Inside the lavish grand hall of the Myriad Treasures Palace, the Pill King Manor's exhibition booth was already set up and ready to go. Every guest's seat had been arranged perfectly.
Jiang Chen walked into the Myriad Treasures Palace, stepping onto the luxurious carpet, his mood quite pleasant.
Compared to the Pill King Manor's showiness, the Medicine Hall was keeping an extremely low profile. So far, they hadn't even started setting up their booth. In fact, not many people—even among those associated with the Pill King Manor—had any idea the Medicine Hall was even holding a pill exhibition.
A rumor had been sweeping the entire Royal Capital: the Pill King Manor had developed a new type of healing pill that would challenge the Medicine Hall's dominance. Today's pill exhibition, to put it bluntly, was aimed squarely at the Medicine Hall—a provocation meant to slap them in the face.
"Hey, hold it right there! This is the pill exhibition. Do you have an invitation?"
Two aggressive martial artists blocked Jiang Chen and his party.
Jiang Zheng, standing at Jiang Chen's side, let out a cold snort and tossed the invitation the Pill King Manor had given them straight into the other man's face.
The guard caught the invitation, glanced at it, and smirked. "This is the lowest-tier invitation—no seating, standing room only. Over there in the corner, just walk yourselves over. And remember: no loud noise, don't bump into the other distinguished guests."
A slap in the face. The Pill King Manor had clearly planned this whole humiliation from the start. Ever since they'd handed Jiang Chen that invitation, it had all been part of their scheme.
But Jiang Zheng just gave a contemptuous laugh. "You've got it wrong. Your little pill exhibition? Our Young Marquis couldn't care less about it—he has zero interest in attending. We just happened to be passing by and wanted to return this worthless invitation to you."
The guard froze. Not here for the pill exhibition? Then what were they doing here?
"If you're not here for the pill exhibition, then you're loiterers! Someone, get them out of here!" A steward from the Pill King Manor strode over, radiating hostility.
Jiang Zheng sneered, "Has the Myriad Treasures Palace been exclusively booked by your Pill King Manor today? Our Young Marquis is a distinguished guest here. You lot are just dogs with itchy bones, aren't you?"
The four brothers from the Sheng Camp stepped forward, and the killing aura forged through years of military training erupted forth, pressing down on the steward until his face turned pale and he stumbled backward.
Jiang Chen spoke with calm indifference, "A good dog doesn't block the path."
Just then, a figure emerged from an interior corridor of the Myriad Treasures Palace—it was Qiao Baishi, the Third Hall Master of the Medicine Hall.
Qiao Baishi was all smiles as he came forward, laughing heartily. "Young Marquis Jiang, we've finally waited for you! Come in, come in!"
"Hall Master Qiao, what's going on with the Medicine Hall? Weren't you supposed to be holding a pill exhibition today? Why such a low profile?" Jiang Chen asked with a deliberate air of complaint.
Qiao Baishi chuckled. "It's always been our style to keep a low profile. We'll set up the booth shortly—it won't take long at all."
"That makes sense. The Medicine Hall has deep foundations; being low-key is perfectly normal. Not like some newly rich upstarts making such a tremendous spectacle of themselves." Jiang Chen smiled and nodded.
"Qiao Baishi, what's the meaning of this?" From the Pill King Manor's side, the head of the manor, Director Wang, stormed over. "Today our Pill King Manor is hosting the pill exhibition. You're guests here. Are you planning to cause trouble and break the rules?"
Director Wang looked every bit the righteous defender.
"Director Wang, I think you might be mistaken about something. You're holding your pill exhibition, sure—but does that mean the Medicine Hall can't hold one too? You sent us invitations, so does that mean we're obligated to attend?" Qiao Baishi's tone was perfectly even.
"You… you're not here for our pill exhibition?" Director Wang's eyes burned with disbelief.
"Oh, we're here for a pill exhibition—just our own Medicine Hall's pill exhibition." Qiao Baishi smiled faintly.
"What?" Director Wang's gaze turned cold. "Qiao Baishi, did you come here deliberately to stir up trouble?"
"Stir up trouble?" Qiao Baishi scoffed. "Director Wang, you think too highly of yourself. With the status of your Pill King Manor, do you really think it's worthy of the Medicine Hall coming here to stir up trouble?"
Director Wang was speechless. He shot a glare at Jiang Chen. "Jiang Chen, you already returned the invitation—what are you doing here?"
"Imbecile. Obviously I'm here for the pill exhibition. The Medicine Hall and the Jiang family are in close cooperation. If they're holding a pill exhibition, how could I not show my support?" Jiang Chen looked at Director Wang as if he were staring at an idiot.
Director Wang's face turned ashen. He felt like he'd been played. But then the thought struck him—wasn't today's whole setup meant to slap the Medicine Hall's face? If the Medicine Hall was too blind to see their own limitations and wanted to hold a pill exhibition of their own, then this was the perfect opportunity to crush their arrogance once and for all.
With that thought, a sinister smile crept across Director Wang's face. "Qiao Baishi, it seems the Medicine Hall isn't content to just sit and wait for death. Since you've come to offer yourselves up, then let's compare pills and settle who's superior."
Director Wang's spirits soared. If the Medicine Hall wanted to overstep and compete in pills, then the "Dragon-Tiger Blood Transforming Pill" would deliver a devastating slap to their face.
The Medicine Hall's efficiency was, as always, impressive.
Before long, directly across from the Pill King Manor's setup, a booth was quickly erected. The Medicine Hall's senior members included not only Qiao Baishi but also Second Hall Master Yue Qun, along with six or seven elders. A large number of Medicine Hall stewards were also hard at work on urgent preparations.
The Medicine Hall was playing for keeps this time. Apart from Jiang Chen and Princess Gouyu and their party, none of the other guests had received advance invitations.