On the same day...
The merchants who had been outside Demon-Slaying City buying up the corpses of fifth-grade beasts had vanished.
Somehow, word had leaked out regarding the exact number of orders the Seven Great Forging Workshops had taken.
Before noon, the news had already spread throughout Demon-Slaying City.
People were secretly stirring up trouble, claiming that even if someone placed an order now, they would have to wait at least two months to receive their goods.
This caused the wavering crowd to hold onto a sliver of hope, choosing to observe from the sidelines instead of committing.
Some were hoping the price of beasts would continue to climb.
Others were waiting for the one-month deadline on Xu Xian's orders to expire so they could cancel and get their refunds.
There were even those fantasizing about whether Xu Xian's forging workshop would lower its prices further in response, even though they knew the possibility was slim.
But what if?
These workshops were locked in a heated battle; anything was possible.
After all, a month ago, no one would have believed it if you said a fifth-grade beast could sell for three thousand spirit stones.
It was winter, and in the freezing cold, scents diffused slowly. It was only natural that most people were a bit slow to catch the scent of change.
That night.
The Seven Great Forging Workshops held an emergency meeting. Having realized the situation too late, they no longer possessed the excitement and joy they had felt during the day.
Every face was frantic, oscillating between fear and greed.
Even a fool could see that something was very wrong.
On the first day of the price cuts, the Wendao Sect had immediately sent people to place over two hundred orders at each of their seven workshops. If there wasn't a scheme behind this, they wouldn't believe it for a second.
Moreover, it clearly looked like a pre-planned operation. Heaven only knew what would happen next.
Their intuition told them that this matter was likely far more complicated than they had imagined. Even if they were unwilling to admit it, reality was telling them they had been played by Xu Xian.
They cursed and argued incessantly.
"Dammit, it's like seeing a ghost! Where did the Wendao Sect get so many fifth-grade beast corpses? Over seven thousand of them! What the hell are they trying to do?"
"The merchant buying beasts at the gate is gone too. Haven't seen him all day. What kind of medicine is he selling in that gourd?"
"That brat must have misappropriated the beasts others deposited with him. Otherwise, there's no way he could produce so many."
"Is he that bold? Isn't he afraid that if he can't deliver, people will drown him in spit?"
"Who knows!"
"I just want to know, what do we do now?"
"Bloody hell, I have a bad feeling. If this goes wrong, we'll all end up working for that kid for free."
"..."
"Master Li, you should give us a plan. You're the one who started this, after all."
As their gazes converged on him, Li Xun, already overwhelmed, felt his head throb with pain.
The plan had been perfect. Who could have imagined Xu Xian held so many beast corpses in his hands?
And this was only the first day.
He could already guess what would happen next.
The price of fifth-grade beasts was artificially high. With the spring peak season approaching, the prices were bound to drop.
If they couldn't stabilize the price of fifth-grade beasts, the cost of two beasts per earth weapon would never break even. Not to mention the high-tier earth weapons, whose prices they had already slashed to the absolute bottom.
Therefore, starting tomorrow, Xu Xian would definitely begin dumping the beast corpses to trigger a wave of panic.
They had done this before themselves. The response was simple: they had to hold the line at 3,000 spirit stones to stabilize the price.
But for how long?
He had no idea.
At the very least, they needed ten days. In ten days, Xu Xian's first batch of refundable orders would reach their deadline. At that time, Xu Xian would face a massive wave of cancellations.
The only thing Li Xun wasn't sure about was whether Xu Xian had misappropriated the customers' deposits. If he had, the situation could be broken. If he hadn't, the cancelled orders would instead flow into their hands.
If they wanted to avoid losing money, they would still have to keep stabilizing the price of fifth-grade beasts and endure an even larger wave of selling pressure.
Currently, even if they worked themselves to death, it would take at least two months to deliver all the orders they held. This meant they actually needed to stabilize the market for over two months...
And that was the limit if they didn't take any more orders. If they continued to take orders, that timeframe would only grow longer.
The amount of capital required was impossible to estimate. The current price of beasts was simply too high. Tens of millions? Hundreds of millions? It was hard to say.
Furthermore, the beast corpses they held couldn't be liquidated on a large scale. Otherwise, the raw material prices in the Central Plains would collapse. Then, the corpses they were continuously buying would lose even more value.
They had to buy at high prices to stabilize the market, stockpile massive amounts of fifth-grade beasts to ensure material stability, and simultaneously buy immortal gold to forge and deliver the current orders.
Acquisition, operations, maintenance, materials... the entire process was impossible to close in a loop. It was shattered into pieces.
What was the most important thing in running a business? Cash flow.
Once the cash flow snapped, even a giant would collapse in an instant. The consequences would be catastrophic.
Even if the forces behind them were wealthy, they couldn't withstand this kind of reckless spending. Moreover, the internal structures of their backing organizations were complex. They might not be able to bear the fallout. The sect chambers of commerce certainly wouldn't take the risk.
Heaven knew what would happen then. To avoid all this, the only way was to cut their losses immediately.
They could cancel the price cuts. That way, there would be no further losses, no need to stabilize beast prices, and no need to stockpile. But the price would be that after all this effort, they would not only lose all their early revenue but also work for Xu Xian for two months for free.
That wasn't just losing the bait along with the fish; it was selling themselves and helping him count the money. They would have lost completely and utterly.
How could he accept that? How could he explain it to his superiors?
Advancing was impossible. Retreating was impossible. Every direction was a dead end.
Should he cut his losses and admit defeat in shame? Or should he go all out? If he won, he might break even and keep his reputation. If he lost, he would be bankrupted and lose everything.
How to choose? What choice was there?
Logic told him to stop here. But emotion pushed him to fight. He wasn't willing to let it go. What if Xu Xian was out of cards? What if he was also gambling?
He gritted his teeth, took a deep breath to steady his thoughts, and comforted the crowd.
"Do not worry, everyone. Everything is under my control. I have a counter-strategy..."
The crowd listened intently.
Li Xun analyzed the situation carefully, glossing over the risks and elaborating on his plan. He used logic and emotion to persuade them. He not only stabilized the group but also pulled them into a massive gamble with him.
These people were all shrewd; they naturally understood the stakes. But Li Xun wasn't the only one unwilling to back down. They all felt the same.
Particularly Zhou Yashan, who came from the Wanxian Chamber of Commerce. His situation was even more complex. The chamber prioritized profit. He wasn't just here for himself, but for his son-in-law. If he won, his son-in-law could run for the next president. If he cowered now... the outcome was predictable.
So they chose to gamble, to go all out and fight Xu Xian to the bitter end.
They were betting that Xu Xian's quiver was empty.
At the same time, a small meeting was being held in Demon-Slaying City's Number One Forging Workshop.
However, there were fewer people—just five. Two were there to watch the show, and one was just there to make up the numbers.
Liu Qinghui took a sip of tea and asked, "Little Grand-Uncle, what is the next step?"
Xu Xian replied with only three words.
"Smash the market!"
Liu Qinghui didn't understand and looked at Yao Xiaoxiao.
Yao Xiaoxiao spread her small hands and rolled her eyes. "Don't look at me. I don't understand the dialect from the Little Grand-Uncle's hometown either."
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