Early the next morning.
The snow from the night before had been swept from the wooden sign at the entrance of Demon-Slaying City's Number One Forging Workshop. Upon it was written: '108 Remaining.'
At the same time, news of the Seven Great Forging Workshops simultaneously lowering their prices blanketed Demon-Slaying City like the first snowfall of the morning.
"Look! Those seven workshops dropped their prices too!"
"Haha, I told you so! Just watch, they're bound to drop even more."
"So, should we buy now?"
"Are you an idiot? I told you, they'll keep dropping. Just wait. In a few months, we might get them for two spirit stones. No, maybe even just one! Haha!"
"For real?"
Within two days, the eight forging workshops of Demon-Slaying City had cut prices one after another, signaling the official start of a commercial war.
Those who had been eager to buy from Xu Xian yesterday suddenly cooled off. They chose to wait and see.
They didn't buy from Xu Xian, nor did they place orders with the other seven. Except for a few wealthy individuals who didn't care about money, everyone reached a consensus.
Buy early, lose money. Buy late, find a bargain.
That day, all eight forging workshops ended with essentially zero orders. The other seven workshops even experienced the same wave of cancellations that Xu Xian had once faced.
Upon hearing about the price cuts, many people flocked to their doors to cancel their previous orders.
However, they were refused.
The seven workshops only offered to refund the price difference or provide additional gifts.
Logically, there was nothing wrong with this approach, but the people of Demon-Slaying City weren't having any of it.
They were certain that as long as these workshops kept fighting, prices would keep falling. They insisted on full refunds.
They even argued, "If Wendao Sect's Little Grand-Uncle can give refunds, why can't you? Are you trying to bully your customers because you're a big shop?"
Unable to withstand the harassment, the Seven Great Forging Workshops finally chose to compromise.
The commercial war had to continue. At the same price point, winning over customers required not just quality, but also exceptional service and reputation. If they let this trouble continue and allowed the Wendao Sect to capitalize on it, their losses would be truly devastating.
Not only that, but those who had just bought earth weapons a few days prior also sought out the seven workshops upon hearing of the new price cuts, demanding an explanation.
They were determined to get their money back. Otherwise, this wouldn't end.
If this were the Central Plains, who would dare cause trouble against a background like the Three Sects, Three Schools, and one Chamber of Commerce? Even if they suffered a loss, they would have to swallow their grievances.
But this was Demon-Slaying City, and the people here didn't care about that. Everyone here was a desperado; who were they supposed to fear?
Furthermore, this wasn't the Central Plains. No matter how powerful the Three Sects, Three Schools, and one Chamber of Commerce were, their heavyweights couldn't enter this place, so there was nothing to fear.
The Seven Great Forging Workshops were utterly helpless and eventually chose to issue refunds.
After a day of turmoil, they hadn't gained a single new order. Instead, they had lost their existing ones and paid out a wave of refunds. In this price war, they had gained nothing but a belly full of frustration.
The master forgers were fuming.
What kind of mess was this? It was completely different from what they had imagined. They had suffered a loss they couldn't voice, with nowhere to seek justice.
That evening, Liu Qinghui rushed into the forging workshop in high spirits. With great excitement, he recounted the situation of the Seven Great Forging Workshops.
He laughed wantonly and spoke with an air of triumph.
Yao Xiaoxiao was so delighted she danced around, nearly jumping for joy.
When no one was making money, the one who lost more was the loser. Clearly, they had won this round.
"They deserve it! Think about how they tried to screw us before. It's their turn to taste this bitterness! Hmph!"
"Exactly! Evil deeds bring their own ruin. They brought this on themselves."
Wen Qingxue and Yao Zhijian listened to the excitement, but they couldn't help but steal glances at this Little Grand-Uncle.
Beneath his harmless and refined appearance was the mind of a calculating old fox. Don't let his usual calm and indifferent facade—as if he had seen through the world—fool you. When he finally struck, he went straight for the jugular.
His mind was truly deep.
Yet he remained perfectly composed, as if everything were under his control and he had expected this all along.
At twenty years old, to have such a mind was rare!
At least, it was rare in the Wendao Sect. After all, the people of the Wendao Sect generally lacked any malicious intent; they only knew how to charge forward with their swords. They didn't even use sneak attacks, preferring honorable, frontal confrontations.
In her excitement, Yao Xiaoxiao ran behind Xu Xian and started massaging his shoulders and pounding his back, trying to curry favor. "Little Grand-Uncle, you're so amazing! I admit I was a bit loud yesterday; please don't mind me."
Liu Qinghui also asked excitedly, "Little Grand-Uncle, what's our next step?"
Yao Xiaoxiao was clearly on a high, waving her small fists proudly. "How about we drop the prices again? All the way to the bottom! Grind them into the mud! Hehe."
Xu Xian was speechless and rolled his eyes. "Did you forget? I promised I wouldn't lower the prices again. Wouldn't that be slapping my own face?"
"Oh, right," Yao Xiaoxiao said.
Liu Qinghui asked tentatively, "Does Little Grand-Uncle mean to just keep stalling like this?"
Xu Xian gave a mysterious smile. "Yes. We'll wait for them to lose their patience and drop their prices first."
"Will they?"
Xu Xian was full of confidence. "Don't worry, they won't last long."
Everyone was half-doubting.
On the second day of the commercial war, the sign in front of Xu Xian's door changed from 108 to 210. Business as usual, and the Seven Great Forging Workshops still had no customers.
The news of the sign naturally reached the seven workshops.
However, they didn't care. They had people specifically stationed outside Xu Xian's workshop and knew very well that the number on that sign was just a self-deceiving act. He could write whatever number he wanted.
"Should we set up a sign too and write a big number?"
"Forget such childish tricks. We can't afford to lose face like that."
"If he wants to write, let him write."
"Let's just wait. We'll see who outlasts whom."
That night, Xu Xian called Liu Qinghui over and gave him specific instructions. Starting tomorrow, he was to increase the intensity of purchasing fifth-grade beast corpses. The purchase price was to increase by an additional one hundred spirit stones every day.
Liu Qinghui was startled. "Isn't that too much?"
"Just do as I say. But remember, on the surface, you must not let anyone know that the Wendao Sect is the one buying them."
"Then what's the price ceiling?"
Xu Xian laughed. "We'll talk about that when we can't afford to buy them anymore."
Liu Qinghui didn't press further and indicated he understood. Although he didn't see the point in driving up the price of beast corpses while fighting the other workshops, he figured the Little Grand-Uncle had his reasons. Once spring arrived or they stopped buying, they might be stuck with a lot of inventory.
After giving Liu Qinghui his orders, Xu Xian found Wen Qingxue and Yao Zhijian and asked for a favor.
"What kind of favor?"
Xu Xian leaned in and whispered his plan to them. Their expressions shifted from surprise to excitement as they listened. They seemed to realize what Xu Xian was trying to do. They understood why he wanted to buy beast corpses at high prices, why he set up that sign... and so on.
Their eyes widened as they looked at Xu Xian, their throats bobbing as they swallowed.
Wen Qingxue couldn't help but complain, "You profiteer!"
Yao Zhijian, however, said with admiration, "Brilliant!"
Xu Xian gave a meaningful smile and said, "Then I'll leave it to you two."
The two agreed in unison. "Deal!"
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