The Peacock Great Emperor's face bore that calm, mysterious smile throughout, setting the other Great Emperors' minds racing with speculation.
The Asura Great Emperor suddenly cut in. "Brother Peacock, I have no wish to meddle in the succession matters of the Peacock Holy Mountain. It's just that while this Pill King Zhen is remarkably talented in alchemy, he has achieved nothing in the martial dao. If you designate him as your successor, I'm afraid even within the Peacock Holy Mountain, not everyone would be convinced — unless he can prove his martial talent is equally outstanding."
"He will prove himself — has the opportunity not already arrived?" A smile full of wisdom played across the Peacock Great Emperor's face, giving him an unfathomable air.
"An opportunity? Do you mean the martial tower battle at the Radiant King Tower Tournament?"
The other Great Emperors all turned their gazes toward the Peacock Great Emperor. After all, the news of the Peacock Holy Mountain selecting a successor was of tremendous importance, and everyone was deeply invested.
The Peacock Holy Mountain had sustained the fortune of Radiant City for thousands of years. Any upheaval within it would directly affect the city's fate. How could they not care?
But the Peacock Great Emperor said nothing more, merely smiling without uttering a word.
Since he remained silent, the others couldn't very well press further. After all, the Peacock Great Emperor was the true master of Radiant City. Though the other Great Emperors were nominally his equals, in truth they were all merely his deputies.
Any one of them could be replaced, and Radiant City would remain Radiant City.
But without the Peacock Great Emperor, the prosperity and glory of today's Radiant City would have been impossible.
Not even the Asura Great Emperor could deny this.
---
On the judges' bench, Pill King Bu accepted his defeat without protest. His graceful surrender sent a chill through the other Pill Kings who had harbored ill will toward Jiang Chen. One by one, they inwardly thanked their luck that they hadn't been the one to challenge Pill King Zhen or serve as the vanguard — otherwise, this misfortune would have fallen upon them.
Seeing that Pill King Bu hadn't fought to the bitter end, Jiang Chen took the opportunity to wind things down. Rather than kicking a man while he was down, he merely smiled with a hint of indifference. "Since Pill King Bu is a man of his word, I suppose I'll reluctantly accept you. But remember — once you've sworn yourself to my tutelage, betraying your master is a very grave matter indeed."
"Rest easy — if old Bu can gamble, then he can lose!" Though Pill King Bu was sullen, he was not the type to renege on a bet.
He was merely a bit arrogant, a bit foul-tempered, and a bit narrow-minded — but not the sort of scoundrel who would deny his losses.
Besides, there was the Heavenly Oath.
Jiang Chen, seeing Pill King Bu's attitude, gave a casual smile. "Then let it stand as is. But don't feel aggrieved — perhaps one day, you'll even be glad you lost to me today."
This wasn't Jiang Chen rubbing salt in the wound. It was simply the truth. Given his level of alchemy, Pill King Bu's chance to become his disciple was a blessing one could cultivate over ten lifetimes to earn.
It was just that, for now, no one knew it.
---
After this minor interlude, the Pill Tower battle continued.
With the first two rounds concluded, the next round was pill refinement — the main event. A full month or two had been allotted for this stage.
Each Pill King was required to set a task to evaluate the contestants, much like the theory round. The difference was that this time, they were testing the contestants' hands-on ability to refine pills.
Each Pill King would present one of their exclusive pill formulas and teach it to the contestants, then provide them with the materials and have them refine the pills according to their own comprehension.
Finally, the contestants would be scored based on the quality of their pills.
Each judge had five days: one day to teach the pill formula, three days for pill refinement, and one remaining day for evaluating the pills and tallying the scores.
With eight judges total, this would take at least forty days.
Jiang Chen made no special requests. As the last judge to arrive, he voluntarily asked to be scheduled last. This meant he had to wait for all seven other judges to complete their evaluations before his turn came around.
Seeing that Jiang Chen wasn't trying to steal the spotlight, the other judges felt their hostility toward him diminish, replaced by a measure of admiration.
By all rights, a young man who had already achieved fame and become the city's idol could have demanded special privileges and preferential treatment — and the other judges would have had little grounds to object.
Yet Pill King Zhen was content to follow the established order, not stealing anyone's thunder, and voluntarily placed himself at the very end. That was a bearing ordinary people simply could not match.
Most people in his position, drunk on success, would not have been able to resist pulling rank. Very few could remain composed and maintain their grace in such circumstances.
Yet this young man, despite his youth, managed to do exactly that. That bearing alone surpassed many veteran Pill Kings who had been famous for hundreds of years.
---
The Radiant King Tower Tournament was, after all, a grand event. Though it spanned a considerable length of time, no one found it tedious — on the contrary, they were thoroughly engaged.
Jiang Chen also began preparing his pill formula. What he prepared this time was another creation of the Trick Pill Style.
Since he had made his name in Radiant City through the Trick Pill Style, he might as well carry that path to its conclusion.
This time, he prepared the Hundred Revolution Marrow Refining Pill. This pill was specifically designed for body-tempering martial artists — particularly those who enjoyed pushing their physical bodies to the limit. It was truly a rare and exceptional elixir.
This pill could not only strengthen the flesh and temper the bone marrow, but could even eliminate the hidden injuries brought on by body tempering. It was nothing short of a miraculous remedy.
While similar pills existed on the market, most were mediocre in effect. Moreover, they typically offered only a single function and came with quite a few side effects.