47: Ghostly Jade Spinning Ball

Qin Yun smiled faintly, not worried in the slightest about the outcome of the competition.

"Master Li, don't worry about what I think. I have full confidence in you; just focus on your carving."

Could something carved by a machine even be considered a work of art?

Qin Yun had immense confidence in Master Li. As for these flashy, superficial things...

He didn't take them to heart at all.

If machine-carved crafts were truly as impressive as Conrad claimed...

Why would he go to such great lengths to promote them?

Besides, without a master's heart and soul poured into the carving, why would these identical pieces be worth anything?

Thus, Conrad's company was just trying to ride on someone else's coattails, using precision machine tools as a mere gimmick.

This man wanted to find a pushover to bully to promote their new product.

But he didn't know how formidable Master Li was; Conrad had picked the hardest rock.

In the end, Conrad's carving competition would surely end in utter defeat.

However, being able to compete alongside Master Li was already Conrad's greatest honor.

The ignorant crowd present was also lucky enough to witness the top-tier craftsmanship of a Sculpting Master on-site!

Qin Yun saw Master Li's eyes shining brightly. He spoke a sentence, and without waiting for an answer...

The man's entire spirit and focus were immediately poured into the carving.

He knew that to defend the honor of Great Xia's carving, Master Li would surely exceed his usual performance.

And carve a masterpiece the likes of which the world had never seen!

Seeing the old man carving with his head down and not saying a word, the surrounding crowd grew annoyed and couldn't help but start mocking him.

"What are you dallying for? You should have just admitted defeat sooner!"

"Do Great Xia people think that losing after a long time is honorable? This is just wasting everyone's time. Great Xia people are truly barbaric, lacking even the slightest sense of time!"

"I thought the Great Xia people had some skill, but what's there to carve on a small stone ball? Even if you carved for a hundred years, it wouldn't compare to a machine-carved craft!"

"I think this old man is a fool too, still clinging to old techniques. What good can be carved with such crude tools?"

"Are all Great Xia people like this, stagnant and clinging to outdated technology? No wonder Great Xia is still a barbaric society!"

"Hurry up, you old fogey, just give up!"

"Exactly. You're going to lose anyway. Dragging it out like this only shames the people of Great Xia."

The onlookers found it boring. Had it not been for the security guards, they might have even come up to kick over the Great Xia old man's pile of junk tools just to end this dull competition.

The Experts sitting on the platform were also becoming somewhat impatient.

They could only vaguely see an old man constantly turning a stone over and over, and they assumed he was intentionally stalling.

"This competition is completely meaningless. If I had known, I wouldn't have come!"

"Yes, there's no suspense at all. Could this unknown old man from Great Xia really be better than a machine?"

"The Great Xia people are so arrogant and hypocritical. Knowing defeat is certain, this old man is stalling for time, waiting until everyone gets impatient and leaves so the outcome of the match won't matter!"

"That's how shameless Great Xia people are; they won't admit their skills are inferior!"

"When I get back, I will definitely record this hateful and ugly side of Great Xia so everyone can see their true colors and avoid being fooled in the future!"

"Sigh, a shameless old man is invincible. Great Xia people just love to exploit loopholes. If only we had set a time limit; this wait is far too boring!"

...The Experts on the stage whispered incessantly among themselves.

Their words showed they had no faith in the old man from Great Xia whatsoever.

Ten minutes later, Li Zhengde's carving was finally finished.

After rinsing it with clean water, the true appearance of the carved object was revealed.

A crystal-clear, exquisite jade sphere appeared in Li Zhengde's hand.

He shook his head with some dissatisfaction.

Although he had performed at his highest level during this carving...

...he had been short of money for the past decade or so.

The jade used was of the ice-grade, not as transparent as the glass type, so it hadn't reached the optimal effect.

However, this was still infinitely superior to anything carved by a machine!

He had absolute confidence in defeating Conrad!

The surrounding people saw that the old man only had a single jade ball in his hand, and even he was shaking his head in dissatisfaction.

This meant the Great Xia people were doomed to lose!

"Haha, you're killing me! The Great Xia guy spent all that time just to carve this thing?"

"This jade ball isn't even as smooth as something I could polish with sandpaper. What's there to carve? Great Xia people just can't do it!"

"I thought the Great Xia people were being mysterious because they had something good, but it's just a stone ball?"

"Do the Great Xia people have no shame at all? I don't think we even need to compare; they should just pack up and leave in disgrace!"

The Experts on the stage hadn't expected much from the Great Xia old man to begin with.

Hearing the audience's comments, they felt there was nothing left to judge.

"Like I said, this unknown old man from Great Xia has no skill; he's just putting on an act. He's definitely going to lose!"

"The Great Xia guy spent ages just to make this? Doesn't he feel embarrassed?"

"Great Xia people are all like this. They lack strength but love to save face, and in the end, they just end up looking like fools!"

...Seeing the reactions of the audience and the Experts, Conrad felt reassured. He was sure to win this time, and he had achieved his intended goal.

Looking at the display stand filled with crafts, a confident smile appeared on his face.

Not only would he be able to sell more crafts this time...

...but he could also trample on Great Xia's pride to launch his new brand with a bang and break into the vast Great Xia market.

The old and young pair from Great Xia would surely become sinners of their nation, but he didn't care about their fate at all.

Facing everyone's doubts, Li Zhengde didn't panic in the least.

He used deerskin to wipe the water stains off the exquisite jade sphere, then took out a red string, threaded it through a small hole inside the ball, and tied it.

Holding one end of the red string, he let go of the jade ball.

It was as if gravity had no effect on the exquisite jade sphere, as it descended at a slow pace.

The layers of the carved jade ball began to rotate, emitting a pleasant sound.

As the jade ball's descent speed increased, the sound transformed in a myriad of ways—it was truly magical!

When the jade ball reached the bottom, the layers were still spinning, though the sound had become much quieter.

Just then, a breeze blew by, and the jade ball actually produced a soft, melodious sound.

Everyone present was stunned.

The jade ball refracted a warm light, shining brilliantly in mid-air.

It could even emit different pleasant sounds—was this magic?

How could a hand-carved stone ball have such an effect?

No one understood what was happening; they stared at the magical jade ball, speechless.

The Experts on the stage never expected this.

How could this jade ball carved by someone from Great Xia be so magical?

Emitting different sounds was the result of meticulous design. The carving had to be precise to the smallest degree, and one needed a profound understanding of airflow to achieve such an effect.

How could an old man achieve this using only simple tools?

At that moment, a Staff Member on the field pointed the camera at the exquisite jade sphere.

The jade ball, with its dozens of layers, was clearly magnified on the screen.

Only then did everyone see clearly what the Great Xia old man had carved.

The jade ball was actually composed of layer upon layer, appearing to have at least twenty or thirty layers.

And each layer featured different carvings.

Although carving on such tiny, internal jade spheres was extremely difficult, the figures and landscapes on them were lifelike.

Only now did everyone realize the level of difficulty of what the old man had carved.

This jade ball was a work of uncanny craftsmanship, seemingly impossible for a human to complete!

In the Experts' section, a grey-haired, knowledgeable old man suddenly slammed the table, stood up, and cried out in shock.

"This is the pinnacle of hollow-out technique—the ghostly work jade rolling ball!"