This seat! It’s this seat again! Thomas Baker originally just wanted to stir up trouble, to help his master stall the duel at Four Treasures Peak, but unexpectedly, the other party kept showing off right in front of him, every word out of his mouth was “this seat”!

“How about this, this seat happens to have some business at Baoding Pavilion. Can you wait for me a bit?” Brian Carter said to Thomas Baker, who was already clenching his fists and ready to make a move. “Wait until this seat finishes up there, then I’ll give you a pointer or two. How does that sound?”

Thomas Baker glanced back at Baoding Pavilion. He knew this furnace shop didn’t have a back door, so the other party couldn’t possibly escape. He immediately put on a malicious smile and said, “I’m really looking forward to the moment the Peak Lord walks out of Baoding Pavilion.”

Brian Carter looked at Baoding Pavilion, then at Thomas Baker, who was clearly looking for an excuse to beat him up, and said with a smile, “This seat is also looking forward to walking out of Baoding Pavilion.”

The onlookers began to whisper among themselves, asking what kind of status the Peak Lord of Four Treasures Peak held in the Hundred Peaks Sect. Why would anyone dare to challenge such a lofty figure?

Brian Carter strode toward Baoding Pavilion, secretly laughing to himself. This Thomas Baker wants to find an excuse to beat me up? Once I finish refining pills inside, I’ll just pop a pill and go full throttle. When I come out, not to mention you—even if your senior brother shows up, he’ll just be asking for a beating.

Watching Brian Carter’s confident departing figure, Thomas Baker became even more convinced that the Peak Lord of Four Treasures Peak was just as the scouts sent by his master had reported: forced breakthroughs in cultivation had led to qi deviation, and he must have entered the stage of heart demon possession, resulting in blind confidence!

Excellent! The smile on Thomas Baker’s face grew even brighter. This time, not only could he settle an old score from years ago, but more importantly, beating the other party would only deepen his heart demons, making it impossible for him to back out of the duel. When his master found out, he would surely reward him handsomely.

But… what is he going to Baoding Pavilion for? Thomas Baker couldn’t figure it out. Four Treasures Peak was so poor they could barely keep their pants up, and even the cheapest pill furnace at Baoding Pavilion was out of their reach. Besides, why would he buy a pill furnace now? Alchemy? He didn’t seem to be skilled in that. Looks like his heart demon has clouded his judgment. Four Treasures Peak is probably going to be ruined by him.

Chapter 9: He’s About to Blow Up the Furnace, What’s There to Evaluate

Brian Carter walked into Baoding Pavilion, and his Peak Lord attire immediately drew everyone’s attention.

A young attendant, seeing the Peak Lord’s robes, hurriedly quickened his pace and bent forward to greet him, but was stopped by the chubby shopkeeper munching on sunflower seeds, who reached out and blocked him, scolding, “You see Peak Lord’s robes and just rush up? Even Peak Lords can be paupers! This one right here is.”

The attendant quickly stopped in his tracks. He knew that their shopkeeper, Benjamin Evans, was also a disciple of the Hundred Peaks Sect. Because their lineage’s pill furnace craftsmanship was among the best in the sect, they had established Baoding Pavilion.

Hearing Benjamin Evans’s voice, Brian Carter couldn’t help but take a few more glances at the shopkeeper. He couldn’t even recognize all the Peak Lords of the Hundred Peaks, yet this shopkeeper recognized him? Pretty dedicated! He must have memorized the portraits of all the Peak Lords.

“I’d like to rent a pill furnace and refine a batch of pills,” Brian Carter said, greeting the attendant beside the shopkeeper. “The cheapest kind, and give me a pill refining room—the cheapest one as well.”

The attendant looked at Benjamin Evans with even more admiration, while Benjamin Evans raised his brows in surprise. He thought the Four Treasures Peak Lord was just here to browse, but he didn’t expect him to actually want to rent a pill furnace.

Spitting out his sunflower seed husk, Benjamin Evans said, “We require payment up front. The worst pill furnace at Baoding Pavilion costs one tael of spirit stones per day, plus the ground fire fee for the room, and a one-tael deposit, so that’s three taels per day. How many days do you want to rent?”

“One day.” Brian Carter reached into his sleeve for the one hundred taels of spirit stones from Elder Tongdie.

“One day?” Benjamin Evans forgot to spit out his sunflower seed husk, staring at Brian Carter as if he were an idiot. Even the simplest Gathering Spirit Pill takes ten days to refine. One day? Are you just here for a tour?

“Yes, one day! Give me the change.” Brian Carter placed one hundred taels of spirit stones in front of Benjamin Evans.

One hundred taels? Benjamin Evans looked at the spirit stones in front of him, thinking, did Brian Carter sell his disciples? Where did he get so much money? Isn’t Four Treasures Peak so poor they can’t even cook a meal?

The attendant was already busy fetching ninety-seven taels of spirit stones as change. Although Benjamin Evans looked down on a Peak Lord whose cultivation was even weaker than his own, he couldn’t help but ask out of curiosity, “What’s the point of renting for just one day?”

“Alchemy.” Brian Carter took the ninety-eight taels of spirit stones the attendant returned and said, “This seat needs to coordinate some pills for training with my disciples, doesn’t he?”

Benjamin Evans’s smile was rather forced, and he sneered inwardly: You have the nerve to call yourself ‘this seat’? What kind of pills can you refine in a day? Are you trying to poison your disciples? There are rumors outside that you’ve gone mad from qi deviation. I used to think you spread those rumors yourself to mislead Xingyao Peak, but now it seems you really have lost your mind!

“Honored Peak Lord, this way please.” The attendant, a mere mortal, still maintained enough respect as he led the way for Brian Carter.

Watching Brian Carter head toward the underground Gui Room in the backyard, Benjamin Evans quickly called over another attendant and said, “You all watch the shop carefully. I’m going to the gambling house for a bit, I’ll be right back.”