Sovereign of the Three Realms

Pill King Bu had a complicated look in his eyes. The anger and grievance that he’d initially felt were slowly turning into helpless submission. This was because he knew that the gap between his skill and that of the young pill king was too great. The young man’s horizon was so distant and his strength so great that he could crush even Pill King Bu’s late master with less than a finger. Before a titan, Pill King Bu realized that he couldn’t salvage even a scrap of pride. Sullenly, he walked up to the trash can and picked up the defective pill with red eyes. Then, he wiped it gently, as if he was wiping his most precious treasure. It was only when the pill was completely clean that he finally put it away carefully. His late master had left this pill behind as he drew his last breath. Even if it was worthless, he didn’t wish to see it thrown into the dustbin.

Jiang Chen was a bit startled and moved when he saw Pill King Bu’s actions. Now he was the one who felt a bit sorry. He could see that this pill was extremely important to Pill King Bu. Although the pill was trash and defective, to Pill King Bu it might be a keepsake that was worth risking his life to protect. The sacred emotion made Jiang Chen realize that he might have gone a little overboard just now. He knocked the table lightly and stared at Pill King Bu. “Ole Bu, this pill may be a keepsake that you’ve inherited from your master, and as such, it may hold a special meaning for you. So I apologize.”

Pill King Bu looked a little surprised as he looked up at Jiang Chen. He obviously didn’t expect the arrogant Pill King Zhen to apologize to him.

“I’m not apologizing because this pill is amazing or anything. I’m apologizing because the emotions you’ve invested in this pill is admirable.” Jiang Chen said indifferently.

Pill King Bu let out a wry laugh and said in a distressed manner, “The victor is king, so you may humiliate me all you like. This Ole Bu has lost so thoroughly that I’ve lost even my underwear.”

Jiang Chen could no longer see any trace of arrogance or non-acceptance on the other’s face anymore. There was only a deep sense of powerlessness that would naturally follow after a crushing blow. “The Profound Dreamweaver Pill is a pill that sends its user into a dream. It can temper, repair, and improve a cultivator’s consciousness. Even more amazing is its ability to repair all damages to one’s consciousness, no matter how severe. Therefore, the Profound Dreamweaver Pill really is a first-rate pill. Unfortunately, the refining process of this particular pill is pretty much a failure.” Jiang Chen spoke frankly.

Pill King Bu was startled, and he couldn’t stop himself from asking, “You know how to refine the Profound Dreamweaver Pill?”

Jiang Chen smiled. “How could I have recognized it at first glance otherwise? The Profound Dreamweaver Pill is a pill that I often refined for practice when I was ten.”

He purposely said this in an easygoing manner. However, it still caused a muscle in Pill King Bu’s face to twitch in response. The comparison was starting to kill him. The Profound Dreamweaver Pill was a pill that he often refined for practice when he was ten? Was this pill really so insignificant? Was it really a pill that the ten-year-old Pill King Zhen had used to hone his skills, even though his master had failed to uncover its mysteries despite having spent his entire lifetime researching it?

It was common sense that pills that could be used for practice were common goods one could buy off the street. Could Pill King Zhen really afford to be this luxurious since he was ten years old? Was he really that impressive?

“Do you wish to learn?” Jiang Chen smiled meaningfully at Pill King Bu.

Although Pill King Bu wanted very much to raise a prideful rejection, the mere thought of it felt like he was committing a crime. He couldn’t help himself from nodding at Pill King Zhen, even though his wrinkled face blushed bright red immediately afterwards. He felt like he was a kid salivating at a tasty lollipop, with Pill King Zhen being the suspicious uncle trying to kidnap him with it.

“Or you don’t want to?” Jiang Chen’s smile was so irritating that it invited a punch to the nose.

Pill King Bu smiled wryly, “Pill King Zhen, if your intention is to make fun of me, then I must admit that you’ve succeeded. The Profound Dreamweaver Pill is a regret my master was never able to resolve before he died. Before he drew his last breath he instructed me to perfect and refine the real Profound Dreamweaver Pill.”

Jiang Chen nodded, “The basic structure of this Profound Dreamweaver Pill is correct, but there are so many wrong details in this pill formula that you can spend ten lifetimes attempting to refine it and still not come up with anything.”

“What?!”

Jiang Chen smiled and stared at Pill King Bu, “I’m telling the truth. You’ve lived for more than a thousand years, haven’t you? You’ve also spent quite a lot of time trying to refine the Profound Dreamweaver Pill, haven’t you? What do you have to show for it?”

Pill King Bu shook his head dejectedly. Reality was a cruel mistress, and lying was beneath him.

Jiang Chen stretched out three fingers with a ‘I knew it’ look on his face. “If you are willing to learn from me, I can guarantee that you will master the method of refining the Profound Dreamweaver Pill in three days’ time.”

“What? Three days?!” This time Pill King Bu was so stunned that he almost suspected that his ears had failed him at a critical moment. Three days? This wasn’t eating or walking they were talking about. Three days?! Pill dao encompassed a wide spectrum and was extremely profound. Just where would one find a pill that could be mastered in three days?

“You don’t believe me?” Jiang Chen smiled, “If I let you teach my Hundredfold Marrow-Cleanse Pill to your students, how many days do you think they’d take to learn it?”

After thinking for a moment, Pill King Bu responded in defeat, “I may need a month or so.” On that note, he abruptly raised his eyebrows, “Can you really teach me how to refine the Profound Dreamweaver Pill in three days?”

“Three days is a safe estimate. If your comprehension capabilities aren’t especially poor, a day and a half should be enough.”

Pill King Bu was starting to feel like his brain was lagging behind. A day and a half? Did he just say that I can learn in one and a half days what my master failed to figure out after an entire lifetime? If my master hears this in the underworld, he would probably be so angry that he’d just jump out of his coffin, wouldn’t he?

After hesitating in conflicted anguish for a while, Pill King Bu finally made up his mind and spoke loudly, “Pill King Zhen, if you really can teach me this Profound Dreamweaver Pill and resolve my master’s dying wish once and for all, you may command this bag of bones however you’d like in the future. I will willingly obey your every command and not feel even the slightest bit of reluctance.”

“Have you finally thought things through?” Jiang Chen smiled faintly.

Pill King Bu nodded resolutely, “No, but there is no doubt that you are tens and hundreds of times better than I am. I will only be humiliating myself if I remain stubborn.”

Pill King Bu was an arrogant and bad-tempered man. His flaws were all extremely obvious. However, he was not without any merits either. One, he was a man of his word. Two, he was a man who admired experts. If there was an expert who was stronger than him, and this person managed to dominate time and time again, he would dedicate all of his loyalty to this expert.

Jiang Chen didn’t plan to waste any more breath. He grabbed a brush and a piece of paper and wrote the Profound Dreamweaver Pill’s formula in beautiful script. When he was done, he brandished his sleeves and sent the pill formula flying towards Pill King Bu.

“This is the the pill formula and refining insight of the Profound Dreamweaver Pill. I’ve written everything in there clearly, so if you have good powers of comprehension, it should take you at most a day and a half to understand it all. If not, it may take you three to five days. Remember your promise.” Jiang Chen’s movements had the natural bearing of a person in power, and Pill King Bu caught the pill formula subconsciously while feeling startled. For a time he was quiet and wasn’t quite sure what to say.

Jiang Chen was already striding outside. “I will be cultivating behind closed doors for two days so I can prepare the contents of my lecture. I hope that you’ll have completely comprehended the pill formula by the time I come out. When that happens, you will join me and act as my support during the lecture.”

If Jiang Chen was anyone else, his words would’ve caused everyone in Veluriyam Capital to drop their jaws in shock. But since he was Jiang Chen, no one thought that he was wrong to say something like this.

When Jiang Chen’s back had finally vanished from the room, Pill King Bu eventually came back to his senses and looked at the pill formula. He only looked through a few lines before his expression changed abruptly. He immediately began reading seriously with trembling hands. The more he read, the more grave Pill King Bu’s expression became. In the end, his entire body involuntarily trembled in response. It was obvious that he had seen something that agitated him greatly.

He muttered to himself with trembling lips, “The Profound Dreamweaver Pill is actually real? These refining details... They are all where my master went wrong back then. So the reason why I’ve spent half a lifetime researching using my master’s findings and coming up with nothing is because there are too many places where he went wrong. No wonder…”

Pill King Bu inhaled once deeply. The pill formula he was holding felt as heavy as Mt. Tai.

He never thought that Pill King Zhen would actually give him the real pill formula. In his opinion, there was at least an eighty percent chance that Pill King Zhen would humiliate and make fun of him instead. But reality was a lot more difficult to believe than his imagination. This pill formula was very simple and direct. It pointed out all the flaws in his thinking when he studied the pill. Moreover, these details were stated in a very logical fashion. He was sure that the information written on the pill formula wasn’t simply fake nonsense.

“He… he only looked at my pill a couple of times, but he still managed to find so many problems with it and identify all of its core issues. Just what is… his real level of pill dao?” Pill King Bu suddenly felt very cold. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that this Pill King Zhen was unfathomable. He almost couldn’t believe that he, a mere frog in a well, had issued a challenge against someone as great as him. Was it an undeserving loss? No, it wasn’t. Not at all!

Suddenly, Pill King Bu felt as if he was enlightened. If a man learns of the right way in the morning, then he may die in the evening without regret! In fact, an abrupt thought popped into his mind. It might have actually been a good thing to lose that gamble. Pill King Bu himself was shocked by the thought. Why had he changed this quickly? This wasn’t like him! But when Pill King Bu looked at the pill formula in his hand once more, he threw out all reservations and walked quickly towards the door. He could wait no longer to research this formula.

Two days later, Jiang Chen stepped out from his closed door cultivation. He was finished preparing the contents of the lecture. The moment he stepped out, he immediately saw a person standing respectfully at the entrance. He had both arms to his sides and a look of great admiration on his face.

“Ole Bu?” Jiang Chen looked surprised.

Pill King Bu took a step forward and knelt with both knees, “Please accept my respects, master.” After that, Pill King Bu kowtowed stiffly to Jiang Chen. When the master-disciple formalization ritual was complete, Pill King Bu didn’t hurry to get up on his feet. Instead, he said sincerely, “Master, Ole Bu is your disciple from hereon. You may beat or scold me as you wish. Your disciple is willing to accept any punishment for my earlier offense towards you, master.”

If anything, Pill King Bu’s attitude showed that he had nothing to lose. There was a saying that stated that one does not slap a smiling person. Considering that Pill King Bu had truly submitted to him, Jiang Chen no longer saw the need to belittle him any further. “I see that your power of understanding isn’t bad, Ole Bu. Have you mastered the Profound Dreamweaver Pill already?”

A trace of joy passed through his eyes. “If it wasn’t for your teaching, I might actually have spent ten lifetimes in utter failure. Your knowledge of pill dao is as deep as the sea, and Ole Bu accepts his defeat and submission with great joy, master.”

Suddenly, a strange cry rang from outside, “Ole Bu, you shameless bastard! I can’t believe you took my master from me! Listen here, you! I became master’s disciple first, so you better call me your senior brother from now on!!” They didn’t need to look to know who the voice belonged to. It was none other than the childish Pill King Lu Feng.

Pill King Lu Feng started wailing when he strode in and saw Jiang Chen. “Master, why are you so biased? All of the pill formulas you gave me aren’t equal to even one Profound Dreamweaver Pill. Can you really call this proper treatment of the senior brother?”

This old urchin was starting to call himself a big senior brother already!

An amused Pill King Bu wasn’t sure how to react. Technically speaking, Pill King Lu Feng had entered his master’s tutelage earlier than he did, so there didn’t seem to be anything wrong with the way he addressed himself.