The Counterattack

The next day.

Outside Demon-Slaying City in the early morning, the disciples arranged by Liu Qinghui appeared as usual.

Just as both sides had anticipated, many demon hunter organizations in the city indeed chose to sell their stock.

Xu Xian accepted everything.

Building on yesterday’s rates, the price still rose by another hundred spirit stones, allowing the hearts of many onlookers to finally settle.

They took it all?

And the price is still rising?

So, it can still go higher...

Many speculated that the upward trend could last until the beginning of spring, about half a month away.

Liu Qinghui returned to report the situation faithfully.

"Fortunately, Little Grand-Uncle, you had me prepare spirit stones in advance. In a single day, we acquired the corpses of over five hundred fifth-grade demon beasts. We only have three million spirit stones left. I’m not sure if we can hold out for the next few days."

Xu Xian had a clear picture of the situation. Currently, approximately eighty percent of the fifth-grade demon beast corpses in the entire city were in his hands. Even if they were all sold, he could hold his ground, though that was obviously impossible.

A total sell-off would only happen if prices plummeted; otherwise, people would continue to wait and see. Even if they sold, it would only be a small portion.

He said calmly, "It’s fine. If we hold out for the first three days, there won't be a problem."

"Should we raise the price again tomorrow?"

"Raise it. Keep raising it until it reaches three thousand."

"Understood! I’ll get to it."

Liu Qinghui didn't ask further. Since he was already on the same boat as Xu Xian, he could only follow him to the end of the line.

Wen Qingxue was quite worried. She feared Xu Xian might overplay his hand and get himself trapped.

Yao Xiaoxiao followed blindly without fear.

As for Yao Zhijian, it seemed to have little to do with him; his mind was not on this matter.

And so, another three days passed.

Liu Qinghui clutched the last two million spirit stones, feeling restless every day.

During those three days, the Seven Great Forging Workshops remained motionless. There was no counterattack, no orders, and even the number of orders Xu Xian registered daily was slowly decreasing.

However, the snow finally stopped.

The long-awaited sunlight poured down, and people naturally stepped out of their houses to gaze at the clear sky, reaching out their hands to grasp the last bit of winter’s sun.

They were filled with deep emotion...

The demon hunters said, "This year’s spring might come a bit earlier than usual."

The merchants said, "We’ve endured a harsh winter. Now that spring is here, things should start picking up."

Xu Xian said, "The snow has stopped. It’s time for the wind to rise."

Li Xun said, "We’ve watched the clouds part for the dawn; the sky is finally about to brighten."

Another day later, the price of fifth-grade demon beasts rose to three thousand spirit stones. On that same morning, the Seven Great Forging Workshops simultaneously announced a price cut.

And it was a cut straight to the bottom.

A lower-tier earth weapon for two fifth-grade demon beasts.

A mid-tier earth weapon for three fifth-grade demon beasts.

A high-tier earth weapon for six fifth-grade demon beasts.

In an instant, the small city was in an uproar. The Seven Great Forging Workshops publicized this move aggressively, and everyone in Demon-Slaying City hurried to spread the news.

"They dropped! They finally dropped! You really guessed right."

"Haha, I told you the Three Sects, Three Schools, and one Chamber of Commerce would definitely cut prices."

"Tsk tsk, this should be the absolute bottom. In a few days, once my order at the Number One Forging Workshop reaches a month, I’ll go cancel it. I can trade for earth weapons on both ends and still have one beast left to sell. Adding in the pills from before, I’ve made over 3,300 spirit stones in total. I’m swimming in profit!"

"Believe in your brother, right?"

"You're my real brother..."

Almost as soon as the news of the price cut broke, Liu Qinghui rushed to the forging workshop to find Xu Xian. The moment he entered, he shouted,

"Little Grand-Uncle, they dropped! The Seven Great Forging Workshops collectively dropped their prices. They’re charging one less demon beast than our current rates!"

Yao Xiaoxiao rushed out from the pill shop.

Wen Qingxue walked out casually holding a teacup, leaning against the wooden door. Even Yao Zhijian opened his eyes, his gaze shifting toward the outside.

They knew more or less what was happening, but they still couldn't quite figure out the full plan. However, one thing was certain.

Everything Xu Xian had done was to wait for the opposition to lower their prices.

Now that they had.

The real battle had begun, and it was time for him to reveal the plan he had hidden up his sleeve.

Xu Xian brought his hammer down with a heavy thud.

Bang!

The sound of the hammer did not rise again. He turned his head, his eyes narrowing into slits that shimmered with a bone-chilling cold light.

"Then let’s begin. Proceed as planned."

Liu Qinghui looked excited. He cupped his fists and bowed, saying loudly, "By your command!"

He had arrived like a whirlwind.

He left in a flash.

The remaining three were completely bewildered.

Yao Xiaoxiao watched Liu Qinghui’s departing back, walked to Xu Xian’s side, and asked curiously, "What is Deacon Liu going to do? Why does he suddenly look like he's been given a shot of adrenaline?"

Xu Xian glanced at her and smiled slightly. "You’ll find out very soon."

Yao Xiaoxiao’s eyes flickered as she looked up at the youth. "Little Grand-Uncle."

"Hmm?"

"Are you not treating me as one of your own?"

Xu Xian was startled. "No, why would you say that?"

Yao Xiaoxiao looked like a child whose favorite toy had been taken, pouting her little mouth. "Then why are you so close to him but not to me?"

Xu Xian’s head was filled with question marks.

What on earth was she talking about??

After Liu Qinghui left, the first batch of customers arrived at the Seven Great Forging Workshops.

It was as if they had prepared in advance; they rushed into the workshops immediately, asked no questions, and placed orders.

Moreover, they were extremely generous with their spending.

They ordered five or ten swords at a time, across all three tiers, though mostly lower-tier.

After placing their orders and taking their receipts, they left in a hurry without even asking when the goods would be delivered.

Though the clerks responsible for registration were suspicious, they didn't think too much of it.

They simply assumed their items were cheap and that these people were here for the discount. They figured these customers had likely been waiting for a long time for the price drop.

Therefore, ordering more was within the realm of reason.

Besides, when doing business, making money was the priority. Having business was naturally good. Everyone knew that fifth-grade demon beasts were now three thousand spirit stones each. Even with the price cut, they were still making a profit.

Each clerk was full of enthusiasm, accepting every order.

"I want ten orders!"

"Give me eight!"

"Fifteen orders for me!!"

A clerk in one shop noticed something was off and tried to warn his superior, "Elder, this doesn't seem right. Why is everyone ordering ten or more? Could there be a trick?"

"What trick? If there's an order, record it! They’re paying in full, what are you afraid of? Besides, this isn't for you to worry about..."

"Understood!"

...

"Hurry up, are you doing business or not?"

"Coming, coming! Please wait a moment."

That group of people would finish ordering at one place and then turn around to run to the next shop to continue ordering...

They shuttled back and forth among the Seven Great Forging Workshops.

The shopkeepers of the seven workshops had smiles that almost reached their ears.

On the first day of the price cut, each shop had at least three hundred orders in no time.

Some master forgers, caught up in the excitement, only thought that Master Li had divine foresight and was truly reliable.

They were happily striking their iron.

However, some master forgers sensed something was wrong. After making some inquiries and learning that the Wendao Sword Sect was behind it, they slapped their thighs in realization.

"This is bad!"

Even Master Li was filled with worry. He stared at the snowy ground in a daze, his gaze extremely heavy.

A disciple came to report, "Master, we’ve looked into it. It is indeed the Wendao Sword Sect placing the orders. So far, including us, they’ve placed over 2,300 orders. Across the six other workshops and ours, they’ve handed over more than 7,000 fifth-grade demon beast corpses."

Master Li’s cheeks twitched, and the deep furrows between his brows grew exceptionally prominent. He muttered in a daze, "Where did he get so many fifth-grade demon beast corpses?"