Top Grade Immortal Emperor in the Flower City

What the hell is this all about?

Before even starting the appraisal, I have to fucking kneel and admit defeat!

"Are you joking with me?" The young man took a deep breath, trying to calm his anger provoked by Ye Ling.

Ye Ling merely scoffed disdainfully: "Your grandfather's."

The young man was stunned, and that image that tortured him to no end vividly resurfaced in his mind – "Your great uncle's," "Your great uncle's" echoed in his brain once again.

"Your grandfather's! Your grandfather's! Let me tell you, playing this game with me, your little master! Your grandfather's! Your grandfather's!" The young man seemed to go mad, bellowing furiously.

This time, he swore to himself that he wouldn't be put at a disadvantage again!

Ye Ling just sneered with contempt, what poor mental quality, he got angered just like that, so he casually pointed at the young man: "Your grandfather's!"

Snort, the young man almost spat out a mouthful of old blood, his eyes wide with fear as he stared at Ye Ling: "Dare you not play with words?"

"I told you, you lost, why would I play with words with you? Just kneel, bow, and call me grandpa, that's it, why all this nonsense!" Ye Ling curled his lip and looked at the young man with indifference.

The onlookers were also stunned – this guy was way too confident! What was he even talking about? He went straight to making someone kneel and admit defeat, utterly unreasonable.

Seeing the looks from the crowd around him, the young man felt a deep sense of gratitude. Look, look, the eyes of the people are sharp.

With the thought of widespread public support, the young man steadied his mind, coughed lightly, and his expression returned to calm: "Firstly, about your coins, all of them here are counterfeit money from the Republic of China era; take a look at the patina — it's not smooth at all and lacks that sense of beauty that comes with age.

"Secondly, about your painting, I have already examined it closely. Although the paper and the painting itself are quite good, in fact, the painting is a high-quality fake," the young man spoke with conviction.

Ye Ling listened to what he said and nodded secretly. The young man's ability to discern was indeed not bad. But unfortunately, he was still too green.

"Why do you say that about the painting?" Ye Ling asked with a slight smile, thinking the kid still had some skills.

The young man looked at Ye Ling with arrogant disdain: "That painting, the paper and the painting itself don't match. It is made with an authentic ancient piece of paper, combined with a Qing Dynasty work from the Republican period, and created with exquisite craftsmanship. How should I put it – the painting simply isn't valuable, probably not even worth a thousand bucks!"

The young man spoke with logic and evidence, and many in the crowd nodded in agreement, looking at Ye Ling with mocking faces. You're going to take a fall this time, aren't you?

"Just because you say so, does it have to be right?" Ye Ling looked at the expressions of the people around him and couldn't help but sneer.

The young man smirked slightly, straightening his collar, "I'm sorry, but I am a doctoral candidate from the Department of Archaeology at Peking University and now work at the Forbidden City Restoration Center. Even some veteran appraisers would believe what I say, not some uneducated guy like you."

Wow, a doctoral candidate from the Department of Archaeology at Peking University, working at the Forbidden City Restoration Center?

A guy with real talent and learning, what a pity his character isn't that great.

The crowd around him gasped upon hearing this; a top student from Peking University – looking nationwide, these were all top-notch talents, not to mention that he also worked at the Forbidden City Restoration Center, which seemed like he had some real ability.

That thought made the onlookers turn towards Ye Ling with jeering noises; even those who enjoyed watching trouble unfold shouted at Ye Ling, daring him to kneel and admit defeat.

Ye Ling looked at the young man, then at the crowd surrounding him, shrugged his shoulders: "Is this what they all want?"

The young man said very arrogantly, "Can't help it, I have the people's support. What do you say? Ready to admit defeat?"

Ye Ling listened, then gave a cold laugh: "Your great uncle's!"

Creak, the young man's heart seemed to freeze at that moment. Your great uncle, your great uncle, your motherfucker has bullied me with your great uncle all day — oh yeah, and your grandfather's, too. Can't you change your tune?

"Let me tell you, you're definitely losing! Just concede now. If you're not convinced, go find an expert to check it out. I'll make sure you lose convincingly!" the young man said through gritted teeth, his eyes turning red as he glared at Ye Ling – he wished he could devour Ye Ling alive.

He couldn't help but recall a joke he once read online, a conversation between Buddha and the Jade Emperor.

Jade Emperor: "I reign over the Heavenly Dao!"

Buddha: You've been beaten by the monkey!

Jade Emperor: I have more subordinates than you!

Buddha: You've been beaten by the monkey!

Jade Emperor: I have a wife!

Buddha: You've been beaten by the monkey!

Jade Emperor: I've experienced 17,500 calamities!

Buddha: You've been beaten by the monkey!

Jade Emperor: Can we not talk about the monkey?

Buddha: Your sister (Yao Ji) slept with a mortal.

Jade Emperor: ...

Buddha: Your daughter (the Weaver Girl) slept with a mortal.

Jade Emperor: ...

Buddha: Your niece (the Third Holy Mother) also slept with a mortal.

Jade Emperor: Let's talk about the monkey instead...

Buddha: You've been beaten by the monkey!

Jade Emperor: I'll fuck/your mother...

What a painful realization, to be tormented to death over a single vulnerability, truly a blow to the heart and the soul.

Ye Ling couldn't help but shake his head: "You, you're still too green, truly not giving up until you're faced with the Yellow River, not shedding a tear until you see the coffin. Today I'll let you be utterly convinced in defeat! Damn it!"

"Can we not mention 'your uncle'?" The young man nearly couldn't help himself from pouncing on Ye Ling.

Ye Ling quickly waved his hands: "Oh, sorry, 'your grandfather'!"

The young man didn't speak, his eyes were like those of a crazed evil spirit, staring intensively at Ye Ling.

Ye Ling smiled and took out a copper coin from the bamboo basket. The coin was covered in verdigris, and the inscriptions on it were indiscernible.

However, as soon as Ye Ling took it out, streams of Spiritual Energy wound around his fingers. The Spiritual Energy contained the pure essence of heaven and earth, only invisible to others.

After the Spiritual Energy circled around the coin a few times, the verdigris miraculously disappeared, and to everyone else, it seemed like Ye Ling was only fiddling with the coin in his hand.

The next moment, Ye Ling looked at the copper coin in his hand, which had turned a dark copper hue, shining with a luster and exuding an ancient air of the passage of time.

The characters on the coin finally revealed themselves, four large characters that shocked the hearts of all who saw them.

The young man's eyes were about to bulge out. As soon as he saw the characters clearly, his body jolted, and he stumbled backward repeatedly as if struck by lightning.

The onlookers around them were also somewhat surprised. Seeing the young man's reaction, they took a step forward. After seeing the clear characters, they were utterly astonished.

A small copper coin lay steadily within Ye Ling's palm.

The coin, weathered by countless years, was engraved with four large characters.

Da Qi Tong Bao!