If the prince was somewhat unconvinced earlier, then the reality that greeted his eyes rendered him completely speechless. His earlier distrust completely disappeared, leaving behind admiration that rose from the bottom from his heart. Despite being depressed, he couldn't help but ask, "Are all pill dao experts in Veluriyam Capital as skilled as you? I suppose Bluesky Nation is a little outdated compared to the world."
Jiang Chen found the dejected-looking prince to be rather more interesting than before. He understood that the young prince was simply trying to strengthen his country by refining the Fierce Tiger Pill, so he refrained from attacking the example of royal proactiveness.
"It's only natural that Veluriyam Capital's pill dao is many times stronger than Bluesky Nation's. You don't need to be depressed. When it comes to pill dao, there are only a handful of people who are better than me in Veluriyam Capital." This was Jiang Chen being humble. In reality, no one in Veluriyam Capital could compare to him when it came to pill dao. In fact, no one was even close to his level. In all likelihood, there was no one in the entire Divine Abyss Continent who came close when it came to pill dao.
If Jiang Chen had made that claim before his demonstration, the prince would've thought it a load of hot air. But now, it almost seemed irrefutable; this strange man might actually be a pill dao genius of Veluriyam Capital.
"I must say that you truly are skilled, sire. So, about the refining method of this Fierce Tiger Pill…" The prince rubbed his palms together, but seemed to feel as though he was being a bit forward for speaking so suddenly. He waited for a moment before continuing, "Please name a price. We are willing to buy the recipe and the refining method of this pill as long as it's reasonable."
"You're truly bold to attempt refining the pill without its recipe. That being said, it is a little unwise of you to waste time like this."
The prince turned red in embarrassment. He was simply trying to do something for his nation by refining the Fierce Tiger Pill. Now that Jiang Chen mentioned it, even he thought that he's been a little too brash in his actions. There was nothing more difficult than refining a specific pill without its recipe. If they were lucky, they'd be able to reverse engineer the recipe. But if they were unlucky, then the fruits of their labor might only come after several years of research.
"I don't have a choice. Bluesky Nation is responsible for guarding the northern side of Veluriyam Capital, but we are surrounded by many powerful enemies. War can break out at any moment. However, the Fierce Tiger Pill can increase our troops' courage and multiply their combat strength, so it's research that benefits both our nation and our people. It is not out of selfishness that I started on this path…"
"I've already said this, but the side effects of the Fierce Tiger Pill are too strong. An army would probably only be able to use it once or twice without much repercussions, but long term use of Fierce Tiger Pill will only bring more harm than benefits." Jiang Chen ruthlessly pointed out the flaw in his strategy.
"Haha. In the end, you just aren't willing to give us the techniques behind the Fierce Tiger Pill, aren't you?" The prince sounded a little disappointed.
"The Fierce Tiger Pill does more harm than good if it is used over a long period of time. However, you may equip your army with Tiger Eruption Pills without any of those problems." Jiang Chen smiled.
"Tiger Eruption Pill?" The prince's eyes lit up. "Do you know how to refine the Tiger Eruption Pill?" Jiang Chen smiled. He was the inventor of the pill, how could he not know how to refine it?
"You don't know how to refine the Tiger Eruption Pill?" The prince's voice once again betrayed his disappointment when Jiang Chen didn't answer his question.
"Of course I know how to make that pill. However, this pill is proprietary knowledge of Taiyuan Tower. Therefore, I cannot just give you its refining method or recipe. That being said, I can help you buy a batch of Tiger Eruption Pills from Taiyuan Tower at the cost of production."
"Cost of production? Are you sure you have the power to do so? Also… how much would that come to?" The prince looked worried.
"Haha, are you worried that I lack the ability to authorize such a trade? As for the cost of production, it's not much pricier than what you were spending on the Fierce Tiger Pill. In fact, it's pretty much the same as the Fierce Tiger Pill because you won't need to pay for the manpower necessary to refine the pill on your side. But of course, you will be required to pay a token transportation fee."
"It's that cheap?" The prince was completely stunned.
"One of the greatest traits of the Deviant Pill Faction lies in its low cost. If one of their pills has a high production cost, then it's not considered a successful product." Jiang Chen smiled faintly.
The prince nodded, half understanding. "I have heard that Deviant Pill Faction is pretty good. It was apparently brought into the limelight by young lord Zhen of Sacred Peafowl Mountain. My friend, considering how close you are to Taiyuan Tower, is it possible that you know young lord Zhen himself?"
Jiang Chen smiled but didn't answer.
"You really know young lord Zhen?" A look of admiration suddenly filled the prince's expression. "I heard that young lord Zhen excels in both pill dao and martial dao. Especially his pill dao, it's said to be unrivalled among the younger generation. In fact, not even the invincible legend of Pillfire City, Pill King Ji Lang is a match for him. Have you seen him before? Is he a friendly person? Is he easy to talk to?"
The prince's words were almost tripping over each other as he spoke quicker and quicker. The mention of young lord Zhen had turned into an awestruck fan.
"Not only do I know him, I have a great relationship with him too."
The prince looked envious of his new guest. "You live in Veluriyam Capital, so of course it's easier for you to meet young lord Zhen. Sometimes I really envy you people. Personally, I wish to study in Veluriyam Capital for a couple dozen years or so. Goldtower City is just too dull compared to Veluriyam Capital."
Goldtower City was the capital of Bluesky Nation. Compared to the nations and cities around it, it could be considered a major city, but it was still much, much inferior to Veluriyam Capital. The people of Goldtower City obviously adored Veluriyam Capital, especially considering the three pagodas they built in imitation of Veluriyam Pagoda.
"Oh right, do you think I can meet young lord Zhen if I visit Veluriyam Capital one day?" The prince asked with a hopeful look on his face.
"Of course you can." Jiang Chen smiled. "Who knows, maybe you'll meet him one day, before you even realize it."
The prince sighed. It was obvious that he thought that Jiang Chen was merely fobbing him off. A moment later, the prince suddenly recalled something. "Oh right, you came to the Eastern Palace and sought me out for no apparent reason. But you wouldn't have shown up here without a purpose, right?"
Jiang Che smiled. "You've finally picked up on that. The reason I sought you out today is to ask for a favor."
"What?" The prince looked startled. You're a pill dao genius of Veluriyam Capital and you want a favor from me? Since when did I become this powerful? But when he thought that the pill dao genius of Veluriyam Capital had purposely come to ask a favor from him, the prince couldn't help but feel a bit proud of himself. He had already made up his mind to grant the favor as long as it wasn't too excessive.
"Steward Niu of Goldtower City's Prancing Pony is an acquaintance of mine. Right now, the grand steward of the Prancing Pony, Dong Sheng, is attempting to claim everyone's share of the business for himself…" Jiang Chen summarized the situation and roughly sketched out the players involved.
"Is that all?" The prince actually felt a bit disappointed after getting over his surprise. Not only was it not a difficult matter to deal with, it was almost too trivial in the prince's opinion. It was so minor that he didn't think it even counted as a great favor. At the very least, it wasn't worth the favor of the Tiger Eruption Pill.
"That is all." Jiang Chen nodded affirmatively. "That being said, Dong Sheng is quite wild and I suspect that he's a pretty ruthless person. If we are to deal with him, then we must make sure that he never makes a return. He must not be allowed to cause trouble after we suppress him."
"That won't be a problem." The prince said disdainfully, "He's only the sworn brother of a mere vice city lord. He's not even worth a mention in Bluesky Nation. You could've just sought out the vice city lord himself and told him to deal with this. You are a genius from Veluriyam Capital; I doubt he would've dared reject your demands."
"I'm not confident in anyone else's ability but yours. You are the crown prince and future monarch of Bluesky Nation. Therefore, your words and actions are worth more than his." Jiang Chen spoke frankly. He had countless ways to deal with this problem, but he wouldn't be able to avoid being criticized by others if he dealt with this personally. On the other hand, the crown prince of Bluesky Nation was the perfect candidate for this task. Moreover, the prince's status should be more than enough to scare Dong Sheng out of any and all thoughts of fighting back. Dong Sheng could live for another ten lifetimes and still not muster up the courage to fight the prince.
"Fine. Seriously, I haven't dealt with such a trivial matter since the day I became crown prince. But since you've proven your skills and ability to turn even trash into treasure, I will personally deal with this matter. As for the Tiger Eruption Pill…"
"You have nothing to worry about in regard to the Tiger Eruption Pill. Taiyuan Tower will sell them to you at the cost of production even if you ordered a million pills. That being said, you'll have to pay for labor. You can't have make the pill masters refine the pills for free, can you?"
"Yes, yes, that is only proper." The prince didn't try to take advantage of the offer. "Plus, we get to save on manpower and costs on our side, so there is value in this trade. We can pay twice the amount of labor if you wish. As long as the cost of the Tiger Eruption Pill doesn't exceed three times the cost of the Fierce Tiger Pill, we can accept this trade."
"Three times? It won't even cost twice the price of the Fierce Tiger Pill." Jiang Chen didn't try to beat around the bush. "Bring me brush and paper so I may write a letter. All you need to do is to send it to Taiyuan Tower. However, it'll take at least three to five years to refine a million Tiger Eruption Pills, so you'll have to be patient."
"It's no hurry. You can take ten or even twenty years to refine them if you wish. The important thing here is availability."
The prince personally brought over brush and paper for Jiang Chen to write his letter. The content of the letter was very simple. After he was done writing, Jiang Chen thought for a moment before he chose to take out the Progeny Feather Medallion, stamping the letter at the bottom with the medallion. The prince only saw the contents of the letter. Since his attention was entirely absorbed by the letter, he thought that the medallion Jiang Chen produced and stamped on the letter so casually was nothing more but a pill king medallion. He didn't pay much attention to it.
"Take this letter and bring it to Taiyuan Tower. You will then be able to buy as many Tiger Eruption Pills as you wish."
Without further ado, Jiang Chen vanished in a flash of light. The prince was dumbstruck as he held the letter and stared at the quickly vanishing light Jiang Chen had left behind . When the grand tutor and the prince's personal guards saw Jiang Chen's light fly out, they immediately rushed to his side. They relaxed only when they saw their prince safe and sound. It was then that the grand tutor noticed the completed Fierce Tiger Pill beside him. His eyes lit up. "Fierce Tiger Pill? It actually is the Fierce Tiger Pill!"
"Did he refine it himself?"
The prince sighed softly. "Not only did he refine it himself, he even used the wasted materials from the failed refining earlier to refine it. This man is no ordinary person."
"He turned trash into treasure?" The grand tutor was only more astonished when he heard this. He carefully examined the Fierce Tiger Pill in his hand, turning it over every so often.
"He said that long term use of the Fierce Tiger Pill would be more detrimental than beneficial, so he refuses to let us refine the Fierce Tiger Pill. Instead, he told me to head to Veluriyam Capital and buy the Tiger Eruption Pill. He said that I'd be able to buy them at less than twice the cost of production of the Fierce Tiger Pill."
"Cost of production?" The grand tutor looked startled. "Tiger Eruption Pill? Is that the upgraded version of the Fierce Tiger Pill?"
"Mm. He said that the effects are better, and the side effects are much less intense."
"I am aware that the Tiger Eruption Pill's side effects are a lot smaller. This man… is he very close to Taiyuan Tower? Why is he so passionate about this? Why did he show up at the Eastern Palace and make a deal that's completely unfavorable for him for no particular reason?" The grand tutor looked puzzled.