48: Pinnacle of craftsmanship

The audience and Experts in the exhibition hall had no idea what this elderly man was talking about.

They had heard of hollow-out techniques before.

But what exactly was a ghostly work jade rolling ball?

Could this small ball really be the peak of hollow-out carving?

However, seeing how miraculous the jade ball was...

What this Expert said was probably correct.

The white-haired Expert took a deep breath.

"I never imagined I would encounter the legendary ghostly work jade rolling ball here. It's truly inconceivable!"

"This piece is a masterpiece among masterpieces even for a ghostly work jade rolling ball. Even a master in this field would need many attempts to carve something so perfect. This old gentleman's carving skills are truly superb!"

Seeing that everyone was confused, the Expert picked up the microphone and stood in front of the screen to explain to them.

"A ghostly work jade rolling ball is judged by the number of layers and the craftsmanship on them."

"This master has carved at least fifty layers. Completing this in such a short time is simply impossible."

"You can see the carving on the second layer; the figures are lifelike, as if they're walking out of the picture. This master-level carving is something machine carving simply cannot compare to."

"The third layer has mountains and rivers, full of artistic conception, containing the essence of landscape painting. The fourth layer has two lines of poetry, with every stroke of each character clearly visible. It is truly divine craftsmanship..."

Hearing this highly respected man finish speaking, everyone was shocked beyond measure.

Only then did they gain a general understanding of the wonders of the ghostly work jade rolling ball.

They felt extremely ashamed of their previous mockery.

To have insulted a Sculpting Master because of prejudice—they truly deserved to be damned.

"The ghostly work jade rolling ball is just too incredible. Machine-carved crafts are completely incomparable."

"What kind of monster is this? To think such a complex thing can produce different sounds, and it was carved by a single person. It's truly a miracle!"

"If this were in ancient times, it would be a priceless treasure that could be exchanged for a whole city!"

"This old man is too amazing. Xia Country's carving techniques really have their unique merits!"

...The crowd looked at this miraculous Xia Country elder, feeling a bit conflicted in their hearts.

How could this person possess such god-like skill? In the field of carving, he could rival the Creator.

Their American carving techniques were indeed inferior.

Conrad saw that everyone present was full of praise for the Xia Country elder's ghostly work jade rolling ball.

He was extremely unconvinced.

It was just a simple stone ball; what was there to boast about?

He took the microphone and walked to the front of the stage, looking disdainfully at the ghostly work jade rolling ball in Li Zhengde's hand.

"What's so great about a simple broken ball? Xia Country uses this backward manual carving technique, but with a machine scan, we can replicate an even better metal sphere!"

"And the level of exquisiteness would be a thousand times better than this!"

Conrad didn't believe that an old man who set up a street stall could have any outstanding skills.

This was likely an obsolete, eccentric trick; his team and machines should be able to replicate it quickly.

Hearing Conrad's nonsensical words, both Li Zhengde and Qin Yun smiled disdainfully.

This was experience accumulated by ancestors over thousands of years, combined with Li Zhengde's decades of day-in, day-out research. How could a mere machine replicate it?

Neither of them deigned to speak to this ignorant fool.

The white-haired Expert was speechless upon hearing Conrad's arrogant words.

He stood up to explain: "The ghost craft ball is not as simple as it looks."

"With every additional layer, the design and carving difficulty increases exponentially. Without professional techniques, it's impossible to carve."

"This Grandmaster has carved fifty or sixty layers. Many masters in this field can't even replicate thirty-some layers with a machine, let alone what this person has done."

Seeing that this Expert had some insight, Li Zhengde gently rotated the ghostly work jade rolling ball.

On the screen, they saw the jade ball rotating layer by layer like waves, producing a faint sound of wind. It was very miraculous.

Many people stared intently at the screen, their eyes dazzled, but they were unwilling to blink even once.

When they discovered there were over sixty layers, they were shocked into silence.

Even if Hephaestus, the God of Craftsmen, descended, he probably wouldn't have such skill!

Conrad still refused to give up.

He also followed along and counted the layers, but he didn't take it to heart.

"When it comes to precision machining, humans certainly can't compare to machines."

"As long as my machine scans it once, I can easily produce a metal ball with hundreds of layers!"

"We only find it strange because it's our first time seeing such a thing. My machine can easily replicate this backward manual technique of the Xia Country Monkey!"

After Conrad finished speaking, he walked directly up to Li Zhengde.

"Old man, do you dare let me replicate it?"

"This kind of barbaric and backward Xia Countrys Technology is not worth mentioning. You should understand the power of science and technology!"

Seeing that Conrad still wouldn't give up, Li Zhengde handed the ghostly work jade rolling ball directly to him.

"Study it however you like. I'm afraid your broken machine won't be able to replicate something so exquisite."

Li Zhengde had no intention of hiding anything; his goal this time was to make a name for Xia Country's carving techniques—the more high-profile, the better.

Furthermore, he didn't believe a machine could restore the carving techniques of the ghostly work jade rolling ball just by scanning it.

There were many tricks inside, as well as his own unique skills.

If even one part was wrong, all previous efforts would be wasted. It was simply impossible to restore.

Conrad joyfully took the ghostly work jade rolling ball and shook it before his eyes, failing to see any high-difficulty craftsmanship.

Isn't it just precision machining? Machines are best at that; it's nothing special.

He wasn't a reckless person either; he had already contacted his company's design team to strive to replicate the technique.

He didn't believe that professionals wouldn't be able to figure out this simple little ball!

Under a laser microscope, a 3D diagram was quickly displayed.

Seeing the complex carvings on every layer, everyone was dumbfounded.

The level of complexity made it hard to believe it was completed by a pair of hands.

And in such a short time, with such simple tools—it was a miracle!

The company's design team couldn't understand the carvings on the small ball at all.

Many elements were contradictory and impossible to complete within such a tiny framework.

While the machine was analyzing, a bunch of garbled code appeared on the display screen, and it soon crashed due to an operational overload.

Conrad restarted the machine, unwilling to give up, but found he still couldn't calculate the process.

The company's design team had no solution either, but he refused to quit and directly started the processing program.

Three minutes later, a metal ball was spat out from the workshop.

Conrad picked up the metal ball happily.

To his surprise, he found that the metal ball only had the outer three or four layers processed, while the inside was a mass of metal scraps.

The surrounding people had thought the machine would have some capability, but they didn't expect it could only carve the simplest three or four layers, far from this sixty-some layer ghostly work jade rolling ball.

Everyone was stunned; it truly was the peak of hollow-out carving, the ghostly work jade rolling ball.

It was simply not something a machine could restore.

Holding the ugly metal ball, Conrad's hands trembled uncontrollably, and his face suddenly turned pale.

"Impossible, this is simply impossible!"

"This is the world's most precise carving lathe. With the developments the company made on the machine tool, it can carve any craft in the world, let alone this hand-carved small ball."

After Conrad finished speaking, he started the machine once again.

The result was the same; even the fourth layer of the metal ball could not be restored, and the remaining carving could not proceed.

"My machine is the most advanced; it will definitely be able to restore this broken ball."

"Xia Country's simple manual carving is nothing to worry about; this is just a temporary glitch. The machine will definitely be able to finish it."

"This machine is definitely better than manual labor..."

Conrad looked a bit anxious, frantically pressing the start button while constantly muttering to himself.

He didn't continue speaking as a bunch of garbled code suddenly appeared on the display screen.

The machine began to flash red lights continuously, followed by a piercing, sharp sound.

Then, a loud roar sounded, and the machine room with bulletproof glass suddenly went pitch black.

Seeing this, everyone in the exhibition hall was dumbfounded.

The faint-hearted were even so scared that they crawled on the ground, trembling.