THE REJECT SYSTEM

CHAPTER 3

Lingtian sneered, looking at the money-grubbing man. He shook his head and looked at them with contempt.

Lin Mohan and Junmo walked around the arena, looking at the stones. Lin Mohan stopped in front of a particular stone, took out his glasses, and stared at it intently, circling it with sheer delight.

Ye Lingtian noticed Lin Mohan's excited face and decided to take a look at the stone himself. It was a high-quality Imperial Jade — the stone itself was huge, but the jade inside was just a small section of it. He smiled as he looked at it.

"Master Lin, is this stone really that valuable?" Junmo asked, plainly excited.

"Yes, if I'm right, it should be high-quality Imperial Jade."

"Really?" Su Wanqing asked excitedly. "We can use this to impress the Xie heiress."

Junmo nodded with great satisfaction. "I think this stone is enough to crush all of Lingtian's trashy stones," he said. "I'll take it."

"Sir, this stone is one million yuan," the seller said with a flattering smile.

"I'll take it."

"You can have it cut over there," the seller said.

Lin Mohan and Junmo marched toward the cutter as the seller wheeled the large stone after them.

"Lingtian, you'd better just give up."

"Well, you're about to run into a loss — don't say I didn't warn you."

"Are you underestimating me?" Lin Mohan asked, looking at Lingtian with pure rage.

"You're trying to curse our stone!" Su Wanqing flared up.

The commotion drew the attention of others.

"Every word I said is true, and there's absolutely no curse in my words," Lingtian explained.

"Haha, boy, I can tell you're just here to stir up trouble. Seems I should teach you a lesson so you know who I am," Lin Mohan scoffed. "Cut the stone."

The cutter's blade sliced through the middle of the stone with precision — only to find nothing.

"Don't cry later when your trashy stones can't even produce a single line of green," Su Wanqing shouted, while Lingtian just looked at her like she was a clown.

"Um, sir, the stone is empty," the cutter cut in.

"What? That can't be," Junmo shouted, running toward the block. He grabbed a bucket and doused the stone with water, but it stayed lifeless — not a hint of green.

"Master Lin, didn't you say this was high-quality Imperial Jade?" Junmo shouted.

"It was supposed to be. Let them cut it again," Lin Mohan said hurriedly, defending himself.

The cutter pressed the blade down again and cut. After the second cut, only a small corner showed a trace of green, about the size of a pebble.

"No, this can't be," Lin Mohan shouted, shaking his head repeatedly.

"That's it? It's not even enough for a ring," someone said from the crowd.

"If sold, maybe fifty thousand yuan at most," an expert said, shaking his head.

"I told you you'd run into a loss," Lingtian said, watching the despair spread across Chu Junmo's face.

"At least it's worth fifty thousand yuan — what can your trashy stone even cut? In the end, you're the one who'll be kneeling to us," Su Wanqing shouted at Lingtian, and Junmo, as if grasping at hope, snorted in agreement.

Lingtian didn't bother arguing with them. He simply turned to the cutter and told him to cut.

"What could those stones possibly bring out?"

"Yeah, trash is trash."

"Lingtian, just kneel and apologize instead of stressing all of us out," Su Wanqing scoffed.

"Yeah, it's ridiculous — even Master Lin makes mistakes, but he's out here claiming all his stones are good."

"Yeah, wishful thinking."

The blade came down on the first stone.

"High-quality Imperial Jade!" the cutter shouted with excitement.

"What? That's not possible," Lin Mohan shouted.

"Are you sure?" Su Wanqing asked.

"Of course — and it's the purest kind."

"Cut the next one, I don't believe it," Junmo shouted.

"Heavenly Jade," the cutter shouted. The crowd gasped in surprise.

An old man rushed forward and examined the stone with something close to reverence. "I never thought I'd see a Heavenly Jade before I die."

"Cut the next one," Lingtian said, completely unfazed.

"Imperial Jade."

"Blood Jade."

"Jadeite Jade." "Imperial Jade." The cutter's voice rang out again and again, shivering with excitement.

Junmo was already sitting on the floor in defeat. Amid the commotion, Lin Mohan had quietly slipped away.

The last stone was about to be cut, but Lingtian stopped the cutter.

"Master Ye, why don't you want the last one cut?" the old man asked.

"I don't want to sell this one. I want it made into a necklace for my mother," Lingtian replied.

"Young man, how about you sell me these stones for a hundred million yuan, plus a twenty percent profit share on the jewelry made from them?" the old man proposed, barely containing his excitement.

"Oh my goodness, this young man just became a millionaire," someone gasped.

"That's an enormous amount."

"I agree — but this stone," Lingtian said, "you'll have to make into jewelry for my mother."

"Sure. Let them cut it," the old man said.

"It's… it's…" the cutter stammered.

"Emperor Jade," the old man finished for him.

"That's not possible," an expert shouted. "Emperor Jade is rare — hardly ever seen."

"Young man, can I convince you to reconsider selling this one?" the old man asked.

"No. It's for my mother."

The old man nodded, then quickly sent the money to Lingtian, and they exchanged numbers.

Chu Junmo, knowing he'd been defeated, tried to slip away — but was stopped.

"Don't you owe me something, Young Master Chu?" Lingtian asked, teasing.

"You... you're being unreasonable," Chu Junmo shouted, barely concealing his anger.

"Lingtian, don't be unreasonable. Even if you win the bet, do you know who Chu Junmo is?" Su Wanqing shouted.

"Yeah, that's true. A small fry can't become a phoenix overnight."

"Yeah, a good family name is worth something," another person chimed in.

"What does the Chu family have to do with me?" Lingtian asked, looking at Chu Junmo with disgust. "A man should keep his promise. You made a bet, so you should honor it — or is Young Master Chu a woman?" Lingtian asked, a gleam of excitement in his eyes.

"Lingtian, you're going too far. Do you know the Chu family can make you disappear for good?" Chu Junmo shouted, trying to save face.

"I'd like to see how the Chu family plans to make him disappear. Is all of Jiangnan City controlled by the Chu family? What audacity," the old man shouted.

"You — old man, you're the reason any of this happened. If you hadn't gotten involved, none of this would be happening," Chu Junmo shouted.

"The Chu family is certainly bold."

"Secretary Yang, call Chu Jing for me right now," the old man said to a young man standing nearby, someone nobody had even noticed until then.

"Old man, stop bragging like you actually know my father," Chu Junmo sneered.

"Oh, really? You'll know soon enough whether I have the ability or not," the old man said with a smile.

Secretary Yang brought the phone over to the old man.

"Chu Jing, I see your family's been having it easy lately."

"Old Man Meng, we wouldn't dare," Chu Jing's voice came through, clear and loud.

Chu Junmo's knees buckled, and he nearly collapsed to the ground.

"Well, your son seems to think otherwise."

"Junmo, what the hell have you been doing out there? I told you to find a good stone to make jewelry for Young Miss Xie. What are you up to?" Chu Jing's voice boomed across the room.

"Dad, that's not true, I was trying—"

"Shut up. Is Old Man Meng lying? You'd better fix your mistakes, or don't bother coming home," Chu Jing shouted, and hung up.

"Old Man Meng, I didn't know it was you. I'm sorry," Chu Junmo shouted, bowing repeatedly.

"So, about the bet," Old Man Meng asked, looking at the miserable Chu Junmo.

With shaking hands, Chu Junmo transferred another hundred million yuan to Lingtian, then practically sprinted away the moment the payment went through.

"Thank you for today, Old Man Meng. I'll remember this favor," Lingtian said, bowing slightly.

"Good, very good, boy. I knew I wasn't wrong about you."

Old Man Meng took an invitation card from his breast pocket and handed it to Lingtian. "There's an antique exhibition here next week. I hope you can come as a consultant."

"I will," Lingtian answered, pocketing the invitation.

Old Man Meng nodded, pleased, and left with his secretary.

"Old Man Meng, why bother inviting that boy? He looks too young, and too poor," Secretary Yang asked once they were in the car.

"Secretary Yang, what have you learned from following me all these years? Do you think you can measure a person's worth by their looks?"

"I know, but don't you think he looks too young to be an expert?"

"Do you think luck alone can produce eight high-quality Imperial Jades, one Heavenly Jade, and one Emperor Jade? I think he's a very low-key master who's hidden himself among mortals. Something must have happened to bring him out today. We need to get close to him if we want to survive the coming changes," Old Man Meng said, looking out the car window.

"That bastard Lingtian made me lose face today. I'm going to deal with him," Chu Junmo said through gritted teeth.

"Don't worry, a little money doesn't make him special. He thinks Old Man Meng actually respects him — he's nothing but a fool," Su Wanqing chimed in.

Chu Junmo took out his phone and made a call.

"Big brother, I've been bullied. I want you to avenge me. Okay?" He ended the call with a cruel smile playing on his lips.

*Ding. Host has acquired two hundred million yuan with the Eye of the God. You are hereby gifted two high-grade martial manuals, four supreme elixirs, and fifty thousand points in reserve.*

Lingtian's head was still buzzing. Two hours ago he'd been wondering where to find two million yuan to pay off his debt — now he had two hundred million. What the hell was going on?