The crowd stared, dumbfounded, and then puzzled—was it truly just an ordinary stone? When he first mentioned the gift stone was barely worth mentioning, everyone had assumed it might be some naturally formed strange rock. While that would still be somewhat meager, it would at least be an object, qualify as a token of respect... But no one expected this young lad to actually pull out a stone so common it looked like it had been tossed on the roadside, one no one would spare a glance for... And it was so small, what good was it! Pfft, if it were bigger, it would just take up space, even more useless! Is this kid deliberately causing trouble? Some thought, harboring malicious glee.
“It… it really is… just a stone… Hahahaha…”
Qiu Peng was stunned for a moment, then suddenly burst into booming laughter, doubling over until tears and snot streamed down his face. “Mo Junye… Hahaha, you country bumpkin are truly desperate for money. At the Manor Lord’s birthday feast, you actually presented just a stone! You have some nerve… Hah… I am truly impressed by your audacity. What kind of gift is this? Do you take us for blind fools?…”
“Whether you are blind or not, I don’t know, but I really like this stone. It’s such a beautiful stone!”
Miao Xiaomiao strolled forward, her eyes locked on the palm of Jun Moxie’s hand, her gaze full of genuine adoration and contentment. “It’s too beautiful, Junye. May I touch it?”
Miao Xiaomiao had already made up her mind: as soon as Mo Junye handed it to her, she would tuck it straight into her bosom and immediately declare this stone was her most cherished gift... After all, no one could possibly retrieve it from her chest, and besides, had she lied? A gift presented by Mo Junye was naturally the best one...
“Miss Miao! Little Miao sister! You... how can you twist the facts?” Qiu Peng cried out in utter exasperation.
They failed to notice that the moment Mo Junye produced the stone, all the experts above the Saint Emperor level, including several High-Tier Saint Venerables, did not question or mock like the rest. Instead, they all shot to their feet simultaneously, a wolfish, brilliant green light igniting in their eyes.
Every peak expert present stared fixedly at the stone!
That gaze, filled with greedy possessiveness, was so intense it seemed they wanted to swallow the stone whole right then and there! Yes, that was the thought in everyone’s mind: to devour this stone in a single gulp!
It seemed even Miao Jingyun had forgotten how to speak, his mouth slightly agape, eyes fixed on the stone. After a long moment, he slowly raised his head to look at Jun Moxie.
“Elder Miao, may I ask if this stone, presented as a birthday gift, meets with your approval?”
Jun Moxie smiled faintly, then casually tossed the stone into the air, sending it toward the banquet table laden with birthday gifts in the center of the hall...
“Don’t throw it! Be careful!”
“Damn it! Careful!”
In an instant, over a hundred voices cried out in alarm. The faces of every expert present, including all the Saint Venerables, turned ashen white at that moment!
Figures blurred into a flurry of motion; the hall was instantly filled with whistling winds and dancing white shadows, punctuated by one conspicuous splash of red—that was the birthday star himself, the old master Miao Jingyun!
Every peak expert present simultaneously activated their ultimate movement techniques, diving toward the direction where the stone was descending. One Saint Venerable, finding Qiu Peng obstructing the space near the table, kicked him away with a loud thump!
Another Saint Venerable standing just behind the table reached out, sweeping everything off the surface with a crash. Many gifts shattered, and the ‘Thousand-Year Longevity Pine’ instantly snapped into several pieces... Pine needles scattered everywhere!
But that Saint Venerable showed not an iota of concern. With a swift flash, he shot forward, his hand reaching out to intercept the small, falling stone.
At this moment, all the peak experts present had eyes only for that tiny stone! Nothing else mattered!
A chaotic flurry of flying figures settled down!
A Fourth-Tier Saint Venerable stood at the center, cradling the small stone in his hand as if guarding a priceless treasure. All around him stood Saint Emperors and Saint Venerables, each eyeing the stone in his palm with undisguised menace. They likely refrained from immediate snatching only due to caution regarding this elder’s formidable strength, and the fear of accidentally damaging the stone.
The Fourth-Tier Saint Venerable who had seized it stared fixedly at his palm, swallowing hard with a distinct gulp. As the saliva went down his throat, a wave of matching gulps echoed in unison from all the peak experts...
After a long, long silence, the Fourth-Tier Saint Venerable slowly raised his head, then immediately bowed it again, his eyes reluctantly glued to the stone in his palm. He spoke in a voice dry with heartache: “Since… since this is the birthday gift… sent by that... that person… please… please allow the Manor Lord to accept it...”
As he spoke, his lips trembled uncontrollably, and his body shook. He looked on the verge of tears from profound sorrow. Such an unparalleled treasure—no, this was a celestial marvel rarely seen in billions of years on this mortal realm! To have to hand it over from his own grasp—the grief in this Saint Venerable’s heart felt like mountains collapsing...
Miao Jingyun let out a breath, chuckling. He took the stone with extreme reverence. “Ha! What you say makes sense. This is indeed the gift young Mo gave this old man, so I shall shamelessly accept it... Haha...”
As he spoke, he tucked the stone into his robes with lightning speed, as if afraid someone might try to snatch it away... Simultaneously, a flush of excitement rose on the old man’s face...
“Manor Lord... this... that...”
The Fourth-Tier Saint Venerable who had just surrendered the stone performed an action that seemed contemptible to the younger generation but elicited envy from all the powerhouses: he immediately brought both hands to his mouth, licking his tongue clean with meticulous care, panting heavily...
This action resembled someone on Earth taking a hit of white powder—and it carried the same expression of ecstatic, heavenly bliss...
Only then did he stammer: “...Manor Lord... ahem... this old man has been stuck at this bottleneck for four hundred years... I wonder... I wonder... ahem ahem ahem... if I could be granted just a pinch of the powder... ahem ahem ahem...”
The moment he uttered these words, every Saint Venerable expert glared at him in fury! How shameless! You’ve only been stuck for four hundred years! Which one of us hasn't been bottlenecked for centuries? Some for millennia! What does four hundred years even count as? A pinch of powder, you say so easily! How much powder could there possibly be on such a tiny stone? Why don't you just rob someone instead?
“Hmm... although this object is Mo kid’s congratulatory gift to this old man, since it has appeared within the Illusionary Manor, it must be handled fairly... Ahem, we will convene the Elder Council immediately after today ends to discuss the specific distribution methods...”
Miao Jingyun’s face twitched, tinged with visible pain. Looking at the expectant gazes all around, Miao Jingyun felt deeply uncomfortable: Damn it! What kind of people are these! This is clearly a birthday gift meant for me, the old man... it belongs to me, and me alone... Now it’s being turned into public property? That Mo kid is also to blame; why show off such a good thing in such a grand public setting? If he had given it to me privately, think of all the trouble I would have saved!
This scene left those of lower cultivation levels in the hall exchanging bewildered glances! What was going on? Had the entire leadership of the Illusionary Manor gone mad?
Especially Qiu Peng, the young master who had been inexplicably kicked aside and was now limping back—he was completely dumbfounded! What… what was happening? Li Xingyue and the others looked utterly perplexed...
This was too ridiculous, wasn't it? Was all this necessary? All this effort, just to secure the marriage alliance between Little Miao sister and Mo Junye? So many powerful elders putting on an act like this! Fighting over that seemingly insignificant stone? This... this was over the top!
“Manor Lord... this... this stone... it’s just an utterly ordinary stone! It’s one thing for Little Miao sister to misrepresent the facts—perhaps she was misled by someone—but all of you are peak figures of our age, how can you openly speak such falsehoods? I am unconvinced!” Qiu Peng cried out unjustly. Having seen his hope of winning the beauty within grasp, he never expected such a turn of events. Qiu Peng’s mind was in chaos, and he shouted out recklessly.
“Silence!”
Over a hundred voices roared in unison. The surging rage that converged in that instant, like an erupting mountain torrent, was clearly and solely aimed at Young Master Qiu Peng!
The combined furious roar of over a hundred Saint Emperors and Saint Venerables struck him with immense force. Boom! Qiu Peng was sent flying as if carried by clouds and mist... A faint thud was heard long afterward...
Qiu Chengyun, the Qiu Family Head, far from defending his grandson, also wore an expression of anger. The loudest voice in that mighty collective shout of ‘Silence’ actually came from Family Head Qiu himself!
At the same time, countless looks of disdain and mockery shot from all directions, focusing on the elder Qiu Chengyun. Old Master Qiu hung his head in deep shame. Truly embarrassing... Ignorance should at least be accompanied by common sense; a lack of common sense should be tempered by insight. Even if he possessed neither, couldn't he have just kept quiet like everyone else? Why did he have to shout out like that? Well, now the face of the Qiu family, thanks to that single shout, has been utterly stripped away...
Miao Xiaomiao was also stunned into silence by this sudden development, her small mouth wide open. After a long while, her look of profound shock shifted, fixing upon Jun Moxie’s face, heavy with intense questioning.
Recommending a new book: Prosperous Official Merchant by Qiyu Ju, a God-level author on Qidian. Book ID: [Insert ID]. It tells the story of a once supreme prodigy who is reborn and forges a path as a prosperous official merchant! Qiyu Ju is someone everyone should be familiar with, the author of Official Voice. Hehe, Qiyu Ju’s writing is always steady and mature, and his language is witty and humorous—a truly rare gem. Go take a look; I believe you won’t be disappointed. x To be continued. For the story’s continuation, please log in.