a big fall!"