If the Crown Prince had still harbored any lingering defiance before, then the facts laid out before him now left him utterly speechless.
His earlier reluctance had been completely dispelled, replaced by genuine admiration.
His face was a picture of dejection, yet he had no choice but to concede. "Are all alchemy masters in Liuli Royal City as formidable as you? It seems our Cangyun Great Kingdom truly is nothing but a frog at the bottom of a well."
Seeing the Crown Prince's woeful expression, Jiang Chen found the young man rather amusing. He knew the Crown Prince had been refining the Fierce Tiger Pill with the goal of enriching the kingdom and strengthening its military, so he chose not to dampen his enthusiasm.
"The Dao of Alchemy in Liuli Royal City is certainly far superior to that of Cangyun Great Kingdom. But there's no need to despair—there are only a handful of alchemists in Liuli Royal City who surpass me."
Even this was modesty. When it came to alchemy, no one in Liuli Royal City could compare to him—not a single soul even came close.
To put it more broadly, on the entire Divine Abyss Continent, there was no one who could match Jiang Chen in the Dao of Alchemy.
Had Jiang Chen said this before, the Crown Prince would have dismissed it as boastful talk. But the evidence before his eyes left him no room for doubt.
He was beginning to think that perhaps this odd stranger really was some alchemy prodigy from Liuli Royal City.
"You truly do have some skill. I'm convinced. The refinement method for the Fierce Tiger Pill..." The Crown Prince rubbed his hands together, feeling that it would be presumptuous to simply ask outright. He hesitated a moment before continuing. "Name your price. As long as it's reasonable, we're willing to pay for the refinement method and the pill formula."
"You were refining the Fierce Tiger Pill without even a formula? I have to say, that took some serious nerve. But wasting time like that isn't exactly wise."
The Crown Prince's cheeks flushed red. He had been trying to accomplish something for the Cangyun Great Kingdom through the Fierce Tiger Pill, and hearing Jiang Chen put it so bluntly, he realized he had been a bit too eager for quick results.
Refining a pill without a formula was the most difficult task imaginable. With good luck, one might eventually stumble upon the right process. With bad luck, years of fruitless effort were perfectly normal.
"I had no choice. My Cangyun Great Kingdom guards the northern frontier of Liuli Royal City, surrounded on all sides by powerful enemies. War could break out any day. The Fierce Tiger Pill could make our soldiers fiercer and double their combat effectiveness. It's ultimately a cause that benefits both the nation and its people. This isn't for personal gain—"
"I'll say it again—the Fierce Tiger Pill has far too severe side effects. Equipping an army with it once or twice is fine, but in the long run, the side effects will inevitably outweigh the benefits." Jiang Chen pointed this out without any tact.
"So in the end, you refuse to transfer the Fierce Tiger Pill's technology to us?" The Crown Prince's tone was tinged with disappointment.
"The Fierce Tiger Pill is harmful over the long term. The Explosive Tiger Pill, on the other hand, is perfectly viable for military use." Jiang Chen smiled.
"The Explosive Tiger Pill?" The Crown Prince's eyes lit up. "Do you know the Explosive Tiger Pill?"
Jiang Chen chuckled. The Explosive Tiger Pill had been his own invention at the Taiyuan Pavilion—how could he not know it?
"You don't know it either?" Seeing that Jiang Chen hadn't answered, the Crown Prince's face fell slightly with disappointment.
"Of course I do. But this pill is a proprietary technology of the Taiyuan Pavilion. Even though I know it, I can't simply hand it over to you. However, I can point you in the right direction and arrange for the Taiyuan Pavilion to sell a batch of Explosive Tiger Pills to you at cost price."
"Cost price? Do you really have that kind of pull? And... what would the cost price be?" The Crown Prince's face was a mixture of hope and worry.
"Ha! Are you worried I don't have enough influence? As for the cost price, it's not much higher than your Fierce Tiger Pill. Factor in the savings from eliminating the waste of the Pill Kings' labor, and the cost is roughly the same. Of course, you'd need to cover the shipping expenses."
"That low?" The Crown Prince was dumbfounded.
"Low production cost is one of the defining characteristics of the Guidan school. If a Guidan-style creation had a high cost, it wouldn't be a successful Guidan work." Jiang Chen smiled faintly.
The Crown Prince nodded, not entirely understanding. "I've heard the Guidan school is very powerful—it's supposedly a technique brought by the Young Master of Peacock Sacred Mountain. You seem to have such close ties with the Taiyuan Pavilion... do you know the Young Master Zhen by any chance?"
Jiang Chen smiled but neither confirmed nor denied it.
"You really do know Young Master Zhen?" The Crown Prince's face suddenly lit up with undisguised adoration. "I've heard people say that Young Master Zhen excels in both martial arts and alchemy, and that in the realm of alchemy especially, he's utterly unmatched among his generation. Even the undefeated legend Alchemist King Jilang from Pill Fire City can't hold a candle to him. Have you met him? Is he as approachable as they say? Is he easy to talk to?"
The Crown Prince's tone had become frantic—in an instant, he'd transformed into a starstruck fan.
"Not only do I know him, I'm actually on quite good terms with him."
Hearing this, the Crown Prince looked even more envious. "Living in Liuli Royal City must make things so much more convenient. I really do envy you sometimes. I'd love to go study in Liuli Royal City for a few decades. Compared to Liuli Royal City, Golden Bell City is unbearably dull."
Golden Bell City was the capital of the Cangyun Great Kingdom—a fairly central city among the surrounding nations and territories.
But compared to the main city of Liuli Royal City, it was a world apart.
And Golden Bell City clearly looked up to Liuli Royal City with great admiration. The fact that they had even built imitations of the three towers of the Liuli Royal Pagoda said everything about how deeply the city and the Cangyun Great Kingdom revered Liuli Royal City.