Jiang Chen had no interest in these petty disputes, so he had been dismissing their provocations with contempt. But even a clay Buddha has a bit of earth in it.
Pill King Bu was pressing closer step by step, putting on an air of irreconcilable enmity toward Jiang Chen.
Jiang Chen glanced casually at Pill King Bu, a flash of cold light passing through his eyes. Inwardly, he sneered — since you, Pill King Bu, insist on offering your face for a slap, I won't mind obliging.
"Pill King Bu, is it? This Zhen doesn't know where you get your confidence. Put simply — if you have a problem with me, show it openly. If you want to challenge me, say so openly. There's no need for all these barbs and jabs. We're all men here. If you've got a grievance, just say it. Acting like a shrew screeching in the streets — you may not find it embarrassing, but I have my pride."
Jiang Chen's words, while seemingly mild, dripped with sarcasm — likening Pill King Bu to a shrew without an ounce of a Pill King's dignity. Several of the neutral judges couldn't help but snicker.
None of them were blind, of course. They could all see that Pill King Bu's behavior was thoroughly lacking in composure, and that it stemmed from jealousy.
After all, as a veteran Pill King, making things difficult for a rising talent in alchemy at every turn — no matter how you looked at it — was unbecoming.
Pill King Bu's face turned the color of pig liver. He snorted coldly: "Sharp tongue. If you're so capable, let's make a wager on this round of questions?"
Jiang Chen smiled faintly: "How do you want to bet?"
"Let the contestants choose — see which question everyone thinks is the most skillful and the most enlightening. Do you dare?"
Jiang Chen looked around and suddenly broke into a smile: "What if neither of us gets chosen? Wouldn't that be embarrassing?"
Pill King Bu sneered: "If neither of us is chosen, it proves neither of us is the most outstanding Pill King in Glazed King City. I'll accept that willingly enough."
Jiang Chen laughed: "So you're just targeting me, then? I'll take that as jealousy. Since you want to bet, fine. What are you staking?"
Pill King Bu was taken aback: "Stakes? We're just betting on who wins and who loses — why do we need stakes?"
Jiang Chen shook his head: "No stakes, no bet. Just because you have a problem with me doesn't mean I'm obligated to indulge your boredom."
Hearing the contempt in Jiang Chen's tone — as though agreeing to bet with him was a form of charity — only made Pill King Bu feel even more deeply provoked.
"What do you want to bet?" Pill King Bu's anger flared.
"What can you afford to lose?" Jiang Chen sneered.
Never in his life had Pill King Bu been so looked down upon. He took a deep breath: "Fine. Let's bet on this — the loser leaves Glazed King City and never sets foot in it again. How about that?"
That was quite a ruthless stake.
But Jiang Chen smiled leisurely: "You call that a stake? If you lose and feel too embarrassed to stay, you'd sneak away on your own even without being kicked out."
Pill King Bu nearly coughed up blood from rage. The bet hadn't even started and this kid already assumed he would lose? He glared fiercely: "Then what do you suggest we bet?"
Jiang Chen tapped his forehead lightly twice, thought for a moment, then smiled: "Let's make it bigger. The loser becomes the other's apprentice and serves at the other's command for life — no reneging."
When those stakes were announced, the other judges turned pale. This was betting an entire lifetime. It had to be said — the stakes were terrifying.
Even someone as arrogant and conceited as Pill King Bu found his eyes wide, his breathing quickened, staring fixedly at Jiang Chen.
Clearly, for the moment, he didn't dare accept.
If he took this bet and lost, his entire life would be ruined. For a top-tier Pill King who had been famous for a thousand years to become the apprentice of a young man and serve at his command for life — that would be worse than death. He would have nowhere to put his face.
Jiang Chen didn't actually want to take this old man as a disciple. He had simply seen through the old fellow's towering pride and knew that only by crushing his ego in this way could he truly deflate his arrogance.
If Jiang Chen truly wanted to take on disciples, someone ten times more powerful than Pill King Bu would be no trouble at all to recruit.
After all, his level of alchemy in his previous life had been unrivaled across the Myriad Heavens Planes. What he had displayed thus far was merely the tip of the iceberg.
With Pill King Bu's hesitation, the wager hadn't even begun and he had already fallen into the weaker position.
Jiang Chen smiled casually: "Pill King Bu, since you don't dare to bet, I won't force you. But in the future, please stop acting like you're the greatest in the world. Even if you truly believe you are, don't put on that grand act in front of me. I don't enjoy watching it."
Pill King Bu gritted his teeth and fixed his gaze: "Who says I don't dare to bet? Surnamed Zhen, if you lose, don't go back on your word."
Jiang Chen smiled leisurely: "This is no child's game. Naturally, we'll need a Heaven and Earth Oath as witness. Otherwise, why would I bother playing with you?"
A Heaven and Earth Oath as witness?
At these words, everyone else gasped inwardly. This Pill King Zhen didn't seem to be speaking lightly — did he truly have this under control?
The others, eager for a spectacle, naturally wanted to see things escalate. Each of them looked at Pill King Bu with encouraging gazes — encouragement tinged with a hint of doubt — leaving him with no room to back down.
"Heaven and Earth Oath it is, then. You think this old man is afraid of you?" Pill King Bu was clearly still very confident in his own question.
Jiang Chen chuckled and said to Pill King Yi of Peacock Sacred Mountain: "Pill King Yi, would everyone bear witness to this?"