Sovereign of the Three Realms

The Sacred Peafowl Mountain’s declaration was duly circulated through its various channels, its great impact spreading to the furthest reaches of the domain within three days. The recently popular Longevity Pill once again became the focus of all the major powers’ attention.

Pillfire City was no exception. They were caught completely unawares. They had been secretly planning a series of methods with which to fabricate a charge against the Sacred Peafowl Mountain. They’d planned to accuse the latter of stealing the Longevity Pill recipe, thereby suppressing Veluriyam Capital’s prestige. Never did they expect that the Sacred Peafowl Mountain would deploy a preemptive strike. This effectively thwarted their still-forming plans.

Pillfire City and Veluriyam Capital had always been bitter rivals. Meanwhile, within Pillfire City, the lord of Pillfire City was receiving the pill dao representatives from the Eternal Celestial Capital. Emperor Pillzenith, was an expert not in the least bit inferior to Emperor Peafowl. The Eternal Celestial Capital representative this time was one of their first-rate pill kings — he’d lived well over a thousand years and was one of the Eternal Celestial Capital’s best in terms of skill and experience—his name was Shi Yangshu. But even the Eternal Celestial Capital’s most senior pill king had to observe a junior’s etiquette before the Pillfire City lord. The Pillfire City lord was one of the most powerful experts in the Upper Eight Regions and in the last thousands of years hardly anyone had dared claim that they were stronger than Emperor Pillzenith.

“Your Majesty, it was rather unexpected that Veluriyam Capital would be so shameless. They not only destroyed our Eternal Celestial Capital’s business, but they also plan to monopolize the Longevity Pill. Their ambition truly knows no bounds.” The pill king’s angry words contained some hidden intentions of instigation.

Emperor Pillzenith smiled indifferently. He’d naturally noticed Shi Yangshu’s petty tricks. But the emperor remained the picture of calm, “Tell me again in detail about how your Eternal Celestial Capital obtained the Longevity Pill Recipe from the Myriad Domain. This emperor must determine from whence Veluriyam Capital’s Longevity Pill recipe came, lest we fall into a passive state.”

Shi Yangshu was given no chance to play tricks before Emperor Pillzenith and could only narrate the whole story regardless of how upset he was. Fortunately, such plundering was not rare in the martial world and Emperor Pillzenith only laughed ambiguously in response, “I hear that your Eternal Celestial Capital hasn’t yet captured a certain remnant member of the Regal Pill Palace?” The emperor suddenly asked.

Shi Yangshu was somewhat startled but eventually nodded, “The survivors are quite cunning. However, given enough time, we’ll definitely capture them in one go.”

Emperor Pillzenith smiled with relative indifference and replied dispassionately, “I’m afraid the Eternal Celestial Capital won’t ever have that chance.”

“Your Majesty, what do you mean by this?” Shi Yangshu was somewhat astonished.

“It’s obvious that the Regal Pill Palace survivors have joined Veluriyam Capital. More specifically, he’s been recruited by Emperor Peafowl.” Emperor Pillzenith’s speculation, albeit not personally witnessed, was resolute and seemingly unquestionable. His every speech and action possessed a special charm, as if his words were the absolute truth. There was virtually no room for doubt.

The speechless Shi Yangshu swallowed hard with a rueful smile, “Could the survivor have actually escaped to Veluriyam Capital despite our encirclement and pursuit?”

This survivor in question was, of course, Jiang Chen. Emperor Pillzenith smiled unenthusiastically, “Is this the extent of your Eternal Celestial Capital’s capability? You lot can’t even clean up your own mess and refused to offer up the Longevity Pill before reaching the end of your tether. Do you know that it was your idiocy that allowed the situation to worsen to such a degree?!”

At this point, Emperor Pillzenith had taken on a rather harsh tone of voice. The emperor was speaking as if he was disciplining a child, but Shi Yangshu dared not retort and could only shake his head with a rueful smile. They wouldn’t be in such a deteriorating situation if they’d given up the Longevity Pill recipe to Pillfire City much earlier.

The Eternal Celestial Capital had initially been afraid of being swallowed up by the colossal entity that was Pillfire City after offering up the recipe. They were apprehensive of testing the waters at Pillfire City’s market and as such, they’d gone to Veluriyam Capital instead.

Never did they expect to fail so miserably at Veluriyam Capital. The Eternal Celestial Capital soon fell into a passive state under Emperor Peafowl’s relentless assault and was forced to rely on Pillfire City. They had hoped to move their way up Pillfire City’s ladder by relying on the massive profits the Longevity Pill brought them. Their wishful calculations were all well and good, but Emperor Peafowl’s next move had also put Pillfire City at a disadvantage.

They’d lost the opportunity to speak out against the other party and now their argument was hardly justifiable. At this point it’d be too passive for them to make an appearance and announce that the Longevity Pill recipe was theirs when the other party had just declared ownership. The outside world would question why they hadn’t announced it earlier and had instead waited until right after Emperor Peafowl’s declaration if the recipe was indeed theirs. They would appear to be intentionally stirring up trouble.

This was also the most important reason why Pillfire City was in a passive position. But nonetheless, it’d be impractical to think they’d give up on such a profitable business. Furthermore, the force that had obtained the Longevity Pill Recipe was their archrival, Veluriyam Capital. Although Pillfire City would still be affected if any other power were to obtain the Longevity Pill, the effects would slowly but surely dissipate over time. They could employ various methods to mitigate the effects. But that wouldn’t work on Veluriyam Capital.

Veluriyam Capital was a tough bone which even Pillfire City couldn’t chew on. The other party definitely wouldn’t play according to their rules. Neither robbery nor deceit would work on Veluriyam Capital. They had always strived to surpass Pillfire City and would never give in. Neither soft nor hard tactics were viable. The only remaining method was to challenge the Sacred Peafowl Mountain.

Didn’t the Sacred Peafowl Mountain announce that anyone in doubt could challenge them within three months? If their Longevity Pill could triumph over the Sacred Peafowl Mountain’s, they could still turn the situation around and claim the rights. History was written by the victors, and ergo legitimacy would belong to the victor!

While playing with the jade cup in his hand, Emperor Pillzenith suddenly laughed, “Holy King Shi, I’ve received your message. You may go.”

“Go?” Shi Yangshu was dazed, “Your Majesty, I came on the clan head’s orders to discuss, with all sincerity, our cooperation with Pillfire City.”

“Cooperation?” Emperor Pillzenith laughed indifferently, “What are you offering for this negotiation?”

“The Longevity Pill of course.” Shi Yangshu was puzzled.

“The Longevity Pill?” If I remember correctly, the recipe to it is in the hands of Veluriyam Capital. What does it have to do with your Eternal Celestial Capital?” Emperor Pillzenith’s tone was disinterested.

Shi Yangshu’s expression suddenly changed, “Your Majesty, you… are you trying to exclude us?”

“Exclude?” Emperor Pillzenith laughed in a leisurely manner, “Your Eternal Celestial Capital was never included in the first place. If you’re dissatisfied, you can challenge the Sacred Peafowl Mountain and win back the rights to the Longevity Pill. At that time you’ll naturally have the right to negotiate with this emperor. But for now…”

Emperor Pillzenith smiled meaningfully. Why should Pillfire City carry the Eternal Celestial Capital along if they had to throw their cap in and fight it out with Veluriyam Capital?

Shi Yangshu’s heart sank and stammered, “Your Majesty, that’s completely unreasonable. How would you contend with Veluriyam Capital if not for us offering you the recipe? Our Eternal Celestial Capital…”

Emperor Pillzenith’s expression became solemn, “Pill recipe? Do you think our Pillfire City doesn’t have the means to obtain it?”

This time, Shi Yangshu had realized that Emperor Pillzenith was looking to renege on his words. He was going to exclude them with a flat denial. “Your Majesty, you shouldn’t be so tyrannical.”

Emperor Pillzenith replied apathetically, “Is your Eternal Celestial Capital not clear about this emperor’s principles?”

Shi Yangshu was left speechless. How could he dare express the flames of fury burning in his heart? Emperor Pillzenith could turn him to ash with a single slap should he reveal the slightest hint of disrespect.

“Since that’s the case, things have truly gone beyond my control. I shall take my leave immediately, report this back to our sect head, and await his decision.” Shi Yangshu was indeed upset inside but he knew he could hardly redeem anything with his meager ability. But the Eternal Celestial Capital, being a first rank sect, still had a bottom line. Although Pillfire City was indeed very powerful, the Eternal Celestial Capital might not take this lying down.

Seeing Shi Yangshu leave with fury, the corners of Emperor Pillzenith lips curved into a cold smile. The smile was very meaningful, as if he was plotting something. After a while, Emperor Pillzenith eyes turned pensively towards the south where Veluriyam Capital was located, “Emperor Peafowl, I wonder where you get the confidence to make such a declaration. It’s as if you’re openly challenging our Pillfire City’s foundation. Since that is the case, allow us to give you a lasting lesson and show you just how limited your outlook is!”

…...

The whole of the Upper Eight Regions was abuzz following Veluriyam Capital’s declaration.

Three days later, Pillfire City finally made their next move. They announced that the Longevity Pill was originally their product and that it’d been somehow plagiarized by Veluriyam Capital. However, an empty speech made for a hardly convincing argument. As such, Pillfire City’s representative would arrive at Veluriyam Capital in one month’s time to compete against their pill king on the subject of the Longevity Pill to prove their claim. This forceful announcement immediately exacerbated the conflicting views.

With this, the two giants of the Upper Eight Regions, one of the north and the other of the south, would suddenly come face to face without prior warning. And the focus of their collision was surprisingly the Longevity Pill which had been causing quite the clamor recently.

Everyone knew that whoever obtained the rights to the Longevity Pill would be on a path to tremendous wealth. Everyone was clear about the Longevity Pill’s market potential and value, but nobody had expected this Longevity Pill to cause Veluriyam Capital and Pillfire City to clash head on with little room for error. Suddenly, the entire Upper Eight Regions was full of anticipation.