They had destroyed his sect, stolen his pill formulas, and now they wanted to show off his own creations right at his doorstep. Even if Jiang Chen were a clay Buddha, he'd still have some of that clay temper — how could he choke down such a bitter draught?
"The great clan of the Royal Court... you've really managed to piss me off — me, Jiang Chen!" Despite his fury, Jiang Chen actually laughed.
He glanced at the Wei father and son and said evenly, "We'll deal with whatever comes. Let's focus on our own business and play the rest by ear."
Though his tone seemed calm, Jiang Chen was seething inside. Already, he was secretly plotting his counterstrike.
Just then, a fresh commotion erupted from outside the door, followed by the sound of many people shouting and arguing about something.
"Let's go take a look." Jiang Chen's expression darkened, and he was the first to stride out.
The Wei father and son, also brimming with fury, stormed out after him.
Outside, the people from Taiyuan Pavilion and their counterparts across the way were locked in a furious shouting match. On Taiyuan Pavilion's side, the ten great saints Jiang Chen had selected from among the slaves were no pushovers either — they had their sleeves rolled up and were hurling curses at the opposition with relish.
The other side was equally unwilling to back down. They had even more people, and they were spitting and firing off every imaginable obscenity.
The whole scene looked like two mobs of screeching shrews who had run into each other on a narrow street — the intensity skyrocketed as the insults grew filthier and more outrageous.
Those who knew would realize that every single one of these people was a powerful Saint Realm expert — but to the uninitiated, they'd look like a bunch of street peddlers having a vulgar brawl.
When they spotted Jiang Chen and the Wei family members come out, the Taiyuan Pavilion side's morale soared, and their shouting grew even more thunderous.
On the Wei side, Wei Qixia rolled up his sleeves, ready to join the fray.
But Wei Jie grabbed hold of him. "Qixia, what's going on?"
Wei Qixia fumed, "Young Master, look — this Tong family is really going too far! We're the Taiyuan Pavilion, so they go and name theirs the Taiyuan Tower — it's obviously meant to humiliate us!"
Wei Jie was shocked and looked across. Sure enough, a freshly hung signboard over there bore three bold characters — Taiyuan Tower!
This time, Jiang Chen was truly and completely enraged.
The name "Taiyuan" was one Jiang Chen had taken from his previous life — it was the name of the Heavenly Emperor's father, and in his heart it held a sacred and inviolable status.
Yet this Tong family's shop had dared to use the same name — and it was clearly aimed right at them, an open declaration of rivalry.
A dense killing intent suddenly erupted in Jiang Chen's eyes. He fixed his gaze on the signboard, his chest heaving with towering rage. "Tong family! Great clan of the Royal Court! You think you're worthy of using the name 'Taiyuan'? You've blasphemed the Heavenly Emperor! Blasphemed the gods! I, Jiang Chen, will show you what divine retribution looks like!"
Jiang Chen's fury, already at its peak, now blazed beyond all limits. In his heart, he had already sentenced the Royal Court noble clan's pill shop to death.
Even at the cost of revealing his own strength, even if it made him the common enemy of the entire Liuli Royal City, he would not hesitate.
His father — whether in his past life or this one — was a forbidden zone in Jiang Chen's heart, one that absolutely no one was permitted to trespass upon.
Anyone who crossed that line had to die!
Jiang Chen shot a cold glance across the way. From the building opposite, several well-dressed figures sauntered out with an air of arrogance.
At the center were the Tong father and son, flanked by several prominent elders of the Tong clan. Every one of them wore an arrogant expression, strutting with their heads held high.
Every glance and every step radiated provocation.
"What are you yelling about?" One of the Tong elders deliberately scolded his own men. "Don't forget who you are! Squabbling with a bunch of nobodies — do you want to disgrace the Taiyuan Tower or what?"
He was clearly pointing at the mulberry while cursing the locust tree — a veiled insult aimed at the Wei father and son and the Taiyuan Pavilion. As for Jiang Chen? They had simply chosen to ignore him.
Clearly, in their eyes, this Pill King who had inexplicably popped up from the Wei family was not even worth their attention.
Sure enough, at the elder's rebuke, the Tong side immediately looked triumphant, their cursing subsiding as they put on expressions of utter disdain — as though they were far above squabbling with the likes of these people. They then took up positions behind their masters with the air of victors.
Wei Tianxiao, suppressing his anger, stared at the Tong family patriarch Tong Xianwei. "Old Tong, what's the meaning of this? We name ours the Taiyuan Pavilion, and you name yours the Taiyuan Tower? You're doing this just to get on our nerves, aren't you?"
Tong Xianwei cast a contemptuous glance at Wei Tianxiao and replied dismissively, "Wei Tianxiao, are you really going to play the victim here? The Taiyuan Tower was our name from the very beginning. I haven't even come to settle the score with you yet, and here you are trying to pin everything on me?"
At these words, everyone on the Wei side flew into a rage.
The Tong family really was shameless to the core — to dare say something so brazenly false, and to say it with such righteous self-confidence!
Wei Tianxiao was so angry he laughed. "Tong Xianwei, you're at least the patriarch of a ninth-rank noble family — are you really going to throw away your dignity like this? My Wei family sent out invitations days ago for the Taiyuan Pavilion's grand opening — everyone in the Liuli Royal City knows about it. Your Tong family only sent out invitations last night, deliberately chose the same day to open, deliberately set up right across from us, and even deliberately picked a similar name. Just how much does your Tong family admire ours?"