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Chapter 208 – Escalation

"Are you saying you\'ve spared my life?" Mr. Darma exuded strong pressure on everyone in the room. His mind, enhanced by his stage, was multiple times stronger than theirs, making them distort their face in pain.

"It\'s not what he meant, Mr. Darma. He only wanted to say he is sincere about coming in peace; he is still a child and is not well-versed in negotiating and communicating with others. You know how geniuses can be… quirky," Tiffany hurried to defuse the tense atmosphere.

"Since you are in a closed house with me, don\'t forget to be polite. What do you have to offer in return for peace?" Mr. Darma removed his pressure and agreed to talk.

"I can offer you some of my improved fourth-rank recipes, but I can\'t give my fifth-rank ones. They took me a lot of research," Ken said with an innocent voice.

\'No, damn it, if you aren\'t planning to give them, don\'t mention them!\' Tiffany screamed in her mind. Ken was horrible at negotiating.

"Improved fifth-rank recipes? Which pills and by how much did you improve them?" His curiosity was piqued, and Darma hurried to ask for additional details. His breath was slightly hurried by his greed.

"Mr. Darma, I\'m sure he only improved the recipes by an abysmal value, and there is no practical difference between the original recipes, but his fourth-rank recipes can offer a lot of inspiration" Tiffany quickly intervened and tried to switch the topic.

"What? No way! I\'m a talented alchemist and would not claim to improve the pill when the results aren\'t practical. I\'ve improved the Qi Absorption Pill by 20%, and the Nascent Soul Condensation by 18%. Anyone would pay triple the price for my pills!"

Ken exclaimed proudly, making the situation worse.

\'Argh, I forgot he was still a child and unfamiliar with the way the world works. He keeps enticing Mr. Darma!\'

"That is indeed amazing! I have another offer for you. How about studying under me?" Darma said with a friendly smile.

"Under you?"

"Yes. You can spend your days researching peacefully, and I will be there to give you advice as an experienced sixth-rank alchemist. I will also take care of selling everything and supplying you with resources to continue your research. What do you say?" Mr. Darma said excitedly. If Ken says yes, he will have access to the prodigy child\'s findings!

"Hmm, how old are you, Mr. Darma?" Ken asked in a pondering voice.

"I\'m nearly 300 years old, I have a lot of experience and research materials to share," Darma said proudly.

While they talked, Maria secretly approached the team of four from behind. She gave them small bottles containing some pills and whispered something in their ears. The four nodded and clenched their teeth in frustration.

"And you are still so bad at your craft that you need a child\'s work as a source of inspiration? Do you really think I will degrade myself to being under someone without even half my talent?" Ken asked condescendingly.

"You! You should\'ve run away to your sect and asked for help. Since you are here with me, don\'t expect to go back!" Darma shouted in rage when he was belittled and raised his hand to attack.

Just as he did, the formations in the house were activated, and he felt powerful suppression that lowered his prowess by a major stage.

His attack, a wave of Fire Qi, almost completely dissipated from the shock of the swift change, and Tiffany appeared in front of Ken and deflected the weakened attack.

"Good, very good! You choose to stand by his side against me, a man from the same kingdom, you traitor! I will make you regret your actions!"

He took out a sixth-rank scroll and channeled his Qi into it, and the pressure disappeared. At the same time, everyone else took out bottles of pills and poured them into their mouths.

"Argh," different moans of pain resounded in the room while their bodies went through some changes. Their muscles, core, and souls were boosted. Even their affinities were upgraded.

"Kneel before a superior being!" Darma, who just finished activating the scroll, said with a powerful voice and pressured them again with his mind. He had to distribute the pressure between 6 cultivators, but his mind was strong enough to achieve it. His enemies were only at the fifth stage, and Ken was even lower than that.

However, to his surprise, his mind did not give him the advantage he sought. Earlier, Maria distributed bottles of pills to everyone, and there was a pill to boost one\'s mind as well. The pills\' effects were only temporary, but they\'d be enough for the battle.

Everyone grimaced but held their ground against the pressure.

"Mr. Darma, it\'s not too late to back down! Ken is a good child, even if a bit prideful!" Tiffany shouted in a futile attempt to calm down the raging alchemist.

"I will capture him, and there\'s nothing you can say to change my mind. If you don\'t stand back, don\'t blame me for being cruel!"

Ken only smiled coldly beneath his mask; there was no way he\'d let someone that tried to capture him go. The whole thing about negotiation was a ruse he used to rope in the group of cultivators since he could not hold an intermediate sixth-stage cultivator on his own until the formations activate.

"We will fight together, we can win! We only need to hold out for 15 minutes until the scroll is consumed!" Ken lifted his allies\' morale. They saw earlier how strong the formations were; if they could survive long enough for the formations to reactivate, they\'d be able to win.

"15 minutes? The scroll can suppress a sixth-rank formation for 300 minutes, are you saying there are 20 formations in this hall alone?" Darma asked in sadistic laughter.

"Oh, you would be surprised," Ken replied. He didn\'t mind talking with his opponent. The clock was ticking.

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A/N (2nd August):

I added some foreshadowing in chapters 143, 146, and 191 to (far) future scenes. Just a couple of sentences. It doesn\'t change anything in the plot, so up to you whether you think it\'s worth rereading these chapters or not. I\'m sorry for the inconvenience, and thank you for your support!