For a moment, the entire hall was dead silent, and everyone was unable to snap back to reality for a long time.
At this moment, Jiang Hao had gained the capital to speak with Tang Xiao and proposed a trade with the Tang family.
After listening to Jiang Hao’s conditions, Tang Xiao did not refuse to take action against the Qi family.
After all, the Qi family and the Tang family were already mortal enemies, so there was no such thing as offending anyone.
However, although he could agree to Jiang Hao’s trade, Tang Xiao still held a skeptical attitude.
“Young friend, I admit that your talent in the Alchemy Dao is indeed terrifyingly formidable.
But are you absolutely certain that you can refine the Nine Revolutions Life Extension Pill within a mere two years?”
The Nine Revolutions Life Extension Pill was a Tier Two Ninth-grade Elixir.
Tang Xiao now believed that this young man before him was bound to become a Tier Two Ninth-grade Alchemy Master in the future.
What he cared about, however, was time.
“Young friend, do not blame me for questioning you.
It is simply because my days are numbered.
If you cannot refine the Nine Revolutions Life Extension Pill within two years, then everything we have agreed upon today will lose all meaning.
“Unless…”
“Unless what?” Jiang Hao furrowed his brows slightly.
Tang Xiao slowly looked up and said flatly, “Unless you participate in the upcoming Alchemy Master Association’s talent competition.
If you can take first place and obtain the Royal Clan’s Alchemy Mark, I will promise you that even if it costs half of the Tang family’s foundation, I will ensure your safety.”
Upon hearing this, Gai He and the others raised their eyebrows slightly.
Obviously, Tang Xiao setting this condition was not without reason; he was referring to that Alchemy Dao genius who had emerged in the Xingyue City Earth Realm two hundred years ago.
That Pill Master from two hundred years ago had taken first place at the Alchemy Master Association competition.
Then, within just two years of obtaining the Royal Clan’s Alchemy Mark, he became a Tier Two Ninth-grade Alchemy Master.
As Tang Xiao finished speaking, Bai Wufeng also raised his eyes slightly and gave a subconscious, bitter smile.
“This year, the Imperial Race’s Alchemy Master Association’s talent competition is coincidentally taking place in Xingyue City.
Even more coincidentally, this competition is being jointly organized by my Divine Pill Pavilion and Miaodan Square.”
The Imperial Race’s Alchemy Master Association’s talent competition was held annually and spanned the entire Sword Dynasty.
It was a roving competition, and it just so happened to rotate to Xingyue City this year.
Although it was called the Imperial Race’s Alchemy Master Association’s talent competition, it was not organized by the Imperial Race.
However, whenever someone in any region received the Alchemy Mark bestowed by the ‘Alchemy Stele’, the Imperial Race could sense it.
When the time came, not only would the younger generation of Pill Masters from the Xingyue City Earth Realm participate, but young Pill Masters from the entire Eastern Domain would also cross thousands of miles to attend.
The Pill Masters who shined brilliantly in the competition would either join the Divine Pill Pavilion, enter Miaodan Square, or be recruited by the Imperial Race.
To put it plainly, this competition existed to select Alchemy Dao talents for these three factions.
“With your Alchemy Dao talent, taking first place will be a breeze, but obtaining the mark from the ‘Alchemy Stele’ will likely not be so easy.”
Hearing this, Gai He slowly shook his head and said, “It is not that your talent is not terrifying enough, but rather that you are still too young and lack sufficient accumulation in the Alchemy Dao.
If you wait another year or two, securing the Alchemy Mark would naturally be a sure thing.
It is just that…”
It was just that even fully calculating it, the amount of time Jiang Hao had been exposed to the Alchemy Dao could not possibly exceed his own age.
And while the participants of the competition were called the younger generation of Pill Masters, they were not all youths.
There would even be middle-aged Pill Masters who had already stepped into the Tier Two level.
Even that person from two hundred years ago had only reached such a step at the age of thirty.
Jiang Hao fell into deep thought, carefully weighing the difficulty of the task.
However, as he pondered, he looked at Ye Tiannan and sighed silently.
As things stood, he had no other choice.
If he could not convince Tang Xiao today, what awaited the Ye family and Ye Qingxian would be total annihilation.
In truth, besides the Tang family, the Divine Pill Pavilion could also protect Jiang Hao.
It was not that he had not considered them, but rather that he did not dare to.
“The Divine Pill Pavilion is too deeply involved and possesses terrifying strength.
Once I join them, it means tying myself to their massive ship.
I’ll be restricted at every turn in the future, and that might not be a good thing,” he thought.
“The Tang family, on the other hand, is exactly the opposite.
They can perfectly counterbalance the Qi family, yet they are only one of the three major families in the Xingyue City Earth Realm.
They won’t bind my hands and feet in the future.”
Driven by these various considerations, Jiang Hao finally looked up slowly.
With a firm gaze, he said, “Alright, I will participate in this competition.”
Everyone felt incredibly surprised at his words.
After everything was settled, Jiang Hao and Ye Tiannan left the Divine Pill Pavilion.
Standing before the main gates of the Divine Pill Pavilion, Ye Tiannan felt as though a lifetime had passed.
“Hao’Er, you really did it.” Ye Tiannan felt as if everything that had happened today was a dream.
This young man had accomplished one seemingly impossible feat after another.
These were things that Ye Tiannan and his daughter wouldn’t have even dared to imagine.
Hearing this, Jiang Hao offered a faint smile, but he did not look happy in the slightest.
Quite the opposite—today’s trip had made him feel the helplessness and powerlessness of being weak.
If he were strong enough, why would he need to go through so much trouble to seek help from the Tang family?
This only hardened Jiang Hao’s desire to become stronger.
Only when he was personally powerful would he truly have a voice.
Meanwhile, inside the Divine Pill Pavilion Inner Cabinet Hall.
“Young Master, this kid has no intention of joining our Divine Pill Pavilion,” Bai Wufeng said with a bitter smile.
If the other party wanted to join the Divine Pill Pavilion, he only needed to ask them for help.
Instead, he had bypassed them entirely and set his sights on the Tang family.
This was enough to prove one point: that young man had great ambitions and did not want to sell himself out to the Divine Pill Pavilion.
Hearing this, the corners of Gu Qingyan’s lips curled up slightly as she said, “Don’t worry, Uncle Bai.
This person can only belong to our Divine Pill Pavilion.
No matter how great the price, I will make him a member of our Divine Pill Pavilion.”
Bai Wufeng paused slightly at her words.
“Young Master, are you no longer going to Celestial City?”
Gu Qingyan looked at Bai Wufeng with a joyful smile.
She slowly turned around, her melodious voice ringing out.
“I’m not going.
The Xingyue City Earth Realm is quite nice; I haven’t seen enough of it yet.”
Bai Wufeng raised his eyebrows slightly and returned a knowing smile.
That night, in Jiang Hao’s courtyard at the Ye Family Mansion.
“Really?
Little fool, you guys really met Tang Xiao?” After Ye Qingxian learned everything that had happened today, she was so excited that her eyes welled up, and tears fell down her face, going PATTER PATTER.
Over the next few days, Jiang Hao went into total seclusion, studying the Alchemy Dao day and night.
Wanting to take first place in the competition and obtain the mark, he also felt an Alexander level of pressure.
Fortunately, back in the day, Father Jiang knew that Jiang Hao had a talent for being a Pill Master, so he had exhausted everything he had to procure quite a few pill recipes for him.
And this seclusion of Jiang Hao’s lasted for a full five days.
It was not until five days later that Jiang Hao’s figure appeared in Xingyue City again, though this time he appeared at the competition’s registration point.
At the registration point for the Imperial Race’s Alchemy Master Association’s talent competition, it was still Jiang Hao and Ye Tiannan.
“Many unfamiliar faces have appeared in Xingyue City these past few days.
They must all be here to participate in the competition.
Hao’Er, are you confident?” Ye Tiannan sighed with emotion as he looked at the overflowing registration point.
In truth, countless unfamiliar faces had been appearing in the Xingyue City Earth Realm one after another as early as a month ago, but the influx had reached its peak during this period.
The entire Xingyue City Earth Realm had long been abuzz with excitement.
The town was flooded with rumors and unprecedentedly lively, with taverns and brothels alike discussing the matters of the competition.
The fact that this year’s competition was being held here left countless Xingyue City Cultivators endlessly thrilled.
Just as Jiang Hao finished registering his information and turned around to leave, a voice filled with surprise and astonishment rang out from behind him.
“Jiang Hao?”
Jiang Hao turned back toward the sound, his brows instantly furrowing tightly.
He saw an arrogant-looking young man dressed in an Alchemy Robe, accompanied by a group of lackeys, standing behind him.
The young man was staring at him and Ye Tiannan in utter astonishment.
“Young Master Wang?” Ye Tiannan’s expression was less than friendly when he saw that the newcomer was Wang Jiang.
Wang Jiang was a scion of the Wang family, a new-generation Alchemy Master, a former suitor of Ye Qingxian, and Jiang Hao’s mortal enemy.
However, back before the awakening of martial spirits, Wang Jiang had been inferior to Jiang Hao in every way.
Coupled with the fact that Ye Tiannan had betrothed Ye Qingxian to Jiang Hao, he had always harbored a deep grudge.
Wang Jiang completely ignored Ye Tiannan’s words.
Instead, he looked at Jiang Hao with a mix of surprise and mockery.
“Oh, it really is you?
You’re still alive?”
As Wang Jiang finished speaking, the group of lackeys behind him looked bewildered.
“Brother Jiang, you know this gentleman?”
“You actually don’t know him?” A look of disdain immediately washed over Wang Jiang’s face.
Pointing at Jiang Hao, he sneered, “This is the number one piece of trash in Xingyue City—the only one who failed to awaken a martial spirit three years ago.
He is that very celebrity who supposedly couldn’t handle the blow and went insane overnight.”
“So it’s him?
Xingyue City’s number one fool, Jiang Hao?”
“Shouldn’t it be the number one piece of trash, Jiang Hao?”
“HAHAHA…”
These words instantly provoked roars of laughter, drawing the gazes of quite a few Cultivators.
Seeing this, Wang Jiang grew even more smug.
He unconsciously glanced at the registration point, a sneer tugging at the corners of his mouth.
“What?
A piece of trash is also here to participate in the competition?” he scoffed.
Saying so, he patronizingly adjusted Jiang Hao’s collar before giving it a rough pat.
“You piece of garbage who couldn’t even awaken a martial spirit.
Can you even sense the Fire of Heaven and Earth?”
Ever since Wang Jiang awakened his martial spirit and became an Alchemy Master, he had grown incredibly arrogant, looking down on everything and everyone.
Now that he had finally seized an opportunity to humiliate his mortal enemy, he naturally wouldn’t let it go so easily.
Faced with Wang Jiang’s mockery, Jiang Hao merely offered a tranquil smile.
This smile, however, was a veiled answer in itself.
It instantly caused Wang Jiang to freeze.
“You…
You can sense the Fire of Heaven and Earth?”
Seeing that the other party remained smiling in silence, Wang Jiang immediately guessed the answer, but then he suddenly felt as if he were witnessing the world’s biggest joke.
“Heh, so what if you can sense the Fire of Heaven and Earth?
A piece of trash without a martial spirit is actually dreaming of becoming an Alchemy Master?
Truly an idiot’s daydream.”
“Are you done?” When Wang Jiang finished, Jiang Hao said flatly, “If you’re done, please move aside.
A good dog doesn’t block the way.”
“Insolent!
How dare you call Lord Wang a dog?”
“Brat, I think you’re tired of living!”
As soon as Jiang Hao spoke, the lackeys beside Wang Jiang immediately flew into a rage.
However, Wang Jiang raised his hand to stop the few who were preparing to strike.
“He’s just a useless piece of trash.
Why bother stooping to the level of an ant?”
Having said that, Wang Jiang looked down condescendingly at Jiang Hao, snorting out of his nose.
“This is fine, too.
Since you’re participating in the competition, I’ll see you there.
I will let you know what a true Alchemy Master is.
I just hope that when the day comes, you won’t end up begging for mercy while crushed beneath my feet.”
“Oh?
Is that so?” Hearing this, Jiang Hao shook his head and laughed, looking at Wang Jiang as if looking at an idiot.
He had never liked the man to begin with, so he said with a smile full of amusement, “I’ll be waiting for that day.”
With that, Jiang Hao left the registration point alongside Ye Tiannan.
Before leaving, Ye Tiannan also shot Wang Jiang a glance as if looking at a fool, shaking his head silently.
Meanwhile, Wang Jiang’s earlier words had already caused quite a stir in the surroundings.
Furthermore, the Alchemy Master competition was already highly anticipated by the local Cultivators of Xingyue City.
Almost every Pill Master who registered to participate would be closely observed by the locals.
After all, this concerned the face of the Xingyue City Earth Realm.
Therefore, in just half a day, the names on the competition roster spread throughout the entire Xingyue City Earth Realm.
When people saw those two highly conspicuous yet unfamiliar names on the list, the entire Xingyue City instantly exploded into an uproar.
“Jiang Hao?
Who is Jiang Hao?”
“When did Xingyue City produce another Alchemy Master?
How come I didn’t know?”
“Looking at this registration information, could it be that piece of trash from the martial spirit awakening ceremony three years ago?”
“What?
That fool?
Didn’t he lose his mind?
Why has he run over to participate in the Pill Master competition?”
“Who let this kid register?
People from other Earth Realms will think our Xingyue City Earth Realm has no one left!”
“A piece of trash who doesn’t even have a martial spirit is actually participating in the Pill Master competition?
This is madness.
The face of the Xingyue City Earth Realm is going to be completely lost by this garbage.”
After three long years, when the name Jiang Hao once again appeared in the public eye, Xingyue City lost its calm.
In an instant, a storm of rumors consumed the city.