With nine judges supervising on the spot, any possibility of cheating was entirely out of the question.
Pill King Rong said, "Both sides in this wagered duel, prepare your materials at once. Time is limited—don't waste it."
The Burst
If the Taiyuan Tower hadn't meddled, Jiang Chen would have been fully confident that these pills alone could break open the pill market in the Glazed Royal City and secure a foothold in the Shennong Market Street.
Who could have expected the Royal Court great clan to sweep in halfway and shatter his plans entirely? That was what had forced Jiang Chen past his limit, leaving him no choice but to strike back.
"Things having come to this, the enmity with the Royal Court great clan is already a foregone conclusion. This duel today—I must win it. I have to crush the Taiyuan Tower underfoot!"
Jiang Chen understood perfectly well that only by winning this wagered duel could the Taiyuan Pavilion open its doors without a hitch.
As for making enemies of the Royal Court great clan—those were concerns he could not afford to dwell on right now. The Wei family and the Royal Court great clan were destined never to coexist in peace regardless.
As long as the Royal Court great clan couldn't open directly across the street, and today's momentum was suppressed, even the Royal Court great clan would suffer reputational damage. Recovering their standing in the short term would be exceedingly difficult, even for them.
With this thought, Jiang Chen hesitated no longer.
All three of these pills had been refined through the methods of the Eccentric Pill School, with ingredients chosen in a wholly unconventional fashion.
After witnessing Jiang Chen's Three Lives Pill earlier, everyone was no longer surprised by such things.
Unlike Jiang Chen, who was brimming with confidence, Pill King Rong still carried shadows in his heart. After all, he had been unable to refine the Ten Thousand Year Pill.
If he couldn't refine the Ten Thousand Year Pill, his chances of winning this round were virtually nil. Pill King Rong knew this as well as anyone.
Pill King Rong's entire body shuddered. Cold sweat poured down his back, and he dared not let his mind wander any further, pouring all his concentration into the refinement.
However, there was genuinely no chance of victory for Pill King Rong in this round.
At this moment, Jiang Chen had already submerged himself completely in his own artistic conception—controlling the flames, heating the cauldron, refining the pills…
The entire process flowed like drifting clouds and running water, completed in one seamless breath.
That masterful technique, that jaw-dropping skill—it truly opened the eyes of everyone present.
Absolutely divine!
Everyone had heard that the Eccentric Pill School was formidable, but they had rarely encountered a true representative of the school in person.
Today, Jiang Chen proved to the world that the Eccentric Pill School was anything but undeserving of its reputation.
The reason the Eccentric Pill School could command such a devoted following—it had to have its reasons. And the Eccentric Pill School was absolutely not the frivolous side path that so many critics dismissed it as!
Whether they were fans of the Eccentric Pill School or not, at this moment virtually no one was paying attention to what Pill King Rong was doing.
Nearly every pair of eyes was fixed on Jiang Chen.
Yes, the fervent fans of the Eccentric Pill School were naturally enjoying both body and soul, savoring this exquisite visual feast.
The neutral observers marveled at the methods and artistry of the Eccentric Pill School—truly the work of divine craftsmen and ghostly artisans, breathtaking beyond compare.
Even those who had originally been detractors of the Eccentric Pill School fell silent at the sight of such mastery. They wanted desperately to find some flaw to criticize, only to discover there was not a single opening.
The Dao of Pills is as vast as the sea, embracing all rivers.
There are many schools of pill refinement, but the reason the Eccentric Pill School could attract so many devoted followers—after witnessing this, everyone finally understood why.
Many in the crowd were stirred to the depths of their hearts. Those fervent fans of the Eccentric Pill School practically wished they could prostrate themselves before Jiang Chen in worship.
These people had always been passionate devotees of the Eccentric Pill School, and they had devoted themselves to studying its methods. But while the Eccentric Pill School was easy enough to slap on as a label, actually stepping through the true gate of the school was enormously difficult.
Many works and pill masters currently claiming the Eccentric Pill School's banner were, in truth, selling wolf meat under a sheep's sign. They merely traded on the school's name while possessing only the shallowest grasp of its surface—some of them knew absolutely nothing at all.
A true, comprehensive master of the Eccentric Pill School was virtually nonexistent.
Over the past several hundred years, all manner of dubious figures had crawled out of the woodwork under the Eccentric Pill School's banner, but a representative figure who could truly command universal respect and force everyone to acknowledge and admire them? There had not been a single one.
And today, Jiang Chen filled that void.
The Eccentric Pill School's fans realized with a thrill that the school's long-awaited representative had finally emerged!
Time trickled past, second by second.
In principle, the process of a pill-refinement duel was tedious. Everyone was far more eager to see the result.
Yet at this moment, everyone was deeply savoring the process itself, wishing only that time would slow down so they could observe the Eccentric Pill School's refinement methods more clearly and in greater detail.
Yes, Jiang Chen's artistry had truly won over a great many people.