No one was a fool.
At least, in the current jewelry shop, no one was a fool.
Martin, Qian Ning, and the four assistants understood perfectly well that if Richard crushing the gemstone earlier had not proved anything, then summoning flames out of thin air now was more than enough to reveal his identity.
Aside from having official backing, Richard was clearly also a genuine Wizard.
A Wizard!
If they truly angered Richard, he might very well blast the entire shop flat.
"Gulp!"
Qian Ning swallowed hard, forcing himself to maintain a smile as he watched Richard manipulate the flames. The four assistants, meanwhile, nearly bent themselves double, heads lowered as they continuously wiped the counter. Every so often, they would sneak a glance at Richard, only to swiftly avert their eyes as though the flames in his hand had burned them.
Richard paid little attention to Qian Ning and the four assistants' reactions. Most of his focus was on the flames roasting the gemstone powder.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"
The sky-blue flames rose continuously, quickly heating up to 1,650 degrees Celsius. The gemstone powder gradually turned into a molten substance, like thick, colorful sludge. The molten material flowed slowly, suspended more than a meter above the ground under Richard's spell control, without falling.
With a flip of his hand, a transparent glass bottle suddenly appeared in Richard's palm, filled with clear water.
Ignoring Qian Ning and the four assistants' widened eyes, he pulled out the stopper and poured the water onto the molten material.
"Sizzle!"
A great cloud of white steam rose. The molten substance cooled rapidly, its surface turning grayish white as it entered a cooled, solidified state.
With another flick of his hand, Richard put away the transparent glass bottle of water, then took out a bottle of