What many in the Royal Capital couldn't understand was that although the attack on Jiang Feng had been the talk of the town, the anticipated uproar never materialized.
The royal family showed no significant response.
Longteng Hou's side seemed equally inactive.
Strangest of all, the Jianghan Marquis's estate also made no notable moves. It was as if the attack on Jiang Feng had been nothing more than a minor incident, barely causing a ripple.
Jiang Chen was equally low-key, spending his days within the marquis's estate, managing overall affairs and diligently cultivating.
After practicing the Nine Laughs of the Blue Sea Scripture, Jiang Chen had been using Blue Sea True Qi to temper his meridians daily. The six meridians had long since been forged into something remarkably resilient.
Coupled with the stimulation and support of spiritual medicines, those six meridians of his had become vigorous and full of vitality, practically bursting with explosive power.
Through the True Acupoint Resonance technique, Jiang Chen had also successfully located his seventh true acupoint. However, between six-meridian and seven-meridian True Qi, there lay a clear and significant gap.
Six-meridian True Qi could only be considered entry-level True Qi Realm.
Seven-meridian True Qi, on the other hand, marked the advanced stage of the True Qi Realm.
A small step across this threshold meant an entire major leap forward. As such, any martial artist attempting this advancement would face far greater resistance at this juncture.
Jiang Chen was no exception. Before finding the right catalyst, he had no intention of forcing the breakthrough.
Four or five days after the attack, Jiang Chen quietly made his way to the Medicine Hall.
Qiao Baishi, who had been eagerly awaiting his arrival, lit up the moment Jiang Chen appeared. After waiting as eagerly as one waits for stars and moon, he had finally gotten Jiang Chen to come.
"Young Master Jiang, I've finally got you here!" Qiao Baishi was overjoyed and ushered Jiang Chen straight into a private chamber.
"What's going on?" Seeing how serious Qiao Baishi's demeanor was, Jiang Chen felt a twinge of curiosity.
"Young Master Jiang, we need to move our cooperation plan forward," Qiao Baishi said bluntly. "Through various channels, we've learned that the Pill King's Garden is developing a new miraculous healing pill, aiming to break into this market segment. If they gain the upper hand, it will be a devastating blow to our Medicine Hall."
Qiao Baishi was genuinely anxious. He hadn't expected the Pill King's Garden to make such a sudden move.
It had to be said — the Pill King's Garden's play came far too abruptly. It left the Medicine Hall caught almost completely off guard.
"The Pill King's Garden?" Upon hearing those three words, a flash of killing intent shot through Jiang Chen's eyes. Back at Longteng Hou's estate, he had never forgotten how that garden master had suppressed his family.
Moreover, regarding this attack on his father — if someone told him the Pill King's Garden had no hand in it, he absolutely would not believe it. His instincts told him that the Pill King's Garden's shadow loomed behind the whole affair.
"What exactly is happening?" Jiang Chen remained calm. If it came down to competing over healing pills, he did not believe anyone in this royal capital could outplay him, Jiang Chen.
"It's like this. In seven days, the Pill King's Garden will hold a pill exhibition at the royal capital's largest marketplace. Word is they'll be pushing a spiritual medicine called the 'Dragon-Tiger Blood Transformation Pill' — a supreme-grade body-healing pill with exceptional efficacy, far surpassing anything currently on the market."
As Qiao Baishi spoke, a note of indignation crept into his voice. The Medicine Hall had long been the acknowledged foremost power in the spiritual medicine world of the Eastern Kingdom.
In the spiritual medicine trade alone, the Medicine Hall held half the market by itself.
The Shennong Hall, the Pill King's Garden, and various smaller businesses shared the other half.
If the Pill King's Garden used this Dragon-Tiger Blood Transformation Pill to seize the initiative, it would deal a massive blow to the Medicine Hall.
First, there was the reputational impact. The Pill King's Garden was merely the third-largest force in the Eastern Kingdom's spiritual medicine world. If they thoroughly outclassed the Medicine Hall in the healing pill market, the blow to the Medicine Hall's prestige would be enormous.
Second, there was the commercial impact. Everyone knew that healing pills constituted the single largest segment of the pill market. Pills were finished products, unlike cultivated spiritual medicines, and their prices were often staggering. If this market were entirely captured by the Pill King's Garden, they would undoubtedly grow in power over the next few years. As one waxed and the other waned, it was entirely possible that within a decade, the position of the Eastern Kingdom's top spiritual medicine power could change hands.
No matter how you looked at it, the Medicine Hall could not stand by and watch the Pill King's Garden rise.
Jiang Chen caught the underlying implications from Qiao Baishi's words.
"The Pill King's Garden is suddenly being so high-profile. Looks like they've completely thrown in their lot with Longteng Hou and found themselves a powerful backer," Jiang Chen sneered. "This move is almost certainly their opening salvo in declaring war on the Medicine Hall. Third Hall Master, forgive my bluntness, but the Pill King's Garden's ambitions run deep — I'm afraid their ultimate goal is to replace the Medicine Hall entirely."
Qiao Baishi's face turned grim. "Our Medicine Hall has held the position of the Eastern Kingdom's foremost spiritual medicine power for several hundred years. For an upstart like the Pill King's Garden to harbor such grand ambitions — it's truly outrageous. Young Master Jiang, I won't beat around the bush. Right now, our two houses are essentially grasshoppers tied to the same rope."
Jiang Chen smiled leisurely. "If they were launching the exhibition tomorrow, we truly wouldn't have time. But seven days — that gives us plenty of room to work with."