After all, these were the Six Great Sects of the Myriad Forms Territory, and the other sects didn't actually want to watch everyone from the Sacred Sword Palace perish here.
Elder Xiang Qian spoke up: "Nephew Jiang Chen, the grudge between the Sacred Sword Palace and the Dan Qian Palace—"
Jiang Chen cut him off with a wave of his hand before he could finish: "Elder Xiang Qian, nobody's going to play peacemaker here. Back then, when Wang Han got his hands on that Earth Grade Spiritual Medicine, he rubbed it right in my face. What did I say at the time?"
Everyone exchanged confused glances, unsure what Jiang Chen meant.
Wang Han alone was burning with shame, wishing the ground would swallow him whole. When he had flaunted the spiritual medicine before Jiang Chen, Jiang Chen had told him that Wang Han would someday beg Jiang Chen to accept his Earth Grade Spiritual Medicine.
How could Wang Han not remember that clearly?
Mu Gaoqi stood nearby, his blood still boiling with excitement. Jiang Chen spoke with effortless confidence before the titans of every sect, toying with these elder-level powerhouses as if they were puppets in his palm.
Now *this* was what a true genius looked like. *This* was the bearing of a real prodigy!
In that moment, Mu Gaoqi's admiration for Jiang Chen reached the point of total, abject worship.
Hearing Jiang Chen's question, he quickly chimed in: "My Brother Chen said Wang Han would sooner or later beg him to take the Earth Grade Spiritual Medicine he'd gotten. Wang Han called my Brother Chen a daydreamer."
Wang Han's face was crimson, but he had no rebuttal. Though he ground his teeth with hatred inside, he couldn't act on it. He knew now was not the time—if he erupted now, it would be the same as casting the lives of everyone from the Sacred Sword Palace straight into the abyss of death.
"Jiang Chen, killing someone is just a nod of the head—tell us what you want for the antidote. Name your price. A cut is a cut, quick or slow. Let's just get it over with!" Elder Chen's tone was flat and cold.
Jiang Chen replied with equal indifference: "Is that how you ask for a favor?"
Wang Han, his face dark with shame, suddenly stepped forward and bowed to Jiang Chen: "Jiang Chen, my mouth got the better of me before. You're a bigger man than me. All of my Earth Grade Spiritual Medicine is here—please, take them."
Wang Han proved himself capable of both pride and humility; in the span of a few moments, he had swept aside his psychological barriers and bowed his head to Jiang Chen in defeat.
Even though everyone knew it was against his true feelings, the fact that a prodigy as prideful as Wang Han could swallow his dignity was undoubtedly a massive shift.
Jiang Chen was visibly a touch surprised. He glanced coolly at Wang Han, and spotting the fire barely contained in the depths of Wang Han's eyes, dismissed it without a second thought.
He had never feared Wang Han, and if circumstances didn't demand it, he wouldn't have given them the antidote at all.
But he understood perfectly well that if he refused the Sacred Sword Palace the antidote this time, it wouldn't just be offending them—it would inevitably turn the other sects against the Dan Qian Palace as well, perhaps even quietly forging an unspoken consensus to suppress them.
That was human nature. Though none of this was Jiang Chen's fault, people always sympathized with the underdog.
And in this situation, the Sacred Sword Palace was undoubtedly the weaker party.
"Enough, Jiang Chen. The grudge between our Dan Qian Palace and the Sacred Sword Palace doesn't need to be settled this way. Just sell them the antidote," Elder Yunnie stepped forward at the right moment to mediate.
Jiang Chen nodded: "In that case, same as before—one fixed price. Two Heaven Grade Spiritual Medicine, I want them all. As for Earth Grade Spiritual Medicine, I want two-thirds!"
That asking price drew a sharp breath from everyone in the arena.
Every eye turned to the Sacred Sword Palace, waiting to see whether they would accept.
This price was clearly far beyond what the other sects had been asked to pay.
The other sects had given up at most one Heaven Grade Spiritual Medicine. But the Sacred Sword Palace had to hand over both of theirs just to buy the antidote.
Then again, when they considered the history between the Sacred Sword Palace and the Dan Qian Palace, Jiang Chen's price didn't seem quite so shocking.
At the same time, each of them secretly rejoiced that Jiang Chen had shown restraint—his prices for them hadn't been too outrageous. If Jiang Chen had been dead set on taking every last one of their Heaven Grade Spiritual Medicine, they would have had to hand them over just to survive!
That thought made those who had been harboring resentment feel somewhat better about the whole affair.
When they thought about it, Jiang Chen really hadn't forced anyone. The trades were entirely voluntary. They were the ones begging him to sell, not the other way around.
The Bei Ming Sect in particular—they had originally thought Jiang Chen was being unreasonable, demanding half their Earth Grade Spiritual Medicine despite the close ties between the two sects. Now, compared to the other sects, the Bei Ming Sect finally realized just how much face they had been shown. Jiang Chen had only asked for half their Earth Grade Spiritual Medicine, while the other sects had lost half their Heaven Grade Spiritual Medicine too. The Sacred Sword Palace couldn't even keep half of what they had!
Elder Chen seemed to have anticipated that Jiang Chen would ask for an exorbitant price. His face was livid as he glared at Jiang Chen: "Fine, fine! That's the price! Jiang Chen, my Sacred Sword Palace underestimated you!"
Jiang Chen ignored the furious, teeth-grinding looks from the Sacred Sword Palace contingent and let out a light laugh. "Everyone, the price has been agreed upon. But the deal isn't quite done yet. To complete this transaction, I need one more thing from you—a promise."
"A promise?" Everyone looked bewildered.
"I'm not the sort of man who acts rashly. I know that even though you're the ones begging to buy from me, none of you are truly convinced—you're probably already planning how to deal with me once you have the antidote in hand. Sorry, but I won't give you the chance."