Commander Kong remained calm and unhurried, as if he had long anticipated the Royal Court Clan Lord's evasive excuses.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the Peacock Guard never acts without conclusive evidence. The fact that we dared to apprehend the Wang father and son means we have more than enough proof."
Commander Kong spoke in an even tone. "The Myriad Longevity Pill formula was developed many years ago. However, it has remained under continuous verification ever since. The Pill Kings of our Peacock Sacred Mountain have not yet been able to determine whether this formula carries any side effects. That is why we never released it to benefit everyone. But to our surprise, these despicable thieves stole the formula and used an unverified prescription to refine the Myriad Longevity Pill, raking in obscene profits! This kind of behavior is nothing short of depraved!"
What?
The Myriad Longevity Pill hadn't passed verification yet? Its side effects were completely unknown?
The crowd found Commander Kong's words all the more convincing. If none of this were true, how could such a story be told so convincingly?
The Royal Court Clan Lord merely scoffed. "Commander Kong, stop slinging mud. This little frame-up won't work on me."
Commander Kong ignored him and continued. "Furthermore, I can tell everyone with absolute certainty—this Myriad Longevity Pill, though difficult to refine, would retail at most around two million Holy Ling Shi if released on the market. There is no way it could sell for ten million!"
Another bombshell, and the crowd erupted into even louder uproar.
"Two million? Heavens, is the Royal Court great clan robbing people blind? They were just asking ten million!"
"Disgraceful! They stole the formula, and instead of lowering the price, they marked it up five or six times. The sheer shamelessness!"
"And it's an unverified formula at that—they're gambling with everyone's lives!"
"Absolutely unconscionable! People like that deserve to lead a great clan? They should be executed immediately—kill them! Exterminate the entire family!"
The crowd had long harbored resentment toward the Royal Court great clan, so they were more than happy to pile on now. Moreover, there were clearly many people from the Panlong Great Clan mixed in, and even members of the Wei family.
At a time like this, it was only natural for such people to step forward and fan the flames.
The Royal Court Clan Lord merely sneered. By now, how could he not see what was happening? The Peacock Guard was out to destroy him, framing him with false charges.
But this accusation, he asked himself, simply could not hold water.
You Peacock Guard can brag all you want—but does your Peacock Sacred Mountain even have the Myriad Longevity Pill formula?
So the Royal Court Clan Lord remained calm and unhurried.
Even if the Peacock Guard wanted to suppress him, they had to produce sufficient evidence. Otherwise, how could they silence the wagging tongues of the world?
"Commander Kong, you've spun this elaborate tale to frame me—how exactly do you plan to explain it away when the time comes?" the Royal Court Clan Lord sneered.
"That's right! You claim this formula is yours—do you have any proof?"
"Without evidence, this is all empty talk. You can't just claim it belongs to the Peacock Sacred Mountain and expect everyone to take your word for it."
The commander of the Shura Guard also began shouting.
Commander Kong smiled coldly. "I knew you would fight to the bitter end. Very well—I'll make you give up all hope! And I'll let everyone know that the Peacock Guard has always operated with fairness and never wrongs an innocent person without good reason."
With that, Commander Kong pointed to the two Pill Kings beside him. "These two distinguished Pill Kings are senior alchemists of our Peacock Sacred Mountain. The Myriad Longevity Pill was painstakingly derived by them from ancient texts. You want evidence? These two gentlemen are the best evidence there is."
The Royal Court Clan Lord burst out laughing. "So you bring two Pill Kings and call that evidence?"
One of the Pill Kings suddenly spoke, his voice cold and cutting. "The Royal Court great clan, is it? Death is upon you, and yet you still cling to your delusions? We two labored painstakingly to create the Myriad Longevity Pill formula. How is that not evidence?"
The Royal Court Clan Lord sneered. "If it's really your formula, then produce a Myriad Longevity Pill and let us see it!"
The Pill King nodded coldly. "I knew you would say that. Everyone, please observe."
With that, the Pill King opened one hand, and a Superior-grade Myriad Longevity Pill appeared prominently in his palm.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is a Superior-grade Myriad Longevity Pill. Compare it for yourselves—the Myriad Longevity Pill produced by the Royal Court great clan was refined from a stolen formula, and its quality simply cannot compare to ours. This is the proof!"
The moment this Myriad Longevity Pill was produced, the entire room was stunned.
Many of the bolder onlookers crowded around for a closer look, murmuring in admiration.
"Indeed, this is a genuine Myriad Longevity Pill. It's the same type as the Royal Court great clan's, but the quality is clearly far superior."
This Myriad Longevity Pill was, of course, the very one Jiang Chen had given to Third Young Master Ji long ago. Now presented as evidence, it was irrefutable proof.
The Royal Court Clan Lord was completely dumbstruck, his mind unable to accept what he was seeing. How could the Peacock Guard possibly have a Myriad Longevity Pill—and one of clearly superior quality at that?
Could the Indestructible Heavenly Capital have secretly provided a Myriad Longevity Pill to the Peacock Sacred Mountain?
That was completely impossible. The Indestructible Heavenly Capital's channels couldn't possibly reach the Peacock Great Emperor. They simply didn't have that kind of pull.
But then, what was the explanation for this Myriad Longevity Pill?
The Royal Court Clan Lord found himself, for the first time, at a complete loss.