In a side hall of Juhua Studio.
Within the Purple Sun Sect, Juhua Studio was not only the largest spirit medicine shop on Spirit Medicine Street but also had an incredibly deep background. Normally, any major events in the Pharmacist Realm were held here.
Take, for example, these Spirit Medicine duels. Other spirit medicine shops were simply not equipped to host them.
But here at Juhua Studio, it was possible.
Moreover, for every such duel, a true Great Pharmacist would be present to act as a judge, ensuring fairness and impartiality.
So, when Yang Xiao and his group arrived and stated their purpose, a Steward from Juhua Studio quickly stepped forward.
This Steward was a middle-aged man dressed in a cyan-gray robe. It seemed understated, but the special quality of the fabric was clearly high-grade.
With a smile on his face, he looked at Yang Xiao's group and asked, "I wonder who will be participating in the Spirit Medicine duel? Is this a one-on-one duel or a multi-person competition? Also, will you require our establishment to provide the Spirit Medicines?"
"Of course, it's a one-on-one duel. As for the Spirit Medicines, since we've come to Juhua Studio, we'll naturally be using yours. Yang Xiao, you don't have a problem with that, do you?"
Ye Chenghao interjected.
He had recovered his composure by now. He felt that he had lost some face by not agreeing to fight Yang Xiao on the Life and Death Platform earlier, so he was determined not to let him steal the spotlight again.
"That's fine."
Yang Xiao gave a noncommittal nod.
From his predecessor's memories, he knew that Spirit Medicine duels were actually quite simple. In a one-on-one duel, each person would present a Spirit Medicine of the same grade. A small piece would be cut off for the opponent to identify its medicinal properties. The opponent would then write down these properties on paper, which would be submitted to the judge for scoring.
The more detailed and accurate the description, the higher the score. Furthermore, the judging results would be announced publicly to demonstrate fairness and impartiality.
In the end, the person with the highest score would be the winner.
The winner would receive the opponent's Spirit Medicine. Of course, if that were all, Yang Xiao wouldn't be too interested, as these duels typically only involved First-Grade Spirit Medicines.
Their value was limited. However, these matches often involved additional, unrestricted side bets.
And that was what interested Yang Xiao.
"Very well. Next is the Spirit Medicine selection. Gentlemen, who would like to go first?"
"Yang Xiao, I'll let you choose first. What do you say? Do you dare?"
Ye Chenghao said with a sinister smile.
Yang Xiao didn't know where this guy got his confidence from, but it didn't matter who went first or second. Besides, he was quite curious to see the Spirit Medicines stored at Juhua Studio.
This was an opportunity he wouldn't miss.
He immediately took a step forward. "Steward, please lead the way."
The Steward from Juhua Studio smiled faintly and led Yang Xiao away.
As for Ye Chenghao, he sat back leisurely in an armchair, crossing his legs as if victory were already in his grasp.
...
"Young Master Yang, this is Juhua Studio's Level 1 medicine storeroom. It contains one hundred twenty-eight types of First-Grade Spirit Medicines, totaling three thousand six hundred fifty plants. You may choose any one you wish."
The Steward spoke gently, showing no sign of disrespect despite knowing Yang Xiao was not a Pharmacist. He clearly had excellent etiquette.
Yang Xiao nodded politely, but his gaze was already fixed on the storeroom's contents. The layout was very orderly. Each Spirit Medicine was kept in a special container to preserve its medicinal properties.
Spirit Medicines of the same type were placed in the same compartment, labeled with their names.
Yang Xiao walked over to one of the compartments, pointed at a box, and asked, "May I open this box and look at the Spirit Medicine inside?"
"Of course. You just can't damage the Spirit Medicine. If there are any signs of damage, you will be required to purchase it, Young Master."
"Don't worry, I'm just looking."
Yang Xiao nodded slightly and took a Spirit Medicine box from the first compartment.
There were two lines of text on the Spirit Medicine box. The larger line was the name of the Spirit Medicine, and the smaller line indicated its grade.
It confirmed that the box contained a Centennial Purple Ginseng, one of the most common First-Grade Spirit Medicines.
Yang Xiao opened it and saw that it was indeed a purple ginseng. With a light sniff, he identified the Centennial Purple Ginseng's medicinal properties, closed the box, and moved on to the next compartment.
He continued on in this manner.
The Steward, standing off to the side, found it a bit strange. He didn't understand why Yang Xiao was opening and examining a Spirit Medicine from every single compartment. However, from what he could see, the young man wasn't doing anything out of line, so the Juhua Studio Steward did not stop him.
A flicker of curiosity, however, sparked within him.
Yang Xiao didn't waste much time. Though there were many Spirit Medicines, there weren't many types—only a hundred or so. Soon enough, he had looked through all of them.
He now felt even more confident about the upcoming duel.
'So that's how it is. I was worried I'd lose points for only knowing the medicinal properties but not the names. But now I see that every Spirit Medicine here is labeled with its name, so this should be foolproof. All that's left is to see what tricks Ye Chenghao has up his sleeve.'
With a thought, Yang Xiao made his choice. He pointed to a compartment containing the rarest Spirit Medicine and said, "I've decided. I'll choose that one."
"That one? You have a keen eye, Young Master. The medicinal properties of Spider King Grass are quite unique. Ordinary Pharmacists rarely use it, so I imagine not many people would recognize it. I will get it for you right away."
At this, the Steward grew even more curious about Yang Xiao.
Having chosen the Spirit Medicine, Yang Xiao and the Steward returned to the main hall.
The Steward said to Ye Chenghao, "Young Master, please select your Spirit Medicine."
But, to his surprise, Ye Chenghao shook his head, gave Yang Xiao a sinister smile, and said, "Brother Wang, it's your turn to take the stage!"
As soon as he said this, the surrounding onlookers were all stunned.
Immediately after, a man in a green robe stepped out from behind Ye Chenghao. Upon seeing him, the expressions of many in the crowd changed slightly.
They had clearly recognized the man.
"Despicable! He's swapping someone in at the last minute!"
Instantly, someone who couldn't stand the injustice shouted out.
The rest of the onlookers also began to jeer.
They all felt that Ye Chenghao was truly shameless.
"Despicable? If you had the ability, you could swap someone in too. But I, Ye Chenghao, would love to know who on Medicine Peak would dare oppose Brother Wang for a piece of trash like you!"
Faced with the accusations, not only did Ye Chenghao feel no shame, he was actually smug about it. His last sentence was a blatant threat.
"That's right. I, Wang Kaitai, may not be much, but I'd also like to see which junior brother is willing to make this bet against me."
It wasn't just Ye Chenghao who was shameless; the green-robed man, despite his arrogant expression, was just as much so.
Given his status, when he said that, those weaker than him wouldn't dare to bet against him, and those stronger wouldn't dare either. All because he was Wang Kaitai.