Chapter 48: Upgraded Face Slapping
Another hour had passed, but the area before the display tables was still full of guests. Each guest had a great attachment, and were reluctant to part with the contents on the tables.
“Incredible, it truly is ‘one who’s not afraid of not recognizing value, but rather is afraid of a side by side comparison’. This Heavenly Karma Pill, whether in terms of potency, spiritual aura, or outward appearances, are all an instant kill towards the Pill of Dragon and Tiger Blood.”
“The Hall of Healing is truly worthy to be called such. The first heavyweight in spirit medicine in the kingdom absolutely doesn’t hold an unearned reputation.”
“The Pill King Garden wanted to make use of this opportunity to suppress the Hall of Healing. Who would’ve thought that after creating such a large hubbub, the Hall of Healing still had superior tactics. Looks like the Pill King Garden has failed in face slapping, and rather slapped their own instead.”
“Such exquisite perfection, absolutely exquisite perfection. I’ve decided to choose this Heavenly Karma Pill in the future. To be honest, after seeing the Heaven Karma Pill, I feel all other healing panaceas are complete trash.”
“Hallmaster Qiao, when can this Heavenly Karma Pill be purchased?”
Some senior executive from the Pill King Garden left the Hall’s display tables with a darkened face, returning to the Pill King Garden’s side.
“Grand Courtmaster, it’s too abnormal!”
“What’s going on? Is that Heavenly Karma Pill really that good?” Courtmaster Wang’s breathing became hurried.
“Grand Courtmaster, that pill is likely even a bit better than what Qiao Baishi described it as. Grand Courtmaster, we were played by the Hall of Healing!”
“What?!” It was as if Courtmaster Wang’s chest had suffered a heavy impact, his face abruptly becoming ashen white.
Master Violet had been sitting there without the slightest stir when those fey eyes also suddenly opened, shooting out blue light.
“What did you say? The Hall of Healing’s pill is better than my Pill of Dragon and Tiger Blood?” Master Violet absolutely didn’t believe that such a pill could exist in a common kingdom like the Eastern Kingdom.
But the truth, irrefutable like metal, had fully answered this question.
In the span of a moment, the guests and stores that the Pill King Garden had invited had all surged towards the Hall of Healing’s side. There were no exceptions.
They were all planning on ordering from the Hall of Healing, and in fact, were striving to be first and feared to lag behind.
This was in stark contrast to the Pill King Garden’s side. Apart from a few staunch supporters, it was cold and cheerless - a deserted house that was possible to catch sparrows on its doorstep.
“How can this be?” Courtmaster Wang found it difficult to accept the situation in front of him.
He had planned so much for today, and prepared so long for this day of glory.
Finally, the historical moment had arrived today. He thought that the Pill King Garden being disadvantaged towards the Hall of Healing would become a thing of the past starting today.
Starting today, the Pill King Garden would advance triumphantly, and rebuff the Hall of Healing every step of the way!
Yet, harsh reality had dealt him a severe slap, causing him to suddenly fall down when he had climbed to the highest peak.
The Hall of Healing had used a way that they took the most pride in, to severely fling a slap at the Pill King Garden!
The Pill of Dragon and Tiger Blood?
Dominate the healing panacea market?
Their hopes and dreams were quite full, but their reality was quite shallow!
The Hall of Healing’s “Heavenly Karma Pill” had easy demolished all of their previous preparations. Their long fermented attack had been easily dispelled.
How was this a battle between equals? This was practically knocking on their door and asking to be tortured.
Courtmaster Wang suddenly understood why Qiao Baishi looked completely at ease. It turned out that he had long prepared a severe counterattack, and was only waiting for the Pill King Garden to hop in with both feet.
Failure, a complete and utter failure!
“Courtmaster Wang, we must not be dejected. The Hall of Healing had an advantage in the healing panacea market to begin with. It doesn’t mean much that the advantage is in their hands right now. We still have the Qi Replenishing Pill and the Crane Heart Pill. We still lead the Hall of Healing in these two areas!”
“Right, let them strut for a while this time. Our Pill King Garden still has our advantages!”
The senior executives of the Pill King Garden started comforting themselves.
However, their self comforting didn’t last too long. Qiao Baishi suddenly stood up again on the hall exhibition stage, and spread his hands downwards. “Sirs, we will not be accepting preorders for the Heavenly Karma Pill today. If everyone is still interested, you can apply to preorder it at the Hall of Healing starting tomorrow. Moreover, I have another piece of good news to tell everyone here.”
More good news?
The fervent guests present had calmed down somewhat. The “Heavenly Karma Pill” that the Hall of Healing had introduced was simply too shocking. Therefore, they wished to see what other surprises the Hall of Healing would have for everyone?
Qiao Baishi smiled, “This time, the Hall of Healing is prepared to introduce en masse the pill medicines that we have been researching the past couple of years. Apart from the Heavenly Karma Pill, we will also be introducing two more pill medicines. One of them is the qi replenishing Vast Ocean Pill, the other is the heart calming One Buddha Powder.”
Qi replenishing arena, heart calming arena.
Those present were all smart people and immediately understood that the pill medicines the Hall of Healing was introducing were very targeted. It was patently obvious that they were targeting the Pill King Garden.
Those two arenas were the two that the Pill King Garden were originally most adept in.
Could it be that the Hall of Healing was also planning on intervening in these two arenas this time? Was this the tempo of thoroughly beating down the Pill King Garden?
The faces of the senior executives of the Pill King Garden changed drastically. Their confidence had already been crushed to pieces by the Heavenly Karma Pill earlier. They immediately had a sense of danger that the wolf was coming when they heard Qiao Baishi’s words.
Courtmater Wang only felt a cold draft on the back of his head as cold sweat suddenly poured out. A bad premonition started rising uncontrollably from his heart.
He had a bad feeling. Not only had the setup that he’d prepared painstakingly, been completely dissolved by the Hall of Healing, but the Hall had also prepared a quick and forceful retaliation and was about to lure the Pill King Garden into a fatal trap by random blows!
Courtmaster Wang was well aware that if the two areas of the Qi Replenishing Pill and the Crane Heart Pill were defeated by the Hall of Healing, then armageddon undoubtedly awaited the Pill King Garden.
After all, a large part of why the Pill King Garden could find its footing in the capital and become the third heavyweight in the spirit medicine field in the Eastern Kingdom was due to the Qi Replenishing Pill and the Crane Heart Pill.
More than sixty to seventy percent of their revenue was derived from these two pill medicines.
If they lost their advantages in these two pill medicines, then the Pill King Garden would have utterly lost all of its advantages, and be no different from those small stores.
Except, the workings of this world was that whatever you were afraid of would be what came your way.
Under the gazes of all present. Qiao Baishi wore a smile that exuded confidence, and had a measured tone that was neither too hurried nor too slow. “Sirs, everyone knows that the pill medicines currently on the market can at most only recover thirty percent of true qi. The Vast Ocean Pill that the Hall is about to introduce can, in the worst case scenario, recover forty percent true qi, and fifty percent under normal conditions. If it’s an upper rank Vast Ocean Pill, then it can even recover sixty percent! And dosage can be repeated after just an hour, while repeated dosages will not impact effects in the slightest.”
“What, recover at least forty percent?”
“Recover fifty percent true qi under normal conditions? Is… is this a joke?”
“An upper rank Vast Ocean Pill can recover sixty percent? My gosh, if this is in battle, a few upper rank Vast Ocean Pills will greatly increase battle strength!”
Everyone know that the technical requirements of a qi recovery pill were high. The most expensive pill medicine on the market was the Pill King Garden’s Qi Replenishing Pill. It could recover thirty percent, with its effects being slightly adversely impacted with repeated dosage after an hour.
But the Vast Ocean Pill that Qiao Baishi spoke of could recover forty percent under the worst conditions, fifty percent under normal conditions,and even sixty percent with an upper rank pill. This was basically a disruptive breakthrough.
One had to know that the Qi Replenishing Pill had occupied the advantage for more than two hundred years in the arena of qi recovery. That was to say, no technical advancement had occurred in this arena for a full two hundred years.
One could see how incredibly difficult it was to obtain a breakthrough in the qi recovery arena.
But the Hall of Healing’s breakthrough had come too quickly and was too frightening! It was absolutely a disruptive innovation.
“Hallmaster Qiao, since this Vast Ocean Pill is so amazing, will it come with a whoppingly high price?”
“Indeed, ordinary folk will be unable to use it if it’s too expensive.”
Qiao Baishi smiled. “According to the calculations of our cost of goods sold, the Vast Ocean Pill that recovers forty percent of true qi will be priced the same as the current best product on the market - the Qi Replenishing Pill. Prices will double for pills that recover fifty percent, and double yet again for those that recover sixty percent.”
Every ten percent increase in effectiveness would lead to a doubling of price.
This price was quite reasonable. To recover an additional ten percent of true qi in battle was incredibly meaningful to a practitioner in battle.
“Hallmaster Qiao, you’re not joking are you?”
“Indeed, a pill that recovers forty percent true qi is priced the same as one that recovers thirty percent? Then we only recognize the Vast Ocean Pill!”
“Hallmaster Qiao, I want to preorder a hundred pills!
“I want two hundred pills!”
“And me…”
It was a scene of chaos as everyone realized a new era had arrived in the qi recovery arena! With such fabulous effects, why would one wait for its price to rise after it had cornered the market, instead of fighting for it now?
Everyone thought that the reason the Hall of Healing had set such a low price for the Vast Ocean Pill was surely because of them suppressing the Pill King Garden.
Such low prices would definitely not continue for long. Prices for the Vast Ocean Pill were sure to inflate after it had thoroughly beaten its competitors on the market.
Everyone was smart, and so were desperately fighting to preorder early!
Qiao Baishi pressed down with his hands and smiled. “Sirs, the same sentence holds. We will not accept preorders today. And, I can also promise that we will not inflate prices without rhyme or reason. Unless the price for the spirit medicine ingredients inflate, we will never increase prices!”
Qiao Baishi was well aware that the Vast Ocean Pill was the result of a superior pill recipe. When it came to the spirit medicine ingredients for the Vast Ocean Pill, its costs were possibly even lower than the Qi Replenishing Pill.
The Hall of Healing’s advantage were actually the advantages that the young duke Jiang Chen had brought.
Never increase prices!
This promise prompted a series of cheers from the gathering and applause sounded like thunder in the span of a moment. One had to say, Qiao Baishi’s bearing had conquered all the guests present.
When the Pill King Garden had exhibited that so called Pill of Dragon and Tiger Blood, it had been quite arrogant. The Qi Replenishing Pill had also often opportunistically changed prices, skyrocketing in times of need.
The Hall of Healing was the first heavyweight of the spirit medicine world after all. With these manners, this bearing wasn’t something that the Pill King Garden could match!
“Faugh! When I get home, I’m throwing that Qi Replenishing Pill into the latrines!”
“Right? Randomly increasing prices for no reason, as if they’re the only ones who know how to refine a qi recovery pill!”
“Standing up well to comparison. Looks like the pill medicine market truly needs the Hall of Healing at the helm. And only the Hall of Healing has this kind of right and bearing.”
“I’ve decided. I’m going to apply for a premier membership card at the Hall of Healing tomorrow and be a customer for life!”
The previously neutral guests all naturally stood on the side of the Hall of Healing after receiving Qiao Baishi’s promise.
Even a lot of the Pill King Garden’s old clients couldn’t resist temptation after seeing such enormous profits. They could also fully see that the Garden’s Qi Replenishing Pill was done for!
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