Due to strong demand, Jiang Chen had no choice but to join the judges. Now, there were eight judges instead of just seven. Thankfully, the slight increase in the number of judges wouldnât affect the contest. In fact, Jiang Chenâs participation was exactly what everyone had been hoping for. It gave these pill dao geniuses the opportunity to display their talent before Pill King Zhen.
The moment Jiang Chen got close, he immediately sensed two or three concealed, unfriendly gazes snaking across his body. However, he paid them no heed and sat amongst the judges with a leisurely smile on his face. Beside him, Sacred Peafowl Mountainâs first-rate Pill King Yi gave Jiang Chen a friendly smile and messaged, âPill King Zhen, you shouldâve been the judge of this festival instead of me, but because you didnât return sooner, I had no choice but to take your place and pad the numbers. However, although Iâm aware of your skill, the rest of the judges here may challenge your authority. You must be careful, Pill King Zhen.â
Jiang Chen was slightly startled by this initial reminder, but he quickly came to an understanding. The human heart was dangerous, and jealousy was one of its original sins.
Although he hadnât wanted to put himself in the limelight, there were certain things in the world that one couldnât avoid. He was the one who had chosen to sit down in the judgeâs seat, so he feared neither the jealousy nor the hostility of others that might result from it. When a person disliked someone, they could always think up a reason to attack them. Not once in his life had he thought to please people like this, so he chose to ignore them instead. If they really were foolish enough to provoke him, he had all kinds of ways to humiliate them up his sleeve.
Jiang Chen had participated in many pill battles in the past, but this was the first time heâd taken the role of a judge in this lifetime. Therefore, he was a little uncomfortable being in the judgeâs seat. When Jiang Chen looked through the rules for the first time, he quickly understood how the system worked. After researching it for a couple more times, he fully grasped the rules.
âLet us begin.â Jiang Chen nodded towards the other judges. Pill King Yi was Sacred Peafowl Mountainâs representative, so naturally, out of everyone present, he had the right to speak first. Upon seeing Jiang Chenâs nod towards him, he immediately started.
âAlright, all participants, please pay attention to my words. I hereby announce that the semi-finals of the Pill Pagoda Battles start now. Everyone will be on the same starting line regardless of your status as a noble or wandering cultivator. We will choose the top thirty-six people out of the two hundred present to enter the Veluriyam Pagoda. All battles shall happen under our fair supervision, and we guarantee that there is no chance for either bribery or fraud to happen beneath our watch. If any one of you is planning to cheat in this contest, I can tell you to eliminate that thought right now. If you are caught, you will be exiled from Veluriyam Capital forever!â
Pill King Yi swept a dignified glance across all participants before he continued his speech with a serious look. âFinally, I would like to remind you all about one thing. To all those who have attended this contest with the ulterior motive of discovering the Veluriyam Pagodaâs secrets, I would advise you to erase that thought as well. Veluriyam Capital has caught countless spies since ancient times, and every one of them shared the exact same fateâdeath!â
Pill battles had many formats, but the basis of them were all the same. The semi-finals of the Pill Pagoda Battles were split into three segments. The first segment was a test of basics. The second segment was a test of theory. The third segment was a test of pill refinement. The test of basics evaluated a participantâs foundational skills. These were very important to a pill dao genius. It was an incredibly wide subject, and the test of basics would evaluate even a participantâs natural talent.
After all, talent was the first of many unavoidable obstacles one must face in either pill dao or martial dao. Nothing could be achieved without it. For example, in his past life Jiang Chen didnât have the talent to cultivate because he had been born with a yin constitution. Not even his father, the almighty Celestial Emperor who could reverse even the sun and moon, could change this.
Without talent, everything else was utterly irrelevant. The two hundred pill dao geniuses quickly started and finished the test of basics. Although the test of basics had plenty of components to go through, they were structured so orderly that Jiang Chen didnât need to work too hard to earn his âpayâ as judge. All he needed to do was to go through the motions. There was nothing special about this test of basics and the results quickly came out.
As it turned out, thirty out of the top thirty-six were all noble youths. Only six of them were wandering cultivators. It was made immediately clear that the noble-born had an overall advantage over the humble-born. However, when the test of basics came to an end, the name on the number one spot of the leaderboard surprised a lot of people. The spot didnât belong to a noble, but rather, to a wandering cultivator.
Even Jiang Chen had to gasp in admiration when he looked through Lin Yanyuâs test results. Foundation wise, Lin Yanyuâs skill was even better than Mu Gaoqiâs. In terms of raw talent alone, Lin Yanyu might be a tad inferior because Mu Gaoqi possessed an innate wood constitution of high order. However, Lin Yanyu came from a family with an illustrious history, and every one of his foundational skills, excluding talent, was more solid than Mu Gaoqiâs.
Mu Gaoqi might be ranked amongst the top five if he were to participate in this test, but he would never be able to claim the number one spot. It wasnât that he was incapable, but that Regal Pill Palace hadnât been able to fully tap into Mu Gaoqiâs abilities before disaster had hit. If Mu Gaoqi had been given thirty years of time to temper his skills in Pillfire City before he participated in this contest, then Lin Yanyu might not hold any advantage over him.
A hundred years after that, Lin Yanyu might even lose to Mu Gaoqi. But as of now, Lin Yanyu was without a doubt the best pill dao cultivator of the bunch. Even Jiang Chen was speechless. Pillfire City does not shame its title as the greatest power in pill dao. To think that the youth of a random family in Pillfire City would possess such extraordinary talent! Thank heavens Pillfire City doesnât know how to cherish their talents because theyâre flooded with them, or there would have been no way for Veluriyam Capital to obtain someone as amazing as Lin Yanyu at all.
Lin Yanyu proved just how far below Veluriyam Capital was to Pillfire City in terms of pill dao. It definitely wasnât a gap that could be closed in just three to five yearsâ time. Although Jiang Chen admired Lin Yanyu a great deal, he didnât overtly show his emotion. This was because he knew that some of these judges were hostile towards him. If he were to show unusual admiration towards Lin Yanyuâs performance, these judges might be tempted to show hostility towards Lin Yanyu too. He would be dragging Lin Yanyu into his own mess. The first segment ended, and Lin Yanyu currently placed first amongst all the participants. This result caused a discussion to break out among the judges too.
âJust who is this wandering cultivator? How is he so talented? Why did a genius like him come to our Veluriyam Capital?â
âWe should investigate his background a bit. He canât be a spy from our enemies, can he?â
Jiang Chen didnât say anything despite being within earshot. However, just because he stayed quiet didnât mean that the others couldnât force him to break his silence. The old ninth-rank pill king under Emperor Shura wore a wide grin. âPill King Zhen! Youâre a reputable man, and I would like to hear of your opinion on this subject. Do you think that this wandering cultivator who seems to have appeared out of nowhere could be an enemy spy?â
His question was extremely provocative. On the surface he was talking about the wandering cultivator Lin Yanyu, but in reality the term implicated Jiang Chen too. After all, Pill King Zhen had also appeared out of nowhere just like Lin Yanyu. Another judge smiled when he heard this, âIf I remember correctly, Pill King Zhen is a wandering cultivator too, isnât he? Brother Bu, arenât you implying that Pill King Zhen is an enemy spy too?â
This pill king under Emperor Shuraâs wing was called Pill King Bu. With a smile that didnât reach his eye, he responded, âPill King Zhen, I am not trying to attack you. Please donât take this the wrong way.â
Jiang Chen smiled indifferently and countered with a look of astonishment, âWere you talking to me just now? I thought you were talking to yourself.â
Provoke me, will you? Then I will treat your words like how I treat farts. Jiang Chenâs casual deflection of the attack was like a smear of mud on Pill King Buâs face. It made the pill king feel extremely embarrassed. That other judge cackled again, âBrother Bu, wouldnât you agree that the saying that the young replaces the old is definitely true? To think that someone of your achievements would be ignored so thoroughly by a junior. What a saddening sight this is!â
This judge had been fanning flames and sowing dissension between Jiang Chen and Pill King Bu since the beginning. The pill kingâs face turned chilly as he shot Jiang Chen a cold look, âYou sure know how to be deaf and mute, Pill King Zhen!â
Jiang Chen smiled. âDo you really think that I should respond to everything you say?â
âTsk tsk, you think youâre something hmm! You truly are the pill dao genius who shattered the invincible legend of Pillfire City. I guess we old folks are no longer worthy of your attention, are we, Pill King Zhen?â
Jiang Chen smiled and answered in a deadpan voice, âLet me correct you there for a secondâI have no idea who you are to begin with, so itâs not âno longerâ but ânever been, and never will beâ.â
This person had been continuously trying to create drama, and Jiang Chen never gave face to people like this. Therefore, his response was to slap him painfully in the face with all the rudeness he could muster. He turned completely red after this mockery. It was at this moment that Pill King Yi shot a glare at the three of them and scolded softly, âMen, you may insult each other all you want after we leave this place, but for now please stop embarrassing yourselves in front of a crowd.â
Once done, Pill King Yi stood up again and announced to the participants beneath the stage, âEveryone, the second segment of the battle is the test of theory. We have eight judges here, and every one of us will be issuing a question. You must answer each question with careful exposition so that we may study and enjoy the full depth of your pill dao.â
The test of theory was a test of knowledge, foundation, and true ability. Originally, the participants only needed to answer seven questions in total, but Jiang Chenâs participation meant that they had to answer one more question. Therefore, more time was also added to the clock. Once Pill King Yi had made his declaration, he told the other judges, âPlease begin making your questions now, fellow judges.â
The questions were made up on the spot and restricted to a certain spectrum of subject matter so that no one could cheat during the test. To Jiang Chen, drafting a question was as easy as pie, but he didnât work half-heartedly. He carefully formulated the question in his head before he finally wrote it down. He would strive his utmost in anything that he did. The question needed to be reasonably focused so that the gap between a first-rate genius and an average genius could be clearly distinguished. Otherwise, he would only be wasting his efforts if he were to draft a general question that had no distinction at all.
Jiang Chen finished composing his question only after fifteen minutes had passed. By now, the rest of the judges were done composing their questions too. In fact, Pill King Bu was shooting Jiang Chen a provocative glance. âPill King Zhen, I wasnât there to witness your glory with my own eyes when you took down Pill King Ji Lang. However, I dare say that even you might not necessarily be able to solve the question Iâve composed.â
Jiang Chen smiled coolly and remained indifferent. However, Pill King Bu wasnât going to let matters slide just like that. He continued, âIf the participants are allowed to vote for the one question they think is of the highest quality, Iâm sure that they will choose the question that I composed.â
Pill King Yi smiled faintly in response, âI see that you are very confident, Ole Bu.â
Pill King Bu smiled proudly, âI am confident. I have been famous for a few hundred years, and no one-hit wonders who aim solely for fame is going to beat me!â
One-hit wonders, aim solely for fame. Everything he said was directed at Jiang Chen.