Chapter 781: A Grand Victory
w.a.n.g Teng was indeed able to act according to his status as a young clan head. He didn’t lose his temper, even though his fury and indignation were dangerously close to erupting. He was especially upset after noticing Ji San’s secret arrangements. He knew that the unexpectedly silent young master was definitely waiting for him to commit an irredeemable act.
Ji San would definitely grasp the opportunity to relentlessly attack w.a.n.g Teng as soon as the latter turned hostile. And with that, w.a.n.g Teng would’ve fallen right into the opponent’s trap. His dark expression made no secret of his anger, but his voice was still as indifferent as ever. “A gambler must be willing to accept losses, but House Lord Tong’s words just now are not without reason. I’m not questioning the judges, but the intentions of this pill king from House Wei. Does no one find it odd that this man of unknown origins suddenly shows up at our Veluriyam Capital and starts stirring up trouble? I’m beginning to suspect him of being a spy dispatched by some other power. Otherwise, how could such a pill dao genius be unknown?”
This slander was executed rather poorly, but implicating Jiang Chen was better than offending the judges. Ji San had been biding his time all this while, and laughed out loud at this point. “That’s one of the best jokes I’ve heard in years! w.a.n.g Teng, no matter how eloquent your words, it all boils down to you being a sore loser. I’ve always known that you won’t accept defeat with grace. I guess people didn’t misjudge you after all.”
The young master also felt it to be somewhat of a shame. He had been expecting w.a.n.g Teng to flip out and perhaps even renege on the deal. Sadly, that wily fellow had avoided that trap after all.
“Ji Ole Third, I don’t think this matter concerns you in any way.” w.a.n.g Teng was visibly trying to suppress his displeasure.
“How can I not be concerned? Pill King Zhen is my friend and House Wei an aristocratic house under our Coiling Dragon Clan. Am I not supposed to speak up for them and let you push them around as you wish?” Ji San held the solid advantage and as such, his tone of voice was quite leisurely.
Wei Tianxiao couldn’t keep quiet anymore, “Since the young clan lord w.a.n.g admits that a gambler must be willing to accept losses, I hope you’ll stop deflecting so ridiculously. Pill King Zhen’s origins are completely unrelated to this wager. The Veluriyam Capital has stood tall in the Divine Abyss Continent for tens of thousands of years—agents of various powers have always walked among us—and yet the Capital has remained completely unaffected. None of us are interested in listening to your baseless alarmist theories.”
Ji San turned to the judges with a smile. “Honored judges, can we consider the victor to have been determined? Isn’t it time Taiyuan Lodge honored their wager?”
Pill King Yu nodded and cast his gaze toward w.a.n.g Teng. “Young master w.a.n.g, the results are decided. Please proceed with the transaction if you still acknowledge our position here as judges. Otherwise, we’ll simply have to act according to the law. A cultivator should always act with a clear conscience and take responsibility for his decisions, be it with delight, grat.i.tude or vengeance. Please avoid wandering from the main subject!”
Pill King Yu’s words contained a fair amount of both admonition and threat. He did indeed somewhat despise w.a.n.g Teng’s actions. Add to that his admiration for Jiang Chen, Pill King Yu was already inwardly inclined to stand on the latter’s side.
“Indeed. A gambler must be willing to accept his losses. Why the need for such nonsense?”
“Stop wasting your breath. Why did you bet if you can’t afford to lose? If we remember correctly, the whole wager was your Taiyuan Lodge’s idea.”
“That’s right. Here we have a powerful and influential major clan turning hostile after losing a bet. How shameful!” The tens of thousands of spectators broke into an uproar. Admonis.h.i.+ng voices could be heard from all directions, and there was no way to discern their origin.
It was true that most of the audience were just here to observe the lively activities. But these neutral cultivators were not without the capacity to differentiate right from wrong. They’d seen how unbridled the Majestic Clan had acted in the beginning. The clan was the one who’d first provoked the other party and cause a scene. They were also the ones to propose the bet. They were obviously the ones who wanted to suppress Taiyuan Tower. They’d gone for wool but come home shorn. Now that House Wei’s pill king had turned the tables on them, they want to renege on their debt by distorting the truth. The audience couldn’t accept this.
You can be arrogant and tyrannical, but you can’t openly trample public opinion. You can’t insult the rules approved by the people! A gambler had to be willing to accept his losses. No one would just stand by and watch as the Majestic Clan refuses to abide by such a basic rule. They weren’t sympathizing with the weak. They’d uphold the same values even if Taiyuan Tower had lost.
The crowd was getting worked up and their voices of condemnation came down like a monsoon rain. w.a.n.g Teng’s fury burned even hotter under this shower of recrimination, but he had no place to vent. He turned around with a stormy expression. “Sort out our things and have our men depart. Let them have the store!”
The House Tong lord was now panicking, “Young clan master, what will our House Tong do if we hand over the store…”
w.a.n.g Teng’s expression was black as he glared at the head of House Tong. However, the house lord was adamant. This was no small matter—this store was House Tong’s most prized possession—their losses would be colossal if he simply gave up a core a.s.set like this. It would be greatly detrimental if they were to lose it just like that. Even if w.a.n.g Teng incurred divine wrath because he’d reneged on the heavenly oath, it still wouldn’t bring profit to House Tong. Therefore, he had to obtain tangible compensation from w.a.n.g Teng at all costs. He’d mustered up the courage even in the face of w.a.n.g Teng’s murderous glare.
“House Lord Teng, are you afraid that I’ll renege on the debt?” w.a.n.g Teng’s composure was eroding like a dam of sand.
“w.a.n.g Teng, it seems you’re not afraid of being judged by the heaven and earth. Could it be that you’re thinking of reneging on your wager?” Ji San chuckled, “Why are you trying to bully House Lord Teng in front of so many people? Just compensate him immediately for his shop and people may yet consider you a straightforward person.”
“Indeed! If you slip away afterwards, how can House Tong knock on your Majestic Clan’s doors and demand compensation? You can’t bully people that way!”
“w.a.n.g Teng, please don’t embarra.s.s the great clans so.” Those with the courage to speak out were mostly clan members. The Majestic Clan was indeed arrogant, but those other clans were not to be trifled with.
w.a.n.g Teng was helplessly adrift in a sea of castigation. He had no choice but to dispatch someone and publicly hand over the shop to House Tong. He was close to weeping blood after arranging everything. The people from Taiyuan Lodge had completely retired. They’d just started opening for business but now, they were being forced to withdraw in misery.
This was the most humiliating moment of his life.
Undisguised killing intent radiated from w.a.n.g Teng as he glared at Jiang Chen and House Wei. “Well done, House Wei. I’ll remember you lot!” With that, he waved his hand, “Move out!”
w.a.n.g Teng’s entourage duly followed. Gloomy and dejected, they closely resembled defeated gamec.o.c.ks.
Jiang Chen suddenly spoke, “Hold it!”
w.a.n.g Teng, hoping for a chance to vent his anger, paused his steps with a cold smile. “What now?”
Jiang Chen pointed at the shop sign, “You’ve forgotten something!”
The audience broke out into loud laughter. w.a.n.g Teng’s countenance turned frosty as he ordered Tong Xianwei, “Retrieve it!”
Tong Xianwei leapt up and swiftly removed the sign. He glared daggers at Jiang Chen, “Brat, keep your eyes open. Some powers simply have no future. Don’t keep walking down the wrong path, lest it be too late by the time you realize.”
It was unknown whether he was referring to House Wei or the Coiling Dragon Clan. Jiang Chen only smiled indifferently, for he couldn’t be bothered to debate with this person. His conflict with w.a.n.g Teng wasn’t to help House Wei, but simply because w.a.n.g Teng had crossed his bottom line!
“Haven’t you lot suffered enough humiliation today?” Ji San let out a cold laugh.
Tong Xianwei indeed didn’t dare behave atrociously in front of this young master. He could only shuffle behind w.a.n.g Teng and leave. Pill King Yu approached Jiang Chen after w.a.n.g Teng’s entourage had departed, “Pill King Zhen, you’ve truly broadened this old man’s horizons today. Please come drop in for a chat when you have the time.”
“Indeed, Pill King Zhen has earned great fame in a single battle. Who would’ve thought that the Deviant Pill Faction would finally produce such a genius. Now we’ll see who dares to say the Deviant Pill Faction is a heretical school!” The speaker was a Deviant Pill Faction fanatic.
The other pill kings also came forth with congratulations of their own.
Ji San laughed out loud, “Everyone, Pill King Zhen has won glory and fame in a single battle today. I’d also like to take this opportunity to announce Taiyuan Tower officially open for business! Since everyone is already here, why not come in for a drink? How delightful would it be to sit and discuss pill dao at leisure!”
Ji San, an expert at building up the atmosphere, began tending to the guests. It wasn’t unreasonable for him to speak on behalf of House Wei. After all, he was their direct superior.
The Wei father and son gave a cupped fist salute in each direction. “Everyone, please take care of our newly established Taiyuan Tower.”
“House Lord Wei, please allow us to have a word with Pill King Zhen.”
“Indeed. House Lord Wei, we’ve always been devout followers of the Deviant Pill Faction. Please have Pill King Zhen give us some pointers.”
“House Lord Wei…” Many fans of the Deviant Pill Faction were present. These people were all incredibly excited as they crowded madly around the house lord. The ambience suddenly became full of pa.s.sion and enthusiasm. Seeing what was going on, Jiang Chen smiled and held up his hands. With that, the die-hard fans of the Deviant Pill Faction, who viewed Jiang Chen as a G.o.d, began to calm down.
“Everyone, it"s somewhat late today and our Taiyuan Tower’s opening ceremony still needs to be completed first. I’ll hold lectures on pill dao at Taiyuan Tower for three consecutive days starting tomorrow. Those of you who are interested are welcome to attend.”
Cheers erupted from the audience. The Wei father and son were also secretly delighted after seeing this pa.s.sionate and cheery mood. All sorts of feelings welled up in their hearts.
Despite all the twists and turns, Taiyuan Tower’s opening ceremony was truly one of the most successful events they’d seen. With the Majestic Clan acting as a free stepping stone, Taiyuan Tower’s opening ceremony was destined to become one of the Veluriyam Capital’s most popular topics. Nothing made for better advertis.e.m.e.nt than such an effect. They’d gambled somewhat they first initiated cooperation with Jiang Chen. But as things stood, this gamble had already paid off handsomely, and then some!
Many of the uninvited guests lingered around the Taiyan Tower’s doors, while the invited guests entered the store without the slightest bit of hesitation. They’d previously entered because of obligation. But this time, everyone was curious about this mysterious pill king and were more or less entertaining thoughts of befriending him. Unlike before, they were now far less willing to offend House Wei. Moreover, young master Ji San was present. They’d be asking for trouble if they refused to enter. It was highly unwise to offend the young master.
“Pill King Zhen, allow me to accompany you for a drink this time. It was wonderful to see w.a.n.g Teng so upset, hahaha!” Young master Ji San patted Jiang Chen’s shoulders with all the familiarity of a friend before dragging him inside.