Chapter 2194, First Come First Served
“So he was planning this all along!” Xia Sheng showed a sudden look of realization.
Before now, he had been puzzled by Yang Kai’s seemingly trouble-seeking actions, but now it turned out everything was intentional. The reason he had wanted to refine the Extraordinary Treasure Pills, and then try to swallow up everything on his own, was simply to create this situation where he could bargain with everyone for benefits.
This must have been his intent from the start.
The conditions to successfully implement this plan were quite harsh…
First, Yang Kai needed strong confidence in his own Alchemy skills to simply refine the Extraordinary Treasure Pills. If he had failed at this step, everything else would have fallen apart.
Second, he needed absolute confidence in his own strength, not only so he could fend off anyone who tried to attack him, but also so he could successfully escape.
But now, it seemed that Yang Kai had met both of these conditions, and the end result was him being able to pull off this daring plot perfectly!
He had the ability to refine the Extraordinary Treasure Pills, and he had the ability to come and go as he pleased right in front of all these Masters’ eyes…
The initiative had always laid with Yang Kai, and everyone else who had been dreaming about the Extraordinary Treasure Pills had been played by him.
When everyone had been watching Yang Kai perform Alchemy, there must have been no one who thought things would turn out to be like this, right? If they knew what they knew now, likely, no one would have waited for Yang Kai to try refining the Extraordinary Treasure Lotus into pills and instead would have just tried to snatch it from him.
This fellow… had a real talent for exceeding expectations and annoying others!
However, that did not diminish people’s admiration for his guts and courage.
This kind of action was equivalent to making enemies of everyone present, and the slightest mistake would have resulted in death. Without extreme boldness and courage, who could accomplish such a feat?
Considering all this. Xia Sheng’s expression changed again as he secretly re-evaluated Yang Kai as a cunning bastard.
After he succeeded in refining the Extraordinary Treasure Pills, Yang Kai had given the first one to Lan Xun. The supposed reason for this was because Lan Xun had provided the necessary Jade Blood Mushroom, which followed the agreement made before, but in fact… Yang Kai probably didn’t want to become enemies with Lan Xun.
After all, Lan Xun’s identity was unique. No one wanted to find themselves at odds with her.
Even if it weren’t for her providing the Jade Blood Mushroom at that time, Yang Kai would likely have found some other way to make Lan Xun accept this Spirit Pill. For instance, he could ask her to testify to the efficacy of the Extraordinary Treasure Pills. After Lan Xun accepted such a proposal, it would be impossible for her to embarrass him. On the contrary, after exiting the Four Seasons Realm, she would likely put in a good word for him!
This was tantamount to securing himself a safety net.
For a time, words like ‘crafty’, ‘sly’, ‘cunning’, etc. flashed across Xia Sheng’s mind…
“Enough idle talk!” Wu Chang snapped, “What do you want in exchange?”
“What do I want in exchange for these, heh heh heh…” Yang Kai smiled without saying a word, his aloof expression causing many to feel an impulse to rush up and beat him up.
“I have a matter I am curious about…” Zhuang Bu Fan seemed to have recovered from his Source Qi’s competition with Yang Kai already and stood up with a ruddy face. Looking at Yang Kai, he asked, “Brother Yang, the Extraordinary Treasure Pills… how many are there?”
When this statement came out, Xiao Chen couldn’t help shouting, “Yes, this Xiao was also wondering just how many Extraordinary Treasure Pills there are.”
A single furnace of Spirit Pills could only produce a limited number of pills. Even if the greatest Emperor Grade Alchemist used the Star Boundary’s most profound Alchemy techniques, the maximum number of pills they could refine from a single set of ingredients was nine!
In other words, this furnace could at most contain nine Extraordinary Treasure Pills.
In reality, depending on the level of Alchemist, their condition during the refinement, the profundity of their Pill Condensing Technique, and the quality of the herbs they used, the number of Spirit Pills they refined would vary.
No matter how good an Alchemist was, or how ideal the circumstances were, refining a full nine pills was a rare occurrence.
The grade of the Extraordinary Treasure Pill was not low, and Yang Kai’s achievements as an Alchemist weren’t too high, so it was impossible for there to be nine Extraordinary Treasure Pills. The most likely scenario was three or four. Even two was a possibility…
Before exchanging with Yang Kai, at the very least, people wanted to inquire about how many chances there were. This was a basic principle of bargaining.
However, to everyone’s surprise, when Yang Kai heard this, he simply smiled again and said, “There’s a few of them… heh heh heh…”
Zhuang Bu Fan’s brow furrowed as he called out, “Brother Yang, please stop making trouble… We’re trying to discuss business with you.”
Yang Kai glanced at him before casually saying, “Then I’ll count.”
“Please do, Brother Yang!” Zhuang Bu Fan nodded.
In front of everyone’s eyes, Yang Kai really opened the Alchemy Furnace and looked inside.
The moment he opened the lid, countless Divine Senses shrouded Yang Kai from all directions, wanting to get a glimpse!
But before these people could see clearly what the situation was, Yang Kai covered the Alchemy Furnace, glanced around with a displeased expression, and coldly snorted, “Originally, I was going to tell you how many Spirit Pills there were; after all, it’s not a big deal either way… but this Yang is getting tired of everyone using such rude and voyeuristic methods, so this Yang has decided…”
He paused, whipping up everyone’s appetites.
“To not tell you!” Yang Kai said loudly.
“Bastard!”
“Boy, are you messing with us?”
“I didn’t try to peep just now! Brother Yang, quietly tell me please!”
Yang Kai scanned the surroundings with cold eyes, pointed in several directions, and said, “The people who just cursed at me can scram. No matter what kind of price you offer, I won’t give you an Extraordinary Treasure Pill.”
As soon as he said this, a number of cultivators wore ugly expressions as they hurriedly begged for forgiveness.
Yang Kai snorted loudly and then, under everyone’s shocked gaze, did something astonishing.
Reaching his hand into the Alchemy Furnace, Yang Kai snatched and brought out an Extraordinary Treasure Pill identical to the one he had given Lan Xun just now.
Then… he opened his mouth and threw this Extraordinary Treasure Pill directly into his mouth.
*Gabeng gabeng…*
With a loud crunching sound, Yang Kai chomped on the Extraordinary Treasure Pill like it was a piece of candy as he put an expression of supreme bliss onto his face, turning his eyes up towards the Heavens as if he was immersed in a joyful sensation he simply could not describe in words.
Everyone was shocked, everyone was stunned.
*Gudong…*
After a moment, along with the sound of swallowing, Yang Kai belched and patted his belly with a satisfied expression, “Tasty!”
Only then did he turn his attention back to the crowd and grin subtly, “No matter how many Extraordinary Treasure Pills there were before, now there is one less. There aren’t many left! If any of these friends wants an Extraordinary Treasure Pills, they’d best act quickly. Come forward and offer up a price to this Yang, first come, first served, if you don’t hurry there’ll be none left…”
His demeanour and tone completely changed to that of a market hawker, spouting wondrous and colourful descriptions of his wares.
As he spoke, Yang Kai added, “As for what I will exchange them for… En, just show me whatever you obtained in the Four Seasons Realm. If this Yang takes a liking to it, he’ll trade for it, if not, I won’t. Good. All sales are voluntary, please step right up!”
Saying so, Yang Kai stretched out his hand and patted his Alchemy Furnace before slowing landing and once again agitating the surrounding Space Principles to create another shattered space around himself like before.
Void Cracks swam back and forth, forming a deadly cage that moved and behaved erratically.
Any cultivator that attempted to break into this shattered space would be cut down by the wandering Space Principles!
Of course, this technique could also be forcibly broken like how Luo Yuan did before, but doing so would definitely result in Yang Kai escaping.
Having learned their lesson already, no one was interested in challenging Yang Kai anymore.
“I’ll come, I’ll come!”
“Damn, let me come first, whoever dares to cut in front of me, I’ll kill their whole family!”
“Who touched this Mistress’ butt just now!? Stand up, name yourself, and admit your crimes and this Mistress swears she won’t harm you… much.”
In that instant, a chaotic scene erupted as everyone swarmed up, pushing and shoving one another in a lively fashion.
As for the Masters who had some fame to their names, out of self-respect they stood quietly in place and did not join in the excitement. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to exchange for the Extraordinary Treasure Pills with Yang Kai, but if they were to act so uncouthly at this moment, it would be too big a loss of face…
However, just by looking at their expressions, it was clear they were anxious as well.
After all, no one knew how many Extraordinary Treasure Pills Yang Kai had, and they also didn’t know what Yang Kai wanted to exchange them for, so if they were too late, they’d end up with nothing.
“Enough! Enter one by one, anyone who dares try to break in, don’t blame this Yang for being ruthless,” Yang Kai sat down in the middle of his shattered space and snorted coldly.
After these words fell, the wandering Void Cracks seemed to recede along a certain path just big enough for a single person to pass through.
Seeing this, a cultivator standing nearby swiftly charged inside.
After he entered, the opening was immediately closed again, blocking others out.
The noise suddenly died down as everyone looked at the first cultivator who entered with scorching eyes and anxiety on their brows.
After this person entered the shattered space, he couldn’t help pausing to observe the erratic Void Cracks, wondering if they would soon descend on him and slice him apart, but seeing that he was still safe, he quickly brushed off his clothes and strode towards Yang Kai.
As he approached, he squeezed out a smile on his face, cupped his fists, and said, “This one is Chang…”
“I’m not interested in where you’re from or what your name is,” Yang Kai interrupted him with no trace of politeness and said flatly, “Take out your harvest from the Four Seasons Realm and let me see if there is anything that catches my eye!”
“Yes, yes!” The man surnamed Chang nodded repeatedly, not paying any mind to Yang Kai’s rudeness. Swiftly, he took out a few things from his Space Ring and presented them in front of Yang Kai before falling silent and waiting nervously.
Yang Kai took a look, then looked up at this man and asked, “Is this everything you gained inside?”
