đź“– Chapter 944 - Hard-headed
Wang Baole’s words were open and aboveboard. He explained the reason why he refused and seemed completely honest and sincere. Moreover, his worries were indeed reasonable.
After all, no one knew if the existence of the seals was normal, so it was inevitable to worry that he would be targeted if it turned out that unsealing the crystals was unnecessary. If it were anyone else, they would probably also have similar thoughts.
Those who held Illusion Crystals were hesitant, but in the end, they really didn’t dare to gamble on this matter, especially when it involved the great opportunity of the Starfall Realm.
Moreover, it was just five million red crystals. Although it wasn’t a small amount, all the people here were the Chosen of their respective families and sects. It was ridiculous for them to gamble when a little money could buy surety.
This was also what Wang Baole was counting on. The reason he had talked about all of this was because he had learned a lesson from the past few times; he had to make money, but it was best to sell favors while he was at it.
So far, the effect of his words seemed to be pretty good.
Wang Baole was extremely smug internally, but he didn’t show it on his face at all. Not paying any attention to the hesitant bystanders, he sat down cross-legged and waved his hand, causing the Illusion Crystals sent by the others to float in front of him. Closing his eyes, he quickly formed a series of hand seals. In order to make things more realistic, he even split off some of his essence to create rays of light all around him, making for an impressive visual.
Just like that, Wang Baole began removing the seals on these Illusion Crystals using the rune that the paperman had taught him.
He wasn’t worried about being disturbed while breaking the seals. On the one hand, he himself remained vigilant, and on the other… If someone really tried to snatch the Illusion Crystals, the masked woman, the scholarly young man, and the others who had given him their crystals definitely wouldn’t allow it.
After all, the crystals being unsealed were their own.
Wang Baole knew this, they knew this, and all the bystanders knew this as well. Thus, everyone could only watch helplessly as Wang Baole’s momentum continued to mount and the Illusion Crystals in front of him seemed to have a veil peeled off of them at a rate visible to the naked eye. As the veil was removed, the light radiating off of them grew stronger and stronger, until finally they emitted a dazzling light like gemstones under the bright sun. At the same time, there seemed to be no more interference and they resonated strongly with the teleportation force that covered the Illusion Planet.
Although there was no rumbling or booming, everyone who saw the unsealed Illusion Crystals could feel explosions go off in their minds. Even though none of them had seen Illusion Crystals before this trial, they were still utterly certain that… this was exactly how an Illusion Crystal should look.
At the same time, it also matched their respective organizations’ records of what an Illusion Crystal looked like. Thus, those Chosen who had been hesitant to entrust their crystals to Wang Baole earlier all looked at him with burning gazes. Li Linzi was also among them, but because of his conflicts with Wang Baole, he felt even more anxious at the moment.
It actually shouldn’t have taken very long to finish unsealing the crystals, but in order to increase the effect of his performance, Wang Baole intentionally delayed it until those who hadn’t given their crystals to him grew extremely nervous. Once there was only a stick of incense’s worth of time left in the trial, Wang Baole’s eyes flew open and he waved his right hand, seemingly wiping off the final layer of dust on the Illusion Crystals in front of him. The crystals instantly sparkled and shone with an even more dazzling light than before.
“It’s done. But I can’t guarantee how long it will last. I’ve tried my best.” Wang Baole’s complexion was a little pale. With those words, he waved his hand again, and the unsealed Illusion Crystals immediately returned to their respective owners.
Before the masked woman and the others could say anything, the Chosen who hadn’t had their crystals unsealed immediately threw their Illusion Crystals over along with their red crystal cards. Li Linzi was also among them, but he subconsciously hid behind others, so as not to be seen by Wang Baole.
Originally, he hadn’t wanted to do this, but it didn’t take a genius to see the difference between the sealed and unsealed Illusion Crystals. Moreover, time was almost up, so how could he not be worried?
However, Wang Baole didn’t pick up the new Illusion Crystals or red crystal cards immediately, instead taking a deep breath and looking around.
“Have you thought about it clearly?”
“Fellow Daoist Xie, don’t hesitate and just take it. If it turns out that I didn’t need to break the seal to enter the next trial after all… It was my own decision. I won’t blame you!”
"That's right, Fellow Daoist Xie. Don't worry!"
Facing these people’s words, Wang Baole revealed a look of hesitation on his face. After a few breaths of time, he shook his head and let out a long sigh.
“Ah, forget it. Since you’re all so determined, this Xie can only do my best!” Wang Baole said emotionally. He was about to start unsealing the Illusion Crystals, but he suddenly noticed that the number was wrong. Counting the previous ones, there were only twenty-nine. He was missing one!
Naturally, he already counted his own crystal into the total. The missing Illusion Crystal belonged to someone in the crowd who didn’t ask Wang Baole to unseal it.
Wang Baole had seen this person before. It was that Brother Expert with the towering hairstyle who had been with Li Linzi and the bell-wearing girl previously.
This Brother Expert was standing among the crowd with folded arms and a hesitant look in his eyes. When he noticed Wang Baole look over at him, his eyes widened and he gave a snort.
“No need to look, I refuse!”
“You’re really hard-headed…” Wang Baole had a strange expression on his face. The other party’s behavior was putting him in a tough spot. After all, if everyone had their crystals unsealed, there would be no point of comparison. The matter of the crystals not needing to be unsealed would never be revealed.
For Wang Baole, that would be the best ending. After all, although he’d said it many times and been reassured that no one would hold a grudge, all of that was just talk. Once it was brought to light that the unsealing was unnecessary, although some people might not care, there would certainly be those who would become displeased with him and put a target on his back.
Although Wang Baole wouldn’t care too much if that happened, it would still be better to avoid it altogether. Thus, he smiled. Not only did he not reveal his true thoughts on his face, he even showed a bit of admiration.
“Fellow Daoist, it’s fate that everyone came together here. Ah, forget it, I’m already unsealing everyone else’s, so I’ll just treat it as helping a friend and unseal yours for free.” Wang Baole flashed a smile as he spoke and stretched his hand toward that Brother Expert.
When he heard these words, Brother Expert was taken aback. He took a closer look at Wang Baole and heaved a sigh of relief in his heart, thinking to himself that he had been too impulsive earlier. He only really disliked this Xie Dalu because of Li Linzi’s words, and look, hadn’t that same Li Linzi already given in?
Besides, this Xie Dalu was obviously not as money-grubbing as Li Linzi had said. And more importantly… Xie Dalu had given him plenty of face!
Although someone back in the sect had once said that he wasn’t very smart, Brother Expert thought that it wasn’t that he wasn’t intelligent but rather that he was too aloof. Thus, someone like this who gave him enough face was someone he felt he could be friends with.
With that thought in mind, he looked at Wang Baole with a different gaze than before.
“Your name is Xie Dalu, right? I’ll remember this.” Although his tone sounded aggressive, that was just how he talked. He quickly sent his Illusion Crystal over.
“Hey, this guy’s pretty straightforward…” Wang Baole blinked. He had somewhat seen through this Brother Expert’s personality, but didn’t really care. Flashing a smile, he formed a series of hand seals as he began the unsealing process.
Just like that, as everyone waited silently, an incense stick’s worth of time passed. The moment before the teleportation force on the Illusion Planet reached its peak, Wang Baole finally finished unsealing all the crystals. With a wave of his hand, the resplendent Illusion Crystals all flew back toward their owners and Wang Baole stood up as heaven and earth rumbled.
The sky shook, the earth quaked, and as everyone’s minds trembled, the teleportation force… activated!
And the moment the teleportation began… something both surprising but also completely unsurprising happened. Among those who hadn’t gotten their hands on an Illusion Crystal, there were seven who suddenly erupted forth. Be it in terms of speed or cultivation base, they completely surpassed what they had revealed up to this point, and they shot straight toward seven of the thirty crystal holders!
In an instant, one of them closed in on Wang Baole. At the same time, the bell-wearing girl also took action. Cooperating with Wang Baole’s new assailant, she moved to suppress him.
As for the other six, their targets were all different. However, all of them were blindingly swift and closed in on their respective targets in an instant. Terrifying booms rang out, and violent fluctuations swept out in all directions like a hurricane!