The Jade Competition had officially begun.
People moved from stall to stall, selecting black stones with excitement and greed shining in their eyes. Once chosen, the stones were taken to a special cutting machine where sharp blades sliced them carefully through the middle. If there was Jade hidden inside, the cut would either expose it directly or allow experts to carve the precious crystal out properly.
Everyone had started testing their luck.
There were no limits here.
Anyone could buy as many stones as they wanted—as long as they had the money for it.
And only one thing mattered in the end—
Whoever discovered the highest-quality Jade would become the winner.
Meanwhile, Om stood silently, observing everything carefully.
He wasn't interested in the competition itself.
He was trying to understand the world of Jade.
On the other side of the hall, Deepak kept staring at Om with greedy, hostile eyes. For some reason, just looking at Om was making him uneasy.
After a moment, Deepak quietly called one of his men closer and whispered into his ear,
"Make sure the stones given to the Joshis are hollow trash. Either plain rocks or the lowest-grade Jade possible."
His expression darkened.
"Today, the Joshi Empire should completely collapse. Ruin them so badly they won't even deserve to live comfortably anymore."
Then his eyes narrowed toward Om.
"And find out everything about that boy. I want his full background."
The man nodded immediately and disappeared into the crowd.
Meanwhile, Sanaya stood alone in one corner of the hall, stealing angry glances toward Om again and again.
Her mind was still stuck on the dangerous bet he had made with Deepak.
"This idiot has no idea how cunning Deepak really is…"
But then her expression softened slightly.
"Still… I was wrong about him."
For the first time in her life, she had seen a man who genuinely respected women. A man who understood them.
A man who stood up for them without hesitation.
"Om Ahuja… I was actually planning to destroy you before this…"
A faint smile appeared on her lips.
"But after hearing your thoughts about women… I changed my mind."
Then she crossed her arms and looked toward the stage.
"Fine. You're forgiven."
Her eyes sharpened playfully.
"But now I want to see how exactly you plan to fight Deepak."
At the same time, a woman standing elsewhere in the hall casually sipped juice while quietly watching Om from afar.
Every few seconds, a mysterious smile appeared on her face.
A short while later, Om and Deepak finally stepped onto the massive stage prepared for the competition.
By now, Mr. Indrajit Joshi had also arrived at the event. Viraj had already told him everything about the argument and the bet between Om and Deepak.
Even though Indrajit trusted Om deeply…
He still couldn't believe Om could defeat Deepak Dholera.
Standing there with his walking stick, Indrajit slowly drifted into old memories.
He remembered the day Sanaya had brought Deepak home for the first time.
Back then, Deepak was already becoming a huge name in the Jade world. The family had been overjoyed. Everyone believed that once Deepak married into the family, the Joshi business would dominate the Jade market completely.
But only a few months later—
Sanaya had announced she was breaking off the engagement.
The news had shocked both Indrajit and her father.
And when they learned the reason—
That Sanaya had refused to hand over her company shares to Deepak—
Indrajit had become furious.
He had scolded her badly that day.
"No matter what you do," he had said, "you'll never find another talented man like Deepak."
That was the beginning of the crack between grandfather and granddaughter.
Yes, over time their relationship healed…
But even today, Indrajit still regretted one thing—
Deepak Dholera, the rising king of the Jade industry, could have become part of their family.
Instead…
He became their enemy.
With a deep sigh, Indrajit tightened both hands over his cane and focused on the stage again.
Meanwhile, Deepak walked closer to Om and smirked.
"You can still surrender, kid."
His smile widened arrogantly.
"I'll make you my servant. At least your dignity will survive."
Then he leaned closer.
"Otherwise, I'm afraid you'll not only become my servant… but lose every last bit of respect in front of everyone for free."
Om didn't answer him.
Not even once.
Instead, he quietly looked around the stage.
Then his eyes searched through the crowd—
Looking for Viraj.
But strangely…
Viraj was nowhere to be seen.
Meanwhile, Deepak confidently walked through the stone collection, inspecting them fearlessly.
A woman standing near the stones—one of the supervisors—briefly gave Deepak a hidden signal.
Deepak noticed it instantly.
Then casually, he picked up a black stone almost the size of a football and handed it to the cutter.
The man smiled knowingly and carefully placed the stone inside the Jade-cutting machine.
At the same time, Deepak glanced toward Om—
Only to see him touching different stones quietly one by one.
Om would pick up a stone…
Run his fingers gently over its surface…
Then place it back exactly where it had been.
Watching him, Deepak almost laughed out loud internally.
"You amateur idiot… no matter what you do today, you'll only find low-grade stones."
His grin widened.
"Because we already replaced the entire Joshi shipment with worthless rocks."
His eyes turned darker with greed.
"Today I'll snatch away everything from them."
Then his gaze shifted toward Sanaya.
"And after I make this loser my servant… I'll drag that arrogant woman to my bed too."
A disgusting smile spread across his face.
"I'll finally enjoy everything I wanted."
Om may have looked busy examining stones…
But every single thought inside Deepak's head was reaching him clearly.
Still…
Om chose to stay calm.
He continued examining the stones quietly.
Most of the stones here glowed blue in Om's vision—
Low-grade Jade.
Almost all of them.
Then suddenly—
Loud gasps echoed through the hall.
"Impossible!"
"This is a new discovery!"
"Deepak Dholera did it again!"
Hearing the commotion, Om finally turned toward Deepak.
A huge crowd had gathered around him.
Because inside the stone Deepak selected…
A glowing red Jade had appeared.
Though small in size, the crystal radiated an intense, beautiful red light.
Everyone stood frozen.
Until today, only one red Jade had ever existed in the world.
And now—
Deepak Dholera had just discovered the second one.
And this one was even bigger.
Shock exploded across the hall.
Even Sanaya and Mr. Joshi stared wide-eyed at the glowing crystal.
Sanaya's face slowly filled with anger and helplessness.
"How…" she thought bitterly. "How are terrible people always so lucky?"
Meanwhile, Deepak proudly looked toward Om, then toward the Joshis, then finally at Sanaya.
His arrogance had reached the sky.
A few moments later, the quality examiners confirmed it—
The Jade was High Grade.
Estimated value—
Fifty crore rupees.
The crystal wasn't even bigger than a bottle cap.
Yet it was worth fifty crores.
People around the hall looked almost hypnotized staring at the glowing red stone.
Then Deepak laughed loudly and looked at Om.
"Oye, kid."
He lifted the Red Jade proudly.
"I think you should surrender now."
His grin turned cruel.
"If you end up pulling out some pathetic low-grade Jade in front of my Pure Red Jade… you won't even be able to leave this hall without hiding your face."
Then he pointed toward the ground.
"So hurry up. Accept defeat and kneel at my feet."
But Om wasn't listening anymore.
Instead, he slowly closed his eyes.
Then gently…
He placed both hands over the remaining stones.
A strange calm spread across his face.
Slowly, Om began releasing his inner energy into the stones around him.
His aura spread quietly from one stone to another…
Flowing deeper…
Searching…
Feeling…
And then suddenly—
Om felt a sharp shock.
His eyes snapped open instantly.
Without changing expression, he picked up a stone about the size of a melon.
The crowd watched him silently now.
Om carried the stone toward the cutting machine.
But just then, Deepak secretly gestured toward the cutter.
The man immediately stepped back and sneered at Om.
"I don't cut stones for random nobodies."
He crossed his arms.
"If you want it cut… do it yourself."
Then he walked away and joined the crowd.
Om simply smiled faintly.
Without saying a word, he placed the stone into the machine himself and slowly started cutting it.
People around him immediately began whispering.
"Do you really think this kid can find something better than Red Jade?"
"No chance."
"Two miracles don't happen in one day."
"He's a newbie. This is beyond him."
But then—
Something happened.
And the very next second…
Every single person in the hall stared at Om in absolute shock.