Chapter 62: The Black Iron Token

Regarding the difficulties faced by the Wu family and Wushu, Wushu had stated them openly in front of everyone. Since Wushu was going to represent the Kun Kingdom in the upcoming grand tournament, and given his noble status as the Crown Prince of the Kun Kingdom and the host of the day, Zhao Zhenlu still needed to make some gesture.

"Come here."

A servant immediately bowed and stepped forward, asking, "Your Highness, how may I be of service?"

Zhao Zhenlu instructed, "Go and fetch ten Minor Vigor Pills. The prodigies of the Kun Kingdom participating in this grand tournament are all fighting for the dignity of our nation. Under such circumstances, how could the Kun Kingdom treat our talented youths poorly? Reward them, reward every single participating prodigy."

Minor Vigor Pills? What kind of pills were Minor Vigor Pills? Surely they weren't just a simplified version of the Great Vigor Pills!

The direct descendants of the Eight Great Families, especially those from the five families preparing specifically for this grand tournament, couldn't help but cup their hands in salute when they heard that the reward Zhao Zhenlu was offering was merely the Minor Vigor Pill. Qian Duoduo, Sun Taixiao, and the others all declined politely: "We deeply appreciate His Imperial Highness's kind gesture, but upon arriving at East Sun City, our clans already prepared ample recovery pills for us. We thank the First Prince for his care."

Zhao Zhenlu had anticipated such a response from the direct descendants of the Eight Great Families. He nodded slightly and remarked, "The Eight Great Families truly possess a profound foundation. Having such powerful families guarding Imperial Kun City is indeed a great blessing for the royal family of the Kun Kingdom. This is very good, very good..."

As for pills used to recover earth energy, how could Zhao Zhenlu not have any on him? However, thinking about how the Beast Capturing Hall hadn't even prepared recovery pills for Wushu, it was practically an insult to the royal family of the Kun Kingdom. What was the situation of the East Sun City Wu family? Wasn't the Beast Capturing Hall well aware of it?

At this moment, after the direct descendants of the Eight Great Families had tactfully stepped back without claiming the reward, Zhao Zhenlu retrieved another pill bottle from his person, looked calmly at Wushu, and said, "This pill is called the Frenzy Vigor Pill. It is a tier-two rapid recovery pill. When one's earth energy is depleted, swallowing this pill allows someone in the True Origin Realm to instantly recover their full strength."

"Although this pill is hard to come by, I prepared it for this grand tournament. Since Brother Wushu is going to step up and fight in my place, I shall gift this tier-two pill to Brother Wushu."

A tier-two pill? And a tier-two Frenzy Vigor Pill at that! Even the direct descendants of the Eight Great Families were extremely satisfied with the medicinal efficacy of the Frenzy Vigor Pill.

Seeing the envy displayed by the descendants of the Eight Great Families at the appearance of the Frenzy Vigor Pill, Wushu cupped his hands and said, "Your Highness, this pill is far too precious. I appreciate the thought, but I must decline."

Tossing the pill bottle directly toward Wushu, Zhao Zhenlu said, "The upcoming battles may prove extremely difficult. You should keep this pill on you as a backup!"

After saying this, Zhao Zhenlu realized that in his haste, he had almost spoken out of turn. If Wushu were to read too deeply into those words, he might mistakenly assume that his upcoming battle with Feiyu had been arranged by him, Zhao Zhenlu.

Catching the pill bottle, Wushu cupped his hands and said, "Many thanks, First Prince!"

Next, two more participants needed to be selected from the five individuals including Qian Duoduo to enter the fray, but Zhao Zhenlu did not have that many tier-two pills on him. Knowing that Zhao Fenxing was in the third-floor VIP room and that Wushu seemed to have a very good relationship with her, Zhao Zhenlu thought of a way to dispatch Wushu. He said, "Brother Wushu, I will have someone deliver the ten Minor Vigor Pills to the third-floor VIP room shortly. You should make a good impression in front of Miss Zhao Fenxing. If you can secure the support of the Zhao family from East Earth City in the East Earth Empire, as long as I, Zhao Zhenlu, am alive within the borders of the Kun Kingdom, Brother Wushu, you may act without any worries."

When it came to social tact and dealing with people, Zhao Zhenlu was truly formidable.

The appearance of a single tier-two pill could easily have incited envy, jealousy, and hatred toward Wushu among the direct descendants of the Eight Great Families. However, by acting as though he produced the pill merely to curry favor with Zhao Fenxing, Zhao Zhenlu instantly neutralized any envy, jealousy, or malice in the hearts of the other participating prodigies from the Eight Great Families.

Compared to the Zhao family of the East Earth Empire, the Eight Great Families of Imperial Kun City were absolute nobodies.

Of course, Zhao Zhenlu's remark also exposed Zhao Fenxing's whereabouts. Realizing that Wushu and Zhao Fenxing shared an extraordinary relationship, the direct descendants of the Eight Great Families suddenly began to view Wushu not only as possessing exceptional personal strength, but also as someone shrouded in mystery.

Wushu cupped his hands and said, "Your Highness, then I shall take my leave."

Guided by a maidservant, Wushu returned once again to the VIP room. Upon this return, Wushu was in a wonderfully cheerful mood. He was genuinely poor—not just pretending—and having acquired a Frenzy Vigor Pill just like that, how could he not be in high spirits?

The moment Wushu stepped foot into the VIP room, the servant sent by Zhao Zhenlu to retrieve the medicine appeared at the doorway and bowed respectfully, saying, "Lord Wushu, acting on the Prince's orders, this humble servant has brought the ten Minor Vigor Pills."

Turning around to receive the pill bottle, Wushu replied, "I have accepted the Minor Vigor Pills. You may return to report to your master!"

As a servant closely attending to Zhao Zhenlu, he naturally possessed keen perception. The servant bowed and backed away, saying, "My lords, this humble servant will now return to make his report."

The royal family of the Kun Kingdom had sent ten Minor Vigor Pills for Wushu. Although the medicinal efficacy of three Minor Vigor Pills roughly equaled that of one Great Vigor Pill, Minor Vigor Pills could not match the Great Vigor Pill's ability to rapidly restore a cultivator's exhausted energy.

Even though ten Minor Vigor Pills equated to the efficacy of three Great Vigor Pills, Zhao Fenxing felt displeased when she considered that the royal family hadn't simply given Wushu three Great Vigor Pills directly. She scoffed sarcastically, "Ten Minor Vigor Pills? The royal family of the Kun Kingdom is truly generous, aren't they?"

Taking out the pill bottle given by Zhao Zhenlu and removing its stopper, a rich medicinal fragrance wafted out. Wushu said calmly, "There is also one Frenzy Vigor Pill."

As a tier-two pill, the Frenzy Vigor Pill was an exceptional recovery medicine, even for cultivators at the early stage of the Qi-Exceeding Realm. Upon smelling the fragrance and recognizing that Wushu indeed held a Frenzy Vigor Pill, Zhao Fenxing grew satisfied and remarked, "That's more like it."

Wushu wasn't very familiar with the lore of pills on the Thick Earth Continent, but Zhao Fenxing was well-versed in it. She explained, "Although the efficacy of three Minor Vigor Pills equals that of one Great Vigor Pill, a cultivator absorbs Minor Vigor Pills very slowly to recover their body. The Frenzy Vigor Pill is different; not only does it rapidly help a cultivator recover the earth energy in their Dantian, but it also allows the user to maintain peak combat strength within a short timeframe."

Hearing Zhao Fenxing's explanation, Wushu rejoiced, "As expected of a tier-two pill!"

At the same time, Wushu was blooming with joy internally. With the assistance of such a Frenzy Vigor Pill, fighting others would be like having an extra life. Speaking frankly back in the battle pavilion had truly paid off.

Having witnessed how the direct descendants of the Eight Great Families in Imperial Kun City looked down upon the Minor Vigor Pills, Wushu had initially assumed the pills were not only mediocre in effectiveness but might also cause some degree of bodily harm. He hadn't expected that the Minor Vigor Pill merely lacked speed in recovery and didn't completely restore internal mystic energy. Pulling out two Minor Vigor Pills, Wushu swallowed them directly and said calmly, "These Minor Vigor Pills are quite decent after all. Three of them equal one Great Vigor Pill. I must give my all in the upcoming tournament, and over the next hour or so, I'll just take two Minor Vigor Pills to test their medicinal effect."

After swallowing the two Minor Vigor Pills, Wushu sat cross-legged on the ground.

At that moment, a person very familiar to Wushu arrived on the first floor of the Beast Capturing Hall—none other than Wu Ergou, the captain of the Wu family guards.

Upon entering the Beast Capturing Hall, Wu Ergou did not head toward the spectator seating on the first floor. Instead, he walked straight toward a Beast Capturing Hall maidservant. As he approached her, the maidservant saw a black token appear in Wu Ergou's hand. Just as she was about to ask a question, Wu Ergou stated, "Take me to see your Manager Zhao!"

The Black Iron Token! Even if she had never laid eyes on a Black Iron Token before, the hammer spirit-inscriptions carved upon it gave the maidservant an extraordinary feeling. As a maidservant of the Beast Capturing Hall, she possessed basic common sense; tokens bearing a hammer emblem almost universally originated from the Blacksmith Alliance.

Guided by the maidservant, Wu Ergou soon arrived outside Manager Zhao's room. Just as the maidservant was about to speak, Manager Zhao's voice came from within: "What is the urgent matter?"

The maidservant answered somewhat flusteredly, "My lord, an esteemed guest holding a black iron token wishes to see you."

A black iron token?

Could it be a Black Iron Token? But that couldn't be right, could it? The Black Iron Token of the Kun Kingdom's Wu family had vanished long ago.

Manager Zhao inside the room was similarly baffled as to who could possibly hold a Black Iron Token and demand to see him. Hurriedly opening the door, Manager Zhao maintained a smiling face despite Wu Ergou's ordinary attire, asking politely, "May I ask where this esteemed blacksmith comes from?"

Wu Ergou cast a deliberate glance at the adjacent maidservant. Manager Zhao quickly caught on and commanded, "Step away. If there are any important matters, I will give instructions later."

After the maidservant bowed and retreated, Wu Ergou stepped directly into Manager Zhao's room. Placing the Black Iron Token upon the table, he cut straight to the point: "The matter is urgent. I wish to see your Hall Master."

Wu Ergou hadn't wasted a single superfluous word, demanding to see the Hall Master right off the bat—leaving Manager Zhao completely bewildered. Powerful though the Blacksmith Alliance might be, the Beast Capturing Hall had very little business dealings with them. Was the Hall Master of the Beast Capturing Hall someone just anyone could demand to see?

As Manager Zhao stepped forward to pour a cup of tea for Wu Ergou, he replied tactfully, "Esteemed guest, if you wish to see the Hall Master, you must at least state your origins and explain what business you have with our master, no?"

The tea of the Beast Capturing Hall possessed a truly rich and fragrant aroma. Unable to resist, Wu Ergou picked up the tea cup before him and drained it in one gulp, exclaiming with a refreshed spirit, "Such fine tea! I haven't tasted anything like this in a very long time."

Wu Ergou's boorish tea-drinking manners truly opened Manager Zhao's eyes.

Looking back at Manager Zhao, Wu Ergou said in a deep voice, "No, you've probably misunderstood. I produced this token because I wish to see your former Hall Master."

At these words, Manager Zhao's hands suddenly trembled as he lifted his own cup of tea, causing it to slip and shatter directly on the floor. The fact that the former Hall Master of the Beast Capturing Hall was still alive was not something just anyone was privileged to know.