On the other side, Lu Weishen, who was still waiting for good news, suddenly received a picture. The person in the photo made his pupils shrink, and he immediately understood that his plan had failed.
Immediately after, he received a notification from Ying Yuan.
This infuriated him to no end. He slammed his phone to the ground and gritted his teeth, "Since that's the case, Li Chonglou, I, Lu Weishen, will defeat you completely and honorably in three days!"
Besides Lu Weishen, the other spectators also quickly received notifications from the Antique Association, stating that the second half of the competition would proceed as scheduled in three days.
Upon returning to the association, Li Chonglou noticed the change in everyone's demeanor.
The matter of Ying Yuan had already spread throughout the entire association. Upon learning of Lu Weishen's malicious actions and Li Chonglou's heroic might, everyone's support for Li Chonglou reached an unprecedented level of unity.
Some of Lu Weishen's former subordinates greeted Li Chonglou very politely with bows, which was something Li Chonglou had not anticipated.
It was as if the outcome of the competition had already been decided, and he, Li Chonglou, no longer needed to prove himself through a match.
"Junior brother, why don't we just forfeit the competition? If we expose Lu Weishen's actions to the public, what else can he use to compete with you?"
Lin Ying's suggestion was also agreed upon by Jiang Yuxin. Now that Lu Weishen had shot himself in the foot, continuing the competition would only give him an opportunity.
However, Li Chonglou directly rejected this proposal.
"How little do you trust me? First of all, we don't have enough evidence to definitively prove that Lu Weishen was behind this. Even if we did, wouldn't winning against him in the competition be more convincing?"
Li Chonglou did not discuss this matter further. Seeing this, Lin Ying could only respect her junior brother's decision. The reason she proposed this plan was out of concern for any unforeseen circumstances.
As for Li Chonglou's strength, no one present had any doubts.
Thus, the interlude in the competition temporarily came to an end. Tomorrow was New Year's Day, and everyone's thoughts gradually shifted to celebrating the New Year.
In fact, it would have been best for Li Chonglou if the competition could have been decided before the New Year, but as things stood, there was nothing he could do but temporarily put aside the competition and spend a happy and festive New Year with his family.
However, measures were taken to protect the treasures. Li Chonglou feared that Lu Weishen might not give up and would try to target his treasures. Therefore, he instructed Wu Hao to have people guard the treasures twenty-four hours a day and to move them all back to the Jiang family's residence for safekeeping.
Time flew by, and the festive New Year passed quickly amidst laughter and joy.
In the blink of an eye, three days had passed.
This day was much like the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. Early on, luxury cars one after another arrived at the Antique Association. The difference was that compared to three days ago, the atmosphere today was clearly much livelier.
"Young Master Feng, Happy New Year."
"Young Master Ming, the same to you."
"Come, come, come, each of you single dogs gets a red envelope!"
"Get lost!"
With the added festive spirit of the New Year, everyone's enthusiasm was significantly higher than during the first half. When Li Chonglou reappeared in everyone's sight, the reaction was completely different from before.
"Happy New Year, President Li. Wishing you victory."
"Happy New Year, President Li. You must win this time. The first half's bidding is over, but I've bet heavily on you winning this time!"
Compliments and support poured in. It was unclear whether Li Chonglou's strength in the first half had convinced them or if the news about Ying Yuan had spread, but Li Chonglou heard very few doubts after arriving at the competition venue.
This time, Lu Weishen also arrived early. His style of dress remained the same as last time, but the cheers and support he received were less than a tenth of what they were before.
Lu Weishen walked onto the stage with a stern face and began to rest with his eyes closed.
Li Chonglou sat opposite him, and the staff then began to bring out the remaining treasures.
For a moment, the entire competition hall, apart from the festive decorations, seemed to have returned to three days prior.
Everything was as it was.
The spectators below took their positions and gradually calmed down, silently awaiting the start of the competition.
Before long, Ying Yuan walked onto the stage holding a microphone. He first cast a deep glance at Lu Weishen before displaying a standard, professional smile and announcing the official start of the second half of the competition.
As before, they drew lots first, and Li Chonglou drew the red paper again.
The fifth match officially began. Lu Weishen's staff removed the golden cloth, and a massive ancient sculpture was presented to everyone's view.
Li Chonglou walked up to it and gave his answer in just three minutes.
"All correct!"
As the central judge confirmed, thunderous applause erupted from below the stage.
When it was Li Chonglou's turn, he presented a dark, square object.
Upon seeing this item, Lin Zhendong below the stage put on a look of amusement, while Lu Weishen's expression changed, and he quickly stepped forward.
This dark, square object was the base of Shi Bogong, and it was one of Li Chonglou's trump cards.
Li Chonglou estimated that this item alone could put Lu Weishen on the back foot. Lin Zhendong below the stage also wore a look of amusement because he knew the item's background.
He knew that this item was extraordinary and that very few people in the world knew about it. Lin Zhendong had expected Li Chonglou to save it for last, but he was surprised that such a significant item was presented at the very beginning of the second half.
The audience below saw Lu Weishen's reaction for the first time and began to speculate about what item could have caused the senior master to react so intensely, disregarding his composure.
This time, unlike before, Lu Weishen not only delayed giving his answer but also did not have the staff pass the treasure to the audience for examination, causing the atmosphere to become tense.
"What do you think this item is that's causing Master Lu to react this way?"
"Perhaps it's a treasure similar to the jade ring before? But I've truly never seen this thing."
"Me neither. Although I couldn't tell the origin of the jade ring, I could at least guess something. But with this thing, I can't even tell what it's used for."
"That's because your skill is shallow. Didn't you see the groove on it? It's obvious that this is just the base of some treasure."
"Then what treasure is it?"
"If I knew, would I be telling you?"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk!"
The crowd below buzzed with discussion, and the judges at the judging panel cast their gazes towards the central judge.
Strangely, even the central judge looked perplexed.
At this moment, Lu Weishen on the stage suddenly spoke.
"Shi Bogong base."
With only these five words, Lu Weishen returned to his seat.
Lin Zhendong below the stage suddenly showed a look of shock and stared at Lu Weishen with disbelief.
How did he know?
Li Chonglou was also surprised and looked deeply at Lu Weishen.
It seemed he also had many secrets hidden.