Treasure-hunting: Into the Unknown

"There's no doubt in my mind that this is the Dark Golden Stone!" Jaxon confirmed in a serious tone, after looking around at the crowd surrounding him.

Immediately, his words caused an uproar that waved through the closely huddled crowd.

The Dark Golden Stone itself had only very rarely been seen, and it was said to be one of the most important casting materials. Throughout the entire Devil Kingdom, the Dark Golden Stone only existed in the Shura College's Dark Prison. Furthermore, forming a Dark Golden Stone took dozens of years in the best of conditions, and it was thus extremely rare.

Everyone knew how dangerous the Dark Prison was, of course. Seeing as Zachary had been capable of seizing the Dark Golden Stone from the Dark Prison in the first place, it was only logical that they'd come to the conclusion that his capabilities had grown beyond any of their imaginations. No more than ten warriors had ever successfully obtained a Dark Golden Stone since the Shura College was founded, which only demonstrated its rarity even more. Besides, all the warriors' cultivation levels were above the Sage Level, Zachary being the only exception, whose cultivation level was only at the Imperial Level. Ultimately, it didn't matter whether Zachary had earned the Dark Golden Stone through his own strength or if he fumbled upon it by pure accident. No one doubted the Dark Golden Stone's value. In fact, many warriors of Imperial Levels were actually terrified of the Dark Prison's great danger.

Although casting materials that came from Sage Level beasts were considered to be very rare for Imperial Level weapon refiners, in the eyes of Sage Level weapon refiners, such casting materials were actually quite ordinary. In comparison, the Dark Golden Stone's value—longed for by many Sage Level weapon refiners—was naturally much higher than that of a Sage Level beast's rib.

For this reason, the result of the competition's third round was quite obvious.

Overwhelmed with the feeling of surprise, many warriors couldn't help but shake their heads as well. None of them had thought that Miles, who had showed a very rare casting material that came from a Sage Level beast, would lose to Zachary. Things took a turn though and in the end, the latter had a rarer and more valuable Dark Golden Stone. The crowd fe

x refining skill last time, and that's something I just cannot ignore," Marvin mumbled in a low voice to himself.

It still remained that since Zachary's Dark Golden Stone was superior to Miles's treasure, then according to the best of three rule, Zachary should be the winner.

"Damn it! How is this possible? How could I lose to you?" In that very moment, Miles still seemed unable to fully accept the fact that he had been defeated by Zachary. Considering his reputation and position in the Shura College, this kind of disastrous defeat would undoubtedly humiliate him badly. He wasn't ready to face reality, not yet at least.

"If you really want to challenge me again, have it your way. I don't mind continuing the competition at all," Zachary told Miles as gently as he could. He figured if Miles wanted to continue competing against him, he would play with him until the end.

That said, Miles wasn't stupid, and he clearly knew that it made no sense for the competition to continue. Now that Zachary had the Dark Golden Stone, he couldn't neglect the idea that he might also have other trump cards up his sleeve. And even then, Miles didn't have any treasure in his hand that could compare to the Dark Golden Stone anyway. There simply was no point in going any further.

It was safe to say that Miles was no longer confident in winning over Zachary.

"Humph! Forget it! Just consider yourself lucky this time!" Miles shouted, glaring at Zachary with angry eyes. Without further warning, he turned on his heel and left in a fury.