Xu Xian propped his hands on his knees, straightened his back, and scanned the room. "What about the rest of you? Any problems?"
The group hurriedly shook their heads, signaling their acceptance.
Xu Xian’s expression softened, and he said heartily, "Good. Then it’s settled. I’ll have someone find you later today to sign a contract so there’s no confusion down the line. I still have forging to do, so please, see yourselves out."
The youth was crisp and decisive.
The crowd left in a daze.
In their haste to depart, they didn't even get a single sip of water.
However, a heavy burden that had been pressing down on their hearts was finally resolved.
The sky hanging over the Seven Great Forging Workshops, much like the sky over Demon-Slaying City itself, had finally welcomed the spring. The thick clouds had dispersed, and the ice and snow were beginning to melt.
On the way back, some walked alone, some side-by-side, and others in small groups. Their faces were no longer as grim as if they were mourning a death.
Occasional smiles appeared—bitter, perhaps, but far better than before.
In their discussions, Xu Xian’s words were frequently mentioned.
The youth was composed, far surpassing them all.
The youth’s temperament had overwhelmed the lot of them.
He had played a perfect hand, a masterstroke of calculation. It seemed that from the very beginning, this was the result he had been after.
He had ground them into the dirt, letting them be abandoned by their backers.
And then, when they were at a dead end...
He had given them a lifeline.
Even if they were unwilling or resentful, they could only compromise. There was no other way.
They complained.
They sighed with emotion.
They mocked themselves...
"Heh... it’s laughable. In the end, we still ended up working for someone else."
"Sigh, who could have imagined it? Just a few months ago, you and I were riding so high. But after just one winter, we’ve been played like fools by a mere junior, nearly losing half our lives in the process."
"They say the Little Grand-Uncle of the Wendao Sect has incredible cultivation talent—reaching the fifth stage in two years, a genius rarely seen in ten thousand years. They also say he’s a forging prodigy who studied under Ruan Zhong, becoming a fourth-rank spirit forge master in less than a year and a sixth-rank spirit forger in two. There are even rumors he can forge immortal gold from spirit ore. With all these stories, I say he shouldn't be practicing cultivation or forging at all—he should have gone into business. He’s far too cunning..."
"Isn't that the truth?"
"Do you think he's truly willing to buy back the demon beast corpses from us at 1,500 spirit stones? I heard the price for fifth-rank demon beasts has already dropped to a thousand."
"Since he gave his word, it won't be wrong. The price of fifth-rank demon beast corpses has hit rock bottom only because of the panic and the massive sell-off. If you look at it again in a few months, 1,500 won't be considered expensive."
"True..."
Zhou Yashan walked with Li Xun. As two seventh-rank spirit forge masters, their conversation was filled with self-deprecation.
"Who would have thought that in my life, I, Zhou Yashan, would end up working for a green brat not even twenty years old? Heh... I’ve lost all the face of my ancestors."
Li Xun shook his head with a faint smile, his tone intrigued. "Alright, stop complaining. There’s no other way right now. It’s only for a year or two—it’ll pass in the blink of an eye."
Zhou Yashan grumbled, "Easy for you to say. Over a thousand orders—each of us has to forge seven or eight hundred earth weapons. In the last ten years, I haven't forged that many blades. Is he treating this old man like a donkey?"
Li Xun sighed. "Indeed, a brilliant calculation. A brilliant calculation indeed. This Xu Xian is truly a talent. He shouldn't be in the Wendao Sect; he belongs in your Wanxian Chamber of Commerce."
"Hmm?"
"He’d be more than qualified to be the president."
Zhou Yashan snapped irritably, "Don't mention the Wanxian Chamber of Commerce to me. It makes my blood boil."
Li Xun gave a bitter smile. "Everyone has their difficulties. Let's just be understanding. If we're to blame anyone, let's blame our own lack of competence."
"Hmph... who knew the kid was so cunning and his methods so ruthless?"
After everyone left, Xu Xian continued forging. Yao Xiaoxiao came over to ask if he was really going to let them off. Hadn't they agreed to drive a few of them to ruin?
Xu Xian replied that everything and everyone has their use. They were more useful alive than dead. He added, "Besides, you wouldn't want to see me work myself to death, would you?"
Hearing this, Yao Xiaoxiao naturally compromised.
She remarked,
"Of course not. We’d be fools not to use labor that delivered itself for free."
Later that evening.
Liu Qinghui arrived at Xu Xian's request. Xu Xian explained everything that had happened during the day and instructed him to handle the follow-up matters.
Liu Qinghui couldn't help but call Xu Xian brilliant.
Xu Xian didn't care for the flattery and simply urged him to get everything settled as quickly as possible to avoid any complications or changes.
What if the people backing the seven forging workshops changed their minds?
That would be troublesome.
Liu Qinghui agreed readily, giving his word that he would have everything finalized tonight.
Xu Xian also specifically asked Wen Qingxue to accompany Liu Qinghui, both as a witness and to give them a little 'nudge.'
Wen Qingxue naturally didn't want to go.
But the hundred thousand spirit stones Xu Xian had promised her hadn't been paid yet, so she really had to do this job.
That night.
Liu Qinghui invited the fourteen forging masters from the Seven Great Forging Workshops to gather.
The fourteen masters successfully signed their deeds of sale.
That same night.
As per Xu Xian’s promise, Liu Qinghui used a full-price buyout to recover over 8,000 demon beast corpses stockpiled by the workshops at a price of 1,500 spirit stones each.
In the past.
The seven workshops had exhausted all their funds to acquire them at a price of 24 million spirit stones. In less than half a month, they were sold off at half-price, bringing in 12 million.
The fourteen masters who received the money finally breathed a sigh of relief.
One had to know.
Of that 24 million, besides the 20 million in startup capital, the other 4 million had come out of their own pockets.
Now that 12 million had returned, after paying off some necessary outstanding expenses, they were left with over 9 million.
When they divided it on the spot, each person walked away with several hundred thousand.
Their own savings were back, and they had even managed to pocket a bit extra.
Every one of them was grinning from ear to ear.
While it was true they had lost all the capital provided by their sects, that was the sect's money, not theirs. Furthermore, they had already handed over the demon beast corpses Xu Xian had originally ordered.
All things considered, the sects had lost money, but not excessively so.
On average, each workshop had lost only a few million spirit stones. It was considered a timely cut of their losses.
Most importantly, they had been abandoned by their sects to fend for themselves. Why bother worrying about the sect's problems now? It was none of their business.
Meanwhile, on Xu Xian’s side.
His original startup capital was the 6 million in profit. Later, the Merchant Hall had chipped in 4 million, totaling just under 11 million.
After their large-scale acquisition, they had cashed out at the peak price of 3,000.
His total capital had surged from 11 million to over 16 million spirit stones.
Now, after buying back 8,000 demon beast corpses for 12 million and accounting for the sales in the Central Plains.
After subtracting the costs for the earth weapons and ores he had purchased, he still had over 6 million in cash sitting in his accounts.
Even after offsetting his loans from the Wendao Sect, he still had 2 million left.
When he crunched the numbers...
It was equivalent to using one year’s profit to buy 8,000 fifth-rank demon beast corpses and securing fourteen skilled forced laborers at an extremely low price.
Those were just the visible gains.
There were invisible ones as well.
This winter, Xu Xian had truly made a fortune.
In just one year.
Starting from scratch.
He now held 8,000 complete fifth-rank demon beast corpses, over 10,000 sets of fifth-rank demon beast bones, plus orders for over 10,000 low-priced earth weapons.
And 2 million spirit stones in cash.
Xu Xian’s wealth.
Had accumulated to its peak.
He was the undisputed Great Tycoon of Fanzhou!
The second story of the Sword Tower was within reach.
In Xu Xian's words, "Making money? Isn't it as easy as breathing?"
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