CHAPTER 118: CHAPTER 53 PERFECT STONE CUTTING

When the stone cutting masters from the Wanlong Gambling House were called out to witness the stone cutting, especially when it was that Wall Shield Turtle, they found it somewhat inconceivable. The Twin Soul Stone was already shattered, so how could there be any soul stone left to extract?

On the Wuji Continent, there are a multitude of demon beasts, which in turn gave rise to many special professions, with the Stone Cutting Master being one quite unique occupation.

Among these individuals, some were Hunter Soldiers in their earlier years, some were butchers; no matter their prior profession, they all possessed exceptional stone cutting skills. That’s why they were recruited by the Wanlong Gambling House with high salaries.

When that Wall Shield Turtle was first brought to the gambling house, it was already identified as having a Twin Soul Stone within its body.

But, since the shell of the Wall Shield Turtle was too hard, even using a magic artifact to cut the stone might damage the Twin Soul Stone inside the shell. Therefore, all the Stone Cutting Masters in Wanlong Gambling House unanimously agreed that it was impossible to cut the stone from this Wall Shield Turtle normally.

The fact that the Female Summoner failed with the Thunder Pearl during stone cutting just proved their point.

Yet this Magician who appeared out of nowhere claimed that the soul stone within the Wall Shield Turtle hadn’t been extracted yet.

"That’s just absurd. The soul stones of turtle species generally grow in the heart or under the ribs. The Twin Soul Stone was also extracted from its heart. Anyone with eyes could clearly see that this Wall Shield Turtle has no soul stone left," the Stone Cutting Masters said one after another, scoffing and looking down upon Yun Sheng.

"Then I shall personally cut the stone. Keep your eyes wide open and watch carefully," in face of the mockery, Yun Sheng remained completely unperturbed.

To silence the talking crowd is always hard, all she wanted was a promise from Steward Long Huo.

It was only recently that Long Huo himself found out that there was still a soul stone inside the Wall Shield Turtle.

Yun Sheng took out her oddly-shaped scalpel. Seeing that she was actually intending to dissect a demon beast turtle weighing over a hundred kilograms with such insubstantial looking knife, it seemed to everyone that she was only playing around.

With the scalpel in hand, Yun Sheng did not immediately start cutting the stone. She touched the shell of the Wall Shield Turtle, which was indeed extremely hard; no wonder the Female Summoner earlier had to resort to the Thunder Pearl to blast open the turtle shell.

The scalpel in Yun Sheng’s hand turned red.

"She’s infusing Fire Magic Element into the scalpel? What is she doing..." Long Huo watched with focused eyes, recognizing the expertise in her move.

Indeed, the scalpel that was as thin as a willow leaf didn’t stab directly into the shell, but traced a circle along the edge of the Wall Shield Turtle’s shell.

Yun Sheng’s movements were nimble, as if she was merely tearing a piece of paper.

The Fire Magic Element softened the keratin on the shell, and after one full circle, the shell and the turtle’s body were completely separated.

Then, with a series of actions, from disassembling the shell to skinning and deboning, the turtle was meticulously dissected and collected.

The entire process lacked any gore, sweating labor, or even anything disagreeable to the observers.

The challenging Wall Shield Turtle was thus fully disassembled.

In the end, Yun Sheng’s knife landed on the stomach of the turtle.

With one slice of the scalpel on the turtle’s stomach, a milky-white stone fell out.

"What is that?" everyone was taken aback.

The color of that stone, as well as the Magic Elements emanating from it... it was indeed a soul stone.

"A Fifth-level Lightning Eel’s soul stone, with Light attribute," Long Huo hurriedly had someone verify the soul stone, and the result was beyond everyone’s expectation.

"What’s going on here?" How could a Fourth-tier Demon Beast’s body contain a Fifth-level Demon Beast Soul Stone, and moreover in the stomach?

They had never heard of a demon beast’s soul stone located in the stomach.

Steward Long Huo pondered deeply and finally thought of a possible answer: "It is likely that this Wall Shield Turtle accidentally ingested a freshly dead Lightning Eel. The flesh of the eel was digested, yet its soul stone remained within the turtle’s body. Because of the soul stone of the Light Attribute, the turtle’s body nurtured a mutated twin soul stone. But how did you figure it out?"

The turtle shell was extremely hard and even insulated some of the Magic Attribute, so even the most experienced Hunter Soldier couldn’t detect the three Magic Elements within this Demon Beast.

Yun Sheng chuckled, "Secret. I’ve kept my promise, Steward Long Huo. The Wall Shield Turtle and its soul stone belong to us now."

She couldn’t possibly reveal that she discerned it using Shennong’s Eyes.

To others, the useless Wall Shield Turtle was a treasure in Yun Sheng’s eyes. Its meat could be used to make high-level medicinal oils, and its shell could be turned into armor with excellent Magic Defense properties.

Of course, the most valuable asset was the soul stone of the Lightning Eel.

With the soul stone of the Lightning Eel, Gu Feng would be even more adept at casting Beginner Light Magic.

Lightning Eels were Demon Beasts known for their particularly fast speed, especially astonishing when casting magic.

"Please wait," Steward Long Huo, seeing Yun Sheng and her companions taking away the turtle, hurried forward and blocked her path.

"What, does Wanlong Gambling House also have a day where it doesn’t keep its word?" Yun Sheng’s voice turned cold. She had a favorable impression of Wanlong Gambling House and did not want to have a conflict with Steward Long Huo.

"A Fifth Rank soul stone of the Light attribute is indeed precious, but not to the likes of me, Long Huo. I simply admire the stone cutting skill of the Magician and am in awe. I wish to employ you as the chief Stone Cutting Master for our Wanlong Gambling House," Steward Long Huo’s eyes indeed shimmered with admiration.

Yun Sheng’s stone cutting technique was bold and innovative.

Long Huo had never seen anyone integrate Magic and stone cutting together before.

Yun Sheng used the Fire Element combined with a sharp scalpel to easily slice open the hard turtle shell.

Compared to other Stone Cutting Masters, whose efforts take longer and produce poor results, hers were much better.

Steward Long Huo was naturally very eager to invite Yun Sheng to join Wanlong Gambling House.

Chief Stone Cutting Master?

Yun Sheng didn’t know the specific intentions of Long Huo. In fact, she didn’t feel anything like stone cutting at all just now.

In her eyes, stone cutting was no different from a common surgery.

Compared to a complicated surgery, this stone cutting dealing with a Demon Beast was low difficulty for her.

Yun Sheng thought it over; behind Wanlong Gambling House lay powers that were certainly not just ordinary local forces. A Fifth Rank soul stone could fetch tens of thousands of gold coins on the market, yet Long Huo showed no inclination to take it back.

Being alone and without support in Shengjing, if she had a powerful backing, it would greatly benefit her future endeavors.

Moreover, the Demon Beasts auctioned by Wanlong Gambling House were diverse, which would be beneficial for her to deepen her understanding of Demon Beasts.

She could also purchase some alchemy ingredients at low prices through the gambling house.

With these thoughts, Yun Sheng accepted Steward Long Huo’s conditions.

But considering her studies at the Magic Academy, Yun Sheng and Long Huo agreed that she would only intervene in stone cutting when the other Stone Cutting Masters of Wanlong Gambling House were unable to do so.

During her tenure as the chief Stone Cutting Master of Wanlong Gambling House, Yun Sheng could earn a base salary of 100 gold coins a month. Stone cutting fees were calculated separately, and a Stone Cutting Master would generally receive thirty percent of the fees earned by the gambling house.

Having negotiated the terms with Steward Long Huo, Yun Sheng and the others promptly left Wanlong Gambling House. They needed to return to the Magic Academy so that Gu Feng could integrate that Demon Beast Soul Stone of the Lightning Eel.