The Peacock Grand Assembly concluded, and the various clan lords departed.
But the Panlong Clan Lord and
This scene left all the clan lords utterly baffled.
Since when had this Alchemist Zhen, who had appeared out of nowhere, become more important than any of them?
That the Panlong Clan Lord could stay, they could more or less understand — after all, he was the lord of the foremost clan.
But this Alchemist Zhen — even if he had received the Grand Emperor's favor, could his status really have surged so dramatically?
How could his standing have skyrocketed overnight to surpass them all?
Confused as they were, no one dared defy the Grand Emperor's decree. Nor did anyone dare harbor resentment. Over the years, they had all come to know the Peacock Grand Emperor very well.
They knew that every decision the Grand Emperor made was never without purpose.
If he had ordered them to leave, there was certainly a reason. If he had asked this Alchemist Zhen to stay, there was surely a rationale behind it.
Still, they were all curious — what exactly had been in that Transmission Talisman that had caused the Grand Emperor's expression to change?
Those who left were brimming with questions.
Those who stayed were equally full of questions.
The Peacock Grand Emperor's gaze was deep and unfathomable. A faint, tranquil smile on his lips, he looked at
Trouble?
The Panlong Clan Lord was burning with curiosity as well, but with the Peacock Grand Emperor speaking this way, he did not dare ask further.
The other four great emperors, though filled with doubt, said nothing. They merely regarded
"Your Majesty, please forgive this slow-witted youth,"
"The Myriad Longevity Pill you presented has now become the subject of a new claim. Pill Fire City has recently been spreading a rumor, claiming that the Myriad Longevity Pill is actually a creation of their Pill Fire City. They say that our Glazed Glass Royal City's Myriad Longevity Pill was stolen from their ideas. As of now, this news has already been spreading privately throughout Pill Fire City. Though it has not yet been publicly announced, it is imminent."
Pill Fire City?
Both
When Young Master Ji the Third had secretly captured Shopkeeper Li of the Sikou family's Myriad Puppet Hall,
If there was any power in the Upper Eight Domains that even the Glazed Glass Royal City had to regard with wariness, it was Pill Fire City!
Pill Fire City's absolute strength was not necessarily greater than that of the Glazed Glass Royal City. But in the realm of pills and medicines, Pill Fire City was vastly superior.
In the Upper Eight Domains — indeed, across all of humanity — Pill Fire City controlled over seventy percent of the pill trade. It was, without question, the foremost power in the world of alchemy.
Pill Fire City commanded countless alchemical factions, having established numerous branch shops and subsidiary associations across every region and domain. Wherever there was a pill-related organization, Pill Fire City's shadow could be found.
The Glazed Glass Royal City was the sole exception.
The Glazed Glass Royal City's pill trade was almost entirely under its own control. And the pill trade in the surrounding domains was similarly dominated by it.
But beyond the Glazed Glass Royal City and its immediate surroundings, virtually all other territories had their pill trade monopolized by Pill Fire City's forces.
Small places and minor factions held no interest for Pill Fire City. Otherwise, anywhere that caught its attention could hardly escape its shadow.
It could be said that, in terms of influence over the pill trade, Pill Fire City absolutely dwarfed the Glazed Glass Royal City.
The Glazed Glass Royal City's influence and market share in the human territories' pill trade amounted to, at most, ten to twenty percent. Pill Fire City, however, claimed at least seventy percent.
The gap was stark and unmistakable.
The Glazed Glass Royal City had made considerable efforts, cultivating many alchemists and nurturing numerous talented pill masters, yet compared to Pill Fire City's deep-rooted foundations, the gap remained impossible to close.
Thus, upon hearing the words "Pill Fire City," whether it was the four great emperors or the Panlong Clan Lord, all of them changed color.
"Pill Fire City?" Yunzhong Bright Emperor furrowed his brow. "Is it that Pill Fire City simply cannot stand to see our Glazed Glass Royal City showing even a hint of progress? The moment something begins to sprout, they have to come and crush it?"
"This is absolutely outrageous! Your Majesty, we cannot let them bully us like this." Zhensui Bright Emperor was hot-tempered by nature.