Chapter 771: The Ingenious Decan Pill Enigma [1. In Chinese,
this name is derived from puzzles often found in Chinese weiqi/Japanese Go. The
stones are set on a weiqi board in a predetermined pattern, and it’s up to the
player to determine the proper moves to finish it. Decans are 36 groups of
stars used in Ancient Egypt astronomy as well as the East Asian zodiac. In the
zodiac, the groups of stars form clusters known as the 36 Calendar Animals.
There are four main clusters, with each cluster made up of nine deity animals.
The four clusters represent the cardinal directions, and each cluster is
further divided into triads of animals.]
Although Pill King Yu wasn’t sure where House Wei’s guest
pill king come from, privately speaking, he admired Jiang Chen more of the two
competitors. This was because of the three pills Jiang Chen had brought out.
Despite their average rank, they had all been incredibly pure, with a level of
quality that couldn’t be found at the hands of an average pill master.
Moreover, all three pills had a unique personal style that Pill King Yu thought
he’d encountered in the past. He just wasn’t able to put his finger on it. Be
it the Tiger Eruption Pill, the Half-step Immortal Elixir Pill or the Heptarune
True Dragon Pill, they all possessed the marks of a confident master’s hand.
These pills were quite extraordinary. If he wasn’t a judge who was ensuring the
match’s fairness, Pill King Yu would’ve admitted that he liked Taiyuan Tower’s
pills more.
The reason Taiyuan Lodge had been able to win was because
its pills was of a higher rank. To put it bluntly, they were just bullying the
weak. They were using emperor rank pills to compete against true saint rank or
even saint rank pills. Although they’d won the stage, their victory rang
slightly hollow. Moreover, everyone knew where the Longevity Pill came from.
Even Pill King Yu himself didn’t believe that Taiyuan Lodge had the capability
to refine the Longevity Pill. It was likely the force who’d obtained the
Longevity Pill’s pill recipe who had refined it. They had probably only
entrusted the Majestic Clan with selling them.
Of course, the rules said nothing about the store refining
their pills with their own hands. A consigned batch of products was still
within the rules. Although Pill King Yu admired Taiyuan Tower’s pills more, he
couldn’t go against his conscience and claim that the Longevity Pill wasn’t
comparable to the Half-step Immortal Elixir Pill. Even if he did, the rest of
the judges wouldn’t do the same.
Yet, House Wei’s pill king was actually calling out to
Taiyuan Lodge with absolute confidence and fearlessness. His fighting will
surprised even Pill King Yu. Regardless of the final outcome, Pill King Yu had
to admit to feeling some sympathy and admiration for House Wei. After all,
House Wei had proven themselves to possess genuine talent and skill. The fact
that a ninth rank aristocratic family could resist the Majestic Clan this far
was an incredible feat already. With Pill King Yu’s intelligence, how could he
not notice that the grudge between Taiyuan Lodge and Taiyuan Tower was a ploy
by the Majestic Clan to suppress House Wei?
Taiyuan Tower had sent their invitation to him early on,
whereas Taiyuan Lodge’s invitation had only reached him last night. It was
obvious from this alone that Taiyuan Lodge was aiming for Taiyuan Tower. To put
it bluntly, the Majestic Clan had affixed House Wei in its crosshairs from the
beginning. Pill King Yu was a person of great virtue and prestige. Although he
had seen much darkness in this world, he hadn’t lost sight of what was right
and what was wrong as a pill king. Even though his sentiment wasn’t so strong
that he would unequivocally support House Wei, emotionally speaking, he was
absolutely leaning towards their side. He stared rather meaningfully at Jiang
Chen before casting a second glance at Pill King Rong of the Majestic Clan.
Pill King Yu cleared his throat and spoke again, “The second stage of the first
set is an ancient enigma. I’d come across this once in an ancient scripture
long ago. To be honest, even after several hundred years of research, I have
yet to crack all its mysteries…” At this point, Pill King Yu waved his hands.
“I have two scrolls here written with a set of materials each. To be specific,
36 types of spirit herbs. The contents of the scrolls are completely identical.
Your task is to use these 36 materials to brainstorm as many pill recipes as you
can. The more the better. Whoever comes up with the most pill recipes wins the
round. You have one hour. Remember, these spirit materials can be used
infinitely. If you’ve written it down in one pill recipe, you can use it again
in another pill recipe.”
Once he was finished, Pill King Yu shook his sleeves
slightly and delivered the scrolls into Jiang Chen and Pill King Rong’s hands.
Pill King Rong looked excited. It so happened that the pill recipe composition
was one of his strengths. The thing he loved to research the most in his life
was none other than the assembly and disassembly of all kinds of pill recipes.
Jiang Chen revealed nothing on his face. When he received the scroll, he looked
through it and felt the shapes of all thirty six spirit herbs flashing past his
mind. Jiang Chen smiled inwardly when he looked through roughly thirty spirit
herbs. He immediately figured out the true identity of the ‘ancient enigma’
Pill King Yu spoke of.
It was indeed an ‘ancient enigma’, and a very old one at that.
This was because Jiang Chen had seen this enigma once or twice during his era.
It possessed a very nice sounding name, the ‘Ingenious Decan Pill Enigma’. It
was called thus because this puzzle contained a total of thirty six spirit
herbs, and they secretly corresponded to the thirty six calendar animals of the
skies. It also just so happened that these thirty six spirit materials could
produce a total of thirty six pill recipes, not one more and not one less.
It was impossible for the puzzle to contain even one more
pill recipe. But if the answer lacked even one pill recipe, the enigma was
imperfect. Countless pill dao seniors had spent who knew how much effort to put
together the ultimate list for this ancient enigma. It was an exquisite pill
riddle that countless geniuses wanted to crack. Those who couldn’t solve it
wanted to complete it even at the cost of their life. As for those who knew the
36 solutions, they wanted to overturn the answer key and come up with a 37th
pill formula with equal determination. Unfortunately, no one had ever been able
to come up with a thirty seventh recipe, despite the relentless efforts of
countless pill dao masters.
Jiang Chen never imagined that this Pill King Yu would know
the Ingenious Decan Pill Enigma. However, it sounded like he hadn’t mastered
this pill enigma yet. Had he only heard of its reputation or understood only
part of it? Either way, it wasn’t Jiang Chen’s problem, so he picked up his
brush and paper and began writing in a masterful manner. He remembered this
Ingenious Decan Pill Enigma so well that he could write it down backwards. He
filled out all thirty six pill recipes of the puzzle in less than fifteen
minutes.
It wasn’t as if this pill enigma was some supremely
confidential industry knowledge. To put it bluntly, it was just an interesting
interlude of the pill industry. It was just like scholars who challenged
customers with rhymed couplets, or chess players who studied all kinds of
ancient chess puzzles.
“Are you done?” Pill King Yu was stunned when Jiang Chen
suddenly stood up and turned in his paper. He never thought that Jiang Chen
would finish in just fifteen minutes’ time. An entire hour had been allocated
for the round, but House Wei’s pill king was turning in his answer already? Was
this fellow just giving up? If that really was the case, then Pill King Yu
would have to withdraw that bit about admiring Pill King Zhen earlier. Pill
King Yu’s original impression of House Wei’s pill king was favorable, but if he
was a weak minded person who gave up so easily, then he would not amount to
much in the pill field. After accepting Jiang Chen’s scroll with a flash of
disappointment, Pill King Yu responded indifferently, “Please be seated and
wait. The allotted time isn’t up yet, and we cannot review your answer until
then.”
That was the proper rule. Taiyuan Lodge’s Pill King Rong was
still busy racking his brains on the other side. Every onlooker were stunned
when they saw Pill King Rong so deep in thought and Taiyuan Tower’s pill king
submitting his answer so early.
What’s going on? Pill King Rong, the sixth rank pill king
well known for his research in pill recipes was looking harried, but the
unknown Pill King Zhen of Taiyuan Tower had turned in his answer in less than
fifteen minutes? This scene puzzled and surprised people to no end.
“I told you, didn’t I? This Pill King Zhen of Taiyuan Tower
is definitely a spy sent to House Wei by the Majestic Clan. He’s a trap!”
“Hah, I’m actually starting to believe you a little. It does
look like he’s fooled House Wei.”
“Sigh, can he at least not make it so obvious that he’s
screwing over his victims? Turning in his answer in fifteen minutes is just…”
Jiang Chen’s actions had once again drawn the suspicion of
onlookers at the scene. After all, his behavior were just too unusual. However,
Jiang Chen returned to his own seat and looked completely unmoved by the
comments tossed in his direction. His consciousness would occasionally flit
over to the judges. In reality, he understood that he didn’t need to worry
about foul play. It was impossible that the judges would change his scroll or
aid Pill King Rong in cheating.
The calmer Jiang Chen became, the more anxious and paranoid
Pill King Rong became. Onlookers could freely suspect Jiang Chen of being a
spy, but Pill King Rong knew that this Pill King Zhen of Taiyuan Tower
certainly wasn’t a member of the Majestic Clan. Since he wasn’t sent by the
Majestic Clan to trap House Wei, there shouldn’t be any reason to give up just
like that. But if he hadn’t given up, then why did he turn in his answer so
early? It couldn’t be that he had come up with enough pill recipes to be
assured of a complete victory? He refused to believe this. There was simply no
way a nameless small fry could possess such skill!
For a moment or two, Pill King Rong wasn’t able to calm down
at all. It was Wang Teng who picked up some clues to his mood and sent a
message to Pill King Rong, “Don’t panic. That kid may be trying to disturb your
mind so that you lose your concentration. Don’t fall for his trap and just
perform at your usual level!”
Pill King Rong trembled slightly when Wang Teng’s reminder
reached his ears. Taking a breath, he calmed down. He concentrated on the
enigma once more and studied it seriously.
On the other side, Jiang Chen wasn’t looking at Pill King
Rong at all. He wasn’t even looking towards the opposite side. Pill King Rong’s
performance wasn’t concerning him in the slightest. No matter how well he
performed, the prerequisite to even get a draw with Jiang Chen was to master
the Ingenious Decan Pill Enigma. In other words, this match was going to be a
draw at best.
But if his opponent had mastered the Ingenious Decan Pill
Enigma beforehand, then he wouldn’t be scratching his head anxiously and
furrowing his eyebrows in thought. He should’ve turned in his answer a long time
ago just like Jiang Chen. That was why Jiang Chen’s mindset was as firm as a
mountain. He’d known early on that this round was his already. Meanwhile, House
Wei was unsure as to what Jiang Chen was planning. Thankfully, they had seen
all sorts of miracles from Jiang Chen, so they didn’t try to interrupt him,
even though they itched to do. However, they weren’t able to hide their anxiety
from appearing on their face.
Finally, the hour passed. Although Pill King Rong was
feeling a little reluctant, he turned in his paper obediently. He also shot a
fierce glare at Jiang Chen in passing, as if it could increase his morale and
aid him in beating his enemy. Jiang Chen smiled disdainfully and swept his
glance right past Pill King Rong like he was watching an idiot preen.
Now that both scrolls had been turned in, Pill King Yu was
anxious to look at Jiang Chen’s answer. He had been observing Jiang Chen since
the beginning, and didn’t find any signs of the impatience he’d expected. So
why had he turned in his answers so early?
Chapter 772: Comparisons Beget Frustration
Pill King Yu was rather eager to announce the results—he
simply couldn’t see through House Wei’s guest pill king. Was he a frivolous
person pretending to be earnest, or did he truly have other tricks up his
sleeves? The judge put Pill King Rong’s scroll to one side and opened Jiang
Chen’s first. Nobody felt it odd that the earlier submission was being reviewed
first. It was in the following moment that a truly baffling scene played out.
Pill King Yu`s eyes were glued to the scroll after a first sweep through its
contents. It was as if some invisible force was drawing him in. He jumped up
from his seat in excitement—appearing both shocked and delighted as his face
eventually lit up—it was almost as if he was intoxicated. Every change in
expression were vividly displayed on his face.
The audience was stunned by the scene playing out before
them. What within the scroll was so attractive that it could cause a dignified,
solemn pill king to act in such an odd manner?
The other pill kings couldn’t help but come together to
discuss this matter. The other judges were also racking their brains while
glancing at the scroll. Their expressions were similar to kids fighting over
candy; no one was willing to give way.
“Hahaha…” Pill King Yu suddenly broke into laughter. His
eyes were tinged red as tears fell uncontrollably. He stayed hunched over the
desk and sobbed. This odd scene petrified everyone present.
And what was the matter now? Why had Pill King Yu broken
into tears without rhyme or reason? Was there a reason to be so emotional?
Could it be that the pill king from Taiyuan Tower had submitted some
melodramatic tale instead of pill recipes? How on earth could he have forced a
pill king, who had lived for no less than a thousand years, to lose his
composure and even break down into tears?
“I’d never have thought… thought that I would live to see a
completed Ingenious Decan Pill Enigma. Who would’ve thought? This… is this
divine providence?”
Ingenious Decan Pill Enigma? Many pill kings were shocked
after hearing these six words. They had heard of the Ingenious Decan Pill
Enigma before, but most of them were only familiar with the name and not its
contents. They didn’t fully know the 36 spirit herbs, to say nothing of 36 pill
recipes. However, many had still heard of the famed Ingenious Decan Pill
Enigma.
Being a senior in pill dao, Pill King Yu was vastly
experienced and informed. He was conversant with the 36 spirit herbs, but had
never seen the completed 36 pill recipes of Ingenious Decan Pill Enigma. That
was why he had lost his composure so dramatically, and couldn’t help but break
into loud sobs after seeing Jiang Chen’s answer scroll. He was particularly
excited. Despite his advanced level in pill dao and the hundreds of years he`d
poured into studying the Ingenious Decan Pill Enigma, he’d only been able to
unravel some twenty odd pill recipes. He’d always suspected, deep in his heart,
that this Ingenious Decan Pill Enigma was bogus, a pretentious trick of their
forebears. He’d thought that creating 36 pill recipes might not actually be
possible. But today, he’d discovered that he was still truly a frog at the
bottom of the well despite being a ninth rank pill king. The Ingenious Decan
Pill Enigma was an ancient and renowned pill riddle. How could it be fake?
The other judges studying the scroll were intoxicated by the
contents as they lost themselves within. It took a good while before they
finally came back to themselves. They then turned to Pill King Rong’s scroll
and found nine pill recipes described within. Under normal circumstances,
completing this much within an hour was quite good. But it was no better than
trash when compared to Jiang Chen’s scroll. After regaining control of his
emotions with visible effort, Pill King Yu announced loudly. “For the first
round, the Ingenious Decan Pill Enigma, the victory goes to Taiyuan Tower by an
overwhelming margin!”
A fair amount of subjectivity was obvious within Pill King
Yu’s tone. Normally, words like “overwhelming margin” shouldn’t be used by a
judge. Pill King Yu, however, still felt that to be insufficient to express the
ecstatic delight in his heart. “Countless top ranked pill kings in the Divine
Abyss Continent have been unable to crack this Ingenious Decan Pill Enigma. Who
would’ve thought that today, it’d be revealed in its entirety? Having lived for
so long, I finally understand why a man enlightened in the morning would accept
if he were to die in the evening!”
Although the less educated were unable to fully comprehend
these erudite words, they were able to grasp the general idea. Pill King Yu was
greatly moved and felt that being able to see the completed Ingenious Decan
Pill Enigma was a great revelation. He would have no regrets even if he died
then and there. Many turned pale with astonishment as word spread through the
surrounding pill kings.
The completed Ingenious Decan Pill Enigma? There was
actually someone in the Divine Abyss Continent who could complete the Ingenious
Decan Pill Enigma? This was a legend of the Divine Abyss Continent—a pill
riddle for which there was no solution! A mere pill king of House Wei was
actually able to decipher the Ingenious Decan Pill Enigma and write down all 36
pill recipes?
This news once again petrified everyone present. Even Wang
Teng couldn’t help but speak out. “Pill King Yu, I hope I don’t come across as
skeptical, but I’ve also heard of this Ingenious Decan Pill Enigma. I`ve heard
it to be an unsolvable riddle. Could this brat have deliberately misled
everyone?”
Pill King Yu’s expression turned solem. “Young master Wang,
are you suspecting our professional integrity or questioning our working
standards?” Pill King Yu was obviously upset. The Ingenious Decan Pill Enigma
was a divine puzzle to him. How could he tolerate Wang Teng’s blasphemy? He
spoke loudly, “This old man has been trying to unravel the mysteries behind
this riddle for hundreds of years and am most qualified to judge this matter.
I’ve only been able to come up with twenty three pill recipes in total. The
ones I’ve discovered are all in this answer scroll along with the thirteen that
I haven’t! Whoever questions the Ingenious Decan Pill Enigma is committing
blasphemy!”
Pill King Yu’s attitude made everything clear. The other
judges all nodded in agreement. They had all studied this Ingenious Decan Pill
Enigma at some point in their lives and knew that the answer scroll wasn’t
fake.
An unreconciled Wang Teng continued to press his case, “Pill
King Yu is one of the most prominent experts of the pill trade in the Veluriyam
Capital. Even you, your excellency, can only deduce twenty three recipes, and
yet a mere guest pill king was able to decipher the whole pill chart in just a
quarter of an hour. Does no one else find this odd?”
Wang Teng immediately shifted the spearhead towards Jiang
Chen.
Jiang Chen smiled nonchalantly and glanced at Wang Teng as
though the latter was an idiot. “Could it be that I’m required to report how I
mastered the Ingenious Decan Pill Enigma to Sir Wang?”
He was giving them a taste of their own medicine. When they
had previously discussed the origins of the Longevity Pill, Wang Teng had
stated that they had no need to prove nor report anything regarding the source
of the pills to him. Jiang Chen was simply returning the favor in kind.
Wang Teng’s ears turned scarlet, momentarily lost for a
retort. On the other hand, Pill King Yu was feeling a complex blend of remorse
and curiosity. He was regretting looking down on House Wei’s guest pill king
earlier, thinking the latter was giving up on the competition. But he was also
curious as to how this guest pill king from House Wei was so knowledgeable
about the Ingenious Decan Pill Enigma.
“Pill King Zhen, this old man means no offense, but I hope
you can indulge my curiosity. The Ingenious Decan Pill Enigma is an unsolvable
conundrum of the Divine Abyss Continent. Where... where did you see this
completed version?” Pill King Yu wasn’t deliberately making things difficult
for Jiang Chen. He was truly just curious, and his tone was that of requesting
a consultation.
Jiang Chen laughed, “Actually there’s no such thing as an
unsolvable conundrum. I had the fortune of meeting a sage during my youth, from
whom I learned the dao of pills for over ten years. My mentor was a rather
eccentric senior. He told me many interesting stories about the field of pills
and medicine. I heard of this Ingenious Decan Pill Enigma`s solution when I was
ten, and committed it to memory ever since.”
Pill King Yu was absolutely dumbstruck when he heard Jiang
Chen’s words. He had studied this riddle religiously for hundreds of years, but
this person in front of him had mastered it at the age of ten. This… this is
what was meant by comparisons begetting frustration! However, Pill King Yu was
already an elder and naturally wouldn’t succumb to jealousy. He was surprised,
but now even more curious after hearing Pill King Zhen’s description of his
mentor. Just how powerful a pill dao expert would his master be? Pill King Yu’s
mind was besieged with a great many questions. He wanted nothing more than to
sit down and chat with Jiang Chen deep into the night, nay, for three days and
three nights straight! But he didn’t forget that he was currently judging a
wager between two houses. It wasn’t proper for him to express too much of his
emotions at this point. It might lead to unnecessary finger-pointing.
He suppressed his curiosity for the moment and nodded slowly
before glancing communicatively at the other eight judges. They all came to a
unanimous final decision that there was no doubt about Taiyuan Tower’s victory
in the first round. Wang Teng was utterly dissatisfied and full of suspicions.
But the other party had no obligation to report anything to him, much like the
matter regarding the Longevity Pill. He gnashed his teeth in frustration, but
could only pinch his nose and eat the loss. Fortunately, this was just an
unexpected development. “Damn, what a lucky bastard! This brat mastered the
Ingenious Decan Pill Enigma a long time ago. He just won by pure luck this
round!” Wang Teng consoled himself.
Pill King Yu slowly regained control over his emotions. “The
second round of the pill king contest takes a different approach from the
first, but still moves in the same direction. This time, we’ll be testing not
only the pill kings’ theoretical knowledge, but also their practical skills.”
As he explained, he waved his hands to summon two assistants to his side.
Each assistants carried a large tray, on which was an
identical set of forty eight spirit herbs. The grade of these ingredients
weren’t very high. Most of them were only spirit herbs suitable for use by
origin realm cultivators.
“You will both be given a set of forty eight spirit herbs
with some of the strongest fusion properties. A large number of possible
combinations are possible between them. Your objective is to compose a pill
recipe with these and then refine your pill. The competitor whose product is of
a higher rank will be declared victor. We’ll judge based on the purity and
quality of the pills if the final products are of identical rank. Supreme rank
pills are the most optimal, followed by upper rank, and then mid and lower
rank.” Pill King Yu read the rules out loud. Jiang Chen was already quite
familiar with them. These contests were quite popular in the Divine Abyss
Continent. He had already experienced a similar competition back at Mt.
Rippling Mirage.
After receiving their respective trays, the two contestants
were immediately isolated from the outside world by restrictive formations.
“Remember, the time limit for this stage of the competition is two hours. If
every aspect of your products are identical, the person who first completes the
refinement is the winner,” Pill King Yu reminded.
Chapter 773: An Odd Choice of Materials
The round officially started after the judge’s declaration.
Both participating pill kings were isolated inside a restriction formation that
allowed the people outside to see through it, but not vice versa. Therefore,
there was no need to worry about copycats. The one thing Jiang Chen was most
familiar with during his past life was refining pills. The moment the
restriction activated, he immediately attuned himself with nature. The forty
eight spirit materials appeared in his mind and merged with each other over and
over. His mind was like highly precise machine that swiftly tested all kinds of
combinations. To Jiang Chen, this state was as easy as eating or sleeping.
The level of all forty eight materials definitely wasn’t
high. They were just saint rank spirit herbs that corresponded to origin realm
cultivators. True saint rank herbs were the ones that corresponded to sage
realm cultivators. There were pitifully few true saint rank spirit herbs in the
given forty eight, just eight. They were obviously insufficient for a pill
recipe.
Jiang Chen’s mind began to spin quickly. He had two
lifetimes of pill refining experience, so the thing he lacked the least was
experience. These spirit herbs felt as familiar as his own fingertips.
Countless thoughts and inspirations came to him. A couple of pill recipes
appeared in his mind. However, the level of the pill recipes weren’t that high.
They could barely be considered a quasi-true saint rank recipe, but this wasn’t
the result Jiang Chen wanted.
“This is an incredibly demanding round. I’ll be able to win
as long as the pill’s level is high enough. Therefore, the key to victory for
this match lies in the sophistication of my pill’s level, not its level of
precision.” Jiang Chen understood the rules and knew that a high level would
automatically deliver victory to him. If the spirit herbs were all of the same
rank, then it would be a competition of precision, purity and quality.
Jiang Chen swept his gaze across the spirit herbs again.
Once, twice… Two hours had been allotted for this round. Therefore, it was
unrealistic to dream of creating an exceptionally high level pill. However, he
couldn’t guarantee victory if the pill’s level was too low.
Suddenly, an idea came into Jiang Chen’s mind. As of late,
he had spent plenty of time researching the Deviant Pill Faction. Wasn’t their
creed one about using the strangest materials to create the most unique and
famous pill recipes? The most direct pursuit of the Deviant Pill Faction was to
use strange materials and unexpected refining methods to create familiar pills.
They also sought recipes that cut costs to a minimum. A pill made by the
Deviant Pill Faction might cost less than half of what other people used when
creating the same pill.
The Deviant Pill Faction was known for their uncanny
craftsmanship, seeking a path in pill dao that went against orthodoxy. They
were often able to use cheap materials to refine high level pills. It wasn’t
uncommon for them to come up with extraordinary results that looked like true
alchemy as they sought to excavate the maximum potential of spirit herbs. This
was also the biggest charm of this faction, or they wouldn’t have become an
outstanding name among many other pill dao factions, drawing the fanatical
admiration of countless pill masters and turning them into diehard fans of the
Deviant Pill Faction.
It was undeniable that many pill kings had great skill in
pill refining. However, most of them had an obscene amount of wastage when it
came to their refining process. Any high level pill they refined was the result
of mountains of high rank spirit herbs. They would ensure success with pure
quantity, and then skill. Even if they wasted their materials, it only made
them look better to their peers.
Meanwhile, the Deviant Pill Faction hated inefficiency to
the core. If they could refine a pill just using saint rank materials, they
would never use a true saint rank materials. This was the charm of the Deviant
Pill Faction. Their pursuit for cost reduction had reached an insane level of
devotion. Quite a lot of inspiration came to Jiang Chen after he started to
approach things like one of the Deviant Pill Faction. Suddenly, a pill’s name
appeared in Jiang Chen’s mind.
The Triphase Pill! This pill could create the cycle of
earth, wood and fire elements inside one’s body. The term ‘Triphase’
represented the cycles of the three elements. Earth grows wood, wood feeds
fire, and fire reduces all to earth… The Triphase Pill differed from the great
five phase cycle. It was a three phase cycle that enabled cultivators who
cultivated these three elements to instantly replenish their inner energy.
There were no cultivators - even the emperor realm
cultivators - whose inner energy was inexhaustible. Cultivators cultivated
energy, and energy was a consumable resource. A cultivator would use up large
amounts of inner energy in battle, over long distances, or just practicing
their art. Even Titled Great Emperors might exhaust their inner energy if they
were embroiled in an intense battle and had executed several powerful
techniques in a row. The Triphase Pill was a pill that sought to remedy that by
replenishing one’s inner energy.
Of course, the target of the Triphase Pill was extremely
specific. It was made only for cultivators whose attributes were that of earth,
wood and fire. One could say that this pill was tailored for just those
cultivators. Moreover, the most amazing thing about the Triphase Pill was that it
had no cultivation restriction. It could be used by either origin, sage or
emperor realm cultivators. The level of the pill was usually solely determined
by the level of the user. If the pill worked for a sage realm cultivator, then
it would be categorized as a true saint rank pill. If it worked for an emperor
realm cultivator, then it would be categorized as an earth rank pill. In
general, the Triphase Pill was most commonly used by sage realm cultivators.
Thus, most often treated it as a true saint rank pill.
Jiang Chen stared at the materials in his hands and deduced
that he absolutely could refine the Triphase Pill with them if he followed the
style of the Deviant Pill Faction. Moreover, he was sure that the pill’s level
would be quite high. That was how incredible the Deviant Pill Faction was. It
wasn’t impossible to create an earth rank pill with saint rank spirit herbs. Of
course, it was normally inconceivable for such a ridiculous leap in rank to
happen.
Generally speaking, a leap of one rank was pretty common,
but a leap of two ranks was definitely a lot more difficult. An apt comparison
would be the notion of refining a sky rank pill with just true saint rank
spirit herbs. It was a difficult task even for a Deviant Pill Faction pill
master. Even the masters of the Deviant Pill Faction prayed for luck sometimes.
They couldn’t always create a miracle anytime they wanted to. They had to
combine all kinds of coincidences to be able to occasionally manifest a
success.
Jiang Chen gave his Triphase Pill recipe a thorough
simulation and was confident that he had a ninety percent chance of success.
Normally, a pill master would jump straight to work if the pill even had a
thirty percent chance of success. Jiang Chen took a moment to settle his
emotions, took out the Skysnatcher Cauldron and began heating it...
He had spent a lot of time in researching the Skysnatcher
Cauldron lately, and he had come to the conclusion that this cauldron was very
much a product of the Deviant Pill Faction. The style of its creation and
naming was very in keeping with an outstanding achievement of the Deviant Pill
Faction. Skysnatcher was as its name implied. Its function was to snatch
fortune from heavens’ hands. This school of thought was definitely deserving of
this claim.
Jiang Chen had used the Skysnatcher Cauldron a few times,
and the results had been even better than he’d imagined. With the Skysnatcher
Cauldron in hand, he felt like the chances of successfully refining the
Triphase Pill had increased dramatically.
Two hours weren’t long, and Jiang Chen wasn’t willing to
waste even a second. Once he had selected all the materials to refine the
Triphase Pill, he immediately discarded the rest to a corner. The speed at
which Jiang Chen had chosen his materials surprised a lot of the onlookers. The
nine judges were exchanging glances with each other. They couldn’t possibly
overlook the fact that there was only one true saint rank spirit herb out of
all the materials that Jiang Chen had selected. The rest were all saint rank
spirit herbs. Pill King Yu felt a twinge of surprise. Out of all forty eight
types of spirit herbs, only eight were true saint rank spirit herbs.
Technically speaking, Jiang Chen should have selected at least five of them to
be able to refine a pill of the highest level. So why had this pill king of
House Wei selected only one true saint rank spirit herb? The rest of his
materials were all just saint rank spirit herbs. This selection was quite
perplexing.
Pill King Yu really admired Jiang Chen. The Tiger Eruption
Pill, Heptarune True Dragon Pill and Half-step Immortal Elixir Pill were
obvious indicators of Pill King Zhen’s youthful potential. The revelation of
the Ingenious Decan Pill Enigma especially, had laid out a new world before
Pill King Yu’s eyes. But now, he was a little disappointed at Jiang Chen’s
choice of spirit herbs. With those materials, the best he would be able to
refine was an upper level saint rank pill. Even if he overperformed, the
absolute best he could come up with was a quasi-true saint rank pill.
What was the quasi-true saint rank? That was the designation
for pills that were in reality just a saint rank pill, though it could barely
be categorized as a true saint rank pill. If the bar was set a bit lower, then
it could be called a true saint rank pill. If the bar was a tad higher, then it
could a saint rank pill. That was what quasi-true saint rank meant.
“This Pill King Zhen had the benefit of an extraordinary
teacher in pill dao when he was young, but he ultimately lacks in practical
experience. He may be well versed with many high level classics and fixed pill
recipes, but he is too young and poor because of his age. His knowledge might
not be able to make up for his lack of experience.” Although Pill King Yu felt
a little pity for Pill King Zhen, the former’s admiration hadn’t fallen because
of this conclusion he’d formed. In his opinion, Pill King Zhen was only
suffering from a lack of age and experience. With his intelligence and comprehensive
ability, he would most likely become a famous pill king in the future.
The rest of the judges were also shaking their heads
inwardly after they saw Jiang Chen’s choice of spirit herbs. They’d also seen
the materials Pill King Rong had selected. As experts in pill dao, they already
knew from his materials that he was aiming to refine a mid level true saint
rank pill. It would be very impressive if he was able to do this in just one
hour’s time. Even if the judges were to take the field themselves, that was
likely the best they could’ve come up with. Though it wasn’t the highest
possible level of pill they could come up with, Pill King Rong looked like he
had a ninety chance of winning this battle.
After all, even if the pill master wished to create a high
level pill and came up with the materials to do so, two hours were simply
insufficient to refine a higher level pill. This two-hour time limit was
extremely important in that it prevented either party from creating a higher
level pill with the available spirit herbs. A limit on time and material
squeezed the competitors down to the wire.
The audience wasn’t as professional as the nine judges, nor
their insight as sharp, but they still gleaned a bit from both pill masters’
choice of materials. No matter how they looked at it, the choice of materials
made by Taiyuan Lodge’s Pill King Rong were of a much higher level than Pill
King Zhen’s.
Chapter 774: Stunning Fire Control Technique
Wei Tianxiao was somewhat disappointed after seeing Jiang
Chen’s herb selection, but he wasn’t convinced of the outcome. He knew that
having a second rank pill king compete against a sixth rank pill king was
already quite unfair. But he also knew that there was no other way out. They
would at least go down in style! Even if they lost the wager, they’d at least
express their loyalty clearly to the Coiling Dragon Clan.
Young master Ji San’s thoughts, however, were not on the
competition. He was still in stunned shock. His thoughts had been wandering
after Pill King Zhen had deciphered the Ingenious Decan Pill Enigma. He
recalled the Pine Crane Pill Jiang Chen had mentioned before. He had been
somewhat skeptical at first, believing its effects to have been exaggerated.
But after witnessing the completion of the Ingenious Decan Pill Enigma, young
master Ji San couldn’t help but realize that this Pill King Zhen from House Wei
might be a person of great origins. He wasn’t privy to Pill King Zhen’s actual
identity, but was certain the latter had been mentored by a great master.
Furthermore, this teacher should be at a much higher level than these top
ranked pill kings like Pill King Yu. This also meant that his teacher might
possible be one of those fabled pill emperors! But even so, one of those
legendary existences still might not be able to grasp the Ingenious Decan Pill
Enigma in its entirety.
A pill dao expert with a complete grasp of the Ingenious
Decan Pill Enigma couldn’t possibly be lacking in knowledge and experience. It
was highly unlikely that Pill King Zhen’s claim regarding the existence of the
Pine Crane Pill was just an irresponsible remark. Young master Ji San had only
previously seven parts confident, but now he was absolutely convinced. “This Pill
King Zhen is definitely someone with a glorious future. I, Ji Ole Third, have
made countless friends but laughably, all are fairweather companions. Very few
can be counted on in times of need. It’s actually this incidental acquaintance
who might have such a potential. I must maintain this friendship no matter the
outcome of this competition. Our Coiling Dragon Clan may yet rise again, if in
the future, we find an opportunity to request a batch of Pine Crane Pills of
his master .”
Imagining all the wonderful possibilities greatly excited
young master Ji San. As for the present contest, he didn’t particularly care
about it. What did temporary gains or losses matter? His thoughts and energy
were focused on the Pine Crane Pill. They already possessed the Goldencrown
Cloudcrane and only lacked the pinecone from the Invisible Chameleon Cloudpine.
Young master Ji San firmly believed the heavens wouldn’t bar every path. No
matter how concealed, there was bound to be a path towards hope and light
amidst the heavenly dao.
In contrast to the young master Ji San who lost in reverie,
those from the Majestic Clan were all highly focused and confident. The seventh
rank pill king was the highest ranking member of Wang Teng’s entourage. He was
reporting something to the latter. “Young clan lord, Pill King Rong’s selected
batch of materials is higher than Taiyuan Tower’s by an entire level. We’re
almost certain to win this round, considering Pill King Rong’s skill as a sixth
rank pill king. Now it only remains for us to see whether he can successfully
complete the refining within two hours.” This seventh rank pill king possessed
piercing insight. He’d also observed the brilliance of Pill King Rong’s herb
selection, just as the judges had.
Wang Teng had also noticed the technical disparity and
nodded with delight. He was all smiles; he felt everything was proceeding
according to plan. Taiyuan Lodge had already obtained victory during the first
stage. Their opponent had won the first round of the second stage by sheer luck.
But if Taiyuan Lodge won the second round, their scores would draw again. Then
Taiyuan Lodge would only need to win the third round of the second stage to
become the victor of the whole competition. House Wei’s store would then change
ownership and become the Majestic Clan’s property!
Wang Teng was feeling ecstatic at the mere thought. He’d
have trampled House Wei, slapped the Coiling Dragon Clan’s face and secured
House Wei’s store in the Farmer’s God Street Market at the same time. It was
like killing three birds with one stone! Truthfully, Wang Teng had harbored
certain misgivings before the contest had begun. He was suspicious of House
Wei’s unusual storefront wager. But at the moment, he was quite certain that it
had been a bluff in order to force him to back off and suppress the Taiyuan
Lodge’s morale.
Humph! Did you think this kind of scheme can trick our
Majestic Clan? You lot from House Wei think too highly of yourselves! Wang Teng
felt inwardly disdainful and reckoned that House Wei must’ve be hopping mad at
the moment. No one in their right mind would offer their only storefront at
Farmer’s God Market as a wager. A mere ninth rank aristocratic family wants to
compete against my Majestic Clan? They’re simply looking to die!
Wang Teng was supremely smug. Victory was now in sight and
so close at that. This sense of accomplishment elevated his mood greatly. It
was as if he was already standing on the summit and taking in the panoramic
scenery.
He couldn’t help but glance at young master Ji San with
glee. He wanted to see young master Ji San’s troubled expression. But Wang Teng
didn’t expect to see the other lost in reverie as if the present contest didn’t
concern him in the least.
“Could Ji Ole Third have abandoned all hope?” Wang Teng felt
a shred of uncertainty after seeing the young master’s current state. He then
turned to check on the father and son from House Wei. They were now looking
rather distressed. This was especially true of Wei Tianxiao, who’d almost
turned green. Wang Teng was reassured after seeing their expressions.
“Wei Tianxiao, this is what happens when you refuse my
toast. You’re forced to drink a forfeit! Our Majestic Clan gave House Wei an
opportunity. Not only did you scorn our kindness, but you also worked to oppose
us! You simply don’t know how to recognize the change of the times!” Wang
Teng’s contagious delight affected the father and son from House Tong as well
as their subordinates. Victory seemed almost assured for those from the Taiyuan
Lodge.
Others from within the audience secretly sighed after seeing
Jiang Chen’s selection of materials. They were originally hoping that Taiyuan
Tower would produce a miracle of sorts and take the second stage of the
competition in one fell swoop. They wanted him to prove it was possible for the
weak to triumph over the powerful! But as things stood, it seemed the powerful
were still powerful in the end, just as the weak were still weak. The Ingenious
Decan Pill Enigma was likely just an unexpected hitch!
Jiang Chen was now already lost in his own world of pill
dao. Ordinary folks couldn’t comprehend the methods of the Deviant Pill
Faction. But the principles were clear as day to him. The two hour time limit
was quite pressing. Jiang Chen couldn't and didn't hide his strength any
longer. He began to exhibit all of his various techniques, and only the heavens
knew just how many fire control techniques Jiang Chen had mastered. However,
this was obviously not the right occasion to show off flashy techniques. He
merely activated the True Fires of Ninety Nine, the technique that had
thoroughly filled Shen Trifire with admiration back at the Regal Pill Palace.
The True Fires of Ninety Nine utilized the principles of layering and demanded
fine control skills and proficient composition ability.
Jiang Chen had played with the True Fires of Ninety Nine
countless times during his past life. But he wouldn’t have chosen to use it
here if he didn’t have to consider the strict time limit. But the current
situation was urgent and required more intense flames than usual. Furthermore,
the Deviant Pill Faction didn’t reject such fire control techniques. On the
contrary, they even preferred them.
Pill King Yu’s eyes lit up the moment Jiang Chen started his
fire control technique. He’d just been sighing after witnessing Jiang Chen’s
selection of herbs and immediately noticed something different about this
technique. Simply watching this fire control ability felt breathtaking.
Pill King Zhen had selected a batch of mediocre ingredients,
but his fire control was spectacular! The contrast was too extreme. Pill King
Yu’s wildly fluctuating impressions made it difficult for him to accurately
judge this young pill king. “Could it be that I’ve misjudged him? Is there some
hidden wisdom behind his choice of unremarkable materials?” Pill King Yu was
not one to go about with his nose in the air just because he was a ninth rank
pill king. On the contrary, he was still full of passion and still hungered for
new knowledge. Pill King Yu’s eyes naturally lit up when he witnessed a fire
control technique the like even he’d never seen before.
“It seems this Pill King Zhen had truly been mentored by an
illustrious master. His fire control technique is obviously extraordinary. I
have travelled far and wide throughout the Upper Eight Regions and exchanged
knowledge with countless peers, yet I’ve never seen such a technique of fire
control. I truly wonder who Pill King Zhen’s master is.” Pill King Yu was afire
with curiosity regarding Jiang Chen’s origins. How powerful would the mentor be
if even the student is so accomplished? He had to admit that the mentor of
House Wei’s pill king must be someone at a much higher level than himself. He
was, no doubt, a pill emperor. Pill King Yu was even slightly envious of Jiang
Chen at this point.
Jiang Chen’s fire control technique also gave pause to many
who were previously certain of his defeat. Although not everyone was a pill dao
genius, they were still able to discern the skill of such a technique. Not even
a high ranking pill king might be able to perform such a high level fire
control method.
“Who would’ve thought House Wei had invited a genius in fire
control!” The spectators were secretly surprised. Even Wei Tianxiao felt
momentarily enraptured and forgot to bother with calculating his potential
losses.
The highly complacent Wang Teng began to frown after seeing
Jiang Chen’s fire control technique. “This brat wasn’t just for show after all.
It seems his fire control technique was indeed taught to him by a great
master.” Wang Teng was startled, but he didn’t believe the opponent would win
with just this fire control technique. In the end, pill refining required a
comprehensive set of skills. Defeat was assured if one couldn’t refine the
higher ranked pill, no matter how dazzling his fire control abilities were.
That was the reason why Wang Teng was still fairly calm despite being somewhat
surprised.
The nine judges, however, had already forgotten to observe
Pill King Rong—the latter’s choice of materials and refinement methods were all
conventional—they’d probably be performing the same procedures in his shoes.
The process itself wasn’t very different, the only distinction being the
brilliance of one’s methods. It wasn’t exactly something to wait with bated
breaths. But it was an entirely different matter with House Wei’s pill king.
His selection of ingredients was mediocre at best, but his fire control
technique was extremely brilliant. How could a person with such deep knowledge
of fire control techniques not know how to select materials properly? They all
felt it impossible. They were all eager to be the first to witness what new and
dazzling technique House Wei’s pill king had to show them.
Chapter 775: The Triphase Pill
Jiang Chen had never underperformed on the matter of pills.
Though it was only a small display of skill, the requisite degree of technique
for this segment was rather high. Only experts could appreciate artistry; the
rest were just along for the ride. Jiang Chen's plain choice of materials was
universally deemed mediocre, because no depth of skill could be appreciated
from the act. But when Jiang Chen began to show his fire-controlling skills,
the experts present began to recognize his finesse.
Moreover, the methodology that followed caused more than a
little head-scratching. It completely defied common expectations. The materials
were thrown in with almost careless abandon. It seemed completely random. In
that moment, even Pill King Yu was perplexed by the eccentricity of Jiang
Chen's technique. What pill is he refining, really?
Pill King Yu was more than a little confounded. Jiang Chen's
technique seemed to follow no rhyme or reason, and very little about it looked
routine. Usually when making pills, the timing of inserting materials and how
the fire should be controlled followed a series of rigid steps. A certain
mastery and precision of heat and timing was needed. Doubtless, Jiang Chen's
haphazard technique would have left a terrible impression on any pill king with
a serious and inflexible personality. How was this attitude suitable for making
pills? He was playing like a child!
However, after a period of careful observation, Pill King Yu
noticed a hidden order to Jiang Chen's madness. Though his placement of
materials seemed random, there was still some logic to it, although not a
pattern of thinking normal people could make heads or tails of.
"Pill King Zhen uses some strange techniques, but
there’s a pattern. Each time, he first puts in an earth element spirit herb,
then a wood element, then a fire element … this cycle is repeated three times,
for a total of nine ingredients. ...Hmm? What a unique pill-making technique.
Isn't it too simple with only materials from three elements? How would such
monotonous elements be fused together?" Pill King Yu gleaned little
insights from his observations. Though he didn’t miss a single detail, he
couldn't put the full picture together. He was utterly mystified by the
proceedings.
"Pill King Yu, Taiyuan Tower's pill king… what pill is
he making?" Another judge poked his head over, asking in hushed tones. The
other judges' faces were similarly lit up with curiosity. Jiang Chen's bizarre
actions were too difficult for them to understand.
Pill King Yu smiled wryly, scratching at his head of white
hair. "I can't make anything of it either. His choice of material and
methodologies are too radical. If he's not just playing, then the only thing
that comes to mind is that school that’s almost died out…"
"The Deviant Pill Faction?" Another pill king to
the side piped up as a lightbulb flashed. The other judges turned solemn as
well at the three words 'Deviant Pill Faction'. That faction?
It was a pill faction that was almost legendary. Rumors had
been circulating for ages, but a true master of the faction was exceedingly
rare. A few pills from that faction circulated through the open markets every
so often, but many of those pills were such in form only, not in spirit. Though
they claimed to be of the Deviant Pill Faction, they lacked the various
essential qualities that were their trademark. Many followed the faction, but
pill masters worthy of the name were pitiably few. Oftentimes, pill masters
merely borrowed from the methods of the faction, or grasped only a few basics.
They couldn't be counted as purists of the faction at all.
But, even so, as a mysterious faction in the pill world, the
Deviant Pill Faction enjoyed an excellent reputation. Though some traditional
pill factions were dismissive of the Deviant Pill Faction, and felt it was far
too unorthodox for the mainstream, their discrimination and disdain was
understandable. For the past thousand years or so, no master of the faction had
risen in the Divine Abyss Continent. Let alone pill emperors, few pill kings
were found worthy of representing the faction. Thus, the Deviant Pill Faction
was quite a divisive topic for many. Those who worshipped the faction, and
those who despised it—both sides took their views to the extremes. Of course,
most pill experts didn't have such ardent views. They were amenable to learning
from the philosophy of the faction without blindly worshipping it, and moreover
would never go to the extent of declaring it worthless.
The sight of Jiang Chen's peculiar technique, coupled with
Pill King Yu's reminder, shed a ray of sudden light into the hearts of those
present. If not the Deviant Pill Faction, where else could such unusual
pill-making techniques be found?
"It is said that the Deviant Pill Faction specializes
in creating the extraordinary out of the ordinary. They focus on making high
rank pills with low rank medicine. I wonder if this Pill King Zhen can show us
such a miracle?" Out of the nine judges, two were rabid fans of the
faction. The one who had spoken was an eighth rank pill king.
"Hmph, many up-and-coming youngsters call themselves
adherents of the faction, but which one of that rabble has actually made a name
for themselves? Ultimately, the Deviant Pill Faction is just that—a bunch of
deviants." With fanatic admirers came stubborn critics.
"Haha, Pill King Zhao, your thoughts do not keep up
with the times. With the Deviant Pill Faction, one is either a great genius
whose name resounds under the heavens, or falls to the wayside." Hearing criticism
of the faction, the enthusiast who'd spoken prior fired off a displeased
retort.
"Great genius?" Pill King Zhao sneered. "Then
let us see what tricks he has up his sleeve. Deviant Pill Faction, heh
heh…"
Pill King Yu didn't quite have a dog in the fight. He paid
more mind to the techniques themselves. From his perspective, House Wei's Pill
King Zhen was very likely a genius with actual skill, and not someone who
merely made empty boasts. Two hours was a short time, but waiting through these
two in particular was particularly arduous. An anxious fire was lit in people's
hearts. Everyone was eagerly anticipating the results, judges included.
In the Veluriyam Capital, observing techniques from the
Deviant Pill Faction was exceedingly rare. Though some works surfaced from time
to time, the pill masters behind those works never revealed their pill-making
process. All of the faction's techniques were to be treasured in private, not
casually shown to the masses. Their opportunity to publicly peruse Jiang Chen's
technique was a rare occurrence indeed. Despite this, their ability to actually
decipher the technique was uncertain, even after potentially watching it a
dozen or hundred times. After all, there were many hidden details embedded
within the techniques that couldn't be interpreted without extensive guidance.
It was nearly impossible to decrypt the technique on one's own.
Time passed, and the two hours neared their conclusions.
Refining the pill was greatly taxing for Jiang Chen.
Thankfully, everything went mostly according to plan, and he was just about to
wrap things up. Nevertheless, Jiang Chen couldn't relax. Expertly making
various hand seals without pause, Jiang Chen's fingers danced in the air.
"The Triphase Pill usually takes four to six hours to
make. Compressing it into two really takes its toll." Jiang Chen felt a
little fatigued, but he also felt very comfortable. He had a feeling that the
batch of Triphase Pills would turn out well. At the same time, he rejoiced in
his good fortune. "This kind of time saving refining process takes too
much energy. I should be more careful about attempting it in the future."
As Jiang Chen slowly extinguishing the final embers of his
flame, the temperature within the Skysnatcher Cauldron began to decrease.
Tricolored smoke began to curl upward from the vessel. From the color of the
smoke and the resonance of the pills audible to his Ear of the Zephyr, Jiang
Chen knew that the risk he had taken had paid off. The time it took for the
Skysnatcher Caudron to completely cool also signaled the conclusion of the two
hours.
Opening the cauldron, Jiang Chen was greeted by the sight of
six Triphase Pills. Like well-worn jade, they gave off strong waves of
vitality. His eyes lit up. The rank of these Triphase Pills were even better
than he expected. Even if they could no be counted as quasi-earth rank pills,
they were still peak true saint rank.
On the opposite side, Pill King Rong’s refining was also
coming to an end. His smile of satisfaction was a clear giveaway that he had
been able to bring his skills almost fully to bear. As expected, he was the
first to the judges' table.
"Honorable judges, I had the fortune of refining
several Jade Marrow Pills of the true saint rank. Please feel free to give your
judgment." The results that Pill King Rong submitted were not out of the
judges' expectations. It had been easy to guess the pill king's intent of
refining the Jade Marrow Pill from his choice of ingredients.
The Jade Marrow Pill was a true saint rank pill. Even a
poorly made one would still be a lower true saint rank. A pill that was of
somewhat better quality could be counted a mid true saint pill. If purity and
flawlessness were achieved, then it was quite possible to appraise the pill as
an advanced true saint pill. The Jade Marrow Pill was also a pill for restoring
energy and was a commonly found pill. It was used by many sage realm experts.
It was especially appropriate for human sage realm experts, but could also be
used for those in the earth sage realm. For sky sage experts, however, the Jade
Marrow Pill was somewhat insufficient.
Naturally, there was an improved version of the pill, the
Jade Marrow Goldpill. As the improved version of the Jade Marrow Pill, the Jade
Marrow Goldpill was specifically made for sky sage realm cultivators, and was
of use even to those in the emperor realm.
Supposedly, those at initial emperor realm used Jade Marrow
Goldpills when they were strapped for money. If one wasn't enough, two were
better. Of course, despite a difference of only one word, there was
nevertheless a significant distinction between the Jade Marrow Pill and the
Jade Marrow Goldpill.
Pill King Rong's Jade Marrow Pill had been limited by the
amount of available time, and didn't quite achieve perfection. Its wholeness
and purity were both a little lacking. After a round of examination, several of
the judges came to a reasonably unified opinion. The pill was mid true saint
rank at most. The rest of the judges gave their feedback to Pill King Yu, who
found nothing wrong with their judgement, and announced, "Taiyuan Lodge's
Pill King Rong has refined the Jade Marrow Pill, appraised as a mid true saint
rank pill."
A flurry of cheers from Taiyuan Lodge's side accompanied
this announcement. Mid true saint rank was the most they'd expected. Materials
and time had been both limited; that Pill King Rong was able to accomplish this
in the short span of two hours was testament to his status as a sixth rank pill
king. He had truly made the most of the situation. Those on Taiyuan Lodge's
side threw looks of ridicule and derision at the Wei father and son duo. What
did Taiyuan Tower have that could compare to a mid true saint rank pill? Though
the work of Taiyuan Tower's pill king remained to be seen, everyone considered
their loss to be certain!
Chapter 776: The Brilliant Deviant Pill Faction
Even the onlookers believed that Taiyuan Lodge was the
definite victor after seeing Pill King Rong refining such a high quality pill
in just two hours, much less Wang Teng. Even House Wei were staring at Jiang
Chen with very serious expressions.
Jiang Chen himself looked completely calm. He stood up
indifferently, chose the most excellent pill from his batch and presented it
respectfully to the judges.
“My lords, this pill is called the Triphase Pill. It
emphasizes the cycle of three elements where earth grows wood, wood feeds fire
and fire reduces all to earth. It is also a pursuit to achieve quasi-earth rank
pill quality using saint rank spirit herbs. Please review it!” Jiang Chen
wasn’t afraid that these judges would lack in knowledge. He just wasn’t sure if
they would recognize the Triphase Pill. A brief introduction like this would at
least tell them why this pill was amazing and where its key element lay.
Indeed, a change stole across everyone’s faces, including
Pill King Yu. The onlookers were even more surprised by his words. Even Wang
Teng felt his heart spasm. He subconsciously thought that Jiang Chen was just
shooting off his mouth. A pursuit to achieve quasi-earth rank pill quality
using saint rank spirit herbs? This boast is way over the top!
True saint rank came after saint rank, and earth rank was
even more advanced than true saint rank! Was he claiming that he had skipped
two levels and refined an earth rank pill using saint rank spirit herbs? This
was absolutely bullshitting. He hadn’t even thought through his words before
opening his mouth, had he!? But Wang Teng was the young lord of clan. As such,
he wasn’t in the best position to publicly question the validity of Jiang
Chen’s claims, even if he was highly skeptical.
However, the Tong father and son had no such qualms. They
were here to act as the Majestic Clan’s frontline troops from the beginning.
Naturally, they wouldn’t back off from the chance to sing of their opponent’s
downfall. House lord Tong Xianwei sneered, “That’s a big boast to shoot off,
kid. Even the best pill king might not dare claim that they could refine an
earth rank pill using saint rank herbs. Do you think the judges are three year
olds who’ll fall for your pathetic lies?”
Tong Kun also yelled loudly, “How dare a self-taught bastard
like you behave so atrociously in the pill industry of Veluriyam Capital? Do
you think so lowly of Veluriyam Capital’s pill industry?”
The father and son duo was going all out for the Majestic
Clan. However, Jiang Chen couldn’t be bothered to quarrel with them at all. He
ignored the pair completely as he maintained the faint smile on his face. He
continued to wear a smile that was neither obsequious nor supercilious as he
awaited the nine judges’ review. As long as these judges weren’t blind or
biased, his Triphase Pill would absolutely defeat his opponent’s Jade Marrow
Pill. If his opponent’s pill had been a Jade Marrow Goldpill, then perhaps
there might have been an actual competition. But it was just a Jade Marrow Pill.
In Jiang Chen’s mind, it was completely incomparable to his Triphase Pill.
Pill King Yu felt a bit of astonishment too when he
considered Jiang Chen’s claims. But when he set his eyes on the Triphase Pill,
a strange light immediately appeared inside them. He couldn’t help but pick up
the pill, hold it in his palm and carefully sense its quality. A pill king
could differentiate the level and rank of a pill with a single look. This was
particularly true for high rank pill kings. Their eyes were better than any
precise instruments, and they could distinguish any pill’s rank with a single
glance. Even if they failed to get a good look at the pill, a careful feel
would still reveal its quality without too much error. What was good was good,
and what was bad was bad. There was no faking when it came to pills.
The more Pill King Zhen examined the pill, the more his
admiration grew. He asked, “Did you say that this pill is called the Triphase
Pill? The cycle of the three elements?”
“Yes,” Jiang Chen smiled and answered.
“Good, very good!” Pill King Zhen slapped the table once and
exclaimed in amazement, “This is practically the work of the gods! What an
amazing pill. I am thoroughly impressed by the usage of materials, the skill in
refining, and the pill quality of this Triphase Pill. If I may ask, what is
your name, my friend?”
Jiang Chen answered, “My name is Zhen Shi.”
Zhen Shi? It was obvious that none of the nine judges had
heard of this name before as they exchanged puzzled glances. But Pill King Yu
knew that it was impolite to dig into one’s roots, and so restrained his
curiosity forcefully to praise, “My friend—I’m over a thousand years old, so I
do hope I’m not going overboard by calling you a friend—this is the first time
I’ve seen your Triphase Pill. If I may ask, does your refining practices hail
from the Deviant Pill Faction?”
The rest of the judges stared at Jiang Chen closely. They
very much wanted to hear Jiang Chen’s answer.
Jiang Chen knew that it wasn’t something he had to hide.
Therefore, he nodded, “It is as you say, the handiwork of the Deviant Pil
Faction. The Deviant Pill Faction pursues the goal of creating high quality
pills with low cost materials. They pursue the method that stands out from the
masses.”
“What an amazing goal that is!” Pill King Zhen smiled as he
clapped once loudly. Then, he turned to the other judges and asked, “What do
you think about this pill, everyone?”
The pill king who was a die hard fan of the Deviant Pill
Faction hurriedly said, “This pill is absolutely at quasi-earth rank. In my
opinion, this pill will be useful even for an emperor realm cultivator. Its
rank is even a tad higher than the Jade Marrow Goldpill!”
“That is true. Even the Jade Marrow Goldpill seems a tad
inferior compared to this pill, much less the Jade Marrow Pill.” Another
Deviant Pill Faction fan echoed in agreement.
Pill King Zhao, the judge who opposed the Deviant Pill
Faction, wasn’t sure what to say even though he wanted to criticize the
Triphase Pill’s quality. He just couldn’t go against his conscience and claim
that it was inferior to the Jade Marrow Pill. The gap was so obvious that he
would be lying to himself to claim that the Triphase Pill was inferior to the
Jade Marrow Pill. His bias would then be criticized by the public too.
Therefore, he could only smile wryly and say nothing. The rest of the judges had
none of Pill King Zhao’s bias, so naturally they wouldn’t lie to themselves and
claim that the Triphase Pill was inferior to the Jade Marrow Pill. The judges
discussed amongst each other for a long moment. In the end, they all nodded at
Pill King Zhen. They obviously thought that the Triphase Pill absolutely
qualified as a quasi-earth rank pill. In fact, even if it was an entire rank
lower, the pill would still be an upper level true saint rank pill. It beat the
Jade Marrow Pill without question.
Everyone on Wang Teng’s side could see from the friendly
interaction between Pill King Yu and House Wei’s pill king that the former
admired the pill king very much.
For a while, everyone on Taiyuan Lodge’s side was
dumbfounded. How could this be? The ingredients that kid chose had been
incredibly mediocre, so how did the situation turn on its head all of a sudden?
Even Pill King Yu was praising him non-stop. Were they actually going to lose
this round?
Wang Teng’s face instantly darkened. He found the sudden
turn of events a little unacceptable. It’d come out of nowhere! If Taiyuan
Lodge lost this round, then the second stage of the pill king battle was lost.
Both sides would be at a draw. As a result, the competition would enter the
third stage. Although Wang Teng still thought that his side was certain of
victory, it was hard to say if another shift in the situation like this would
appear again.
For a long moment, Wang Teng’s expression was extremely
ugly. He looked at his own pill king with an obvious question in his eyes. The
pill king smiled wryly and sighed, “Young clan lord, the situation doesn’t look
good. This round was really bizarre. Even if I were to attend the battle
myself, I can only do as well as Pill King Rong. This pill king of House Wei is
a little strange…”
Wang Teng grew even more displeased. He hadn’t thought to
bring the strongest pill king in the family with him on this trip. He never
thought that the outcome of this battle would deviate so far from his
expectations. Although the results hadn’t been announced yet, the situation was
obviously very disadvantageous to him. As expected, the judges quickly came to
a decision and announced, “The Triphase Pill refined by Taiyuan Tower’s Pill
King Zhen is of incredible quality and is skillfully made. It is also a rare,
outstanding work of the Deviant Pill Faction, and we are very impressed by it.
We unanimously agree that the Triphase Pill is a quasi-earth rank pill!”
Quasi-earth rank!
The weight behind these three words was palpable when they
came out of Pill King Yu’s mouth. Pin drop silence reigned. It was obvious that
everyone was stunned by this revelation. Their entertaining expressions of
surprise were all frozen on their faces, like a statue. Taiyuan Tower’s Pill
King Zhen had refined a quasi-earth rank pill?
Why did this sound so utterly ridiculous? It was in stark
contrast with their expectations. A long moment later, Taiyuan Tower was the
first to recover from their shock and break out into loud cheers. It was
obvious from the happy tears flowing down their cheeks that they were besides
themselves. This unexpected victory and pleasant surprise was something no one
at Taiyuan Tower had foreseen. When Pill King Rong’s pill was judged to be at
mid true saint rank, almost everyone at Taiyuan Tower had been plunged into
deep despair. In their opinion, the maximum anyone could do with such limited
materials in just two hours’ time was precisely that. However, Jiang Chen had
literally forced his way out of an impossible situation through pure skill and
seized victory for himself!
The tens of thousands of onlookers actually became infected
by Taiyuan Tower’s emotions and began to applaud. For a while, the entire place
was filled with thunderous claps. Wang Teng’s handsome face distorted. It was
obvious that this unexpected blow greatly affected his emotions. He found it
difficult to swallow the outcome.
Although the tens of thousands of people likely hadn’t
applauded to attack the Majestic Clan, there was no doubt that it represented
at least a part of their true feelings. These fence sitters might not
necessarily like Taiyuan Lodge more than Taiyuan Tower! It didn’t matter if
they were applauding because they sympathized with the weak, or if they were
impressed by the exciting pill battle before them. These claps were still slaps
to his and Taiyuan Lodge’s face all the same!
When the applause slowly subsided, Pill King Yu added,
“Taiyuan Tower has won two rounds in a row in the second stage and are
therefore the victors of the second stage. The score is now 1:1. It seems that
a third stage is unavoidable!”
Young master Ji San was also stunned and extraordinarily
pleased by Jiang Chen’s exciting performance. This Pill King Zhen was
practically a genius bestowed from heaven! He felt especially vindicated to see
Wang Teng’s distorted expression. He smiled and said leisurely, “This second
stage has been far more exciting than the first stage. During the first stage,
Taiyuan Lodge borrowed outside help and the Longevity Pill of unidentified
origin to win the match. But during the second stage, Pill King Zhen won
through true skill and knowledge! I personally think that Pill King Zhen will
take the third stage in one fell swoop! Don’t you think so, everyone?”
Young master Ji San’s voice was extremely moving. All forces
loyal to the Coiling Dragon Clan roared loudly with agreement. As for the fence
sitters, they obviously weren’t afraid to fan the flames further and joined in
the commotion. For a moment, the Majestic Clan actually became the side that
lacked support!
Chapter 777: Wang Teng Panics
This outcome was an ordeal to Wang Teng. He’d never imagined
that the Majestic Clan, at the peak of its glory, wouldn’t be as welcomed by
the citizens of Veluriyam Capital as he’d imagined. The guests had seemingly
chosen to grace Taiyuan Lodge not because they respected the clan, but simply
because they were afraid of the clan. This feeling felt as unpalatable as
eating a fly. Reality was straying further and further away from his original
predictions. The victory he had felt to be set in stone had acquired a layer of
uncertainty.
No, we absolutely cannot lose this match. Wang Teng knew
better than anyone that the loss of this pill battle meant that the plans and
arrangements they’d made for months would all go to waste. They would even lose
an excellent shop front in Farmer God Market. They wouldn’t just be losing
face, but also actual money.
“You may have to attend to this third stage personally, Pill
King Han Zhu,” Wang Teng turned around and spoke to a high ranked pill king
beside him when his thoughts reached their grim conclusion.
Pill King Han Zhu was among the top five pill kings in the
Majestic Clan. Although he wasn’t the Majestic Clan’s strongest pill king, he
was one of the best. Judging from the current situation and his appearance, it
was obvious that Pill King Rong had lost his confidence and spirit. Be it in
terms of skill or morale, Pill King Rong shouldn’t participate in the third
battle. Wang Teng had no intentions of losing this wager. Therefore, Pill King
Han Zhu had to participate in this battle. He was the best card the Majestic
Clan could play at this moment.
However, Pill King Han Zhu was in fact quite reluctant to
take part in the battle. Especially after witnessing the last two stages, the
risks involved in this battle were incredibly high. If he were to slip up even
a little during this third stage, he would become the sinner who’d lost the
Majestic Clan the entire gamble. Therefore, he didn’t want to become involved
even when Wang Teng voiced his preference. All experts had a kind of intuition
they’d grow to rely on, and Pill King Han Zhu couldn’t shake the feeling that
House Wei’s pill king was an extremely strange person wielding an equally
unorthodox skill in pill dao. Even if he were to attend to the battle himself,
he might not necessarily be able to defeat his opponent.
He wasn’t afraid of his opponent, but he was just
instinctively wary of the unknown depths of the Deviant Pill Faction. It was
obvious that this Pill King Zhen of House Wei was an outstanding representative
of the Deviant Pill Faction. After all, Jiang Chen had displayed his prodigal
skill in pill dao in the previous two stages. Pill King Han Zhu was a cautious
person, and he wasn’t willing to participate in a pill battle where he had no
confidence in winning. Thinking quickly, Pill King Han Zhu responded, “Young
master, we’ve set the rules and chosen the participants before the start of the
match. If we were to switch members now and are turned down by the judge, this
crowd might grow even rowdier than before. It’ll be extremely bad if our
opponent were to use this as an excuse to attack us.”
Wang Teng’s expression turned chilly, and he gave Pill King
Han Zhu a deep, meaningful glance. Pill King Han Zhu served the Majestic Clan.
Although he had shown Wang Teng every courtesy deserving of a young lord, the
only person who could make him cower was the clan lord of the Majestic Clan,
not the clan lord’s son. Considering how awkward the previous matches had
turned out, he had absolutely no wish of partaking in this battle. Even if he
did win, he wouldn’t be winning much glory for himself. And if he lost, then he
would be turned into a scapegoat.
The judges hadn’t noticed Wang Teng’s little interlude. Pill
King Yu cast a glance at both sides before saying, “We will review the third
stage personally. There will also be three rounds in this third stage. Anyone
who wins two rounds shall win the third stage. Does anyone have any
objections?” Pill King Yu paused for a moment before continuing, “You should
voice any objections before this final stage begins. The moment victory is
decided, the gamble cannot be changed. Nothing you say later will change the
outcome.”
Candid words were spoken ahead of the battle. House Wei cast
a glance at Jiang Chen. At this point, they trusted Jiang Chen fully and were
dead set on supporting him no matter what. Whatever hesitation they might have
had disappeared when Jiang Chen soundly defeated the Jade Marrow Pill with the
Triphase Pill. Naturally, they had no objections to raise. At this point, it no
longer mattered if they won or lost. Even if they did lose in the end, Jiang
Chen’s efforts had already won back House Wei’s reputation and fame in full.
Therefore, Wei Jie smiled calmly and said, “We have nothing to raise.”
However, Wang Teng spoke up. “I would like to request a
substitution.”
The moment he said this, the entire scene became engulfed in
an uproar, and Pill King Han Zhu’s face had turned cloudy. It was obvious that
he was extremely displeased that Wang Teng had forcefully foisted this on him.
Young master Ji San sneered, “Are you daydreaming, Wang Teng? We’ve already
selected our participating pill kings before the gamble, and now you wish to
send in a substitute? Do you think this is all a joke? Plus, aren’t you the one
who wanted to send out Pill King Rong to teach Pill King Zhen a lesson in
humility? The lesson hasn’t been taught yet, has it? Or are you hoping to take
that lesson instead?”
Young master Ji San had a deadly silver tongue, and his
words were far sharper than any actual face slapping. Wei Tianxiao was also
smiling faintly, “Young lord Wang, you are the one who started this gamble, and
the rules were agreed upon by everyone. By this substitution, are you trying to
tell the entirety of Veluriyam Capital that the Majestic Clan is a sore loser?”
The notion of a ‘sore loser’ had popped up again.
Wang Teng was so ashamed he could die. Countless pairs of
eyes were looking at him from all directions, and most of them held nothing but
ridicule. It was obvious that everyone disdained his suggestions. Pill King Yu
exchanged a glance with the rest of the judges and shook his head resolutely.
“The rules cannot be changed once it has been agreed upon. If you must
challenge this rule, then we can only announce that Taiyuan Lodge has lost the
bet.”
These words completely destroyed Wang Teng’s request to
substitute Pill King Rong out. Pill King Han Zhu actually let out an discreet
sigh of relief . Thank goodness I don’t need to participate in this farce. On
the other hand, Pill King Rong felt a little dejected. He was depressed because
Wang Teng’s suggestion was a great humiliation to him. At the same time, he
himself was a little unsure if he could win this battle. This was supposed to
be a piece of cake, but now the outcome was shrouded in uncertainty. No one
could predict who was going to win this battle anymore. In fact, he wasn’t even
the favored side. Wang Teng wouldn’t have requested for a substitution
otherwise.
“Alright, if both sides have no more objections, then the
third stage of the pill battle will now begin.”
The third stage of the pill battle was in fact quite similar
to the second stage. It was still a competition between pill kings, and the
process was almost the same. “For the first round of the third stage, please
refine the pills you displayed during the first stage. You must be able to
refine all three types of pills. Whoever finishes first shall win the first
round.”
Wang Teng grew furious the second Pill King Yu finished. “I
object, Pill King Yu!” Wang Teng could no longer give a damn about losing face.
Pill King Yu smiled faintly and said, “Please go ahead,
young lord Wang!”
“I suspect that this round is purposely disadvantageous for
us!” Wang Teng exclaimed. The Longevity Pill wasn’t their product to begin
with, so how on earth could their pill king refine it? Wasn’t this basically an
announcement of their loss?
“Purposely disadvantageous, you say?” Pill King Yu smiled
wryly, “Don’t you think you’re overthinking things, young lord Wang? I swear on
my heart that we aren’t purposely making things difficult for anyone.”
“Then why must we refine the pills we showed during the first
stage?” Wang Teng contained his anger with visible effort.
“You’re the ones who supplied these pills. You can view our
request to have you refine those same pills as an extension of that previous
stage. This is a decision we judges have unanimously agreed on. Also,
considering how special those pills are, we would also like to witness their
refinement process and broaden our knowledge as well. Since you’ve chosen us as
your judges, then you should obey the rules we’ve set!” There was no need for Pill
King Yu to give Wang Teng face.
The rest of the judges were neutral parties who shared no
conflicts of interest with the Majestic Clan. Naturally, they had no reason to
be biased towards the Majestic Clan. It was obvious that they had their own
selfish motives when they set up this third stage. They were hoping to observe
how the Longevity Pill was refined. Even if they couldn’t learn how to refine
the pill, there was nothing wrong with observing its process.
“Wang Teng, you should just admit defeat if you’re going to
be a sore loser. I can’t help but be ashamed of your incessant complaints, even
if you’re not!” Young master Ji San had no intention to be polite, so of course
he wouldn’t pass up the chance to strike his enemy while he was down.
The onlookers were also joining in with their opinions.
“This content of this round is completely fair! They’re not telling you to
refine your opponent’s pills, they’re telling you to refine your own! If you
yourself don’t know how to refine the pill you’re selling, then you very well
may have been cheating earlier!”
“That’s true. I can find no faults to pick at for this
test.”
“You’re not trying to obstruct this battle, are you? Are you
really afraid of losing, young lord Wang?” There were tens of thousands of
people and mouths present at the scene. Wang Teng had no idea where these
voices were coming from, but there was no doubt that they were exerting
pressure on him.
If you couldn’t afford to make the bet, then why did you act
so arrogantly earlier?
You want to slink away now that the situation is awry? You
want to turn this battle into a mess?
The crowd says no, Wang Teng!
The scene was raucous for a while as all sorts of
accusations were lobbed at the Majestic Clan. Wang Teng felt completely conflicted,
and panicked. He suddenly had a feeling that he had shot himself in the foot.
Pill King Yu responded indifferently, “The match will begin
now. If Taiyuan Lodge refuses to participate, you may forfeit this match. If
that happens, then Taiyuan Tower will win by default.”
Such were the rules. The judges truly weren’t trying to make
life difficult for anyone on purpose. If the rules could be challenged whenever
the participants felt like it, that would be a challenge to the judges’
credibility and prestige. It meant that they could be challenged at the drop of
a hat. It was obvious that Pill King Yu wouldn’t accept this. Therefore, the
contents of the bet wouldn’t change regardless of Wang Teng’s intentions!
Pill King Han Zhu also persuaded Wang Teng discreetly,
“Young clan lord, please allow your pill king to do his best. While I don’t
know how to refine the Longevity Pill, I do know he knows how to refine the
other two. What if this Pill King Zhen doesn’t know how to refine some of the
three pills that Taiyuan Tower produced too? It’s not like we don’t have a shot
at victory if we quickly refine the two. Wouldn’t it be a pity if we were to
forfeit and lose the round without even trying?”
Thankfully, Wang Teng hadn’t lost his reason. Although he was
a little dissatisfied at Pill King Han Zhu’s show of cold feet, he knew that
this suggestion had the best intentions. And so he responded, “Pill King Rong,
just do your best and perform to your usual standards!”
At this point, Wang Teng could only hope that this bullshit
pill king of House Wei didn’t know how to refine some of the pills he produced
during the first stage. If that was the case, then the Majestic Clan would have
a sliver of hope at obtaining victory.
Chapter 778: An Idol of the Deviant Pill Faction
With nine judges personally supervising the match, cheating
was naturally impossible.
“Please prepare your ingredients swiftly, both of you. Time
is limited, so don’t dilly dally,” Pill King Yu commanded.
Jiang Chen had no need to make any preparations. He was the
one who’d refined his pills, so of course he had plenty of ingredients in stock.
After all, he had chosen the Tiger Eruption Pill, Half-step Immortal Elixir
Pill and the Heptarune True Dragon Pill after careful consideration. He was
going to use them as Taiyuan Tower’s key products. If Taiyuan Lodge hadn’t
muddied the waters, Jiang Chen was absolutely confident that these pills could
help them break into Veluriyam Capital’s pill market and earn Taiyuan Tower a
seat in Farmer God Market. He never thought that the Majestic Clan would strike
out of nowhere and disrupt his plans. If they hadn’t crossed his bottom line,
he wouldn’t have retaliated against them.
“At this point, the Majestic Clan can only be my sworn
enemy. I must win today’s bet and defeat Taiyuan Lodge!” Jiang Chen knew very
well that Taiyuan Tower could only open for business smoothly if he won this
bet. As for making an enemy out of the Majestic Clan, now was not the time to
consider such things. House Wei was never going to coexist peacefully with the
Majestic Clan in the first place.
If the Majestic Clan failed to open their business on the
opposite side of the street, if their momentum was thwarted today, then it
would be very difficult even for the clan to regain their vigor after the blow
to their reputation. Jiang Chen shed all of his hesitation as his thoughts came
to a close.
He had refined all three pills using the Deviant Pill
Faction’s methods. His selection of ingredients was just as unique. No one had
it in them to be surprised anymore at this sight, not after witnessing Jiang
Chen’s Triphase Pill earlier. And unlike Jiang Chen, Pill King Rong was
obviously still feeling apprehensive. After all, he couldn’t refine the
Longevity Pill. If he couldn’t refine the Longevity Pill, then his chances to
win this round were minimal at best. He knew this very well. Noting the pill
king’s mentality, Wang Teng couldn’t help but send him another message, “Don’t
be distracted, Pill King Rong. Even if you can’t win this round, there are
still two rounds left to turn things around! You will be the Majestic Clan’s
sinner if you simply give up like this!”
Pill King Rong shuddered all over and felt cold sweat bead
out of every pore on his body. He immediately reined in his thoughts and
concentrated fully on refining his pills.
That being said, Pill King Rong really had no chance of
victory. Jiang Chen was giving free rein to his skills as he reached a state of
flow. Fire control, cauldron heating, pill refinement...
The entire process was as smooth as a stream of water, every
movement pared down to flawlessness. His practiced movements and his astounding
skills were truly an eye opener to everyone present. He was stunningly
brilliant!
Everyone knew that followers of the Deviant Pill Faction
were supposedly very skillful, but not many had ever seen a representative of the
Deviant Pill Faction with their own eyes. But today, Jiang Chen proved to the
world that this school of thought was absolutely deserving of its reputation.
There was absolutely a reason behind the Deviant Pill Faction’s popularity. It
wasn’t the heretical pill faction many people criticized them to be!
There were almost no one paying attention to Pill King
Rong’s work at the moment, regardless of whether or not they were a fan of the
Deviant Pill Faction. Almost all attention was focused on Jiang Chen. For
diehard fans, Jiang Chen’s work was naturally a wonderful and pleasant feast
for the eyes. For those maintaining a neutral stance, they were sighing with
admiration at the Deviant Pill Faction representative’s skill and handiwork. It
absolutely deserved to be called a work of the gods, a sight they wouldn’t ever
forget. Naysayers were at a loss for words after seeing Jiang Chen’s skill.
They hoped to find some flaws that they could use to attack the Deviant Pill
Faction, but were left floundering.
The pill dao was a sea made up of hundreds of large streams.
There were plenty of factions pursuing the art of pill dao, but today, those
assembled finally learned the reason why there were so many adoring fans of
this school of thought. The onlookers were incredibly excited by Jiang Chen’s
skill, and the Deviant Pill Faction fanatics only wished that they could
worship him as a god. These people had always been diehard fans of the Deviant
Pill Faction, and they had always diligently researched this subject. But while
it was easy to claim that one was a member of the Deviant Pill Faction, it was
very difficult to actually possess the appropriate skill.
Although there were many so-called Deviant Pill Faction
creations and pill masters on the market, they were mostly false advertising.
While they hung the Deviant Pill Faction’s shop sign over their store, they
knew little to nothing of its methods. There was almost no true master of the
Deviant Pill Faction around. For the past several hundred years, there had been
many who’d passed themselves off as a member of the Deviant Pill Faction.
However, there hadn’t been a single representative who could truly win the
trust and worship of the people! But today, Jiang Chen had stepped into this
void. The fans of the Deviant Pill Faction vaguely sensed that a person who
could represent them had finally appeared!
Time slowly passed by.
In reality, the process of a pill battle was pretty dull.
Most people looked forward to the end results more than the process. But now,
everyone was enjoying the interim to the fullest as well. They only wished that
time could pass slower so that they could fully observe and enjoy the refining
process of the Deviant Pill Faction.
Indeed, Jiang Chen’s skill had won many a heart. It was true
these three pills weren’t outstanding in terms of rank, nor could they be
considered top class. However, the Deviant Pill Faction’s methods and skills
were there for everyone to see. Just based on this point alone, everyone could
determine that Pill King Zhen of House Wei absolutely deserved the title of a
master of his craft, even if he wasn’t a top class pill king yet.
What was a master ?
A master of the craft was the outstanding representative of
a faction. If the faction he represented was acknowledged as a proper faction,
then the representative themselves would be acknowledged as a master of the
craft too. Back at the stage of battle, it seemed that happiness was always
short-lived. The speed Jiang Chen used to refine the three pills was much
faster than anyone expected.
In just fifteen minutes before the end of the time limit,
Jiang Chen turned in three newly minted pills to the nine judges. Pill King
Rong, on the other hand, was still just finishing up his second pill.
Once Pill King Yu and the rest of the judges had accepted
the pills, confirmed their authenticity and identity, they showered Jiang
Chen’s handiwork with praises. They looked at Pill King Rong again. The victor
was obvious.
Although Wang Teng had predicted this outcome from the
beginning, he still felt like someone had slammed a hammer into his chest. The
expressions on his face flickered constantly. At this point, he had no choice
but to admit that his Majestic Clan and Taiyuan Lodge had come off worse in
this bet, even if he didn’t want to. This was because Taiyuan Tower had them at
match point already. His opponent only needed to win one more round to be the
final victor of the entire bet! If that happened, then all his plans would
become a joke. The Taiyuan Lodge that he had invested his time and effort into
would become his opponent’s property instead! Meanwhile, the Majestic Clan
would also become Taiyuan Tower’s stepping stone and the butt of a colossal
joke.
As the judge, Pill King Yu had no obligation to care for
Wang Teng’s feelings. He announced loudly, “Taiyuan Tower is the winner of the
first round of the third stage!”
It was a completely unbiased announcement, but it still felt
like a sharp blade plunged straight into Wang Teng’s chest. He really wanted to
kill someone.
Pill King Yu smiled a little and asked Jiang Chen
tentatively with kind eyes, “Pill King Zhen, this old man has a sudden request
to make.”
“Please speak, Pill King Yu,” Jiang Chen didn’t put on airs.
There was no reason to show Pill King Yu an ugly face when he had been treating
Jiang Chen with courtesy the entire time.
“These pills are truly a work of the gods. I am incredibly
impressed by them. I wonder if I may have the fortune to take one of these
pills back with me for observation and study?”
Jiang Chen smiled in response, “I wouldn’t dare to turn down
the request of a senior.”
He had refined three cauldrons of pills just now, and every
cauldron contained several pills each. He immediately took out nine pills and
gave one of each to the judges. His generosity made the rest of the pill kings
think much better of Jiang Chen too. Regardless of his intentions, none of
these pills were cheap. The fact that he could gift nine of them just like this
proved that this young pill master of House Wei was no ordinary person.
Jiang Chen’s actions didn’t make the onlookers think that he
was bribing the judges either. After all, it was just a friendly interaction
between pill kings. If this was bribery, it wouldn’t involve just one pill, and
it definitely wouldn’t happen in public. But Wang Teng didn’t think so. He
sneered with a dark expression, “Honored judges, I don’t think it’s too
appropriate for him to offer you a pill in public, is it?”
Pill King Yu seemed to have predicted Wang Teng’s response,
so he tossed out a storage ring to Jiang Chen and smiled faintly. “Pill King
Zhen, this is your payment for the nine pills. Let no one say that this is not
a fair and proper transaction.”
Wang Teng’s face immediately took on a greenish hue. He felt
resentful, feeling as though the entirety of Veluriyam Capital and Farmer God
Market was joining forces against the Majestic Clan today. It had been an
incredibly lousy day. These judges were all normally neutral parties, and they
had never been hostile towards the Majestic Clan. So why were they all acting
like they had a grudge to settle with the Majestic Clan today? He didn’t
realize that these neutral judges had been angered by his words and actions
again and again.
Young master Ji San smiled leisurely at Wang Teng’s loss of
composure. “Wang Teng, you’re the guy who talks the most in every round. As a
clan member, you seriously need to learn some grace from House Wei. See how
calm they’ve been all along!”
The crowd laughed uproariously at this. It was true that the
Wei father and son hadn’t spoken much at all during the battle. In comparison,
Wang Teng had been hopping up and down and making a big deal out of every
little thing that had come his way. He had something to say at every round of
each stage. His pettiness truly made the Majestic Clan look boorish and ill
mannered.
“Young clan lord, please compose yourself,” Pill King Han
Zhu advised silently.
House Lord Tong Xianwei also sent a message, “Young clan
lord, don’t fall for the enemy’s trap. They’re purposely trying to enrage us so
we grow impatient and affect Pill King Rong’s performance. There are still two
rounds left. If Pill King Rong performs at his usual standards, how could a
sixth rank pill king possibly lose to a second rank pill king? This kid is just
lucky because he has an advantage using the Deviant Pill Faction’s methods.”
Wang Teng was alarmed; he had never lost his cool like this
before. It was a strenuous effort that finally bought him his calm. There was
no turning back now that the gamble had progressed to this point.
The judges gathered together and mumbled amongst themselves
for a very long time. Finally, they came up with an idea on how to proceed with
the next round of the battle. Pill King Yu finally said, “After our discussion,
we have decided that the nine of us shall each produce a type of pill, making
for a total of nine pills, for the second round of the third stage. We shall
give one of each type of pill to the participants, and your task is to analyze
these pills and determine the pill ingredients within the allocated time. The
participant who manages to analyze the most pills in the allocated time wins
the round.”
Chapter 779: Jiang Chen’s Full Potential
Pill King Rong perked to attention at those words. Back in
the first round of the second stage, they’d been given the task of composing
recipes with the provided ingredients. Then, he’d considered the round as good
as won, since dissecting and composing recipes was his forte, his favorite and
most well versed field of study. But fate had dealt them the Ingenious Decan
Enigma, which happened to be something his opponent was highly proficient in.
Even though he had acquitted himself well, the opponent had bested him that
round by sheer luck, comparable to a blind cat who’d chanced upon a dead mouse.
Now they were being asked to analyze the components of the
provided pills. This was simply the first test in reverse. Regardless of the
direction, this was still the field he was most confident in. Furthermore, this
round didn’t depend on any single judge because all of them would be involved
in the test. This greatly reduced the chances of his opponent encountering a
fortunate situation. You might know one of them by chance. But what are the
odds of knowing two or three?
There were a total of nine pills. The chances of knowing
them all by chance were simply too low. Pill King Rong felt that this was a
great opportunity for him! It was his time to shine! Since the beginning of
this competition, he’d lost two consecutive rounds in the second stage and now
the first round of the third stage. He was in a dangerous situation. One more
loss meant his fourth consecutive loss, by that token, the loss of the entire
bet.
“Humph, that brat relied on the Deviant Pill Faction’s
heretical methods and luckily won three tests. Let’s see how far dumb luck can
take him!” Pill King Rong was actually still unconvinced at heart. He felt that
this mere second rank pill king shouldn’t have been his match at all,
considering his own skill and talent as a sixth rank pill king. He’d been
greatly humiliated by the previous three losses.
Apart from the round where his Jade Marrow Pill had lost to
the opponent’s Three Elements Pill, he still didn’t quite accept the other two
as true defeats. He felt that he’d lost to luck with the Ingenious Decan
Enigma. As for the round where they were asked to refine pills previously
presented, that loss was purely a result to the rules. “I must take this round
by storm! I must let this brat know that a mere second rank pill king is not at
the same as a sixth rank pill king!”
Pill King Yu brought out 18 pills and distributed nine to
each contestant. “If you would, please take note that the set of nine pills
given to you is identical to the other. There is one more rule we’ve put in
place in order to preserve the fairness and brilliance of this competition.
Each of you will only have to write down six of the ingredients which make up
each pill in order to pass the test. It goes without saying, however, that the
six answers must be correct. You’ll have failed for that particular pill if any
single one is wrong. If the scores are tied, we’ll judge based on the total
number of ingredients analyzed. The competitor with the highest number of
identified materials will triumph.”
Most pills were refined from at least seven to eight types
of ingredients, and some involved a dozen or more. The fact that only six
ingredients from each pill needed to be identified somewhat reduced the
difficulty of the contest. The catch however, was the requirement for
perfection. Failure could come with a single mistake, and restricted the
contestants from guessing the materials randomly in pursuit of quantity and
speed over quality. One could write down fewer components, but wasn’t allowed to
make mistakes.
“Do you both understand the rules?” Pill King Yu’s
penetrating gaze enveloped the two contestants. He confirmed once more whether
they had clearly understood the rules. Regardless, once the contest began, they
would have to play by the rules, whether or not they understood.
“Understood,” Pill King Rong confirmed. This was the field
he was most proficient in and the perfect match for him to turn things around.
He was exuberant as his spirit began to vibrate with enthusiasm.
Jiang Chen only smiled indifferently and nodded. He glanced
at the highly spirited Pill King Rong and sneered inwardly. This Pill King Rong
seems to be in high spirits. This must be his preferred field of study. But who
in the Divine Abyss Continent is qualified to show off their pill knowledge
before me! This wasn’t Jiang Chen being purposely arrogant. Even in the
heavenly realm of his past life, few were qualified to discuss and debate
theories of pill dao with him, to say nothing of a mere Divine Abyss Continent.
Pill King Yu waved his hand after receiving confirmation
from both parties, “Let the competition begin!”
As a judge, Pill King Yu wasn’t biased regarding the rules
and regulations despite his admiration for Jiang Chen. The criteria for this
round stood testimony to this fact. Analyzing nine pills together reduced the
odds of obtaining victory by chance and increased the demand on one’s knowledge
and experience. Even Wang Teng found nothing to criticize about this round’s
format. On the surface, the competition even appeared to be more or less in
favor of their Taiyuan Lodge. But Wang Teng loved advantages. Now that things
were looking advantageous for him, he’d kept mum, ready to silently reap in the
gains. On the other hand, he would be sure to complain loudly if things were
even slightly disadvantageous for him, almost as if he’d suffered the greatest
of injustices. This type of advantage-seeking mindset vividly reflected the
Majestic Clan’s principles.
“Pill King Rong, I am greatly optimistic about your chances
in this round. The credit belongs to you as long as you perform to your utmost
and turn the tables on the other party. You’ll be the new chief pill king of
Taiyuan Tower once we win this wager and obtain the shop!”
One had to admit, Wang Teng was extremely adept at raising
morale and controlling his subordinates. As expected, Pill King Rong
immediately became more spirited after hearing this promise. The dejection from
the previous losses had all but vanished.
Wang Teng was feeling delighted after realizing the nature
of the second round of the third stage. The only thing that made him unhappy
was that he couldn’t find any sign of distress or displeasure on the faces of
House Wei. It seemed that the Wei father and son did indeed possess the
superior grace and composure that Sir Ji San had mentioned. This greatly upset
Wang Teng. How can this father and son be so confident? This round is already
in Pill King Rong’s pocket Don’t you two feel any anxiety at all? He refused to
believe that to be the case. He felt that the father and son were putting on an
act.
Jiang Chen had already entered his zone and was completely
oblivious to the reactions of the outside world. There was only one thought in
his mind: to thwart Taiyuan Lodge and slap Wang Teng resoundly by obtaining a
clean victory this round, effectively ending this competition!
Jiang Chen was determined to go all out in order to achieve
this goal. Few occasions had ever warranted his all out effort in the field of
pills. There were even fewer people living on the Divine Abyss Continent
capable of holding their ground against Jiang Chen’s full ability. With the
pills in hand, Jiang Chen fully activated his consciousness—analyzing,
dissecting...
He was working almost non-stop. He only needed to scan each
pill and fiddle with it momentarily to be able to guess its basic composition.
After all, he’d done this every day for tens of thousands of years.
Comparatively, Pill King Yu was considered an authoritative
figure amongst the pill kings of the Divine Abyss Continent after only a
thousand years of life. His experience and age were rather insignificant
compared to Jiang Chen. Moreover, it was impossible for these pills from the
mundane plane to be more complex than those from the heavenly planes, no matter
how intricately designed they might be. In his past life, Jiang Chen had also
started out by learning the pills of the mundane plane and then slowly advanced
over the course of hundreds of thousands of years. Only then did he reach the
level where he could work on heavenly pills with ease.
Jiang Chen quickly formed rough ideas of the composition of
each pill as soon as he rolled them in his palm. To make things even easier,
the test only required him to identify six components. This was no better than
a beginner’s handicap. Jiang Chen immediately identified three out of the first
five pills. There was naturally no need to expend great effort to analyze their
components since he knew what they were. It took him just a brief moment of
recollection to write down all the ingredients.
Jiang Chen was unable to immediately recognize the other
two, but it easily came to him after some detailed analysis. He instantly
identified the sixth pill. Then the seventh, followed by the eighth… He
completed his analysis of all nine pills right before half the allotted time
had passed. He was in no hurry to submit his answers and took his time to
double check them all in detail. He walked out in a leisurely manner after
confirming that there were no mistakes.
His actions stunned the audience. Only half the allotted
time had passed. What did he intend to do by walking out at this point? Did he
not know that it was against the rules to leave the area during the
competition? Leaving would be considered cheating. The competition area was
isolated by a restrictive barrier. People outside could see the interior but
not vice versa, making it impossible to communicate with the outside world. But
once the competitor walked out, he would be able to communicate with the outside
world. Cheating would certainly become possible then.
“Can it be that he’s already completed it?” Many spectators
were secretly shocked. The Wei father and son glanced at each other. They were
also alarmed by Jiang Chen’s actions. But they soon thought of the possibility
that Jiang Chen had already completed the test.
Jiang Chen completely ignored the many astonished pairs of
eyes on him and proceeded to walk towards the judges’ seats. The nine judges
glanced at each other in puzzlement, but then turned to Jiang Chen with a hint
of doubt in their eyes. It would be a miracle if he was able to analyze the
nine pills in such a short period. Even these high ranked pill kings might not
be able to perform this feat so easily.
Wang Teng’s eyes went wide as he stared at Jiang Chen.
Astonishment was written all over his darkened face and he was almost crying
tears of blood. He was suddenly hit by an extremely bad premonition. It gnawed
at his whole body like a poisonous snake and made all his hair stand on end.
What if…
Their Majestic Clan would’ve lost this bet if the other
party won this round! Taiyuan Lodge would then become another’s property even
before the opening ceremony. The most terrifying part was that their clan would
lose a fine storefront in Farmer God Market! Wang Teng followed Jiang Chen’s
every move with a heavy gaze.
“Honored sirs, I’ve completed my pill analysis. I offer it
for your inspection.” Jiang Chen respectfully handed over his answer scroll.
Commotion rose from the audience before those words could
hit the floor. He’s really done? He’s already finished dissecting all the pills
in half the allotted time? What kind of inhuman speed is that? It’s practically
poised to break through the horizon!
Wang Teng felt as if he’d suffered an electric shock. He was
petrified. He couldn’t even find a voice to speak up with. The other party was
able to submit his answer early, and with such confidence! What were the
chances of such a person making mistakes? Who in their right mind would turn in
their answer scroll at half the allotted time if he wasn’t completely
confident?
The Wei father and son were ecstatic. They felt that victory
was near at hand. Even a well composed person like Ji San felt ineffably
shocked. Wild joy surged in his heart as he looked at Jiang Chen with fervent
eyes. He had a certain feeling at this moment, a feeling that was born of his
intuition. His intuition was telling him that this mysterious pill king from
House Wei was the key to changing the fate of the Coiling Dragon Clan!
Chapter 780: Victory Decided
On the other side, Pill King Rong was completely focused and
unaware of the changes in the outside world. He was currently overflowing with
confidence since he seemed to have reached past his limits in performance.
“With my current speed, I can absolutely analyze seven out
of nine pills before this round is over. If I could finish the analysis of
seven pills, then not even a high rank pill king can defeat me. Perhaps the
greatest ninth rank pill king could beat me in this regard, but that second
rank pill king of House Wei is just a poor fellow who relies on tricks to
attain victory. His true colors will be revealed this round!” Pill King Rong
was full of confidence. Unfortunately, he had no idea that the entire world was
being shaken outside.
Fortunately for him, the round hadn’t ended yet so he hadn’t
walked out of his own accord. According to the rules, no one was allowed to
disturb him until the allotted time had passed or he walked out. Moreover,
Jiang Chen’s answer couldn’t be inspected until the judges had accepted Pill
King Rong’s answer too. That was why the final result wasn’t announced yet,
even though the reactions outside had almost turned riotous.
That being said, everyone could basically confirm that House
Wei’s pill king was going to be the dark horse of Veluriyam Capital. Especially
after witnessing Jiang Chen’s composure under pressure and his performance at
this pill battle.
An overnight celebrity! He was absolutely that after today’s
battle!
“What do we do, young clan lord?” Tong Xianwei himself was
feeling a little worried. It was looking more and more like they were going to
lose this round. Tong Kun wasn’t a person who was afraid of trouble, but even
he had shed his initial arrogance as his white and handsome face became shrouded
in a dark haze. Wang Teng had never been in such a passive position in his
life. He was completely disconcerted. He could never imagine that the bet he’d
worked so hard to engineer so that he could attack Taiyuan Tower and House Wei
would backfire on him. Not only did he fail to entrap his enemy, he’d fallen
into his own trap instead! The remainder of the time limit had already become
pointless. What was supposed to be a very close battle was completely
meaningless.
This was even truer when everyone saw Pill King Rong
fighting hard from their vantage point outside. From time to time he would beam
with joy or clench his teeth in anger, looking like he had everything under
control. The more Pill King Rong acted like this, the more laughable the people
outside found the whole situation to be. Wang Teng and the others could only
feel bleakness creeping up to them as they watched their pill king. Wang Teng
very much wanted to push all the responsibility onto Pill King Rong, but could
he really do that and accuse the pill king of underperforming? He obviously
couldn’t. The result would have been the same even if Pill King Han Zhu, a
seventh rank pill king, had been the one to attend the battle himself. In fact,
even a eighth rank pill king might have been defeated had they been in the same
situation.
Wang Teng’s mind was filled with bitterness. If this was any
other occasion, he absolutely would’ve flipped out and even denied making the
bet. He would’ve become hostile and used his authority to suppress any and all
dissenting opinions. Unfortunately, he really didn’t have the ability to do so
today.
Forget that House Wei was supported by the Coiling Dragon
Clan for the moment, not even one of these nine judges were easy pickings. If
he were to deny the existence of the bet, he would be accused of having
contempt for authority and dishonoring the judges. He would definitely become a
public target after that. Wang Teng might be domineering, but even he knew when
not to deny all responsibilities. Funnily enough, it was the Tong father and
son who looked restless.
Meanwhile, young master Ji San’s reaction were quicker than
anyone’s. He had a feeling that Taiyuan Tower was going to win the moment he
saw Jiang Chen turning in his answer scroll. Resolutely, he immediately
summoned some of his trusted aides, mobilized his men and deployed them at the
scene in secret. Now, Wang Teng wouldn’t be able to do anything even if he
tried to go back on his words. In fact, Ji San was even looking forward to Wang
Teng trying to deny! He wasn’t afraid in the slightest.
This entire incident would turn serious the moment Wang Teng
decided to play stupid and abuse his power. As long as House Wei was in the
right, and as long as they were supported by the Coiling Dragon Clan, the
Majestic Clan would only lose even greater face if this matter escalated all
the way to seven emperors.
Although the seven great emperors didn’t interfere with the
worldly affairs of Veluriyam Capital, this didn’t mean that they ignored
everything that happened within it. No one was allowed to publicly flout the
law. Not even the Majestic Clan was an exception. The reason Veluriyam Capital
was able to become a hegemon of the Upper Eight Regions was thanks to this set
of rules. Although the great clans enjoyed many special privileges, it didn’t
mean that they could ignore the rules however they wanted to. Wang Teng had
obviously noticed young master Ji San’s arrangements too. For a short while, he
was both anxious and furious.
And finally, the round reached its end. Pill King Rong
walked happily out of the battle zone, looking incredibly spirited. His face
was full of smiles, and his footsteps incredibly light. However, just when he
looked at Wang Teng cheerfully and was about to take credit for his
achievements, he suddenly discovered that Wang Teng’s face was not riddled with
the acknowledgement and praise he had imagined. Instead, an expression more
akin to a rumbling storm greeted him.
Pill King Rong’s heart skipped a beat as a premonition
suddenly struck him. A cold breeze caressed his head and neck. When he looked
at the judges’ seat, he noticed Jiang Chan already standing at the side, as if
he had been waiting there for a quite a while. Pill King Rong’s heart sank.
What’s going on? Why is that kid out already?
“Pill King Rong, we were waiting on you,” Pill King Yu
smiled. “Please submit your answer scroll.”
Pill King Rong’s feet suddenly felt as heavy as lead. His
wonderful feelings suddenly plummeted like he had fallen off a cliff. He too
noticed that the situation wasn’t quite right. But he refused to believe in the
impossible. Why was young master Wang Teng looking so dejected even though he
had performed so well this round? Does he think that I will definitely lose?
Was it because that this kid turned in his answers early? So what? Just because
he finished early doesn’t mean that he’s absolutely going to win.
Fueled by his thoughts, Pill King Rong said loudly, “Please
look through my answers, honored pill kings. I am confident that I have
performed very well this round.”
These words were directed more at Wang Teng than the judges.
Pill King Yu smiled faintly and nodded as he accepted the scroll from Pill King
Rong. Then, the judges gathered and began reviewing the answers. Although
everyone thought that there were almost no doubt as to who would win the round,
the final result wasn’t announced yet. Therefore, they all wanted to know why
the pill king of House Wei had submitted his paper so early. Were all his
answers correct? Was he really that confident in himself?
Just as before, Pill King Yu and the rest of the judges
looked through Jiang Chen’s scroll first. There were nine types of pills in
total, and every relevant analysis and every ingredient was written clearly on
the paper.
When the judges looked through the answers, their eyes
focused sharply in attention. Not long after, amazement appeared in Pill King
Yu’s eyes, “Genius, what a genius! I never imagined that Veluriyam Capital
would be sheltering such an amazing genius!”
Pill King Rong felt as if he’d been plunged into an icy
cavern when he heard this unconscious praise. Of course he knew that there was
no way it would be directed at him. His answers were good enough, but they
absolutely didn’t deserve such praise from Pill King Yu. An answer that could
win such praise from Pill King Yu must be an extraordinary level of
performance! The rest of the judges were letting out admiring exclamations
themselves.
“He really is a genius. He actually managed to analyze all
nine pills! Even we may not have been able to do it in such a short period of
time.” In all truth, this was slightly exaggerated, because everyone knew that
there was no way they could achieve the same level of performance had they been
in Jiang Chen’s position.
“Although it’s not perfect, he’s still managed to analyze
all nine pills correctly.”
It wasn’t that Jiang Chen couldn’t produce a perfect answer.
He simply hadn’t done so, because he didn’t want to shine too brightly. There
were some pills that he had fully analyzed but written down only six of their
ingredients—just enough to pass. If Jiang Chen hadn’t held back, he could’ve
written down every single ingredient used to create these pills. However, he
also understood that too far was just as bad as not enough. He didn’t want to
shock people too much. This level of performance was enough for him to win out
over that Pill King Rong.
Pill King Rong was dumbstruck. He was sure that he had
analyzed seven pills correctly. He believed that his performance was enough to
guarantee him a win in this round. But he never imagined that he would lose so
utterly and completely. Correct analysis of all nine pills. There was no way a
second rank pill king had this much skill. Even Pill King Yu, a veteran ninth
rank pill king, might not necessarily be able to do the same!
“Impossible! Absolutely impossible!” Tong Xianwei couldn’t
hold himself back no longer. He understood that the situation wasn’t suitable
for young clan lord Wang to deny making the bet. However, he didn’t need to
consider such things. If he didn’t take the lead and try to change things now,
then when would he ever have another chance? “Honored judges, I am not
suspecting your integrity. But don’t you think that this kid’s performance is
much too unbelievable? The successful analysis of all nine pills? If I may ask,
how many of you are able to perform this kind of impossible task when only half
the allocated time has passed?” At this point, Tong Xianwei couldn’t care less
about his honor or pride as the house lord of a ninth rank aristocratic family.
He only had one thought in mind, to disrupt the situation as much as he could.
If he could cancel the bet in the process, then that would be for the best.
Pill King Yu’s face darkened, “Tong Xianwei, do remember
that you are the house lord of an aristocratic family. Can you bother to think
before you speak? By inviting us to become your judges, it means that you’ve
acknowledged the nine of us. If you suspect us, then why had you even bothered
to invite us to become judges? Is blaming the judge over the loss of a match
the grace shown by an aristocratic family?”
Pill King Yu possessed a relatively high status in Veluriyam
Capital, and he didn’t always have to submit to higher authority. The rest of
the judges also scolded Tong Xianwei as well.
“Tong Xianwei, if you’re going to be a sore loser, then
don’t even call for a bet in the first place.”
“Questioning our authority as judges, are you? Are you
saying that we’re doing this all for nothing?”
“Ignore him. There’s no need for us to bother with a lackey,
is there?”
Pill King Yu stopped the other pill kings from complaining
further with a wave of his hand. He stared deeply and calmly at Wang Teng,
“Young master Wang, a victor has now been decided. Taiyuan Tower has won the
bet. What do you say?”
There was no need for them to waste their breath on Tong
Xianwei. After all, the bet hinged on Wang Teng. Wang Teng was absolutely
burning with fury, and he himself very much wanted to push the responsibility
of his loss on the judges’ head. However, his reason warned him that this was
absolutely not the right course of action. Doing so wouldn’t bring the Majestic
Clan any benefits. In fact, it would only turn them into a bigger joke. But he
really was reluctant to admit defeat just like this!
