The Peacock Sacred Mountain was buzzing with excitement because of this battle. The alchemy forces under the other great emperors in Myriad Pheasant City all sent representatives to learn from their experience and gain insight.
They called it "learning from experience," but in truth, they simply wanted to see if they could get a slice of the Ten Thousand Year Pill pie.
Unfortunately, the profit-sharing arrangement for the Ten Thousand Year Pill had long been settled. There was simply no way to allocate anything to anyone else. Moreover, the other great emperors' forces had contributed nothing to the Ten Thousand Year Pill, so naturally there was no reason to give them a share.
Of course, all these great emperors understood perfectly well that the Ten Thousand Year Pill profit pie would never be divided among them. They were merely probing, while also hoping to see whether they could obtain manufacturing authorization for the pill formula from Peacock Sacred Mountain and produce it themselves.
The Peacock Great Emperor, however, was absolutely resolute on this matter.
No meant no.
It didn't matter who came to plead — no favors would be granted.
The Peacock Great Emperor knew full well that the Ten Thousand Year Pill formula originally belonged to Jiang Chen. Now that the dispute over the Ten Thousand Year Pill had been settled and it was time to start making money, giving all these great emperors' forces manufacturing authorization would be the same as letting everyone steal the business.
That way, Jiang Chen — as the provider of the formula and the primary contributor to this battle — would have his profits silently stripped away.
The Peacock Great Emperor had at least this much principle. Even when the other great emperors personally came to plead, they could not obtain authorization.
In fact, every Alchemist on Peacock Sacred Mountain who was permitted to refine the Ten Thousand Year Pill had been rigorously selected. There would absolutely be no room for traitors.
……
In the buildings behind the bamboo grove on the rear mountain, Miss Dan'er stood leaning against the window. She pushed it open and breathed in the fresh forest air, her troubled mood lifting just a little.
"Miss Dan'er, you've come out of seclusion?" The maid Cui'er, seeing her mistress push open the window, hurried over from the garden in front, her expression eager and excited.
"Cui'er, I've been on the rear mountain and kept hearing thunderous cheers from across Peacock Sacred Mountain. Do you know what happened?"
At this question, Cui'er's eyes lit up and she exclaimed excitedly, "Miss, it's such a pity you didn't go to watch! Even Cui'er feels sorry for you. I heard people say that Danfire City came in full force this time, trying to steal one of our Peacock Sacred Mountain's pill formulas."
"Danfire City?" Miss Dan'er's brows furrowed slightly. "I've heard that Danfire City is the most powerful force in the alchemy world across all of humanity's territories. Wouldn't... wouldn't our Peacock Sacred Mountain be at a disadvantage?"
Cui'er hurriedly replied, "Danfire City is indeed very powerful, and everyone originally thought Peacock Sacred Mountain would be in trouble this time. But guess what, Miss?"
"What?" Seeing Cui'er's radiant expression, it seemed the outcome had been unexpected?
"Miss, you probably never guessed it either — this time our Peacock Sacred Mountain won! They beat Danfire City so thoroughly that those people had nothing to say and slunk away with their tails between their legs."
"Won?" Miss Dan'er was stunned. "Did His Majesty personally take action?"
"Not at all," Cui'er said. "His Majesty's status is far too high for him to act so lightly! Besides, Danfire City didn't have the Dan Extreme Emperor personally take action either. But the alchemy genius they sent was called Alchemist Ji Lang. I heard he's the most outstanding alchemy titan in Danfire City after the Dan Extreme Emperor himself. And compared to the Dan Extreme Emperor and the like, Alchemist Ji Lang is still a junior."
"If a junior took action, then His Majesty the Peacock Great Emperor truly couldn't personally intervene. So which Alchemist did our Peacock Sacred Mountain send? I think I've heard of Alchemist Ji Lang's reputation — some say he's one of the strongest in alchemy apart from the alchemy great emperors. A half-step Alchemy Emperor, destined to become a great alchemy emperor in the future? Who on our Peacock Sacred Mountain could possibly defeat him?"
"Miss, everything you said is correct. But this time, Alchemist Ji Lang was truly defeated — and from what I've heard, his loss was quite humiliating."
"Who defeated him?"
Cui'er giggled and said, "Speaking of this person, Miss, you probably haven't heard of him either. His name is Zhen Shi, and everyone calls him Alchemist Zhen. He came to Myriad Pheasant City less than a year ago — he's just a guest Alchemist for a Ninth-Rank clan."
"A guest Alchemist? Then why would His Majesty choose him to fight?" Dan'er was completely dumbfounded. "Ninth-Rank clans in Myriad Pheasant City — aren't they the third tier of power? Below the great emperors and the great noble houses come the Ninth-Rank clans, right?"
Although Miss Dan'er had been on Peacock Sacred Mountain for several years now, she had always kept to herself, living a semi-secluded life.
She knew some things about Myriad Pheasant City, but not in great detail.
"That's right! That's exactly why this alchemy battle was so legendary. Right now, the most popular figure in all of Myriad Pheasant City isn't His Majesty — it's this Alchemist Zhen!"
Cui'er giggled again. "Miss, I heard that Alchemist Zhen isn't married yet!"
Miss Dan'er lightly scolded, "Silly girl."
"Hee hee, Cui'er isn't being silly on her own — I just think..."
"Think what?" Miss Dan'er said, somewhat exasperated.
Cui'er stuck out her tongue. "I don't dare say it — I'm afraid Miss will scold me."
Miss Dan'er let out a soft, wistful sigh. "Then don't say it. In any case, whenever you have something to say, it's never anything good."