Sovereign of the Three Realms

You destroyed my sect, stole my pill recipe, and now use my things to strut in front of my doors. Even Buddha struck back after being hit thrice! How could Jiang Chen possibly take all of this lying down?

“Majestic Clan… you’ve truly enraged me!” Jiang Chen’s smile turned vicious in his anger. He looked at the Wei father and son as he remarked faintly, “Come what may. We’ll just do our part well and react accordingly to other matters.”

His tone may have sounded calm, but the flames of his rage had thoroughly been stoked. He was already crafting his counterattack. It was at this time that another large disturbance broke out outside. It seems that many voices had risen in anger. “Let’s go take a look.” Jiang Chen’s expression darkened as he led the way.

Outside the door, those of Taiyuan Tower were furiously yelling at those from across the street. None of the ten sage realm cultivators Jiang Chen had chosen were easy characters. They’d all rolled up their sleeves and were having the time of their lives cussing at the workers across the street. The opposing party wasn’t giving up easily either. They had a bit more people and gave back as good they got, speaking so rapidly that spittle flew everywhere. The scene was akin to two groups of harlots meeting in the street and erupting into conflict. Their battle strength was off the charts as the insults and curses grew ever dirtier with each minute.

Those in the know recognized them for sage realm cultivators, and those who didn’t simply thought that street thugs were duking it out publicly. When the Taiyuan Tower group saw Jiang Chen and House Wei walk out, their morale grew as they gave vent to their feelings with increasing ferocity. Over on the House Wei’s side, Wei Qixia rolled up his sleeves and was about to dive into the fray when Wei Jie held him back. “Qixia, what’s going on?”

Qixia huffed back out, “Take a look at that, young master! This House Tong is simply too much! We’re Taiyuan Tower, and they’ve gone and called themselves Taiyuan Lodge. They’re obviously trying to show us up!”

Wei Jie was shocked as he looked across the street. Indeed, the store sign that had just been hung up was carved with large letters—Taiyuan Lodge!

Jiang Chen was utterly and thoroughly enraged. Taiyuan Tower was a name that had been derived from his father’s title in his past life. Of all his bottom lines, this one was absolutely inviolate. How dare this House Tong shop use the same name and make such an obvious target out of Taiyuan Tower? Jiang Chen suddenly exploded with thick killing intent. He glared at the shop sign, anger consuming his thoughts, “House Tong! Majestic Clan! Do you two think you’re worthy of using the word Taiyuan? Blasphemy against the Celestial Emperor, heresy against the gods! I, Jiang Chen, will let you know what divine retribution is!”

He’d already been in a state of extreme irritation, and now things had progressed far beyond the point of no-return. He mentally pronounced a death sentence on the Majestic Clan pill shop. Even if he had to reveal his identity, even if he would become Veluriyam Capital’s number one public enemy, he would annihilate them! His father was taboo in Jiang Chen’s heart, whether in this life or past. It was a forbidden zone that no one could trespass. Whoever did so would die!

Jiang Chen stared coldly at the store across from him. Some fellows dressed in luxurious clothing sauntered out from within. It was the House Tong father and son, as well as some heavyweight elders from the family. All of them had haughty, arrogant expressions on their faces as they strutted forward. The look in their eyes and their posture were full of provocation.

“What’s all this racket about?” A House Tong elder put on the show of lecturing his own men. “Don’t forget yourself. What’s all this fighting with some random strays off the street for? Don’t throw away face for Taiyuan Lodge!”

This was a backhanded way of insulting Taiyuan Tower, a way of mocking House Wei and the new pill shop. As for Jiang Chen? They couldn’t even be bothered with him. Indeed, the House Tong group were all rather pleased with themselves and stopped jeering and catcalling, putting on the expressions of a victor and standing behind their house lord.

Wei Tianxiao reigned in his anger and glared at the House Tong house lord. “What do you mean by this, old Tong? We named our shop Taiyuan Tower and you name yours Taiyuan Lodge? Are you trying to gross out the public?”

Tong Xianwei flicked a dismissive glance at Wei Tianxiao, speaking brazenly, “Wei Tianxiao, are you trying to get one up on us? Taiyuan Lodge is a name we settled on long ago. I haven’t taken you to task for your transgression yet, and here you are trying to question me first?”

Faces over on the House Wei’s side all turned furious when they heard this. This House Tong was truly shameless to voice words that completely flipped the truth around in such a self righteous fashion!

Wei Tianxiao smiled through his anger. “Tong Xianwei, you’re the house lord of a ninth ranked aristocratic house. Do you really plan on embarrassing yourself like this? House Wei sent out the invitations a few days ago, and everyone knew of Taiyuan Tower’s opening in the Capital. You sent yours out only last night and purposefully made your opening day the same as ours. You even chose the spot in front of ours and picked a similar name. Just how much do you admire House Wei, hmm?

Tong Xianwei laughed riotously, “Admire House Wei? Wei Tianxiao, take a piss if you want a mirror to look at! House Wei is acclaimed trash in the arena of pills, so what need does my House Tong have to look up to you? What degree of idiocy have you fallen to if you think that?”

Young lord Tong Yun of House Tong snorted derisively off on the side, “Father, what need is there to speak with this declining family? Even if they imitate us, without any skills to back themselves up, they can only watch us grow rich. Why don’t we take a seat and watch the show, and see how many days it takes for this so-called Taiyuan Tower to close up shop!”

“Haha, my son speaks well. House Tong is gracious and won’t take them to task for copying us. Everyone, get ready, our honored guests will soon visit. We have a very important mission to greet them all today, so everyone should be prepared.” Tong Xianwei threw a supercilious smile over at House Wei.

Many guests arrived one after another, but they were unwilling to approach the shops when they saw House Wei and House Tong screaming at each other in the street. However, those on the House Tong’s side had sharp eyes and approached the guests, leaving the latter with no choice but to walk into Taiyuan Lodge. Some did so apologetically, others guiltily, but none dared look over at House Wei.

The Tong father and son duo were standing at the front door in high spirits, full of energy and ambition as they welcomed the guests from all sides. Almost all of these guests had received both sets of invitations, but most of them chose to head into Taiyuan Lodge. Some neutral guests gave into peer pressure when they saw most people heading to Taiyuan Lodge, creating a very disparate distinction between the two shops. House Tong’s Taiyuan Lodge was bustling and had a fervent atmosphere. Apart from their diehard supporters, most of the guests had also chosen them.

If one looked at percentages, ninety percent of the guests had chosen to head into Taiyuan Lodge, and only ten percent into House Wei’s Taiyuan Tower. This was an extremely awkward and unpleasant scene, but the Wei father and son still had to remain standing at their door to welcome their guests. Their hearts were dripping blood, but they had to put on looks of warm welcome and force themselves to smile broadly. One side of the street was all a hustle and bustle, and the other side looked almost abandoned, the sparrows pecking around in the courtyard.

The Tong father and son continuously flung challenging looks at their Wei counterparts as they welcomed their guests, a look of petty victory clear on their faces. At this time, another disturbance grew at the street entrance. Everyone looked over to see the young lord of the Majestic Clan arriving with a large horde of Majestic Clan executives and members in tow. The emergence of the Majestic Clan resulted in quite a grand scene, and the Tong father and son hurried to walk up to them.

“The young lord of the Majestic Clan brings great honor to Taiyuan Lodge with your personal appearance!” Tong Xianwei was quite adept at flattery.

“Brother Wang, Taiyuan Lodge has drawn quite a crowd today, everyone’s shown us a lot of face because of the Majestic Clan!” Tong Kun also followed up with more fawning words.

Jiang Chen wasn’t unfamiliar with the Majestic Clan young lord Wang Teng. It was his third time running into the young lord now. Wang Teng halted at the door to Taiyuan Lodge with a faint smile on his face. He nodded, “Not bad, the arrangements are well done. Taiyuan Lodge must have an auspicious beginning if it wishes to grow big and become a heavyweight pill faction.” When he finished, he seemed to register the existence of House Wei across the street for the first time. He flicked a glance at the Taiyuan Tower sign and asked with incredibly insincere confusion, “What’s going on here?”

“Oh, it’s like this. The opening of our Taiyuan Lodge might have caused others to grow jealous. Some dejected houses seemed to have imitated us and opened something called the Taiyuan Tower. It’s truly both a laughable and maddening occurrence. What an affront of the young lord!” Tong Xianwei hastened to explain.

Tong Kun also piped up, “Don’t worry, Brother Wang. A shop like this won’t survive for long. Just treat it as some comedic relief for the opening of our Taiyuan Lodge, some free entertainment for everyone. It’s good to have a laugh now and then. We’d have to pay a circus if we wanted one to come perform.”

Wang Teng’s expression was distant as he nodded, “It’s best if there’s a minimum of this sort of bad culture. That father and son looks a bit familiar, they should be some respected personage in the Capital. How could they have done something so shameful? Go investigate which great clan they belong to.”

These words weren’t spoken particularly forcefully, but they just so happened to be loud enough to travel across the street. The Wei father and son were fit to burst. This Majestic Clan was simply too shameful, and that Wang Teng brat too good at acting! What “looks a bit familiar”? They were a ninth ranked aristocratic house, how could Wang Teng possibly not recognize them? Besides, it’d been the Majestic Clan pulling all the strings behind the scenes, but now they were pretending that they didn’t know anything at all. Just who were they putting on this act for? They were the ones who’d copied House Wei, Taiyuan Tower, and purposefully pitted themselves against House Wei! But now it was House Wei in the wrong?!

Even Jiang Chen couldn’t bear watching any longer, much less House Wei. As he watched how much of an air Wang Ten was putting on and the cocky Tong father and son, his plan for counterattack finished forming in his mind.