Match-Fixing, Huh?

"What if I do want to stock it? And what if I don't?" Luo Chen said with a touch of nervousness, "If you're not stocking it, then that remains my personal trade secret. If you are, I'll expand production as much as possible to meet your demand." "Haha." Seeing his uneasy demeanor, Kang Dongyue burst into laughter, and Shopkeeper Liu beside him chuckled as well. Then, with a hint of regret, Kang Dongyue said, "I'm afraid we won't be able to work together. A low-grade pill carries rather severe aftereffects. If something goes wrong, my Kang clan might not be able to withstand the fury of certain individuals." In other words, a partnership was off the table. Luo Chen wasn't disappointed; he was well aware of the Myriad Wonders Pill's shortcomings. When he sold them, he usually reminded buyers that moderation was key and not to overdo it. Besides, since his current sales volume was small and most of his clientele were the sort who lived entirely for the moment, he hadn't run into any trouble yet. The solution to these problems was actually quite simple: elevate the pill's grade, purging enough impurities while preserving its potency. Luo Chen was also confident he could achieve this quickly. Based on his experience with the Fasting Pill, Beginner to Practiced yielded low-grade pills. Mastered and Perfect yielded mid-grade pills. And once he broke through to Grandmaster, he could refine high-grade pills. But he couldn't say that out loud! After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Shopkeeper Liu led Kang Dongyue away, mentioning that he was going to host a banquet for him at Zhongding House. Dahe Market lay close to the Million Mountains, and some of the local delicacies piqued the interest of Kang Dongyue, who hailed from Taishan Market. From start to finish, Kang Dongyue never asked whether Luo Chen could refine mid-grade Myriad Wonders Pills. The reason was obvious: Luo Chen's current output was quite low. Without racking up a massive number of refining sessions, Luo Chen clearly couldn't improve the grade of his pills—especially given that he was just a rogue cultivator. Only after they left did Luo Chen notice Bai Meiling standing quietly in the corner. "Here are your herbs." "Thanks a lot." "Um, what exactly do you sell...?" "My apologies, but right now the Myriad Wonders Pill is only for male cultivators. A version suitable for female cultivators is still under development. If you happen to need one, Miss Xiao Ling..." "Get out!" Slinking out of Hundred Herbs Hall in disgrace, Luo Chen felt a wave of regret. That had clearly been an opportunity to expand his channels and grow his market, but he couldn't seize it—nor did he dare to. He couldn't make promises to an experienced alchemist like Kang Dongyue that he could improve his pill grade in a short amount of time. Doing so would make people wonder how he pulled it off. His attribute panel naturally wouldn't and couldn't be revealed. Then the other party might assume he was an alchemy prodigy. The latter was hardly a blessed reputation. Once saddled with such renown, he might well be forcibly invited to join some cultivation clan, reduced to nothing more than a tool for churning out pills and raking in spirit stones for them. "In the end, it's still because my cultivation is too low!" At the Qi Refining stage, one was completely at the mercy of others. If he had Foundation Establishment cultivation, never mind cultivation clans, even minor sects would show him a degree of deference. Even if he joined them, he would retain considerable autonomy. With a sigh, Luo Chen prepared to head home. However, when he passed the Jade Cauldron Sword Pavilion, he stopped in his tracks. A cultivator, a wooden table, and a hanging banner. The white hanging banner read: "Dao Discussion Platform Grand Opening, Advance Tickets on Sale." Today was the first time Luo Chen had heard about the Dao Discussion Platform from Chen Xiuping. That didn't mean he knew nothing about such things. Earlier, frustrated by having nowhere to practice spells, he had specifically consulted Gu Caiyi. Back then, the solution Gu Caiyi offered was the dueling platforms privately run by the Jade Cauldron Sword Pavilion. Supposedly, it started at one spirit stone, and if you wanted a sparring partner, the price would multiply a hundredfold. Luo Chen had been broke at the time, so naturally he never considered the place, ultimately settling for practicing in his courtyard. In the process, he had even ruined the Purple Sun Flower seeds Fu Xiuxiu had planted in the corner. Strictly speaking, the dueling platform was merely a subsection of the Jade Cauldron Dao Discussion Platform, serving as a private training area. Now, it appeared the Jade Cauldron Sword Pavilion intended to open Dahe Market's Dao Discussion Platform to the public! "Fellow Daoist, is this Dao Discussion Platform also in the inner city?" The cultivator behind the wooden table had been slumped over, sleeping. Hearing the voice, he lazily lifted his head. Luo Chen froze for a second, then chuckled. "Senior Sun, aren't you in charge of housing leases? How come you're selling tickets now?" "Hmph!" Sun Shou snorted. "Serving the sect, bearing hardships without complaint!" "You're top-notch!" Luo Chen gave him a thumbs-up. Sun Shou curled his lip. "In a couple of days, the sect will send an outer sect deacon over to specifically manage this area. Why aren't you cooped up at home refining pills, you brat? What did you come running over here for?" Luo Chen pointed at the words on the banner. "Just passing by and got curious. Where is this Dao Discussion Platform located? Inside the sword pavilion as well?" "How could it be? The Dao Discussion Platform is meant to seat thousands upon thousands of spectators. How could the sword pavilion possibly hold that many people?" Thousands upon thousands! What bold words! The permanent cultivator residents of Dahe Market only numbered slightly over ten thousand, and even counting the visiting cultivators coming and going, there were no more than twenty thousand in total. That didn't count the nearby cultivation clans and mortal cities, of course—especially the latter, which served merely as logistical support for Dahe Market. And now you're telling me a single Dao Discussion Platform will seat thousands upon thousands of spectators? Sun Shou didn't care whether Luo Chen believed him or not. He pointed toward the area behind the pavilion. "You know Fallen Phoenix Mountain, right? It's been renamed to the Jade Cauldron Dao Discussion Platform." Luo Chen looked up and could faintly make out the small hill at the edge of the inner city. Oddly enough, Dahe Market was situated on flat terrain, neighboring the Million Mountains with the Lancang River flowing nearby, which was how Dahe Market got its name. Yet when the inner city was built, that small hill had been enclosed within it. As Gu Caiyi had put it, enclosing the hill was a joint decision made back when Mount Ailao and Tianfan City built the inner city together. With that mountain there, its terrain could serve as an anchor for the city-protecting grand formation and help suppress the earth qi. The inner city's rank-one spirit vein was also said to originate from Fallen Phoenix Mountain. It was just that the hill was rather small and not very high, usually standing bare, so nobody paid it any mind after living here for a while. No one had expected the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect to actually transform it into a Dao Discussion Platform. Luo Chen considered a possibility—perhaps leaving the mountain standing from the beginning had been intended for building the Dao Discussion Platform all along! "Hey brat, do you want to buy a ticket?" Sun Shou took a jade token from his storage bag. "Only ten thousand tickets are being sold this time. Buy early and enjoy early; wait too long and you'll miss the grand opening spectacle." "Limited availability, huh? How many spirit stones?" "One hundred spirit stones per ticket. Absolutely worth every bit." Luo Chen clutched his storage bag. "Why don't you just go rob someone? Only a fool would buy a ticket!" Sun Shou sneered. "I bet you've never witnessed the opening of a Dao Discussion Platform by the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect. Let this old man tell you: witnessing it once gives you bragging rights for a lifetime." Luo Chen's eyes darted around. "Which means you've seen one before?" "Naturally. Ten years ago, when the Dao Discussion Platform opened at Snow Lotus Market, there were puppet battles, demon beast battles, duels between Foundation Establishment cultivators and rank-two demon beasts, and so on." Luo Chen was stunned by what he heard. There were actually that many events! "Are you buying or not? Let me tell you, the grand finale this time is the clash between the two gangs. Even though it's only at the Qi Refining level, it's a fight to the death where only one person leaves the stage alive." Luo Chen had heard about the clash between the two gangs earlier, and he even knew the number of participants from Old Daoist Chen. What he hadn't known was that it would be a fight to the death. If Wang Yuan took the stage, wouldn't he have to kill his opponent just to step down alive? Luo Chen hesitated for a moment. "Give me one ticket!" He was, after all, the big brother who looked out for him and had taken care of him quite a bit in the past—whether it was lending books, giving gifts, or offering pointers here and there. Luo Chen needed to go see it with his own eyes. If Wang Yuan lost, given his personality, there probably wouldn't even be anyone to collect his corpse. "Yo, didn't think you actually had some wealth on you, kid. Seeing as you're my first buyer, I'll give you a tip: remember to bet on the Great River Gang to win when the time comes." Sun Shou took the spirit stones, handed the jade token to Luo Chen, and added offhandedly. Did this count as insider information? Wait! Betting? The Great River Gang to win? Holy shit, you guys are rigging the competition—is this match-fixing?!