The crowd gathered around to watch the spectacle noticed that
The contrast between his earlier and current behavior was simply too stark.
Those few who had still been supporting Pill King Hong wavered at last.
Jiang Chen's aura grew ever more imposing, pressing Pill King Hong back step by step.
The crowd below was equally disappointed by Pill King Hong's performance, and they began shouting one after another: "If you know, say so! If you don't, say so! What's the point of always stalling for time?"
"I reckon he just doesn't know! If he did, he would have spoken up long ago!"
"Hmph, so he really is just a fame-seeker!"
"Someone like this deserves to lecture here? Someone like this should just get lost!"
It had to be said that people's emotions were incredibly easy to stir. Under the stark contrast between Jiang Chen and Pill King Hong, the psychological scales tipped decisively in Jiang Chen's favor, and the crowd began showering Pill King Hong with a torrent of boos.
The ashen complexion of Pill King Hong drained of all color in an instant.
This pill — he had truly never even heard of it, let alone answer questions about it. Could he bluff his way through again? When it came to guessing colors before, there might have been some chance of stumbling onto the right answer. But this question was simply impossible to guess blindly.
Seeing that his opponent remained silent for a long while, Jiang Chen let out a long laugh, his tone suddenly turning razor-sharp: "If you won't answer, then you're voluntarily admitting defeat. In that case, name the person who sent you here!"
Pill King Hong tried to make one last desperate stand: "Who says I'm voluntarily admitting defeat? This pill has a total of eight times nine — seventy-two Dharma patterns!"
A look of mockery appeared on Jiang Chen's face. "So you really are just guessing blind. The Mother-Child Flowing Fire Pill has a total of eight hundred Dharma patterns — not merely seventy-two!"
He had lost!
Pill King Hong's expression turned utterly bleak in an instant. He knew he had already lost.
"I won't force you. You can refuse to speak, or you can lie. If you'd like the Heart Demon Oath to devour you, feel free to fabricate an answer."
Jiang Chen remained perfectly composed, as though this entire victory had been expected all along.
"Speak up! Speak up!"
"A bet is a bet — if you lost, you have to confess!"
"If you won't say it, it means you have a guilty conscience! If you had nothing to hide, what wouldn't you be willing to say?"
In the martial world, people were particularly prone to blindly following the strong. Earlier, many had sat here attending the lectures, supporting Pill King Hong, because they believed what he taught was genuinely insightful. They thought he had the audacity to set up a lecture platform right outside Taiyuan Pavilion, and even Taiyuan Pavilion hadn't dared send anyone to take up the challenge.
This had given everyone a misconception — that perhaps Pill King Hong's abilities surpassed even those of Taiyuan Pavilion.
But now, measured against Jiang Chen's performance, it was as if Pill King Hong had been knocked right back to his true form. Everyone suddenly realized that this fellow was nothing but a fraud.
Once this understanding sank in, their earlier admiration and reverence transformed in a flash into fury and resentment. Every one of them felt their feelings had been deceived.
"Fraud!"
"He must have been sent by some outside force to stir up trouble in our Glazed Royal City!"
"Hmph! I don't think it was that Taiyuan Pavilion lacked the ability to respond — more likely they simply couldn't be bothered!"
"I think so too! Taiyuan Pavilion is Pill King Zhen's territory, and Pill King Zhen is far too distinguished to lower himself to dealing with a small fry like this!"
"That must be it! Perhaps they were just too arrogant — so arrogant that even Taiyuan Pavilion couldn't stand it anymore. So they casually sent some alchemy expert to burst this inflated balloon, hm?"
At this moment, Pill King Hong was riddled with regret. He had always been careful, always been cautious. But under Jiang Chen's relentless goading, he had ultimately fallen right into the trap.
Now he had lost the bet. If he didn't reveal his origins, if he didn't name the person who had sent him here, the Heart Demon Oath would activate — and it might devour him on the spot.
Yet Pill King Hong knew perfectly well that he was merely a pawn. If something went wrong with this pawn, the entire plan of the person pulling the strings from behind could be ruined. In that case, he, Pill King Hong, would become the scapegoat.
Even if he somehow survived the Heart Demon Oath, he would certainly have no good ending.
The atmosphere in the crowd left Pill King Hong caught between a rock and a hard place. He truly wanted to walk away, but without providing some kind of explanation, the Heart Demon Oath could erupt at any moment.
Jiang Chen seemed to understand Pill King Hong's thoughts perfectly. His cold gaze locked onto the man, piercing and unyielding, as though trying to bore straight through his soul.
"Whether you speak or not, I will uncover the truth sooner or later. However, if you refuse to speak and the Heart Demon Oath detonates, you will certainly die. But if you do speak, you can at least survive this moment." Jiang Chen's words were carefully persuasive. He understood precisely where the man's fears lay.
Pill King Hong suddenly croaked in a hoarse voice: "If I speak, I'm as good as dead too!"
"Hmph, then the choice is yours. But perhaps, if you do speak, someone in this Glazed Royal City might actually shield you. After all, they'll want to extract every bit of intelligence from your mouth!"
Hearing this, Pill King Hong's heart stirred slightly.
His expression grew even more tormented. It had to be said that this proposal struck at the very heart of his worries. If he could receive protection within Glazed Royal City, then revealing the truth might not be such a bad choice after all.