"One hundred and two taels? Why don't you just go rob someone?" Benjamin Evans instantly exploded with anger. As the shopkeeper, he also had to pay part of the compensation for this kind of loss! But right now, he couldn't even come up with a single spirit coin, let alone a tael of spirit stone! He had bet everything at the gambling house on Brian Carter losing!

"Then should we go ask the sect about it?" Brian Carter patted Benjamin Evans's shoulder and whispered, "You made me lose a whole furnace of Tianbao Fulong Pills. How much do you think Baoding Pavilion should compensate for that?"

Benjamin Evans stared at Brian Carter in disbelief for a long time. According to the rumors he knew, the last-place peak lord was supposed to be pedantic and rigid, but the person in front of him was nothing like the rumors! Not only did he open his mouth to demand compensation, but he even knew how to extort.

Tianbao Fulong Pills? Those are only used by minor powerhouses at the Golden Core stage! Are you a Golden Core powerhouse? As a peak lord who hasn't even reached the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment, let alone the Immortal Bridge stage, do you refine Tianbao Fulong Pills just to worship them every day? Aren't you afraid you'll explode if you eat one? And can you even refine them? Are you a master alchemist?

"Whether I can refine them or not, what does that have to do with you? You didn't watch the pill furnace room door properly, causing this whole batch of unfinished Tianbao Fulong Pills to be ruined. That's a fact."

Brian Carter's words left Benjamin Evans with his mouth open, speechless for a long time. The pill furnace was so clean that there wasn't even a trace of medicinal energy or herbs left. If the sect sent someone to investigate, they wouldn't be able to prove what herbs had been used before, so the peak lord's words would be more credible than Benjamin Evans's.

"So, tell me, how much is the material cost for a furnace of Tianbao Fulong Pills?"

Brian Carter showed no mercy to Benjamin Evans. When he first entered Baoding Pavilion, this shopkeeper's attitude had been nothing but sarcastic and mocking. Now that it was time for extortion, he felt no guilt at all.

Benjamin Evans fell silent. He started to consider that there weren't many people around—why not take matters into his own hands? He could just say they both ended up injured. With his cultivation of six Dao Platforms, crushing this Four Treasures Peak lord in front of him would be as easy as squashing an ant!

After a moment of silence, Benjamin Evans gave up on the idea. It wasn't that he was afraid of Brian Carter, but he was worried that Brian Carter might have more than one Five Thunder Talisman in his hand. That could be the real trump card that gave him the courage to accept the Xingyao Peak duel!

"I'll pay one hundred and two taels." Benjamin Evans gritted his teeth and nodded. Compared to the cost of materials for Tianbao Fulong Pills, one hundred and two taels was really cheap! Even if the sect didn't ultimately decide to compensate for the Tianbao Fulong Pills, they'd probably settle on a middle price, which would be much more than one hundred and two taels.

"Alright! I have other matters to attend to, so I'll be leaving now." Brian Carter patted Benjamin Evans's shoulder again and strode out.

"And what about this Thomas Baker..."

"Deal with him however you want. He dared to kick in my pill furnace room door—if you kill him, even if the sect master comes, all he'll say is, 'Serves him right, well done!'" Brian Carter interrupted Benjamin Evans's question.

At that moment, a young attendant ran over. Seeing the situation and catching the look Benjamin Evans gave him, he quickly and obediently led Brian Carter out.

Benjamin Evans had no choice but to take a pill from his medicine pouch and give it to Thomas Baker. Having someone die here was never a good thing for him. As for the loss of over a hundred taels of spirit stones? No problem! When the two peaks duel later, as long as Brian Carter loses, he'll make it all back!

Brian Carter followed the attendant all the way up to the ground level. When passing by Room Thirty-Six of the Jiazi Wing again, Brian Carter walked even faster than before.

The attendant thought Brian Carter had been bragging when he passed by yesterday, so now he was embarrassed and walking quickly. He hurried to say, "Honored guest, there's no need to feel awkward. The path of alchemy is complicated—it's normal to make a wrong guess now and then."

"Awkward? Wrong guess?" Brian Carter quickened his pace as he spoke. "Why should I be embarrassed? The pill furnace in Room Thirty-Six of the Jiazi Wing should have exploded yesterday, but it still hasn't. That only means the person inside has extremely strong cultivation and is suppressing the furnace with their power. But the result of such suppression will only be a more powerful explosion. I figure it'll blow up any minute now—why wouldn't I leave? Do I want to get blown up?"

The attendant just smiled awkwardly at this explanation. He knew these immortal cultivators cared a lot about their reputation—how could they admit their mistakes in front of ordinary people? Since that was the case, why bother reminding him that there were people waiting outside all night, still wanting to beat him up?

Brian Carter collected his deposit and compensation at the front desk, then strode out of Baoding Pavilion. As for the matter of Zhong Huayun, he would study it carefully after returning to Four Treasures Peak.

The crowd gathered on the long street outside Baoding Pavilion, waiting for a spectacle, saw Brian Carter leave unscathed and wondered, what did Thomas Baker rush into Baoding Pavilion for? Everyone's already come out!

A loud explosion rumbled from underground in Baoding Pavilion, and everyone felt the ground tremble slightly under their feet. They no longer cared about Brian Carter, craning their necks to see what was happening inside Baoding Pavilion.

Chapter Twelve: Targeted by the Hundred Peaks Villains

"It... it exploded... it really exploded..."

The attendant, hearing the explosion, rushed to the scene. When he saw that it was Room Thirty-Six of the Jiazi Wing that had exploded, he was so shocked he fell to the ground, muttering to himself nonstop.