The business war had been decided.
While the Merchant Hall was dumping fifth-grade ferocious beast raw materials in the Central Plains, Demon-Slaying City was also on edge. First, the Seven Great Forging Workshops collectively lowered their prices.
In a single day, orders at each workshop surged by over three hundred, while the buyers at the gates of Demon-Slaying City mysteriously vanished.
The news spread throughout the city.
On the second day, just as everyone thought the price of fifth-grade ferocious beasts was starting to sink, another buyer appeared out of thin air to take the previous one's place.
They continued to buy at 3,000 spirit stones.
Hundreds of people sold off their stock en masse.
Rumors began to swirl everywhere in the city, claiming that the price of fifth-grade ferocious beasts had peaked and would surely plummet come spring. The city was in an uproar.
As the weather warmed, people’s hearts grew restless and anxious.
All anyone knew was that on that day, the hammers in the eight forging workshops of Demon-Slaying City rang out until long past midnight, everyone producing at full capacity.
Then came the next day. The price of fifth-grade ferocious beasts remained at 3,000 spirit stones, but the number of people selling was more than double that of the previous day.
Many began to panic.
Within three days, the price of fifth-grade ferocious beasts failed to rise, causing many to sense that something was wrong.
Although most people still held on tightly, wanting to see how things would play out, a small portion had already begun to follow the trend and sell.
That day, the Seven Great Forging Workshops gritted their teeth and held on. By sunset, they had barely managed to stabilize the situation.
The masters of the various forging workshops all looked incredibly grim.
This wasn't just a clash of tempers anymore.
This was a literal burning of money.
Li Xun constantly comforted the crowd, telling them not to panic, not to panic.
Tomorrow, Xu Xian would surely have no more ferocious beasts left to dump.
Contrary to his expectations, the selling spree intensified on the third day.
As soon as dawn broke, the crowd in front of the buyer's small stall was like a tide, making it impassable. The people Xu Xian had arranged alone sold a staggering 2,000 beasts.
That totaled six million spirit stones.
Seeing that the price hadn't risen and had remained flat for four consecutive days, many others could no longer sit still. They all began to sell.
On that day, the Seven Great Forging Workshops faced a funding crisis by noon.
They were forced to suspend purchasing for half an hour. It was precisely this half-hour that caused even more people to come flocking after hearing the news.
They sold en masse.
The funds of the Seven Great Forging Workshops were exhausted.
In the end, Li Xun and Zhou Yashan had to mobilize everyone to pull out their personal wallets to hold the line.
It wasn't just the selling that was in full swing; the war of public opinion between the two sides was also escalating.
One group said: "Sell quickly! If you don't sell now, you'll lose everything. With such a massive amount of ferocious beasts being sold, they'll inevitably flood the market. The Central Plains market can't absorb them in a short time, so prices must drop."
Another group said: "Right now, just two fifth-grade ferocious beasts can be exchanged for a low-grade earth weapon. It’s impossible for the price to drop. There’s even room for it to rise. That’s an earth weapon—hard currency!"
In short, everyone had their own version of the truth, leaving the people of Demon-Slaying City in a state of panic, constantly arguing with one another.
Even the parties involved in the open and secret struggle were uneasy.
Xu Xian had no more cards left.
The financial pressure on the Seven Great Forging Workshops had also reached its limit.
If they couldn't control the selling spree, the market would surely collapse—unless the financial support from headquarters arrived as scheduled.
Both sides were like arrows at the end of their flight, but Xu Xian’s arrow was pressed against the foreheads of the Seven Great Forging Workshops.
On the fourth day...
Before the financial aid could arrive, the Seven Great Forging Workshops received disastrous news from the distant Central Plains.
The Wendao Sword Sect had dumped thousands of fifth-grade ferocious beast raw materials all at once at half price.
This news sent shockwaves through the city.
When Li Xun found out, he nearly fainted on the spot. He cried out in grief, "Thousands... thousands more! Where on earth did he get so many fifth-grade ferocious beast corpses? Who is helping him in the shadows? Could it be that he is colluding with the beast race..."
At the same time, the news that Xu Xian's Number One Forging Workshop was raising its prices swept through Demon-Slaying City like a mountain gale.
A price war? Instead of lowering prices, he was raising them at a time like this?
What kind of ghost logic was this?
Had Xu Xian admitted defeat and stopped fighting?
This abnormal move naturally sparked curiosity and confusion in people's hearts. They began to proactively inquire to find out the reason.
Xu Xian spoke plainly.
He claimed that the price of fifth-grade ferocious beast materials in the Central Plains had already dropped by fifty percent, and the price of fifth-grade ferocious beasts was bound to collapse. News of this would be received within days.
He added that he was raising his prices in advance simply because he didn't want to lose money.
Of course, he also guaranteed everyone that when their orders were due, he was willing to provide full refunds.
If people didn't believe him, they were free to place orders with the Seven Great Forging Workshops.
For those who didn't want a refund, he would still prioritize delivering the earth weapons at the original order price.
He even pointedly offered a kind reminder: The Seven Great Forging Workshops currently had no fewer orders than he did. If they placed an order there, delivery wasn't guaranteed. For safety's sake, it was best to convert ferocious beast corpses into spirit stones first.
Ultimately, whether the price rose or fell, spirit stones were the only hard currency.
Once he made this statement, many people found it extremely logical. Moreover, regardless of the Wendao Sword Sect's reasons for stopping the price war, they didn't care if what Xu Xian said was true or false.
From their perspective, at least one thing was certain: this hidden struggle between the Central Plains and the Wendao Sword Sect had ended with Xu Xian's withdrawal.
Since it was over and the competition had ceased, a continued price drop was impossible. In fact, things might actually turn out as Xu Xian said, and prices would have to rise.
For those holding ferocious beast corpses, even if they placed an order now, they wouldn't get the goods for over a month. It was better to take advantage of the current decent price and sell.
Consequently, the situation for the Seven Great Forging Workshops, which were already struggling, worsened instantly.
In particular, those small chambers of commerce and minor sects that had already received word of the price drop for raw materials in the Central Plains wanted to use the information gap to make a quick profit. They chose to dump their fifth-grade ferocious beast corpses.
For a time, the buying stalls for ferocious beasts throughout Demon-Slaying City were swarmed with people. Even deep within the city, one could hear the clamor from outside the gates.
Humans are social animals who love to follow trends. With fixed prices and a flurry of restless, complex news flying everywhere, they didn't know who to believe anymore.
In times like these, people are prone to panic. Once they start worrying about gains and losses, they misjudge the situation and follow the crowd.
The selling spree reached its peak.
The funds of the Seven Great Forging Workshops were completely depleted.
"What's going on? Are you still buying or not?"
"Everyone, don't be anxious! I didn't bring enough money. Give me some time, just give me some time..."
"Then hurry back and get the money!"
"Let's get this straight, I was here first. Buy mine first!"
The news of the exhausted funds and the massive selling spree quickly reached Li Xun's ears. One disaster after another caused the seventh-rank spirit forge master to stumble and collapse to the ground, unable to get back up.
His eyes were bloodshot as he let out a despairing cry.
"Xu Xian... Xu Xian... How can the Wendao Sword Sect have such a malicious youth?"
"Master Li, you can't fall now! You have to make a decision quickly. What do we do now?"
Li Xun seemed to have lost his soul, muttering to himself, "Lost... we've lost. It's truly over."
"It's finished... everything is finished."
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