The atmosphere had shifted before anyone realized. Jiang Chenâs initial showing and disturbance had elicited general dislike because heâd interrupted the lecture. However, he was able to slowly change the crowdâs opinion of him. His performance, bearing, and presence far exceeded Pill King Hongâs. Moreover, Jiang Chenâs statements were extremely inflammatory. It didnât take long before everyone started thinking that Pill King Hong was an agent of a foreign power here to cause trouble in Veluriyam Capital. As a result, even those who had a favorable impression of Pill King Hong couldnât curb the beginnings of doubt.
The strong performance that the pill king had projected was being ever whittled away in the face of Jiang Chenâs domineering presence. The lofty image he had strived to build in the peopleâs hearts slowly crumbled. Folks were more afraid of comparisons than running into someone who knew their true worth. Not only did Jiang Chenâs success made him look utterly wretched, he wasnât able to answer the young manâs question despite delaying for a long time. It lowered the publicâs favorable impression of him even more.
Pill King Hong was stuck between a rock and a hard place. The question sounded simple, but it didnât matter because he had no idea what the pill was. Do I really have to make a blind guess? After being urged to answer by countless voices, Pill King Hong gritted his teeth and stared at Jiang Chen. âThe color of the Azurerune Brightmoon Pill is azure!â
Jiang Chen broke out in peals of laughter. âDid you say that just because the word âazureâ is in its name?â
âJust tell us if azure is the answer.â Pill King Hong didnât want to debate.
Jiang Chen shook his head and smiled leisurely. âYouâll never get it right if you guess blindly. At any rate, allow me to reveal the answer. The color of the Azurerune Brightmoon Pill is pink because its main ingredient is the Brightmoon Flower. The âazure runeâ in its name refers to a particular pill rune, not its color.â
Pill King Hong nearly collapsed on the ground when he heard this. It was all just a misdirection! The term âazureruneâ had nothing to do with color at all. Loud cheers broke out from all around them. The crowd felt that they had learned something new.
Surprisingly, Pill King Hong didnât doubt Jiang Chenâs claims. Instead, he glared angrily before declaring, âJust you wait. The second question Iâm going to ask is a lot more difficult. Thereâs no way you can get the correct answer. I will even the points with this next round!â
The young man chuckled. âEven if you manage to best me this round, you still have to answer my questions correctly in order to turn the situation around. Otherwise, youâll always be a point behind me.â
Jiang Chen had already won the first round, so Pill King Hong would definitely bring out his most difficult questions. Still, Jiang Chen feared no one when it came to pill dao.
âHmph, donât get too full of yourself. Iâll win the next round.â Pill King Hong sounded incredibly certain, but also sounded like he was encouraging himself.
âShoot.â Jiang Chen couldnât be bothered to waste further breath on him.
âListen well to this next question. Legends speak of a pill called the Ennearune Heaven Grievance Pill. How many runes are contained within this pill?â
The Ennearune Heaven Grievance Pill? Jiang Chen was slightly surprised. This was a heavenly level pill! He didnât think that there was anyone in the Divine Abyss Continent whoâd ever heard of this pill.
Back when Regal Pill Palace still existed, Elder Yun Nie had spent countless effort to refine the Hexarune Black Dragon Pill. It was a pill that increased oneâs chances of breaking through to the sage realm. Jiang Chen had handled the bottleneck the elder was stuck in.
The source of inspiration for the Hexarune Black Dragon Pill was in fact the Ennearune Heaven Grievance Pill. However, the Hexarune Black Dragon Pill was a lot simpler to refine. It was a simpler version that required a tenth or less skill. Still, the Hexarune Black Dragon Pill was a very attractive pill to a sage realm cultivator.
When it came to the Ennearune Heaven Grievance Pill, Jiang Chen didnât think that a pill of that level was common in the Divine Abyss Continent, even during the ancient times. Therefore, he was quite surprised when Pill King Hong brought it up in a question. While he himself was extremely familiar with the Ennearune Heaven Grievance Pill, he hadnât thought that anyone else on the Divine Abyss Continent would know of it.
Jiang Chen smiled. âThe Ennearune Heaven Grievance Pill is a legendary pill. The Hexarune Black Dragon Pill that exists in the pill market right now is in fact a simplified, low-end version of the pill. So I must ask: do you actually know the answer yourself? What if your knowledge is some random information you acquired from unofficial records?â
Pill King Hong actually felt encouraged when he heard Jiang Chen seemingly refusing to answer his question. The young man must be dilly dallying so much because he didnât have an answer! He wouldnât have wasted so much breath on such useless words otherwise.
âHmph, I learned of the pill from an ancient scripture. The scripture is of very authentic origin, so the pill wouldnât have been recorded if it wasnât real. Why wouldnât I know about it?â
Jiang Chen nodded as he examined Pill King Hong calmly. He smiled. âThe Ennearune Heaven Grievance Pill is a priceless pill. Some pill masters have never even heard about its name. Your wealth of experience surprises me. To think that youâve heard of the pill!â
âHmph! Are you going to answer the question or not?â Pill King Hong was displeased.
âThe Ennearune Heaven Grievance Pill has eighty one horizontal runes, eighty one vertical runes, and six thousand, five hundred and sixty one intersecting runes in total,â Jiang Chen answered smilingly. âMy answer is absolutely correct. If itâs identical to your answer, then I congratulate you for reading it from a correct source. If not, I must ask you this instead: what kind of trash pill did you mistake as the Ennearune Heaven Grievance Pill?â
Pill King Hong was completely stunned. He never thought that his opponent would be able to answer such an unusual question. The Ennearune Heaven Grievance Pill was something heâd seen by chance from a one and only existing copy of an ancient scripture. He never expected to run into an opponent who also knew the ingredients of the Ennearune Heaven Grievance Pill. How would Jiang Chen be as informed as he was otherwise?
For a time, Pill King Hong was terribly worried and anxious. His expression betrayed his inner thoughts entirely.
Jiang Chen immediately knew that the pill king knew of the real thing, given the latterâs expression. That being said, knowing and refining it were two different things. Even if the Ennearune Heaven Grievance Pill was recorded and introduced in the ancient scripture, its refinement method likely wasnât mentioned anywhere.
Therefore, Pill King Hong knew that the pill existed, but that was as far as the extent of his knowledge went. He wouldnât have a clue on how to refine the Ennearune Heaven Grievance Pill and didnât have the skills to either.
Jiang Chen asked leisurely, âI wonder if your answer is identical to mine?â
Pill King Hong was ashen-faced. He wanted to deny it, but couldnât because it was part of the gamble. If he lied, the oath he swore would take effect.
âHmph, lucky bastard. Your blind guess is correct, I suppose!â Although the pill king was almost shell-shocked to the point where he wanted to retreat, he still put on a mask of false bravado.
Jiang Chen didnât try to explain himself after his opponent refused to give ground. He smiled instead. âEven if it was a blind guess, itâs still my luck. I easily âguessedâ the answer to your question correctly, but you failed to guess the answer to mine. What does this mean? It means that you are lacking in both skill and luck.â
His words caused Pill King Hongâs complexion to flush red and white.
Jiang Chen spoke indifferently. âAlright, my second question. If you still canât answer this, then thereâs no need to move on to the third question.â
He had already won the first round, so of course there was no need for another round if he won again.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Pill King Hong couldnât stop his heart from pounding faster. He wasnât a man who couldnât take a loss, but the consequences of losing this round were larger than he could handle. He might actually be in grave trouble this time. Still, he had no choice but to see things through. He snorted coldly. âShoot. I donât believe youâll have another question that I canât answer!â
Jiang Chen smiled coolly in response. âMy second question isnât complicated either. How many pill runes are there in the Connation Fireflow Pill.â
The Connation Fireflow Pill was also a pill that Jiang Chen had learned of in his past life. Although the pill didnât have the word âruneâ in its name, it was still one of the many formation style pills out there.
Pill King Hongâs brain buzzed with panic. Heâd never heard the name before! He wouldâve remembered such a uniquely named pill if he had read it somewhere. Sweat beaded the pill kingâs forehead. The Connation Fireflow Pill? What was with this weird name?
The pill king couldnât help but ask, âAre you really sure this pill has to do with pill runes? How can it be when it doesnât have the word âruneâ in its name? Are you really sure it belongs to this faction?â
Jiang Chen showed a hint of playfulness on his face and started jeering in earnest.
âNow your ignorance is completely exposed. Itâs true that âruneâ isnât part of its name, but it still has to do with pill runes. If youâre looking for something to blame for your loss, look to your shallow knowledge, experience, and foundation. Iâll give you one last chance to answer my question? If you donât, it means that youâve lost twice in a row and consequently the bet as well.â
Pill King Hong instantly turned deathly pale and morose. Was he going to give up just like this? Was he going to admit defeat and surrender the name of the mastermind whoâd sent him?
He didnât want to!