Sovereign of the Three Realms

Jiang Chen saw the young master waiting for them outside the entrance, but didn’t approach him. Instead, he sent a message, “Let’s find a quiet place to speak, young master Ji San.”

Young master Ji San waved his paper fan and showed no change on his expression despite having heard Jiang Chen’s voice. A moment later, he returned with, “Wei Jie, I’ll be booking a table at Little Leisurely Clouds. Follow me there.”

Little Leisurely Clouds was an extremely high class restaurant in Veluriyam Capital. It was exquisitely built at a quiet location, and its rules of reception was exceptionally strict. It wasn’t a place where the common folk could get a table at all. In fact, even a ninth rank aristocratic family member might not be able to reserve a table in Little Leisurely Clouds. Only a great clan member could reserve a table for certain. Even Jiang Chen was a little surprised when he arrived at Little Leisurely Clouds with Wei Jie. He didn’t think that such a tasteful restaurant existed in a place as expensive as Veluriyam Capital. Situated between hills and rivers, the restaurant gave off an incredibly pleasing atmosphere. From Wei Jie’s reactions, it would appear that even he didn’t have the chance to frequent Little Leisurely Clouds often. The duo had just arrived at the entrance when a steward welcomed them with a professional smile, “My apologies, but are you two young master Ji San’s friends?”

Wei Jie nodded, “Has young master San arrived?”

“Young master Ji San is waiting for you two upstairs already. Please, follow me.” This manager obviously held a high position in Little Leisurely Clouds, but the fact that he had welcomed them personally was a great honor. Wei Jie understood that this honor wasn’t granted on behalf of him, but young master Ji San. The foremost clan in Veluriyam Capital still held great influence yet.

The dishes were already set on the table when they arrived at an exquisite room. The young master’s tall figure stood with a bit of anxiety leaking out from his expression. It was obvious that young master Ji San was extremely concerned about the Longevity Pill. Seeing that Jiang Chen had come together with Wei Jie, young master Ji San immediately instructed the steward, “Thank you for your service, but we won’t be needing it for now. We will take care of ourselves.”

The steward was a very discreet person, and understood that he or the staff wasn’t to be privy to the guest’s private talk. He immediately smiled, “Please enjoy your meal.”

Once all Little Leisurely Cloud staff had exited, young master Ji San waved his hand, “What is your friend called, Wei Jie?”

Wei Jie still looked a little uncomfortable in young master Ji San’s presence.

He quickly answered up on hearing the question, “He is the new guest pill king House Wei has hired. You can call him Pill King Zhen, young master.”

Young master Ji San nodded before examining Jiang Chen for a brief moment with a complicated look. He greeted Jiang Chen, “I apologize for being ill-informed, for this is the first time I’ve heard of your reputation, Pill King Zhen. May I have the pleasure of knowing who your master is?”

Young master Ji San’s tone was a little probing, but Jiang Chen didn’t mind such little transgressions. At the very least, this young master Ji San hadn’t greeted him with the hypocritical, ‘it’s an honor to meet you at last’ when he didn’t even know Jiang Chen. From this angle, he judged that young master Ji San was at least an above board person who didn’t beat around the bush too much.

“Young master Ji San, there are no outsiders here,” Jiang Chen smiled, “So let’s not beat around the bush probing each other’s background, shall we? I’m very sure you won’t know my master even if I were to tell you.”

Jiang Chen made himself at home after speaking and took a guest seat with a flourish, presenting the upper rank Longevity Pill he had prepared since long ago. He pushed the pill bottle gently and sent it sliding towards young master Ji San. No words were as persuasive as reality. The only reason young master Ji San was probing here and there was because he suspected Jiang Chen’s claims of possessing the Longevity Pill. In that case, there was nothing more persuasive than putting the Longevity Pill on the table.

As expected, young master Ji San lifted an eyebrow instantly and grabbed the pill bottle with a bit of agitation on his face. He gave it a little sniff, and joy immediately blossomed. He could say at least that this pill presence was on point. Moreover, this pill was indeed of a higher grade than the one auctioned by Joined Ridges Pavilion. Obviously in a hurry, young master Ji San tipped out the upper grade Longevity Pill and played with it carefully in his hands. He probed it continuously with his consciousness. The more he looked, the more he lost his serious expression and relaxed. The joy on his face grew clearer and clearer.

“Good, good, good! This pill is genuine. It is definitely the Longevity Pill. It’s even better than the one auctioned by Joined Ridges Pavilion. You are a man of your word, Pill King Zhen.” The clouds on young master Ji San’s face faded quite a bit, and even his smile had turned courteous, “Wei Jie, your House Wei has finally found a reliable pill king. I must congratulate you on this.”

His one line caused their rather stiff relationship to thaw a little. Wei Jie hastily replied, “Pill King Zhen is the biggest reason we’re able to settle our internal strife. His pill dao talent is immeasurable.”

Young master Ji San nodded with a smile and played with the Longevity Pill admiringly for a long time. The joy on his face looked just like a child who had just obtained a delicious sweet for the first time.

“Pill King Zhen, if those three middle rank Longevity Pills could be sold for a sum of a hundred twenty million, then they would be worth forty million each. Therefore, your upper rank Longevity Pill would be worth at least fifty million. So here, take your Skysnatcher Cauldron. We’ll save each other the trouble and cliche of exchanging money!” This young master Ji San was a surprisingly refreshing character. He took out the Skysnatcher Cauldron and pushed it directly to Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen cast a glance at the Skysnatcher Cauldron, feeling rather impressed by young master Ji San’s heroic character. He had spent fifty six million saint spirit stones to win this cauldron. However, this upper rank Longevity Pill true value was in reality only worth two to three million saint spirit stones.

The reason its price was raised to such insane heights earlier was purely because the Majestic Clan had manipulated young master Ji San’s anxiety and butted heads with him. There was no doubt that Jiang Chen would benefit greatly if he were to exchange this upper rank Longevity Pill for a Skysnatcher Cauldron just like that. But Jiang Chen understood that he couldn’t accept this trade, or at least not like this. Instead of putting away the Skysnatcher Cauldron in a hurry, he looked at young master Ji San with sincere eyes. “Young master Ji San, I am very much impressed by your heroism. However, you’ll be suffering a huge loss if we trade this way, and as such I cannot accept this trade with good conscience.”

Young master Ji San frowned and said, “Money is not a problem for me, my friend. You can set yourself at ease if your qualms lie purely in the difference between prices. I make my friends completely based on my own preferences, and it is not uncommon for me to spend tens of thousands in one go.”

Jiang Chen smiled faintly and replied, “It is not just a problem of the price difference.”

“What is be the problem then?”

Jiang Chen spoke seriously, “It is exactly because you’re such a heroic character that I don’t wish to take advantage of you, young master Ji San. If you were a vile person like Wang Teng, not only would I take full advantage of you, I’d be laughing behind your back too.”

Young master Ji San laughed loudly in agreement upon hearing Jiang Chen’s description of Wang Teng, “Well said! That Wang Teng is pretty vile alright.”

“I see that your mind is set on the Longevity Pill, and I’ve seen you willing to suffer through Wang Teng’s wiles and part with a hundred million saint spirit stones just to bid for it. May I ask why?” In reality, Jiang Chen already knew the truth since Wei Jie had told him about this earlier. But he couldn’t let young master Ji San think that Wei Jie was a blabbermouth, which was why he had purposely feigned ignorance and asked this question.

As expected, the young master was caught off guard momentarily before he cast a thoughtful glance at Wei Jie. He nodded and responded slowly, “Wang Teng brought this up multiple times at the auction, and the rumors have spread throughout Veluriyam Capital. I suppose it is unlikely that the news will be hidden any longer. Yes, it’s true. The Coiling Dragon clan lord is nearing the end of his lifespan, and he will lose all of his cultivation in three years time. So when I heard of the miraculous abilities, I thought…” Young master Ji San paused his sentence at this point. There wasn’t any need to speak on.

“Young master San, this is also why I’ve stopped you from fighting for the Longevity Pill against Wang Teng. If you spent over a hundred million on this Longevity Pill and discovered later that the pill was in fact, completely useless for an emperor realm cultivator, you would’ve become the laughingstock of the entire Veluriyam Capital.” Jiang Chen understood that the truth was a little cruel, but he didn’t wish to lie to young master Ji San either.

Young master Ji San’s expression changed abruptly when he heard this. All smiles on his face vanished immediately as his complexion took on a shade of deathly white. “Pill King Zhen, is there any… basis behind your claim?”

Jiang Chen declared without batting an eyelid, “I can speak with my life as surety that the Longevity Pill is almost completely ineffective for an emperor realm cultivator. In fact, the side effects might be even greater than usual. It may even have the opposite effect.”

Young master Ji San stared closely at Jiang Chen’s eyes. It was obvious that he was trying to figure out if Jiang Chen was telling the truth. Jiang Chen sighed softly, but never moved his eyes away from young master Ji San. He simply looked back at him calmly. Young master Ji San’s expression transformed from joy, to shock, to disappointment and to despair. He looked loss and completely downcast. “How could this be? How could this be? Is this the fate of our Coiling Dragon Clan?” Young master Ji San muttered bitterly.

Wei Jie wanted very much to console young master Ji San, but when he thought of his inferior status and useless words, he wasn’t quite sure what to say. Although young master Ji San had lost his composure for a little, it lasted only for an instant. He quickly regained his cool and pushed the Skysnatcher Cauldron towards Jiang Chen. “Pill King Zhen, the truth is a little cruel, but I am still very admiring by your honesty. Take this Skysnatcher Cauldron, and I will take this Longevity Pill back with me.” A price gap of several tens of millions really was nothing to young master Ji San.

Jiang Chen looked a little surprised. He thought that he had made clear the pros and cons, and that this Longevity Pill no longer held any meaning to the Coiling Dragon Clan. “Young master Ji San, you absolutely must not make a gamble with the Longevity Pill. This is my sincere advice,” Jiang Chen advised.

Young master Ji San sighed helplessly, “You may not understand the Coiling Dragon Clan’s situation, Pill King Zhen. Our clan lord has only three years time left, so even if I don’t take this risk, the only thing the clan lord could do is to await his death. If that is the case, I may as well try.”

“Forget three years, even three days may be enough for a miracle to happen in the world of martial dao. The Longevity Pill may be useless for your predicament, but it’s not like you don’t possess a sliver of hope right now, young master Ji San,” Jiang Chen thought for a moment and ultimately decided that he could divulge a bit of the secret. He could see that this young master Ji San was a frank and candid person. Jiang Chen was also willing to give him a little hint based on his generosity alone.

As expected, the light of hope dawned once more in young master Ji San’s eyes when he heard this, “What do you mean by that, Pill King Zhen?” He immediately grew animated the second he heard that there was hope yet.

“Do you remember the last item you bid?” Jiang Chen asked with a smile.

“The Goldencrown Cloudcrane?” Young master Ji San looked moved. He was just about to ask Jiang Chen the reason why he had spent eighty million on the spirit animal. He had simply refrained from doing so because of the Longevity Pill.

“Exactly, the Goldencrown Cloudcrane,” Jiang Chen nodded, “An extraordinary teacher taught me pill dao when I was young, and he once told me that there are all kinds of pills that can extend one’s lifespan in this world. He said that the Longevity Pill can extend a sage realm cultivator’s lifespan around five to eight hundred years, and there is also another pill that can do the same for an emperor realm cultivator…”

“What?” Young master Ji San immediately jumped to his feet. Wild joy filled his eyes, and incredulity riddled his face, “Does such a miraculous pill really exist in the world?”

Even Wei Jie was shocked greatly as he stared at Jiang Chen in astonishment.