A moment later...
One of the two seventh-rank spirit forge masters sitting in the seats of honor took a sip of tea and asked the other seventh-rank spirit forge master beside him, "Brother Zhou, don’t you think it’s time to talk business?"
The latter nodded and gestured with his hand. "Brother Li, after you."
The first man said humbly, "Brother Zhou, you are a few years my senior. It’s better if you start."
The latter laughed and waved it off. "Ah, everyone sitting here is a master of forging. We cannot determine seniority simply by age. Among the thirty-six seventh-rank spirit forge masters registered in Fanzhou, who doesn't know that you, Brother Li, are firmly ranked in the top three? It really should be you."
"Haha, those are just empty titles. They don't mean much."
"Brother Li, please don't refuse. After you!"
The two of them pushed the responsibility back and forth while not forgetting to flatter one another, until the latter finally yielded.
He raised his tea in a toast. "Fine, then I shall accept with due respect."
He drank half the cup, coughed lightly, and pressed his hand down to signal for silence. "Everyone, quiet down."
Upon hearing his voice, the crowd stopped their idle chatter. All eyes turned toward them, and a silence fell over the room.
In the Jiangnan region of the Central Plains, there was a tower called the Half-Step Human Realm.
This tower was not a sect, nor a chamber of commerce, nor a family clan.
It stood independent of the Three Sects, the Hundred Schools, and the thousands of other sects and gates.
It had always maintained neutrality.
Its connections were incredibly vast. Rumor had it that the master of the Half-Step Human Realm had power that could reach the heavens.
A single high tower gathered all the intelligence and information in the entire world.
It was said that as long as you had enough chips, if something existed in this world—whether you wanted to find an item, a person, or a piece of news—you could get what you desired there.
This tower did not just deal in intelligence.
It also enjoyed creating rankings for the people of this world.
Cultivation realms, natural talent, forging, alchemy, formations, talismans—it even included the demons of the East Desolation in its records.
It had dedicated a specific volume solely to spirit forgers.
It recorded one immortal forge master.
Three ninth-rank spirit forgers.
Eight eighth-rank spirit forgers.
Thirty-six seventh-rank spirit forgers.
Below that, it kept no records.
The two men in the seats of honor were both on that list.
The one dressed as a scholar, who looked younger and more refined, was named Li Xun.
He was ranked third among the seventh-rank spirit forgers and came from Shanhai Academy.
The one with a full beard who appeared older was named Zhou Yashan. His rank among the seventh-rank spirit forgers was relatively lower—twenty-fifth or twenty-sixth, it was hard to remember exactly. He came from the Wanxian Chamber of Commerce.
Without a doubt, they were the true main force of this plan and the source of confidence for everyone present.
With these two here, let alone Xu Xian, they wouldn't even fear the other seventh-rank spirit forge master from the Wendao Sect if he showed up.
As for the other seventh-rank spirit forger, Han Yi, and Xu Xian's master, Ruan Hao, their cultivations were both above the eighth stage. Even if they had the inclination, they could not set foot here.
Seeing that everyone was silent, Li Xun smiled warmly and said, "It is getting late. We should discuss the business at hand."
Someone from below flattered him immediately.
"Master Li, Master Zhou, whatever you say, we will do."
"Exactly. We shall follow the arrangements of the two masters in all things," the other eleven people also chimed in to state their positions.
Two seventh-rank masters and twelve sixth-rank masters—this was the strength of the Seven Great Forging Workshops in Demon-Slaying City.
It was no exaggeration to say they almost rivaled the level of the Wendao Sect's entire Zhujian Peak.
Master Li waved his hand and said slowly, "We can't put it that way. We must discuss things together to avoid suspicion or misunderstandings that might ruin our business. I'm sure everyone knows the situation. The Little Grand-Uncle of the Wendao Sect reopened his forging workshop today. I've brought you all here because I want to hear your thoughts on this..."
Zhou Yashan added at the right moment, "Indeed. Everyone, feel free to speak your minds."
Hearing this, the group stopped being so formal and began to discuss among themselves, each offering their own opinion.
"That brat immediately dropped the price to three beasts, one less than us. Isn't he just trying to start a price war? We'll just fight him then."
"Well said. If he charges three, we charge three. If he gives away items, we give away items too."
Someone expressed concern. "If the prices are the same, do we really have an advantage? How about we drop to the bottom? Seven beasts for a high-tier earth weapon, four for a mid-tier, and for the low-tier, if he charges three, we charge two. I don't believe he’d dare to follow that. We’ll grind him right into the dirt."
In a price war, the logic was naturally that if you are cheap, I am cheaper—simple, crude, and direct.
However...
Everything has a cost, and merchants always prioritize profit.
Taking low-grade earth weapons as an example, two beasts were currently worth just over 3,000 spirit stones at market price, while the cost of a single earth weapon was just under 2,000 spirit stones.
There was profit to be made.
But they couldn't forget that unlike Xu Xian, who was just one person, they had operational costs, transportation costs, and so on. Adding it all up, that price would only allow them to break even. It would be as if they were all working for nothing.
Wouldn't that just be benefiting others?
It would make their own labor look incredibly cheap.
Furthermore...
They had to consider price fluctuations. If a large number of earth weapons were produced, it would inevitably cause a surge in the consumption of immortal gold, leading to a rise in raw material prices.
And as the Seven Great Forging Workshops went into full production, combined with the increase in the number of hunted demons after spring, the price of fifth-grade beasts would also fluctuate significantly.
Even if they transported them back to the Central Plains to sell separately, the price would inevitably drop as the Wendao Sect's monopoly collapsed.
If they truly followed that person's suggestion, they might end up losing money.
These people had lived for several hundred years at the very least. While there might be one or two hotheaded individuals, the rest were all old foxes.
They could calculate these accounts in the blink of an eye.
"Inappropriate."
"I also feel it's inappropriate. We might not even cover our costs like that."
"True. Three beasts seems to be the limit for now. At most, we can give away more gifts. If they give one third-rank pill, we'll just give two."
"Exactly. Even at the same price, we have Master Zhou and Master Li backing us. What does that brat have to compete with us?"
The crowd talked all at once, first rejecting the plan to drop prices further than Xu Xian, then discussing how to simply add more gifts on top of his prices.
Finally, they did not forget to flatter the two masters again.
Kind words were always pleasant to hear.
The two were no exception; they felt the group's reasoning was sound.
They were prestigious seventh-rank masters with famous reputations.
Xu Xian was just a minor sixth-rank youth, not even twenty years old. Even if he was a genius, he was still too green to fight against them.
Most importantly, blindly fighting a price war was beneath them. If outsiders saw it, they would think they were afraid of a mere junior.
Finally, after half an hour of discussion, Zhou and Li made the final decision.
"Then it's settled. We will also lower our prices tomorrow. I see no need to engage in a price war with him; we'll just match his conditions. We will meet him head-on and let this junior witness our true strength. Haha!"
"We shall comply."
"We follow the masters' arrangements."
The two spoke in unison, then cupped their hands in farewell.
"Everyone, let's leave it at that. You are dismissed..."
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