The Grand Appraisal Duel

On the second floor of Yang's Treasure Appraisal Pavilion, sandalwood incense curled in the air.

Ning Rongrong sat in a goose-yellow dress, resting her chin on one hand while the other tapped rhythmically and listlessly against the tabletop.

Yang Fan sat opposite her, pouring himself a cup of tea at a leisurely pace, waiting for the guards to bring up the items.

Speak of the devil, and the guards soon arrived with three sandalwood boxes.

"These three treasures were just sent over by the Heaven Dou Imperial Family. Let's each pick one and see whose appraisal is more accurate," Yang Fan said, raising an eyebrow.

Hearing this, the impatient Ning Rongrong immediately sat up straight. "Fine! Do you think this young lady is afraid of you?"

Yang Fan casually opened the boxes, placing three seemingly unremarkable items on the table:

A dusty, cracked stone; a dull, lusterless black ring; and a withered, shriveled brown grass root.

"I'll pick first!"

Ning Rongrong didn't stand on ceremony. Her gaze swept over the three items before landing on the dusty stone.

She extended her fair palm, and with a thought, an exquisite and brilliant Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda instantly manifested above it.

A soft, seven-colored halo enveloped the stone. Ning Rongrong closed her eyes to sense it for a moment, then opened them with confidence.

"This stone contains an extremely pure earth-attribute soul power fluctuation. Although its exterior is wrapped in a layer of weathered rock, its essence is a rare 'Earth Vein Profound Gold Stone.' If used to forge weapons, the effect would be excellent. Furthermore, it is at least three thousand years old."

Yang Fan nodded slightly, noncommittal, before releasing his own martial soul.

A cold, ghostly light flashed across his monocle. He looked at the stone Ning Rongrong had appraised and said indifferently, "The Earth Vein Profound Gold Stone is correct, but you missed one point. There is a faint dark vein in the center of this stone—a trace of having been tempered by earth fire. Its actual value is thirty percent higher than you claimed; it belongs to the finest grade of Profound Gold Stone: 'Fire-Patterned Profound Gold'."

Ning Rongrong was startled. She hurriedly channeled her Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda to inspect it again, and sure enough, she discovered a barely perceptible crimson vein deep within the stone.

She huffed, feeling somewhat unconvinced. "Fine, you have a sharp eye! Your turn."

Yang Fan pointed to the black ring.

He adjusted his monocle, and countless fine, flowing lights rippled across the lens.

"A black iron ring with surface wear and faint residual soul power inside. It appears to be an ordinary storage soul tool left behind by some soul master, but its inner wall is engraved with a long-lost 'Spirit Gathering Array.' If I'm not mistaken, this is actually a special soul tool designed for carrying pets. It's worth a fortune."

Ning Rongrong glanced at him with surprise, then, refusing to be outdone, aimed her Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda at the withered grass root.

This time, the light of the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda became brighter than ever before.

Ning Rongrong took a deep breath, her tone carrying a hint of unconcealable pride. "The withered appearance is just a disguise. Under the sensing of my Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda, it radiates an ancient and noble life force. This is not just an ordinary grass root, but a 'Withered-Prosperous Root' that accompanies the near-extinct top-tier medicinal herb, the 'Dragon Ganoderma Leaf'! Although most of its medicinal power has been lost, it still has a chance of recovery if cultivated with special methods."

Yang Fan's hand, which was adjusting his glasses, paused slightly. Through his monocle, he indeed saw that stubborn, inextinguishable thread of cyan vitality deep within the root.

The two locked eyes, and sparks seemed to crackle in the air.

"It seems," Yang Fan said, retracting his martial soul and breaking the silence with a smile, "that this appraisal duel is a draw?"

Ning Rongrong retracted her Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda and lifted her chin haughtily, though the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl upward. "Hmph, I suppose you have some skill! But I'm taking that Withered-Prosperous Root!"

"I don't mind, but you'll have to tell those people from the Imperial Family that I am only responsible for the appraisal and collecting the fee; I don't have the rights to use the items," Yang Fan said with a shrug and a smile.

"You're quite something. The title of the second-best appraiser in Heaven Dou is well-deserved, though you're still a bit off from being the first."

As Ning Rongrong gestured with her hands, she secretly thought that Yang Fan truly possessed an extraordinary talent for appraisal and was quite knowledgeable.

The rule was for each to appraise one item, yet she had snatched two, and her appraisal of the Fire-Patterned Profound Gold had even been corrected.

Technically, she had lost, but in reality, it was a draw!

Would she, Ning Rongrong, lose? Could a master appraiser's affairs be called losing? She knew four different ways to write the word "appraisal" ever since her martial soul awakened.

There had to be a secret as to why a small treasure pavilion was favored by the Imperial Family, and her inner "little devil" nature couldn't help but want to investigate.

"This token is yours. If anyone gives you trouble, you can take this token to the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect to find me. However, from now on, any treasures you receive must be sold to us."

Recalling how her father conducted business, Ning Rongrong tried her best to act mature. Despite calling it a draw, she honored the bet and gave the token to Yang Fan.

Having read the original story, Yang Fan naturally knew her true nature. Even if he hadn't, the Ning Rongrong before him didn't seem to intend to hide it; in just a few hours, she had cycled through arrogance, haughtiness, a thirst for talent, and a facade of maturity.

He didn't actually dislike this eccentric little girl.

Though arrogant, she was sensible, had her own willfulness, and never forgot to fight for the interests of her sect.

Among the original Shrek Seven Devils, Ning Rongrong was his favorite.

Tang San's sect-first ideology was deeply rooted, and his "path to death" mantra was always on his lips; Dai Mubai's cowardice and tendency to bully the weak were etched into his bones; Ma Hongjun was driven by lust; Oscar was slightly sleazy; Xiao Wu was a pure, love-struck airhead; and Zhu Zhuqing was all chest and no brains with mediocre talent.

Ning Rongrong's only flaw was her spoiled willfulness, but that was a result of her environment and age. It was normal for a ten-year-old girl who had been pampered since childhood to be a bit willful; she would be fine once she found someone who could keep her in check later on.

Seeing the smiling look in Yang Fan's eyes, Ning Rongrong felt a sudden, inexplicable shyness.

"I don't care, I'm taking this Withered-Prosperous Root."

Flustered and embarrassed, Ning Rongrong grabbed the box containing the root and left.

Yang Fan didn't stop her; for the sake of the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect, the Imperial Family would understand.

Watching Ning Rongrong and her maid descend the stairs and depart, Yang Fan let out a slow breath.

"That little girl has quite the talent. Do you like her?"

Yang Fan couldn't help but smile at the hint of jealousy in A Yin's voice.

His values were normal, and he had no interest in a little girl; he would wait another five or six years until she had grown up.

On the Douluo Continent, people matured early due to the influence of martial souls; high-talent spirit masters were equivalent to adults in his previous life by the age of thirteen or fourteen.

However, this was limited to spirit masters. Ordinary people without spirit power still followed the normal rhythm of human development. This could be seen in the animation from his previous life, though one could not rule out the possibility that it was simply due to a lack of budget.

"Speaking of which, this ring isn't bad either. With it, I won't have to carry you around every time we go out."

Yang Fan picked up the unassuming ring and said with a smile.

"It's a pity there's no spirit pet inside. Any spirit beast pet capable of being carried around must be extraordinary. Such spirit tools capable of carrying living creatures were rare even thousands of years ago."

A Yin's gentle voice carried a hint of regret. In her memories, she had once seen a spirit master whose martial soul was a copper coin. That spirit master possessed a similar spirit tool, and their spirit pet seemed to be a powerful Behemoth.

"To gain is my fortune; to lose is my fate. Ning Rongrong truly lives up to being one of the original protagonists. Treasures that are rarely seen on ordinary days have all appeared today. I feel like my mental state is about to have another breakthrough."

With the Heart of Eros and his foresight, Yang Fan would never lack opportunities, so he appeared somewhat indifferent in this regard.