The Bet with the Medicine Gang

"Let's gamble on the fate of our two gangs. If we, the Pan Gate, lose, we, including myself, will unconditionally merge into your Medicine Gang and submit to you."

"If you lose, your Medicine Gang will be unconditionally merged into our Medicine Gang, including you."

Xiao Tian's words struck him like a giant hammer, jolting him awake. His pupils contracted sharply; he never expected Xiao Tian to make such a shocking bet.

If it were just a newly established power, Han Xian might have just scoffed at their overestimation of their abilities.

Pan Gate is different. They have a Dou Wang (Battle Dou Wang) with unknown strength and a Fourth Grade Alchemist. This is the most powerful force in the entire Inner Academy. No other force can have this configuration.

Although his own Medicine Gang guild was enormous, the monopoly on elixirs had now been broken.

If I win directly, I can not only continue to monopolize the pills, but I can also become a major force in the Inner Academy, far surpassing other forces.

Recent rumors suggest that Xiao Tian has entered the Number One Cultivation Room, which indicates that Xiao Tian knows the Number One on the Strong Ranking, and they may even have a very close relationship, otherwise he wouldn't have lent out his Cultivation Room.

Han Xian frowned and took a deep breath. "Xiao Tian, you're not joking, are you? Do you know this is a matter of life and death?"

Xiao Tian smiled calmly, his expression solemn and serious. "Of course it's true, I'm not joking at all. What? Gang Leader Han, are you afraid?"

Hearing Xiao Tian use the same words he had used to provoke Han Xian, Han Xian's expression turned cold.

He quickly suppressed the anger rising within him, his fingers unconsciously tapping the table. This bet concerned his hard work over the years, and he was still somewhat hesitant.

He wondered if Xiao Tian's actions were merely impulsive or if he had real power. Han Xian's gaze fell on Xiao Yan's Fourth Grade Alchemist robe, and he kept calculating in his mind:

"I'd like to ask, is it you who are representing Pan Gate in this battle?"

"That's right, it's just me and Xiao Yan fighting, no one else."

Xiao Tian picked up the teacup on the table and took a small sip.

"What, Gang Leader Han, are you too scared to accept the challenge? I thought you were someone important, but it seems you're just so-so."

Han Xian paused in tapping the table, his face turning extremely gloomy. For so many years, he had always been the one flattered and fawned over; he had never suffered such humiliation before.

His face turned pale, then flushed; he slammed his fist on the table, stood up, and shouted:

"Fine, let's bet! Whoever chickens out is a coward! I'll bet with you!!"

A look of satisfaction flashed in Xiao Tian's eyes. "Gang Leader Han is indeed generous. Let's draw up a contract now to prevent anyone from going back on their word after losing."

Han Xian nodded in agreement, and the two of them wrote two contracts, each bearing their handprints and Soul Mark.

"Then how do we compete?"

Seeing that the two had agreed on the bet, Xiao Yan asked Han Xian for his opinion.

"We will refine the same elixir, starting the furnace simultaneously. The winner will be determined by the quality. If the quality is the same, the winner will be the one who produces the elixir first."

"As for the Prescription, we'll use Elder Hao's prescription from the Inner Academy's Medicine Prescription Management Library. That's fair to everyone. Elder Hao is the most impartial and strict in the Inner Academy. You can also go out and ask him."

Han Xian pondered for a moment, then spoke to Xiao Tian and the other person.

Xiao Tian nodded in agreement upon hearing Han Xian's words. Knowing the plot and having investigated it himself, he confirmed that it was indeed the case.

Seeing that Xiao Yan also agreed, Xiao Tian didn't say anything more or have any doubts. He trusted his third brother completely. Although he sometimes tricked him, it was just a joke, and he even gained a lot from it.

I'm perfectly willing to take these kinds of pitfalls; the more the merrier.

The three finally agreed on the time as tomorrow morning and the location as the North Square.

The three of them then went to find Elder Hao. When he heard about the huge bet, he was slightly surprised, but his interest was even greater. Without any hesitation, he agreed to the request, on the condition that he could choose the Prescription, and that it would only be announced tomorrow.

After agreeing on this matter with Elder Hao, the three bid farewell and left.

"You guys better not lose too badly. I'm really looking forward to seeing you all working for me, haha!!"

Seeing Han Xian's changed demeanor, Xiao Tian also smiled disdainfully, "I'm also looking forward to it. I hope you won't disappoint me, otherwise it won't be interesting. I'm also looking forward to you backing out, so I can take it over by force."

Upon hearing Xiao Tian's words, Han Xian's expression immediately turned extremely ugly. "The outcome is still uncertain, hmph!"

After saying that, he flicked his sleeve and left without looking back.

"We'll be free soon, and finally we won't have to spend those endless days refining medicine in the dark anymore."

Watching Han Xian's departing figure, Xiao Yan couldn't help but laugh. As for worrying about losing, what a joke! Not to mention that his alchemy skills were no worse than Han Xian's, his own Tian Ge was far superior to him. He wouldn't even know how to spell the word "loser".

"Xiao Yanzi, ask Yao Lao to get you some good stuff. The pills you're refining this time are probably not simple. You always have to cause a huge explosion in the Medicine Cauldron for big occasions."

Xiao Tian knew that he would probably be refining the Dragon Strength Pill again. Xiao Yan also caused a huge explosion in the Medicine Cauldron during the alchemy process, which even brought up a large cloud of smoke.

Xiao Yan recalled the times his Cauldron Explosion during the Alchemist Convention and other times when he was refining pills, and he scratched his Cauldron Explosion awkwardly.

Xiao Tian didn't say this to embarrass Xiao Yan, but rather to get Yao Lao to take out his Black Demon Cauldron and let Xiao Yan play with it.

The two chatted as they walked back towards the attic.

Han Xian, having returned to the Medicine Gang Leader's residence, sat upright in the Medicine Gang Hall.

He held a cup of tea, a sinister smile on his face, thinking to himself, "You all think I made this decision out of anger and embarrassment, but actually it was all part of my plan. A Fourth Grade Alchemist produces such terrible pills, a Alchemist wouldn't even dare to run a long distance—how can you possibly beat me? With your heads? You're still too inexperienced to play with me."

As Han Xian pondered, even imagining the future glory of the Medicine Gang, he couldn't help but laugh out loud, and then the laughter grew even louder.

Back at Pan Gate, Xiao Tian told the others about the challenge. Although they looked slightly shocked and worried, none of them objected. Xiao Tian and Xiao Yan had already shared some information about their alchemy abilities with them before.

Xun'er, who was fully aware of Xiao Tian's strength, was even less worried, as she had witnessed Xiao Tian refining Sixth Grade Pill in the Free and Unfettered World.

Unless Xiao Tian himself doesn't want to win, it would be difficult for him to lose.

"This is the first time I've ever seen a duel Fourth Grade Alchemist or higher. I'll definitely go and watch tomorrow, no matter who wins." Wu Hao felt his blood boil with excitement at the thought of the scene. Alchemist duels were much more interesting than Arena.

Having tasted the initial success of selling pills, the group was even more eager for the greater profits that would come after the Medicine Gang was incorporated into their organization.